PieFacE Posted March 16, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted March 16, 2014 With the state of our current squad Gabby has to play for me. He's incredibly unpredictable when he wants to be. Half the time I don't think he knows what he's doing. When he's out with injury we really miss him. He had a bad game yesterday, a player of his ability will have good and bad games and it#s been that way his whole career. However, he needs to start as he has the ability to play out his skin (Liverpool game). What I've never understood though, when we're defending a corner/free kick, why don't we put Gabby on the half way line? If Guzan catches the ball he could just hoof it and Gabby can chase, no one will catch up with him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRivieraKid Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) I think Gabby is a lazy player, and if hes on £50k a week, then imho hes not worth it. You look at his game yday, his movement off the ball, touch, pass choice was all poor, when Albrighton came on for him, could you see Gabby picking Delph out like Albrighton did?....not for me. Hes a Villa fan, and fair play to him for that, but, for me hes not doing it, and hasn't been for a couple of years now.With all his ability he should be Englands CF, his lack of concentration, and attitude means hes not. Get a good striker in the summer to play off CB, and a good midfielder, we should improve rapidly. Crazy to say that gabby couldn't of picked delph out, have you seen some of his assists this season? Albirghton really hasn't done a lot and is playing for a contract, why change what's working well? Well, Gabby has the most assists this season for us with 5 (6 if you include the one in the League Cup and that also doesn't include the 2 penalties he won at the Emirates on the first day of the season). Interesting point about Gabby though is that all of those assists came away from home (apart from the League Cup assist). If you look at WhoScored ratings (which I admit are only an indicator but still useful for making this point) his match ratings away from home are markedly better than at home. (and before anyone says it, that is not indicative of the team as a whole - our total home points now matches our away points after yesterday) Edited March 16, 2014 by TheRivieraKid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 What assists LR? I want Gabby to be brilliant, but i'm not blinded by the fact he's a Villa fan to realise hes average at best, and for us to improve, we need better. The 2 at anfield for a start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROTTERDAM1982 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Fair enough........2 goals though LR. If he played every week like he did against Lplop, then i would have him in the team every week. but as PieFacE said, we haven't got much option.Swap him for a Rodriguez, or Sturridge though, and we could have had them when they moved, or a Remy, and we would be further up the table imho. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larscapaldi Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 What I've never understood though, when we're defending a corner/free kick, why don't we put Gabby on the half way line? If Guzan catches the ball he could just hoof it and Gabby can chase, no one will catch up with him. Exactly what I've been thinking for a long time now. He's useless when it comes to defending corners, so why not put him a couple of yards off the halfway line. When Guzan catches he can start his run and all Guzan has to do is hoof it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakid007 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Would keep him in starting 11 and he is very strong and is actually a good passer. Would start albrighton benteke gabby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meregreen Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 He's actually a pretty average player. Without his pace he wouldn't have much to offer. His first touch is woeful , doesn't make many intelligent runs, one on one he is the worst I have ever seen. Simply being a Villa fan is not enough. . He came off yesterday, and the player who replaced him was more effective and laid on the winner. Sentimentality is fine, but it needs to be balanced by a sense of realism. In my opinion , with a few isolated performances scattered over the last few seasons, he has been in a slow decline. Others may disagree, fine.I've never been one to have my opinion of a player clouded by sentimentality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I don't get the Gabby hate. He is an engine on the team and has been the only player to consistently give shit. He may disappear at times but he's never listless. And hes always good for a few good defensive track backs a game.It's a sad day when we judge our attackers simply by how well they track back.Not really, it just means we're playing a different way. Do you think Pep's Barcelona would have been as good if their attackers didn't put a shift in defensively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Without his pace he wouldn't have much to offer. You could say about any number of players; take away their key asset and they become rather less. Gabby isn’t a great player, but he’s a good player for Villa. When we are in the top six we might think about options, but until then he’s a key player. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Gabby isn't the worst you've ever seen one on one, come off it that's a silly statement. Yes he misses a few when through on goal but his three this season have all been composed finishes when through on the keeper. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I don't get the Gabby hate. He is an engine on the team and has been the only player to consistently give shit. He may disappear at times but he's never listless. And hes always good for a few good defensive track backs a game.It's a sad day when we judge our attackers simply by how well they track back.Not really, it just means we're playing a different way. Do you think Pep's Barcelona would have been as good if their attackers didn't put a shift in defensively. That doesn't really follow. Firstly Barcelona's forwards press high, not the same as 'putting in a shift defensively' and they were great due to what they actually contributed offensively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Without his pace he wouldn't have much to offer. You could say about any number of players; take away their key asset and they become rather less. Gabby isn’t a great player, but he’s a good player for Villa. When we are in the top six we might think about options, but until then he’s a key player. Was going to say, why take away his best asset and say he doesn't have much to offer. I wouldn't focus too much on Albrighton making a 12 yard pass, gabby obviously couldn't of done this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villabromsgrove Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Gabby and Weimann do a great job even when they're not playing at their best. They knacker a defence after 70/75 minutes. The right subs can take advantage of those tired legs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meregreen Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Gabby isn't the worst you've ever seen one on one, come off it that's a silly statement. Yes he misses a few when through on goal but his three this season have all been composed finishes when through on the keeper. Three...says it all. 50 years watching Villa, and he is most definitely the worst I have seen one on one. Watched Sturridge for Liverpool today, a player with pace and a footballing brain. He's a Villa fan too. If only Liverpool would do a swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Sturridge and Benteke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted March 17, 2014 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted March 17, 2014 Gabby is very much a strength, not a weakness as far I'm concerned. No sentimentality, no fan playing for the club gubbins, he's quick, he's good in the air, he can hold the ball up, he can change games and he can finish with both feet - he's inconsistent, yes - but bad Gabby is in the team on merit, and on a good day he's the best we have. I don't want him to leave because he's one of our best players. Simple as that for me. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Gabby is very much a strength, not a weakness as far I'm concerned. No sentimentality, no fan playing for the club gubbins, he's quick, he's good in the air, he can hold the ball up, he can change games and he can finish with both feet - he's inconsistent, yes - but bad Gabby is in the team on merit, and on a good day he's the best we have. I don't want him to leave because he's one of our best players. Simple as that for me. Agreed, I think he's one of our best players and one his day has the potential the change games single-handedly. Just look at the difference it made to the team when he came off injured against Liverpool and when he came on against West Brom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Well Gabby offers a lot .. Not every player needs to be technical .. Sometimes you need strength and pace .. He have good crosses and shots in him too .. Very important player to us ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Without his pace he wouldn't have much to offer. You could say about any number of players; take away their key asset and they become rather less. Gabby isn’t a great player, but he’s a good player for Villa. When we are in the top six we might think about options, but until then he’s a key player. But even then, could it be that the reason Gabby struggles at times is because the team around him is poor? When we were regularly finishing top 6 he was one of the first names on the team sheet and playing well, scoring goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) But he never even consistantly played well under MON. He usually started well then burned out (as did the team) for the second-half of the season. I still can't name one season where he performed well from the start to the finish. Edited March 17, 2014 by Isa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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