Ratings and reactions: Newcastle 2-1 Villa

[Mantis]

Houllier had Young and Downing though. swings and round abouts.

True, but he only had Bent for half a season, had a huge injury crisis, no pre-season and huge squad upheaval.

[villapark1]

Newcastle are a good side but i thinking people jizzing all over there greatness isn't warranted.

We deserved something from this game, but bad luck, shit substitutions and awful defending cost us again.

we will continue to limp through the season, until we can ship out half the dross in the team in the summer, whether we can avoid relegation to get to that phase is another story.

i for one can't be **** to watch this shit anymore.

How can you say (in the same sentence I may add) that we Deserved something from the game but defended awfully...? the 2 just dont go together.

i.e. if you defend awfully, your gunna get beat! its not rocket science.

[barry'sboots]

It's stupid, McLeish took him off for it - should not have given him the option. Assuming this is the reason. Again, we don't have context for this scenario and it's all word of mouth. I see no other reason unless he was truly injured. McLeish isn't that stupid.

Have you not been watching this season??????? :winkold:

[NorthEastVillan]

McLeish's small time attitude is really starting to piss me off. His latest:

I site Newcastle as a great example of what I am trying to do with the team."

FFS we are Aston Villa. Founders of the league, European cup winners and Premier League mainstays. You're not at Blues any more. Not good enough.

Also in Clark and Petrov I think we have the worst central midfield in the country. Nothing against them personally but they offer nothing between them.

[Richard]

we got a predictable defeat. There'll be a few more of those between now and end of season Just cant wait until we have enough points to avoid the drop

Cheers Randy

[barry'sboots]

McLeish is a complete tool.

Those substitutions sucked both the creativity and the balance out of our side. But I guess that is what he wanted to play his uber negative, anti-football style.

He needs to be moved on asap if we are to make any progress and those defending him need to reflect very hard, IMO, on whether they have the best interests of our club at heart.

On the plus side Ireland and the Zog are starting to show what they are capable of. We just need a manager that can build a team around those two, Gardner, Agbonlohor, Clark, Cuellar and Given.

[VillanousOne]

Newcastle are a good side but i thinking people jizzing all over there greatness isn't warranted.

We deserved something from this game, but bad luck, shit substitutions and awful defending cost us again.

we will continue to limp through the season, until we can ship out half the dross in the team in the summer, whether we can avoid relegation to get to that phase is another story.

i for one can't be **** to watch this shit anymore.

How can you say (in the same sentence I may add) that we Deserved something from the game but defended awfully...? the 2 just dont go together.

i.e. if you defend awfully, your gunna get beat! its not rocket science.

yes good point but we've defended shite all season so i'm so used to it i have to discount it as the main reason why we lose, erm, even though it is.

[Woodytom]

McLeish's small time attitude is really starting to piss me off. His latest:

I site Newcastle as a great example of what I am trying to do with the team."

FFS we are Aston Villa. Founders of the league, European cup winners and Premier League mainstays. You're not at Blues any more. Not good enough.

Also in Clark and Petrov I think we have the worst central midfield in the country. Nothing against them personally but they offer nothing between them.

So your pissed off that our manager is trying to imitate success off a manageable budget??

Hmmm, yeah makes sense.

Aston Villa were European cup winners in 1982 FFS. A 'one off' that whilst were all proud of no doubt, an achievement we couldnt sustain. Get over it. It was 30 years ago. Most people outside AVFC barely know we won it, let alone 'give a shit'.

For me, we should be aiming to do exactly what Newcastle are doing.

[AValon]

Game of two halves this one. Dominated the first and should have been 2 or 3 to the good; totally capitulated in the second, bar a brief desperate flurry as the clock wound down.

McLeish, it has to be said, has to hold his hands up for this one. What was effectively a winnable position, momentum wise, he turned into a kick and hope circus with some disastrously wrong decisions.

Not good enough AM. Take note Randy.

[Genie]

Once again we look a lot better when we're forced to raise the tempo and push forward. Why doesnt AM play attacking from the start? We aren't good enough for the patient cautious approach.

[morgoth]

N'Zogbia replaced by Heskey. buahahahahaha.

I think McLeish still works for SHA

[villatillidie1980]

wgaf if we played well? we lost again. we play well in patches frequently, means shitall if we don't pick up points.

Those points could be the difference between 13th and 10th.

I want to win games, don't get me wrong, but for me this season is over in terms of the real importance of results - what's more important to me is that I'm entertained, that we look like we're putting some sort of plan in place and that we're doing some of the things that will prepare us for next season.

We're not going down, we're not going anywhere - so let's see if we can try to put a plan in place for the future - I'd like to see us take more chances in our starting line ups, experiment a bit - even take a hammering somewhere along the line in trying to win a game.

Think of today as the first of a long series of pre-season matches for 2012-13.

Now I've written that, I'm not sure whether it makes sense - but there you go, I never promised you sanity.

This for me

[kavanagh9]

Today was not shit, far from it

i'd hate to go on a night out with you, we could end up with no money, beaten up and in prison and you'd be happy.

Haha think he had to many sherbets last night and was still lady drunk from all the loss woman, someone sumed up the game with sons comment, why do we just kick it up the field or to Newcastle. Second half qpr game lovely football slick passing to feet and looking for runs and making them aswell, today was shocking

[VillanousOne]

N'Zogbia replaced by Heskey. buahahahahaha.

I think McLeish still works for SHA

Hesket is the new Fashanu

[kavanagh9]

Once again we look a lot better when we're forced to raise the tempo and push forward. Why doesnt AM play attacking from the start? We aren't good enough for the patient cautious approach.

Because he doesn't know what attacking is, he played defensive football at the blues, all because he was a center half himself, that sums it up,

[Morpheus]

The future is starting to look rosy again IMHO

Clark, Bannan, Gardner, all getting great pitch minutes this year and we will reap the benefits from 2013 onwards

You're probably joking?

To those who feel that we are secure in the Premiership, please take a look at the table and we are up against city next week.

[Laivasse]

An even first half, with lots of hard work, ruined by a an unambitious, pedestrian, defeatist second half. Dingbat substitutions ruined our rhythm. If I didn't already hate McLeish, I'd hate him now because he's shown that at HT he's more likely to sub off a strong performer when we are playing well than he is to make a tactical substitution when we are playing badly.

To be fair to Bannan and Heskey, they played okay, but the removal of Ireland and Zog signalled our transformation into a deep-sitting hoofball side that was unlikely to ever get anything from the game. Gardner's appearance in the 83rd minute (!) came at least 25 minutes too late. Terrible tactics, deserved loss.

[lmarsha_926]

2 defeats at home all season and 5th in the league you cannot really say Newcastle are not a good side.

[Villaboy69]

But lack of opitions on the bench killed us today. for me ireland was shite in the first half and should have come off regardless of injury or attitude. zog was doin chuff all anyway in the second half so did those change really decide the game. quite possibly the answer is yes but in truth its the lack of quality and depth of our squad that cost us the result today. AM simply replaced under performing players with second eate players hardly a recipe for success

Unless he or any other manager is give the funds to completely overhaul the squad we are in for a pretty bad few years and who knows where that will end

re in for

[Villaboy69]

But lack of opitions on the bench killed us today. for me ireland was shite in the first half and should have come off regardless of injury or attitude. zog was doin chuff all anyway in the second half so did those change really decide the game. quite possibly the answer is yes but in truth its the lack of quality and depth of our squad that cost us the result today. AM simply replaced under performing players with second eate players hardly a recipe for success

Unless he or any other manager is give the funds to completely overhaul the squad we are in for a pretty bad few years and who knows where that will end

re in for