briny_ear

Bit of a Villafest in the Observer today

Here

Martin O'Neill faces up to the cost of Aston Villa's league success

Martin O'Neill has a dilemma. For the first time since he took over as Aston Villa manager, he has the strength in depth in his squad to maintain a challenge for a top-four place. It is a position that the Northern Irishman has longed to be in, but one that he has yet to take advantage of this season and, while he recognises that will have to change soon, he also knows that players like James Milner do not want to be sitting in the stand.

If it ain't broke don't fix it, is the Villa manager's mantra, although the next 14 days might change that approach. Villa play five matches during that period, including two pivotal games in the space of 48 hours, starting with a trip to Arsenal today followed by Liverpool's visit to the Midlands on Tuesday. After that there is an FA Cup tie at home to Blackburn to negotiate, a Carling Cup semi-final first leg against the same opponents and a visit to Wigan in the Premier League.

Until now, the team has picked itself. Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and Brad Friedel have started every league match, while Milner, Carlos Cuéllar and Stilian Petrov have missed only one. Richard Dunne and Stephen Warnock have been first-choices since joining in late August and Stewart Downing and Luke Young have been permanent fixtures after returning from injury, leaving O'Neill with just one decision: John Carew or Emile Heskey. That, however, will have to change.

"There is definitely a feeling it's a squad system now," says O'Neill, whose substitute bench against Stoke last weekend included Fabian Delph, James Collins, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell, Habib Beye and Carew. "I remember going to watch Manchester United at Wigan and the quality they had sat two rows down from me watching the game was frightening. They've earned the right to do that. We've not reached that stage but I do accept we're gathering a bit of a momentum and that the rotation policy will have to come into play at some stage. It's when you actually decide to go and do that."

After the victory against Stoke, O'Neill said that Milner would be "apoplectic" if he told the midfielder he was leaving him out. Yet the 23-year-old is arguably one of those most 'in need of a breather. He played 46 club matches last season, represented England Under-21s in Sweden in the summer, has been a near-permanent fixture in the Villa side during this campaign and, perhaps tellingly, is the only player to have featured in all six of the senior international team's fixtures this season.

Yet this is O'Neill's conundrum: how do you rest a player whose energy and enthusiasm for football is boundless and whose form has been so outstanding that he has gone from being on the periphery of Fabio Capello's squad at the start of the season to now being a nailed-on member of the 23-man party for South Africa? "I've got a group of players who want to go for it and who, probably at this minute, wouldn't want to be rotated," Villa's manager admits.

Five straight wins during December have made it even more difficult for O'Neill to tinker. Three of those victories came in an eight-day period, including an eye-catching triumph at Old Trafford, although it was the 1-0 win over Stoke that gave O'Neill greatest satisfaction. It was the first time that he detected signs Villa were capable of showing the trait he has long associated with the top clubs: playing badly and winning.

"It had been a tough week," the Villa manager says. "We had gone to Old Trafford and won – a great win and now expectations rise. If we had been beaten at Sunderland, people would have said, 'You're unable to maintain it'. But we won again. I went with the same side again against Stoke. I knew our energy would be down a bit and that Stoke, having not played in midweek, would be strong, but we withstood it.

"There was a bit of last-ditch defending and we didn't create many chances but we took one of them [when Carew came on and scored]. Last year we probably wouldn't have been strong enough to come through. I think that's where we've gained a little bit of mental strength. Whether we can sustain that is in the lap of the gods. But whether we win or lose these games against Arsenal and Liverpool, I think we're at least trying to compete."

Herer

Premier League half-term report: Fans' verdict

Aston Villa, 4th, Jonathan Pritchard, Observer reader

Something has really clicked. Reintroducing a fired-up Heskey, getting Downing fit and moving Milner into a central role have galvanised us. This new attacking potency, on top of an already very solid back four, has made it easy to dream of a top-four finish. We've a much stronger squad than last year and there's no European distraction. Someone put me in a darkened room: I'm almost bullish.

Star man and biggest underperformer? Milner, Gabby, Dunne, Cuellar … I could go on. Sidwell is the only disappointment.

Happy with the gaffer? The way he sends out his teams ready to die for the club makes him a Holte End darling right now.

Who should he sign? We desperately need cover for Agbonlahor: a cheeky bid for a disaffected Bellamy might work?

Latest links: "I don't see us signing anyone unless somebody leaves," says Martin O'Neill .

And here...

Aston Villa good enough to take advantage of Big Four slip-ups

With the old Big Four struggling, watch out for Martin O'Neill's side even if the established quartet have rallied in the past

The story of the Premier League season at the halfway stage is one of top-four standards slipping, in some cases quite badly, while for once the chasing teams look determined and capable enough to make a breakthrough. That would be a welcome development, in the context of the anti-competitive cartel the Champions League has produced at the top of the table, though the story of many a second half of the season before now has been the same top four surviving after all. It is still a little early to get excited even if austerity is bringing everyone closer together.

As a measure of how incident-packed and overexcitable the season has already been, try thinking of a single image to sum up a hectic five months. Would it be Arsène Wenger getting sent off at Old Trafford for kicking a water bottle in frustration back in August, then standing with arms outstretched among the season-ticket holders because he didn't know where he was supposed to go? Or would it be Emmanuel Adebayor's knee slide in front of Arsenal fans at Manchester City a week later? Perhaps Michael Owen coming on to clinch the Manchester derby a week after that, or Fergie accusing Alan Wiley of booking players just to catch his breath.

Tales of the unexpected? How about the beach ball goal at Sunderland, Spurs' 9-1 demolition of Wigan, or Maynor Figueroa's stunning goal at Stoke. Mick McCarthy's total rotation at Manchester United did not exactly make for a rousing evening or an edifying spectacle, yet it was the sort of talking point that will be remembered for years and could yet lead to a Premier League policy change.

While it may be unfair that there is one rule for top clubs and another for those at the bottom, the harsh fact is that the Premier League has never been a level playing field and surrender is not an option in front of 73,000 paying spectators. Birmingham and Burnley have been working hard to dig themselves in at the top level through more conventional means, the former exceeding everyone's expectations in a remarkable climb up the table. When Mark Hughes was sacked last week, after all the money he had spent, his argument that agreed targets had been met was somewhat undermined by the fact that Alex McLeish's considerably less swanky City had at that stage won two more league games.

The bottom of the table this Christmas resembles debtor's row, with Portsmouth and West Ham operating under severe financial constraints, and clubs with smaller budgets and fanbases such as Bolton, Wigan and Blackburn struggling to make mid‑table. Steve Bruce and Tony Pulis appear to have managed at least that for Sunderland and Stoke respectively, with Everton and Hull showing that while overachievement is possible, it is difficult to do it season after season.

At the top end Manchester United have managed to lose five matches already and no longer look nailed-on for a fourth successive title, which will grieve only those who had them as favourites at the start of the season, like me. It must also be conceded that Carlo Ancelotti has done rather better at Chelsea than might have been expected of a newcomer to England, and even though his side appear to be having a mini-blip at the moment they have looked stronger and more effective at their best than United have ever done thus far; the title appears theirs to lose.

Just keep an eye on Arsenal and Aston Villa, both handily placed. Villa in particular are playing well and have no European distractions to slow them down this season. Everyone is saying Martin O'Neill's side look a good bet for fourth place this season, yet the way the top four are playing they could do better than that. Much better. Villa are still a long shot for the title, 40-1 in fact, but that's a decent-value punt if you are in touch with the leaders at the halfway stage of a four-horse race.

If even Jonathan Pritchard is feeling optimistic, thgings really must be on the move!

Keep him, keep him for ever.

I want to hear from the person who voted 80+!!

The 2 people!

The world needs optimists, you have to love it!

Yay! There are four now.

I want to hear from the person who voted 80+!!

Anybody trying to blame MON for the draw against Stoke is just being silly. The players should have strolled it, they funked it, and they knew it.

Agree though maybe we should have brought someone on. Players should be covering a 2-0 lead though.

Particularly a 2-0 lead with 2 minutes to go!

I voted for Aston Villa are to be his last and most succesful job in football.

That's the one I wish happens and to be honest I can't see him managing any other team than Villa.

I think MON can be our Fergie or our Wenger

I'd rather he became our Fergie. Dont want a whinger Wenger, thanks.

Mancini is hardly a Hiddink or a Mourinho, is he?

Wearing a black top when the opposition are playing in black and being forced to change. I'm sure this has happened before.

Then not having a replacement blue top that fits properly. Again, I think this happened last time as well.

Clearly this clown should go.

Anybody trying to blame MON for the draw against Stoke is just being silly. The players should have strolled it, they funked it, and they knew it.

Still don't really understand why this doesn't include all the CB pairings that occurred in the 10 years. :confused:

By my calculation, the Mellberg/Laursen CB partnership achieved as follows (in games where both started at CB only)

2004/5

Lge Pl6 W3 D1 L2 F8-6A

2005/6

Lge Pl1 W0 D1 L0 F2-2A

2006/7

Lge Pl10 W5 D5 L0 F17-7A

LC Pl1 W0 D0 L1 F0-4A

2007/8

Lge Pl4 W1 D1 L2 F3-7A

Hardly Hall of Fame stuff, is it? Their best spell was in the last 7 games of the 06/07 season when we were unbeaten and eased into a finish at 11th.

I think this poll is a bit eccentric. Why no mention of Ridgewell, Zatty K, or, surely most oddly, Sir Gary Cahill of Villatalk?

Also, wasn't there recently a poll for best of the decade for every position, which came up with a CB pairing (can't remember what it was)?

WTF is wrong with us........"worst player of the season" & "worst decision O Neill has made".....with us fourth in the league and on the back of a win over Manure........god help us if we lose tonight - there'll be mass suicide!!!

This. Saved me saying it.

What next for a thread?

"Randy Lerner's darkest secret?"... :?

This is called VillaTalk, a place to debate opinions isn't it?

It's not being negative at all, people are just discussing things to do with Villa on a slow VillaTalk, it's slow because were doing so well and need things to keep VT going

Also by your reasoning, the next time we ever struggle or are in a bad position, then there shouldn't be any optomism on the board then?

If you don't think it's negative to start up a thread called "What was MON's biggest mistake [note past tense - has he left?]" and one called "Worst player of the season", in the week that we beat Man U at Old Trafford for the first time that most people posting on this board can ever remember, I would need to check what your definition of "negative" actually is.

What was the formation last night ? I have to update my FIFA 10

4-4-2 of course, you know, the one we always lose with.

WTF is wrong with us........"worst player of the season" & "worst decision O Neill has made".....with us fourth in the league and on the back of a win over Manure........god help us if we lose tonight - there'll be mass suicide!!!

This. Saved me saying it.

What next for a thread?

"Randy Lerner's darkest secret?"... :?

How has Petrov even got one voe!?!? He's been immense!

I suspect it was the OP

I decided my top 3 (or bottom 3) would be

1: Petrov . I think our formation has not helped but has failed so far to repeat his form from last season .

I think that set the tone of the thread from the word "go".

That and the fact that Petrov's first name is spelt wrong in the poll list.

I'm surprised Dunne has got so few votes. He has been immense and very consistent in defence, which tbh is where the real improvement has come this season.

Nice positive thread, then... :winkold:

Stiliyan Petrov - 5 - His every involvement seem to end with Martin Atkinson blowing his whistle for a free kick. Broke up play, but tested the letter of the law.

:bonk:

Double :bonk:

You could get hypnotised watching that

:bonk:

Sorry mate, it's an in joke with the Irish. In Northern Ireland at the moment there is a whole spait of robberies concerning gangs using JCBs to steal cash machines!

D'you know, that's the funniest thing I've heard all week.

He said: "If you had listened to Sir Alex Ferguson talking before their European game, he mentioned that the most important thing for him was Saturday's game against Aston Villa.

Here

Oh bums.

If we sneak a draw from this I will be over the moon.

The main problem for the 4-5-1ers is that, when Agbonlahor and Carew are both fit and on form, you gotta play them both because they scare and often beat the shit out of defences.

Which one you gonna drop to go 4-5-1?

Petrov is the best midfielder we have by a mile. For me, his name should go on the team sheet for every game, whatever the formation, as long as he is fit.

Ha Ha.

Man Utd pair out until new year

Manchester United's defensive crisis has deepened with the news John O'Shea and Jonny Evans have been ruled out of action through injury until January.

The pair were both hoping to return to action this weekend following thigh and calf injuries respectively.

But the club have confirmed they will not be fit until the new year, ruling them out of five Premier League matches and Tuesday's Champions League game.

United have a total of eight defenders in the treatment room at the moment.

Nemanja Vidic (flu), Rio Ferdinand (calf), Wes Brown (knock), Gary Neville (groin) Rafael and Fabio da Silva (groin) are also injured at present.

In addition, midfielder Owen Hargreaves and keeper Edwin van der Sar are undergoing treatment for knee injuries.

And with Wayne Rooney (hamstring) and Dimitar Berbatov (knee) having joined them on the sidelines for the immediate future with minor knocks, Sir Alex Ferguson's squad is stretched to near breaking point.

More to follow.

I wonder if that last comment means more injuries to follow?

Like most other people, I am refusing to raise my hopes on this one. Expect the defeat and then it won't hurt.

Labour.

Conservatives are too close to the BNP for me, seem to recall a local Tory MP giving it all the "Britain for the British" speech, sounded a lot like Griffin tbh.

Even though I am starting to lean slightly towards the Lim Dems, I would move out if the BNP ever got voted in...

I'm not sure it's that straightforward. A significant number of BNP supporters are former labour voters ( I think the figure was something like 35% in a recent survey).

Also, I recall a phrase something like "British Jobs for British Workers" which came not from the Tories but from a Mr G Brown (it turns out he didn't mean it, though, like most things Brown says these days).

Also, Mr Brown's "policy" launched at the Labour Party conference of "forcing" pregnant single mothers to live in "supervised homes" was a more or less direct lift from a policy agreed at the earlier BNP conference.

But I think that policy has now been dropped as well.

Ashley Young really frustrates the crap out of me and he did nothing today to reverse that feeling.

Not even winning a penalty? :?