Robbie09

Has to start every time.

The build up and movement of the ball in central midfield was at a snail pace today.

Ireland comes on and he starts moving the ball so much more quickly and we created a few half chances from it.

Agreed. Another poor decision by McLeish not to start with him today, was this because of the spat last week?

Woah, it was a joke dude (although I did bump into him)

I actually don't give a shit what you think

Seconded.

Check this out at half. We are one nil down to City. Richard Dunne appears from the tunnel going out for the second half not with the Villa players but with the Man City players laughing his head off.

What the F--K is going on there, total lack of professionalism.

8.50 in to it.

He should be fined for that and his wages should go to a charity.

lost a lot of respect for him after seeing that - one of my favorite center backs for Villa.

To have that casual attitude in a friendly game is bad enough but to do it in a PL game against the best team is truly shocking.

Before the game why on Earth are they all acting like they are gangsters from NY city, giving the city players high fives. Far too much respect shown to the Man city players. You can do all that crap after the game but not before it.

They should be so pumped for the game they want to batter City to pieces on the pitch not look as though they are about to go and party with them all smiles - shocking.

Tell me you're joking about the fine?

Tell me you have understood the point I am trying to make and tell me the final score in that game...!

I don't need reminding about the score as I was there. And your point makes no sense whatsoever in my opinion.

What don't you understand - there was a lack of focus, togetherness and a willingness to do well.

Let me put it this way are you arguing the point that based on the footage there WAS focus, togetherness and a willingness to do well..?

If your happy with that then thats your own view.

The other point is that Football teams could learn a lot from other disciplined sports such as Rugby.

Yawn yawn

Check this out at half. We are one nil down to City. Richard Dunne appears from the tunnel going out for the second half not with the Villa players but with the Man City players laughing his head off.

What the F--K is going on there, total lack of professionalism.

8.50 in to it.

He should be fined for that and his wages should go to a charity.

lost a lot of respect for him after seeing that - one of my favorite center backs for Villa.

To have that casual attitude in a friendly game is bad enough but to do it in a PL game against the best team is truly shocking.

Before the game why on Earth are they all acting like they are gangsters from NY city, giving the city players high fives. Far too much respect shown to the Man city players. You can do all that crap after the game but not before it.

They should be so pumped for the game they want to batter City to pieces on the pitch not look as though they are about to go and party with them all smiles - shocking.

Tell me you're joking about the fine?

Tell me you have understood the point I am trying to make and tell me the final score in that game...!

I don't need reminding about the score as I was there. And your point makes no sense whatsoever in my opinion.

Check this out at half. We are one nil down to City. Richard Dunne appears from the tunnel going out for the second half not with the Villa players but with the Man City players laughing his head off.

What the F--K is going on there, total lack of professionalism.

8.50 in to it.

He should be fined for that and his wages should go to a charity.

lost a lot of respect for him after seeing that - one of my favorite center backs for Villa.

To have that casual attitude in a friendly game is bad enough but to do it in a PL game against the best team is truly shocking.

Before the game why on Earth are they all acting like they are gangsters from NY city, giving the city players high fives. Far too much respect shown to the Man city players. You can do all that crap after the game but not before it.

They should be so pumped for the game they want to batter City to pieces on the pitch not look as though they are about to go and party with them all smiles - shocking.

Tell me you're joking about the fine?

I've long thought that if fans are serious about making a protest then trying to organise a boycott of a game is the absolute worst way to go about it. There will always be fans who despite perhaps agreeing with the protest won't miss a game, there are people who have paid for tickets or ST's and will want to go. Asking people to not attend a game is asking a lot.

If fans really want to protest against the owners of a club they should do so in a way that doesn't impact upon the team or their enjoyment or potential enjoyment of watching them play.

They could boycott the programmes, the refreshments, merchandise such things while less visible than empty seats would get the message over just as clear to those in control. They would likely be a damn sight more widely supported than a match boycott.

If fans carried on attending games but stopped all associate spending on mass then that would be an effective protest.

Not saying people should protest just that the way people go about it is usually pretty daft.

This for me. By not spending whilst in the ground then it gets a message across to the board without the players being affected by it.

Am I the only one who thinks we are actually starting to play decent football and may be turning a corner?

No you're not, however his bizarre substitutions on sunday has made me question whether the recent patches of decent play are just flashes in the pan. A lot of the better phases of play have involved Keane so the acid test will be when he's gone back over the pond.

In the beginning there was the '5-year plan'. We were fighting fit and heading in the right direction, finding ourselves in the top 4 in March for O'Neill's last two seasons.

But - due to O'Neill's strange transfer policy of signing squad players, we never had the strength in depth in the squad to make critical substitutions/rotations when the first choice XI were universally tiring. At this point, we needed another CM that was better than Sidwell and we needed a striker. We really needed a striker. And we signed one that has a long record of NOT scoring goals.

I cannot begin to understand O'Neill. He spent £120m (gross) and his net spend on strikers was £0. If we had signed Darren Bent in January 2009 or January 2010, I am confident we would have achieved that coveted top four spot at the cost of Liverpool or maybe even Arsenal. The extra income for achieving that top four spot would have given us the opportunity to sign another CM and strengthen the squad, while trimming the fat. Or not signing Habib Beye.

We would have also kept hold of Barry, which could have been the catalyst to keeping Milner, then inevitably Young and Downing, who I still firmly believe would be a good enough midfield four to maintain top four. Ultimately - I believe not having the strength in depth in the squad in the last 18 months on O'Neill's tenure reduced the quality of the squad.

We were so close, I think O'Neill and Lerner thought we would be able to get past the post with that XI. But no XI is going to get you anywhere in this league. This is a massively more physical game that the 14 players we used in out last league-winning season, and I could not see, for O'Neill's last 18 months, O'Neill himself recognising that the players were tiring around March. This could not be better demonstrated than by reviewing O'Neill's record for games played in March during his tenure.

We needed that CM and a striker to add a different dimension to the team when we were tiring or becoming predictable. Instead it was an embarrassing descent we witnessed, two seasons back to back. And this is where it started to go wrong.

The five year plan has been seemingly abandoned. The most frustrating thing about this is that there is no backup plan. Nothing at all.

It is generally accepted that When the Arabs bought Man City the rules of the game were changed. However, I firmly believe that this is also bollocks.

SPURS: At the same time we were on the rise, Spurs were doing the same thing with the same efficiency. The difference there is that they bought a balanced squad and less squad fillers who were not good enough for even cameo appearances. Hate him or hate him, candleface has made wise additions to a balanced squad at Spuds.

LIVERPOOL: The club were a total laughing stock in the latter days of the Hicks/Gillett era, and we had finished above them that season. They were there for the taking, yet we failed to grasp it. I have to question Lerner for not recognising and acting on this opportunity.

ARSENAL: Some questionable signings, some Arsenal fans calling for Wenger to be sacked, they have now been, for about three seasons, a team there for the taking. They have stagnated badly and are not nailed on for top four finishes any more.

So, the five year plan was replaces with nothing. We have gone from a team that could have been a very serious challenger for the top four/six to a team that looks like it is going to stagnate. Man City moved the goalposts as far as being able to buy success, yet the balance was already shifting from two of the regular top four teams.

I believe if we had signed a striker like Darren Bent instead of Ivanhoe, we would have secured the coveted top four spot, maintained the squad and established ourselves as Spuds have done.

Unfortunately I believe as a result of O'Neill's actions/inaction, we are seeing the domino effect of losing our best players season after season, and the steady disarrangement of what was a plan for success.

Employing McLeish is a decision I don't think any of us will ever understand and is heading in exactly the opposite direction of where we should be going. A manager with a proven record for relegation is not a manager that would get such a high profile job in any other industry. An absolute joke. I will not forgive him for the line-up/formation for the Spuds game, playing to keep the score down. He should have been sacked for that alone.

It's a good job there are a lot of shit teams in the league this year because it may be the only thing that stops us getting relegated. However, we are not clear yet. We need at least three more wins this season, yet our performances are so unpredictable I can't see where they are going to come from.

So, we have gone from 'the five year plan', 'proud history, bright future' to nothing. Communication has failed. Results are failing. The future looks pretty shit from where I'm sitting.

I'm not an O'Neill fan, I believe he was one-dimensional, predictable and limited, but we have undone 4 years (of the 5 year plan) of fairly good work in 18 months.

Good work Randy.

Great post. Can I add we shouldn't forget Faulkner's role in the recent demise.

I thought Ireland was playing well first half and playing some good passes. I thought it went wrong in the second half especially when bannan started trying to play his hollywood 50 yard passes like he normally does. i don't rate bannan at all, somebody needs to tell him he is not David Beckham!

Undoubtedly he's got an eye for a pass but he needs to learn that sometimes a 5 yard pass can be as effective as the 50 yard Hollywood pass.

I don't think anyone better (more than marginally I mean) is out there let alone would want to come here.

John Gregory?

I loved Gregory when he was here but seriously his record since he left us makes McLeish look like Mourinho.

Well Gregory's record while at Villa blows McLeish's out of the water.

Hence why I loved him when he was here but since then the guy has totally lost the plot.

I think Mantis is either Gregory's agent or PR manager.......

Bring in Gregory. We're a club in distress and something drastic needs to be done.

Tell me you're joking?

The guy hasn't managed in the premier league for years, has failed everywhere he's been post Villa and you want him as manager?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

And Gregory is the very definition of desperate.

Bring in Gregory. We're a club in distress and something drastic needs to be done.

Tell me you're joking?

The guy hasn't managed in the premier league for years, has failed everywhere he's been post Villa and you want him as manager?

Some interesting comments on here, I am lucky to travel with work and have been to a few countries. Nike, like Adidas often have their own branded shops. I have yet to see a Villa shirt hanging in any of those shops so they are not promoting or increasing overseas sales for the club.

That said, the training gear from Nike is decent and I have quite a bit of it for football and casual wear. The point is for me, and it may sound a bit snobbish, but am I going to walk round wearing Macron training/casual wear? Am I heck, so if there are others like me (and I suspect there might be a few) then I suspect merchandising outside of shirt sales will fall quite noticeably.

Bang on the money. Nike's Villa training gear is decent so I also suspect that sales of the training kit will drop significantly.

He was shit today. He should have actually been sent off.

Not according to the pundits. Unless you saw something they didn't?

Warnock is doomed here. Even if he turned it round and had the greatest finish to a season anyone's ever had, the fans will still hate him.

No they won't. :?

Ok, i've exaggerated.

But the point is, if he played every game like he played today, he'd be a good fullback.

But today has proved even if he has a good game, people just say he was shit.

But he had a very poor game (as usual) today.

No he didn't have a poor game today, you just cannot give him any credit at all. He made no more mistakes than any other player on the pitch. To deny he has played ok in games this season suggests you are either unable to offer a balanced view or you just have an agenda against Warnock.

I'm glad he isn't going to drop him, doing so would be a mistake because as was shown at Wolves Warnock even in his current form he is our best option.

Completely agree.

He can often give the impression he's doing well, particularly with some of his last minute lunges

In reality, he isn't, he's forever passing to the opposition and getting sucked infield

You can't give him any credit at all can you? Out of interest did yoyu go to The Emirates or watch it on tv?

Unfortunately getting booed is part of the modern day enterainment that is football. Players can get booed by their own fans, by away fans and by fans that spent previous years singing and praising them just because they moved teams. Top level players can't be so stupid as to not know this. What they earn has no relevance to the boo's it's the industry that they work in. To give a comparisson Comedians get heckled at shows if someone thinks that they aren't funny or providing sufficent enertainment levels? Should this be debated?

At the end of the day a lot of players were subject to dogs abuse all their career but it gave many of them the strength and determination to succeed. My advice to Warnock would be relax, concentrate and play like you have the potential to, the boo's will stop as they find someone to pick on!

Agree with the post, unfortunately the boo boys are too focused on his errors to recognise when he plays well and give credit when it's due, and for that reason the boos won't stop.

Lay off Hutton, he played well last night

On TV he did......

Pot kettle black......

I took my 7yo son there last night. We sat in the Lower Holte and watched the OG go in about 3 rows behind where it was. As soon as it happened there were loads of fans screaming abuse at Warnock, really nasty stuff he could quite obviously hear while lying on his back wanting the ground to swallow him up with a look of disbelief on his face. Then when all the other players (including Dunne) had walked off and left him there, it was only Given who went to him, put his arm on his shoulder and tried to offer some comfort. As he did that, the whole stand booed. It was absolutely sickening and I saw the shocked and upset look on my son's face, he couldn't understand how fans could turn on their player like that. I was 50/50 whether to just get up and walk out at that point, leaving the arseholes to their bile. We stuck it out only to hear Warnock getting booed on every touch, but a fantastic performance in the 2nd half. Obviously McLeish had a word with him at HT as he seemed really determined to put it right and him and Hutton were both great on the flanks in the 2nd half.

I was left thinking last night that perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing if we got relegated because hopefully the idiots would lose interest and only leave Villa to the real supporters.

Great post about shameful behaviour. We can all lose our head and say things we shouldn't at a football match but to single out a play for such vitriol demonstrates a real lack of empathy from one human to another. We've all seen it before going back to the treatment meted out to Spink, Gage and Cascarino (although I have a lot less sympathy with him knowing what I now know).

I'm not Warnock's biggest fan but the lad must be playing under enormous pressure at the moment knowing that the fans are going to jump on his back at the first sign of a hesitant pass. If you've ever played football you'll know how key confidence is in your overall performance and how a few bad passes can really set the tone for the rest of your performance. Imagine that with 30000 critics ready to unleash their venom upon you. I think he demonstrated incredible steel to put in the second half performance that he did under the circumstances. I think it's fair enough to say 'you pays your money your takes your choice' and football is an emotional game which is why it remains as popular as it is. But you also have to consider that you're dealing with human beings who make mistakes and have feelings.

Agree wholeheartedly. As one poster said, there are too many 'fans' turning up hoping for Warnock to make a mistake just so that they can boo him. I'd suggest they look up the definition of supporter.

No I had a ticket but didn't use it

The fact I saw the incident on tv and watched the slo mos over and over have helped me draw my conclusion

Did the tv show his off the ball running in the second half to support N'Zog which took defenders away? Generally the cameras focus on the ball and don't always pick up what's happening elsewhere on the pitch.

As any good coach will say it's as much the work you do when you haven't got the ball as when you have the ball.

I can't honestly believe that Warnock deliberately scored an own goal last night. Whilst his performances have been indifferent this season I couldn't question his integrity.

You are entitled to your opinion but I think that comment is very unfair.

.

If the football was brillantly exciting in the first 30 minutes why was the ground like a morgue? possession and shots do not on it's own show good football. QPR were dire and were clearly there for the taking.

the crowd is nearly always like that, make more noise to complain than support the team

qpr spent most of the game defending for their lives

the team obviously played for mcliesh and are not as bad as a lot of people on here make out

It's a complete myth that we played dire football in the first half. 68% possession, 8 shots and a goal from open play is hardly dire football.

unless we actually play like barcelona and start scoring 7 a game being top of the league. haters ill always call big eck negative and boring

Spot on.

I said after the everton attempt I'd be keeping an eye in him because the everton "attempt" struck me at the time as looking deliberate too ! I'm not trolling, I'm genuinely concerned by this

Sorry but are you being serious? Were you at VP last night?

Done ok, deserves credit for his performance. Still room for improvement though.

Anyone who's played the game will know he meant that

Were you at the game last night?