Team shape, tactics and personnel

[wict01]

We've got **** all. No identity, no plan. We can't retain possession, we don't counter attack at pace, we aren't defensively resilient, we are crap at set pieces, we don't press cohesively. So what ARE we, as a team? Just an expensively assembled collection of cloggers and hit-and-hopers coached by an SPL standard manager. 

If the solution to this is just to spend even more money, then what's the point? We might as well have re-appointed Bruce, because that's his answer to every problem too.

[messi11]

Played currently who hate Gerrard:
 

Carney Chukwuemeka
Matt Targett
Sanson
Guilbert
Mings
Buendia


Players who love Gerrard:

Coutinho 
Mcginn
Ings
 

[MaVilla]

Just now, ender4 said:

What did he say in his post match interview?

I will defo not play Konsa next week.

McGinn will be dropped.

I will play Sanson or Luiz.

Buendia and Couts will play together.

I will play players in midfied, who can actually pass the ball 5 yards (to complement Kamara)

I will play a formation that suits our players.

I will play a formation that doesnt leave Kamara exposed and alone in midfield.

 

 

 

 

 

[penguin]

4 minutes ago, wict01 said:

We've got **** all. No identity, no plan. We can't retain possession, we don't counter attack at pace, we aren't defensively resilient, we are crap at set pieces, we don't press cohesively. So what ARE we, as a team? Just an expensively assembled collection of cloggers and hit-and-hopers coached by an SPL standard manager. 

If the solution to this is just to spend even more money, then what's the point? We might as well have re-appointed Bruce, because that's his answer to every problem too.

Agree with all of this apart from the bolded, I actually think we now have a fantastic squad on paper. If you are talking about the performances we’ve been seeing from them, It’s hard to disagree. 

[M_Afro]

2 minutes ago, icouldtelltheworld said:

Honestly think we are going to look back on his appointment as one of the biggest missed opportunities in the club's history. Like when O'Neill brought in Heskey to fire us to a top 4 finish. 

We have a fantastic squad of players that any halfway decent manager would relish the chance to work with. The fact that beside the winning run when he first came in, the only time we've looked like a capable PL team is when he dropped his 'system' for a few matches really says it all.

I reckon he stumbles on for a third of the season before we make a change, leading to yet another wasted year 

Why do you think this? Our midfield is possibly the worst in the league and our strikers are probably top end championship level. We have a great GK and our defensive options are pretty good. We have a Gazzilion good options for the 10 slots but the overall balance of the team is poor. We also have a really physically small and weak team. Bring Mings back in for Konsa and buy two beastly 8’s and we would be a different proposition. A new 9 would also be nice and absolutely necessary to be able to say that our first 11 is top 8 quality.

[Jas10]

 

[Mantis]

1 minute ago, M_Afro said:

Why do you think this? Our midfield is possibly the worst in the league and our strikers are probably top end championship level. We have a great GK and our defensive options are pretty good. We have a Gazzilion good options for the 10 slots but the overall balance of the team is poor. We also have a really physically small and weak team. Bring Mings back in for Konsa and buy two beastly 8’s and we would be a different proposition. A new 9 would also be nice and absolutely necessary to be able to say that our first 11 is top 8 quality.

Look I don't think they're world-beaters but this is a huge huge huge stretch.

[M_Afro]

1 minute ago, Mantis said:

Look I don't think they're world-beaters but this is a huge huge huge stretch.

Maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration but I have never been an Ings fan. I was very much of the opinion that he was a panic buy but he’s been much worse than I feared. He looks done at this level to be fair.

I do like Ollie but his form has been terrible for ages. He is young enough to come good and I really hope that he does but he’s miles off at the moment. I do think that we always look better with him in though as a lone striker.

I stand by our midfield being the worst in the league. Bouba will hopefully come good but he’s young and new to the league. He needs time to settle. JJ is not good enough to play 8 yet. He is not involved enough in or out of possession. I think his best position would be as one of the 10’s. He has been really bad as an 8 for a long time now. I think the same for McGinn. He needs to be playing higher up the pitch or not at all.

[Mantis]

3 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration but I have never been an Ings fan. I was very much of the opinion that he was a panic buy but he’s been much worse than I feared. He looks done at this level to be fair.

I do like Ollie but his form has been terrible for ages. He is young enough to come good and I really hope that he does but he’s miles off at the moment. I do think that we always look better with him in though as a lone striker.

I stand by our midfield being the worst in the league. Bouba will hopefully come good but he’s young and new to the league. He needs time to settle. JJ is not good enough to play 8 yet. He is not involved enough in or out of possession. I think his best position would be as one of the 10’s. He has been really bad as an 8 for a long time now. I think the same for McGinn. He needs to be playing higher up the pitch or not at all.

It's a huge exageration, and I say this as somebody who doesn't particularly rate Ings as highly as many others do.

Although our midfield being the "worst in the league" is even more absurd. Maybe if the league was just the teams who finished in the top 10 last season.

[ender4]

12 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Why do you think this? Our midfield is possibly the worst in the league and our strikers are probably top end championship level. We have a great GK and our defensive options are pretty good. We have a Gazzilion good options for the 10 slots but the overall balance of the team is poor. We also have a really physically small and weak team. Bring Mings back in for Konsa and buy two beastly 8’s and we would be a different proposition. A new 9 would also be nice and absolutely necessary to be able to say that our first 11 is top 8 quality.

I think we all know that our squad is roughly the 9-10th best squad in the premier league on paper.   

I want a manager who makes the squad perform better than their overall ability. So if this squad is say 10th, then the manager needs to bring something to the table and make that squad perform say 8th or 9th.

Gerrard is doing the opposite. He’s making a 9th squad perform worse than their ability. 

[a m ole]

Quote

Danks played a key role in developing the ‘England Playbook’ in 2016/17. This was an interactive and ever-evolving document that broke the game down into in-possession, out-of-possession, transition and goalkeeping.

Crocker added: “That was a really outstanding piece of work which the FA still has access to now, which helps to support players when they come into camp or new members of staff about how we work and what we want to do on and off the field.”

Danks went on to become Head of Specialist Coaching and Crocker, who is now Director of Football at Southampton, described him as an “innovative, forward-thinking leader”, who provided “not only support, but also high-level challenge.”

Our coach wrote the book on how England play in possession under Southgate. It’s all adding up for me.

Edited August 6, 2022 by a m ole

[Tom13]

6 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration but I have never been an Ings fan. I was very much of the opinion that he was a panic buy but he’s been much worse than I feared. He looks done at this level to be fair.

I do like Ollie but his form has been terrible for ages. He is young enough to come good and I really hope that he does but he’s miles off at the moment. I do think that we always look better with him in though as a lone striker.

I stand by our midfield being the worst in the league. Bouba will hopefully come good but he’s young and new to the league. He needs time to settle. JJ is not good enough to play 8 yet. He is not involved enough in or out of possession. I think his best position would be as one of the 10’s. He has been really bad as an 8 for a long time now. I think the same for McGinn. He needs to be playing higher up the pitch or not at all.

Well possibly, but Gerrard consistently picks our worst options in midfield, doesn't help himself does he?

[M_Afro]

2 minutes ago, Mantis said:

It's a huge exageration, and I say this as somebody who doesn't particularly rate Ings as highly as many others do.

Although our midfield being the "worst in the league" is even more absurd. Maybe if the league was just the teams who finished in the top 10 last season.

Ok. So why do we never dominate the middle of the park? I can never remember us bossing the game from the middle of the park. We are poor in possession and even worse out of it.

[sne]

2 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Ok. So why do we never dominate the middle of the park? I can never remember us bossing the game from the middle of the park. We are poor in possession and even worse out of it.

Because McGinn & Ramsey is a terrible combination when it comes to passing and ball retention.

We have other midfield combinations we could/should try.

[VillaJ100]

15 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration but I have never been an Ings fan. I was very much of the opinion that he was a panic buy but he’s been much worse than I feared. He looks done at this level to be fair.

I do like Ollie but his form has been terrible for ages. He is young enough to come good and I really hope that he does but he’s miles off at the moment. I do think that we always look better with him in though as a lone striker.

I stand by our midfield being the worst in the league. Bouba will hopefully come good but he’s young and new to the league. He needs time to settle. JJ is not good enough to play 8 yet. He is not involved enough in or out of possession. I think his best position would be as one of the 10’s. He has been really bad as an 8 for a long time now. I think the same for McGinn. He needs to be playing higher up the pitch or not at all.

We bought Ings on his 2020-21 form but honestly he was getting one or two quarter chance a game and burying both of them, it was ridiculous. His actual goals must have been twice as high as him xG

[BG_Villa_Fan]

3 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Ok. So why do we never dominate the middle of the park? I can never remember us bossing the game from the middle of the park. We are poor in possession and even worse out of it.

Which is the last Villa team you remember that regularly dominated the middle? 

[M_Afro]

1 minute ago, Tom13 said:

Well possibly, but Gerrard consistently picks our worst options in midfield, doesn't help himself does he?

But who’s better? Do you really think that one of this Country’s finest ever centre mids, who spends every day with his players, doesn’t know who his best three centre mids are? You can make arguments for Luis or Sanson based upon your own objective opinions but if you’re really honest we are talking about really fine margins. I would play Bouba, Doug and McGinn personally but is Luis really that much better than JJ? Not really.

[Indigo]

Think folk underrated our squad at times, I think there's a lot of fans and managers out there that wish they had the options we did.

However I can't make sense of how we play. The over-reliance on crosses from the full backs given who our forwards are has to stop, and McGinn and Ramsey simply can't be playing together in midfield at this level considering their shared weaknesses. 

[Adam2003]

22 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Why do you think this? Our midfield is possibly the worst in the league and our strikers are probably top end championship level

Our midfield includes a decent Scotland  international, youngsters who have played and impressed for Brazil and France, Ramsey who looks a huge prospect. Our strikers might not be to everyone’s tastes but both have played and scored for England which Championship strikers don’t do. The issue is not personnel, they all look good when they aren’t playing for Villa

[Adam2003]

9 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

Ok. So why do we never dominate the middle of the park? I can never remember us bossing the game from the middle of the park. We are poor in possession and even worse out of it.

You’re in the right thread to discuss this but you’re giving the wrong answer in the players, in my opinion…