Lacklustre performance from Villa ends in defeat
Saturday, 10 February 07, 08:58 AM · Comments (12)
Reading didn't exactly play great football but what they did do well was take advantage of the opportunities. This probably comes down to playing with each other for a couple of seasons and using the same reasoning could be why Villa just didn't look like they were at the races today.
I've learnt a couple of things today though. The first is not to bet on Villa and the second is I believe it will come good in the end.
I say it will come good because there is that feeling and watching the game today you almost saw things happening it was just clear that the players don't really know how to play together.
I'm not having a pop at Barry now but why couldn't he have played like he did for England in midweek. For England he played the simple balls while today, for the most part, when he got he ball it was a long pass ending in nothing. It was almost as if he thought he was playing in midfield for the first half.
The match ended two nil with two goals from Villa target Steve Sidwell and on his performance today I'd have him. He got forward, played some neat football and didn't stop running for ninety minutes.
After 25 minutes Reading had had 76% of the ball and it wasn't until the last fifteen minutes of the first half that Villa started to get a grip of the game but the final ball or what to do with it when it was up front was where it went wrong.
Young had a great chance in the 53rd minute to play Petrov in but shot and missed. Midway through the second half he also had a tame header go wide when he should have at least got it on target. Gabby also had a good opportunity missed while Maloney had a shot tipped over in the first half and Carew had a couple of chances not really taken.
Like I said, you can almost see it coming together and I believe it will. I just wish it was sooner rather than later and it's why I've called the performance lacklustre.
Losing to Reading is a tough pill to swallow and while we can make excuses it just didn't happen today. I'm going to put it down to the manager playing four new players but I'm not sure how many times that can be used.
We have over three weeks off now and the manager has hinted that he might take the squad away for a training camp. I think it's necessary and I hope it happens as performances like that won't be accepted for much longer.
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12 Comments · Add yours
We were playing away from home against an on form team riding high. Getting 3 points was always going to be tough but it did sound like we didn't turn up til half time.
Martin O Neill sucks, time for him to go. Bringing in so many players on colossal salaries and getting into relegation territory for his troubles.
It's people like Donald that make me ashamed to be a Villa supporter.
What a moron!
Give the manager time, and also the players he's brought in. Loads of good work today with no result.
Its time MON ceased raiding in Paradise and started getting some positive results with players in England. Four Celtic guys have now been sweettalked out of Parkhead and have added precious little to the Villa cause.
We are six players short of a good side,Mellberg,Cahill, Gabby Petrov and McCann are not good enough, we need tough defending and tough tackling and creativity,i love mon but dissapointed that he thought we were good, we were poor(we cannot defend corners) but create nothing from our set pieces,shows lack of quality
It seemed to me that Carew was carrying too much on his shoulders and needs more help up front. Whilst Young looks promising, I don't think he is an out and out striker, but more of a winger. I think Robbie Keane would compliment Carew very well. Gabby seemed out of sorts, and the midfield was overun, partically in the first half, where Barry was missed. Smiler is a battler and seem's honest, but unfortunately lacks in other area's. Joey Barton would be a good move, if we could get him! All in all it was a very frustrating game. Things can/will only get better. :)
Perhaps Villa could use this break, Gabby is still very young and has played every minute of this season without a break, I think he's due a rest now. Barry was wildly out of sorts today and I think we are still some quality away from being a team that can compete. Something i've noticed from last season is Mellberg only seems to play at his best alongside an established defender i.e. Laursen, when he's with Cahill or Ridge his game loses something and we just seem totally disorganised. I really hope MON sorts our set piece defending out it's really letting us down, and while we lost, after the first 30 mins, Villa did give a reasonable account of themselves.
He must be a WUM. I don't get sucked in to wind ups, but this Donaldo is either a fool or a wind up merchant.
Villa had the best of it today and the beginning of greatness is there.
The Messiah knows, keep the faith.
We need to strengthen in midfield as we are not creative enough and are lacking quality.Petrov has been a complete waste of money and shows the diffrence in class between the scots prem and the english prem,McCann is just to slow and dosent chip in with enough goals Gabby is just not preforming enough he raelly needs to run at players and make things happen which he is just not doing ,and i think we make excuses for barry to boost his England chances.Wether maloney will come good we will have to wait and see but we need more flare and pace if we are going to become a top 6 side.Do we work on set peices in traing as we dont see anything diffrent week in week out
it was another situation at newcatle, we dominated the game but failed to produce the the goals, and then get punished for it by soft goals. to be honest sorenson could of saved both the goals that went in by sidwell. Villa were never going to produce good things this season, but the future seasons look bright! up the VILLA!!!
Here we go, Martin O'Neill has only been here a few months, and the "we want him out" brigade swing into action, give him time, he's building for the future, if we still had the last manager in charge, we would have been relegated by now.
Barry was left exposed for the first 30 minutes because Maloney was playing left midfield in front of him, not his position, when that was changed, Barry was back to normal.
Not a good team performance though, the defence was static for the first goal, and the midfield pair of McCann and Petrov were outclassed and left for dead by the pace of the Reading midfielders.
Carew worked his nuts off, Young had an off day in front of goal, but you can see tell come good soon.