danceoftheshamen

^^^ This actually looks like a mock up of a "Most error prone or generally ineffective Villa side ever" Scary!

Absolutely agree Smetrov The scary thing is our fixture list is perfectly set up for such a collapse in fact i would even go so far as to say it is inevitable with our run starting with Arsenal away.

Well i said going into the QPR game that we needed 12 points from the next 6 games (discounting the obvious surrender against Man City)to take the heat off & for me that was exactly why Keane was brought in to get us the required points from those fixtures. I had us down as follows QPR (H) WIN .............Actual DRAW Necastle (a) DRAW... ..Actual LOST Man City (H) LOSS...... Actual LOST Wigan (A) DRAW............Actual ???? KEANE LEAVES Blackburn (A) DRAW....Actual???? Fulham (H) WIN..........Actual???? Bolton (H) WIN...........Actual???? Total Pts i guessed at = 10 (allowing for a slip up against either Fulham or Bolton) Actual achieved so far from those 6 with 2 + City played = 1 So we now need to win 3 of the next 4 to be comfortable in my opinion which would put us on 37 points as we then have: Arsenal (A) LOSE Chelsea (H) DRAW Liverpool (A) LOSE Stoke (H) DRAW Man Utd (A) LOSE Sunderland (H) LOSE West Brom (A) LOSE Tottenham (H) LOSE Norwich (A) DRAW So i can only see 3 points from the remaining games realistically on current form... Even that would only have us finishing on 40 points! Too close for comfort for my liking & we best hope we beat the teams below us from now on in else we are really in it.

So let me get this straight We are going into a game against the League leaders desperately needing at least a draw, with a dismal home record behind us & needing everything possible behind the team to have any chance of getting a result...... .......... So we are going to protest at the game?! You really couldn't make it up :x

Have to say i was both completely unsurprised that we let a 2-0 lead slip so pathetically today & also that i was very suprised that McCleish said pre game on Sky that James Collins had said he didn't want to play as he "felt he would struggle against Arsenals speed & therefore wouldn't do himself justice"? :? On the 1st count i said to the missus at half time that we would now go & lose the game..& i meant it too as it's just how this feeble squad handles a pressure situation... They collapse...a bit like the England cricket team. This they have proven to me over & over again under whichever manager includingO'neill so i don't specifically blame McCleish for this.. Basically we have a soft underbelly as we showed with massive failures when we had worked so hard to get into the top 4 at Christmas & also weak performances in the Semi & Cocoa Cola finals under O'neil...Its what this team is made of sadly.... They prove they can do it by getting into good positions & then.. when the chips are down & the going gets tough...They self destruct spectacularly.. Todays game was a micrcosm of that.. So for me i really do not know on McCleish as it stands just as i would not know how good a racing car driver was if he was driving a car which was slower that half the other drivers had he was racing against. Horrid situation which i simply cannot see improving until we have replaced half of this team. As for the Collins comments i just thought they were a bit odd i guess? This isn't a sign that the criticism he receives constantly has affected his confidence is it?

Looks like you may get your wish Zatman! LINK: http://tinyurl.com/6njg7pk ""Fabian Delph today urged Villa boss Alex McLeish to let him extend his loan spell at Leeds United until the end of the season. The 22-year-old midfielder’s current deal at Elland Road runs to February 25 but Delph is keen to remain at the Championship club longer. Delph said: “That would be an absolute dream for me if I get the nod to stay till the end of the season. “I would like to be playing football and if I can play here I’ll be delighted, because this is my home club and this is where I’ve always been happiest.”" Not what you should be saying whilst employed by another team in my opinion!... Disrespectful surely?!

Went to the game today & well... erm! That was basically football suicide was it not?! Shocking performance but then what the heck do we expect when we gift a goal within 4 minutes of each half to a side with a very good defence?! It was game over after 4 minutes. Straight away their tails were up due to shocking, abysmal defending & the thing was we kept on doing the same thing which for me is bad coaching. It appears the players are being coached to "pass it back to the keeper" if there is the slightest risk coming at them & for me swansea simply rumbled this & were waiting for exactly that..Twice it paid off for them & the game was lost before it started. as for the attacking prowess we displayed in our feeble attempts to get back into it well please don't get me started on that. Basically poor, negative coaching which was rumbled by the opposition. Also i have lost count of the times crosses are put over by our central defenders & they never ever find their man.. Surely it should be our wingers & midfielders putting in the final ball? Although having said that Nzog's final ball is possibly the worst i have ever witnessed,,He laid it back for Ireland at Chelsea for sure but i think thats what... 1 in 50? Shocking really really shocking! All round an utter embarrasment to witness & i have to say i expected much better especially after the Chelsea result. As for the atmosphere?! :shock:

I think our main problem is that we have been in "transition" for longer than any other team in the Prem.. We have new players trying to settle in whilst at the same time the management constantly changing above their heads!.. Let us not forget that in the summer we lost Freidel,Young x 2, Downing, Sidwell & a whole host of other fringe players. We also changed manager AGAIN & completely, for the 2nd season running, changed our footballing ethos! That is an awful lot for any team to cope with & we havn't even taken into account Given, Nzog & Hutton having to settle in, the injury problems of Jenas & indeed the fact that due to the ridiculously drawn out nature of finding a manager which took place, we didn't have a very settled pre season either.. So i think we have to look at positives here.. McCleish & co are starting to find out our strengths both individually & collectively & for me there are now clear signs of improvement. It has for sure taken rather too long to reach this point & sometimes it has been circumstances which have fortuitously highlighted something rather than expert analysis.. I.E Hutton getting injured & Cuellar coming in coinciding with a sudden defensive improvement & Jenas's injury possibly giving Stevie Ireland his chance But do you know what? I don't give a monkeys!!! Many of the best managers have "got lucky" sometimes & the fact is that regardless of how it came about we are improving despite all of the above & for the 1st time this season i have now purchased a match ticket, for the Swansea game. I now want to see some shrewd business done in the tranfer window & us to get through the massive 2 year learning curve we have experienced since MON's departure by finishing this season strongly. I love this club & have decided it's time to get up, dust myself down after all the bitter disappointments we have all had to endure & do my bit again..Time to support this great old club once more & not be a hindrance to it by feeding the negativity pool which lets be honest does no good whatsoever!

^^^ I thought exactly the same until later the same day i saw a clip of him doing exactly the same celebration..........FOR SUNDERLAND!.. I guess a lot of players know it will be well received by the fans of whichever club they play for so do it as a norm regardless of who they play for!

Well trying to be as positive as possible i thought it at least stopped the rot of successive defeats.. Defence- We battled well & defended much better though it's clearly the sides with a bit of finesse we can't defend against rather than the likes of Stoke... Still it does look like the defence is at last starting to tighten up somewhat & compete better. Thought we looked so much more solid with Cuellar back at RB instead of Hutton. Midfield- So little creativity it's scary.. I thought Albrighton was shocking tonight i have to say as was NZog... Both got in loads of good positions but what they did from there was frankly amateurish. This for me is a major part of our problem...Bannan, Albrighton, Nzog, Delph & Fonz are simply not producing with anywhere near enough consistency & all look completely bereft of confidence... They need dropping in my opinion but for whom exactly?! Strikers- Well this for me wouldve been exactly the game Bent would have nicked for us... As it was Gabby was looking decent & i actually thought Heskey influenced the game very well in the 1st half & was instrumental in upsetting their rhythm.. Hit the post too & that was the 1st game he has impressed me in this season! As for fonz? Well i thought he looked & retained posession better.. To summise i thought there were actually signs that McCleish was starting to finally stamp his mark on us defensively & with a couple of additions in Jan (which we desperately need) particularly in midfield i think we can stabilise & ensure we remain in this division... Then start to move on in the summer with some badly needed investment.. It's not pretty but this season is now all about surviving for me. We ain't gonna win jot thats for certain so it's clearly a massive transitional season nothing more. I have to say we all, including me, come on here moaning etc but the fact is nobody appeared to want to manage this club given the impossible set of instructions that came with it... Martinez, Benitez, & goodness knows how many others all came, heard the circumstances & ran away asap from the job EVEN THE WIGAN MANAGER FFS! so for me it's higher up than AMC that we have to worry about.

I was listening to commentary on Sky to another game tonight & they were mentioning how Roberto Martinez always tells his teams that it's Ok to lose so long as they don't lose by the same mistakes again. Then i saw we YET AGAIN had lost to a late goal Conceded YET AGAIN 2 goals for the zillionth time over the last 3 seasons. 1 YET AGAIN from a set piece! Still good to see we learn from OUR mistakes :?

Burton on Trent is a mix of Villa, Derby, (though most of the Derby fans appear to double up as Liverpool & Man u fans too), Manu, Liverpool with some Chelsea & once in a while you may see a young nose though not too often.. Quite a lot of Villa considering it is some 35 miles away i guess though it is pretty diverse up here... In the locals they get busiest when Man u play but then we are almost as close to Old Trafford here as Villa Park.. & 99% of that lot are merely gloating top wearers as you would expect.

^^ Totally agree with this.. I can't even stand watching us on TV let alone PAY to watch that cr*p.. Just listening to Mclueless on the weekly post mortem & the way Kevin Keegan is laying the boot in to him is clear evidence that people in the know in the game can see our point so why not Randy et al? John Barnes was saying how McLeish should now just come out & state what he is all about instead of keeping up this ridiculous pretence that he will get us playing attacking football etc.. Basically he is all about this dull boring anti-football which i find really baffling considering he learnt his trade of Fergie?P! :shock: It hurts me to say it but i will never go whilst we are playing this stuff.. I would rather go & pluck the grass on my lawn & count the worms.

I have never "got" the Heskey thing.... He adds a bit of solidity up front at the ridiculous cost of Goal scoring potential. How do you figure that? How on earth do you decide that it's better to have a little bit more solidity & presence up front when it is to the detriment of our scoring potential?...I just don't get it. Go back to our attack just before MON signed Heskey....# Carew, Gabby, Young etc & we were on a very hot scoring streak regularly scoring 3,4 & 5 a game..... Then Heskey comes..Scores the goal in a 1-0 away win at Portsmouth & thats it.. Our goal tally completely changes to 0, 1 & 2's How come this was never noticed?! Bizarre.. very bizarre In the 14 Premiership games before Heskey came we scored 25 goals & conceded 14 In the 14 after his arrival we scored just 15 goals!! & conceded 24 goals!! So we went from a +11 Goal difference to a -9 GD!! In the games leading up to his arrival of the top 4 sides we played Man U (H), Arsenal (H&A) & Chelsea (A) so 4 in total After his arrival of the top 4 sides we played Chelsea (H), Liverpool (A) & Man U (A) so 3 in total! So we averaged 1.79 goals per game before he came & 1.07 after he came though our supposed extra solidity gave us a defensive average of 1 goal conceded per game before he came & 1.71 goals conceded per game after his arrival!! I rest my case.

Wow I wonder if we could set a new record of having the least possesion ever? At least we would have gotten something out of the game then!.. Anyone know what the lowest percentage over 90 minutes is? Gotta say too Heskey?! Yet again wastes a golden opportunity to level & it just baffles me how the heck he keeps getting a game? It's as good as the opposition having another central defender on. Cuellar?! how come he is the only one trying to put through balls through? Coz he is absolutely shocking at it & every time give the ball away. All in i thought maybe there were signs of improvement against Norwich but ...erm.. I missed the obvious..It was against Norwich.... & we had less possesion against them even!! Shocking truly shocking. Spurs havn't even started to play well yet thats what worries me... Positives?!..................... Well at least Cuellar has got some game time & Herd is getting an invaluable lesson (Lets just hope he doesn't get a red this half) Otherwise A team of very average 2nd rate players. Good to hear Neville commentating on Sky saying ""if Gabby has any sense he will see the likes of Young & Downing going on to better themselves at bigger clubs & realise he can do the same"" Its To**ers like him that tap our guys up on England duty when truth is if they had all stayed put for a few seasons we may well be challenging by now! So to the 2nd half Can't wait

Don't let's get carried away. Let's wait till January to see where the land lies. Hey please don't kill the 1st slightly positive feeling i've had for Villa for nearly 2 years!.. Let me enjoy my delusion a little longer... pleeeease!

Ah but you have to look at where he was! That was indeed an improvement over there ..

After reading the report below i have to admit i do feel a little better about all things Villa! It at least explains the thinking to a point.. 1. Stabilise after chaotic 12 months - understandable 2. Bring through youth - Love this though maybe a bit too much too quick? 3. Clear wage bill - Understandable 4. Bring in a few to help the kids & provide balance - Maybe 1 or 2 in Jan? 5. Try to qualify for Europe - Over to you McCleish! 6. Once back in Europe then move things forward once again - Good Plan! LINK: http://tinyurl.com/7rmpya4 ASTON VILLA OWNER Randy Lerner has spoken in depth for the first time about his reasons for appointing Alex McLeish - and believes this season has shown he has made the right choice. The decisions to appoint ex-Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish enraged some fans, prompting protests over the summer. But Lerner insists that McLeish was the best candidate to provide the club stability. McLeish arrived as the third manager in just over a year, with transfers for both Ashley Young and Stewart Downing in the air. Speaking on the club's website, Lerner said: "Paul [Faulkner, chief executive] and I felt that, above all, the club needed stability. "We needed a manager who would understand Villa and could bring credibility and experience to the dressing room and had chemistry with us and trust in our approach. "We researched and debated and discussed probably two dozen odd managers from all over until we came to feel that, despite Alex's last post, he met the criteria. "Not only is he affable and optimistic, well-liked and certainly well-respected among peers and players alike, but he fit our plan. "He fit our feeling that a modern manager needs to balance the hysterical urgency to win and win quickly with the equally crucial need to not squander the work of our academy. "The fans protests raised the stakes but, if we are right in terms of the fundamentals, then over time Alex will do as he's always done and that is make Villa better. "What Paul and I knew was that he had the right ingredients. With some good luck, and his trademark hard work and commitment, we felt our chances would be good. We felt his strengths simply outweighed any concerns. "When you spend time with Alex, a lot of the sensitivities go away very quickly. Time with Alex is not only engaging, it is compelling. He's pure football. That, in the end, is what you want." Lerner also revealed he was further convinced about the appointment when a letter arrived from Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, praising the decision. He added: "Sir Alex Ferguson wrote to me after the appointment, a proper letter, talking about his feelings about Alex. It was something you don't easily forget and it's now in a safe deposit box. Given what Sir Alex Ferguson means to the game of football, I don't think you could get many things that you would be more proud of, or reflect better on Alex McLeish." Lerner has also indicated that he's prepared to help strengthen the squad again - but also wants to deal with Villa's North Stand and improve Bodymoor Heath training ground. Lerner said: "I think Alex feels that we have some promising young players coming through and yet we also know that on this level there is no substitute for experience. Taken together, I'd say that we are focused on running Villa well and fighting to be in position, ultimately, to get back into Europe. If we can get that to happen, I'd expect that more will follow."

For me it's a bit of both. Today it appeared our tactics were get in at 0-0 at half time..It worked 2nd half appeared to be nick a goal & then defend it.. It almost worked. For me though our players, especially N'zog, Gabby & Delph had plenty of good openings/chances but fluffed the lot through poor decision making & generally unintelligent play. This of course cannot be the gaffers fault & he showed his disbelief at some of the cock-ups from those 3. Especially when Gabby was in a scoring position but instead of simply heading the ball over their player he made the wrong choice & they cleared.. Another time he beat Paddy Kenny in a foot race then hesitated & Kenny had the chance to come out of his area, tackle Gabby & take the ball back into his area. Stupid poor thinking was rife for us today up front & it was inevitable that a similar dumb moment this time in defence, would be our undoing also. For me AMC needs to realise our players are a touch too daft to succeed with his "no errors" tactics & that for me is his downfall at the moment. His style depends on one or 2 chances per game & no mistakes at the back... This will not happen very often with our players of that i am certain hence the lack of wins.

Houllier with Mcleish as defensive coach.. I reckon in fact that Mcleish is the polar opposite of Houllier. He is surely his anti-matter version?! as we are clearly devoid of creativity, imagination & flair though with a more sturdy defence than under GH who's ethos was totally the opposite with his aim being intelligent cultured football full of creativity & flair.. shame he never got to finish what he started so i guess we'll never know what he would have acheived this season with a pre-season & some more of his signings & time to replace the defence with his style of player. Combine the 2 however & you have a great manager.. Solid AMC defence with GH's creativeness & craft. Of the 2 i would prefer GH as frankly i cannot stand watching the boring, dull & uncreative rubbish we are currently witnessing.. Ok it may get lots of draws but football is a spectator sport so whats the point if it's boring to watch? The thing which scares me is it appears from an earlier post as though we have been creating less shots per game than any other side in the division? Well the thing is thats against some of the lesser teams :shock:. We have just lost at home to one of the most out of form sides in the Premiership in the only "cup" competition we realistically had any chance of going very far in & we could hardly muster a shot on target! :? I would have preferred to watch GH's Villa at least give it a go & show some creativity against such a poor side as Bolton & then if we'd lost at least i couldve watched a decent game. As it was it was like watching paint dry & we lost anyhow! & as for all the " we had lots of injuries" excuses well if RL hadn't sold an entire team including our 2 best players well maybe those injuries wouldn't have been such an issue?! We are s**t & i hate to say that but we just are. Poor to average sides are totally outplaying us at home & thats very worrying indeed. I wasn't really "anti- McCleish" either as i thought he would have the players here to be more attack minded but it appears he just cannot help himself with this dire mind numbingly tedious stuff we have the misfortune to be witnessing. Lets hope this was a case of "we don't wanna be in this competition this year" rather than we were actually that inferior to an out of sorts Bolton team.

Villa 1-1 Wolves Attendance 37,335

I was actually going to get one for the 1st time in years this season but then saw what was going on..or rather wasn't going on more like. I then saw the usual sale of our best to our closest rivals & then watched as all the teams we are supposedly trying to catch up with carried on spending vast amounts whilst we did the polar opposite.. Indeed some of the teams below us even obliterated us in the transfer window like Sunderland & Stoke albeit Stoke's was more upping the wage bill as opposed to big transfer fees. So i made a calculated decision to not proceed with the purchase of a ST very sadly as i simply could not see myself having many good days out in all honesty. Very disappointing as i was actually getting rather excited at the prospect of becoming a season ticket holder once again when i looked at the possibilities a couple of seasons ago & could see that this season i would be in a position to get one due to a change in circumstances. Also we were finally starting to be slightly competetive again despite the unpretty playing style. I also heard mention on the TV that we are now considered in with the like of Stoke, West Brom, Fulham etc so far as the banks are concerned? Well at least thats what the panel were saying?! Hence the sudden change in approach? Apparently we & others are being controlled by the banks who have bracketed us amongst the alsorans & therefore told us to reign it in? Odd how that doesn't count the same for certain other clubs?! :? Well that put the final nail in it for me so i guess a general apathy with football would be the answer. Man City & Chelsea have ruined it for me too..They have killed the dreams of football fans everywhere whilst creating a groundswell of glory hunting hangers on who do nothing but gloat & walk round in their token footy top having no attatchment to their club whatsoever yet have the gaul to have patronising digs at genuine fans of the local clubs. Of course the worst affected are mainly Chelsea, Man U & Liverpool although the new wave of Man City top wearers is guaranteed to be just around the corner. Then of course we have the FA & Media bias towards the usual teams ..which i most certainly don't need to name now do i? (which says it all really does it not) I guess in a warped way it's kind of nice to see other teams challenge instead of the same old guard of Liverpool, Man U & occasionally Arsenal but at least there was always still an outside chance then as we showed in 80/81 as did Everton & Blackburn on the odd occasion but now it's a closed shop... A monopoly practically & it's gonna self destruct if something isn't done about it pretty soon.. I for one have never felt so disinterested in it.. It's just something to do now but the dreams & belief have all but gone & thats dangerous because it wont be long untill people turn their attentions elsewhere as it becomes more & more pointless. I will still of course support Villa, it's in my blood. I have sweated, travelled to distant lands & indeed bled for my club but now its not a sport for me as to be a sport it has to be competetive surely? There has to be some chance of winning the prizes.. (& no i don't mean the Coca cola cup when many sides use it as a training competition for their reserves or game time for their "2nd string") So what exactly do you call taking part in a competition you have no possibility of winning?... A scam? ... A Con? .. or i guess you could say a pastime or hobby?! I would love to think that somehow we could overcome the odds & win the title but no.. If you got passed the Man U's, Chelsea's & Man City's you would hit the brick wall just behind them of biased officials so it really is no longer possible.... Shame on the powers that be for allowing this to happen.

Interesting! Just found this which is interesting for a few reasons LINK: http://tinyurl.com/6xnuwhl Liverpool chief insists club won't be held to ransom over Downing and Adam By Sportsmail Reporter Last updated at 10:34 PM on 30th June 2011 John W Henry has warned that Liverpool will not be held to ransom this summer as they attempt to bolster Kenny Dalglish's squad. The club still intend to sign Aston Villa's Stewart Downing and Blackpool captain Charlie Adam but the inflated prices on British players means they may look abroad for other targets. They will also have to offload some players. In demand: Liverpool are interested in Villa's Downing and Blackpool's Adam Henry, principal owner of the club's American backers Fenway Sports Group, said: 'We are determined to build. As long as we stay within the parameters UEFA have set under their Financial Fair Play rules, we will have flexibility.' Midfielder Alberto Aquilani, written off as a £17million misfit, is ready to resume his Anfield career after being on loan at Juventus. 'I return to Liverpool with great enthusiasm,' Aquilani, 26, said. 'This is not a problem.' 1. It shows we must be playing hard ball over SD which is great. 2. It baffles me how Liverpool would think we would be in the slightest bit concerned at their refusal to pay the going rate for a current England international.. Fine! he can stay here then :? 3. The bit about having to operate in line with the new Uefa rules is particularly interesting as this is the 1st time i have actually seen it mentioned by a "huge" club & be appearing to actually be having an effect!

Absolutely right.. it simply has to be 5 year deals from now on surely? Provided the player is young enough of course Been thinking a lot about this lately as this is the key to us not losing our best players all the time.. For me we need to break some new ground as regards the type of contract we offer. Whether possible & realistic i wouldn't know but i do know that "where there's a will there's a way" (my granny told me many years ago & nobody but nobody could possibly argue against my Granny! ) So how could this be done i wonder? What about a 4 year deal with a 2 year option in the clubs & the players favour? This would stop it being too much of a problem if the player lost form or whatever & also would guarantee at least 4 years if he developed well but it would also mean that options would be open with both parties being protected.. I.E 1. If the Liverpools of this world came sniffing around after say 2 or 3 years of the said player joining, the club would have sufficient grounds to keep control of the situation. 2. If the player was worried about signing a contract of that length a clause could be included whereby if a huge club came in for him & he wanted out he could go after a minimum of 3 seasons though the 2 year option would automatically be activated meaning there would be 3 years remaining so Villa would command a top fee for him.. No more running down of contracts as in the player still can leave but the club are guaranteed at least 3 seasons for their investment. 3. An automatic transfer option at the end of the 4 year period although the club can still activate the 2 year option so as to again protect them regards getting a decent fee for the player. This is the kind of thing which i think needs to be looked at? One thing is for sure something needs to be done as Aston Villa are one of the 3 or 4 clubs who suffer from this year in year out because we have the potential to break up the dominance of those "huge" clubs & they know it!

Too right.. It is for me the single biggest reason why we never quite make that leap between top 4 & the rest... We don't buy quickly enough as in if we need 5 players to make that leap we buy 3 so we just miss out.. then a couple leave the following season & we don't replace the Barry or Milner or Young etc putting us back to needeing 5 players again.. so we buy 3 etc etc etc & we end up not making any progress. You have to wonder why at some point we don't say to the Ashley Young of that year "Sorry but your gonna have to stay another year " then buy in the other 4 players needed & make the leap when it then doesn't matter if Young stayed or not as we would be in the Champs League anyhow so would be able to then attract top players.. you never know he may even then decide to sign a new contract!.. Obviously it's more complicated than that of course & is no doubt all about the cost involved but it's still flippin frustrating.