Well, it wasn’t the drubbing many of us expected score-wise, but it certainly was in terms of performance.
It all started poorly when Nathan Baker suffered a hamstring problem during the warm up, which amazes me in itself.
Surely the players should be well versed in this? Or is it just that the legs have been over-exercised?
Anyway it concerned me, as he’s been a consistently decent performer this season. It turned out to be a valid concern, as Elphick looked intermittent in sometimes being very good and at others decidedly iffy.
Not that I’m singling out Elphick as our worst player.
We had plenty of those.
Let’s go through the team.
Johnstone, who I thought was great last week, parried the ball when I thought he could have done better and it cost us the goal. That apart, I don’t recall him having much else to do.
Hutton. Yesterday evening I thought he was man of the match.
I still think that, because of his running and effort in at least trying to do something.
I’ve generally been supportive of him in his time at the club, but as much as he tried to take us forward, so I’ve had to realise that he simply isn’t good enough. He gets into the right sort of positions, but his delivery is mostly horrendous.
Amavi. I thought he was awful, as simple as that. But then, I don’t think he was being helped much as Wolves concentrated on our left side. One great run and cross apart, it was another night to forget.
Chester. He’s one of the only ones who come out with any credit. He’s assured and I feel at least slightly confident when he gets involved.
Bacuna. Another poor game where he was pretty well invisible. It seemed to me that he was under specific instruction to punt the ball forward, but it was pointless as he was hardly ever accurate.
Tsibola. Not one of his better games, but probably the best in the middle last night. He’s athletic and definitely better than Westwood and Gardner. Why he was hooked, I don’t quite understand.
Jedinak. I don’t think he’s fit at all. He’s a clever enough player, but he seems laboured and his distribution leaves a bit to be desired.
Adomah. Just a poor game again and didn’t get involved enough.
Gabby is simply a busted flush. His ball control is horrendous. I’m talking 10-year-old kid level here and it’s shocking that Bruce sees something in him. Him starting simply has to stop, as it’s obvious it’s going to achieve nothing. I don’t see any of the options being any better in a struggling side, but I now think we might as well try them, as at least they’ll be learning. Gabby will never learn anything, that much is certain.
McCormack. The return we’ve had off him for a player that cost £12 million is a joke. Ok, he was leaning back when he headed that chance, but it was a brilliant cross from Amavi and he simply should have buried it.
He has a history of getting better in the second half of the season, but I’m not seeing much sign of it coming.
But then, even as it’s very easy to just blame the strikers, we just don’t create anything, meaning they just don’t get enough service.
And this is what’s puzzling me.
If I was asked to name a side for that game, it’s probably not far from that which started. I’d possibly have put Green in for Gabby, but apart from that I think it’s simply our best overall side.
Okay, we can argue about the odd player, but mostly, it’s our best side, as I’m sure the majority would agree.
But on that performance and that of quite a few games now, it frankly isn’t good enough, as Bruce said himself.
It’s shocking that when we spent £50 million in the summer we still can’t do simple things such as passing or controlling the ball. We have no desire or running and the times a Villa player had the ball, only to have no-one else near him, well I just can’t understand it. Why are our set pieces generally awful and rarely find a Villa player?
Pretty much all of the signings in the summer were lauded as decent players. So why do they seem so poor?
And where do we go from here?
Tony Xia must be thinking “I paid how much for that rubbish?” and I wouldn’t blame him in the slightest.
We should remember that this is the Championship and not the Premier league.
It can hardly inspire our owner to stick his hands in his pockets again, as he must be thinking he’s been robbed.
But that’s what he’s going to have to do and quick. I really struggle to see where any points are going to come from while Kodjia is away and we simply cannot expect anything with the team as it stands.
We’ve mostly been talking 3-4 players, but it’s becoming even more obvious that a total clearout, a small few apart is what’s required.
Having said that, it seems to me that there’s still something very wrong at club.
We sign decent enough players, but when they come to the Villa, they just don’t perform. Gueye is the classic example of this and how often has it been said that if x player were in a better side, they’d look a lot better?
We seem to have a knack of making decent players look poor and it’s concerning.
Where will we be left if Bruce, not everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely experienced and proven splashes the cash and we still don’t improve?
if Bruce can’t get it right, I really fear for us in the future.
Comments
284 responses to “Wolves 1 – 0 Villa: What to do?”
I missed this one;
“Conor Hourihane also expected to arrive at Villa Park today for medical after a fee was accepted.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4136626/Manchester-United-ready-stick-Luke-Shaw.html
Both straight in against Preston?
I’d guess that’s the aim.
Westwood better start clearing his locker out 😁
Absolutely.
He’s the extremely average sort we need to clear out.
100% nothing player.
Along with others, of course.
It’s nothing personal and I’m sure he tries his best.
The thought of vibrant mids coming in 🙂
But what concerns me is I thought Gardner was one of those.
How can he be so well rated at Forest, but look utter crap for us?
Badger he played well with Lansbury at Forest so here’s hoping he’ll do it again. Perhaps Lansbury knows how to get the best out of him so hoping that we get 2 effective mids in and that eventually Gardner might make that 3.
Anyway just waiting to hear that Lansbury and Hourihane have signed the papers and with a new GK in ,even if it ends at that, for me it will not have been a bad window.
My God are we actually going to play with a mid-field for once?
If they both start then they’re being chucked in the deep end but I still expect the best mid-field performance of the season so far (not hard to surpass the crap we’ve been seeing)
It’s interesting that both Lansbury and Houirhane are captains for their respective clubs. Obviously Bruce thinks we lack leaders in the team.
Badger I’ve been trying to get you all to take the Hourihane link seriously but for some reason no one has been interested – is it because at £1m he can’t be any good (out if contract in summer). Wednesday were also after him.
He has the best stats of any midfielder in the Championship this season and is on record as saying he will join Villa and was prepared to wait till the summer if necessary.
The truth is I’ve heard the name, but know nowt about him, Hitch.
And probably yes, £1 mill doesn’t really strike you as a top player, does it?
We’re apparently paying £750k for a kid, after all.
It’s great that he’s said he wants to come to us.
But isn’t this the one where we’re going to quadruple his money?
It’s a concern, that makes me wonder what we’ve offered to get the others in.
I’m all for paying top dollar to really good players, but I’m uneasy otherwise.
I read an article earlier about Balaban.
What it boiled down to, was that we offered him twice what anyone else did (although Gregory had plans to ease him in, before getting the sack).
Others have mentioned how it might leave us a legacy of massive wages if it goes tits-up.
But I guess that’s what you have to do to get them in.
That said, I trust Bruce to at least improve us, so do what you have to do, I say.
Badger – it was a question I asked earlier. Offering big increases in players wages to encourage them to sign – is it ethical? On the other hand the truth is – why did Young go to Manure, Delph to City etc. etc. Why does Costa want to go to China? It’s the ugly face of football and eventually it will destroy itself because it’s unsustainable
Villa going after a young RB from QPR –
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/aston-villa-transfer-rumour-qpr-12480323
Window definitely getting more interesting
I think we’re entering the business end of the window now, it gets a lot more interesting /lively
Also according to reports(?) Bruce hasn’t given up on signing Brady from Norwich – probably a long shot but ….
One of the best Villa matches I ever attended was when we were last in the old second division against Bradford. We managed to get tickets via a friend of Steve Hunt. We won 4-2 that day. All Villa goals were either side of half time.
But the point of this post is, if memory serves me correctly Villa gave debuts to a couple of players. One was Andy A Gray and I think the other was Stuart Gray. With our new midfield we created and they scored goals.
I read there could soon be two new additions to our midfield. Are we about to have a renaissance?
Thought Gray’s debut was against Hull at Christmas when I think we won 5-1 (something like that) – Gray scored if I remember correctly. Not that it really matters. First match I took the kids to for a Chrissy present. Daughter was a Liverpool fan when she went but supported Villa from that day on. Happy memories.
Hopefully, Sid.
Missed most of what’s going on due to meetings, have we got? Who’s coming, and when? Has Oohah jumped into the cut? Sod it I’ll find out in the morning going to bed.
Bill apparently we’ve agreed deals for Lansbury and Houlihane subject to medicals and agreeing personal terms.
Hitch, of course it isn’t ethical.
We call players mercenary, but who wouldn’t take a doubling or even quadrupling wage packet?
You’d be a mug to turn it down, even at the stupid money we’re talking about.
And yes, it’s totally unsustainable.
It’s a crazy world, which WILL go bang, imo.
Perhaps I was a little harsh with the mercenary thing as you say Badger you’d be a fool to turn it down.
Will it go bang? Browsing the net today and came across an article about Steve Daley, he of the £1.5m transfer in 1979 Wolves to Man C and apparently in today’s money that would equate to around £68m so have things really changed that much?
That £68 mill is total bollox, BWS.
Open your mind and don’t listen to this pretend maths.
Or the total shite you’re being told.
Do your own sums, but to me it’s just a comparison of figures, that just demonstrates how fees and wages have risen,
It’s all a game.
Where the players have never had it so good.
And the fans are being ripped off.
I refuse to play, personally 🙂
All down to the free market unfortunately. We all get ripped off in a way. I mean Taylor Swift is an okay singer but is she really worth around $200 million a year? Ronaldo highest paid footballer gets $88 million a year just a bit above Messi. Next is a basketball player getting paid $77 million a year to put a big ball through a hoop.
If people are willing to pay to watch or listen to the above then I don’t know what you can do.
For me I love football and I pay around £1 a day to watch football from all over the place and I love it as I can’t get around much these days. Football is now becoming incredibly popular in places like China and India so I don’t think that the bubble isn’t likely to burst anytime soon.
Football is by far the greatest game ever invented and the most played sport in the world. The high earnings are just an inevitable result of that.
Ok ok I may have got that a tad wrong (well by a margin of around £63.7M, whoops!).
If you got any books that need doing Badger, well I’m your man 🙂
Joined: Man City from Wolves in Sept 1979
Transfer fee: £1.43m
Today his fee is worth: £4.3m (calculated on the rate of inflation between then and now).
Today he would cost: £28.1m (calculated as a percentage of the record transfer fee, then and now).
ref (https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,6903,543912,00.html)
Up and about lads, just seen the news Langbury passed medical and signs at midday, great news that , Bruce has to make mind up whether to throw him in or integrate him against Preston . Come on Oohah anything to say yet.?
His a busy man Bill…
Four o’clock, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercize. 6:30, dinner with me. I can’t cancel that again. 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing; I’m booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear?
Holy shite BWS, I didn’t realise what a busy lad he was, Now I know he hasn’t time to go down to Villa Park.
Ever thought about writing a book BWS?
players signing lol i was wrong by a day or two. my crystal ball works lol ish
the signings dont look like panic buys.they look like well thought out players, well scouted. top players in the league we play and capable of stepping up a division also. we have been poor in the midfield for years. no creativity no playmakers plus no midfielder that was capable of making them surging runs like platt used to do.
lets now get behind steve bruce, he needs time and windows to change things. nobody else could do this job without that. no manager is a magician.
Nath, a big wake up call to them players sitting on the fence, with hopefully two more coming that dressing room twill be buzzing with whose going to get the push.I feel better knowing we have better minded players coming in.. first out for me would be Abonglahor, he runs that dressing room I’m sure of it.
Any news on hourihane???
Agreed Giddy, might be signed today hopefully.
idfielder Conor Hourihane is set to complete an Aston Villa medical and seal a move to the club, according to a report.
The Mail claim the Barnsley ace, 25, was scheduled to arrive at Villa’s headquarters on Thursday to put the finishing touches to a pan-Championship transfer.
One in the bag, Langbury is ours now, another soon, but Rhoads not coming.
Lansbury officially announced and he does look good in a Villa shirt!
Hopefully Conor’s in the queue to get his photograph taken
It seems that Bruce is definitely in the market for a striker. He’s on record as saying that Villa are done with Rhodes (unless, by implication, ‘Boro come back with a much lower valuation) and is interested in Ashley Barnes at Burnley (don’t know much about him other than he was quite prolific in the championship) valued around £5m. Bruce also said they were looking at one other striker.
mccormack back to fulham ?? where will they get the money to buy or loan. are we so desperate to offload this guy. no way will fulham be able to pay his wages or if this talk is permanent deal where will they get 12 mill from because i seriously doubt they have 12 pence. sumat is going on cause hes 4 /11 to leave to fulham
I can’t see him being released to Fulham until we’ve got a replacement rubber stamped, we’d be left with shabby fuck me the thought
Ps I suppose it’s nice RM feels wanted even if it’s by another club, Bruce hasn’t come out & said we need him he’s going nowhere.
Never believe the bookies Nath – they still have Benteke favourite to go to Baggies and Big Sam won’t sell him.
i love to take money from bookies but they are good at what they do. offcourse they can be beaten. the baggies benteke one could also be true. wba just sold Berahino to stoke. so will be looking for a strong centre forwards like benteke. who doesn’t work hard enough to be a big sam type forward. he likes the kevin davies. but will baggies splash 20 mill plus on him i guess your right.
mccormack and fulham easy to see why these stories continue. but i just cant see us loaning him and they cant afford him so i think its b/s
Nath, if I say sports devil, would you know what I mean?
It’s a program Nath.
i know what you mean :~)
if thats code 🙂 for ltrs
your a livesaver i was wondering would i be able to see
lifesaver i mean lol
hey bill have your tried modbro ??? i have been impressed with that. :))
Vipbox Nath, yes had that about 12 month yes if you go into other countries you can pick up our games.
i am getting used to it now. was a nightmare to navigate at the start.
no game previews for ltrs
i watched Brighton last night. they are the team most likely to win this league. i was impressed with barry bannan, wednesday deployed him deeper than we did, he collected ball of backline. most passes were accurate and forward. he was spraying the ball around. ok he was nothing special. but he is another player we let go for nothing, we face another two today. all these players we let go are in championship bws mentioned robinson other day. he has scored more than mccormack hang on most goalies probably have too lol
Bannan is quite a player today’s standard, seen him a number of times, makes you wonder if coaches should go first before managers.
i was thinking the same bill. he was spreading that ball around one touch stuff. makes you wonder why he was allows to leave. also reading brums match previews to opposition, players from opposition to watch. they mention both robinson and Johnson last one he makes dangerous late runs in the box lmao
so looks like we sold a player who can do westy job only better in bannan. score more goals than mccormack in robinson. finally a player from midfield who doesn’t get a nose bleed everytime he ventures in the opposition half and scores goals from mid in Johnson
we have to be better in managing our players ins and outs. i trust bruce he needs to be given time.
looks like our new scouting system. is looking for the bargains in the lower leagues, as well the established, which may be reaching the end of their current contracts. their are bargain to be had. we cant allow lamberts attempt to buy from lower leagues put us off, trying to find a rough gem or two. to find them gems you need to scout them lots and you have to take more than one or two misses before you find the player with untapped potential. one thing is clear we can’t keep relying on the DR we need to find them players cheap like southampton do but not sell the team annually like they do. you sell for profits cause you buy low, but you keep you stars
Hour and a half to go and no predictions?
Think SB will play Gardner with Lansbury? I hope so.
We might actually have a mid-field today so I’m going for a 3-1 Villa win