barry'sboots

We need to get behind our manager .............. with a size 12 boot and kick him out of VP as soon as possible!

Honourable mentions: - Friedel: did everything he could - Cuellar: our best defender but his distribution at RB was again poor - Dunne: better - Clark: okay but got beat too much in the air, especially considering he is a CB - Coker: energy and did well. Unlucky with ball to Ash in H1. Needs to play as the enforcer alongside Bannan - Heskey: worked his socks off and looked our main threat. Didn't see the "push" Poor: - Collins: caught out to much and letting the ball bounce. Davies and/or Cuellar would be better - Petrov: absolutely useless tonight. Didn't even play the first half and should have been off after 60 at a minimum. If anyone votes for him as MOTM this week they must be MON, his mum or his hairdresser! Undecided: - the Three Amigos (Gab, DJ and Ash): At a minimum, as above Gab should be on the right and DJ on the left. I would love to see Ash on the left, DJ in the middle and Gabby/Albie on the right. Don't like Gabby alongside Heskey (as per Spuds) as this leaves too big a gap between Stan & NRC, who both play deep, and the two strikers. I also don't understand why they aren't more fluid and interchangeable as well. Very Very Very Very Very Poor: - GED: Don't like his set up of Gab, Ash and DJ. Subs reminded me of MON - f***ing useless! We should have beaten them. They aren't particularly good and their position at 6th spot shows the standard of the current Premier League.

Almost feels like the return of the MON. :winkold: Only needs Ged to forget to use his bench again and the feeling will be complete!

I felt it was the first time in a long time that Ged had got 11 players playing in a formation that suited them against that opposition. Probably hasn't happened in recent months other than the Man U and West Brom games. The key here is probably Ash as I don't think we have a similar link player, as SI has been very disappointing, and without him there is too big a gap between the deeper lying NRC and Petrov and the two striking options of any two out of Gab, Nathan and Emile. I think that this was fully highlighted against Spurs where there was a huge gap. I believe Downing could play this role but Ged doesn't seem to want to recognise this option. I am not sure Gabby could as he seems to play up top. Gary Gardner could fill this role for us?

Even Lawro is predicting a Villa win 2-1!

I would keep the same team but possibly start Albie and rest Gabby to the bench. I think Ged picked the right back 4 for Chelski as they play with little genuine width or pace and Sunderland have pretty much the same type of attacking formation, i.e. a 4-3-3 with 3 centre forwards, so 4 CBs should be okay. Is Delph back fit? I would get him on for the last 30 when Stan tires, which he will. I will go Villa 2-0.

Brilliant. Lets hope he gets the chance to do a lot more of that over the next few months!

Was he? Admittedly I only saw the last half hour of the match but in that space of time I saw that he still can't pass properly (passes still over / under hit and behind the player so they have to check back) and wasn't really taking up good positions to defend. But what I did see was great team spirit from most of the team and I'd have taken the result at the start, lets hope we can build on it He had a good game, as he always does against the better teams because he does ALOT of running and tackles well. He did tire in the second half, I think because he's not fully match fit yet, but in the first half he was everywhere. Probably due to the fact that he had to run more to cover for the very tired Petrov in the last 30 minutes. I watched the whole game and I thought he was one of our better performers - he brings energy and drive. I don't see this passing thing - to me his distribution is sharp and direct and usually forward - unlike Stan's. I guess I am a bit like the Stan admirers that don't see the tiring in the last 30 minutes?

Excellent result and Ged did really well to pick the right team to play Chelski. I wouldn't want to see the same back four against a team that plays with width. Friedel - 9 was excellent today Clark -7.5 he should naivety on the left side but that is to be expected for a young lad learning his trade and playing out of position. He is turning in to a good player and looks a good footballer as well with an eye for goal Cuellar - 8 Decent game today and he looked a more comfortable right back than he did last season but I think that was due to the type of game/opposition Dunne - 8 more like last season's Dunne Collins - 6 a bit clumsy, especially for the penalty, but remains committed and wholehearted Gabby - 7 good pace and energy NRC - 8 really put a shift in and closed down Chelski. Passes went forward as well! Petrov - 6 decent game but doesn't do enough for me and tired badly. If there was a replacement on the bench I would have hoped Ged would have used it. Downing- 8 pick of our attacking midfielders/wingers for me. I would love to see him get a shot in the central position. Young - 7 good game and good penalty aswell Heskey - 8 lead the line very well and worked hard defending from the front. Good to see him come through a game without an injury! Houllier did well today. A picked a team to play Chelski's 4-3-3 and it worked. If he can re-organise the squad in January I think we can do well. My one criticism today would be that I would have liked to see the attacking three - Gabby, Ash and DJ - much more fluid positionally. I prefer DJ on the left if he is playing out wide but would also like to see him play centrally. I think they could rotate through the game and give the opposition much more to think about. This is especially so when we have such a solid and defensive back 4 playing.

Least effective of our four midfielders today and should have come off with 30 minutes left when he was knackered - if there had been anybody to replace him on the bench! NRC was everywhere covering the gaps and Stan stands in the middle and lets people go around him with ease yet still gets plaudits? If you weren't watching, Petrov played in the second half against Spuds and against Citeh. Where was his impact there? This was a team performance today and they all battled and wanted it - that was the difference for me and not Stan.

Maybe they've grown up. It might also help that they have seen some of the places that they could end up if shipped out? Dunne and Ireland to the SPL. Warnock back to Blackburn. Etc. This should make them think that this could be their last chance with a reasonably big club in a top league? And maybe there is a little professional pride at last.

How come Terry doesn't get a card for man handling Mason after the pen award?

Was just thinking this. Mason is a real joke.

Mason is a tosser. But why have we got Downing on the right? Surely if he must play Ash off Emile it should be Gabby on the right and DJ on the left!

Coyle would be my first choice. If he is truly ambitious then he should see that we are a bigger club (infrastructure and revenues) than Bolton with a very good youth set up and a better catchment area than Bolton. He has seen what the club is capable of under MON and, if he trusts his abilities, will know that he should be able to at least replicate this and possibly do better. He would be a very exciting appointment.

We've got to play 3 CM'ers or else we will get mullered by Chelski. --------------------- Friedel ----------------------- Young ------- Cuellar -- Collins ------- Warnock ------------ NRC ----------------------------------- --------------------------------- Delph ------------ Albie -------------- Downing ----------------- Ash ----------------------- Gab ------------------------

The critical requirement for me is a player that can link the midfield with the striker. I though this would be SI but he has not delivered and I don't think Ash works in there either. Perhaps Gary Gardner will be able to do this but I wouldn't want to rest this on his shoulders at this point. I don't believe our current CM'ers are capable of playing in a 2 man CM and I think any combination of NRC/Stan/Delph/Bannan/Hogg provides two deeper lying/sitting midfielders (and, from what I have read) Makoun and Fofana are the same types) and without that link there is a huge gap between the striker(s) and the CM. If Ged can fix this, I think we will start to climb the table.

I thought he looked very good against Spurs for his first game back. BUT you cannot play him with Stan or Hogg without a third CM/link striker as the gap between the two CMs and the two strikers will be much too big. You need to build the team around him. -------------- Stan/NRC -------------- hopefully Fofana/Makoun ---------------------- Delph ---------- Option: Makoun --------- Downing -------------------- Option: replacement for SI and Gardner Alby ------------------------------ Ash Option: Downing/hopefully N'Zogbia and/or Bentley if Ash goes ----------------- Gabby ---------------

I would have agreed with you until the last two games. The Spurs game was a joke. Playing a 4-4-2 with Hogg and Delph in CM and Gabby and the Fonz up front meant that there was a huge gap between the two which gave Spurs so much chance. He had a chance to remedy it at half time and bought Stan on for Hogg which meant the gap was just as big! Given where we are he needs to show some balls and do something a bit radical. For me: -------------- NRC/Stan --------------- ------------------------- Delph --------- --------- Downing ---------------------- Gives us a link b/w CM and striker Alby ----------------------------- Gabby More ability to get players in box ------------------ Fonz ------------------ He has looked our biggest threat Ged seems to have no ideaa how to try anything different when things don't work. It looks like this carried on again today. I do not see Stan and NRC as a midfield pair!

Financially it's good. But.. 1) Man City have enough players to cope for a few weeks without the player they're trying to buy. So they like to haggle for weeks and weeks to disrupt the other team. When the other team doesn't get the money until the last few days of the window, it limits your choices for who you can bring in as a replacement. Not really a problem if it is a swap though is it? Ireland didn't want to leave. Johnson has said that he would consider moving on if he was not getting starts, which he has not been.

I see Bruce is being linked with Adam Johnson and Onahua. I wonder if Citeh would be keen on Ash for Johnson plus a bit of cash or Johnson and Milner and we'll give them a bit of cash? I think Johnson would be a great buy and would more than replace our Ash from what I have seen??

This is, IMHO, a load of rubbish. I would say 90% of Villa fans - and I am certainly one of them - are more than with him. We are all hoping that he can be the Ireland that Citeh had in 08/09. All he has to do is apply himself and show some effort and no-one would boo him I am sure. IMO, he needs to show some maturity and work his socks off for his team mates and we would all love him to become a Villa legend.

I think he needs games and confidence. He hasn't played consistently since 08/09. A loan move to Celtic, if they will pay his wages, might not be a bad result for all concerned?

I can see why they think that from what I have seen of him. I think he is almost bound to be the most significant signing in a sense because he will be playing in the key position for me i.e. what the Americans would term the "quarterback role". We wouldn't want to go out and spend big money on that position with Fabian coming through - this wouldn't make sense for me as it would block him and he would then look to move on. So, if he comes in and can make that pivotal CM role his own, then he will be at the heart of everything we do, both offensively and defensively. That is why I think it is so important to get him back.

I'd go with: --------------- Friedel ---------------- Young - Cuellar - Collins - Warnock ------------ NRC - Hogg ------------- Albrighton - Downing ---------- Ash -------------- Heskey ---------------- NRC and Hogg to keep it solid and free Warnock and Young to get forward and support. I would use Gabby and Bannan as subs with 20-30 left depending upon the game situation at the time.