lapal_fan Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Who is Gardner the goalscoring midfielder maybe Ireland True dat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makouns_grin Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Alex McLeish must let Aston Villa off the leash It’s an increasingly prevalent adage among Aston Villa fans that “Alex McLeish teams are hard to beat — and hard to watch”. By Henry Winter10:19PM BST 26 Sep 2011 1 Comment For all the initial reservations about appointing someone who had just got relegated with bitter rivals Birmingham City, Holte End concern now revolves more around McLeish’s style of football. Aston Villa are unbeaten in the Premier League (one win, five draws) yet there seems almost an uneasy peace between McLeish and the support. The gate for the visit of Wigan Athletic could easily prove a talking point this weekend. Grumbles at playing what fans perceive as 4-5-1 at home are frequently heard. Away from Villa Park, McLeish’s side were particularly negative in the first half at Loftus Road on Sunday. Gabby Agbonlahor was so cut off from the rest that he might as well have been shopping in Westfields. A proliferation of long balls brought “boring, boring Villa” derision from QPR fans. Yet McLeish deserves some credit for shaking his players into life at the interval. Signs swiftly emerged in the second half that, when McLeish urges more creativity, Villa can be a joy to support as well as tough to play. At one point, the ball zipped cross-field, a terrific passing move involving Barry Bannan, a reminder of the enduring quality flowing from the Academy, and Sid Cowans’ ability to help mould a midfielder. McLeish, who was accomplished enough tactically to win a trophy last season, needs some time and patience from his new audience. He also needs to let the handbrake off. A straw-poll of Villa fans yesterday revealed they did not consider themselves genuine trophy contenders but they wanted some entertainment. For the occasional observer of Villa, McLeish cuts a tense figure, as if realising the size of the task at Villa Park. Too many nerves cling to the dressing room and McLeish is partly responsible. Manager and team must remove their straitjackets, putting on a more colourful ensemble. And quickly. Sceptics rightly point to the reality that the Premier League fixture computer smiled on the incoming McLeish, giving Villa a negotiable opening against Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Wolves, Everton, Newcastle and QPR. December looks the most unforgiving of months with fixtures against Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, not to mention Stoke City away. McLeish needs to bank some goodwill early. Villa are a proud club with a fine history but they are currently struggling with this question of leadership. As Martin O’Neill discovered, McLeish’s problem could be as much to do with Randy Lerner, the chairman understandably intent on balancing the books. Yet the American got a great deal with Villa, buying a well-known footballing name with a completed stadium, improving training complex, and a supply line of talent for £62 million. Bargain. Fans crave investment in the squad, particularly after the haemorrhaging of attacking quality with the lucrative sales of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing. A little bit more direction from Lerner might improve the mood. There are reasons for the Holte End to be cheerful. Charles N’Zogbia is a proven Premier League performer who is surely just taking time to find his usually assertive stride. When the predatory Darren Bent returns from injury, Villa will boast a sharper cutting edge. Marc Albrighton showed enough promise last season to indicate he will deliver, although his decision-making of when and where to release the ball needs some fine-tuning at Bodymoor Heath. Jermaine Jenas, when fit, should bring some energy to the centre, encouraging Villa to take a more ground-based approach to spiriting the ball upfield. Richard Dunne looks revitalised under McLeish. Another own goal should not obscure the excellence of Dunne’s display against QPR. Shay Given was an astute recruit, being a positive dressing-room influence as well as excellent goalkeeper. Even without Downing and Young, Villa have some talented players, certainly enough to be attacking more consistently and threateningly — if encouraged. McLeish has made Villa hard to beat. Now he must make them easier to watch. Telegraph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 ^^^^^ Great article!!!! Put simply we just need to be more positive on the pitch and show some faith in one another! (something a certain French seems to have beaten out of the team last year). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 McLeish, who was accomplished enough tactically to win a trophy last season, needs some time and patience from his new audience Indeed he does. I hope he gets it. There were times on Sunday in the 2nd half where I thought we looked excellent ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 If he is as pissed off as we are then perhaps he should question his managerial methods if he is not getting the best out of the players. In addition I was led to believe that one of his strengths was in getting the best out of what he had at his disposal, if he needs to replace a large number of players in the team well that aint gonna happen Not going to happen this season Richard but eventually those players will be out of contract and then we will have no choice but to replace them. When we do, I think we will find a more mobile defence see an improved Villa side going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makouns_grin Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 McLeish, who was accomplished enough tactically to win a trophy last season, needs some time and patience from his new audience Indeed he does. I hope he gets it. There were times on Sunday in the 2nd half where I thought we looked excellent ... Blasphemy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggyrichard Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 He will get it right, hopefully Sunday (2nd half) proved to him that we are good enough to attack teams. In fairness, it was McLeish who was bollocking the back 4 for sitting too deep and inviting QPR to attack us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.Daley Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Alex McLeish must let Aston Villa off the leash It’s an increasingly prevalent adage among Aston Villa fans that “Alex McLeish teams are hard to beat — and hard to watch”. By Henry Winter10:19PM BST 26 Sep 2011 1 Comment For all the initial reservations about appointing someone who had just got relegated with bitter rivals Birmingham City, Holte End concern now revolves more around McLeish’s style of football. Aston Villa are unbeaten in the Premier League (one win, five draws) yet there seems almost an uneasy peace between McLeish and the support. The gate for the visit of Wigan Athletic could easily prove a talking point this weekend. Grumbles at playing what fans perceive as 4-5-1 at home are frequently heard. Away from Villa Park, McLeish’s side were particularly negative in the first half at Loftus Road on Sunday. Gabby Agbonlahor was so cut off from the rest that he might as well have been shopping in Westfields. A proliferation of long balls brought “boring, boring Villa” derision from QPR fans. Yet McLeish deserves some credit for shaking his players into life at the interval. Signs swiftly emerged in the second half that, when McLeish urges more creativity, Villa can be a joy to support as well as tough to play. At one point, the ball zipped cross-field, a terrific passing move involving Barry Bannan, a reminder of the enduring quality flowing from the Academy, and Sid Cowans’ ability to help mould a midfielder. McLeish, who was accomplished enough tactically to win a trophy last season, needs some time and patience from his new audience. He also needs to let the handbrake off. A straw-poll of Villa fans yesterday revealed they did not consider themselves genuine trophy contenders but they wanted some entertainment. For the occasional observer of Villa, McLeish cuts a tense figure, as if realising the size of the task at Villa Park. Too many nerves cling to the dressing room and McLeish is partly responsible. Manager and team must remove their straitjackets, putting on a more colourful ensemble. And quickly. Sceptics rightly point to the reality that the Premier League fixture computer smiled on the incoming McLeish, giving Villa a negotiable opening against Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Wolves, Everton, Newcastle and QPR. December looks the most unforgiving of months with fixtures against Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, not to mention Stoke City away. McLeish needs to bank some goodwill early. Villa are a proud club with a fine history but they are currently struggling with this question of leadership. As Martin O’Neill discovered, McLeish’s problem could be as much to do with Randy Lerner, the chairman understandably intent on balancing the books. Yet the American got a great deal with Villa, buying a well-known footballing name with a completed stadium, improving training complex, and a supply line of talent for £62 million. Bargain. Fans crave investment in the squad, particularly after the haemorrhaging of attacking quality with the lucrative sales of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing. A little bit more direction from Lerner might improve the mood. There are reasons for the Holte End to be cheerful. Charles N’Zogbia is a proven Premier League performer who is surely just taking time to find his usually assertive stride. When the predatory Darren Bent returns from injury, Villa will boast a sharper cutting edge. Marc Albrighton showed enough promise last season to indicate he will deliver, although his decision-making of when and where to release the ball needs some fine-tuning at Bodymoor Heath. Jermaine Jenas, when fit, should bring some energy to the centre, encouraging Villa to take a more ground-based approach to spiriting the ball upfield. Richard Dunne looks revitalised under McLeish. Another own goal should not obscure the excellence of Dunne’s display against QPR. Shay Given was an astute recruit, being a positive dressing-room influence as well as excellent goalkeeper. Even without Downing and Young, Villa have some talented players, certainly enough to be attacking more consistently and threateningly — if encouraged. McLeish has made Villa hard to beat. Now he must make them easier to watch. Telegraph What a brilliant and refreshing article to read. Written by a a complete neutral and providing food for thought for us all. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in all the negativity (and rightly so at times) as we are just too close to our beloved Villa, so to get some words like this is very eye opening. He actually touches on what so many of us have been saying too; re-build from the back, and now start to address the front 6. Maybe that 2nd half on Sunday is the trigger to get it down and play some nice stuff. I bet Bent was sat at home watching, and thinking 'play like that when I am back!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Excellent article - I think I only disagree with the judgement on Albrighton. The jury is very definitely still out on him as far as I'm concerned. Here's an important thing about this season that we may not have discussed enough:A little bit more direction from Lerner might improve the mood.At the moment, McLeish is having to take all the flak for everything that has gone and is still going wrong at Villa, including the mysterious disappearance of leadership from the Board and a coherent investment strategy, and the fact that the squad still looks shell-shocked after the shenanigans of last season. He seems fully prepared to take responsibilty for poor team performances but there are bucketloads of other issues that are nothing to do with him impacting on people's perceptions of his managership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I don't understand those of you saying our performance is typical of Mcleish ? Didn't you hear his own post match comments ? He was as annoyed as us at the first Half and asked for exactly what we got in the Second. He made precisely the criticisms we have - so how is it 'his style/tactics/way etc ? Prejudice ? Equally he is responsible for the first half performance and the set up of the team which again was dire even though we were promised a response after the Bolton match. The second half performance was better but only for a short period, and again we didn't create enogh chances, to score enough goals to put the game to bed and we end up with a draw. My point is that it does not appear to be his choice wehn we play the way we did first half, but it does appear that what we enjoyed in the 2nd half is what he is after also, therefore comments about it being him that is the problem due to his way of playing seem to be incorrect. Yes you can then argue that it is his job to get that latter type of performance, and whether he is up to it, but that is different to saying he wants the negative approach. In my view I think he may yet show that he is up to getting us playing the latter way more frequently - I think he has inherited a problem of players feeling tense and lacking the freedom nad confidence to go out and play. And I think he recognises it - my own theory, with litttle hard evidence, is that he can't believe how Fckd up many of the players were by GH, and he is struggling to get them to play properly. But I think he acheived that for a while on Sunday, which bodes well. The fact that we are still fragile and struggled as QPR made a fight of it doesn't overshadow that for me. In short , had he come out with the usual Mnagerial platitudes after 2 halves like the first I would have wanted him sacked, but his clear and open recognition that he no more wants that than we do means I'd now like to see him given time to restore their self belief and see how we do, whilst not expecting miracles I stil think our First 11 are as good as anybodys outside the Top 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I don't understand those of you saying our performance is typical of Mcleish ? Didn't you hear his own post match comments ? He was as annoyed as us at the first Half and asked for exactly what we got in the Second. He made precisely the criticisms we have - so how is it 'his style/tactics/way etc ? Prejudice ? Equally he is responsible for the first half performance and the set up of the team which again was dire even though we were promised a response after the Bolton match. The second half performance was better but only for a short period, and again we didn't create enogh chances, to score enough goals to put the game to bed and we end up with a draw. My point is that it does not appear to be his choice wehn we play the way we did first half, but it does appear that what we enjoyed in the 2nd half is what he is after also, therefore comments about it being him that is the problem due to his way of playing seem to be incorrect. Yes you can then argue that it is his job to get that latter type of performance, and whether he is up to it, but that is different to saying he wants the negative approach. In my view I think he may yet show that he is up to getting us playing the latter way more frequently - I think he has inherited a problem of players feeling tense and lacking the freedom nad confidence to go out and play. And I think he recognises it - my own theory, with litttle hard evidence, is that he can't believe how Fckd up many of the players were by GH, and he is struggling to get them to play properly. But I think he acheived that for a while on Sunday, which bodes well. The fact that we are still fragile and struggled as QPR made a fight of it doesn't overshadow that for me. In short , had he come out with the usual Mnagerial platitudes after 2 halves like the first I would have wanted him sacked, but his clear and open recognition that he no more wants that than we do means I'd now like to see him given time to restore their self belief and see how we do, whilst not expecting miracles I stil think our First 11 are as good as anybodys outside the Top 5. You may have a good about the players. I think the problem goes back further than GH though. MON used to have us sit back and hit on the break, and he bought a team of players that were adept at this, and utilise the pace of Young/Downing and Gabby to great effect. Two of those key players have now left us, and it is up to other players to step into their shoes. I hope you are right, and AM can turn it around. I have nothing against him as a person, in fact he seems like a very likeable person and we all want Villa to do well. I just am a little concerned that his last team struggled to score, and that a similar scenario seems to be happening here. We will have to give him time, but he still has a long way to go on proving himself and dispelling his image of dire football with a lot of the fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Credit to McLeish 1st Villa manager to beat Wigan in a home league game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Tactically spot on today. We retained the "hard to break down" tag, were willing to keep the ball on the deck and hit them hard on the break at the right times. The formation suited the tactics to a tee. A 4-3-1-2 with Gabby drifting out wide and Bannan/Ireland bombing on when necessary down the other flank. It takes balls to drop your big summer singing only 7 games in too. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 glimpses in the last 2 games - most players put a decent performance in - just need Delph, Hutton and Ireland to find a bit of form. - and hope the the likes of bannan , gabby can sustain there current levels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepDish Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 McLeish is doing a good job so far. It is interesting to see how the other manager names we have been linked with or that have been wanted by Villatalkers. Jol - struggling with Fulham Martinez - struggling with Wigan Coyle - going down with Bolton McLaren - say no more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spamm Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 AM is not a man manager, his a mud fighter. Players with talent seem really struggle under him. If we'll keep him, we will became Bolton, enough points to do OK, but piss poor game that has no chance of real success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Think this thread should be closed or atleast the title changed. The mans going nowhere, I'm happy with how things are going and I'm sure thousands of others are too... There's no point to the title of this thread. It's just negative. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spamm Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Negative football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 McLeish is doing a good job so far. It is interesting to see how the other manager names we have been linked with or that have been wanted by Villatalkers. Jol - struggling with Fulham Martinez - struggling with Wigan Coyle - going down with Bolton McLaren - say no more! Add the player unrest at Fulham, and it looks lik a lucky escape from the wishes of many on here. Jol's a shit manager, always was, always will be. It is only the obsession with 'big' foreign names that keeps people like him and his mate Rijkaard in employment. I'll take an organised, spirited, (boring if you like) Villa under McLeish over 'big name' unrest any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houlston Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Players with talent seem really struggle under him.. Like who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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