Ratings and Reactions: Villa - West Ham

[romavillan]

For me the team did not play well I think everybody agrees there. But the supporters hardly did our bit, being out sung all match. And what the ,,,,,,, was the booing about when Bertrand limped off and Bennett came on.  

 

Bennett was not great last season but how many LB's do we have? First game of the season and the fans boo him really going to help him.  As it was he did not look out of place, from my seat.

 H

 

Was watching but didn't hear boos for Bennett, if true that's a **** disgrace. Not going to help us get back into the game if he has his confidence shot before he's even kicked a ball.

First goal was a jammy deflection after some really good work by downing and nolan. no deflection and guzan saves that. second was a horrible gift. 

 

then we smash the post and the bar and have a ton of other chances go close. not the end fo the world, we were unlucky not to come away with a point. we will keep being inconsistent that much is obvious. i'm not going to get my knickers in a twist about it though, we need to win 4 from 13 games, a lot of them are winnable. 

[Robbie09]

I think baker can make it he just needs proper coaching and he won't get that from team lambert.

 

He's too slow. He'll only improve if we appoint Usain Bolt to the coaching team.

[villa kicks]

After that incredible match v WBA @ home coming from 2 goals down I did have hope that there would be a super climb back into the match yesterday.

I feel we began the 1st half with a period of control possession and no real threat. West ham were therefor allowed to settle in and soon, on the counter attack initially, became the more dominant team.

In the first half Downing was a threat and so to Jarvis. For me that highlights a need for some width for villa. The width was hoping to come from fullbacks by gett ing forward yet this tactic was hardly ever used. I appreciated the tackles made by Clark and Baker which saved villa from. Personally I felt both baker and Clark did ok but was not so impressed on this occasion by the fullback play - both moving forward and defending .

In the second period I hoped that avfc would start prepared like our motto suggests and prove we are the most awesome claret and blue team in the league !

What I saw was despite home advantage and winning our last home game west ham score straight from kick off. Even then watching my stream I thought this would prompt villa into life. Especially as we have gained 10 or so points in recovery this 13-14 season.

Ok so for the 2nd goal baker should have just thundered in and through like he does (on Delphi) and the ball when it broke free on edge of area.

The individual error by delph is something I feel he can learn from. I m always encouraged by his sheer commitment and drive and most impressed that he likes to take on the ball .

Kevin Nolan someone I advocated looking at for villa pounced on to finish . He took this goal and the 1st very well. Again this highlights to me the need for a experienced head in the middle attack .

What cost us was decision making for the goals especially the second.

I do feel villa battled with pride once being 2 goals down and I was hopeful a comeback would make .

Albrighton offered some great opportunities for goal scores. His first ball in was superb . His set piece inswinging free kick was like an Ashley young special .. I swear it was in and his shot hitting the post ronaldo esq !

I was sooo happy that he was taking the corners as he delivers far better than westy ! We seemed to be threatening even time!

I was convinced someone would score and that comeback was on .

I looked at the time on my tv screen it said 82mins.. at that point I started to wonder.. I heard the commentator say villa fans started to leave .. with that I felt the fans there know we aint getting anything .

On one concession Benteke if a little further out would have had a overhead kick on target and potential goal ...

16 shots 1 on target . Villa had majority of possession but we lost this one . Very frustrating.

Good news !

As an option despite my thinking he's not a premier league player it was great joey bennett came on, a developing player, can now provide more options.

It was great to have Agbonlahor back and I would think he was nt 100% as offered little.

The next game in wales give him chance for space and expect a goal .

As we know finished 2-0

As we know at home we aren't the strongest .

And now after the transfer window closed and teams have strengthened I'm left thinking the more things change in the premier league the more they stay the same at aston villa.

Up the villa !

[Electric Avenue]

I cannot defend yesterday

[rjw63]

"Managers tactics - very good - one vote"

 

Not even funny!!!

[villa kicks]

Do people feel that an away match v Cardiff will bring 3 points. I certainly don't think villa will lose

[rjw63]

If we're as shit as yesterday we'll get smashed

[Electric Avenue]

Without vlaar we are hopeless

[squirdle]

I cannot defend yesterday

Baker and Clark cannot defend any day!

[PaulC]

Do people feel that an away match v Cardiff will bring 3 points. I certainly don't think villa will lose

 

yes we're different away. 

[butler50]

Our lack of creativity is just frightening and out stats on chances etc is just embarrassing at times. Thomas Ince was a perfect target to get in Jan aswell as another cb. But we didn't and when we don't have vlaar we have no chance it's a simple as that. I like Paul Lambert but at times he gets it so right but then so terribly wrong tactics wise. Were in a scrap again when 3 points today would have kept us just out of it. #pray4villa

[TRO]

 

I'd rather us never have possession. We do a lot better with about 28%.

ha ha.... its like having your missus's tights as a fan belt, engine seems to run ok lets leave it there and not replace the fan belt.

 

playing with 30% possession is a stop gap.....any team looking for progression, sustainability or consistency cannot afford to dismiss possession.

 

......you're kidding yourself

 

PS its not the possession thats the problem.....its what you do with it when you've got it, or in our case what you DON'T do with it.

Edited February 9, 2014 by TRO

[TRO]

Joe Bennett has a beard.

 ......must be his girl friends mascara

[Electric Avenue]

We look like a jumbled together collection of ex Middlesbrough , Crewe and Sheff Utd players with some random foreigners thrown in for good measure

[TRO]

On a different day, this game could easily be 2-2. It wasn't and the players and manager will need to reflect on some poor decisions and a lot of bad luck.

 

If my auntie had bollocks she would be my uncle.

 

so what about the Albion game that could have gone the other way and what about the City game, where if we played them another 20 times at home we would lose.

 

wake up and smell the coffee.....oh and by the way Baker and Clarke are amongst the worst 2 Centre Halves I have witnessed in 50 years of watching Villa....No domination of the position just reactionary low graders.

Edited February 9, 2014 by TRO

[TRO]

 

 

Agbonlahor did NOTHING the entire game.

 

Delph has actually cost us a few times losing the ball in shocking positions.

 

Albrighton the so called championship player by loads of people on here what obviously our best player...

 

By god Lambert... Today... No width until Albrighton came on... Seriously... Just shocking tactics... Not good enough. We really need a different team for home games. Some players just don't turn up.

 

Big Sam nailed Lambert today, better tactics.

 

Not really. Lambert saw a problem at attempted to correct it with Albrighton and it almost paid off. West Ham just sat back as we wasted chances.

 

The problem is that everyone saw what changes needed to be made within 10 min of the game, probably even sooner. Yet, Lambert waited until 60 minutes and two goals down to make changes.

At the start of the game we have had no width and our three strikers had no space in that packed box.

Our defensive line with full backs being forced to go too far forward due to the lack of wide players was asking for trouble and we were very lucky not to be down by half time. Our midfield was caught between the play by being too far from the strikers and having to sprint back to help cover the defence when they were caught out by a ball down the channels every time West Ham got the ball.

I have stuck up for Lambert in the past, but the so called bizarre habit we have of only showing up in 1 half (or 30 mins) is IMO down to Lambert and his inability to adjust quickly to the opposition.

 

The problems are in every department of the team....if you had Robben & RIbery on either wing, no one attacks the ball with poise and finesse, there is no cohesion with running of the ball and the passer, theres no coordination, they spend all their time fumbling with the ball, you would think our lot are playing with a rugby ball, they made Kevin Nolan look like Cantona/Berbatov

[Zhan_Zhuang]

We should be playing 4-4-2 at home with KEA and Delph in the middle, Gabby and Albrighton on the flanks.

 

Then we'd have the width required and the box wouldn't be so packed.

[Electric Avenue]

Did Weimann do anything yesterday ? I don't recall him touching the ball

[cbr600rr]

Did Weimann do anything yesterday ? I don't recall him touching the ball

carnt recall gabby doing much? 

[JoshVilla]

Normally the day after a game I'll have calmed down a bit and put things into perspective etc etc, but after yesterday, I just can't stop thinking about how we've given ourselves a humongous kick in the wedding vegetables. I've lost count of the amount of times this season that we've had chances to get ourselves well out of trouble and put some serious points on the table and then gone and completely ballsed it up. We've dropped points (either by losing or drawing) to the likes of Stoke, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Fulham, Hull, Sunderland and Swansea. If we're looking at finishing in a decent position, we just can't be doing that. Yet again, we find ourselves relying on the teams below us to do worse than us, and now that they've started to pick up points we're getting dragged in. I can't believe just how much we fall apart when we're missing 1 centre half. You'd have thought that we'd still be able to cope without him, assuming that we've learnt things from him, but no, we just completely fall apart and lose our organisation. Putting it simply, if we fail to pick up 3 points on Tuesday, then we are well and truly in the shit (if we aren't already). The league is far too close this year to be dropping points and we need to reach the magical 40 point mark as soon as we can.

 

I hate to be so negative, but if we fail to pick up points against awful, uninspired teams like West Ham, then it's gonna be a horribly nervous end to this season. Starting with Cardiff, no more stupid mistakes that are so easily cut out, no more switching off, no more wasting chances, just 3 points from the games we should get them from.