villaglint

Biggest issue all season is obviously our attrocious defending but that might be helped if we kept possession of the ball better. Our passing is so bad it beggars belief - reminds of the O'Leary days. Yesterday after about ten minutes I said to myself "come on villa lets just put 5 passes together". I started to count and it was one of the most depressing things I could have done because it suddenly became clear exactly how bad we were. In the first half we put five passes together twice, one of which led to the second goal. Most of the time it was 1,2 give it away. Clark, Petrov, Ireland and Keane are all comfortable on the ball so I am at a loss to explain why it was so difficult to do such basic stuff. Its harsh to blame AM for a player being so inept but ultimately he is responsible for motivating them and getting them to play. Painful stuff to watch and I'm not even talking about the defending!

Just watched the highlights - real heart breaker - deserved more. Have to say every time I have watched Daniel Johnson play he has impressed me. Long way to go from youth to senior level. As much about mentality as ability. But my fingers are crossed for him.

I agree - there is no reason to be gushing over him at this point. Not seen him do anything yet that Craig cant do. i.e tackle well, pass well strike the ball nicely. He does look a little more leggy, bit taller and a bit more running power so hopefully he can turn into a better player. Time will tell

The one thing you can say for Mr Gardner senior is that he taught his sons how to kick a football! Was pleased with his start - long way for him to go but plenty of promise. Looks solid player with ability to hold ball and find a pass as well as get into the box and try and get a goal.

I have wanted Clark to get a chance in CM for a while now - ever since he and Bannan played so well at Fulham last year I thought this could be his best position. Having watched him closely over the last few games - he hasn't done too bad but I'm not sure the 1st eleven is our best available. This actually goes for Herd too. I'm not sure either are comfortable enough on the ball for us to keep position/build the play through midfield. That's why sometimes we look like a championship side because we cant string 10 passes together. At start of season it was Delph and his wayward passing most recently it has been Herd and Clark too afraid to make a mistake. Whenever Clark gets it he is looking for the easy ball which is great but it does mean we are struggling to link midfield to attack. Ireland for instance barely received a pass in 1st half because it was never coming from Clark or Petrov it was always coming from defence. Compare our midfield to any decent side and their midfield are continually receiving the ball in tight situation but finding a progressive pass. I would put Petrov back in the defensive midfield role. For sure he has been much better this season with a bit more freedom however I think we need his experience in that role now. I would then put Bannan/Delph or Gardner where Petrov is playing now. Whoever can make a pass most consistently. Probably Bannan at this stage. Having Bannan and Ireland together would mean more good ball for Gabby and Albrighton/NZog and hopefully therefore more good ball for Bent. Obviously Ireland and Bannan not the most solid defensively but surely between them and Petrov they can make a tackle.

Agree they is a good player in there - in his first season it was a joy to have a proper full back who was solid in defense and attack. However he has had so many terrible performances over the last two years that we cant continue forever. He was rightly dropped last year and needs to be again. I know this is a recipe for disaster but while we are scrabbling about for replacements has anyone mentioned N'Zogbia - played there for Newcastle. Been playing well recently, would be a good way to get him in team. Would add lots going forward. Obviously not the greatest defensively but is it possible for him to be more of a liability than Warnock? I don't think so.

Biggest issue at the club is lack of competition for places. Warnock has a string of poor games but is never in any danger of losing his place. Same goes for Collins.

--- Yeah I agree we have got a bit of a selection dilemma which is good but I also think part of our problem is we haven't known our best team since start of season. Zog and Albrighton have done enough to keep their places for sure. I think we need Bannan in there because we dont seem to be able to string two passes together without him or someone like Ireland in there. Gabby has been our best player without a doubt so he is either pushing out Bent? or Zog/Albrighton? or possibly Ireland/Bannan from last nights shape. Very tricky. I would go with the following (when all fit) and try to stick with it as much as possible. --------------Given--------------- Herd -- Cuellar -- Dunne -- Warnock ------ Petrov ------Bannan -------------- Albrighton ---- Gabby-------N'Zogbia ---------------Bent----------------------- I'd feel a lot more comfortable with another genuine midfielder in there but I don't see how we can do it and keep the top four on pitch

Hard to disagree with anyone on here both positive and negative. I did think that was the best he has played for us last night. I think we don't have any choice but to persevere with him. One thing he does better than anyone else is arrive late in box - trouble is right now its a millisecond too late. That could easily change with match sharpness/fitness and then he could turn into the asset he is supposed to be.

It was his best performance for the club by a mile so he should be applauded for that. His suspension is no bad thing if Herd is fit to replace him. If Herd does well it might keep Hutton out for a while or at least give him some meaningful competition. Also if we have Herd at Full back and Clark in DM then it may add some aerial ability to try and stop these f***ing corners.

This is the problem for him. Our Centre midfield options are quite congested, and as far as Im concerned, Bannan, Herd and Petrov should go into the team without question on current form. Even looking beyond that, Jenas looked good against Norwich and then we still have Delph and Ireland. At best Gardner finds himself 7th in the pecking order of central midfielders. Agreed but I am confident if you are good enough Eck will play you. He's shown that with Bannan and Herd already this season. Pressure is on Delph and Ireland big time, both got talent but yet to show it consistently. As you say Jenas looked good too in his cameo. Dare I say it, have we got competition for places in centre midfield? It has been a while. Don't think Gardner will be starting too many, but a few sub appearances here and there to get him used to the pace and then its up to him to force his way in and stay there. Shame Bazza decided to self implode as soon as he got his place. Good lesson for him and everyone else I suppose.

More than happy to hold my hands up on this one. I honestly didn't think he still had this in him. Never ceases to amaze me the power "a good pre season" can have. Looks a completely different player. Thank god he is because with Ash and Downing leaving we really need him on top form this season.

Been very impressed since he came into the team. Added some much needed bite to the midfield and improved us as a result.

Agreed - he was powderpuff for their goal but then that is his game. He struggles at the best of times to get a challenge in. Its funny because when Hutton went forward I thought "oh nice to see him dropping in to cover" but then 2 seconds later I thought he may as well have not bothered. He did get forward well and made a couple of nice passes. As you say he's dropping ever further down the pecking order so its difficult to see him ever getting the confidence he needs. Unfortunately just as Beye's contract finally comes to an end we have gone and bought another squad player on mega bucks ....

He's got a way to go yet, but perhaps in time he can engrave his name in history and make his way into my all time line-up... For me Berson was a tidy player in a team disinterested in playing a passing game. Similar to Makoun in some ways. I would have said Djemba Djemba was the bigger waste of space

Very pleased for this guy too. Said a while ago that he was getting to the point where his form was demanding he start games. Now his form is getting to point where he is demanding to be played in his best position.

All this guff about graft etc is just noise. If you look at the stats he works harder/covers more yards than almost anyone. For me this is more about game nouse, knowing where to be/when to strike to make the tackle. Ireland is an attacking player and doesn't really have the nouse to be consistently breaking up the tackles. Petrov makes a good comparison here because he covers far few yards but is much more effective at being in the right place to make the challenge. So if we don't pass him the ball much he looks like the game is just drifting him by, which it is. I think if Ireland is to be effective he needs to be getting the ball all the time, almost looking to play through him. For Villa it often seems a challenge to string 5 passes together - until that changes (i.e. like second half at QPR) we wont see much improvement from Mr Ireland.

Where can we speak about streams now? Is it banned on the whole site?

Part of me would like to see him Delph and Petrov in the same midfield. While there is no real cutting edge in that midfield it would hopefully see us dominate games which would allow NZogbia and Gabby to really push on and play as strikers rather than wingers - similar to the way Chelsea play. As others have said Makoun has a lot to bring and I think that's the best way to get it out of him. Although having said that I think Bannan is starting to build a strong case for a place in team with his performances.

Yes, love that team. Me too I'm happy with that. Give Delf a rare chance in his favoured position. POB you've got the job

Not been biggest Stan's biggest fan in recent times but have to say his performance against Blackburn was his best in a long time. Yes Blackburn are poor but Dunn and Nzonzi are by no means the worst part of their team. Biggest difference for me was that Petrov had his head up and was looking to play probing balls rather than just continuously keep it moving. Nice to see him take some responsibility for building the play.

1st half he was our best player. Looked really up for it and was causing some problems. 2nd half it became clear that the only way we were looking to score was to hit Heskey it in air and try and build off the knock downs. Frankly that is a scary strategy and what was more worrying was there seemed to be no plan B. Heskey is no attacking midfielder or deep lying striker. Equally Gabby is no winger. If we keep with that plan/team it will be a long season.

They might not be worried about pissing off Gabby but I feel that Randy would remember this incident so could well put paid to any deal.

Nice to see him get his debut after all this talk. Was surprised at the size of him and on first viewing looks like a fairly complete kind of player. As others have said if he is good enough he will play if he needs nurturing/bringing through then it will be more of a bit part. Problem he has is that we have a lot of players in his position. What plays in his favour is that we don't seem to have found a combination that works yet. So maybe while AM is experimenting he will get his chance. Anyway long way to go for GG as we have seen with Delph, Bannan and Albrighton all the talent in the world is no guarantee of success .

Thoughts on today's game - Delph did well - Defence looks much better, glad to have a motivated Warnock back, very strange what happened with him last season. (I know he went mad at club but why) - In terms of midfield really feel we need a defensive mid to cover/challenge Petrov. Delph seems to have bulked up a bit so maybe they see him doing this. Interesting to see them put Clark in there. Not sure if it was out of necessity or experimentation but I thought his best games last year were Blues at home and Fulham away both in CM. Maybe a new Barry on our hands. - Though game highlighted our current plight well - Neither Heskey, Gabby or Bannan are wingers. We are light in this area even with nZog coming in. - While the youngsters are exciting we would be wise not to rely on them (showed today but two poor passes from Clarke and Albrighton). - With Makoun, Delph, Bannan, Ireland we have some real ball players and we may see ourselves playing some good stuff at times.