Doc's Late Diagnosis: Villa vs Man City

Doc mate, i totally agree with what you say, Gabby for me does go missing in games but if he can keep on scoring like yesterday then its fine, we definately need another striker, no doubt about that, and then the right winger, 2 signings and we can really push for 4th place, im getting a little worried now about loosing Barry, i wasnt before but i am now, big big question, who would replace him??

Barry's always like that when the opposition is rubbish. I'll be looking for the same when Liverpool come to Villa park - it's games like that when you know exactly how good he is.

Good assessment there Doc. Have to agree with Barry as MOTM, boy do we need to keep hold of him. I think he adds to Youngs game as they are both very intelligent players. As soon as we have a right channel as good as the left then we might even have Alan Hansen singing our praises!!! Still a few weeks of the window left and things are looking good. The defence looked good considering they probably have only just learnt each others name! They can only get better. UTV

i thought we looked very strong yesterday, our formation was very solid and we did look like a team on the up. shorey and l.young added a lot, shorey's defending isnt as good as bouma's but the amount of times we kept pocession of the ball coming out of defence was a major improvement on last season. friedel look like the keeper we havent had for along time and although our defence looked a bit shakey at times i think over the next few games they will bond together a lot tighter.midield was good also with petrov having a very very rare good game but i still know he is not enough for a first team place and for coker... well he's somehow gotta learn how to pass a ball!! barry played well and worked hard(not understanding some views of him being lazy) and young continues from where he left off last season, i think his goals assist could be a premiership record this season!! how he is not in the england squad i have no idea.a big season for gabby and he started in fantastic fashion...i hope he can continue in this form......basically after this long and boring post and me having feelings of not repeating our relative sort of success of last season i know feel in a quite upbeat and excited mood, i really do believe if martin and randy can go and make 2/3 quality signings then champion league next season seems a very realistic possability......come on u lions

Good review of the game and I agree with the comments on GB, I can't think of anyone that we could replace him with. Is it time to say 30m to Liverpool and not 18m? Should MON just completely refuse to let him go? It looks like the only reason Liverpool dont have GB right now is that they think the price is too high. The more he plays the more likely it is that Liverpool see 18m is actually good value. Also, if you look at Liverpool's performance against Sunderland they are crying out for Barry to support Torres and Keane. Roll on Aug 31st and lets see Barry pull the strings on win AGAINST Liverpool as Villa go top of the premiership with 9 points from 3 games.

A very good summary and interesting thoughts.

I thought Davies was mostly excellent but seemed to one of the main sufferers of a lapse just after we took the lead and at 4-1. This will be a defence that will get better as a unit. Promising signs from both full-backs though Shorey looks as if he'll take longer to settle - 2nd game in a row with spells of hesitancy.

While I thought we should have always been comfortable winners, we showed signs of throwing it away and I don't think we were fully at our best. Good goals, a host of chances and plenty of room for progress. Good start, Villa. Great platform to progress. Hopefully we'll get a few months more with Barry too... typically classy performance.

Couldn't have agreed with that diagnosis more. While there were some great positives to be taken from yesterday we still managed to conceed 2 goals at home to a team we were dominating. If we could just stop leaking sloppy goals we would be well in with shout for top 5 or even 4th. Seriously need to get a RW that would hug the touch line which as you said would give Young even more space to be even more devasting on the left. How on earth ws he not called into the English squad. Probably the most inform winger at the moment in the premiership. SWP ould fit in perfect to our team. He really needs to wake up and realise that the way Chelsea play he will get very little time on the pith. MON would put him back on the English team IMO.

Doc spot on about Barry he is irreplaceable & yesterday proved it. Coker was shocking as usuall i just can't see what MON see's in him & not just on the right where ever he plays he has been rubbish. Was far from convinced about the new full backs but hopefully that will get better. The main problem though is the right side of midfield because we just haven't got one. Lets hope MON sorts it before 31st because our tiny little squad that was not big enough last season is only 1 player better off so we are desperate for players. The only difference between this season & last is we now have a right back but still no cover at right back & thats worrying.

we dont need another world class striker.we will get the goals with gabby and big john.we finished second only to the champions in goal scoring last year.i would like to see a striker that can push off the bench like the hare that would also be cheaper and leave more money to sign a right midfielder.SWP,saha??

Yes a fair diagnosis Doc. I would have give Ash a 9 also though!

I must hold my hand up to saying at the close of last season being one of those that said sell Barry, if the price is right. I know we have only had pre-season and one Prem game, but I can see that Barry's price must have gone up. I can't see how we can replace him at the moment with £18 million? He's been here that long and plays well with the other guys and they are just starting to look like they know where each other are going to be. We need continuity. We just now need that right midfielder to put Petrov on the bench and move Reo into the middle. We do need another quality striker to keep Gabby on his toe's, because I still feel he gets complacent. With two such signings I really do feel at least top 4 would be a dead cert.

More of the same next Saturday please boys.... :)

Having only seen the highlights, I can't offer any kind of definitive opinion on anything really, but I think I can offer a couple of observations. The first, regarding Barry, is that, again, he was as committed as any player out there yesterday, and though I would hesitate to say that this indicates that he's staying, it certainly demonstrates his professionalism, and shows up any suggestion that he won't play for us if he stays as seriously misguided. And secondly, also regarding Barry; he doesn't look as fit as he would be if he hadn't missed two weeks of pre-season. I don't think it's because he's missing that little bit extra that would be if Liverpool wasn't a factor. This is cause for optimism (should he stay) because it shows there's more to come, despite an impressive show yesterday.

I agree that we need another top-class striker, not only to put pressure on Carew and Gabby, but also to play a good number of games. Gabby will need resting from time to time - just like all of our players - and Carew will get his rest sitting out games with the inevitable minor knocks he picks up. Harewood will be fine as backup, but in a season as long as ours hopefully will be, we need three first choice strikers. Ashton is too injury prone for my liking, and Santa Cruz I don't think would be a good investment, given the size of transfer fee, his age, and the fact that he has had just one good season. And please no-one mention Owen. Injury-prone, expensive, and deficient in both character and subtlety. I don't know who this leaves, but surely MoN has someone lined up, and surely he realises that you need more than two quality strikers.

barry played in his advanced position because he wanted to score a goal and celebrate in front of the fans,,, he was playing for himself- and maybe thats not a bad thing.

for me luke young was far better than shorey. the penalty was pathetic!i think shorey looked a little light weight??

utv

Doc - I agree with the majority of what you said except....

Luke Young gave a more accomplished performance than Shorey. Also, whilst Barry was good - he did not contribute anymore than Young, Agbonlahor and as always the vastly undervalued performance of Carew. Its my opinion that Villa will be a poorer team without Barry but there are certainly players who could be bought for 18M that would more than adequately replace him.

Doc,

I really disagree with shorey edging young in the 'Battle of the full-backs'. For me Young was most solid (except for the pen because Michael Johnson fell over). Shorey just looked ordinary. He needs to start closing down wingers and players in general much quicker! Hopefully its just a case of new-boy syndrome and all should tighten up once he's played a few games! But if he doesn't. Bouma will walk straight back into the team!

Other than that, Barry was masterful, Young was dazzling, Carew was a nuisence and Agbonlahor was deadly!

I agree with Jon, Barry always plays well against anyone outside the top 6. He needs to prove himself against big clubs - Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton.

Forget City's 2nd, we'd given up by then as Agbonlahor had already won the game for us. It should've been 4-1 and as long as we get 3 points that's what matters.

We'll have a decent goal difference if we win more games.

according to tribal football were after shaun wright phillips personally id love if we signed him quality player although its tribal football so dont get too excited

utv

Barry is still quite simply the best player at this football club but football is all about opinion and those who knock Barry will continue to do so whatever his performance. To me I agree with The Doc, he ran the show again yesterday and didn't even perform at his best. If we lose Barry it will be a huge blow 18 million or not. He is the heartbeat of the team. I partially disagree though about Agbonlahor - I think it is a bit harsh to say that he goes 'missing in games' To me he always tries it is just that he isn't always effective. But let's be fair, he is still young and learning and has played out of his best position for a lot of games. In the future he will be a very effective player for us and get lots of goals, no doubt about it.

Its simple. Barry stays until the January transfer market and sees where liverscum are. If villa are competing for fourth spot and still in UEFA cup and Liverscum are out the Chumps league, then there is no reason on earth for him to leave. He could then possibly fullfill his dreams to play at the top level and possibly and more importantly, captian a club to European success. This has got to be better than a rotation player in the foriegn legion.

I thought that we played pretty well considering the following points: -

We are a laughting stock
We have a pretender chairman with no money to invest
We are just a club run on PR and Spin
MON is a lethargic buffoon
All the other clubs are leaving us behind

No not bad at all - just imagine what it would be like if we had even more loyal fans?!

Some of you guys - yeah you know who you are need to come to the confessional, confess your sins and promise to give the club a bit of support next time things are dodgy instead of jumping on the bandwaggon.

Finally - to all thos "sheep" who put their trust in the Chairman and MON over the close season - good on ya!!!

has anybody watched the villa goals more than 10 times or is it just me ?

Petrov for me had a terrific game and deserve 8 IMO.

we DON'T need another striker. we have carew and gabby up front who could both, quite easily, score 20 a season. If one of them should get injured, we have harewood who is inspirational from the bench and didn't play enough last season in my opinion. so to say we need another striker is unfair on gabby and carew because they played fantastic yesterday and nearly always do. But it is most unfair on harewood, because to me he could easily fit in to the starting 11 and is too good to sit on the bench every week. so really if we get another striker harewood will leave for first team football. so we will have this new striker and carew/gabby up front. and carew and gabby will be pi55ed off at been rotated, so all this new striker will do is disrupt the team. WE DON'T NEED HIM.

Decent summation of the game. I think L Young edged it in the battle of the FBs though.

I said before the game that Gabby needed to really make the next step this season. He has the potential to be a 20 goal a season player and, after yesterday, I think he might just do it this season. I actually think that him and Ash being left out of the England squad is no bad thing (though they deserve to be there). I think this snub will just keep them on their toes a bit and help them to realise that they shouldn't take anything for granted.

Thought Barry was great and got better as the game went on. If Liverpool don't come throught with a deal I'm starting to think that it may actually have a real positive effect. He seems to have got the bit between his teeth and looks like he's trying to prove he's worth £18m. On yesterdays performance I really think he might be!!!

All in all a great kick off to the season and whilst it's early days we look quite good and if we can add a wide right winger.........

Well done the lads!! ;D

Barry wasn't that good. Got tackled a few times and missed easy chances at goal!

Nice assists tho!

AVMark....It's one performance! Good 'team' performance I say. However I am not one of the 'Trust in MON whatever sheep' myself. It's healthy to question what's going on at the club and keep up an healthy pressure on the management. I'm looking forward to good team dsiplays, week in week out this season that will get us into the top four. Villa can do it this year, without a doubt.

There's no way I'll be attending the confessional you mention, just yet! The fat lady has not sung her song! ;)

Gabby goes missing in games - so what? He's a striker and strikers are allowed to do that. Torres at the weekend - awful game but won the points with a quality finish out of nowhere - that's what you sign players like him for. I wouldn't mind Agbonlahor going missing for 88 minutes of the game if he scores to win us the match.

As for Barry, it's a lot more important if he goes missing - if he does, we're often over-run in midfield and Gabby never gets the two minutes he might need to grab us a victory.

Jon - Spot on. Barry carves poor opposition because he gets forward and isnt pressed as much. Against quality his record isnt great, being pushed back often. Barry was good yesterday, but he wasnt our man of the match. How can a hat trick not get MOTM? Even if he did "go missing". I liked Gabbys last goal, because he showed poise and anticipation in running back onside to break the offside trap. I cant remember how many times last year he was offside and then walked around and sulked for a few minutes. He is learning and growing. Our midfield was good yesterday, but we have to fix things on the right.

AVMark. Your thoughts always mirror mine. I've really learnt on this site Villa fans change opinion faster than Bolt can run the mens 100...

Nice post doc. Barry is the spine in our team. If he goes, the impact will be massive that's been my view forever. He's our scholes, or deco. People who underestimate his ability just don't realise that making a team is less about step overs and skinning players than about playing as a unit. He's the glue.

I can't wait til siddy is fit and we can get him out there too. He'll bring some goals this season and adding that to our already fruitful attacking force might just make the difference. He is my sort of player, no nonsense attacking midfielder.

Good to see portsmouth and spurs drop points too :) The future is bright...

The worrying thing is how little Damian has always thought of Barry and he gets to write the blog?!

Well said, as usual, Doc. Gabby does go missing, but the main thing with him is taking his chances. If he can kick on from yesterday, he could be frightening. He probably is in training, which is why MON has kept playing him through thick and thin.

There were only a few games last season where Villa didn't create much. It's converting a higher percentage that will see Villa through.

Good to see a better game from Petrov...some passes went awry, but he was looking the right places and had the right ideas.

Really, a right winger and some cover are all Villa lack as long as Barry stays. Very promising start, given the fact Villa looked to be playing at about 75-80% intensity.

By the way, AV Mark........i have been one of the harshest critics of MON this off season. I think he is a great manager. Id just like to point out that we have one more player than we had last season (a third GK and not including all of the youth boys being brought up) and still need a striker and a right sided winger. Its not the start of the season i am worried about, its the end when we start dropping points to Sunderland and Fulham because of players being asked to play too many games and form dips because Gabby (and others) have no one to push him for his spot. I am very happy with the result from yesterday, but when will you take off the blinkers and realize that we are not there yet? MONs work is not done yet. He is great once its game time but average in between. Friedel and possibly Cueller (if you believe the hype) could save his reputation a little but we are not much bigger in numbers than last year with a bigger schedule. That is not bashing MON its just me(and others) voicing concerns. If you really are one of these sheep, then you would have believed MON when he said that we need to strengthen our squad and add quality, along with everthing else he has said.

ive only joined this blog recently and ive been reading everybodies comments and opinons on gareth barry saga all pre season.
im a little disappointed in people sayin that he never does it in big games for us, every bloody game is a big game now as they all add up to getting into the top 4.
consistantcy is what you were talking about, he was the most consistant for us last season.
all you have to do is take alook at utd with out ronaldo,they looked very average last night,and in my opinon gareth barry is our best player and gabbi,ash and big john excel when barry is playing.
so if he goes we all think we can replace him your all mad,especially so close to the transfer deadline. it will ruin our season.

gareth barry villa legend and always will be.
best of luck bud in what you do.
hope you stay.

AVmark it must be sunny up there on your big fat pedestal, a long season sunshine.

Well said leroy and andyanarchist.

get in swp or antonio valencia who'd love to see us go for diego anyone

Leroy - you have been a harsh critic. Why harsh? You either criticise or you don't. Harsh means cruel, unforgiving, unkind etc. What has MON done so far to justify that?

You think MON is a great manager but later say he is great at game time but average in between - I see what you mean about harsh! God knows how strongly you would knock him if he didn't jump up and down during the match then.

Your argument about player numbers is valid but come on be fair. 6 players out of whom only Carson and Melberg got a game! The players we have brought in are all good first teamers at a cost of £30m - the largest net expenditure by any team in the Premiership. I think by any stretch of the argument that constitutes strengthening the team and the transfer window isn't closed.

I'm wasn't directing criticism at you by the way because I am not aware of you directing personal abuse or casting aspersions on the motives of our manager or chairman. Plenty on this site have however.

I actually agree with most things you have said - does that make you a sheep by association?

Leroy holding steadfast and supporting something in the absence of proof to the contrary is not the actions of a sheep. Its a quality not a weakness. It's not blinkered it's just a refusal to damn someone in the absence of the facts.

Great Result, Petrov deserve more praise and I dun think Gabby was missing for a long period... He put a lot of effort in holding up the ball and passing back to the midfield... he did really well considering the one marking him is Micah Richards...

I'm really worried about Spurs and Portsmouth. They've been really clever in the transfer window and they looked GREAT this weekend. Ha ha ha ha...........

Excellent analysis. But I still think we could use another striker. As many others said, we can't expect Gabby and John Carew to play 55-60 games (perhaps if we do real well in the Cups) and make a realistic run at 4th.
Our hopes at getting Shaun Wright-Phillips probably take a hit with the news that Real Madrid won't sell Robinho. :(
Does that mean we have a better chance at De La Red? :o

I was at the game yesterday, atmosphere was amazing....gotta give credit to the City fans too for the noise coming from there end.

Thought we looked awesome on the attack, the City defenders couldn't cope all afternoon. Davies was superb, I thought before the game Cuellar once fit would start with Laursen, but he might have to wait if Davies carries on like this. Barry was different class, especially in the 2nd half.

Can't wait for the Scousers to visit now!!

(Does anyone who was there yesterday know what the City fans were singing about Gareth Barry and Scousers? Couldn't make it out but it got a good response from the Villa fans in the lower north stand!)

It's a sensational start to the season and I hope MON can keep the boys completely focused on the task ahead. Make no bones about it, MON will be looking to win the league; why not? I agree with the Doc, that we must ensure we pile the pressure on teams when we go ahead in games and not panic when we fall behind. The central midfield is key for this season, as we must be able to utilise the whippets up front efficiently. If we get SWP or Milner soon, there wont be a team in the league who wont be shatting bricks. Beasts at the back, majestic in midfield and ferocious up front. You can still get odds of about 200-1 on the boys. If you think you are beaten, you are.

AV Mark, fair enough, if you want to swallow everything that Lord Krulak and co have to offer thats your choice. But i think all you want to hear from people is that you are a better supporter because you turn a blind eye to obvious discrepancies in what we have been told and what has actually unfolded. The reason i am like this is because i thought it was ok to come on to a blog and voice my opinion, and when there are many others who voice a similar opinion it doesnt mean that they are any less of a supporter than "the yes men" like yourself or the sheep brigade, whatever name you want. The fact is, we cannot seriously entertain the thought of finishing top four, having strong cup runs or achieving anything in eufa without a a full squad. MON himself has said this repeatedly, last season and this season. Yes he has signed a couple of potentially good players, but we are still short in terms of numbers. Yes he has spent money but we have sold a lot of players too,new sponsorship for uniforms (Nike before you say Acorns, i know its free), higher ticket prices,money for playing in eufa from tv rights, Cmon you cant tell me Mr Lerner isnt better off since his taking over of Villa. Its frustrating to feel like were so close but be so far, simply because we cant get our act together and sign a full squad..........but again, this is probably the opinion of a lesser supporter. Or even someone who doesnt even support Villa, im probably a blue nose, right?

I agree with the sentiment. Good article Doc.

Only thing I would contest is that however good Barry was, someone had to finish it all off. For his first hat-trick - and a brilliant one at that - I can't take MOTM away from Gabby.

The epitome of difference between him at the end of last season and the beginning of this, was the way he took the third goal - I'd have put good money on him missing/fluffing that last season and I wasn't expectant yesterday as he broke. How wrong I was and I regret doubting him.

Up the Villa.

PS: Although they may end up being proved right, do Alan Hansen and Lee Dixon pi$$ anyone else off at their outright refusal to even bring themselves to comment on the Villa? And then to refuse that anyone, however glittering, will not break the top four. I just hope it's another case of [i]"You'll nae win 'owt with kids"[/i] moment and he's sat there with egg on his face at the end of the season when Villa pip the scousers, preferably by one agonizing point.

Yesterday was fantastic and I'm still thinking about all the possibilities that this season could offer if we get in a couple more players.

However, if the result had gone the other way yesterday, there would be a very different feel today.

My point is, things in football can easily change but everyone is still allowed an opinion.

It was only one football match. A f*&*&ng great match, but just a football match.

Let's not turn this post into something it isn't.

Taglor you are entitled to sit there sneering with your cheap shots. For all their faults most people on this site are at least sincere you however are just a poser.

my ratings were:

friedel: 8
l.young: 7
laursen: 8
davies: 9
shorey: 7
reo-joker: 6
petrov: 8
barry: 8
young: 8
agbonlahor:10
carew: 7

UTV ;D

yo damien its your friend fitzy whats the latest on the whole de la red sage or is it dead in the water sorry dont mean to be a pain and i didnt try to sound like a rapper either cheers mate

I agree with most of ur points except for Shorey being better than L. Young and Barry controlling the match. Give credit where its due, Perov had just as good a game as Barry. It was Petrov who was controlling the tempo of our game with his passing, and like you said was the platform that allowed Barry to get forward creating 2 goals in the second half.

Im not saying Barry didn have a good game, cos he did but Petrov was everywhere yesterday. Granted he gave the ball away a couple times (once overplaying on the edge of our own box) but he really upped his game. Maybe he realises his position is seriously under threat so he pulled his finger out. Either way he had a good game.

I still get the feeling Barry is angling for a move, im just glad Liverpool are skint.

I bet Sven was smiling :D

Oh yeah a poser? Well look at my ass, that's a great as isn't it? Thank you.

frst game of the season 4 2 stoke next should not have a prolem with them the longer the back 4 play together the more understanding they will have and gel sidwell to come back we will always scoregoals so i thinkthe future looks bright still a way 2 go but end of season we il be there or thre abouts as 4 taglor you should of figured it outby now hes just wid up merchant sad really

baaaaah baaaaah baaaaaah

Ok, right..great result against an awful city side, I think we look worser in defence than we did last season after yesterdays game, I think with another 10mins on the clock they would have managed to claw they way back for a draw as we was really under the cosh at the end, We rely far to much on A Young, if he gets injured i really do worry. How come none of the subs came on at 4-1?? it seems to me the quality is'nt there on the bench, well especially to drag ourselves back in the game if we went behind. I'm holding judgement until we're tested against a good side before i bow down to MON for forgiveness..

First game of the season we win 4 - 2 Stoke this week cant see any problems in beating them. The back4 played well together and as the season progresses they will gel even more. Sidwell has still to come back me thinks future looks bright. No one said we would be champions this year but I honestly do believe there is a possibility that we could be pushin liverpool fot 4thplace. Taglor have you though bout changing yourname to doom and gloom I bet you are a bundle of laughs to sit nextto at the match.

Great win - petrov was quality.

Any news on de la red damien? I think that was a bad source damo

2nd in the league....does anyone feel that the season shud end now???? LOL

Adam Canning

The source isn't bad - the circumstances are what they are.

AV Mark:

Don't get carried away yet. Man City were a shambles with half a team and but for a 10 min period we were no better. I still think the close season signings are mediocre and won't improve us. Nothing to do with loyalty mate, I just want us to push the scousers close.

g8 second half
gabby class
luke young done better than shorey and reo-coker done better than ratin 5

we do need a right mid milner hopfully next week than de la red

I really wonder about some of you. Would this result not at least have merited some kind of congratulatory tone to your comments. There are, thankfully, only a few moaners and groaners who seemingly would bleed from their eyes before saying anything positive about MON and RL or any of the players on the pitch.

I must be simple but this is how I see it:

We finished 6th last season, won through the inter toto, won our first UEFA cup game and our first Premiership game and have extended contracts on two important players got two great goalkeepers and a class Centre Back. Two pretty good full backs and a midfielder who, if he can find antying like his previous form (you know, the form when he actually played some football) will prove to be another class signing. Barry looks increasingly likely to stay and Young may sign a contract extension too.

ManU drew to Newcastle at Old Trafford, Portsmouth were wiped out (with Defoe playing!!) Spurs looked less than ordinary (with Bentley!!) Everton stuttered and Liverpool strugled.

Damian it spot on, it's the first game of the season and you shouldn't get too carried away. We may actually do rather well this season. Sorry for the bad news.

I think you must put Sunday's game into perspective. From our point if view we outrageously gave you three of the four goals on a plate and the fourth was inflicted because our defence didn't push up in unison in the absence of our leader and captain Richard Dunne.

The first goal where Fernandes passed the ball straight to your player was terrible and the header for the third by Agbon was possibly the worst marking i've seen in years - no one even challenged him.

I thought in possession City were far superior to Villa's direct style although Young's ball for the first was a peach even though it was handed to him by the inept Fernandes. I also thought Villa's defence was very ropey and felt we could score on almost every attack. With 3 or 4 first choice strikers all absent and a lack of any real presence in there for City what were promising situations and crosses just petered out. Ched Evans and Daniel Sturridge are very promising but they lack physical presence and expereince at the moment - and the loss of the Bojmeister General in the warm-up was a devastatn' blow for us given his encouraging comeback and his bull-like strength that you need away from home in particular.

Villa have a lot of pace but I honestly feel you lack sufficient quality in almost every position squad wise even though on your day you can beat most teams. I think both teams will be within 2-3 places of each other come May - if we're not in administration/docked 20 points and on the verge of relegation that is.

ye ye mistakes cost games man city fan ,city made a lot of them but if u do it again ul get beat to any team u looked all over the place and we took advantage of that if ycity play like that for every game the championship will beckon im afraid

Man City Supporter - lots of ifs, buts, maybes and a few more ifs. We won because we were better. To try and say you gave us goals on a plate is a bit insulting to be honest. We may have forced you into errors and taken our chances, we may have been in the right places at the right times or just read the game better but that's how games are won and lost.

Given it was the first game of the season I think both teams played some decent stuff and I admired the way your players continued to push right to the end but we deserved the victory. I don't take kindly to you coming on here and trying to tell us that you virtually let us win and trying to belittle the achievement. Now trot on like a good lad/lass.

Joaquin for sale - 9.5m bid apprently put in by blackburn, should we beat them to the chase?

To the 'sheep'...'100% blindly trust in MON'...'Be a loyal supporter' brigade or whatever you are, here's an observation for you lot.

The like's of taglor, leroy, vogra, myself and others that dare come on this holy site and ask questions of the way things are done, direct our opinions and sometimes criticism towards the club/players/manager etc. Very rarely are opinions directed at an individual user of this site. I myself respect even the ‘sheep’ brigades opinions. I don’t have to agree with you, but I for one don’t make it my default position to start having a go at yourselves because of your opinion. This is an open forum to voice our opinions. You have your opinion and I have mine and so does the next person.

We all come on this site to have our say about ‘The Villa’. For me it’s a type of outlet to voice an opinion when there’s no-one else to discuss my footy club.I’m from Barnsley and there’s not many Villans here!. Before you holier than thou Birmingham residents lambast me for being an out of town supporter I have probably supported The Villa for longer than most of you. My first club from being 4 to the present day! I’m as worthy a supporter than any….and you know what…I have an opinion, that may just sometimes conflict with some of you others. Apologies for having my own thoughts!

UTV ;)

Damien,

do you think Gareth Barry could be talked into moving to Liverpool this week by Gerrard whilst on England duty. With Gabby and Ashley Young not in the squad, and with Gerrard the only Liverpool player on duty. Being good mates, they will probably talk about the move and what has happened. This could mess things up again and the mentality of GB Although he has been excellent so far.(Apart from the article in NOTW)

Anyone have a different view of this?

This is my first contribution to the blog , which I have read every day all summer . My older son , also a Villa fan was sent a text with news of MON being made the new manager of Aston Villa . I had the same feeling yesterday when I heard that we were 4 1 up against one of our bogey teams . Ie ecstacy !!! No team would have scored more than 4 yesterday . It was not perfect , we must bear in mind it was the 1st league game of a long season . Things are looking good . I have taken a lot of stick from Liverpool fans lately . however we all agree that that once fine club is rotten to the core . i truly despise Liverpool FC for the way they have strung G Barry along . I hope he realises that he plays at one of the finest and most respected clubs in the land and signs a new contract . We will come over from N Ireland for his Testemonial . Doc , that was fantastic . When the new guys settle in , things will only get better . My next posting will be briefer !

Just putting the I am/I am not (delete as applicable) a sheep argument on one side for the minute here are what could be considered Villa's proven players (I am not saying best, just proven either for us or for someone else)

Friedel, Taylor
Shorey, Bouma, Davies, Laursen, Knight, Cuellar, Young
Maloney, Petrov, Barry, Reo Coker, Young, Gardner, Sidwell
Agbonlahor, Carew, Harewood

Admittedly I have had a drink and I may be counting double but I make that to be 19 players - Therefore we could do with some more. But these 19 you must also agree are better than the most proven 19 of 3 years ago, surely? - Therefore an improvement?

Petrov was magnificent against city. And who knows how he might play this season? It [i]is[/i] a fresh start after all...

I just don't get the motivation behind the 'Taglors'of this site.

Is it the anonymity of a keyboard that brings out the negativity in he/she/it or would someone equally disenfranchised by all things claret and blue voice their opinion were we in a 'real' forum?

Maybe I'm being naive with a few beers inside me and being new to the site but jeez, it's not like they're even constructive most of the time..

It seems that anyone with anything thought out to say is generally positive yet the negativities flood in through one-liners and il-thought criticisms with very little alternative suggestion other than 'spend money' or 'just buy better players.'

Can we get more justification from the doom-sayers please?

Up the Villa

fair enough taglor has an opinion and u know thats fine but the thing that i just dong get is that the club couldnt be in a better position were in europe well nearly off to a winning start in the prem our squad is looking very impressive and with the window still open it will get better

we have one of the best managers out there a chairman who is 100% commited to the club with financial backing to boot our training ground is state of the art look to our star players ashley gabby martin gareth john as the spine of our team and from this outlook it all looks very very impressive indeed

we are also improving 16 to 11th to 6th to 4th possibly and were in europe too. come on taglor and co seriously what more do u honestly want the club is clearly showing ambition and were clearly going places and were also firmly in the right hands honestly what more can u ask for

ill end on this compare now to the doug ellis and o deary o leary days and by comparing those times to now i cant help but feel optimistic as we wewr a side tipped for relegation to a team in europe and challenging for 4th

sorry to name but i just had to its my opinion and im sure most villa fans will agree with what ive just said.....


villa4life

Andy you anarchist, you. I'm sure nobody is 'lambasting' you for being either a free thinker or an ex-pat Villa fan - the more the merrier I say.

the 'Sheep' reference gets me though.. have you - in your time as being a Villa fan for 'longer than most of us' ever agreed with everyone else? Say, Is MgGrath God? Were we founded by Ramsay and Mcgregor? Was getting Randy over Deadly a good idea? What I'm trying to say is that the concept of 'a club' is that we must be like sheep to a degree to actually move forward - maybe ants is more apt. And that some people don't follow the Villa to the degree you do but still get those spine tingles when Gabby gets a hat-trick doesn't make them lesser fans, it just means they have other things to do.

Personally, I'm on this site 1st thing in the morning and last thing at night, since discovering it, and I have two season tickets for me and my daughter; despite now living 60 miles from the ground.

I think I'm trying to say; instead of going along these lines of who-thinks-what-and-why posts all the time, why don't we just agree that we need a right winger and get on with it?

I love you man. You Villa Fan.

Andy you anarchist, you. I'm sure nobody is 'lambasting' you for being either a free thinker or an ex-pat Villa fan - the more the merrier I say.

the 'Sheep' reference gets me though.. have you - in your time as being a Villa fan for 'longer than most of us' ever agreed with everyone else? Say, Is MgGrath God? Were we founded by Ramsay and Mcgregor? Was getting Randy over Deadly a good idea? What I'm trying to say is that the concept of 'a club' is that we must be like sheep to a degree to actually move forward - maybe ants is more apt. And that some people don't follow the Villa to the degree you do but still get those spine tingles when Gabby gets a hat-trick doesn't make them lesser fans, it just means they have other things to do.

Personally, I'm on this site 1st thing in the morning and last thing at night, since discovering it, and I have two season tickets for me and my daughter; despite now living 60 miles from the ground.

I think I'm trying to say; instead of going along these lines of who-thinks-what-and-why posts all the time, why don't we just agree that we need a right winger and get on with it?

I love you man. You Villa Fan.

gents,
long time reader just stepping into the fray... i've ben a concerned observer since the end of last season but if u give an objective point of view then (so far) we have replaced one keeper (sorensen never played) with 2, a defender (mighty olof out of position) with 3 (we all claimed curt was our own at the end of last season), a mullet (czech judas) with a younger fitter (tragically mutant ginger but) better option & hopefully lethargic-luke will also be replaced with a pulse..
i've witnessed the smorgasboard of emotions on this site but the bottom(& slightly more objective)line is that we are striding off in the right dircetion. UEFA is a $$$$$$$ bonus fellas!
i am stuck in dubai working on the palm jumeirah project (nepitism free zone goldie7!) & my land cruiser & porsche carrera's bastard child frankly pukes a better looking car than yo uncle's audi!!!
i digress guys, at the end of last season, all of a sudden the villa shirt has not only made an appearance in the shops here but it is dominating space, ok its a small market here but they love the PL & they only have us, arse, man u, scouse scum chelski on sale!!!
admitedly they are slightly biased against the yids! but still its a massive leap... keep the faith, kill the chavs & UTV!

At the game yesterday and mostly agree with you Doc...., but I reckon we still need at least 3 players. We need a quality, ball holding, creative midfielder or two, plus a forward to add to the speed (Gabby & Young)/ strength (Big John) option we have......Roque Santa C???

Reo-Coker not in same league as a Deco type who we need!!

andyanarchist: You don't really 'ask questions' though do you? You generally *use* the club, manager or whatever to have a rant.

That's fine - you are what you are, if we were in Man Utd's position right now (ie After winning everything going for the last 15 years) you would still be slating the manager, team, board or whatever whenever you could.

There are just a small percentage of 'fans' at every club who moan, criticise and are generally negative beyond belief.

And you know what? It's NOTHING to do with OUR club or manager. Really! There are Man U & Chelsea fans out there saying pretty much the *exact* same things as you right now.

If we had bought (cheaper) foreign stars ala Spurs and we loose = You'd moan we should have bought English but we don't have enough money and the board are all lying etc..

Buy proven EPL or English and we loose = You'd moan we wasted money on crap overrated English player and should have gone abroad - but we have no Scouts and MON is clueless!
etc etc blah blah..

Moaning at everything that goes wrong and been right all the time after the event with hindsight is easy... any idiot can do it.

Our of interest who would YOU want as our owners and who do you want as a manager. Please stick you neck on the line - pick some names.

Andy - you're right. It's good that you have an opinion and when opinions differ it starts debate - which is also good. What I think frustrates is that it seems some people (and I don't necessarily mean you) seem hell bent on finding a negative slant to anything positive. We've no money, MON never signs anyone decent, RL is going to sell up as soon as he's able to make a tidy profit, the team is crap, we're being left behind, we'll get punished if we play like that against the better teams........yawn. If it's not one thing it's another. If people are proved wrong then they move onto something else or spin it to a level that most politicians would have difficulty acheiving. It would just be refreshing if some people could swallow their pride on the back of a pretty decent week and say, well done.

Should the wheels fall off then I'm sure every man and his dog will be on here posting messages of impending doom so it'd be nice, for a while at least, to hear the love for a change. Go on, you know you want to! :)

why no more comments showing up ? should be 77 not 63 !!!!

madladdy fair play my post is similair to yours

glad to see someone agrees with me anyway

TT77...I have no idea what the hell you were trying to say in your last duplicated posts, but I like the sound of you. My type of guy...I am being really presumptious that your are a guy, apologies if you are a lovely young lady!

Anyway, my point (I may not have made myself clear as I too have had a few sherbets) was that it's great that the club are moving forward and great result on Sunday. However why does anyone that dare question MON etc face direct replies from a certain element of this blog. Look guys, we also want what's best for Aston Villa. Do I blame AVMark, Ghosthunter, Ron or Nan Was A Fan to name but a few, for anything that happens down at the villa...No I don't. Also, even the true harshest critic and legend on here 'taglor' does not have a go at you guys. He may not always be right, but he certainly does not have a go at you. Respect each others point of view and you shall surely come to be happy with yourself. Bloody hell I sound like a man of the cloth! Now can we all love each other and unite as Villa Fans....Come on 'hug a Villa Fan' (even taglor!).....We are going to be champions again this year..... :D :D

I was over the moon with the win, however, I thought we were a bit shakey in the defensive third. Luke Young played very well if you forget about the penalty(rubbish call) and he may have been able to get a foot to city's 2nd goal as well. I thought Shorey was awful in the Uefa Cup game against FH, but I like how he recovered against City. I think he and L. Young need a bit of time to work with Davies and Laursen(One of the best partnerships in the league in my opinion) and then we'll have one of the most consistant defenses in the league.
I can not say enough about Friedel. He is priceless back there. Neither goal was really his fault and he was very unlucky to concede 2 goals.
We definitely need a right winger. I like NRC. He is a tremendous worker, however, the combination of Petrov(Holding) and Barry seems to be working quite well. NRC is not a winger. He did an okay job, but we really need to get SWP, Milner, or another quality winger so that Ashley Young isn't our only threat. Young was absolutely fantastic in my opinion.
Also, we need another striker. Carew was solid, but he did look like he was hurting a bit. I'd love to sign Santa Cruz.

I agree about Gabby. He looked out of it for a while, but a lot of top strikers are like that. Gareth played very well. Very solid performance. Laursen, Davies... superb. I'd love to see Carlos get some time, but I dont want to disrupt the Laursen and Davies partnership.

It will be interesting to see what MON does when Sidwell is completely fit. Capello must be daft, that's all I can say..

madladdy...What's that all about. How dare you compare me to a Man U or Chelsea fan. Wash your mouth out and take twenty lashes for such blaspheming! ;) ;D

We'll continue to have diverse opinions on here and long may it continue.

Firstly, I'm absolutely certain every single fan is thoroughly delighted with the win.

Secondly, I'm absolutlely certain that MON will never reach the point where he thinks 'job done, team sorted' - there'll always be something to improve.

While that's the case, as fans there'll be some of us looking back at the distance run and saying "good work, keep it up" and others looking at the road ahead saying "yes, but we've got to look at these areas". You know what? Both are fine and welcome and probably the majority of us will do a bit of each to differing degrees. We aren't two camps. We are one. We all have the same end goal (even if what looks like the end point now will actually feel like the beginning when we get there).

This might seem obvious but is only obvious if the intent is there to improve and as pointed out above, in MON's own words there's still more to be done. That is the unifying part, the bit that says we are all talking about the same journey. If he was saying "we've reached our station, 6th is the aim" we would have two distinct camps - those that say 'keep him, those that say 'move on'. He isn't saying we're done - 'cos we're not.

Let's have some fun debating what is left to do but let's also remember to enjoy the present.

andyanarchist: Not comparing 'you' but the comments (negative) that are posted on here by certain members.

Like I say it doesn't really matter what club, or who they've signed, or who's manager - some people just moan regardless.

There are Man U fans moaning right now (After a draw!) on boards that Chelsea, Arsenal EVEN Spurs have made better 'star' signings, they've signed no-one and are been left behind, Fergie is past it, he dithers in the market, the club must have no money - why not just pay up for Berba, some players are too old at nearly 30 so should be ditched for younger, foreign stars but they have crap scouts etc etc etc.. all this after winning the CL & PL!

Some Spurs fans are out with the dagger slating manager, board etc.. doesn't have a clue who to signs, wasted money on unproven players etc etc..

All sound familiar? Like I say these 99% of postings aren't REALLY about the club/manager as they would get posted whatever. It's more about the personality of the posters.

Morning. Anarchist - hi. I am a bloke. Sorry to disappoint! It's funny reading posts the next morning after the pub. I too have little idea what I'm trying to say. I'll try again at about 11pm tonight!!

Up the Villa.

I've started a 'sheep or moaners and whingers' thread in the forum, under 'Pure Banter' section. So if anyone does feel the need to have a sound off on that subject we can do it there, instead of diversifying posts such as this one of Docs. Go on, Hug a Villa Fan this morning! The futures bright (hopefully?) ;)

i thought Luke Young was gd, as for Shorey - in the air he's terrible! on the floor great player - nt a patch on Bouma though(cnt wait for the bouma beast 2 b bk ;) )
defo agree we need another striker and Right Midfielder!
RM - wuld luv any of these : Milner (Newcastle), Lennon (Spurs), SWP (Chelski)
ST - wuld luv any of these: Martins (Newcastle), Tuncay (Middlesbrough), Kuyt (Liverpool), Ashton (West Ham), Jones (Sunderland)

There's no other place to put this news on this site just yet so here's the latest announcement on the transfer window..

The FA have extended the transfer window by 24 hours to midnight on 1st September...Oh no, that means an extra 24 hours of waiting for MON to make that last minute signing. Just think though, given the extra 24 hours how many he can sign in that time! ;)

andyantichrist -

that just leaves the door open for GB to score the winning goal for us but for them to STILL get the last laugh ;-)

Hmmm... so if he scores, does he go wild or apologise?

shores distribuion was miles better than bouma!

he can pick out clever passes. bouma cant do that

Been reading the blog for a long time now and i think its fantastic. sundays result was a great way to start the season and i thought we played fairly well, although that right side of midfield needs sorting out. i havnt been in the holte for 3 seasons and it was great to be back in there as the atmosphere was brilliant. I think this season could be a great one for us and i cant wait to see how it unfolds. Just a right midfielder and a forward needed and were in business.

i'm sorry bt why is everyone so negative at the moment. FFS, we just won our opening match 4-2 our attack looked fatastic, both of citys goals were INCREDIBLY lucky,i mean johnson just completed missed the ball, fell over and got a penalty, the 2nd was again unfortunate. with Davies and Laursen, i feel really confident. Didn't all of us feel confident with our defence when them two was playing. as soon as davies messed up his achiles and knight came back it looked terrible

I think that things are looking very good. shorey is only a second choice left back after all and theres always o'halloran. Luke young looks solid but boring in defence...I would like to see us sign a slightly more offensive RB, especially if Bouma is going to be playing as the other full back. But for now things look solid and both the full backs look comfortable on the ball. Adequate for a top 6 finish. I think a right-sided midfielder more so than an out and out right winger is needed. Someone who has a bit of pace, a good cross but enough positional expertise to allow ashley to roam out of position a bit. No-one like this would come cheap (valencia,Arteta) but I'd like to see us spend big. up front i'm happy with, although Pizzaro from Chelsea just went out on loan. I bet his wages would be a lot but having him AND harewood on the bench would give me piece of mind. Shopping list for now and january:
A young forward thinking RB
A right sided midfielder
Claudio Pizzaro on a free