mykeyb Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Although we've been through this a million times here MON's squad in his first season wasn't even close in quality to the squad that we have now. We had an inexperienced 20 year old Gabby Agbonlahor playing his first full season, a shite Milan Baros, Gavin McCann, Steven Davis, Liam Ridgewell, Jlloyd Samuel and Aaron Hughes as starting players back then. You missed Melberg, Barry, Laursen, Cahill, Bouma all of whom would walkninto our starting eleven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 also Sorensen and even rather Angel than Heskey up front. Aaron Hughes would also get in our team now its a myth MON had a team of poor players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowDoINotLikeThat Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 ...and Laursen and Bouma played their best football of their career under MON Barry also was never played in central midfield before MON arrived . Barry also blossomed under MON. But i guess lets not give MON any credit he is still to blame for everything and anything than goes wrong with club blah blah blah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bose Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Although we've been through this a million times here MON's squad in his first season wasn't even close in quality to the squad that we have now. We had an inexperienced 20 year old Gabby Agbonlahor playing his first full season, a shite Milan Baros, Gavin McCann, Steven Davis, Liam Ridgewell, Jlloyd Samuel and Aaron Hughes as starting players back then. You missed Melberg, Barry, Laursen, Cahill, Bouma all of whom would walkninto our starting eleven. Cahill back then didn't play much and was only 21 years old and Laursen had barely played a game for two years. So that's three players in Barry, Bouma and Mellberg who were decent players. Otherwise it was a pretty shit squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bose Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 also Sorensen and even rather Angel than Heskey up front. Aaron Hughes would also get in our team now its a myth MON had a team of poor players I'm sorry but I just don't understand how you can say it was a myth. Aaron Hughes would only get in our team because McLeish sold our best right back in Luke Young and refuses to use Cuellar there. Sørensen isn't even close to Given's level. He had a much weaker squad than McLeish has today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowDoINotLikeThat Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Luke Young was sold before McLeish took over in fairness if memory serves me right. Agree the squad MON took over was poor . Trying to compare this season to MON's first season is just frankly stupid on so many levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatestConfirmedIn Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Luke Young was sold before McLeish took over in fairness if memory serves me right. Agree the squad MON took over was poor . Trying to compare this season to MON's first season is just frankly stupid on so many levels. McLeish was at the club for two months before Young was sold. But he was only sold because he wanted to move back to Wimbledon where his family live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowDoINotLikeThat Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Luke Young was sold before McLeish took over in fairness if memory serves me right. Agree the squad MON took over was poor . Trying to compare this season to MON's first season is just frankly stupid on so many levels. McLeish was at the club for two months before Young was sold. But he was only sold because he wanted to move back to Wimbledon where his family live I stand corrected then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 im surprised alot of people seem to be more confident after the last 2 games. yes we had a bit more of the ball and seem to be able to string more than 2 passes together, but most of our possession has been in our own half or in the middle of the pitch. both arsenal and stoke sat off us (i was very surprised stoke did this) and gave us the middle of the pitch. but when it came to the final third we looked as clueless as ever. you could probably count on 1 hand the amount of really good chances we actually created. there was no sustained pressure by us in either game. aside from a couple of headers from gabby and heskey, and the fonz effort against stoke, all we have really had are quite ambitious shots from distance and a few balls whipped across the face of goal. we had a couple of shots on target against arsenal and the same against stoke. thats it for making the opposition keeper work. the goal against arsenal although well taken by marc, was set up by one of their defenders. infact, in the last 6 games we have scored just 3 goals. the gift against arsenal and 2 against bolton, one of the worst teams in the league. we have 19 goals this season, which considering the attacking players we have is not great. blues went down last season because they only scored 37 goals and thus couldnt win enough games, too many draws. we are seeing a similar thing this season, and theres only 1 thing the 2 clubs have in common - mcleish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David-Copenhagen Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 I thought the performance against Stoke was interesting. We played for the most part a kind of quasi-Houllier tippy tappy football. We kept the ball on the deck without any real penetration, drive or ambition but it was at least in the main watchable. It didn't have me gouging my eyes out. For the very first time as our manager I actually saw a little tactical nous from McLeish. We're not going to get anything from a side like Stoke by going toe to toe, so he tried something different. For the first time I thought, well done. Now of course, one swallow does not make a summer. Even if he does adopt a more Houllier-esq style with us he lacks in so many other areas it still won't be enough. There are clear confidence and understanding issues within the squad. They look lost out there at times and don't have a built in plan b. But it was better. Still dull as dishwater, but better none the less. I was just about to post something like this. For me it was positive to see a Villa manager actually using a tactic to counter Stoke - we could have used that before. If he could only find a way to get our front 3-4 to click then we might be a half decent team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyOne Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Going from vomit inducing football to subpar football isn't worth getting excited about I agree. Oh wow, we can keep the ball for more than 5 seconds, it's a shame we still can't do anything with it in the final third. Hurrah for a 0-0 cup victory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 In 35 years, I have never been so apathetic towards the club. It is part of my life and indoctrinated into my kids lives too. Now, I cant be bothered to go to VP, I am not that interested if we win as it means that for just a few minutes it will make PF feel like he is a tactical genius to appoint McLeish, if we lose, I am not bothered as its sort of expected with McLeish in charge. My kids didnt get the kit this year, as not really bothered and to be honest, they dont want to be Villa on FIFA 12 anymore, they want to Barcelona or Madrid. Totally apathetic and that is depressing in itself. sums up my feelings exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatestConfirmedIn Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 In 35 years, I have never been so apathetic towards the club. It is part of my life and indoctrinated into my kids lives too. Now, I cant be bothered to go to VP, I am not that interested if we win as it means that for just a few minutes it will make PF feel like he is a tactical genius to appoint McLeish, if we lose, I am not bothered as its sort of expected with McLeish in charge. My kids didnt get the kit this year, as not really bothered and to be honest, they dont want to be Villa on FIFA 12 anymore, they want to Barcelona or Madrid. Totally apathetic and that is depressing in itself. sums up my feelings exactly Agreed, and I think a main reason was not listening to the fans when appointing Mcleish. I don't think it would have made the board look weak if they did a u-turn, there were protests for Gods sake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Going from vomit inducing football to subpar football isn't worth getting excited about I agree. Oh wow, we can keep the ball for more than 5 seconds, it's a shame we still can't do anything with it in the final third. Hurrah for a 0-0 cup victory. Not worth getting excited about I agree. However, it's hard to disagree that it is an improvement. At some point we need to start questioning the players also. Yet again, time after time, N'Zogbia ran into a brick wall unnecessarily. Which is a real shame because he again showed glimpses. There aren't many players who can be as brilliant as they are utterly turgid from minute to minute. He has the decision making nous of an amoeba. Albrighton was shite too, which left Gabby fighting a one man battle. Which he lost evidently. Petrov did well supporting but it's just not enough. It was like watching pre-Bent Houllier Villa. Now perhaps with Bent back, Gabby out in the channels and an attacking mid not named Emile Heskey we can progress. Of course that relies on the manager sticking with the philosophy. I won't be putting money on it, but it has given me food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macandally Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 also Sorensen and even rather Angel than Heskey up front. Aaron Hughes would also get in our team now its a myth MON had a team of poor players Whilst we are talking about myths, try these on for size: McLeish is a football manager McLeish is the man to take us forward McLeish has a record of developing youth McLeish has a pedigree for building teams McLeish likes to play positive attacking football. I could go on, but i think you get the picture. ONeills arrival lifted the whole club and got those who were underperforming to step up to the plate. McLeishes arrival signified the biggest "meh" moment I can remember and has lifted noone, nothing and nobody. In fact, it has done the polar opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 also Sorensen and even rather Angel than Heskey up front. Aaron Hughes would also get in our team now its a myth MON had a team of poor players Whilst we are talking about myths, try these on for size: McLeish is a football manager McLeish is the man to take us forward McLeish has a record of developing youth McLeish has a pedigree for building teams McLeish likes to play positive attacking football. I could go on, but i think you get the picture. ONeills arrival lifted the whole club and got those who were underperforming to step up to the plate. McLeishes arrival signified the biggest "meh" moment I can remember and has lifted noone, nothing and nobody. In fact, it has done the polar opposite.To be fair, virtually no one believed any of those things about McLeish, except for the board perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Whilst we are talking about myths, try these on for size: McLeish is a football manager should look up the word myth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 ...and Laursen and Bouma played their best football of their career under MON Barry also was never played in central midfield before MON arrived . Barry also blossomed under MON. But i guess lets not give MON any credit he is still to blame for everything and anything than goes wrong with club blah blah blah I love how people jump to his defence even though no-one said he was to blame for everything or anything wrong at Villa Touchy? MON-Defensive..? I don't know how to explain it... Man-crush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Aaron Hughes would only get in our team because McLeish sold our best right back in Luke Young and refuses to use Cuellar there. Sørensen isn't even close to Given's level. no but Sorensen is better than Guzan and was discarded years too early Also Hughes was Fulham best defender last season better than Hangeland and also shone when they finished so high under Hodgson and got to EUropa final Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 and Laursen and Bouma played their best football of their career under MON Laursen best form was in Italy when he won a deal with Milan and Bouma was a Dutch regular before joining Villa. They played well here but not best of their career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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