Leicester City (0) vs Aston Villa (0) Post-Match Thread

[Villa Lew]

Well that's a shock, we're gonna be last on MOTD!

[john e]

And how are Newcastle six points and six places above us.

Simple they hired an experienced PL manager who could arrange the existing resources more effectively and supplement them with some additional good players.

We didn’t

This

Where is this list of experienced managers who were available that suddenly could have been so much better than what we got? That’s not me saying Gerrard was the best available but to think we missed out on so much better and so much more experience simply has no merit. We had an experienced manager and he got fired. Rafa Benitez has a very successful history in the game and he was awful. Managers coming in from another country are not guaranteed succeed. Klopp didn’t walk in and magically turn Liverpool into what they are now. Ragnick at Man U has been a failure. Moyes failed multiple times before being reborn, second time around at West Ham. He was fired by them before. Conte would never have come to us.

There is simply no guarantee that “experience” equates to success. And we have also seen Vieira take Palace to the cup semi final, Arteta in a couple of seasons turn Arsenal into a side that might qualify for the CL. And he’s taken all manner of criticism. So before we hammer Gerrard after 6 months in the job let’s see how it plays out.

Some very good points made there TV

[ROBBO]

A few things stood out to me, Coutino's work rate has fallen away badly, Watkins confidence is shot, Bailey needs a good pre season and it is clear to me that there is no unity in the side. I did not get any sense in that game that players were working for one another, some of them I guess can see no future for themselves at the club and appear to just be going through the motions.

[Villan82]

We grinded out a 0-0, away, at a team who are no mugs over the past 5 or 6 years. Happy with that. If we could have managed more of those over the past three years we would be in better overall shape as a club.

[OzVilla]

Would’ve taken a point beforehand to relatively happy but I reckon several of this lot have clocked off. Spine of the team needs an urgent upgrade and wondering whether Courtiniho has decided this project is not for him, he’s been playing that way for a while now.

SG is going nowhere and I’m fine with that. It’s the players I’m more pissed off with regards this no show of a season.

[robbo1874]

Well at least we didn’t lose, which is good and pretty much job done now in terms of staying up. Now’s the time to experiment and see what some of the kids can do. We’ve got effectively 6 games now to have a look at the whole squad and plan for the summer window.

I only watched the first half, but we lacked confidence, composure and seemingly had very little idea of what to do to break Leicester down when in possession. Maybe that was to do with the fear of losing the ball and getting done on the break. It was painful viewing at times.

I’m seriously starting to wonder whether Gerrard was the right appointment. It’s likely that he’ll get money to spend and a pre-season, but this appointment looks increasingly likely to end in tears before Christmas. Can’t help wondering whether we should be looking for a replacement over the next 6 weeks and let a new guy start a-fresh at the end of the season. Looks unlikely, but might be best all round if we really mean business next season.

[Ian.]

The amount of attacks that ended with Watkins first touch.

I only managed to watch about 20 minutes of the 2nd half and this pissed me off. He cant hold up anything.

Second half when he managed to actually turn someone from a throw in, burst forward and had one defender tracking him, he somehow managed to bounce the ball off his weaker foot and ended up falling over.  He has to be one of the least confident players I can remember at Villa. Remember when he spanked one into the corner against Liverpool in that 7-2 game? Where did he go.

More to the point, what are the coaches doing to help him? Or is he just going to be replaced?

I fucking hope so.

He was so frustrating today and he done my head in. The amount of times he made the wrong decision, it was unbelievable. I can’t believe this is the same player from last season. If only we had Archer in the squad, he looks the perfect replacement. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though and hopefully he’s learning his craft and and carry that experience he’s learned to us next season.

I know these leagues are mikes apart, but natural instinct is there with Archer and at the moment It certainly isn’t with Watkins.

[Chris Smith]

We grinded out a 0-0, away, at a team who are no mugs over the past 5 or 6 years. Happy with that. If we could have managed more of those over the past three years we would be in better overall shape as a club.

Or to put it another way, we lacked ambition against a club with more than half an eye in their team selection and performance on a European semi final on Thursday. If we had managed a few more scruffy draws over the past 3 months we’d be in better shape.

I was pleased with the improvement defensively, both in shape and individual performance, but a more assertive performance might have seen us win the game.

[PaulTheVillan]

It had a pre-season friendly feel about it.

Needed the clean sheet, so happy about that.

I’d put Chambers & Buendia back in for Norwich.

[Mister E]

I was pleased with the improvement defensively, both in shape and individual performance, but a more assertive performance might have seen us win the game.

Yup, bang on.

[Villafirst]

It had a pre-season friendly feel about it.

Needed the clean sheet, so happy about that.

I’d put Chambers & Buendia back in for Norwich.

And Nakamba. Although apparently, SG reckons he's not up to speed yet? He surely can't do any worse with some of the dire midfield performances of late?

[frank black]

We stayed compact and had the chances to win, after the run we’ve had I’d take this result everyday. Ollie had a good game and looks like he’s about to start scoring a few between now and the end of the season. Question marks over Coutinho and Bailey though. I’d play Coutinho for home games only and Bailey just looks like a fish out of water (where has his pace gone?)

[Chris Smith]

We stayed compact and had the chances to win, after the run we’ve had I’d take this result everyday. Ollie had a good game and looks like he’s about to start scoring a few between now and the end of the season. Question marks over Coutinho and Bailey though. I’d play Coutinho for home games only and Bailey just looks like a fish out of water (where has his pace gone?)

Not sure if he was under instruction or it was a lack of confidence but Bailey was always looking to offload the ball rather than take responsibility himself. I hope he is given a few more opportunities to show if he’s up to it rather than we just ditch him.

[Risso]

Bailey was woeful. Did no tracking back and nothing on the half dozen times he touched the ball.

[LeeB]

We stayed compact and had the chances to win, after the run we’ve had I’d take this result everyday. Ollie had a good game and looks like he’s about to start scoring a few between now and the end of the season. Question marks over Coutinho and Bailey though. I’d play Coutinho for home games only and Bailey just looks like a fish out of water (where has his pace gone?)

Not sure if he was under instruction or it was a lack of confidence but Bailey was always looking to offload the ball rather than take responsibility himself. I hope he is given a few more opportunities to show if he’s up to it rather than we just ditch him.

I think that's why he's playing. It's not a tactical decision, they're giving him a chance to show something before cutting their losses.

Doesn't look good for him from what I've seen, 'flaky' would be a generous assessment.