I’ve found it hard enough to stay interested in the Villa when we are playing let alone not playing lately, so the Queen’s demise and a break for a money grabbing tournament that few care about was the last thing we needed.
Indeed Steve Gerrard said exactly the same thing after we’d improved slightly in our previous two games.
Not that I find myself being able to get particularly excited about four points against Man City and Southampton.
I think it’s just the thought of the same old tactics that have proven to not work with the players we have that have left me so uninspired and I suspect I’m not alone.
There seems to be a malaise hanging over the club now and it seems ages ago where there was a real buzz because it looked like we were on the up.
Now, it seems like many of us would be happy if we were guaranteed that we weren’t going to be relegated and few of us hope to achieve anything more than midtable mediocrity.
We’ve been incredibly unfortunate with injuries, but it’s only part of our issues and our form has simply been far too poor for too long. Whatever happens that has to change.
Is Leeds away a good game to try and maintain our brief run of momentum?
Injury news and I think we pretty much all know the score, but just a reminder;
Boubacar is out for months, Carlos is out until the new year at the latest guess and Lucas Digne looks like he could be out for weeks because of a heel problem.
Matt Cash and Cameron Archer will only be rejoining the squad for training in the coming week.
Leeds have had an even longer break than us with two games having been postponed, but it’s been good for them as a few players have recovered and even though they have Adam Forshaw and Archie Gray out they’re in a decent place.
Rodrigo, Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo, Rasmus Kristensen and scumbag Patrick Bamford have all got back to being available.
Not that I care about dirty Leeds.
So we have to shuffle the pack and the obvious problem is right back.
Gerrard has said he likes to have two players for each position, but who’s going to play in Cash’s place then? It’s either Ash Young, who to be fair has done a very good job of being backup in a few positions or the new lad Ludwig Augustinsson, who we haven’t seen yet.
Of course we have a replacement in Freddie Guilbert, who I thought did a decent job but isn’t even in the squad after being thrown out by the manager.
The point is we’re going to have to cover Cash with a left footed player and I hate that, particularly in the fullback department.
I think I’d be inclined to play Augustinsson in his proper position so we can properly see what he’s about.
I don’t know who Gerrard will play in any area of the team apart from Martinez, but would prefer to see us concentrate on not trying to concede.
Hence I quite like the idea of a 4-2-3-1. Could Nakamba and Luiz work together, with Luiz pushing forward to reinforce the midfield work, for example?
Or do we stick with the usual variation of 4-3-3? This is what I’d expect Gerrard to do and it’s just a matter if he plays one or two strikers. Watkins is wasted lately on the left and Ings is just well out of form in my opinion, although I realise that some don’t agree with that assessment.
I’d just say watch Ings and he’s blowing like a hurricane after an hour. I don’t get what’s going on with him at all, as much as many think he’s by far the better finisher. If you ain’t getting involved in the game, it’s all pointless, imo.
So what do I think?
Well, I have to be honest and say if I couldn’t get to watch the game, I don’t think I’d be too bothered. The way we play just bores me to sleep.
We did well the last time we played this fixture, winning 3-0 in March.
Will we do the same again?
No chance.
We just don’t create anywhere near enough to score three goals now and you have to wonder why that is, especially when you consider so many of our players are out of form at the same time.
Then add in that Jesse Marsch has Leeds in a better place and I struggle to see us getting a draw.
Perhaps I’ll be surprised and we’ll win, but I see us losing this.
However, I’m going to keep the optimistic hat on and go for a 1-1.
I actually think I’d take a loss if it meant we started playing more entertaining footy.
8 points in 8 games.
Badger, how bad is the swearing allowed to get before it gets filtered? Lol!!!
Gerrard OUT! Can we have our football team back please?
Swearing is ok as long as it’s proportional.
I swear myself, plenty, but tend to keep it to during the game, similar to as you might if you were actually there.
It’s when it’s aimed at other posters, it’s not allowed.
That said, we don’t want to see too much of it.
I like to think we’re typical footy fans on here, but do have some restraint and are pretty civil.
I get that it was more a rhetorical question, but it never hurts to ask that sort of thing or for me to answer it.
It’s safe to say that sensible posters won’t be sanctioned for some occasional swearing on here.
Buendia injected some energy and imagination into our game but Gerrard will start him on the bench next game. I can’t see Gerrard getting the boot unfortunately. It would have needed us to lose for that to happen.
What if we lose at Forest, Holte, without scoring a goal?
Southampton were dire, we were not much better.
Leeds are rubbish and with 10 men for the 2nd half and we were rubbish too.
how much more more of this crap are we supposed to watch.
we look like a mid table championship team at best.
if i had put millions into the club i would be not only sacking the manager but many more staff at all levels.
relegation battle for the rest of the season
and one last point after watching Haaland then Watkins, how come Archer does not get a chance, he cant be worse surely.
and Watkins wasn’t the only one who was rubbish.
What a wonderful game it’s such a pleasure watching villa these days it’s like it was back in the 60s and 70s.
It must be a joy to turn up at villa park nowadays 😂
Luckily I can’t make it as live to far away.
Villa should be safe from relegation getting a point a game should see us get 38points.
What a brilliant piece of business getting Gerard in to manage villa purslow must be best CEO in the premier League.
Ah the nurse has just arrived to take me back to my room as tablets due ta ta
Trouble is the players are still playing for Gerrard. I really hope NSWE think that if the players are trying and we can’t win it play football to excite, then it must be the manager.
NSWE sack Gerrard.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11272383/Steven-Gerrard-parties-drug-cartel-boss-phone-video-fan.html
Great. True class.
Well, that’s good for the brand!
I have a question.
Why, when Leeds went down to 10 men didn’t Gerrard push McGinn forward alongside Coutinho or Buendia?
Because he’s a twat. That do yer?
Yep
With that DM headline, and I take it it would have to be true, NEWS must be far from impressed. He must seriously be on his way out of Villa Park now. This will be such bad press.
If they needed an excuse to sack him, it just presented itself. Mr Purslow, the floor is yours…
Pochettino in.
See Marsch is complaining about Villa’s tactics and the referee.
Apparently teams should turn up just to watch Leeds play! Tbf Gerrard quite rightly gave him short thrift.
And I thought Attwood had a decent game in difficult circumstances.
I think I’ve had it with this bloke running our club.
Don’t forget, there were rumours that gangland characters stopped Gerrard moving to Chelsea.
I’m seriously contemplating whether I want him out now or am willing to give him more time.
It’s why I didn’t do a review of the game, fwiw.
What?? So Graham Potter is beholden to gangland approval? JPM.
“Hey boss, you can’t show up at Cobham in a Range Rover. Buy a Ferrari.”
“Why?”
“It is an Italian car, cappich?”
I’ve avoided putting anything on here for weeks – mostly because I’ve become incredibly frustrated (or should I say, “Angry” ?) watching what’s been happening at Villa since the start of this season.
Hitch put it in a nutshell the other day: “every time Villa play, I have this dreadful sinking feeling but am duty bound to watch – it’s not enjoyable at all.”
OK, in fairness we’ve been a bit unlucky with injuries: we buy a couple of players in the summer who might actually improve the team and they’re both out injured pretty quickly (in one case for most of the season) so it’s basically the same team as last season.
But other than that, Gerrard has no excuses. Almost 12 months in, and the nothing has improved – in fact on some levels, we’ve regressed. He still doesn’t seem to know what his best team is for any game, plays people in the wrong roles, and sticks with people who don’t deserve to start – leaving possibly better options on the bench.
His bubble has burst, even his (former-) mates in the media now see that SG isn’t ready to manage in the English PL.
I don’t often call for managers to go, but I think that if we’re to see any improvement this season, we have to get rid of Gerrard – now.
A job I used to do was Arbitration. Sometimes it was necessary to take one party through the other party’s choices. I think that applies to posters who say – as many do – “Gerrard does not know his best team.”
1/ Would you say from your analysis of Villa’s performances that there has been one that stood out and demonstrated what Gerrard’s best team is? Or would you say that none of the performances was good enough for you to say – that is the one – make no more changes?
2/ If you cannot say with confidence that you know what Villa’s best team is – does it surprise you that Gerrard does not know either?
OLL – I don’t claim to know.
But I’m not being paid however many £m per year to know. Gerrard is.
OLL, I can say with confidence that Gerrard SHOULD, by now, know his best team. The problem is hugely talented players are not performing. They’re either ‘out of form’, which is BS; don’t want to play for the manager; or are unable to play to their potential because the manager is stifling them with poor tactics, training and man-management. I think it’s all three; they are out form because the manager is stifling them and they don’t want to play for him.
I mentioned in a recent post how Villa make a simple game look complicated; look at City; yes their players are a cut above, but they make it look so, so easy. They move the ball forward, at speed, with 100% intent to score a goal. Again. And again. And again. That’s football. What do Villa play?
p.s. Watkins can’t finish a sandwich. If Archer plays against Forest’s leaky defence next week, he scores at least two. Gerrard has to give him a go, surely? The strikers simply aren’t doing it, and weren’t last season either.
The Leicester Forest game is a lot more interesting than our last 2 outings. I get the feeling it’ll be Forest, Wolves and Bournemouth down this year. I imagine they’ve already stopped taking bets on the title despite Arse being in pole position today.
OLL, i don’t know if it’s about our best 11, more that there’s no cohesion, spirit or positivity. No game plan at all. Do you get any good vibes from Gerrard? Even though we’ve had some turgid tactics from managers over the past few years, you could sort of see what they were trying to do. We seriously lack width and play far too narrow.
Poor old Forest look like an instant return back to the championship. If only there next game was a guaranteed 3 points! Oh hold on….🤔
It’s pretty obvious the only way Gerrard will be moved is when fans don’t buy, that my friend’s won’t be soon as seats are sold and money been rolling in this season . We all can see that Gerrard is stubborn in playing or trying youth ,moves certain players out on loans buys old hat players and sticks with named players to get him hopefully safe, if that fails the gift of the gob persuades fans . Your all right he is lost in knowing what’s what in the game because it’s week after week shite decisions and talk the talk .I’m like Badger ,pissed off and not wearing my Villa shirts with pride.
Not sure that it’s down to attendances any more (although fans failing to turn up might have some influence); I don’t think that Wolves sacked Lage for that reason – it was more like the owners looking at a year’s results and seeing the obvious: the team is not progressing (actually even regressing).
Gerrard joined Villa mid-November last year. I think that he’s got another 3-4 weeks to get some decent results or the owners will be asking Purslow to explain what his expensive ‘mate’ Stevie has achieved in 12 months…
Buendia and Coutinho playing close together centrally (not on either flank), just behind Archer next Monday and we score at least 5. Try something different and you might get different results.
Can one game decide two managers futures?
Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa?
A 0-0 result might.
The under use of Archer is a disaster. Over the last 12 months the kid has been sky high in confidence, scoring goals for club and country, full of hunger and desire. Proven he can score from all angles both feet and a real eye for goal. How do we use all that? Dont loan him out to a top championship club (even though Gerrard knew he wouldnt use him) and stick him on the bench. Such a shame, whilst our 1st choice strikers can barely hit a barn door and badly out of form. Beggars belief.
Spot on, Adam. His form at Preston and England and for Villa early in the season and for Villa pre-season, was fantastic. Clearly a natural, predatory goalscorer. Gerrard should hang his head in shame. I’ve said it before – I’d have given him the number 9 and said “OK son, it’s yours to lose. I think you’re got everything to be a top striker in the Premier League and you’re going to start the first 10 games, whatever happens. Go and enjoy it and score as many goals as you can. Phil, Emi, pass to Cameron and he’ll do the rest.” Or something along those lines.
It’s not too late. Watkins and Ings have had their chance, last season and this. Start Archer at Forest and I believe we’ll see a different Villa. People have commented on how many crosses we put in to to avail. All I can think of is Cam’s bullet header at Chelsea. I’m sure he’ll bury some of those crosses.
Let’s see if Gerrard grows a pair and starts him. We can only hope.
Even neutrals agree with what is being said;
https://www.90min.com/posts/premier-league-crisis-club-of-the-week-aston-villa-4-10-2022
Would’ve taken the point before the game, but given the circumstances, 3 was needed.
Watkins: good-looking, articulate, and very hard working. All those are bonus points. Not the fundamentals which are he does not score and does not pass to somebody better. If Gerrard is fired it will be in large part because he was too patient with Ollie.
Watkins scores two types of goals: 1/ at short range tap-ins and uncontested headers; 2/ breakaway goals one on one against the keeper with no defenders near enough to tackle. None of those requires power – because Watkins does not possess a powerful shot (he does not swivel his body to add momentum), nor can he out-jump a centre half.
The ball will fall to other players 20 to 15 yards from goal. What angers me about the current midfield and other forwards is their APPALLING shooting. Firing over the goal because they are planting the non striking foot behind the ball and getting the toe of the striking foot under the ball. If they ran through the position of the ball – the toe of the striking foot would point down and the point of connection of the foot would be higher up the ball, imparting more power and less lift. Then there is aiming. Why do they aim to glance the ball in off the post? They miss by a yard so why not aim a yard nearer the centre of the goal? WTF do they do in training instead of the most urgently needed improvement – shooting practice?
Have you sent your CV in yet, OLL.?
Ha Ha. A bit too old now BFR. But I was surprised when I managed a Sunday League side how many footballers in their late 20’s did not know what they had been doing wrong for years. I just can’t believe with all the technical analysis Prem teams have players are not better coached.
Most are golfers so you can ask them to think why the ball departs the tee much faster than the head of the driver was travelling. Mass x Velocity is equal. Apply that to football and they could see the more of their weight that is supported by their standing leg, the less mass is impacting the ball. Which is why swivelling or jumping and hitting the ball is a good technique.
Some fascinating comments from Michael Owen about Ollie’s game, including finishing:
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2022/10/04/michael-owen-paul-scholes-says-28m-aston-villa-man-can-be-complete-player-bar-one-issue/
I wonder if he’d be up for a coaching role at VP? Ollie and and Archer would benefit hugely as the defence did from Terry a couple of seasons ago.
Gotta say OLL, it’s the sort of thing you learn at school. Why do they un-learn the basics when they turn professional? Leaning back sends to ball skywards. Anyone want to drop an email to our squad?
Think the rot going through our club , Villa under 21 lost to Portsmouth 5-1 . Portsmouth?
Don’t worry. I watched Sutton United squad members demolish Chelsea U-21 3-0 last month. These U-21 teams play the ball around on the deck with lots of one touch and flicks, but they just do not have the weight and strength of even league 2 pros. The rare exceptions, who are physically developed early, are the players taken out of the U-21 squads and loaned out or put on the first team bench. So the Prem U-21 players are literally lightweights.
I have this page bookmarked from this time last year. Makes an interesting read…
https://www.astonvillanewsandviews.co.uk/villa-wolves-and-i-have-a-bad-feeling/
Makes me think that nothing has really changed much…
Groundhog day. Great movie, terrible for football. It’s like being stuck in limbo. Next Monday night is going to be very interesting. If the weekend results go against us, we could be in the bottom 3 without kicking a ball. Then if we can’t beat Forest then StevieG has to go.
Come on NEWS. Get Poch in!!!!!!
It wasn’t supposed to be like this when they sacked DS. A year on and still the same-old, same-old.
Gerrard out. Pochettino in!
I see my comment then suggests giving Archer a chance as he was in form then as well. Ridiculous that he’s still waiting a year on. The people who run the show at VP are asleep at the wheel. START ARCHER ON MONDAY!
Interesting indeed Bum bum. What’s that saying about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?
Oh yes, it’s madness.
Very pleased Deano’s reputation is intact. Great bloke and talented. Norwich are flying!
Bum Bum, I think Deano is joining a short list of managers: like Scotty Parker and Potatohead who are a certainty to get you out of the division you are in this season. The Baggies engage most of them.
I recall Big Ron when he put Bosnich in the team due to Spink being ill in ’92. Bossie was “magnificent” so Ron basically said “keep the ball out of the net and you stay in the team.” Same applies with Archer. Our strikers aren’t scoring. Put him in. If he scores, tell him “keep scoring and you stay in the team.” So simple.
I heard earlier that Haaland is not going to the world cup, so thought get him an english passport quick, but then i realised that Southgate would find a way to cock it up, so dont bother.
sorry its off topic just totally fed up with villa at the moment