Good Monday morning all, I present you an alternative look at our situation.
I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few games and with the late winner yesterday, I thought it was time to post the optimistic thoughts.
This new change in pace for Villa has seen us soar with possession, but completely lack any attacking credibility at all and I know there are a lot of fans calling for the head of Lambert, and I too have been one, but what if Lambert is on the verge of getting it right?
We may not be scoring, but we’re not conceding either and as far as I’m concerned, this is the best the defence and midfield have played as a solid unit for a good few seasons, yet we lack in the final third of the pitch?
We have Benteke up front who most of us believe is the only striker capable of scoring any goals but he alone is not good enough, we still need to get the ball to him and have a player alongside him capable of scoring and splitting defences to make space, and what happens if we get these players? Players that can create chances and score as well. We have a team, an all round team.
If’s and but’s!!??!
The alternative outlook is that what if Lambert gets sacked, what if the new manager played in this style or that style, what if he brought this player and sold that player. We can all wish and hope for a new team, new manager, new chairman but the only certainty we have is that Lambert is staying and in the bigger picture, he could get this right come the summer (like everyone of us wish), especially with the influence of Tom Fox.
I’d rather us stay up with the current style of football rather, than go down the way we played earlier this season loosing 3:0 x amount of times in a row and still not scoring anything.
I am not a Lambert enthusiast, far from it, but I am trying to step back from the anger and hatred to look at the bigger scale of things. We may be turning a corner and that corner involves dull, lack lusting football, but it is slowly happening, we just need that final 3rd to make the games go from boring possession to fantastic possession.
Now, rip my opinion apart.
Mr Cheese cannot fault the obvious, but who in their right mind will go to see a team like we are, the name of the game is to be better than the opposition, the way we are that never be the case.We have a owner in the club to make money in anyway he can,and not bothered for the fans sport.
It struck me that we have gone from only playing ‘hoof ball’ to only knocking it around at the back. Most teams play a combination; there us nothing wrong in good long balls from the back to players running the channels but we now seem incapable of doing that. I saw a list of long balls played by teams in 2014 and was surprised to see that Villa weren’t the ‘worst culprits’. Surprisingly there were some good teams heading the list – I’ll see if I can dig it out.
If we are going to play more possession then we also have to be able to play fast and incisive football as well. Do we have the players to do that; We’ll see what develops.
I’m not sure that Benteke’s strength is hold up play so, again, the ball needs to get to him quickly. On the other hand IMHO Kozac holds the ball up well.
totally agree, i love the style we are trying to achieve, but i honestly doubt the current squad, have the capabilities of pulling it off, you have to play to the players strengths, but iam sure they can mix it up, far better to slowly introduce this style whist keeping the longer more direct style. at least until you acquire the players to play the one twos required to open up packed defenses
also this slower build up style, isn’t followed by correctly pressing high up~field. once you press higher. you regain possession higher, this before oppositions have men correctly in place and in numbers, means more space for the forwards.
Long ball passes per game 14/15 season excluding promoted clubs then Manure are top with 77, followed by Baggies 72 then Swansea / Hull on 71 and Villa on 70 . Was quite surprised by the Manure / Swansea stats.
I was just trying to think of the manager a few years back When Villa was for the drop, might be O’Leary we won 12 games on the trot and it saved the club, he came in and played attacking football with wingers it through clubs out of sequence because they all played passing football. We beat all the top clubs and what it was he let them play their game, I’m not into this build from the back, its OK when you need to but not passing back lose it pass it back, boring football, but then that’s me, drawing board football OK if you have brainy players, we don’t have anyone that reads a game.
This change of style has become laughable.
The idiot clears off to watch Bayern Munich train and then comes back thinking that he can replicate it with these bunch of losers.
Why doesn’t he sit the squad down and show them footage of the Brazil 1970 team and say “now look lads, this is how we are going to play”. He is trying to copy a style that Guardiola has been playing for years and the difference is he has the players for it.
Our build-up play is just far too slow and ponderous.
Lambert is a desperate man and he was totally thrown with the calls for his head yesterday.
Its been long over-due-the bloke is dead-man-walking.
Not so much tika taka but sticky tacky!!!
I find the complete change of playing style a bit bizarre. Lambert defended our counter attack style saying that he wasn’t interested in possession stats, but what you did with the ball when you had it. We have gone to the polar opposite, and have lots of possession and no penetration.
This does coincide with the visit to Bayern Munich but why on earth would it need that to show Lambert that possession of the football can be a good thing?
We don’t take risks and we don’t get enough players forward quickly enough. Then again, that’s why we aren’t conceding many goals. All a bit boring really.
Have to agree the style of play is encouraging, the same thing happened when houllier came, we tried a passing game but our players were so used to the counter att game that it took them a while to adapt and villa fans hav no patience or don’t know football well enough to see what he was trying to do so they booed almost every game which was disgraceful if u ask me, now it’s the same when we hoofed it everybody complained about how basic it was and that it constantly put us under pressure, now we control the ball and are not under pressure yet the team gets booed? I can understand the boos during the blackpool game as they are crap and we should hav been beter but booing at half time when its 0-0 in the prem and we’re controlling the game, that I just can’t understand.
Couldn’t agree more. Wasn’t till the end of season under Houllier when things started clicking. We have the most impatient and short sites fans going. This new style of play will benefit us long term and will obviously have teething problems as the players aren’t used to it. I think we have the players to be a successful passing side tho (ie Sanchez and Westwood) and I am behind Lamberts tactics for the first time.
I believe that Mr Cheese has made a good point here.
Possession- football isn’t ‘boring’ in itself, it’s just the near-complete absence of any end product that’s the problem at this time. The defence and midfield are indeed working together better than they have done in a couple of years.
The big question is whether Lambert can solve that problem, and/or whether Lerner will give him the money to bring in the player[s] who might make the difference?
Very good points Ardent
And do we think Lambert able to find that missing link? I don’t he’s unable to use reserves already at his call, I see 3 Albion coaches have lost jobs ,we have three they can have.
I just don’t know whether Lambert is capable of solving the problem – and it’s frustrating to watch him try, but I guess that there’s a slim chance he might just prove us all wrong and actually manage to keep the defensive side going AND get them scoring goals regularly…
While I never believe papers and transfer rumours, especially about Premier League players coming to Villa that are outcasts at big clubs, if Sinclair is seriously on Lambert’s mind… Then we could truly be screwed and wasting 2.5m… If the rumour is true. I have my doubts.
Villa home to Bournemouth in the cup.
Tough one that.
Bournemouth we haven’t a chance.
Bournemouth will fancy that tie, and with good reason.
The scum won’t they have Albion at home.
I do enjoy the scared fans for the game v Bournemouth, who while score for fun, are scoring against awful Championship sides. They lost 3-1 to the only Premier League side they’ve faced who have conceded 5 more goals than us in the Premier League in Liverpool. While yes scoring will be a problem, conceding isn’t and fans need to stop moaning and getting “scared” of them. It’s sad.
Agree with you.
I don’t see Bournemouth beating us either – unless it’s on penalties after two 0-0 games.
What, you mean awful championship sides like Blackpool?
Enough said, I’d say.
Hmm, sad indeed.
Hence Bournemouth will not be too unhappy with this draw, imo.
THAT is sad.
And shows where we currently are, in that while I agree they might find it tough to score, we’ll probably find it tougher.
We’d better beat them at home, as my money says they would beat us over two legs.
Bournemouth will come with no fear with nothing to lose knowing the League is far more important to them….luckily for them, we will be shitting ourselves and will probably knock us out
Can’t understand it, some fans giving out about the 2.5 million for Sinclair? There’s very little risk in that kind of money and if he regains his confidence it could prove to be a steal! Much better than a loan, I think.. still, knowing our luck his wages will become a stumbling block.
His wages are bound to be a stumbling block, as he only went to Citeh for the dough, as everyone including the player himself, knew he never had a chance of playing.
He’s a decent player, but do we really want a mercenary type like that?
I believe he’s on £50k a week from memory, which makes the whole suggestion of him coming to us quite laughable, tbh.
This one isn’t going to happen; no chance, imo.
A Dream Draw! For lots of reasons, holidays – living in the South and of course the memorable 3rd division games Bournemouth are my 2nd team. So I will make the effort to see this game. Actually it was Bournemouth Res who lost 3-1 to Liverpool, which rankled a bit since in the q/f fans expected the best selection. But Eddy has fielded the Res against the Baggies and beaten them so you could see his logic, They made 6 changes from the first team against Rotherham and won 5-1 so Bournemouth Res aren’t that bad. I expect Lambert to field Given and the benchers also – so it might be close.
Coming on to the matter of style – the topic at the start of this post. I cannot stand the current Villa possession game. It is a 250 mile round trip for me and I would like to be entertained. I am amazed at the tolerance Villa fans at VP have shown to Lambert before booing him off. Some fans, the Hammers for example would have really got stuck in if they saw that.
For “We’re West Ham United – we play on the floor” which they sang to Allerdice read
“We’re Aston Villa we try to score goals” which I hope the Holte End will adopt.