Terry Jones gives his opinion about the team;
Moving on from my last submission, D-DAY has come and gone and we have a foot hold on the beach with three points against Norwich.
However, having watched the game twice now I am still not overly convinced that we have made the much needed improvement to take the club forward.
We are still reliant on one player, but now he is injured who is capable of stepping up to the mark?
Ok Kozak scored our goal but if it had not been for Gabby providing him with the chance I was fearing we were headed for a draw or even worse.
Guzan was outstanding and saved us time and time again and Gabby for me was excellent as usual.
The defence was still poor though and the mid-field not really up to the task.
The passing was shabby and we did not use the full width of the park by playing to narrow.
We give the ball away too easily and never seem to move forward as a unit. By bunching together in the middle of the park we are leaving the flanks wide open for the opposition to get round the back of them thus putting pressure on the defence.
Man City next up and if Guzan is not on the same form as yesterday we are in for a very rough ride and our celebrations may be short lived.
Can anyone honestly see us putting two wins together back to back? as this is what we need to do if we are to see a team that is improving.
Our style of play does not seem to give hope of ever stringing a winning run together and I still say we are not a mid-table team unless these players can get it together and play as a unit or we see a change in Lambert tactics.
Comments
115 responses to “Not overly convinced”
BADGER 123.Mate thanks for saying you are glad you put this up for me.Now i have read all the comments on here so far i would like to have the opportunity to reply to my critics.
I was not trying to be negative or positive but to put a point of view forward for meaningfull discussion and no matter how much abuse i get.Now i think Oohah will maybe agree with me on this he and myself say things how we see it.Yes i do agree that six points from five games is not a bad return or one that is convincing enough to show any real progress and especialy when out of those five games two were at home and we lost both one was unlucky the other well enough said.So for all those whom think i am to negative the only way in my opinion to convince fans that the club is going in the right direction we must start winning the home games and PLs tactics must reflect that and in what i wrote i did not at any time call for Lambert,s head as one pointed out.All i pointed out was i am not overly convinced any real progress as been made.
Still a fair few concerns but we are improving.. we haven’t conceded any goals in the last ten minutes which is a positive in itself..
Norwich have only lost to us in there last 11 home games so it wasn’t as strait froward a win as we might have thought..
Also luckily for us there are about ten teams the same standard as Nortwich so we will have plenty of similar games..
Midfield is a concern and i still think we need a DM and AM..
Lionheart, you have the same concern as most on here, me included, do you think that our present midfield go missing in and around the 70 th minute of the game? KEA, Wiesmann, both look tired if it wasn’t for the likes of Delf, Gabby we would really struggle, I don’t think we will get much out of Kozac for a while he looks not match fit.who will fill the boots of Benteke god knows.
Wiemann runs his socks off and gets frustrated because he gets into some cracking positions but then no one passes him the ball. He really should be subbed around the 60 to 70 minute mark. It is a shame that we usually lose a defender at some point in the match, which takes up a substitute. Lambert doesn’t seem to use up all his subs so assuming he keeps one in reserve I wonder if match fitness is affecting tactics more than just with whoever is taken off.
Bowery was a very good striker, I wonder if he’s anywhere near as good enough to play in the middle? He’s never had a chance with Benteke there all of last season, and now Kozak is there. I think Kozak will keep that spot, and it would be good to see Helenius start tomorrow too. I’m not sure we can risk Gabby, he’s been our main threat and playmaker this season and we need him to do what he did to ManC what he did to them in the cup game last season!
Oh, and by the way, Spurs are up next, not Man City, some of you ‘fans’ should check the fixture list.
Spurs is a cup game not league not interested in cup games it;s league games that count as to wether we are making progress.
Please explain how it’s only league games that show the overall progress in performances from the side?
Agree mate cup games get in the way of proper football like the internationals. Fa cup is shit a wasted sat without prem games in a competion that a half decent team can’t be bothered to compete in any more. It’s a joke
You agree with Terry that the cup games are not an indicator in our progress?
Jesus christ you couldn’t make it up.
Guest read this link even avb states its not their priority http://www.clubcall.com/tottenham-hotspur/avb-villa-cup-clash-impossible-1637958.html?. I’m sure they would rather get the 3 points than knock us out of a meaningless cup competion. It is not a sign f our progress guest simply as a lot if the prem teams don’t take it seriously and spurs will prob rest their good players. Portsmouth win fa cup and go into football oblivion hell even the scum won it and look at them now! Wigan went down mainly because of their cup run. We have got a squad that will do well to keep us up this year why have a cup run and risk injuries etc. staying in the pre. Is a million times more imp than winning a cup. It’s sad but true
Spurs will be playing a very very good side, and we would do well to win tonight, and should that happen, the boost it would give the players and fans would be huge, and give us a little more confidence going into the City game, which could be deemed as a good thing by most rational fans, and also falls in line with Terry’s ‘must win two on the bounce” legislation.
That to me is progress. Perhaps not huge progress, but progress nevertheless.
The City game is not the marker of our progress and is unfair to use as a yardstick as you know we’ll more than likely lose.
Iv got a sneaky feeling we will get a point v city.
And furthermore, it wasn’t a meaningless competition when we were in the semi final against Bradford, you were as excited as everyone else at the prospect of Wembley.
You’ve even said in the past that a decent league finish and a ‘good cup run’ were what you wanted.
Do you realise how much you contradict yourself? Time and again.
Why would you want a cup run of they are both meaningless? Or is this just the latest opinion of one of your hugely knowledgable football mates that coincidently, do not watch European football on a Thursday as it’s ‘a night to go out’.
The problem with you and Terry is, because we aren’t capable of winning the league, anything in between just isn’t good enough and any progress made is still countered by a bunch of negatives,.
We were all there in the glory days, apart from perhaps VILLA1996, who’s about 17, but they were in a time when the competition was far less fierce, and money didn’t talk, and if you can’t accept the realities of the modern game then you should go and watch the darts.
If you look at my posts last year I did say that I’d rather win a cup than not win it but not at the expense of being relegated which is prob what would of happened. I wasn’t really bothered we got knocked out as I thought it would be a blessing in disguise which in hindsight it was. And no I didn’t get excited wasn’t even that bothered we lost to utd a few years ago I really can’t get excited about league cup. Yes when we won in the 70s v Norwich and Everton I was ecstatic but I was barely a teenager then and league cup was worth winning. I remember the singing after Everton 1.0 down 3.2 up Aston villa win the cup lalalalalalalala lol
Thats the cup were on about the league guest
I know what you are talking about i wasn’t born yesterday, my point, which is either being entirely missed or conveniently ignored is, why are you making a separation between the cup and the league, progress is progress.
What you are doing is conveniently putting the game against Spurs to the side knowing that we have more chance of winning that than we do against City, because if we beat Spurs and make it two wins on the bounce, most fans would think that is progress, whereas if you leave that game out, and take into account we’ll probably lose to City, then you can carry on bemoaning the club, the owner, the management etc, if or when we lose.
Some of you will literally make your own rules up to keep on justifying your obsession with whinging.
Pathetic.
Anyway fifa 14 out Friday think you can do better nows your chance lol
I don’t play computer games mate i’m an adult with a life. lol.
Hey im married to guest and still play games mate it’s called having fun instead of being boring adult whats the point in being grown up if you cant be childish sometime, people who play games have lives to you know
You’re married to guest? No wonder you don’t agree.
ha ha. best comment ive seen for a while!
Haha what I meant was im married not to guest thou still funny lol
Your not married till you have done 52 years like me.
Am I right in thinking that if you win the cup you have an entry to the Europa League? Worth fighting for, surely, and therefore making the Spurs match relevant?
Yeah but god forbid we ever make the Europa league! Apparently it’s a rubbish cup and not worth challenging according to terry and ooh ah. It’s a European cup for gods sake! It’s also soon to be another way in to the champions league.
Do u seriously think we coukd win it. Ffs there’s more chance of knitting fog
Who cares if we can’t win it? I personally miss the days of watching us face other clubs from different Countries. I mean yes Europa League teams are getting better every year, Sevilla (made some strong buys despite sales), Spurs, Fiorentina, Lazio etc but it’s still as entertaining as ever.
Remember last time we were in Europe when we were outclassed by some rubbish team in first round at home Ffs. And that’s when we had a better team.
No, we had a better first 11, we didn’t have a better team, the overall team was poor. But I do remember that. Also remember their fans booing Weimann off the pitch when he got injured, but I still loved watching us in Europe.
Who wants to be in the Europa league Ffs. It’s not like we coukd ever win it in a million years. It’s a Micky mouse tournament. Also it coukd relegate us being in that look what it did to Newcastle last season nearly sent them down. Our starting 11 struggles enough as it is imagine having to play that as well they’d be fucked by Xmas
It’s not gonna relegate us if we played in the Europa League, it gives us a lot more opportunities to play the younger players like Grealish instead of having to loan them out, it gives Villa more money and players like playing in Europe so it could very well be a little more attractive for the likes of Kiyotake and such compared to just playing in the League. You might claim it to be a Mickey Mouse tournament, but it’s still entertaining every Thursday.
Might be entertaining to you maybe as uv a sad life. But me and most of my football mates pay very little or no no attention at all to it and very rarely watch it. Players like benteke are only interested in CL they don’t give a flying fuck about Europa l
I have a sad life for watching football outside of Villa? Your posts literally get worse and worse every single time… Lol
Well this will cheer everyone the time when villa ruled look at last 7 mins arsenal away 20,000 plus villa packed into clock brilliant day out even though we lost http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cDVpkdTLV2c
No but just sad watching Europa football boring as fuck. Thu is going out night ffs not watching Micky mouse games on ch 5
You’re right, Benteke wants to play in the CL, why wouldn’t he? But I bet he’d be very happy if we were playing in Europe this season, even just the Europa League.
But Europa league is not enough to keep a player like Benteke he wants to ve in tge CL with a London club
Thursday’s for going out? Nah, that’s what Friday night’s for.
I’m well aware it’s not going to be enough for Benteke, but we’re never going to get CL football unless we spend City money, which we’re not going too, so what’s the harm in playing in the Europa League? Hell it’s more money for Villa, more exposure for Villa and it still does attract players.
No harm in playing in it when u have a squad that can cope with a game every 3 days or so. Lambert is already whining like a little girl about the knocks and injuries the players have taken plus how he wanted to rest benteke because he is tired Ffs. This is after 5 games 5-6 weeks Ffs
What a load of shit.
Seriously, absolute tripe, i think you are really showing yourself up OohAh.
There have been some fantastic European nights down at VP and it’s never relegated us before, you have even remarked on them yourself in the past, and infact, not that long ago you wanted European qualification, so please stop with your bullshit comments of “it’s a mickey mouse cup and my mates pay no attention to it” .. because i pay attention to any game Villa play even if it’s in the so called ‘mickey mouse’ cup.
You say someone else has a sad life for watching Europa League football, well this explains why you know fuck all about football outside of England, i meab you barely know fuck all about football in th UK, couple that with the fact you will literally say anything to knock the club and i’d say you have a far sadder life than most of the other posters on here.
And if you and your sad football mates think nobody cares about Europa League football then you are all as uninformed and out of touch as each other, which actually doesn’t surprise me.
I’d still like an explanation from yourself or Terry as to why tonights game isn’t a maker of progress?
Didn’t relegate us before because we had better players and capable of finishing 6th from top not bottom. But even then when the crunch came the players were fycked by march and couldn’t cope and we only finished 6th by virtue if starting the season well. Though I do appreciate mon was resoinsibke by not rotating etc
Billa the midfield is the main concern.. it is too weak.. one of Delph Westy Sylla would be fine next to Diame and Koyotake ( as examples )..
The middle three offer us no goals and creativity.. i would love this to be recitified by next summer..
I am 50-50 on the signings so far.. it would have been nice to have got in one midfielder who could have made an impact strait away..
Like i said there is progress.. we have not conceded in the last ten mins of a game so far this season so we are handling the pressure..
But there are concerns that need to be addressed.. i can see Spurs beating us tomorrow simply because there second string midfield smashes ours.. lets hope i am wrong thou!
Thats Billa not Billa lol
Bill… effing iPhone..
Thought for a minute Lionheart it was villa villa not billa billa. 🙂
“Lambert revealed up to eight players – including Ashley Westwood, Antonio Luna, Gary Gardner and Chris Herd – are carrying knocks going into the Spurs showdown.
In addition, Gabby Agbonlahor, Fabian Delph and Ciaran Clark played through the pain barrier in the victory at Carrow Road. ”
Well… A lot of changes (hopefully he doesn’t actually risk them despite the cup being important still).
Lamberk has already said the game with city on sat is the priority. Lambert talking sense for once
It’s an interesting subject, the cup and league thing, which would make for a decent article sometime.
While I agree some clubs no longer take the cups seriously at first, you can bet your boots they do when they’re getting nearer to the final.
At the end of the day, it’s silverware and the best chance we’ve got of winning anything.
Plus it’s extra games where we can get to see the team.
Love it, absolutely love it, me.
Play the best possible team and try and win a cup, which is what I think Lambert’s approach will be.
Well now is not the europa league a cousin of the inter toto or ten bob cup do we not hold the record for winning that.Our league position what ever it maybe is the only way to prove wether progress as been made not cup games.
I agree mate Ffs Portsmouth won the fa cup and look where they finished!!
Sir Oohah looks like i have put the cat well and truly amongst the pigeons with this one mate ain;t half took some stick.But still some don;t grasp the fact that progress can only be measured by our league standing not by winning cups or some tin pot league like the europa.
Some people are blind sir terry it’s the league position and whether ur in the CL that defines you these days not the Micky mouse cups
Yes the cl defines the big clubs like united, city, spurs arsenal, chelsea and liverpool but for the smaller clubs like us who have fallen the Europa league is our champions league we can no longer think about getting 4th. We should try our hardest to get in to Europa and do well imo, to attract better players, make more money for the club and gain valuable experience, only then can we maybe think about the next step I.e champs league.
Never happen Adam we will never be able to attract top quality players and tge few we do get we will never hold on to them. For the youngsters out a link to villa in old third division when I first started supporting the club. Those were the days more optimism than now even though in 3rd and ten years later we ruked the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RxfqFrCBqQ&sns=em
Contradictory statement don’t you think. You say we can’t get up the table and attract top players yet we have done it before. Gone from the bottom to the top. Against all odds. I’ll give you there are different barriers now, but why give up trying. Or are you happy to sit where we are. I struggle to see what you want from this club sometimes.You say is not possible for Villa to be up there again then complain that we’re down towards the bottom. Its all very confusing.
Simple really I want Lerner to fuck off and have a city style takeover. Anyone else who says they don’t want that are either mad or lying. Like it or hate it it’s now the only way we will ever succeed again. As they say if u can’t beat em join em!!
So you want overnight success. Don’t think its going to happen now. Especially now the oil rich billionaires are sticking to their own countries now. Plus the Man City owners are technically part of the Saudi Royal family and I don’t think many form that way would want to go against them. Its bound to crash on them at some point, FFP, owners losing interest etc…. Just because they have the cash doesn’t make them the best. I’m not overly convinced by any of the ‘rich clubs’ this season. We pushed Chelsea, Cardiff beat Man City, there’s been crazy performances. Look at QPR and how much they spent. Similer to the Man City’s etc but ended up bottom. It isn’t the only way.
Fair point jim I’m not saying their model is bullet proof either but what it does do is give you a much greater chance of success and make sure u are challenging at least
OOHAH – don’t you mean you had more optimism back in the 3rd division days? What an odd post, you start off being incredibly pessimistic about our future and then saying things were better when everyone was optimistic.
That’s exactly what I meant foxy
Oohah my good friend does no one realise that winning a domestic cup is a poison challis these days first the Noses then Wigan.Me thinks some people have very short memories.
2 teams in how many years of the competition? Blues and Wigan were very poor before they won it. What about Swansea? Won it, beat Valencia last week. Looking pretty strong for them. Superstitious bollocks.
Especially the league cup we need to be comfortable mid table before we try and win it.
We are comfortably in mid-table though, and just a point behind eighth and ManU!
Ha ha with just 5 games gone that’s irrelevant lets see where we are in 12 games
Could have sworn you were calling for Lambert’s head after four matches.
I go on holiday and come back after a win and still things haven’t changed for some round here. I’m pretty confident. We’ve played some tough sides so far and its good to get them out of the way. We seem to have an easier Xmas and run in this season. The defence finally kept a clean sheet and played pretty well. Clarke in the BBC team of the week is a positive. I’m confident in a mid table finish then progression from there in the coming seasons. Lambert is building something very sensible and sustainable and I can only see times getting better. If, as a couple of scarecrows keep saying, Lambert is fired, we’ll be back to square one with a manger trying to put his philosophy on the team and rebuilding again. Then he’ll get moaned at for not getting us Champions League. It becomes a very viscous cycle of doom. UTV, In Lambert We Trust!!
Oohah mate we do have some comedians on here we are comfortable mid-table who wrote that joke we win one lose three win one.Bloody hell mate whom ever thinks that must have been the joker whom writes the jokes for Bruce Forsythe.comment please.
Lol only 2 points from bottom I think
However if we won 2 out of every 5 games all season we would end up on 45 points and finish mid table.. and we dont have to play arsenal chelsea and liverpool every 5 games 😉 you can put either a positive or negative spin on things at the moment. Lets give the team till Christmas then pass judgment.