rbcuk Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 3 minutes ago, maqroll said: James Collins was a Villa academy product? Yeah the striker currently at Luton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TheStagMan Posted December 17, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted December 17, 2019 11 hours ago, villalad21 said: This just makes me question Smith even more. Shocking if true. It being a day ending in "y" would cause you to question Smith 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagMan Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 9 hours ago, villalad21 said: We didn't smash it in the Championship. We finished 5th We did after Smith took over. It's like we gave the rest of the league a head start. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Is anyone else seeing doubles of every post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagMan Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 No, just you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Great passing sequences and build up today. Really. Very tidy work. The statistics won't show it but we played a more deliberate and incisive brand of football than our opponents. Biggest plus was after a start that saw us concede some chances on goal that tested us, we were actually well organised and resolute defensively for the remainder. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I'm not a fan of Kodjia, but as people are calling for his inclusion how about something like this? .................McGinn........ Hourihane....... El Ghazi................Jack..............Kodjia ...........................Wesley......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 We looked so light in the middle of the pitch. And the front three were as non-helpful as usual. Southampton have played a fairly narrow 442 diamond the last two matches and I fear them getting on top of us in the middle of the pitch. Possibly just nerves from me, we've generally played well against the poorer sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 6 hours ago, av1 said: I'm not a fan of Kodjia, but as people are calling for his inclusion how about something like this? .................McGinn........ Hourihane....... El Ghazi................Jack..............Kodjia ...........................Wesley......................... Kodjia has to play up top. He is doing striker like things which Wesley doesn't offer. He makes runs behind the defence and is always a threat in the box. Most of the time when we cross Wesley is nowhere to be seen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCDAN Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 9 hours ago, TheStagMan said: We did after Smith took over. It's like we gave the rest of the league a head start. You could argue that we smashed it for 10 games and everything around that has been mediocre to be fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 40 minutes ago, AVFCDAN said: You could argue that we smashed it for 10 games and everything around that has been mediocre to be fair. You could argue that he's been dealt fairly mediocre circumstances on either side of that run. Taking over an uninspired and lackluster team lingering in the bottom half in October and turning it into promotion winners in 6 odd months is praiseworthy. Then he has to make it work with a 40% turnover in playing personnel, with additions that are undoubtedly talented but untried and unfamiliar with the new division. The rest of the competition has made 5-10% changes in personnel, are for the most part at least a year more familiar with the league, it's standards and those who play in it. If you told me from now to the end of the season we smash it for another 10 games, and 30 points, I think we'd all be saying you beauty we survived and can continue building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCDAN Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 48 minutes ago, A'Villan said: Taking over an uninspired and lackluster team lingering in the bottom half in October and turning it into promotion winners in 6 odd months is praiseworthy. Playing devils advocate that was a team that missed out in the play off final the previous year and was the most expensively assembled squad in the league. If we want to commit to stability that's fine with me but I have to be honest and say that offering Dean a new contract when we did just doesn't make sense to me, he hasn't earned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carewjust4u Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 1 hour ago, AVFCDAN said: You could argue that we smashed it for 10 games and everything around that has been mediocre to be fair. Think that's very harsh, in the championship we were class till Jack got injured, then when he returned we smashed it.....in the Prem it's been a range of factors including getting the new quad up to speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 10 minutes ago, AVFCDAN said: Playing devils advocate that was a team that missed out in the play off final the previous year and was the most expensively assembled squad in the league. If we want to commit to stability that's fine with me but I have to be honest and say that offering Dean a new contract when we did just doesn't make sense to me, he hasn't earned it. Who then had it's entire defense dismantled by Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 10 minutes ago, AVFCDAN said: Playing devils advocate that was a team that missed out in the play off final the previous year and was the most expensively assembled squad in the league. If we want to commit to stability that's fine with me but I have to be honest and say that offering Dean a new contract when we did just doesn't make sense to me, he hasn't earned it. Where am I talking about a new contract? I don't know when his current one ends. FWIW I don't really want to argue the point but we had four players start in both the Fulham and Derby POF's. Not really the same team that missed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Interesting to note that per game our pass type percentages are as follows: 79% short passes 15% long balls 5% crosses Less than 1% through balls Perhaps this is partially why Wes is playing so deep and is consistent with @Philosopher's analysis of Wes' role and the team dynamic. I mean it's effective to some degree, 15 shots and 1.5 goals per game isn't bad by any stretch. I just wonder if we'd be better by trying to get some more crosses in from wide or the byline, instead of short passing around the box so frequently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 4 minutes ago, A'Villan said: Interesting to note that per game our pass type percentages are as follows: 79% short passes 15% long balls 5% crosses Less than 1% through balls Perhaps this is partially why Wes is playing so deep and is consistent with @Philosopher's analysis of Wes' role and the team dynamic. I mean it's effective to some degree, 15 shots and 1.5 goals per game isn't bad by any stretch. I just wonder if we'd be better by trying to get some more crosses in from wide or the byline, instead of short passing around the box so frequently. Chicken or the egg. Perhaps we are attempting so few crosses because neither Wesley nor anyone else is in the box to receive them anyway so it's pointless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skruff Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 I only watched the second half of the Sheffield match. We seemed so wasteful with the ball, lumping it up fields at any given chance. Putting us under relentless pressure, only to conceded the ineventable goal. Remiscent of the days of Bruce. Was truly disappointing. They didn't look anything close to the team we've seen vs Norwich and parts of city and Liverpool games, we're there were some quick crisp combination, playing out of defence. Must be down to instructions surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 4 minutes ago, sne said: Chicken or the egg. Perhaps we are attempting so few crosses because neither Wesley nor anyone else is in the box to receive them anyway so it's pointless? But we oftentimes commit more men forward than our opponents. We most definitely get men around the box and in the final third. As I said earlier in another post, we average 7 players in the attacking half over an entire 90 minutes in some games, that's more than enough. We have a half dozen men in the final third and onside who can play it short but are penned in by the defensive line, trying to find a sharp short pass for a finish. What I'm asking is would it be so tactically diabolical to try and spread those half dozen men expanding the channels and try and whip one in from wide or the byline? That way we force the defensive line back and allow men to make runs into the box onside, instead of being cute around the top of the box in every attack. Maybe that would get us absolutely scorched on the break in transition but I'm not saying we do it every other play, just 5% is very low for crosses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 1 minute ago, A'Villan said: But we oftentimes commit more men forward than our opponents. We most definitely get men around the box and in the final third. As I said earlier in another post, we average 7 players in the attacking half over an entire 90 minutes in some games, that's more than enough. We have a half dozen men in the final third and onside who can play it short but are penned in by the defensive line, trying to find a sharp short pass for a finish. What I'm asking is would it be so tactically diabolical to try and spread those half dozen men expanding the channels and try and whip one in from wide or the byline? That way we force the defensive line back and allow men to make runs into the box onside, instead of being cute around the top of the box in every attack. Maybe that would get us absolutely scorched on the break in transition but I'm not saying we do it every other play, just 5% is very low for crosses. No I absolutely think we should. But Wesley is sadly terrible at positioning himself where you'd expect a center forward to be and his runs into the box are mistimed when it comes to getting right for crosses. Our other attacking players (El Ghazi excluded) are a bit on the short side so it's crosses on the ground if we are going to score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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