Roberto Di Matteo

[VillaCas]

2 hours ago, Grasshopper said:

Aston Villa

we have a bad diet cos we shop at aldi

so lets go to Lidl and buy the same shit thete

that'll work?

Nothing wrong with Aldi

[TRO]

2 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

I'm completely convinced it's fitness. They're footballers, not machines. When they're blowing they make mistakes, when you're tired your mental capacity is greatly reduced. 

Elphick, Chester, Jedinak, Cissokho even, these are decent experienced footballers. It should have been enough, but whether they're being overtrained or undertrained, they're strained and something is not right. They get to 80 minutes and they start to fall apart physically and mentally, panic, make mistakes. We suffer as a result.

You could be right, I am not privvy to training and what goes on or not at BMH

Its a side of the game where spectators are at the mercy of the football management, because we are not in a position to challenge them on fitness or injuries, unless it is obvious.

I usually take it as read, that they know what they are doing on that score......That should not take time, it takes effort....baring injury.

I think our players, in technique terms we are well served.....In the finer arts of contact sport, I don't think our lot are comfortable..... "off the ball" They all look to me as though its someone elses job. I do not see that seige mentality I see in other teams.

[Richard]

49 minutes ago, Gary Thomas said:

So we play a 'normal' game with the personnel on the pitch and completely dominate. Then we sit back because of the personnel we have?  That makes no sense to me Richard. We are not sitting back because of the personnel - I think they have shown in most games they are more than capable of pushing up a pitch and dominating games. We are sitting back because RDM is instilling or encouraging a defensive mind-set to take hold when we go in front - this is his mistake.

When did we completely dominate? Certainly not last night,  we did nothing first half apart from score and absolutely nothing second half. Sunday we played a different set of players.  Last night he played 4-2-4,  which was actually 4-1-4 as Westwood was worse than useles and so Jedinak played as a sweeper effctively.  This meant there was no link up between defence and attack,  the attackers came back deep looking for the ball as they were sucked back and either didnt get it which meant they were sitting back or did get it and have no out and so lost the ball quickly and were sitting back.

There was no midfield to help defence and support the forwards and so we played the way we did because of the players on the pitch. Its similar to the fair criticism that on their corners we had everyone back.  yes we did because we had not midfield.

Now we had that personnel because of two reasons IMO

1. RDM does not have the bottle to drop influential players.  For me two of Kodjia, Mccormack, Ayew or gestede need to be on the bench.  For balance and also give us options.  Gestede would be benched straight away for me.  yes he may be able to score goals but trying to shoe horn him into that is not helping the team win games. Plus he is far more effective when coming on late in a game IMO.  That leave the other three which I would do on form.  Kodjia has ben very good so far,  better than expected so he gets a spot.  Ayew has been our best player by a mile so that leaves Mccormack on te bench,  until form dictates otherwise.  It gives us a better look,  better balance,  options and a stronger depth.

2. I think RDM wanted to try and make a statement and win by a margin, especially as barcodes had done 6 the night before. 

I really hope that when all players are available to him we have a midfield of Jedi and Tish with Grealish and Adomah.  He could have played similar last night.  yes he didnt have all of those players for some reason but he could have had Jedi,  Westwood,  bacuna and green as the midfield four .  Not ideal and not a four we would like to start every game as it is not first choice but this is a squad game and those players were available and would have made a better midfield than the one player we had there last night.

Yes tactics were wrong,  no dispute.  But the tactics were employed because of the personnel IMO.

[HanoiVillan]

2 hours ago, VillaCas said:

Whoopdee-do! We've competed with giants like Huddersfield and Brentford and not lost. RDM must be doing a brilliant job!

Any championship team that spends £60m should rightly expect to be nearer the top of the table than the bottom, but the real problem is that there are no signs that we have the tools to put this right. RDM has overseen the spend and has left us with a woefully unbalanced squad.  Lots of forwards but few to win the ball, close down or create.

I had enormous patience with Lambert and Garde because they were working with limited resources - RDM has no such excuse and shows no sign that he has a plan or the ability to motivate

Give him 20 games and then see where we are!!!! With Ipswich, Newcastle and Barnsley up next he may be lucky to last 10. 

If I'm wrong about RDM I'll happily come back on here and say so. Sadly, I don't think I will be. He needs a win on Saturday and another against Newcastle or Barnsley to hang on to his job

I don't know whether you think that creating ludicrous straw men to knock over is a productive way to debate, but I'm here to assure you it isn't. Nobody, at all, has suggested he's doing a 'brilliant job'.

[TRO]

54 minutes ago, bobzy said:

All the bold points:

Firstly, you said we should be competing with Huddersfield and Brentford - I just stated that we are.  Now it's a "whoopdee-do"!  Amazing.  Further, where did I say RDM is doing a brilliant job?  Oh right, nowhere - that's where.  But, naturally, if you don't think something is entirely shit, you must think it's brilliant!  It's the VT way, right?  **** hell...

Secondly, I think anyone that spends £60m in the Championship should rightly expect to be near the top of the table at the end of the season.  After that much change in the squad, I don't think it's right to expect to be up there straight away.  A new manager and a new squad need time to integrate and understand each other.  It could click straight away, of course it could (and, for the most part, I actually think we've done pretty well but not got the wins needed), but I think it's harsh to expect it straight away.  "Lots of forwards but few to win the ball, close down or create" - haven't we created the second most chances in the league?  Or am I missing something here?

Finally, 20 games is absolutely a fine indicator of where we are - 7 games just isn't.  Judging anyone on 7 games is **** ridiculous, to be honest (with the slight exception of if we had played awfully in all of them and lost every single one).

You are missing something there.....because that is exactly his point....We haven't got sufficient players that are comfortable in the battle or the scrap....sure we have one or two, but there is an imbalance of technical players to Grinders

Where is our Steve Mcmahon or Des Bremner, Kevin Richardson, Andy Townsend , Shaun Teale or dare I ever say it Robbie Savage......just as a few examples

[VillaCas]

51 minutes ago, bobzy said:

All the bold points:

Firstly, you said we should be competing with Huddersfield and Brentford - I just stated that we are.  Now it's a "whoopdee-do"!  Amazing.  Further, where did I say RDM is doing a brilliant job?  Oh right, nowhere - that's where.  But, naturally, if you don't think something is entirely shit, you must think it's brilliant!  It's the VT way, right?  **** hell...

Secondly, I think anyone that spends £60m in the Championship should rightly expect to be near the top of the table at the end of the season.  After that much change in the squad, I don't think it's right to expect to be up there straight away.  A new manager and a new squad need time to integrate and understand each other.  It could click straight away, of course it could (and, for the most part, I actually think we've done pretty well but not got the wins needed), but I think it's harsh to expect it straight away.  "Lots of forwards but few to win the ball, close down or create" - haven't we created the second most chances in the league?  Or am I missing something here?

Finally, 20 games is absolutely a fine indicator of where we are - 7 games just isn't.  Judging anyone on 7 games is **** ridiculous, to be honest (with the slight exception of if we had played awfully in all of them and lost every single one).

- We should be beating Huddersfiled and Brentford not hanging on for a draw

- I don't think we have a balanced side, do you? Yes we are creating chances but for me we are severely lacking energy when we don't have the ball. We seem to have no ability (or personnel) to close a game out

- Whether you like it or not you made a judgement after one game and so did everyone else, you shouldn't act on it but you will have started to form a judgement. After 7 games you have slightly more to make a judgement on and what I've seen so far really worries me. I still wouldn't act on it but if we get to the end of the Barnsley game at 8 or 9 points then I would be prepared to act (depending to some extent on performances).  At the end of the day you're willing to wait 20 games and I'm willing to wait 10.  I was not a fan of RDM from the off. If we'd not gone through the agony of the last 5 years I would be more patient but we did and I'm not.

 

[Nabby]

Apparently Petrov is on Talksport and not very complimentary about him ..hopefully they will put it up on the site later nothing at mo 

[Tom13]

3 minutes ago, Nabby said:

Apparently Petrov is on Talksport and not very complimentary about him ..hopefully they will put it up on the site later nothing at mo 

About RDM? What's he saying?

[TRO]

48 minutes ago, VillaCas said:

- We should be beating Huddersfiled and Brentford not hanging on for a draw

- I don't think we have a balanced side, do you? Yes we are creating chances but for me we are severely lacking energy when we don't have the ball. We seem to have no ability (or personnel) to close a game out

- Whether you like it or not you made a judgement after one game and so did everyone else, you shouldn't act on it but you will have started to form a judgement. After 7 games you have slightly more to make a judgement on and what I've seen so far really worries me. I still wouldn't act on it but if we get to the end of the Barnsley game at 8 or 9 points then I would be prepared to act (depending to some extent on performances).  At the end of the day you're willing to wait 20 games and I'm willing to wait 10.  I was not a fan of RDM from the off. If we'd not gone through the agony of the last 5 years I would be more patient but we did and I'm not.

 

I think our big issue is ....our " off the ball" work or lack of it.

[bobzy]

1 hour ago, VillaCas said:

- We should be beating Huddersfiled and Brentford not hanging on for a draw

- I don't think we have a balanced side, do you? Yes we are creating chances but for me we are severely lacking energy when we don't have the ball. We seem to have no ability (or personnel) to close a game out

- Whether you like it or not you made a judgement after one game and so did everyone else, you shouldn't act on it but you will have started to form a judgement. After 7 games you have slightly more to make a judgement on and what I've seen so far really worries me. I still wouldn't act on it but if we get to the end of the Barnsley game at 8 or 9 points then I would be prepared to act (depending to some extent on performances).  At the end of the day you're willing to wait 20 games and I'm willing to wait 10.  I was not a fan of RDM from the off. If we'd not gone through the agony of the last 5 years I would be more patient but we did and I'm not.

 

- Well hello, welcome to football where not every result goes the way you think it should.  Swansea beat Chelsea  (Edit:  actually I think they drew in the end?).  Huddersfield beat Newcastle.  Wales beat Belgium. etc. etc.

- It depends what you mean by balanced - for a formation playing wingers?  No, not particularly.  I think we should play with 2 central midfielders doing more of a holding job with 3 interchangeable attacking midfielders behind one striker (probably Grealish/McCormack/Ayew behind Kodjia) with the ability to switch it up for Gestede and more width if needed.  All that being said, Kodjia scored last night from playing wide right so.... and part two on this, I've seen quite literally the opposite (again, I didn't watch last night).  Especially against Forest, we pressed them incredibly well starting from the attacking players.  Our energy was fantastic.  I think the closing game out point is fair - but I'm not really sure why.  It's especially hard to judge the relevance of opinion on here when it ranges so wildly and, simply put, a manager cannot do everything that is being suggested.  "Bring on an extra midfielder and see the game through!" - "Don't bring on another midfielder ffs too defensive!" - "RDM is too defensive!" - "Why on Earth is he playing 4 strikers?!" etc. etc.

- No, I really didn't make a judgment after the first game.  I'm amazed that people are making judgments now to be honest.  Do you actually think we've played badly this season, on the whole?

Edited September 15, 2016 by bobzy

[bobzy]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

You are missing something there.....because that is exactly his point....We haven't got sufficient players that are comfortable in the battle or the scrap....sure we have one or two, but there is an imbalance of technical players to Grinders

Where is our Steve Mcmahon or Des Bremner, Kevin Richardson, Andy Townsend , Shaun Teale or dare I ever say it Robbie Savage......just as a few examples

I don't even really know what this means.  I'd assume that Jedinak is our "warrior" in the middle of the park, Ayew and McCormack in particular work hard at closing the ball down and pressing the opposition.  Elphick looks like a battler, although I remain unconvinced by Chester still.  However, are you able to highlight a team that has many of these "grinders"?  I just want to understand what you mean more.

(lol at having someone like Robbie Savage in the team by the way :D)

[DCJonah]

3 hours ago, bobzy said:

Does this make sense?

"In the summer I thought it would take a while but, having seen us play well under the manager, I think it's time we thought about moving him on".

No because you've changed what I said, shock. I never said let's think about moving him on. I said my expectations of what's achievable this year has changed and I expect more of him now.

[Davkaus]

59 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

About RDM? What's he saying?

Mostly just whining like a little bitch that he wasn't given a contract this season.

[TRO]

5 minutes ago, bobzy said:

I don't even really know what this means.  I'd assume that Jedinak is our "warrior" in the middle of the park, Ayew and McCormack in particular work hard at closing the ball down and pressing the opposition.  Elphick looks like a battler, although I remain unconvinced by Chester still.  However, are you able to highlight a team that has many of these "grinders"?  I just want to understand what you mean more.

(lol at having someone like Robbie Savage in the team by the way :D)

Well that explains it all to me.... in bold

A player LIKE him would probably get us to where we want to be.

• Jedinak is not enough in terms of the balance of the squad, we need more bodies of that ilk
• I don't see Ayew and McCormack as players who are noted for closing  the ball down and squeezing the opposition, sorry
• Elphick is a battler but its a bit late by the time it gets to him
• Grinders....players who are comfortable in the business of close contact and disrupt the opposition from their normal game.

[StefanAVFC]

3 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Mostly just whining like a little bitch that he wasn't given a contract this season.

Slightly classless. Necessary phrasing?

[Davkaus]

Classless is going on national radio and airing complaints in public.Fairly disappointed in him to be honest.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Davkaus

[romavillan]

I don't think it's a surprise we tried hard to protect what we had instead fo going hard at it second half for a second. We have a (swiss) Italian manager after all and seeing out a 1-0 is in the genes

What was weird for me was the fact we tried to do it with so many attackign players on the pitch, his hand was forced with two injuries at full back but the bench wasn't exaclty full of midfield talent anyway. Seems to me plan A with 4 forwards was to score a few at home and when that turned into us being a bit disjointed and unable to keep the ball, plan B was to sit tight and hold on to the lead. Problem was we still had 4 forwards on the pitch until Gardner came on for McCormack, and even then we were pretty top heavy if we wanted to play keep ball and take the sting out of the game. 

As it was Brentford were much better at managing the ball it seems (I say seems as I followed on the radio and had one eye at the stats at the same time) playign out from the back and moving it better.

So all in all a very bad night at the office, maybe had we had Grealish and Adomah and Tsihbola we wouldn't have started 4-2-4 and had a better bench even if we did. Still though the two full back injuries meant trying to change the set up with the use of 1 change. His mistake I think was the original line up, but the fact he made it shows how light we are in the middle of the park, with only 2 injuries. Have we got any academy lads that play box to box? Shame Petrov couldn't do a job there anymore as we need more.

We aren't losing which is a plus, we have been making tons of chances, which is a plus, however us not baing able to keep the ball or move the ball well at home against a decent technical side is a worry. I don't think our problems are about "fight" or "grit" I think our problems stem from poor ball retention and poor management of the ball when in possession. That unfortunately is not a quick fix and will require a shitload of repetition and developing an understanding between the players. It's too late for more central midfield signings so a big test of RDM is how he overcomes this weakness in the squad. Perhaps going 3 at the back and playing a 3-4-3 might help, to be able to switch to 3-5-2 when we just need to keep it.

Saying he's shit etc at this stage is premature, he knows, we know, there are problems, the test is how he handles this situation. Failure will mean being bottom half at the turn of the year and Xia may not be shy in pulling the trigger. Mid september is way too early to be talking about it though after so much change,

[TrentVilla]

13 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Mostly just whining like a little bitch that he wasn't given a contract this season.

Knowing Stan I find that extremely hard to believe.

I also think it's massively disrespectful to a guy who deserves and has earned immense respect and never treated the club or fans with anything less.

[Wainy316]

Will be a shame if RMD doesn't work out just because I like the Ford Mondeo song.

[wazzap24]

33 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Mostly just whining like a little bitch that he wasn't given a contract this season.

 

Horrible, horrible phrasing.

I listened to him and he wasn't whinging in anyway. To say he was acting like a little bitch is total and utter bollocks 

He he was desperate for a chance and the worst thing he said was that he felt he wasn't given enough of a chance. Didn't miss a beat in pre season and felt he could have got stronger with a bit more time. It was sad. 

Totally uncalled for that comment. 

Edited September 15, 2016 by wazzap24
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