steaknchips

Gabby to get the winner off an Albrighton cross..

Is Gabby still playing

1st time Albrighton and N'Zogbia have been played together..Would have kept Bannan on though and took off Delph instead.

Not good enough..No finesse, no ball control..We look like an away team against a top 4 side atm.

If you had seen him play against Utd in his first season in a three - with Stan holding and Milner attacking - when he ran the show before they went down to ten men you would, IMO, know what he brings to the table. He is a playmaker and, to get the best out of him, IMO, he needs a sitting midfielder/enforcer/DCM alongside him and a link striker/ACM in front of him. Only when Eck plays this formation (if he could ever work it out), IMO, will we see the best of Delph. For me, Bannan is the same type of player and would benefit from the same set up/formation. Well Eck has been playing this formation to an extent...I mean Stan is still in there as the holding player and Heskey is in the more advanced role, which Milner would have played in.

what strengths have you worked out that makes him a great lb He has a great left foot, great pace, he can track back or fly forward and offer the over lap..Its a position he can make his own unlike in the midfield. He is also less likely to be closed down, so he would get more time on the ball..He could also be very effective defensively against trickery and the smaller faster opponents on the wings..Yet in midfield he is up against players like Fellaini and co' and more often than not, just gets eaten up, or left too quiet in the background. I would like to see more of him at Left back, with him bringing the ball forward in his own little space with plenty of confidence, then have a wide player like N'Zogbia (who can also do a good job at LB) ahead of him has his partner in crime, or side kick.It could be great left side for the team both defensively and in attack.

The Europa Cup because then you play the Champions League winners in the Super Cup..Could mean a very eye catching game v Barcelona.

Would make a great LB in place of Warnock.. Im still trying to work out his strengths and what he brings to the table as a midfielder..

For a french international who cost nearly £10m he should be playing better than he is This maybe one of the reasons K'Mac has been bought into the 1st team coaching role by McLeish. To be fair McLeish is top drawer at organsing the defence but I dont think he is too clued up on how to work with attacking players..And K'Mac will add alot of knowledge to the set up.

I thought you wanted to give Clark the captaincy. I was wrong, as I judged players on their attitudes of last season.Yet Dunne so far this season..His attitude(and performances)have been top drawer and whilst in the form he is in, if he was captain I think it would rub off well on the rest of the team. Ah, but did you not want Dunne shipped out because of his attitude to GH last year?? :? Not just for his attitude towards Houllier but more for the damage he was doing in the dressing room and club, especially amongst our younger players....He is paid to represent and play for the club..If Houllier and Duverne's training was too difficult for him, maybe he approached it all wrong. I think he tried to get a posse to go against the system, trying to draw up other players to go against the ethos Houllier was trying to instill..Or to go behind Houllier's back slagging him off to Lerner and board..Maybe a quiet one on one with Houllier would have been more respectful? I just think Houllier was up against it from the start. Some players were not happy MON walked, others not happy K'Mac wasnt given the job. Moyes could have taken over at that point and some players would still have been annoyed. Dunne and others did our club no favours last season, so I will stand by what I said..However he is playing well for now and thats all that matters for the club.

The only downside to Clark, is that he can linger onto the ball for too long when in possession..He needs to be coached to read the pass he is going to make before he receives the ball(kinda like Makoun).. His defensive cover and reading the game defensively is very good..He is strong and good in the tackle.My worry would just be him losing possession against a decent side in a dangerous area...So if they could work on his vision for the pass/release of the ball quicker and more accurate, he would be a complete player in the DM role...And all this, I feel is easily workable in training.

I think he has joined a team where he is having to work for the ball more. And when he gets the ball he has very little support or movement from the rest of the team. Both he and Bent look isolated at times.. Either Delph or Petrov need to push up ALOT more and support the attacking play by making runs to create more space for N'Zognia to exploit. I can see why he looks frustrated, its a completely different type of game at Villa for him atm. If you watch our midfield when we get ball, its kinda static, yet you do see Bent and N'zogbia making good runs off the ball. It all comes to down to the lack of confidence in Petrov's ability to hold the midfield defensively..We tend to have a gap between striker/attack and the midfield and someone needs to bridge this gap.

I think Bannan and Delph would work well with a combative midfielder in there too. I just think all these players need a midfielder that does the nitty gritty stuff and the dirty work in the team. Petrov is too slow and cant cover the ground, so it forces other players to track back all the time and we lose our balance. With a combative midfielder the rest of team could hold its shape a bit better. We also have the problem that Petrov tends to offer the negative pass to our defenders etc, which sometimes forces the opossition front players to close the ball down, in turn forcing our defensive players to quickly just lob it forward.. Whereas if Petrov made more positive passing, it would encourage forward movement and passing within the team, with the opossition having to peg back.

I thought you wanted to give Clark the captaincy. I was wrong, as I judged players on their attitudes of last season.Yet Dunne so far this season..His attitude(and performances)have been top drawer and whilst in the form he is in, if he was captain I think it would rub off well on the rest of the team.

He cant play in the system McLeish plays..He has just left a club that are built to play passing football, by working the ball through the team, spreading it out wide etc...Bent and N'Zogbia will struggle at hoof ball. We need to start playing the game, passing more to bring N'Zogbia and Bent into the game more.

Petrov was poor against Everton and his goal kinda saved him. But our midfield was eaten alive by Everton, they played rings around us. I dont know what the answer is because we dont really have anyone that can replace Petrov in the squad, unless we give Clark a run out in DM and give Dunne the captaincy. Clark will offer more drive and energy, he will also cover more ground.

A young footballer on the playing field at school may only get one chance to impress a visiting scout from a top club..This is football mate and the game is to impress,win and earn your place in the team. Any scout watching him today would swiftly move on to another.

well obviously we are all entitled to our own opinions..4m quid and 30k per week in our financial situation could have been spent better..RB wasn't a priority with the players we already have in the squad.

Redknapp didnt like Bent, he was always a good/top player...Hutton is 2nd rate and on a different level to Bent.It was 4m quid and 30k a week wasted, we have Herd, Beye and Cuellar that can all play at RB..

Well if he cant get in the Spurs team, whats he doing in the Villa team? 4m quid down the drain. Bent couldn't get into the Spurs team either :? Bent will be gone in Jan because this system dosnt suit him...Houllier knew how to play him and we would be looking at a 25 goal a season player..In this system he looks crap!

Well if he cant get in the Spurs team, whats he doing in the Villa team? 4m quid down the drain.

We look far better when we try and play it on the ground..Far too many long wasted balls.

3rd choice RB at Spurs for 4m? Shocking!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1367156/French-fitness-coach-Robert-Duverne-centre-Aston-Villa-row.html