pete165

STOP GETTING SO BLOODY DOWN ON THE TEAM!!!!!!!!!

The negativity on here is getting boring.

It's 0-0, cheer your team on for a bit and you never know, you might get some joy out of life .

I really do wonder whether I'm the only person on this site that isn't totally depressed!

Im getting to the point now where I wish McLeish was brown bread. And I'm not usually a nasty or spiteful person but the world would be a much better place without him

except for the fact that he's a really decent, nice bloke.

the great thing about this line-up is that bannan, gardner and albrighton have played countless reserve games together. can't wait.

Watching the McLeish interview leaves me with no hope.

He was happy with that.

Ridiculous.

ALEX - WE EXPECT MORE THAN YOU DO.

WE ARE ASTON VILLA

We have very few quality players at the club.

We left two of the them on the bench.

We got better when they came on.

Of course the reason we're 15th and not 6th is because we've sold our best players and bought dross, but when you don't play what you do have at your disposal, you've got no chance.

Absolutely shambolic.

Yes, Man City are a better team than us, with better players.

Yes, we've sold Young and Downing and we're playing lesser quality players like Albirghton, Heskey and Hutton.

But do not go out and give it a go is just shameful.

The performances here, against Spurs etc are why McLeish needs to leave this football club. It's just too negative and I don't get any entertainment or joy from watching us anymore.

A few things:

-Mcleish has been negative in some games, but is now getting us to play better football. Anti-football is just not true.

-The main reason we're struggling to be consistent and win games this season is because we've sold our best players.

-Yes, some guys like Hutton have underperformed, but could improve in time.

-NZogbia will end up money well spent once he has a full season under his belt.

I'm no McLeish fan, but I'm certainly not a fan of hyperbolic comment of the like that I read on here on an almost daily basis.

come on villa

show the moaners that you can do it

prove them wrong

Some of the comments on here are just laughable. Yes, it's disappointing, yes we want our team to win.

But the most embarrassing and negative aspect of Villa tonight has been on here. I'm not joking.

Keep playing well Villa - bad goals conceded but we'll be ok.

For anyone not watching, we're actually playing quite well and have been hit by sucker punches. It's not all bad news.

Don't believe the hyperbole on here. Some people are so down on us from the start, they almost deserve their own team to lose.

If you think about it properly instead of witch-hunting hutton, we just don't have that many good players any more. It's as simple as that.

Given is a good keeper, but none of the others in the back 5 are any good really. They're just not. Dunne and Collins are rash, Warnock and Hutton uncomfortable in possession for modern full-backs and the saviour Cuellar is a decent player but nothing more - his distribution is poor.

In midfield, we have some young talent in Gardner, Bannan and Albrighton, but none are really special if we're truthful. Petrov, Ireland and NZogbia are the only ones with any actual class and Petrov is getting on a bit now unfortunately.

Up front (not counting Keane on loan), Gabby hasn't kept his form going, Bent is a good finisher but offers little else and has stopped working as hard as when he arrived. There's nothing else there.

Yes, we capitulated but look at the season as a whole and the squad as a whole.

The reason we're mid table and prone to being ripped apart and not looking like a good side is this - we just AREN'T a good side.

We don't have enough good players. It's as simple as that.

McLeish isn't a great manager - we know that. But the reason we're no longer the team we were is because we sold our best players.

Quite why people can't understand that is beyond me.

losing by the odd goal at arsenal is not a disgrace.

but the manner in which we've capitulated has been particularly disappointing.

we should have expected the onslaught and just couldn't cope.

Why? because they have MUCH better players than us.

good ball in from ireland there. he's played well.

we've been absolutely murdered at full back second half and the difference in class has been massive.

we could've conceded 6 today, without question.

awful capitulation but nothing we didn't know before - we're suspect and lacking pace at the back and we only have one player (Ireland) who is comfortable with the ball in tight areas.

alan hutton truly awful. no wonder redknapp got rid.

great save from given. we really are poor. yet again.

this can't continue much longer.

just no sense of us making the pace of the game or being able to play any real football.

it's always the same:

hutton with poor passes, collins trying to win tackles he can't and giving away fouls and bent getting nothing up front.

i'm fed up of this.

what a surprise - we're shocking and nervous in possession.

being outpassed YET AGAIN.

great shrewd ball from ireland to hutton - nice shot from albrighton.

better there.

--------------------------Given-----------------------------

---Hutton---------Collins------Dunne--------Warnock----

----------------Petrov-----------Clark----------------------

------Zog-----------------------------------------Gabby----

---------------------Ireland----------------------------------

------------------------------Bent-----------------------------

Bench: Guzan, Keane, Albrighton, etc.

away at arsenal. whoops.

-----------------------Guzan----------------------

---Hutton------Collins------Dunne----Warnock--

-----------------Ireland-------Petrov----------------

----Albrighton-----------------------------Zog-----

--------------Bent-------Agbonlahor---------------

Like it except for ireland. He just can't play there. Has to be off the striker or as a front 3.

This is where our best formation dilema starts. I thought the line up against swansea would be our strongest.

it's accommodating ireland that makes it difficult, as someone has to drop out.

Sort of agree - I've picked what I think is our best XI but you're right, Ireland is going to have to play further up the pitch. We need a better second holding mid than Clark though - who passes it back too often for my liking. I'd have thought that in a game which we should dominate, we could just about get away with such an attacking team.

-----------------------Guzan----------------------

---Hutton------Collins------Dunne----Warnock--

-----------------Ireland-------Petrov----------------

----Albrighton-----------------------------Zog-----

--------------Bent-------Agbonlahor---------------

Anyone who comes on this thread today to criticise Petrov is an idiot.

He's been excellent this season, came off against Chelsea and was in no condition to play today.

He was out on his feet and should never have been playing.

What today showed was that if you 'invest' in a style of football over a period of time (Martinez, then Rogers) then you have shape, guile and passing ability - proper football.

We've sold players, changed managers and we're all over the shop. It's not a huge surprise.

If there was a vision of Aston Villa from the top that was about football, the idea of Martinez being approached, then McLeish just doesn't make any sense.

No shots. AGAIN.

dreadful

it will have to get worse before it gets better.

it's a truly sad day when you have that little faith in your manager, that you look at the fixtures and think 'well if we get beat at home here, here and here, he might get sacked' - sadly, that's what I'm almost hoping for.

Specific problems:

Bent might as well have been shopping

Full backs looked uncomfortable on the ball

Too many long balls

Poor passing

Petrov and Clark clearly knackered post-Chelsea

Outplayed, outpassed, outthought.

Dreadful shape