psychobirch

Unfortunately I wish I could put N'zogbia's name down as a wide man but he just doesn't not cut it for me and never will which is why I put Gabby there. I think one element that we are missing in the team is someone who can hold the ball wide and will get the underside of his boots painted white. I think we're also desperate for an experienced, physical Central Midfielder who can hold the ball and play creative passes.

I completely agree!

Hi, Just thought I'd start a topic on the subject of squad formations. So, without further ado, let's play manager! First, what are your guys thoughts on the current formations that Lambert favours? (Predominantly 4-3-3 and 3-5-2) Second, if the whole squad was fit for purpose, what would your formations be, and what sort of tactics would you imply? (This is where all of the disagreements start!) And finally, let's use today as an example, what would you be saying to your team if you went in at half time 1-1 after conceding such a soft goal? ----------------------------------- I'll go first... I think with our particular squad, the 4-3-3 line-up doesn't work. I think the play is just too narrow. On the other hand, I think the 3-5-2 formation suits us when playing against bigger teams. You can always have that extra defensive support when needed, and it allows attacking fullbacks such as Luna to bomb forward and get some crosses in. I do not however believe that it is an excuse for the 'wingbacks' to hold back and just hoof the ball forward when possible. Assuming the whole squad was ready and available, I would be tempted to play a 4-2-3-1 (4-5-1) formation as follows; / Guzan / / Lowton / Baker / Vlaar / Luna / / El Ahmadi / Westwood / / Bacuna / Delph / Agbonlahor / / Benteke / My theory, yes I say theory, would be to have a main back four with two holding midfielders than can close down any central play, and help out the fullbacks when necessary. With Bacuna and Agbonlahor wide, it provides a good amount of pace if that's the attacking route that forms. Benteke would be my number one up front, with Delph playing off him in an attacking central midfield role. I think his attacking play is outstanding, and hopefully his schoolboy errors won't come as costly if he's playing further up the field. If pressure needs soaking up, this formation can be quickly adapted into a 4-5-1 formation, in order to close all of the gaps. If I were Paul Lambert, not just today, but at half time in the last 4 or 5 matches we have played, I would show my utmost disgust at the lack of effort that has gone into the first 45 minutes. Ok, today against Swansea we played well... for the first 8 minutes anyway. Unfortunately I don't think Lambert has got it in him to flip his lid and give the lads a real bollocking, which I for one certainly would.

Baker lacks consistency, but unfortunately I think he's taking a little more stick than he deserves. Ok, he's young, he's bound to make mistakes. He has the right to make mistakes because he is human after all. I think Vlaar has a lot to do with Baker's confidence. When Baker plays along side Vlaar (as a pair or a back three regardless), he plays a lot better than he does when paired alone with Clarke. Obviously people's opinions are going to differ, but I feel a lot more at ease when Baker's name comes up next to Vlaar on the team sheet. Aerially, I can't fault him. He wins a lot of aerial challenges, he stands up big and strong, but he's very susceptible to being caught out on the turn or with a simple through ball. He's god a way to go, but I like this lad.

We already have a couple, such as 'Paul Lambert's Claret 'n Blue Army', yet people just don't seem to be latching on to this - my apologies for missing the obvious. Still, any ideas?

I think a chant that requires little effort, is non-profanity, yet catchy and with meaning is needed. We need something that everyone can join in with at all the home games during those boring, tense, quiet periods that often occur around Villa Park. The atmosphere has been getting worse and worse over the last two seasons, and I keep reverting back to my Aston Villa vs Blackburn Rovers Carling Cup Semi-Final DVD to bring back those days where the atmosphere was immense almost from start to finish. I'm not very creative when it comes to songs, but something needs to get out there to bring back the home ground spirit. We also need people, regardless of age, gender, ticket status, to bring in scarves, flags, banners, balloons etc to liven the place up. It's hard to keep warn in the winter period, especially watching the standard of football like we have recently, so starting off some form of home-trend could be a benefit and a chance to get warmed up. Any ideas?

My player ratings: Christian Benteke - Good signing, proved himself premier league worthy. We have a valuable asset here who could possibly give us more once fully fit. I rate him 9/10 Ashley Westwood - Had a good solid impact last season with his pass completion rate, but I think he is finding it a little hard the pick his rhythm up this season. His corners however are awful. I rate him 6/10 Ron Vlaar - Had a shaky start to his Villa career but this season he has kicked on an done himself justice. We are really missing him at the moment and he is the boss of our back four. I rate him 8/10 Matthew Lowton - He's in a similar situation as Westwood. He was sensational last season, but this season with him being dropped every other game, he has found it hard to gather any real momentum. I rate him 6/10 Libor Kozak - I really do feel sorry for Libor at the moment. Although he is no Benteke, he puts in a lot of effort when he does play unlike a few of the other players. In terms of holding the ball up, he is getting better. Every goal he scores from now on will bring him more confidence, and I do think he is rapidly improving. I rate him 7/10 Leandro Bacuna - This one's a hard one to judge. Very pacy and fairly good in a tight situation. I think his problem lies in the fact that he plays a new position in every game, so he can fully focus on any particular aspect of his game. I rate him 6/10 Joe Bennett - Some potential, and a decent attacking full back. Sometimes he wanders off though and his defensive ideas are generally very plain and easy to read. I rate him 5/10 Antonio Luna - Luna currently has a very hard role playing left back, as our team doesn't seem to give him any wide support. When he is being bombarded with right hand side opposition attacks, often the winger and fullbacks will run rings around him. Still, I respect his judgements and is a very good attacking full back. I rate him 7/10 Alexandar Tonev - I think Tonev is a particularly poor signing. He offers no width (although he is supposed to be a winger), and his 'monstrous' shot has so far been absolutely useless. I rate him 2/10 Jores Okore - Not seen much of him due to his unfortunate injury. Hopefully he can kickstart his career next season and be solid at the back along side Vlaar. I am unable to rate this player Nicklaus Helenius - Similar to Okore, I havn't seen much of Helenius with is a shame. I would like to see him at least be substituted on when there's lack of ideas up front at the end of the game. I am unable to rate this player Jordan Bowery - Jordan works hard, but just doesn't have what it takes to be a premier league striker. He is only young, but barring Tonev, he's the last player of the newbies that I'd like to see in a starting lineup. I rate him 3/10 Yacouba Sylla - A very negative player. I have yet to see him do anything creative. His main move and generally first instinct, is to pass it back to a defender. He rarely passes forwards, and for a big guy, I've rarely seen him fight any physical challenges. I rate him 3/10 Please note that these ratings are based on what I've seen this half of the season (Not counting Benteke - I had to give him a good rating because his goals were very valuable last season haha!) Cheers, Tom

Hi, my name is Tom, a 20 year old (avid) Villa supporter from Aldridge. I am currently a season ticket holder in Doug Ellis (M3). I have created an account on this forum to chip in with the news and views. Admittedly I have never used any other form of football forum, so I'm hoping this is the right one for me! Hope everyone is well and has had a good Christmas (barring the absolute crap down Villa Park today). Cheers