ROTTERDAM1982

Bolton away 3 points, Stoke away , hard fought draw. I'm not blinkered, and if i thought McL was the problem then i too would want him gone, but on saturday we played as well as i have seen them play for years, against Stoke i thought we showed defensive resiliance, and against Arse we were unlucky i felt.Even today we played some good possession football, but we did'nt look sharp enough in and around the penalty area.How many times did we have the ball on the edge of the area and not get a shot away? Swansea did to us what we did to Chelsk on Sat, defend on the 18 yrd box, and catch them on the counter, but i still am to be convinced that booing them off at half time, and booing substitutions is goinfg to help.If i was an opposition manager playing Villa i would tell them to keep it tight for 20 mins, and then the home crowd will get on their back and then we can take advantage.........ad thats whats happening.

Coincedence pacbuddies that at present we play better away?

T o be fair gilberto , you was spot on in your analysis, as was DD.We defended well on sat, defended deep, and caught them on the counter, but in the Prem , Warnock, Collins, Cuellar, Petrov, and Clark are too slow really, you can play a couple of them , but we was too frightened of their pace wide today, and consequently did'nt feel confident to close them down quickly enough.Add too that , the fact that with Gabby and Bent in the team, for all their attributes, being a skilful footballer is'nt one of them, neither has a good touch, both are better suited for away matches. We got caught cold today, 2 early goals pave4d the way for a lacklustre performance, not in my eyes McLs fault tbh.

Just got back , and i thought our fans were pathetic today. Swansea had 2 goals given to them, one at the start of each half.They keep the ball well Swansea, and by giving them the early goal you play into their hands, you keep the ball, keep patient, and await for an opening to happen and strike back.What do the crowd do, whinge and moan and boo.Come H/T , and still in the game, and the crowd boo them off, 2 days after beating Chelsk away. 2nd half he went 3 at the back for a while, pushes Warnock up and tries to play further up the pitch.What happens, Collins plays the ball back to the goalie when a square pass to Dunne was the better option, the goalie kicks the ball to Routledge(did it go out?), and then 3 defenders stand around and watch whilst he scores. Then a lot of huff and puff, keeping the ball, but not much creativity, so he takes Ireland off to bring Albrighton on to go 4-4-2, with 2 wingers, so needing 2 defensive midfielders,and what happens, all the tactical genius' in the crowd tell him he does'nt know what hes doing.Albrighton plays well for 20 mins, and puts some quality crosses in, so the substitution actually worked.The fact is Bent and Gabby can't play together as a strike pair, but McL would have been criticised for that. Sometimes you get what you deserve, we did'nt want McL, we did'nt want Hou. or MON, or BL, or Gregory, or DOL, or anybody come to that. McL has been dealt a bad hand, no money, limited players, and a lot of maybe kids, he got it spot on on sat, and Warnock/Collins blunders today got it wrong for us. lets just sack McL and lose another £5/6m shall we?

Never been a big fan of Petrov, but for me that was his best ever performance for Villa today.His partnership with Clark imho is a better partnership than any other he has been involved in. I'd make Clark captain now.

Well if thats the case, Petrov showed more fight in the tunnel than he did on the pitch. At least N'Zog did'nt hide today.**** off Petrov, and take Warnock, Dunne, Collins and Heskey with you. No fight, no desire, no commitment, no professionalism, an absolute disgrace.

And Herd, who i like, fell asleep and left his man.Regardless of where Hutton should have been, it was not the best cross in the world, and should have been easily dealt with.

Luke Young is the opposite of AH, completely overrated FB, who was talked up when he was out injured. Neither were anywhere near Kyle Walker, but out the 2 i definatley prefer AH tbh.Never ever rated LY.Would have bought Onohua or Kyle Naughton myself.

If he sold it tomorrow, he would'nt get all his money back.Full stop. Citeeeeeh have changed the landscape.Them and Ure are definates for the top4.So we have to compete with Lplop, Arse, Chelsk and Spuds, and with all the will in the world, we don't generate the income they do, hence i believe the change of direction. You go back 3 years ago, there was no Citeeeeh, and no Spuds, that was our chance when MON was in charge, and we did'nt manage it.I don't blame him for reigning the funds in, we went for it, we did'nt do it, change of direction needed.A definate Yes for me.

You don't buy PL clubs to make money.Only really Ure make any money.He might be charging interest, but overall if he sold the club tomorrow he would'nt get his money back.Know to me that means he has some kind of affection for the club, and wants to do the right thing.The appointment of McL was a strange one, but overall i think Mr Learner has done enough to earn a bit more respect.

What was Collins doing for the goal, and more to the point what was Dunne doing.He's not the best RB we have ever had, but hes not as bad as some on here make out.The pass to Heskey was the best pass any Villa player did nin the whole game, and Hutton was probably our best player.

I could'nt imagine HDE putting £180m of his own money into us. You have to be careful what you wish for, 2 years ago randy was the perfect chairman, now hes out of his depth.He invested , and had a go under MON, it did'nt work, he probably wants to take stock and have a look at the situation.The thinking, presumably , of appointing McL was to steady the ship in a transitional period, it has'nt worked out so far, lets see how he deals with it. This nonsense that it is all in loans, he will only get all his money back if he gets what he payed for it, plus what he has put in, hes not likely to get that, so in effect he has given money to the club, and we should be grateful for that.

And get who? We have to accept that Mr Leaner is as good as we are going to get.And i'm ok with that.McL looks like a mistake, but its how he deals with that, does he give him time, money or the sack? He has ploughed in about £180m, and we are still complaining.

Petrov is holding us back tbh.Nice bloke, but too slow, too immobile, too jaded.Was a bit disappointed with Delph yday, and Herd needs to be more positive, but together they protected the back line quite well yday, and they will get better, Petrov won't. If the big issue wirh RL is the wage structure, then don't play Petrov, Heskey, Dunne, all the high wage earners the wrong side of 30, get rid in Jan or the summer, and buy a player like Capoue, or Sissokho, who would greatly improve the team, be on less wages, and if needs be have a sell on value. Thanks Stil, 1 good season in 5, no more than average, but time to move on. For all those Petrov fans , how many teams would he get in, in the Prem?Certainly none above us, thats for sure.

He did everything i want a FB to do yday apart from the stupid booking.He got tight, he pressurised a very good winger, he closed him down quickly.He supported well, and with a better ball from Delph, would either of scored or set up Bent. He is a bit headless, he reminds me of Eamonn Deacy, not the brightest, not the best, but give him a marking job and he'll do it well.

Lack of Confidence , that all it is.Against Ure 2 seasons ago he was the best player on the pitch, Rooney included.Class is permanant, form is temprorary

I really like N'zog......great 1st touch, always wants the ball, our one true dribbler who can beat a man with skill.He is too desperate for a goal.Is only 24, he could be a better player for us than either AYoung, or Downing.

Oh , hes everywhere Zatman. Meant Jenas.

His running off the ball, creating space for other players , was superb when he came on.The midfield of Herd, Ireland , and Herd had a really nice balance to it tbh.Was never a free kick in a million years anyway.

Good because i think that is his best role, and also the weakest part of our team. Is successful could save us a lot of money.

Very much agree with Mark. The introduction of Clark for Collins was quite telling for me, Clark is much more of a footballer, and always tried to play the ball out yday, i thought he played well.Ireland as well looked good when he got the ball, the trouble was the distribution from Warnock, Delph and Petrov was too long and too pedstrian with little movement. If Hutton is an example of his kind of signing then i think it is an indication of a desire for more pace and movement in the team.Contrast the amount of runs from Hutton to Warnock yday, Hutton always gave an option, Warnock only occasionally. Citeeeh are the best team in the prem, by quite a way for me, next week will be more of a guide.

Got outmuscled in the centre of the park, but at times played some nice football. Bannan has to start.Delph showed flashes of real quality, and sometimes is very naive.Thought N'Zog was unlucky to be taken off, but what a cross from Marc. Overall happy with a point. MOM Probably Given

Have to say after just watching the highlights , he looks an absolute nightmare defensively.Does'nt see danger, does'nt mark space, does'nt track back, no urgency, gets caught out of position. Hope he improves dramatically, certainly would'nt play him at Everton.

Is that the crap Hogg who was probably MOM against Ure? I think we are a bit too quick to write some of these youngsters off.We have about 10 youngsters coming through at the moment, and i think at least 4 could become top players, we probably need to give them a go.

I have been watching Villa for 40 years, and now go to about 15/20 games a season, i can't think of 1 game when i have said petrov had a good game. He is average at best, and to be quite honest holds the team back with his pedestrian distribution.Mortimer is right, get him out of the team, preferably out of the club, and use the money saved to get a quality replacement like Parker or Diarra or Capoue, or Mariga, or try the kids. Petrovs time has come and gone, likeable fella, apparently a very nice bloke, but should'nt be in the team.