AVTuco Posted March 17, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted March 17, 2014 There is no right or wrong decision here. I am of the opinion the "if its not broke, don't fix it" regardless of Bertrams future. Think its wrong to pick a side on the strength of future decisions regarding players. Bennett played a blinder-What kind of a signal does it send out if you're dropped after a performance like that. My only reservation would be that Stoke mix it a little more heavily than Chelsea do but I'd still go with Bennett. I would never change a winning team other than exceptional circumstances-I appreciate football has moved on from this mentality but for me, its Bennetts place to loose. I would normally buy into your logic, but Bennett knows he played because Bertrand wasn't allowed to play, and he knows he is behind Bertrand in the pecking order. He did well, and will be happy with that, waiting for Bertrand to play poorly or not be here next year. No signalling effect this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MessiWillSignForVilla Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I think Lambert is in a really tough position for the Stoke game with regards to LB. Bertrand wasn't dropped through any fault of his own or an injury, it was purely down to the fact we played Chelsea. He hasn't put a foot wrong really since he joined, and doesn't deserve to be dropped. On the other hand, Bennett did really well against Chelsea, it was probably his best performance in a Villa shirt, his first start since returning from injury and finally looked like the youngster with lots of potential that we paid Middlesbrough £2.5m for, again he doesn't deserve to be dropped. Personally, I'd say don't change a winning team. It was a huge win and all the players must have tons of confidence from it, confidence that we are going to need if we want to win a 3rd game in a row (would also be a 3rd home win in a row too), confidence that will be lost by being dropped for no good reason. Bennett had one chance to regain that first team spot, and he took it with both hands, it's Bertrand's to win back now imo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Agree with the above. Let's not forget also that Bennett is our player. There is no guarentee at all that Bertrand will even be here next season, so Bennett's progression would take greater precedence for me right now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khizzy Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 If Bertrand isn't going to stay with us, we'll be risking of having another Kyle Walker in our squad who will go back to his parent club and become a regular starter. Not sure this is actually the case here, but the big question is not if we can stump up the cash to buy him, but if we can pay his wages, which will probably be more than a lot of our first team are getting right now. Best option is to ship out Luna (who has been dreadful despite his promising start), buy Bertrand and keep Bennett on as a decent backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_007 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Lol the Bennett love is cracking me up. Literally hated 72 hours ago. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody1000 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Bertrand is back in the side on Sunday IMO. This isn't about who deserves to play based on 1 game, this is about starting with the best 11 and IMO Bertrand is a better LB than Bennett every day of the week. At least Bennett has improved his standing in PL's eyes I'm sure, and he should have to take the next opportunity that comes his way. That said, watch Lambert pick him now.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Lol the Bennett love is cracking me up. Literally hated 72 hours ago. It's the same with the manager. They will be back to being hated again after our next loss. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 The great thing here is these are what squad players should be about, coming in and performing well and taking their chance when a regular is missing....rather than showing why they're warming the bench. Bennett played very well on Saturday but I worry if he has a run of 5 games his level will start to drop, mistakes will start to occur again and fans will start to criticise again. At this moment in time Bertrand is a better all round left back so I'd start him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Lol the Bennett love is cracking me up. Literally hated 72 hours ago. It's the same with the manager. They will be back to being hated again after our next loss. Would you both rather that people didn't give Lambert and Bennett credit for their respective roles in the Chelsea victory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avflife Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Bertrand in on Sunday, Bennett was positionally clueless last Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodigan Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 great game on sat, althought this should be exactly what having a squad is all about - rotating players should not weaken the team... i know there aren't many positions that we can say that about, but its certainly better than it has been for the last two seasons... as for who starts against stoke, both players won their last games, so its really a case of whichever PL thinks is best for the job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_007 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Lol the Bennett love is cracking me up. Literally hated 72 hours ago. It's the same with the manager. They will be back to being hated again after our next loss. Would you both rather that people didn't give Lambert and Bennett credit for their respective roles in the Chelsea victory? Yes that's exactly what we are saying!?? christ how did you come up with that. I'd rather fans didn't go OTT labelling people shit, not good enough and sack him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwi1890 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Ship out luna someone said, has bennet delph and bacuna taught you anything?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-Reacho Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Reminds me of when Guzan came in for Given a couple of seasons back and didn't put a foot wrong yet McLeish dropped him as soon as Given was fit. Was totally the wrong decision for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 The great thing here is these are what squad players should be about, coming in and performing well and taking their chance when a regular is missing....rather than showing why they're warming the bench. Bennett played very well on Saturday but I worry if he has a run of 5 games his level will start to drop, mistakes will start to occur again and fans will start to criticise again. At this moment in time Bertrand is a better all round left back so I'd start him. Very much this. And that is what we should be concentrating on doing in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Bertrand is a better player with better experience who has been playing equally as well since signing, yes Bennett played well but do you drop Bertrand for him - No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt1874 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Bertrand should start. I'd like to think that for Joe, the Chelsea game - his performance and fans reaction - will do him the world of good regardless of whether he plays against Stoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Bennett had a brilliant game saturday but I think Bertland will be brought back into the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Bertrand is back in the side on Sunday IMO. This isn't about who deserves to play based on 1 game, this is about starting with the best 11 and IMO Bertrand is a better LB than Bennett every day of the week. At least Bennett has improved his standing in PL's eyes I'm sure, and he should have to take the next opportunity that comes his way. That said, watch Lambert pick him now.... Not much encouragement for players to get in the side and stay there then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody1000 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Bertrand is back in the side on Sunday IMO. This isn't about who deserves to play based on 1 game, this is about starting with the best 11 and IMO Bertrand is a better LB than Bennett every day of the week. At least Bennett has improved his standing in PL's eyes I'm sure, and he should have to take the next opportunity that comes his way. That said, watch Lambert pick him now.... Not much encouragement for players to get in the side and stay there then?I think it is unfortunate for Bennett that Bertrand was only out of the side as we were up against his parent club, otherwise he would be in with more of a shout IMO. To be honest, I've been a fan of Joe Bennett and not been as critical as some have, but I just believe that Ryan Bertrand is better and for me it's never a time for sentiment - if fit, then the better player should play. Edited March 18, 2014 by Woody1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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