ozvillafan

I noticed something in his game vs Everton that I have not noticed before: He drops off defensively. That is, he doesn't stick with his opposite number. He drops 10 yards and gives space to see what they are going to do. If they pass, he then doesn't track that player, he just drops to a zonally defensive position. I don't think that helps the defensive pairing behind him. It simply gives the opposition the time to consider their next pass. I'd prefer a DM that man-marks - like Delph, who will harry his target and not give him a moments peace. Am I imagining this? Was this simply because Everton had more bodies in midfield? Or is this his usual habit?

Benteke blew 2 chances, Wieman 1 and Gabby 1. Realistically, we *should* have scored all 4. You can't do that and expect to win games. Clark moving across and leaving Lukaku for Osman who was already surrounded by 4 Villa shirts was criminal. That said, much better than some of the dross I have seen so far this year - but we gotta find some form. No goals in 3 games now.

Was listening to Bosnich the other day (he's a pundit now) talking about Joe Hart after Man City's loss to us. He mentioned that when a team is playing a bit off or the defence is having a bad day, that's when you need your GK to step up and give you a chance of at least winning a point and providing some confidence and encouragement to the team that they can still turn it around. (And, obviously, Man City don't have this). So happy we have Guzan!

I'm not seeing the problem. Honestly, I'm not. That's not to say our football is great - it isn't - but we are clearly still a work in progress. We added more new faces this year, all young and inexperienced. Some are still finding their feet (Tonev, Kozak), some have been thrown straight in (Luna, Bacuna), and some are injured (Okore). It will take some time for them to gel. What we should expect is some progress - and we are seeing that. We are defending better (Vlaar, Clarke much improved), some players individual performance is improving (Delph, KEA, Vlaar, Clarke) and we are picking up results while being generally competitive (compared to being hammered at times last season) in a tough and disjointed start to the season. Yes, Lambert has had to work to a budget - but, then, most managers do. He is still shipping out the old and bringing in cover/competition. He should be in a position this summer where he can get rid of the last of the dross and add the 1 or 2 players that will improve us (like a CAM/Winger) and the progress should continue. I had hoped that we would see more of an improvement, as I believe the turmoil at the top of the table is an opportunity we may not get next season, but I'm not disappointed with our performances so far. We will get better.

Out of curiosity - is "left" in this instance towards the Holte End?

So what you're saying is you want a World Cup..... ... that doesn't represent the entire world?

There is a case for Webber using his tyres up quicker, as he weighs in almost 5kg heavier than Vettel. Still, he did question the 3 pit strategy while still in the race, knowing that while it didn't take him out of contention - it certainly did help Vettel a great deal.

I always justified Young's diving for us since - being our main threat - he was almost always double-teamed. That, and during his best years for us the defenders did try to kick lumps out of him to stop him. Better to go to ground than end up on the injured list. United don't have the limitation in attack like we did, so Young's diving is harder to justify for them.

Might be - we really don't know anything for sure. That said, I don't remember this happening for McLeish or Houllier... or even MON.

Interesting article. What impressed me most about the win against Man City was not the way we played, nor the result. It was the way both KEA and Bacuna sprinted to the bench after scoring - with Bacuna embracing Lambert. You don't get that if you are hands off. You do get that if you have actually made a difference to the individuals that make up the team. Things are looking up.

Love it.

6-0 flattered Australia. It was 4-0 after 30 mins and 6-0 after 50. Sacking should have come earlier - it was evident in the qualifiers that the squad (with an average age of 30) and their tactics was not going to cut it.

Unsurprisingly, our midfield 3 are different in their attributes: - Delph tackles hard and likes to take on the opposition with his runs - KEA harries, plays short passes and moves into space - Westwood plays deep, has an eye for a pass and is usually the target when playing out of defense I wouldn't call Delph head and shoulders above the rest - but I would say that he is playing well because of the roles taken by Westwood and KEA. Take them out of the equation and Delph's influence is stifled.

He strikes me as an intelligent footballer that thrives on instinct.... ... but that leads to impulsiveness. He often tries to do a little too much which results in a lost opportunity rather than pick his moments and, at times, just put a foot on it. Still, that will come with experience, good coaching and confidence - all of which he is getting under Lambert.

Perhaps. It certainly would have made us that much more competitive. But it was too expensive for our wage structure and the fee was more than the owner would put up in the last window. Having said that, Lerner has backed Lambert in both off-seasons. Seeing as we have a full squad now, the next season should see us able to "splurge" our small amount of transfer budget on a more expensive acquisition or 2. Hopefully more if we sell Benteke for the motza he is worth.

Theres definitely an opportunity this season to move right up the table into the top seven as i don't think the overall quality is great and we didn't need to spend a massive amount to do that. With keeping Benteke and the addition of 2-3 better quality players to solve our weaknesses in midfield we could have been in a much stronger position to achieve that. The problem is i believe our chairman is happy with us staying in the Premiership while the club's finances are brought in line for a sale so signings such as a Sissoko or one of the other AMs we were apparently interested in maybe will have to wait until there's a new owner at Villa Park or our chairman falls back in love with the club again. Until then we'll all have to 'suck' on players such as KEA or wait on the windfall from the sale of Benteke to improve if Lambert gets all the revenue generated which i doubt. You're right about the opportunity to move up this season, I just don't think we were in the position to take advantage. We still needed some cover for a lot of positions (left and right fullback, for instance) and that is what constituted the majority of our off season purchases. At the end of this season, though, we have a squad that has adequate cover, fits the wage bill and is completely made up of Lambert's players. As such, we *should* be buying the Kiyotake's or the Sissoko's or whomever that would make the difference for us in the summer. I have a little more faith in our owner and am confident this is will take place.

A bit disjointed - hardly surprising given the Benteke size hole we have in attack and Gabby obviously not 100%. We looked best when our midfielders and fullbacks took on the defense - especially Delph and Bacuna. However, we didn't do this enough and lumped a lot of ball at Kozak, who struggled to win possession. Clean sheet. 1 point. We can and will do better. We go again.

Not necessarily. If the intended target is Bannan, then there is a good chance we lose possession thanks to his lack of physical attributes in winning the ball. If it's Benteke, however.... Personally, I'm not overly fussed with the amount of possession we have: It is entirely possible to hold onto the football for the vast majority of the time yet never venture past halfway. What really makes the difference is what you do with the ball once you have it - "effective possession", as it were. Considering how many goals we are scoring so far this season against the quality of opposition we have faced, our "effective possession" is rather good.

Norwich have not lost at home in this calendar year. Couldn't handle the Villa though.

I think you are correct with the definition. However, most people read "long ball" as "hoof football" - where the only aim is to lump it forward into space at every opportunity and hope that your forwards can pick up the scraps.

It had more to do with our set up than anything else. Bacuna and Luna were our only "wide" men, with the central 3 defenders mostly staying in and around the box. With our wide men defending, and our midfield 3 clustered and deep - we had little out ball other than lump it forward. Sacrificing 1 of the central back 3 would have allowed us to go 4-4-2 or even 4-5-1 which would have given us more width, more immediate cover and more options when coming out of defense. Something we should be doing at home considering Villa Park is one of the bigger fields in the PL.

You just missed Bosnich, then..... ... mind you, some of Guzan's kicking yesterday reminded me of Bosnich!

Wasn't impressed with Sylla yesterday. In fact, I thought he was the weak link in our midfield. He looks a yard off the pace and didn't track his man when they pushed forward. Gave away possession a bit too easily too. I like him though, but would stick with KEA, Delph and Westwood for now.

After seeing our lineup (shown as 3-5-2 on the telly) I thought McLeish was still around. 8 defensive minded players on the pitch. What really stood out for me, though, was the celebration for our first 2 goals - both KEA and Bacuna ran straight to the bench, Bacuna embracing Lambert. We have a team here. A real team. And you can thank Lambert for that. Good times.

So important to us. - won the freekick that Bacuna scored from - scored himself with tireless chasing - set up the play for our goal last week all while not being in the best of form. The goal will do him the world of good - and I loved the celebration. What a top kid. I see a really bright future for him.