rjenkins

I've just got back from the game. We were very poor today, and like a lot of other posts it seems like there is no precise reason why. I think that the players were tired and I think there were tactical errors too. Agbonlahor, N'Zogbia, Clark and Petrov in particular struggled to affect the game. Warnock was soundly destroyed by Dyer although N'Zogbia didn't offer much help and seemed a second behind everyone else mentally all afternoon. There is no point playing Bent if you don't play to his strengths. It's been clear all season and after 20 games McLeish seems no closer to any kind of progress on this issue. Still, looking at this fixtures beforehand I expected 3 points from the two New Year games and that is exactly what we've got. We won't get relegated and then if McLeish can't improve it next season with more of his own players then we can sack him and it'll be cheaper than doing it now. On a side note, I'm part of the Gwent Villans Lions Club, some of whom were guests in the Directors box today and gave Marc his award. David Moyes, Ian Taylor and Gordan Cowans were up there and one of the lads from the club got talking to Tayls and it seems like Bent could well be moving away from the club. I think the exact phrase was "there's some very strong interest". If it's the reported £24million then I would probably take it. He scored some important goals last season and as a statement of intent it's poor, but initial impact isnt the same as long-term suitability and I don't think the club matches the vision he bought into.

Don't feel anywhere near as despondent after that showing as a number of you here tonight. Felt we were the better team who, had the final ball been better on occasion, or Delfouneso been a little luckier, would have won the game. It was the first game of the season where we dominated the match and defended well to boot. I see it as a point gained where we normally do badly as opposed to two dropped, especially as we had no form to speak of going into the match. Guzan - 7 - Did what he had to do with no fuss. His distribution was good too. He'll be unlucky to be dropped when Given is fit again on that showing. Cuellar - 7 - We look a much tougher proposition with him in the side. Again, should be keeping his place in the team Collins - 7 - If he could play like this every week he would be a good player for us. If. Dunne - 8 - Very good. In fairness, that has been the norm for him this campaign. His experience at the back is so crucial to us right now. Warnock - 7 - Was that a mistake free game? Can't complain about his effort or performance tonight Albrighton - 6 - His lack of strength meant it wasn't really his night tonight. Should have done better with the crosses he did put in though. He worked hard. Petrov - 6 - For me he isn't ever really at his best in a two-man midfield but I thought he had a generally good game. Clark - 6 - Although he isn't a natural midfielder I thought he was very effective. Lost the ball once or twice when he shouldn't have but overall very good. N'Zogbia - 7 - He looks better game by game. He's one good final ball or lucky goal away from vastly improving or so it seems. Heskey - 6 - Didn't do a lot wrong, but didn't offer us much of a goal threat either. He played decently, but was rightly substituted at half time Agbonlahor - 7 - Generally very good and fought his corner against the Stoke defence. We would miss his pace up front massively if he gets injured. Subs: Delfouneso - 6 - I don't think we could have asked much more from him. He did all he could when he had a scoring chance and held the ball up well. Overall I'm reasonably pleased after watching that. I now think we'll beat Swansea quite comfortably at home and if McLeish can sign some players in January, we could be safely mid-table come the season's end. I'm not won over by him, but the situation doesn't look as desperate now as it did at the end of November.

Guzan Cuellar Collins Dunne Warnock Petrov Ireland Albrighton N'Zogbia Agbonlahor Bent

I personally love Trout Mask Replica. It's not consistently good throughout the record, and of course it has its pretentions, but it is just so uncompromising. It's quite disturbing in parts, but then it's also funny in others and I just get the feeling that all of the band were at their most driven and intense point on that record. I think even if you don't particularly like the results you've got to at least admire what artists like Beefheart or The Velvet Underground were trying to do in the late sixties. I'd rather see a band fail at something like Trout than succeed at some bland pop fodder which was created solely to make money with no other goals. It definitely has an atmosphere about it, and there are some properly great songs on there in my opinion. Having said that, I find it more understandbale that you should dislike Trout than those who have said cars, The Office or thongs.

Shame Ireland got injured. He was playing really well I thought. His touch was a bit rusty but he is the best passer we have, not to mention he actually sees what's going on around him. He put much more effort into chasing the ball too. It's seems as if some of you have already made your mind up on him and that's a shame, because he's the most creative player we have.

Overall I like this line-up. It's closer to what I think our strongest team actually is (excluding Bent and a few tweaks of course). My concern is that this is merely a reaction to injuries that we've suffered and McLeish's threats regarding dropping underperforming players is probably still hot air. Hopefully we'll play a bit better tonight whatever the score and at least then maybe we'll see the team in the long run start to improve.

It just kind of caught on to be honest. There was a group a good few rows behind me and they seemed intent on applauding Speed's life rather than just mourning it. Some were clapping as soon as the whistle went, and we were all singing One Gary Speed with the Swans fans to our left even before the kick-off. I was worried at the time how it might make us look, especially on TV, but it seems the Jacks appreciated it.

We were awful in the first half as everyone has said, but I saw promising signs from a few players in the second. A draw was a fair result on the balance of play and if we can get N'Zogbia back on form I think we'll start to pick up. Given - 7 - Solid as ever. One quality save. Hutton - 7 - Best game for Villa so far Collins - 5 - It seems as though he can't maintain a 90-minute performance Dunne - 7 - So unlucky that he was the one to concede the own goal Warnock - 5 - Better going forward than back. Some very silly challenges today. Ireland - 8 - He was impressive today. Good on the ball and creative, and most of all put the effort in. Petrov - 7 - Very good today. Couldn't fault him really Delph - 5 - He closed down the opposition well and had one attempt but there's no hiding the fact that he just isn't good enough overall. Bannan - 8 - Put a great shift in, was good on the ball, and got his goal. Superb. Gabby - 6 - A bit lazy at times today I thought. I think he has played better for us this season. N'Zogbia - 5 - When he's running at the opposition it all looks so promising and then... Frustrating For me, Ireland was MOTM

We didn't deserve anything from the game really. We were substantially better after after time, but there's no point us having to dig and claw our way back into a game when we could just compete from the start. Cue all of those saying that today showed great 'McLeish fighting spirit' when really it showed that Villa can put themselves in a hole and just about get away with it against a team with no strikers. Given - 9 - Kept us in the game. Excellent as usual Hutton - 5 - Awful backpass. He did not do enough for me halt Everton's progress on the overlap, although that may well have been a tactical decision. Seems very much a like-for-like replacement for Luke Young is my first impression. Collins - 5 - He can't even start for Wales. He's the weak link in our back four now for me. Dunne - 7 - He had a very good game to be fair. Obviously he was high on confidence after his midweek display for Ireland Warnock - 6 - He's nothing more than average. Did nothing shockingly bad today and a couple of his crosses were good N'Zogbia - 6 - Got better as the match went on but he seems off the pace still. I'm not sure about his decision making in front of goal Petrov - 4 - Apart from his admittedly impressive goal, he was woeful today. However, I don't think he's helped by playing alongside Delph. Delph - 3 - He's Championship standard at best for me. I am trying to see what others see in him, but apart from a couple of glimpses of ability, it just looks to me like the rest of the team is carrying him. Agbonlahor - 7 - Anonymous in the first half but got much better after half-time and scored an important goal. He doesn't give up to be fair to the lad. Heskey - 5 - Hard to judge on quarter of an hour really, but he did nothing of note during the tie he was on the pitch Bent - 5 - Had two chances and fluffed them both. Plus, his touch wasn't good today. In fairness, he probably wasn't 100% fit. Subs: Bannan - 9 - I can't pick between Given and Bannan for MOTM. We look so much better with a midfielder who can actually run with the ball and keep his passes on the floor. He should be starting games for us now. Albrighton - 6 - One good cross, and one charge-down. He's starting to look better and hopefully that'll build his confidence Ireland - 7 - It was only a cameo really, but I think he showed a lot more than he has done previously. He looks like he's lost weight and he made two really good runs forward. If Gabby had picked him out when there was only Jagielka to beat we could have won the game.

.........................GIVEN......................... HUTTON...COLLINS....DUNNE...WARNOCK N'ZOGBIA..JENAS..PETROV..AGBONLAHOR ........................IRELAND....................... ..........................BENT..........................

He did waste £15 on a Louise Redknapp album once, and there was the infamous 'Chaz & Dave' phase he went through.

I don't like the idea of McLeish beng our manager in the slightest. I think his record is poor and I don't see what he offers us in terms of improving our style of play or in youth development. Still, what makes me saddest of all is hearing my fellow fans lay into Randy Lerner and Paul Faulkner before we've even interviewed the guy. If it turns out we've tapped him up, then I'll come around to that way of thinking I suppose, as I've always been proud to support and grand old club and institution which prides itself on conducting its affairs in a proper manner. Hearing that we've deviated from that would be very disappointing. In the meantime, we're jumping the gun here and to be honest a significant number of Villa fans have been acting terribly throughout this search for our next manager. We've come across as deluded to fans of other clubs all across the country because of how we reacted to McClaren and now McLeish. All along we've been lambasting the media and throwing our support behind Randy when we didn't want to believe what we were hearing and now some of us want him gone?? Let's just calm down, let the board conclude the application process, and then see how our new manager, whoever it turns out to be, performs. We can always just sack him if he's rubbish, and if we don't remain calm whilst he is implementing his ideas and tactics onto the team then we're just making it more difficult for the players to do their job.

Nothing much except some Twitter rumours. There's some speculation that Lerner is meeting Moyes as we speak, but I wouldn't count on that being accurate. I reckon we're another week at least away from hiring a new manager.

I know it's been tense and we've had no information from the club during an important time, but we're going to have to accept that not all of us are going to get the manager we ideally wanted. Even the favourite on this poll has less than 50% of the vote. The way Villa fans rushed to attack McClaren was an embarrasment. Maybe it's because I'm Welsh and don't have to go through the same media hype over your average team as some of you do, but if title-winning managers of clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan in Capello's case can't guarantee success then why are we so suprised that McClaren couldn't? If Martinez wants the job, then he'll get my backing 100%. It would have been the same for whoever the club chose. My fear now is that whoever gets the job is a real 'Second Choice Steve'; the option the club turned to after the mob threw a wobbly in front of Adrian sodding Durham for Christ's sake.

no i dont, but he is the sort of person we might get - pretty unexpected and out of leftfield - as was houllier really. Just checked his win percentage as Croatia boss - 69%. They are currently 2nd in their qualifying group, one point behind Greece. However, apart from a short spell with Hajduk Split, he hasn't managed a club side. Seems like a bit of a risk, and will he really leave Croatia in the middle of a qualifying campaign?

Saw Slaven Bilic in the odds posted above. Anyone have an idea on how he's faring with Croatia at the moment? He seemed like an up and coming prospect a year or two ago.

this rijkaard is free in 3 days time from contract van gaal is free from contracts ancellotti is free from contracts deschamps is making noises about discontent 3 out of 4 are ready to go, they are top managers, winners at management level, internationally respected managers who have managed top european clubs. managers who will force people to take notice, force people like young and downing to consider things far more closely than before, attract better players to the club and so on and so on or hughes its like saying do you want a car for free, any car its yours for free but you must pay the running costs do you go for the rolls royce, it is awesome, pure quality, gets noticed, gets respect and people admire it but it costs alot to keep it going although it will get you there in style and you get the best car parking space or do you go for the ford focus deisel, nothing wrong with it and it will get you places although doesnt look good, performance is suspect and never gets above 80 miles per hour when it has a full load and when you park it you get a key scratch in it and someone parks their stupid honda jazz next to it and opens their door into the side panel of your car causing a small dent in it. As a man who works in car rental, you've almost convinced me.... As a man that doesn't work in car anything, you've confused me. Are you for or against a reliable but cheap alternative? If you're driving a taxi or a limo, you attract better clientele (players) in the Rolls. I want a name that has some excitement to it.... not the reliable ford focus. Haha I do apologise, what I meant was that your metaphor is ringing true to me

this rijkaard is free in 3 days time from contract van gaal is free from contracts ancellotti is free from contracts deschamps is making noises about discontent 3 out of 4 are ready to go, they are top managers, winners at management level, internationally respected managers who have managed top european clubs. managers who will force people to take notice, force people like young and downing to consider things far more closely than before, attract better players to the club and so on and so on or hughes its like saying do you want a car for free, any car its yours for free but you must pay the running costs do you go for the rolls royce, it is awesome, pure quality, gets noticed, gets respect and people admire it but it costs alot to keep it going although it will get you there in style and you get the best car parking space or do you go for the ford focus deisel, nothing wrong with it and it will get you places although doesnt look good, performance is suspect and never gets above 80 miles per hour when it has a full load and when you park it you get a key scratch in it and someone parks their stupid honda jazz next to it and opens their door into the side panel of your car causing a small dent in it. As a man who works in car rental, you've almost convinced me....

I really struggleed to select any of the possible choices in the poll. To me, there seems to be a number of reasonable options that would all do a reasonable job, beyond that I fear we'd be taking expensive risks. I'd love the idea of Ancelotti, but for some reason Ray Wilkins annoys the hell out of me and when you look at the clubs he has managed before, they will have been structured very differently to ours. I'm not sure he'd want the additional workload and responsibility over the areas of transfers etc, plus having a smaller staff to work with. I'm also not sure how realistic his salary demands would be. McClaren did well for a while at Middlesbrough and of course with FC Twente, plus he has a great coaching pedigree. As a non-Englishman obviously his record with the national team does not concern me as much as iit will many of you, although I agree he is equally liable to be a disaster as a success. Being Welsh, I remember Hughes' first job in management with our national team. He did very well, for a while, albeit with a strong Wales team which had Premiership players in every position. Let's not forget that Wales were one dope-taking Russian side away from appearing at a major finals. His record in the Premier League is good, although not groundbreaking I suppose. I think he would be a good appointment. Moyes seems like an excellent manager, although whether we're a much better proposition for him than Everton is debatable at this time. I just can't see us paying the compensation for him. Deschamps, Benitez, Rijkaard et al would excite the fans but they are all huge risks in my opinion. Martinez hasn't done enough for me to deserve being manager of AVFC. I do think he's one to watch for the future though. So, by process of elimation, unless there's someone I'm forgetting, I'd go for Hughes.

Assuming that we won't try and 'headhunt' from other clubs, that would leave us with a realistic shortlist of: Rafael Benitez Mark Hughes Martin Jol Steve McClaren I think of the four I'd take a chance with Hughes or McClaren before the rest. I think Benitez would require far too much money and I have never been overly impressed by Martin Jol.

Dear me, the statistics on aortic dissection make for frightening reading. I wish Gerard and his family all the best, and I agree with Billy_loes, I can't see him coming back if what he's suffering from this time is linked to what he had at Liverpool.

Well, that was dull. We didn't show a lot of creativity today, and whilst Stoke were well organised we got through them with through balls once or twice and I think we could have beaten them reasonably easily on another day. Still, it's another point on the board I suppose in difficult circumstances. Friedel - 6 - Had barely anything to do all afternoon and the little that was asked of him he coped with well. He had no chance for their goal. Walker - 7 - Good game today, outplaying Etherington and obviously had the assist for our goal. Good for him too, after a couple of ropey displays. Collins - 6 - A tough day for him, given Stoke's physicality. He did ok. Dunne - 6 - See my rating for Collins pretty much. L. Young - 6 - Some good moments and some poor moments. Defensively he was good but he doesn't offer a lot going forward when he plays left back. Downing - 6 - I thought he was better than Ashley today, although that isn't saying much. Reo-Coker - 6 - Typical Reo-Coker performance. I don't think Stoke's central midfield is particularly good but they are quite resilient and Reo did look up for that challenge. Petrov - 6 - Good first half I thought, although I didn't notice him after 60 minutes. I feel we could have brought Makoun on for him the second half because we were clearly on top and he would have offered a different threat. A. Young - 5 - Played today, did he? Someone should have told him that even if he moves to Man Utd he'll still have to play Stoke twice a season. Delivered one good corner and one good freekick but was mostly anonymous in open play and also had a few poor crosses. Heskey - 5 - Poor really. I think he tried hard but Stoke dealt with him well. Bent - 7 - Very good again I though, except for that one slip late on. The only player on our team who looked like scoring.

Got home from the match a little while ago now. Having spoken to my father who watched the match at home, my impression of how things went were more positive being at the ground than perhaps it seemed on television. I thought in the second half in particular we really dominated Newcastle, and anything other than a win for us would have been harsh. The only sour note is that I do feel bad for Bent and Makoun that a perfectly good goal was disallowed. I think it would have done Makoun in particular the world of good. Friedel - 7 - Good performance all-around. He made some important, if not particularly difficult saves today Walker - 4 - Worst game for Villa I thought. Not as good as usual going forward and struggled against Gutierrez and Lovenkrands. Still, he's only young and he was bound to have an off-day sooner or later Collins - 6 - I'm glad he got the goal, because he performed a damn sight better after he scored than beforehand. Considering that he is supposedly such good friends with Dunne, their communication was poor today and I still have reservations about his positioning and decision making Dunne - 7 - For me, the best player out of our defenders today. Solid, and coped with Ranger well. Showed a decent turn of pace on two instances too. L Young - 6 - Did a tidy job considering he was playing on his weaker side. I'm normally not a huge fan of his, but today I thought he played well. Downing - 6 - Drifted in and out of the game, although I always felt like he could create something, more so than Ashley today. Makoun - 7 - Can't believe he's getting some stick on here today. Bar a few stray passes in the first half he kept us ticking over nicely in midfield, and made some very good challenges in midfield too. Hardly a two-footer amongst them! Petrov - 8 - Captain's display today. Obviously up for it after getting his award for 100 caps. Although he tired towards the end, he seemed to keep his influence in the game throughout. A Young - 5 - Got better in the second half, but was playing too deep and didn't look like he was really putting a shift in for us today. Agbonlahor - 7 - Still some issues to address, but I thought Gabby played really well today. He isn't the most intelligent footballer, but he is dangerous and with more movement and support in the box, could have set up a goal or two for us today. Bent - 6 - Shame his goal was disallowed. Played as well as we can expect. I think we need a strike partner with him though. Drifts in and out of the game a la Downing.

I think Bent could do with working harder actually. Their defence really isn't all that great and if Bent shows a bit more urgency we can get Makoun to feed Young, Bent or Downing through the middle and get more chances to test Kingson. The service to Bent hasn't been good in the first half, but he hasn't looked particularly lively to me yet.

Having taken the lead twice, that was definitely a case of two points dropped due to two individual errors from Friedel. However, a few others haven't covered themselves in glory. Agbonlahor is wasted on the left, he just cannot play there. The same goes for Ashley Young in the middle. He doesn't create, and can't hold onto the ball. Petrov now shouldn't command a starting place in our side in my opinion. He's just too slow. Apart from that, I thought everyone else was ok at least. Makoun or Downing MOTM for me.