bose Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 This will be the turning point in our season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skruff Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Guzan. Hutton, Richards, Clark, Crespo/Llori Bacuna, Sanchez, Ghana, Ayew Gil Gestede Ayew works hard, tackles, can cut inside from the left, I believe he offer more defensively then either grealish or Sinclair. Bacuna offers more defensively on the wing then Gil and has a great pass/cross in him. Give Gil a free role. Crespo or Llori simply because its worth to try something else then Richardson. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) I think this is a very hard one to call a lineup for, as so many players have been so terrible. They play 2 in the centre so I think it's a game where we would get away with doing the same, although I think Sanchez will be a must for his physicality and breaking up of play. I have no idea if Bacuna can play left midfield but if he can I wouldn't mind seeing him there to offer some projection for our left full-back; as bad as Richardson was against Everton he was left one-on-one with Deulofeu, who'd I'd fancy to trouble most full-backs in that situation, time and time again. It would be nice to see Traore, although I can't imagine him tracking back much he seems like he will definitely cause them problems and I have a lot more confidence in Hutton in handling any one-on-ones this could leave than anyone on our left flank. I'd also give Bunn a shot, Guzan seems a shadow of his former self and I have zero confidence in him. EDIT: I did make a lineup but can't embed - http://lineupbuilder.com/?sk=9fy8f Edited November 22, 2015 by penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 22, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted November 22, 2015 This game could define our season. We absolutely have to win it. I'm not confident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7392craig Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) 1 hour ago, Stevo985 said: This game could define our season. We absolutely have to win it. I'm not confident. I was going to post on here about how I think we're gonna take the game to Watford, how we always pull ourselves out the shit when we really have to. Then I sat down and had a serious think about it, that even though I am only 26 and other posters will remember longer than me, this is easily the worst side I've ever seen us field. I can't remember a Villa side so completely inept, without leaders and without any fight whatsoever. When people say men against boys, it is literally the case, almost every player looks petrified, gets bullied off the ball and offers no challenge to opposition players. Teams play against us as if they expect to absolutely batter us from the first whistle, most teams don't get out of second gear against us any more, and we seem to just accept it and roll over. I wouldn't mind if we got stuck in or ran our b******s off but as we all know, our players walk around the pitch as if they're just waiting for it to be over. My early season optimism has truly been crushed, for the first time I actually am convinced it's over and I just hope we don't go down in an overly embarrassing manner. I originally thought it was ok getting a point out of city and Everton, albeit the other way around. But I just don't see us beating Watford, and thinking about our performances more seriously and the rest of our fixtures, I can see 19th place being out of reach by February. Edited November 23, 2015 by 7392craig 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supervillan78 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Going on Saturday, pray for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 20 minutes ago, 7392craig said: I was going to post on here about how I think we're gonna take the game to Watford, how we always pull ourselves out the shit when we really have to. Then I sat down and had a serious think about it, that even though I am only 26 and other posters will remember longer than me, this is easily the worst side I've ever seen us field. I can't remember a Villa side so completely inept, without leaders and without any fight whatsoever. When people say men against boys, it is literally the case, almost every player looks petrified, gets bullied off the ball and offers no challenge to opposition players. Teams play against us as if they expect to absolutely batter us from the first whistle, most teams don't get out of second gear against us any more, and we seem to just accept it and roll over. I wouldn't mind if we got stuck in or ran our b******s off but as we all know, our players walk around the pitch as if they're just waiting for it to be over. My early season optimism has truly been crushed, for the first time I actually am convinced it's over and I just hope we don't go down in an overly embarrassing manner. I originally thought it was ok getting a point out of city and Everton, albeit the other way around. But I just don't see us beating Watford, and thinking about our performances more seriously and the rest of our fixtures, I can see 19th place being out of reach by February. This is a good post. One way you can tell what a state this team is in is to look at people's team selections. They're all different. What this says, loud and clear, is that almost no-one is an automatic selection that we can't imagine leaving out. Who gets in everyone's team? Richards, basically. Guzan as well I suppose, although plenty of people would be fine with Bunn taking his place. Beyond the two of them, nobody 'picks themselves'. Our squad is a mile wide and an inch deep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodytom Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 33 minutes ago, 7392craig said: I was going to post on here about how I think we're gonna take the game to Watford, how we always pull ourselves out the shit when we really have to. Then I sat down and had a serious think about it, that even though I am only 26 and other posters will remember longer than me, this is easily the worst side I've ever seen us field. I can't remember a Villa side so completely inept, without leaders and without any fight whatsoever. When people say men against boys, it is literally the case, almost every player looks petrified, gets bullied off the ball and offers no challenge to opposition players. Teams play against us as if they expect to absolutely batter us from the first whistle, most teams don't get out of second gear against us any more, and we seem to just accept it and roll over. I wouldn't mind if we got stuck in or ran our b******s off but as we all know, our players walk around the pitch as if they're just waiting for it to be over. My early season optimism has truly been crushed, for the first time I actually am convinced it's over and I just hope we don't go down in an overly embarrassing manner. I originally thought it was ok getting a point out of city and Everton, albeit the other way around. But I just don't see us beating Watford, and thinking about our performances more seriously and the rest of our fixtures, I can see 19th place being out of reach by February. Couldn't agree more and I hope sooner or later the crowd turn on the players. Hardly the most helpful idea on the planet but it's worth a shot. Nothing else works. For too long the responsibility has escaped them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Bollocks, Crowd turning on players will be a good thing. Utter tosh. I understand the frustration behind it, mind, but the conclusion is foolishness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7392craig Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I know it's thrown around a lot, but confidence is a massive thing to players, and apart from Richards, Gil and maybe Ayew, none of our players have it. Amavi certainly but he's out for the season now and I imagine will leave for better things when we go down. The crowd don't help, look how Leicester's fans reacted when we were 2-0 up, the place got even louder, they egged them on knowing they could do it. Where as with us, you can feel the tension and unrest before the first whistle is blown. Now I'm not blaming the fans for that, there really is only so many times you can get your hopes up to have them dashed, before you eventually expect the likely scenario of going a goal down, watching Guzan pick the ball out of the net and the players walk back to the centre circle. The thing is even as a kid playing for my first ever team, I remember being told that if I wasn't too confident in the game, to work as hard as possible and something will happen, then confidence comes on its own. Watching the players walk about the pitch, or lose the ball and then not chase after them to get the ball back, just shows how the outlook for the rest of the season can only be dark, unless something changes very, very fast. Watford this week as daft as it sounds really could be make or break for our season, and as Steve has posted, I'm not confident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 One way you can tell what a state this team is in is to look at people's team selections. They're all different. What this says, loud and clear, is that almost no-one is an automatic selection that we can't imagine leaving out. Who gets in everyone's team? Amavi, unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 2/3's of the season left and this is a must win. I don't see how we'll score the goals to win this game but we have to win it and show that we are actually good enough to play in the league. Fail to win this and I think the jig is up as far a staying is concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arj Guy Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 6 hours ago, 7392craig said: I know it's thrown around a lot, but confidence is a massive thing to players, and apart from Richards, Gil and maybe Ayew, none of our players have it. Amavi certainly but he's out for the season now and I imagine will leave for better things when we go down. The crowd don't help, look how Leicester's fans reacted when we were 2-0 up, the place got even louder, they egged them on knowing they could do it. Where as with us, you can feel the tension and unrest before the first whistle is blown. Now I'm not blaming the fans for that, there really is only so many times you can get your hopes up to have them dashed, before you eventually expect the likely scenario of going a goal down, watching Guzan pick the ball out of the net and the players walk back to the centre circle. The thing is even as a kid playing for my first ever team, I remember being told that if I wasn't too confident in the game, to work as hard as possible and something will happen, then confidence comes on its own. Watching the players walk about the pitch, or lose the ball and then not chase after them to get the ball back, just shows how the outlook for the rest of the season can only be dark, unless something changes very, very fast. Watford this week as daft as it sounds really could be make or break for our season, and as Steve has posted, I'm not confident. When we were 2-0 up Leicester's fans didn't make a sound. It was only when they pulled one back when they made some noise. Apart from that I agree with everything you're saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 These players look like crap because they've been playing like crap. That's form, that's tactics and that's the Aston Villa sense of slo mo chaos. We have not bought a team of chubby non-league chancers that get to the 18th minute and need to throw up and have a fag. A win or two under their belts in the next three or four games and these guys will be as good as anyone else in that mid table tumbler. Surprisingly straightforward 2:1 win and people wondering what all the fuss was about.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Well, goodness me, this is it. This is it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 23, 2015 Moderator Share Posted November 23, 2015 This is a 7 pointer. Not a 6 pointer. If we don't win this then we're gone. Not mathematically of course, but you can't keep letting the 'easy on paper' fixtures pass you by because you'll be left with the rest, and you won't win enough of those. If we have any chance of staying up then it begins and ends with Watford on Saturday. No pressure then. Sanchez is the first name on the team sheet for me. Richardson can't play. I refuse to believe there isn't a player in the squad or in the u21 side that is not a better left back than Richardson. I wouldn't use Grealish in this one. I'd pretty much go with dakid007's side but I think it also might be the kind of game that Gestede could do well in. I do think we win though. We have enough in us and the importance of it won't be lost on them. A very nervy 2-1 win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) -------------------Guzan----------------- Hutton Richards Clark Crespo Sanchez Bacuna Gil Gana Ayew Gestede Edited November 23, 2015 by srsmithusa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted November 23, 2015 Moderator Share Posted November 23, 2015 Oh and as for Merson's assertion that this is one of the worst fixtures Villa could have. Utter horseshit. If playing home to Watford is a bad fixture for you then you shouldn't be in the Premier League. Watford is one of the best fixtures you could hope to have to get yourself out of a hole. It's up to you to go and get the result. Of course it won't be easy, but tell me a fixture that is? (other than playing against Villa ... ) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I'd go... Guzan Crespo Richards Clark Hutton Westwood Sanchez Ayew Veretout Gil Kozak Gestede breaks down so many attacks with a terrible touch, I just can't have him in the side unless we're wellying it forwards hoping for a knockdown. Not a chance in a million years Kozak will pop up, but you can bet Watford won't be expecting him to Can always put Ayew up front and have Sinclair/Gab on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakid007 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 We can win this. We need to fight for 90+ mins. We are slowly running out of games to keep our prem status. 2 wins in a row will have us out of the bottom 3. Leicester do not have a better team than us. They have a better belief & work rate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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