Avfc96 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Im not too annoyed by today. As Stefan said too still be 7th after Liv (A) Ars (H) Che (A) Man C (H) is actually quite good. However if over few weeks after the international break then I will be annoyed if we are still playing defensive first football. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 We could've done with a Burnley or QPR as a sort of sandwich in this fixture list. For example WBA had Burnley right after Spurs to continue their momentum so I do think we've been unlucky in that regard right after the Liverpool game to have these three very tough fixtures. I was very critical last year with our annual losing runs after excellent wins but I will let Lambert off this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 It has been a gruesome runs of games....but after them we need to get back to building things and not feel sorry for ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Of course. I'll happily take a point at Goodison and probably at home v Spurs with their recent hoodoo over us so QPR to me is the key game as we are usually hopeless in night games in London. 5 points from our next 3 games will do very nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSV Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 (edited) We have had a tough run and confidence is a bit lower after successive defeats. I thought Lambert made the right calls with what we had. However pellegrini bringing on an extra midfielder for dzeko was a masterstroke. Game was going in our favour at that point. Benteke came on and VP was rocking. Having Fernando take control of midfield and possession in their favour took the crowd out of it. Not much Lambert could of done. We could have brought on our own DM instead of grealish but Sanchez hasn't looked crash hot and Nzogbia was tiring. I personally wouldn't have taken Wiemann off as we lost the work rate upfront. Would have played him wide. We missed Gabbys speed as well. Just glad to get these fixtures out of the way and were still 7th with many teams still to play the big 4. Were doing well. Vlaar should return as well next game. Still positive. Can't wait to play an easier team and we may see the villa in the first half of the hull match. Edited October 5, 2014 by KSV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted October 5, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted October 5, 2014 It has been a gruesome runs of games....but after them we need to get back to building things and not feel sorry for ourselves. Maybe it's good that we got the games where we only defend out of the way at once. Now we can concentrate on our attacking game again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Is the right answer. Totally disagree with that. We sat back way too deep and tried to play for a point. Add to that Lambert seriously weakening the side with his crazy double substitution and result was inevitable. With a bit more guile we could have very easily caught them on the break as we did last season. Bringing Grealish on - who has more guile than Richardson - was an attempt to do exactly that, to solidify a bit more at the back with Bacuna while leaving an outlet for counter-attacks. It didn't work, at all, but I can't fault the logic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyjsg Posted October 5, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted October 5, 2014 I think Lambert's plans for the day went out the window in the warm up. In a game like this, Gabby is without a doubt the main outlet for the counter attack. He made the correct subs, but sadly Jack looked Okay at best (which is normal for a young kid), Benteke looked like a player coming back from injury and Bacuna came on as we had little other options. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic_bouma Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Worst possession stats in the league Worst shots on target in the league Worst number of passes completed in the league People will say we've had a difficult run but we we built up these stats in the first three games and have simply continued them. There is no denying that Lamberts brand of football is horrible to watch. Despite the poor run of games I'm struggling to see much that will change once we play the poorer teams. There is no pattern to our play and no real gameplan other than wait until we win the ball and then run as fast as we can to the other end of the pitch. There is no invention to our play, it's all so predictable. We play with wide players but rarely spread the play and stretch teams. When we play down the middle our attacks break down because we have nobody who can find pockets of space or thread a nice ball. We will see this midfield three of Westwood Delph and Cleverley all season and 9 times out of 10 it will provide us with nothing other than sideways passes and good pressing of the ball. I can't see who is going to create chances once Benteke is back. We are simply going to have to rely on him creating his own wondergoals. Seeing Diame ripping it up at Hull is really annoying me as i knew he would have been perfect for us. Such a better player than Cleverley. A creative midfielder is an absolute must in January. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Seriously though what is Lamberts philosophy? What style is he trying to create? Do we have a style? I know we playing the champions but does it really need to look like men against boys. Is he not drilling it home to the players that we do not have to attack as soon as we get the ball. For their goal we had the ball and aimlessly ran in to their defender to give it back. Pass he bloody ball around. Kill some minutes. Get some confidence. You're Premier League players earning mega bucks. I refuse to believe you're not capable of stringing 5 passes together regardless of opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Worst possession stats in the league Worst shots on target in the league Worst number of passes completed in the league People will say we've had a difficult run but we we built up these stats in the first three games and have simply continued them. There is no denying that Lamberts brand of football is horrible to watch. Despite the poor run of games I'm struggling to see much that will change once we play the poorer teams. There is no pattern to our play and no real gameplan other than wait until we win the ball and then run as fast as we can to the other end of the pitch. There is no invention to our play, it's all so predictable. We play with wide players but rarely spread the play and stretch teams. When we play down the middle our attacks break down because we have nobody who can find pockets of space or thread a nice ball. We will see this midfield three of Westwood Delph and Cleverley all season and 9 times out of 10 it will provide us with nothing other than sideways passes and good pressing of the ball. I can't see who is going to create chances once Benteke is back. We are simply going to have to rely on him creating his own wondergoals. Seeing Diame ripping it up at Hull is really annoying me as i knew he would have been perfect for us. Such a better player than Cleverley. A creative midfielder is an absolute must in January. I think our problem is lack of patience. Better teams move the ball around until they can see an opening. If the opening is not a good one and start again. Our problem is the players feel they have to attempt the killer ball whenever we get chance too. 9 times outa 10 there was no ball on the quality isn't there. If they can move it around quicker in the middle spaces will eventually open. If Swansea can do why can't we? Unfortunately I think the quality of our players is maybe poorer than we realise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Why are they so tired? Because they spent the whole of the first half pressing Man City to win the ball back. How about they try and keep it a bit longer instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Why are they so tired? Because they spent the whole of the first half pressing Man City to win the ball back. How about they try and keep it a bit longer instead? You reckon giving it away all the time is the game plan or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Why are they so tired? Because they spent the whole of the first half pressing Man City to win the ball back. How about they try and keep it a bit longer instead? You reckon giving it away all the time is the game plan or something? I'm trying to understand why they can't keep the ball for more than 5 passes. Any ideas? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TrentVilla Posted October 5, 2014 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Why are they so tired? Because they spent the whole of the first half pressing Man City to win the ball back. How about they try and keep it a bit longer instead? You reckon giving it away all the time is the game plan or something? I'm trying to understand why they can't keep the ball for more than 5 passes. Any ideas? Perhaps it's something to do with Man City being the current champions and one of the most expensive teams ever that is packed with top quality international players. Just a thought. But no you are probably right, it's probably just a tactic of Lambert's to not want his players to retain the ball. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back?Why are they so tired? Because they spent the whole of the first half pressing Man City to win the ball back. How about they try and keep it a bit longer instead?You reckon giving it away all the time is the game plan or something? I'm trying to understand why they can't keep the ball for more than 5 passes. Any ideas? Perhaps it's something to do with Man City being the current champions and one of the most expensive teams ever that is packed with top quality international players. Just a thought. But no you are probably right, it's probably just a tactic of Lambert's to not want his players to retain the ball. I'm not having a direct dig at Lambert. I'm talking in general. So just because the opponent is far superior it means you forget how to do the basics? Maybe it's a mental thing and the game is lost before they even come out on pitch. I don't care that we lose to top teams and I'm proud of how they battled for most the game. It's the basic ball retention I can't get my head round. We really do make things harder for ourselves then it needs to be. Possession wasn't much better in the first 3 games to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Is the right answer. Totally disagree with that. We sat back way too deep and tried to play for a point. Add to that Lambert seriously weakening the side with his crazy double substitution and result was inevitable. With a bit more guile we could have very easily caught them on the break as we did last season. Bringing Grealish on - who has more guile than Richardson - was an attempt to do exactly that, to solidify a bit more at the back with Bacuna while leaving an outlet for counter-attacks. It didn't work, at all, but I can't fault the logic. Is the right answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Is the right answer. Totally disagree with that. We sat back way too deep and tried to play for a point. Add to that Lambert seriously weakening the side with his crazy double substitution and result was inevitable. With a bit more guile we could have very easily caught them on the break as we did last season. Bringing Grealish on - who has more guile than Richardson - was an attempt to do exactly that, to solidify a bit more at the back with Bacuna while leaving an outlet for counter-attacks. It didn't work, at all, but I can't fault the logic. Except from where I was sitting Bacuna seemed to be a straight swap for CNZ so he was an attacking midfielder not a defender. Grealish may have more guile but he is an 18 year old kid with very little game time who had to deal with Zabaleta and Milner who replaced a very experienced and capable midfielder in Richardson. I think that double substitution not 'logical' it was little short of suicidal and for me at least its no coincidence that we then concede two goals. It proved to me yet again the shortcomings of Lambert as a manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Is it not possible that the players tired and City found another gear, forcing us back? Is the right answer. Totally disagree with that. We sat back way too deep and tried to play for a point. Add to that Lambert seriously weakening the side with his crazy double substitution and result was inevitable. With a bit more guile we could have very easily caught them on the break as we did last season. .......its that guile Harry, which is the elusive bit. It is and I am not sure Lambert even know what it means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Quite why he changed it today (Bacuna, Grealish) at time when the game seemed to be inching in our favour is beyond me. I m starting think he has taken us as far as he can. Totally agree, just said this in the match thread, but a bizarre and naive double substitution that IMO cost us a point. Fernando came on 6 minutes before our double substitution. The game had well and truly swung back in their favour well before Bacuna and Grealish came on. Maybe but surely that makes that double substitution even more naive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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