OutByEaster? Posted December 30, 2009 Moderator Share Posted December 30, 2009 Spelling mistake now rectified. Thank you TLR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Spelling mistake now rectified. Thank you TLR. No problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasGasGas Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I am amazed it remained as Reo Cocker for so long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avfc89 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 We had the clear cut chances, they were very lucky thanks to Warnock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAZZAM Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Mirror: When he saw the ball bulge the corner of the Aston Villa net, Martin O'Neill turned away from the sight of it in disgust. The Villa boss walked towards the bench and made as if he was going to kick something. Either there was nothing there to kick or he thought better of it. He settled for sinking to his haunches. And when the final whistle blew a few seconds later, he shook hands with Rafa Benitez and then walked back to the tunnel with his hands clasped around the back of his head. No wonder. Villa should have won last night. Comfortably. It was a poor game, mainly because it was played in a blizzard, but O'Neill's side fashioned the better chances and failed to take them. Mirror's summary was spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GasGasGas Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 We had the clear cut chances, they were very lucky thanks to Warnock. They were very lucky thanks to the fact that we can't even make simple basic passes, and more so that Gabby's tackle actually laid a through ball for Torres. Their best pass of the match came from that fluke. Gerrard didn't look very threatening at all too. Maybe he was still off form or getting back from injury, but NRC got in his face a lot. Another strange decision by MON to replace NRC rather than Petrov. Surely the one who has been playing more this season should be rested? Why rest the one who hasn't been playing much in the first place? NRC was playing better than Petrov too if anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommo Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Friedel 7- good save from gerrard Young 6.5- solid enough Cuellar 6.5- a little shaky in the first half but improved Dunne 7.5*- best player on the pitch although he may have conceded a penalty and his slip before the goal was unfortunate Warnock 7- good Milner 5.5- under par, also lacked a little energy and things didn't seem to come off for him tonight. Petrov 5- played a nice crossfield pass on about 80 minutes which was one of his few contributions. Gave the ball away too much. Not good enough. Reo Coker 6.5- best of a poor front six and produced a moment to elude three scouse markers. Must have been under orders to sit deep yesterday though and I didn't see the all action NRC I was expecting. Shouldn't have been taken off, but of course MON won't substitute his captain. Downing 5- shoddy. Pure enthusiasm and skill can only take you so far after a lengthy injury. Give the guy a break. MON should realise this. Carew 4.5- everything he did turned to dust as opposed to gold. Gabby 5.5- first half less said the better, but improved when villa showed a bit of initiative. Albrighton 6- worked hard Sidwell- can't rate him. I'm not going to start complaining about MONs decisions because if it had stayed 0-0 I'd have been just frustrated. However, a last minute goal from a world class striker has changed my whole opinion on the game, so i'm just going to see how they bounce back from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcTheObsession Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Another strange decision by MON to replace NRC rather than Petrov. Surely the one who has been playing more this season should be rested? Why rest the one who hasn't been playing much in the first place? NRC was playing better than Petrov too if anything. This is what really annoys people. MON will never take off his lovechild Petrov, no need for the level of favouritism he shows to Stan. I myself think Stan's a better all-round player than NRC, but when NRC has come into the side, 100% fresh having not featured at Arsenal and is playing a key role marking Gerrard, why take him off and leave on an older, tiring Petrov. It's not like Petrov is twice the player of someone like NRC and simply has to be on the pitch, like a Gerrard or Torres for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Only just got online for the first time after last night, couldn't face reading about the game. Thought Villa deserved a point at the very least. Thought that was the worst Liverpool team I've ever seen. Thought our defence was excellent again. Thought the ref was a word removed who had Stevie Me underpants on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undesirable Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I thought in the first half we showed them far too much respect. It also seemed like our players seemed wary of taking on the Liverpool full backs. The play was often quite static, at times we'd break, often with Reo-Coker or Gabby taking the ball foward but other players seemed slow to join them in the attack. The second half was much better and the performance certainly warranted a goal. Yet again it was a sloppy pass that gifted Liverpool the chance to get the winner, was it Warnock who played the ball short to Dunne? We didn't deserve to lose but then you don't get points for moral victories in football, what we'd do for a player like Torres! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikantcpell Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Still cant beleive we lost..my mobile is still off..We missed AYs delivery from the wings..we still in with a very good chance to grab that 4th spot..neither liverpool,spurs or man city are better than us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAKER Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Like everyone else, i was distraught when Torres scored !! The manager's reactions to the goal, the final whistle and then his subsequent after match interview on Sky told it's own story. I actually think that MON was close to tears out of frustration. Liverpool's goal was indeed due to a bit of luck and maybe our inability to clear our lines when we should have. However, i have to say, on the whole, Liverpool played the better football. They certainly passed it better and looked far better tecnically, being able to pass and control the ball, particulary in midfield. They also had a world class striker who when presented with one chance, sadly took it! We however again struggled to put two passes together and very quickly after the first six minutes, largely bypassed our midfield and resorted to hoofball again to try and get a knock down to conjure up a chance. Gabby missed his only chance, having to shoot with his weaker side. Would Torres have scored Gabby's chance, probably and i'm afraid thats the difference between us and the usual top four at the moment. We are fantastic at the back now, really solid, but from midfield to upfront, we lack that all important ingredient....CLASS!! The fans, media and management are partly to blame due to the expectation level. We have been punching above our weight, so to speak. We have been acheiving results against the top four this season for a number of reasons, but i feel at this moment in time, we have a squad which is geared for, at best 6th, or 7th, instead of the top four! If we understand this, then, the defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool should be put into perspective! So, in January, if the money is available and if the chairman is serious about us achieving Champions League football, then we are short by at least two players, a class midfield playmaker and a forward who will take the chances when presented. This will cost a lot of money, maybe even in the region of 30m, but thats what we will need to give us a chance of achieving a place in the top four. Martin has been quoted in the press as saying that we will be buying no-one in the January transfer window. If that is the case, then we all will need to lower our expectation level a little and wait for the summer months when we might then buy the two quality players we will need to have a realistic chance of achieving Champions League football! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcTheObsession Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Just on a separate note, something I noticed last night; from a distance does anyone else think Downing running round in the midfield with the number 6 on his back looks slightly like Gareth Barry? Seems to have a similar poise and style, both have a very good left foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1986 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 So, in January, if the money is available and if the chairman is serious about us achieving Champions League football, then we are short by at least two players, a class midfield playmaker and a forward who will take the chances when presented. This will cost a lot of money, maybe even in the region of 30m, but thats what we will need to give us a chance of achieving a place in the top four. What worries me is the bit i highlighted, what does this mean for Milner? because he is not a defensive midfielder, so what will happen to him? I'm not his biggest fan unlike the mass majority on here, again i think last night he was poor he seems to have picked up the Ashley Young trick of constantly cutting back to put a ball into the box and losing possession. However, he has improved massively on last year. NRC was my Motm till he came off last night think he proved alot of people wrong, am getting fed up of the pure fickleness of people in the crowd. Slating Gabby for anything saying he's shit always has been etc i just wonder what these people were saying when he scored against United 2 weeks ago, or Blues in the 85th min at the shithole?...its very disappointing. What was nice to see was MON making subs to try to win the game, whether we agree with his choices or not he went for it last night and made the changes early enough for them to have an effect, it didnt work because of some awful luck... Now lets move onto the next few games where we could end up with one foot possibly at Wembley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 What worries me is the bit i highlighted, what does this mean for Milner? because he is not a defensive midfielder, so what will happen to him? I'm not his biggest fan unlike the mass majority on here, again i think last night he was poor he seems to have picked up the Ashley Young trick of constantly cutting back to put a ball into the box and losing possession. However, he has improved massively on last year. I assume it means 4-5-1 with Millie a our Stevie G and the new playmaker as our Alonso (to use Plop's formation of last year). NRC was my Motm till he came off last night think he proved alot of people wrong, am getting fed up of the pure fickleness of people in the crowd. Slating Gabby for anything saying he's shit always has been etc i just wonder what these people were saying when he scored against United 2 weeks ago, or Blues in the 85th min at the shithole?...its very disappointing.. Agree on both these points. Don't understand why NRC came off in front of Stan and JC?? What was nice to see was MON making subs to try to win the game, whether we agree with his choices or not he went for it last night and made the changes early enough for them to have an effect, it didnt work because of some awful luck... I agree - good to see subs just wrong ones IMO. Stan, who is not the fittest anyway, plays two full games in three days??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I agree - good to see subs just wrong ones IMO. Stan, who is not the fittest anyway, plays two full games in three days??? Do you think MON and the coaches paid a fortune and with years and years of experience working with football players are stupid? Do you think if Petrov truly was as unfit as you claim that the manager and the professionals working at the club wouldn't notice? Do you not think players have their fitness monitored throughout the season? Do you not think that at bodymoor heath they have technology to know the exact fitness levels of every player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I agree - good to see subs just wrong ones IMO. Stan, who is not the fittest anyway, plays two full games in three days??? Do you think MON and the coaches paid a fortune and with years and years of experience working with football players are stupid? Do you think if Petrov truly was as unfit as you claim that the manager and the professionals working at the club wouldn't notice? Do you not think players have their fitness monitored throughout the season? Do you not think that at bodymoor heath they have technology to know the exact fitness levels of every player? Do you think everyone should have the same opinion as MON? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbr600rr Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 dunne showed hes a class act again,kept torres quiet for the whole game till warnock did his stuff 93rd min,nrc had a sper game & was unlucky to get the hook! petrov worked hard with no end product again, same applies for carew,no end product.. torres was the difference,gabby made pepe save his efforts,torres made brad pick the ball out. untill we get "that type" of striker expect the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I agree - good to see subs just wrong ones IMO. Stan, who is not the fittest anyway, plays two full games in three days??? Do you think MON and the coaches paid a fortune and with years and years of experience working with football players are stupid? Do you think if Petrov truly was as unfit as you claim that the manager and the professionals working at the club wouldn't notice? Do you not think players have their fitness monitored throughout the season? Do you not think that at bodymoor heath they have technology to know the exact fitness levels of every player? Do you think everyone should have the same opinion as MON? I think it's pretty stupid for someone to assume their opinion is right and MON's is wrong. Especially on a subject such as a players fitness when MON has plenty of staff and technology at his disposal to determine such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommo Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I agree - good to see subs just wrong ones IMO. Stan, who is not the fittest anyway, plays two full games in three days??? Do you think MON and the coaches paid a fortune and with years and years of experience working with football players are stupid? Do you think if Petrov truly was as unfit as you claim that the manager and the professionals working at the club wouldn't notice? Do you not think players have their fitness monitored throughout the season? Do you not think that at bodymoor heath they have technology to know the exact fitness levels of every player? Do you think everyone should have the same opinion as MON? I think it's pretty stupid for someone to assume their opinion is right and MON's is wrong. Especially on a subject such as a players fitness when MON has plenty of staff and technology at his disposal to determine such things. Big John I think if anyone cannot see that Petrov tires then they are not watching the game properly. I think MON must see it, he is an intelligent man, but I think it is his way that the club captain must see out the 90 minutes with the exception of injury. Unfortunately Stan is our captain as opposed to say NRC or Dunne. That lets Stan down. I think MON probably sees it as a weakness to withdraw his captain, in a 1970s sort of way, even if was to benefit the team. The only time I remember him withdrawing Stan was against Newcastle 2 years ago when we were losing 1-0 at half time and that day and for some time Stan had been utterly shite...so his hand was forced and we won the game 4-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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