Kwan

3-2 off a lazy goal ffs. That's what Villa get for being lazy.

Petrov off, Ireland on. Petrov picked up a knock I think.

Heskey off, Jenas on

Jenas looks to be coming on

Can Gabby be stopped right now? Is he Ashley Young in disguise with these crosses?

No doubt that there are players who can play Heskey's role better. Would love to see a midfield three of Bannan, Petrov, and Herd

Great first half. One of the few times I'd say to keep them all on the pitch. Lots of good performances so far. Fair play to Heskey even for holding it up well. Herd looks like a player though. Big fan.

BENT! Can't miss that one. Gabby tearing up the left right now.

was gabby I thought Nah, just Hutton diving in too late.

Unstoppable shot. Set up by a Hutton foul.

Bent. Whyyyyyyyy

Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Petrov, Herd, N'Zogbia, Heskey, Agbonlahor, Bent Disheartening line-up

Given - 5.5 Not much he can do about the goals and he came out for crosses better than I thought he has in previous games. Could have done better with the first goal but not much can be blamed on him. Hutton - 3.5 At fault for the first goal for lazily wandering up and completely whiffing on the tackle. He takes far too long to close down the defenders, doesn't get tight enough, and is constantly out of position. It's compounded by the fact that he's second to almost every ball and looks to be outpaced by everyone. He gets forward enough and gets in good positions but it means nothing when his delivery has been shameful to say the least. Honestly needs a benching to at least get his head straight. Collins - 4 Good on him for his goal, but it was mostly a moment of right place/right time more than anything. Consistently steps up too far and causes too many gaps behind him. At this point, I don't think anything can be done with that. He was committed, but was constantly a kamikaze of flying arms/legs every time he was near an opponent. I put my head down whenever he winds up for a hoof. The poor delivery is one thing, but the compulsion to hoof when there are other options readily present is beyond understandable. He's not the worse defender in the world, but he's limited and with a few available options for the bench, I wouldn't miss him too much from the team sheet. Dunne - 6 Applied himself well and was again the calmer player in the partnership. Perhaps could have done better with the second goal, but our set piece problems extend beyond Dunne. His distribution was decent and was not the punting machine that Collins was. He was also isolated a few times out on the wing but stood his ground and carried himself well. Warnock - 6 Though he played a good game bar one stray pass in the second half. Was calm on the ball and though it's likely he will be dispossessed at some point in the season, he seems far more concerned with keeping it on the ground and passing it to someone's feet. Stays on his feet more instead of clumsily lunging in and perhaps his season away taught him a lot of lessons. Is obviously the better of the two fullbacks right now. Petrov - 7.5 MOTM It's a testament to our lack of options when Petrov is our main set piece taker. Points for his wonderfully taken goal and good delivery on his set piece. He looked really buoyed by his goal in the first half and was getting about well. Disappeared as we lost the ball in the second half, but made it count when we needed it. Like Collins, he's a limited player, but should stay on the team sheet for a lack of options than anything else. Hopeful he can keep his run of form. Herd - 7 Great display by the youngster. Took on any takers and tackled well. One of the few games where we weren't constantly carved down the middle and is definitely one of the first names on the team sheet for me. He's much more of a water carrier when he's on the ball, but with his defensive effort and efficiency, he's a perfect fit for a DM role. Gabby - 6.5 Not a winger, but does his best to continue being an impact player. Covered Warnock very well and did his best when he could get forward. His pace was a problem for all of the Sunderland defenders, but his final ball was lacking. Lovely play in the box late in the second half that gifted Bent with his only clear cut chance. Gabby also distributed the ball well and gets points for getting into the punk Larsson. All that said that, he needs to play up front. He can put in the odd good cross, but he's much more dangerous and can create more chances for Bent when he's higher up the pitch. His contributions defensively and adaptability going forward means he can be deployed on the wing, but it's not where we can get the most value of him. Heskey - 3 I'll try not to let the rant go too long, but the frailty in our set pieces aren't going to be solved by Heskey. Slow is a kind word to describe his pace today and a bit off is much too kind to say about his touch. Perhaps Eck really believes in his contributions defensively, but his shambolic efforts on the attacking front can't simply be overlooked just because he's a tall fella. His name on the team sheet signals a concession to draw rather than an effort to win and I will never be behind that. N'Zogbia - 5 I know, it looks to be his best game in a Villa shirt, but it still wasn't enough. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on him, but despite his efforts to get into the box, he was far too predictable. His inability to deliver a meaningful cross means he needs to cut it back every single time for a shot and it makes him a one note player. Several times he get into the edge of the area in the game, only to cut it back and either a) lose the ball or sky it over the bar. He looked promising, but still got shoved far too easily off the ball and didn't take his chances when he had them in bulk in the first half. He's not a natural winger and his lack of delivery limits him when he receives the ball out on the wing. Bent - 4.5 His rating highlights our lack of chances more than anything. Yes, he missed his sitter. He should have put it away but it wasn't his worse miss in the world. The fact is that the way he plays always puts him as either the scapegoat or the hero. His frustration and irritation must be growing each game as the appalling lack of chances mount. It is not a coincidence that he scored in relative abundance when we had the playmakers to put him in front of the net, but he will not make every, single chance he gets. He'll score his fair share of goals because he has an eye for it but he's in a poor run of form and he's not getting enough chances right now and it's going to hurt both us and him. Albrighton - Not on long enough Eck - 3 It wasn't our worse game of the season, but at this point, it's evident we are just midtable fodder. We will lose most of the games we should lose, draw some of the games we should win, and win the games needed to keep us out of relegation. He has shown good progression in trying to understand the team and who fits well in what pieces, but the inclusion of Heskey in the line-up just signals an effort to not lose games, instead of trying to win them. It's a rhetoric that just invites pressure and doesn't let Villa take the game to an opponent like they should. He can't find a way to comfortably get Gabby, Bent, and N'Zog all on the same sheet without someone being out of position and needs the balls to drop one of the names. Surely he can also see that Hutton is chronically under performing to say the least and that Collins is a limited player who is more likely to have more bad days than good days. The game was calling out for a change in the second half, but Eck was so desperate to not concede from a set piece that he kept Heskey on in favor of going out there and trying to win the game. Look where that got us. Despite the scoreline, it goes down as one of his most disappointingly managed games of the season. Perhaps, on the back of two losses, he was more inclined to see us shore up our defenses but nothing about his management speaks for a need to win. Our players are cautious, not confident. Apprehensive instead of creative. It's that type of mentality that will hold us back far more than Heskey can ever do.

Hold on, Villa!!!

It wasn't the worse miss by him so far and he made the right decision since the keeper went the wrong way. It's just the way Bent plays, he's always going to be the scapegoat or the hero. 3 points can still be found here, but it will take Eck relinquishing his fear of losing and taking off Heskey's supposed superiority in set pieces in favor of a player that can make some more chances.

fssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss Why Darren, why?

Game's crying out for a change. I'll stop with the Heskey things, but he's honestly just occupying space. The fact that he doesn't look like he gives a shit isn't helping either. N'Zog has looked good, but isn't a winger. The sooner Eck realizes this the better, but he looks far too uncomfortable trying to cross and is always going for the shot when he gets the ball outside the area. Gabby's tried and tried, but he's far more dangerous up front than on the wing. And so we have 4 strikers with no nuance of link up play (besides arguably Gabby) and two defensive minded CM's. Hoof away.

Heskey is just utter shambles right now. For once we have a DM that's getting around the pitch, but we just have a mindless mass occupying the middle instead of getting the ball around. Gabby, Petrov, and N'Zog have looked good. Herd is getting around the pitch well, but looks a bit lost on the ball right now. Hutton has looked predictably shaky whenever the ball is down his side and N'Zog's lackadaisical covering isn't helping. N'Zog has looked good going forward, but is too left-footed for me right now. Every time he cuts it back, the defenders look well prepared for it and it's obvious he doesn't want to go on his right. I'd either bring Ireland in for Heskey's role or Albrighton in for Heskey and play a straight 442.

Heskey off and Albrighton on. Move Gabby up top and just play 442 ffs. Herd might not know which way he's kicking in but he'll do all the defensive work for Petrov.

Hutton is getting forward well, but I'm much more queasy when the ball goes down Huttons' side as compared to when Warnock is defending

At least N'Zogbia looks up for it for once. Hopefully his confidence will grow in the final third.

Once you get up above Division 3, it becomes pretty difficult. I recommend playing 4 star teams because people tend to be egotistical pricks in the top flights.

Playing against the AI is horrid in this game. I know they don't want it to be easy for us but Accrington shouldn't be able to pass it around like they're Barcelona. The CPU seems more intent on playing keep away rather than playing towards the game situation. Online is a blast though. I love H2H Seasons and getting promoted and relegated but I wish they would patch up the GK exploit already. It's a tad bit annoying coming up against one of those players. I don't see what the moaning is about defending though. I defend the same way I did on FIFA 11, just with different buttons now. For those of you complaining about the 1-2 thing, stop getting sucked up and stop holding R1. I barely tap the contain button as it leaves you too exposed most of the times.