Manchester City v Aston Villa: Live text, banter, team news and link dumping
Wednesday, 04 March 09, 12:06 PM · Comments (303)
Well, you all know my prediction, probably did before I wrote it and if you've not read it and what I think anyway are some insightful football thoughts specifically about our club, click here, you might like it.
But this post isn't about me predicting we'll win tonight, as I really fancy we will, it's about the match so I'll be adding updates from now until kick off and then an update every five minutes through the match.
But to our manager and he's talking the opposition up again. "We could have been facing Kaka - and who's to say we won't be facing up against him next season - you never know in this game.
"Manchester City have spent heavily in the January transfer window with not only this season but future ones in mind too.
"And they will certainly, within six or seven months, be a force to be reckoned with."
But that is to be expected and well, they will spend money in the summer but it isn't the summer tonight and they've got players missing.
So, not long to go and as soon as there is more I'll be updating this page. Up the Villa!
Team News - Looks like 4-4-2
Friedel; Cuellar, Young, Davies, Knight; Barry, A Young, Milner, Petrov; Heskey, Agbonlahor. Subs: Harewood, Carew, Delfouneso, Reo-Coker, Shorey, Guzan, Gardner.
Football Bets
Gone a bit silly on the bets but I didn't know I had this money in the account, so here it is:
£10 on Spurs to draw and Celtic, Manchester United and us to win will pay £182
£10 on away wins for us, Everton, Bolton and Manchester United will pay £280
£5 on Stoke to draw and wins for Boro, Fulham and Manchester United pays £192
£5 on Gareth Barry to score at any time pays £37
The Match
Are Manchester City lining up in a 4-5-1? Anyway, we're about to get under way. Here goes!
First 5: We're passing the ball around a lot and we're so far back we're passing across our own box, but it feels nicer than just hoofing it long but we are playing against five in the middle so it sort of makes it difficult playing four against that.
7: First shot of the game from Shaun Wright-Phillips - did well to make the opportunity but fluffed the shot.
10: Man City should be one up. That bald player had a shooting opportunity but instead he decided to pass. We're getting torn apart in midfield though as they've always got another man.
12: Gabby looks a like a man with very little confidence. He's given the ball on the left and rather than do something convincing he dilly dallies and has a weak shot that would be considered a weak pass. He'll go score now.
15: First corner of the match to Manchester City. Not much comes of the corner and we get the ball back on the other side of the pitch in the form of a throw in.
16: Curtis Davies loses the ball 30 yards out and Manchester City are gifted with a chance, that they miss, but they're going to get more of those with the extra man in midfield. Am I the only one that sees this extra man?
21: We all know Carlos is no right back but he does look like a very good defender. He's saved us twice tonight, playing almost as a central defender - supporting the other two.
22: We should be 2-0 down now, Shaun Wright-Phillips has missed a sitter. If we don't revert to five in the middle we're going to lose this match.
23: Penalty for Manchester City and yellow card for Milner.
24: They scored the penalty and the only positive to take from this match so far is that we're only 1-0 down. It could be tow or three, easily. I know I've said it before, but we are overrun in midfield and until Martin O'Neill figures out we were much better with five in midfield we're not going to win much.
Why have two strikers on, sitting waiting for the ball when we can't get at it?
31: This is what its come to; we have a free kick in our own half and we hit it long into the box. When you do that, you're giving the keeper all the time in the world to get ready and really getting desperate.
34: Carlos saves us again. He has to play at centre back and surely Nick Shorey has to come back in at left back, allowing Luke Young to play in his preferred position too. Surely this isn't rocket science? I mean, we've not created one opportunity in the half.
41: I cant wait for half time and I hope Martin O'Neill decides to make a few changes - notably the formation. We are getting a lesson today; when we play five in the middle, you should too!
Ashley Young is hobbling by the way and while he is possibly my favourite player, I don't trust his hobbling, as I've seen it too many times and after seeing the replay it doesn't look like anything.
Half Time
I've seen better performances from us, but not many worse this season. In fact that could have been the worst half of the season and maybe even under Martin O'Neill. We're getting torn apart in midfield, Manchester City really could be three up and I don't think we've had a proper shot.
We need to go back to five in midfield when we are playing against five in midfield, simple and I know I'll get slated for this, again, but it just makes sense. It's why we play eleven against eleven and not ten against eleven.
We started brightly, trying to pass the ball about but we could never get past them and it was literally our defenders passing between each other as all our midfielders were marked and they had an extra two men chasing the ball down.
If we don't play with one striker for the second half, I can't see us getting anything from this game, but I'd love to be wrong.
Second Half
Carew is on and we're playing three up front. We took off a midfielder. I don't honestly believe it as we lost the game in the first half in midfield, but still, this might work, much like if I think hard enough, really really really hard, I might make this pen move across my desk.
Sorry, I didn't make that clear enough, we took off Curtis Davies, but we're still playing with three in midfield becasue our £12mn. wing wizard James Milner has gone to right back.
First eight: We're piling on the pressure, which is what we're going to need to do so the players in front have more space and as long as we can keep this pressure up for the next 35 minutes or so, we could make something happen.
62: The opening 17 minutes of this half have been much much better - we've piled on the pressure and we're creating chances. We can do this becasue we've got the extra men up front but it is going to, eventually, give chances to Manchester City. Still, everything is possible and it's a huge improvement on the first half.
70: Beautiful little cross from Gabby from five yards outside the box, just right of centre, out to Barry on the left and I think I'm right in saying, thats the first save Given has had to make tonight.
75: Fantastic save from Friedel. Elano has a shot and it's low to the corner and Brad gets a hand to it. When I say fantastic, I mean, really fantastic. Kept us in the game.
77: Very nice, right footed pass from Barry to the feet of Ashley Young and when I say pass I mean it was a 30 yard cross field pass to his feet. Still 0-0 though but we are piling on the pressure still.
85: Lovely play from Ashley YOung on the left (is he getting back to his best?), taking it past two, nutmegging one, but his cross lets him down, it's too heavy and to nobody.
87: Carlos is bleeding so he's coming off for Gardner. Not becasue he's had a bad game but because we have 3 minute sleft and he's going to need stitches.
89: A one two between Shaun Wright Phillips and Steven Ireland results in a goal. 2-0 to Manchester City and unless we do a Stoke, this game is lost.
Full Time
I'm doing the news item that relates to this match now but I'm leaving most until tomorrow as I think I might say something that will get me into trouble.
Like this blog? Help spread the word: 
303 Comments · Add yours
first at last me thinks utv
We will see what the boys are made of tonight with the pressure on
them a victory me hopes
Now is the time, the time is now
Well just got in from Work, got to Systembolaget before it closed (thank god). I am a little worried about tonight lets hope MON has got them ready and we score a couple for our goal diff..! I actually hope he plays Carew and Fonz from the start and bring Gabby on with 20 mins to go. Also i really think Shorey should start at left back...
Gotta get three points tonight. In fact i'm gonna start a sweep on what minute MON makes a sub!.............. Now that i've written that i'm struggling to pick a minute. Apart from the obvious (he won't make one) i'm going for the 81st minute. We'll be 2 nil up and he'll look to shut up shop and just hold the ball so that City (that's 'Man' not 'Stoke) doesn't score two quick goals.
Here's hoping.
UTV
YES WE CAN!
Gabby starts and Carew benches!
I hope I'm proved wrong
*benched
3 strikers on the bench!
Friedel;
Cuellar, Young, Davies, Knight;
Barry, A Young, Milner, Petrov;
Heskey, Agbonlahor.
Subs: Harewood, Carew, Delfouneso, Reo-Coker, Shorey, Guzan, Gardner.
Reply to Luke_M:
Is that the official line up? I'm a bit dissapointed as I think Carew deserves a starting role after his last performance. Hope Heskey can do a job tonight though. Come on lads!
Gabby must start! on the bench that is bring him on in the second half though, depends on the score
UTV!
Come on boys lets get a victory tonight and go 6 points above the Arse
Does anyone now of a decent site to watch the game on?
Reply to nath888:
LINK
Reply to nath888:
iraqgoals.com is usually ok dont know how to put a link on im pc iliterate soz lol
Am I the only one who cant stand Heskey..........is there anything he does that he better than Carew???
Reply to eoin1981:
Fall over?
That same lineup in defence, I am not too happy about that. At least the game is on tv here in the States.
Reply to George_Templeton:
what channels it on bud is it fox sports?
i fear the worst.supported villa man and boy for 40 years.they nearly allways let us down e.g. players they buy collymore babalan misalot allback .matches we should have won in europe and f. a cup ect. players we should have bought and didnt . but thats why we love this club .what would we moan about.begining of the season we only dreamt of the top 4 do your best villa and not let us down again. villa for life.
Thanks lads. Got it on LINK but my spanish is shite!!!!!!!!!!!!
Match is live on here now, Fox Sports Channel. We're wearing horrible claret socks!
LINK
Reply to nath888:
all i could translate was villa fantastico lol
Fox Soccer Channel. Wright-Phillips is giving Villa a lot of problems already.
Holy cow, Newcastle lead!
My God Ireland should've shot! What a letoff for Villa. Jesus!
Reply to nath888:
Nath, there should be another screen underneath, stop the top one (spanish) and the next one down is in English
we are all over the place
We're playing against an extra man in midfield - they are tearing us open at the moment ...
This is the sort of game that was made for Reo-Coker. We could use him in MF.
Another poor pass from Cuellar. Yikes!
struggling to get out of defence - what is cuellar doing at right back - shocking!
So that's why need Heskey on the pitch at the end of games. To win headers in his own defense! My goodness this is an awful start from Villa. Lucky not to be down.
I shit myself everytime they get near our box.
This is really not good
You got a good link George, mine keeps freezing?
Newcastle are 1-0 up against United ...
I am watching on my tv in the USA but here are some links I found:
LINK
LINK
LINK MASS]
Now 1-1 at St. James Park
Man Utd 1-1 now
defence has been very lucky!
That was going to happen sooner or later. We are all over the shop.
WE HAVE TO PUT 5 MEN IN THE MIDDLE!
penalty ..
Alright, lets see if this team can comeback like it did at Sunderland. Five in the midfield would've been a good idea today.
we haven't turned up today we could be 3-0 down cpme on lads
we are getting skinned alive no joking none of the players seem bothered to me
We aren't getting a look in.
I can see three gols for them, we have to change this.
And some people thought I was mad suggesting we buy Beattie in January to get us through to the end of the season...But what the feck do I know..!!!!!
I hope we see changes at halftime . . . if we are still in the match at that point!
I've paid for that avfcforum stream and I'm not impressed with the quality at all!
This is painful to watch. We are getting played offthe field at the moment.
we are lucky its only 1-0 - played off the park
does anyone have a link that actually works coz the ones i've tried are crap
put it this way the stoke 1st half and this half are very 2 different halfs completely its not lucking good for the win today weve got no chance
not happy
is gabby playing?
define playing...
We are doing a fine job of messing up all our hard work.
vivavilla86
are you using mplayer? for me it's perfect again .. and i can go downstairs and watch it on tv, instead i stay in my office its that good
Reply to Van_Dutch:
lol, he really needs a rest
Does anyone have a Link?
Reply to vivavilla86:
the quality does seem abit poor today i much admit its usually top notch
Reply to Pat_AVFC_17:
never mind a rest..he needs selling
With Given in goal it is going to be a lot harder to score from crosses tonight. They are better off trying to go through the middle or run at someone.
how anyone thought we were going to win this i'll never know
Reply to AVFCBlog:
Yeah, it's just very blurry. It's native size is tiny, do you have any options selected in MPlayer at all?
Reliability is perfect though.
they have won their last 5 home games, and we seem to have lost the plot
Reply to AVFCBlog:
damian is sm player and m player the same??
On my sm player its grand nomally but today its abit poor
Not saying Nicky Shorey wouldn't do any better. But maybe Shorey on, L. Young to RB and either Cuellar or Knight off?
Carlos Cuellar saved us that time though.
This is truely pathetic. No other word for it. Why Heskey is on the pitch I don't know. Carew is the better player and has goals in it.
Ah well it was fun whilst it lasted. At this rate we are going to struggle to finish top 5
vivavilla86
just maximise it .. i've got it on my 2nd screen again - full screen. perfect. i do bugger a bit though but that shouldn't make a difference
Reply to George_Templeton:
should have shorey on from start
this is awful
Does anyone have a LINK?????
oneill like to play his favourites!
this is emabarrasssing. what a horrific display. playing players out of position is the reason for this display. luke young has got murdered at left back as has carlos. maybe build a squad and buy players that can play in there correct positions would be a help! we arent getting anything from this game we look terrible
roll on halftime
This is worse than the stoke city game at least then the team was awake and trying..Tonight everyone looks like they need a rocket up their asses they are playing crap.
we have looked bad in a lot of games but have had the rub of the green, now the green seems to have turned brown
hey boys looking for a link, anyone ?
We need to go back to 4-5-1. Why MON fixed what wasn't broke is beyond me.
He did it last season, he's done it this season and he'll do it next season. I'm starting to wonder if he's ever going to give us the stability we need to go through a whole season.
Reply to Pat_AVFC_17:
You dont wanna watch are you not reading the posts above
we are garbage.
You are right Luke .. but by the time O'Neill figures it out it might be too late ..
and I got slated saying it was our best formation 10 weeks ago
I would suggest subbing Heskey for JC and getting one of the forwards deeper to counter the extra man in MF. Or possibly getting on the bus home.
Iraq Goals LINK
LINK LINK LINK??
need to see it with my owen eyes
4-5-1 worked, even when we didn't play well enough it was enough to see us through to a win... The problem is the O'Neill has bought Heskey and probably feels compelled to play as he's one of his golden oldies.
I see the ref is being very fair! You can't kick a Man City player but you can kick a Villa player!
Reply to adamskin1207:
so is your italian!!!
bring on reo and the fonz h/t
i'm wondering if the pressure of a top 4 run in has got to o'neil, it is something he has never had to deal with before
ashley young injured as well. been struggling for 10 mins now physio on - doesnt look good!
In games like this 4-5-1 is the right formation. In games like Stoke 4-4-2 is our best formation. Why O'Neill won't adapt is hard for me to understand and Ashley Young hurting, more bad news.
Can't wait until halftime!!
What the hell is going on tonight?! Carew should be playing up there but what really annoys me is that M.O.N changed a winning formation (4-5-1 / 4-3-3-) to this new 4-4-2 system and it just isn't working as well.
We're getting hammered and Man City haven't even got Robinho and Bellamy tonight. Imagine what would have happened if they were playing!
Cuellar just does not look comfortable at right back.
Reply to Goldie7:
i still want to watch it m8.
i agree that 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 is our best formation. especially away. at home i think 4-4-2 is fair enough to break teams down but away why change something that aint broke.
Reply to Mooseman:
fuck knows i might turn it off its fuckin awful to watch
Reply to adamskin1207:
I agree. Hard to take right now!
the iraqgoals link doesn't work
Reply to abz1888:
thats cause every fucker apart from mon knows he ain't a fuckin RB
cant manage to get a link working. is it as bad as they are saying on sky lads? how poor is cuellar and gabby tonight, damien? am beginning to come rond to your thinking on 5 in midfield. the arsenal game was the best away game i have seen in ages from the villa against quality opposition....
fck sake
jose Mourinho for villa lol
Reply to ncav:
The iraq link is working for me. the everton-blackburn game is on the same link
LINK
Thank God its halftime. I can't remember as poor a 45 minutes as that? Maybe the first half vs. Boro at home or either half against Liverpool at home. My goodness changes need to be made.
My suggestions:
Reo-Coker on, Heskey off (go to 4-5-1)
Shorey on, L. Young to RB, Cuellar to CB, Knight off.
the only idea we have - long ball - flick on heskey - gabby runs like a chicken. you stop this - you stop villa
i will make a bet now that mon wont change the formation or players at half time unless of course young comes off injured! he never does and it really f%cks me off. changes are needed urgently.
Iraqgoals is slow because the server is very busy. Usually pretty reliable.
I agree with the person who said that M.O.N is compelled to play Heskey, but he is changed a winning system just to fit one player into the team. I don't agree with that at all.
He cannot do that at this crucial point of he season. Defence looks a bit shaky too.
Hopefully it'll be a better second half..can't be any worse!!
I really am starting to lose faith in MON. He appears to not see things everyone else can.
What is Knight playing? Why are we playing 4-4-2? Why not drop Gabby?
Zico ain't no mug, so when he says we are one dimensional i think he may have been on to something
how easy was that first half for Man City??
heskey is running around like a donkey
gabby is running aroung like a chicken
l young keeps checking onto his right foot
cuellar keeps knocking the ball out of play
Does Oneill have a clue? i feckin doubt it!
We havnt really turned up have we? I would like to see knight off, cuellar pushed into position, along with luke young, shorey on at left back, gabby off for Carew and Heskey off for Reo Coker. Surely mon will see this needs changing NOW and not wth 10 mins to go. Think we may just have to put this down to another bad night at the office...
SWP is murdering Young.
Why play Heskey so deep? I don't see it at all.
Haul the donkey off and get Gardner or NRC on for the 4-5-1.
Is Petrov playing?
Absolutely no threat whatsoever.
I don't mind losing, but this has to be the worst 45 mins I've seen all season.
The defence is horrendous, the amount of time they're getting in our box is awful. No midfield.
I don't see how we're going to be any better in the second half, tbh.
4-5-1 IF IT AINT BROKE AND ALL THAT !!!!!!!
Reply to hellboydce:
Yeah mate. I think O'Neill thought he'd do a 'Mellberg' again by buying Cuellar and sticking him at right back! It's just not working and it infuriates everyone!!
I no the whole team is shocking, but Gabby at the moment is absoloutley awful!! he needs a break from the team, hav the 2 big men up top carew and heskey....neva goin 2 happen tho coz gabby is one of oneills blue eyed boys and cant do nefin wrong!!
...tht is the problem wiv oneill he has too many favourites that he is 'scared' to drop!
he probably only got heskey to sign by telling him if he is fit, he is a definite starter
We can all talk about who should be on and who aint performing - But will Oneill change anything - NO CHANCE!
ncav
Gabby isn't involved .. or when he does get the ball he looks bereft of confidence.
Carlos Cueller has made three fantastic stops - he's clearly a central defender and not a right back ..
is heskey playing? what a load of shit we are getting worst and worst whats the odds mon wont make a sub aarrrrggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!! im on a right downer!!
all we need now is Everton to score so they close the gap aswell
I hope you all remember I've been banging this 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation all season ... I got stick for it before ... I hope not anymore!!
i cant watch anymore im off
my 1st half summary
Rubbish 1st half none of the players have turned up what a load of bull, this has to be the worse display of the season i am shocked how scared of the ball we are get reo and the fonz on quick no neil has messed up big time and its going to cost us whats a 3 point gap now....
Wheres barry and petrov for the so called big games???
We need to sort this mess out to salvage a point at best top4 team my arse on this performance top 10 at best and its no more than we derserve
Gabby pls let me eat my words in the 2nd and i bet money ash is out for the 2nd good because he's been rubbish for the last month
Reply to AVFCBlog:
bereft of skill more like, it took a while, but too many of our failings have been found out
damian - i think 442 would work if we have the right strikers - at the moment everytime it goes up there it doesnt stick - it comes straight back at us with pace - pace against Zat Knight and Davies is not good!
Damian i'm with you,we looked so good going forward and more compact at back now we just look average
Badger - completely agree - worst 45 minutes I've seen all season.
Why is heskey playing??? Why did we buy him??? John Carew is clearly a better player and he actually SCORES...heskey = waste of money
i suppose he adds to the ever-growning list of flops he has bought -Cuellar, Harewood, Reo Coker......
on the bright side we're only 1-0 down could have been much worse! Very rare do you not see a reaction in the 2nd half if we've played shite in the first.... anyway if anybody is still trying to find a decent link, heres the best one i've found
LINK
Reply to Goldie7:
I think it's difficult to blame players .. they're told to go out playing in 4-4-2 and while I'm not claiming to be a footballing tactical genius - I even said above - before kick off that that they were playing five in midfield and five minutes in I even noticed (and wrote) how difficult it was. If I can see that, why can't Martin O'Neill?
Since we've signed Heskey we've won away at Portsmouth and Blackburn, battered Wigan and Stoke, and gave as good as we got against Chelsea (who, had they been playing like they have since Huddink took over all season, would be top of the league). The formation is not the problem. The performance tonight is! Having said that, I didn't think Heskey was a good signing at the time, and I still don't. We could perhaps do with an extra man in midfield in this particular game, but this is the first league game where that could reasonably said.
I expect a much better performance after HT, and should that be forthcoming, there's no reason why we can't go on and win this game playing 4-4-2. I wouldn't mind not seeing Heskey come out for the 2nd half though.
Reply to hellboydce:
Spot on gabby or donkey, knight too they need to be dropped sorry guys but they are simple not good enough we are not fulham or flippin blackburn ''or are we?????
as you can tell i'm not in the happiest of moods
Reply to skeester73:
Still going for 81st minute but he'll take off Heskey and bring on Guzan just to spice things up!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WANK!
SWP and Ireland have been class real
i
Oh dear lord, Damian isn't going to be happy...
am lost for words ha
I don't think it's a striker problem, we're being over-run in midfield.
It seems the idea is Heskey plays deep to help out, but he's no good at that, so it's a waste of time, imo. Get a grafting midfielder on.
Fuck me Carew on Davies off??????
You're kidding
milner at RB is no neil havin a laugh
are we going to see the great davies off carew on sub?
worked wonders last time!
This substitution could be ridiculous, why the fuck is milner at RB
This is insane... Milner at RB? Heskey at RM?
Why didn't he just take Heskey off for Carew???
Milner to rb wot the f~ck
we are a team with 1 game plan and when that doesn't work we have no back up, another false dawn?
carew for davies - v bizarre sub - our back 4 was bad enough before half time
cheers damian and for everyone else posting a link.
interesting comments re carlos. he clearly must be a player after people raved abut him in scotland but what he isnt is a right back. why shorey keeps getting left out is beyond me. the sooner thor and bouma are back the better.
gabby's first touch is awful - he looks anything but international quality at the moment. i hope he rams those word down my throat now and has a similar second half to the game at VP.
in the last few games at VP, it seems to me that ash is losing a bit of form - has he been it much tonight lads?
just seen the subs - WTF?!!!! milner at RB is a shocking decision.
playing gabby on right wing is like playing with 10 men!!!
What's the changes, I see Carew, has he come on for Gabby or Ash?
hes lost the plot what the hell is he doing, session down the toilet what a wast of time
This is ridiculous. Our away form is what has got us into Champions League contention and we're getting thumped tonight.
The sad thing is this is how we've been playing for months, we've just been getting the rub of the green more often than not.
I fear this might be as close as we get.
Hahaha, oh my word, what sub!!
milner has gone to right back and heskey is playing right wing not gabby. its gabby and carew up front. v bizarre sub
Reply to AVFCBlog:
brazil play 4-4-2 against any formation the other team employs and have done ok i think, so please stop carping on about bloody five in the middle will you its a negative formation.
its all about tactics and if we give it to young all the time then even a moron would clock onto it.
lets c wot cuellar is made of at cb now
Reply to ncav:
3-4-3?
If this isn't proof that Carew needs to START the next game, I don't know what is.
Sorry Damian, I got to thinking about your pen and it was me who made it move, sorry
COME ON VILLA, WE NEED THIS
well if u thin k about it milner to rb isnt horrible.
gets the passes up, to the wings, jump the mid field.
Milner is RB so we can have more a attacking line up, he can get up and down the flank and cause a lot more damage than Cuellar. Stop moaning at least MON is trying to do something about it! Get behind the lads! This is our half UTV!!
i hope we do what stoke did to us
At least Villa are starting to cause a few problems in the City box.
Reply to Paul_Villa82:
He's not a defender though. If you're going to stick attacking midfielders at fullback you may as well just play 2-6-2.
For god sake get Heskey off.
we aint never scoring tonite!!!!
Reply to Pat_AVFC_17:
we just need abit of luck
e'll come good
_AP68_
It's not a negative formation when you are playing with James Milner and Ashley Young; they're hardly defensive players, or supposed to be anyway.
comon villa, we can have a lose, we dont accept a tie. we need a win
Young should've just belted that, dragging it across made the angle too tight.
cant* hahaha
sooooooooooooooooo close
Reply to vivavilla86:
We dont need defenders though do we? If we lose 1 nil or 4 nil we still lose! We need goals and attacking threat! Attack is the best defence
And actually, we're playing my preferred formation now when attacking - 4-3-3 which is much much easier to play when setting up as 4-5-1.
IN fact if you go through this site you'll see that I usually refer to it as 4-5-1/4-3-3 and I think you know this.
heskey is clearly injured - its a fuckin liabilty
why couldnt we play like this in the first half, btw they don't have any strikers on the pitch do they
Maybe MON is trying to confuse them into submission??
Reply to Paul_Villa82:
Read that back to yourself, this is proper football not a computer game. Of course we need defenders.
There's a goal coming soon for Villa, surely...
Reply to Pat_AVFC_17:
And we have 3, and what's the score?
All us this half, we need to get more chances on goal.
take heskey off, put shorey on, move milner to rm,
I can't believe we've got Heskey running down the flank trying to put balls in the box. How embarrassing.
i've only seen Heskey touch the ball a few times and they've all beein around the centre circle
Reply to vivavilla86:
You know what I meant. We have Knight, Young and Cuellar at the back, Milner can get forward more and leave 3 at the back. All im saying is MON has made changes to try and improve the situation and we are doing better this half.
where the fuck has the link gone
For a team 1-0 we have very little urgency about us. Having possession means nothing.
omg, link went down, i need a new one, someone!!!!
I NEED A LINK!
1-0 down*
does anyone have a working Link?
My link gone too, infact all 3 down now, what a joke...
Reply to fastbackace:
try this, you need to do a quick download and run it, then refresh the page
i didnt see a link to click.
Reply to DanWilson82:
u didnt give us anything to try
LINK sorry
didn't boro win 8-1 last year
Poor shot from Barry! Not much pace in that at all.
Fucks sake C'MON VILLA!!!!!!!!
Lets Shut these easlanders up!!
gabby's movement is the worst i ever seen - he really doesnt know what to do!
Link to the match live
LINK
This is beginning to do my head in. I will need to throw a sickie tomorrow and hope the gooners at work forget to take the piss out of me. This all goes back to the Jan window.
Damn so close for Villa! If Given weren't the keeper it would be 1-1. Good shot from Barry and a good pass from Agbonlahor to set him up.
oh gabby missed again he really us tripe
we defo not gonna score tonight
Hellboy makes a great save!
Reply to vivavilla86:
thanks
Man City just did what we didn't - SHOOT
Release the Hare !
well, i'm off to bed, gotta be drivin a train a 4.30 in the morn, perhaps i'll wake up check on here to see we won it.............yeah right
We're just not going to score.
Did that hit the defender's arm in the area?
4th u gotta be kidding me so much for resting player in Moscow 1 point from 6 yer well worth it MON !!!!!!!!!
Thank god our players were rested! Might have got 1 point instead of 0!
How many late goals have we scored this season? I cant believe how negative some of you are ...
0 instead of 1 ¬_¬
How are we not winning?
oh well, maybe we will take the europa cup seriously next season
Reply to Paul_Villa82:
If we score you can have a pint on me.
Reply to Luke_M:
because we have players out of position
at least our rivals for the europe cup (everton) are only managing a draw
Wow, a decent cross from Gabby!
*europa
any more links guys im havin problems!
Great run by Young into the box, a shame everyone decided to stand in the same place. Gabby should've been there but clearly doesn't know what is going on.
Reply to ollyvilla:
Read up, I've pasted it twice
thanks!
Goodnight folks.
nice job mon good sub
Gardner on Cuellar off
game over 4th position over season over
That's a fitting end to this one.
GARDNER!!!!!! Must be going for the win!
arse
2-0 forget it , pathetic AGAIN!!!
And to think Villa were 5 minutes away from being 8 points ahead of Arsenal and now its only 3 points. This team needs the break badly. And now everyone will just pile on about how we are not good enough.
Bollocks.....played badly tonight. Still its not over until May.
can we say in mon we don't trust now without people jumping down our throats?
Whats wrong with us? this just isnt the same Villa anymore
Swp and Ireland ran the show we derserve nothing
Back to the 5 Year paln.......UEFA next year, do well in the league, rest players, give up in the UEFA and do feck all again. WE ARE A JOKE!!!!! KEEP THE FAITH...IM JUST CHUFFED WE'VE ENOUGH POINTS SO WE DON'T GET RELEGATED!
ILL BE THE FIRST LADS MON OUT!!!!!!!!!!!
season falling apart. if onyl we still had the uefa cup so we could challenge for a trophy! what a fucking joke. Oneil has been a useless clown over the last few weeks and today some of his decisions were shocking! really worth resting the players in moscow wasnt it - 1 point out 6!!!
"game over"....is it 2.0 ?
Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls Balls
it's not just this result, we have fallen apart, players out of position, out of form, and a manager who SEEMS to be losing the plot
we'll be 5th before we play spurs as arsenal play blackburn at home before us!! draw against spurs then 2 losses to man u and liverpool and we will be 4 or 5 points behind arsenal!!
fucking disgrace, we went out of the UEFA cup for this, we now NEED 4 points out of the games against Man U and Redscouse or thats it for the champions league
How did we lose this 2-0? We battered them in the second half. Citeh fans must be pinching themselves.
The uefa cup gamble FAILED - we saved players for Stoke and Man City - MON U FAILED
Crap, clueless, gutless - cant see anymore points for us in March!
Reply to bluey:
you've got to be fucking joking,
he's got us to where we are and he will take us foreward,
stop being such a fickle twat
CL is gone, we need to make sure we don't lose out to everton for 5th
its fucking bollocks - MON always complains about the size of his squad, EVEN though he IS given the money to spend during the window and he decides either not to spend , or buy a flop called heskey ,- its his own fault ....
CMON VILLA!!!!!!!
Reply to tomstro1:
No we weren't, we were the best team in the 2nd half by miles
Mon out mon out mon out mon out!!!!
Reply to skeester73:
Life goes on we all knew we were kidding ourselves it was a nice dream though we are now level on points because we have to write off the manure game its over face facts very poor performance?
My hopes got dashed after the 1st 20mins
next 4 games
spurs
liverpool
manure
everton
tell me how many points are there,Arsenal next 4
blackburn
newcastle
man city
wigan
i think 5th is ours
YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF FICKLE TWATS! WAKE UP....WE'RE SITTING IN 4TH PLACE YOU MORONS!
(Except Pat_AVFC_17)
We've lost that game because of the tactics we played and players we played in certain positions. Gabby worked his socks off in the 2nd half but you can see he's tired and needs a rest. Playing Milner at right back is criminal when we have Shorey on the bench who can come in at left back and stick Young at right back. Heskey clearly is still not fit so why is he starting regardless? We played better when Carew came on. Why was Gardner brought on when Reo-Coker was the natural choice to drop in at centre back. Reo-Coker should have played that game if he's fit, it was his sort of game. I think that's our 4th place hopes gone and now think we'll be lucky to finish 6th behind Everton again!
Spurs looking good too
its not looking good
Reply to Goldie7:
its not over, as long as were within 5 pts or arsenal after the Man U game then we have a really good chance because they have to play chelsean Man U and Liverpool away after that. the first to are their second and third last fixtures of the season. its not over yet
Havent seen the match but come on now guys MON out? He is one of the best managers in the League and has done wonders with our squad. Yes his transfer policy is abit shite but everyone has drawbacks. I think with any other manager bar a few we would definatly not even be in this position so lets not get too cocky about where we are. MON has got us here and like Damian has said a fair few times 5th would definatly not be a disaster this season. Yes we are all disappointed but lets not forget how far we have come in a short space of time.
4th is not gone yet, I still think Arsenal will drop points, but we definatly have to improve alot else as others have said we could even slip out of the UEFA places.
Reply to Villa_Chris:
HOW LONG FOR PLAYING LIKE THIS?
we can beat spurs coz they'll come at us
we can beat Liverpool (if we play 4-5-1) coz thats the type of game which we always play best in
TEAM FOR SPURS
Bradley Guzan
Luke Young
Curtis Davies
Zat Knight
Nicky Shorey
Marc Albrighton
Craig Gardner
Moustapha Salifou
Steve Sidwell
Barry Bannan
Nathan Delfounso
Rest our stars for the Liverpool game...............WHY? WELL BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE. LIVE BY YOU DECSIONS MON. YOU FECK UP. LET'S SO YOU OFFER THE TRAVELLING FANS ANOTHER MEAL BECAUSE WE WERE SHITE AGAIN!
I for one had high hopes, now i've lost interest. I'd like to see the players play in the right positions, i'd like to see that useless pr*ck Gabby dropped! GABBY FOR ENGLAND.....? FABIO WON'T BE FOLLOWING THE VILLA FOR A WHILE UNLESS HE NEEDS MILNER FOR RB AND LUKE YOUNG FOR LB!
CRAZY
KEEP THE FAITH.....F*CK OFF!
YES WE CAN?....NO WE FECKING CAN'T.
Reply to Pat_AVFC_17:
TWAT
LOOK WHERE WE WHERE 3 YEARS AGO AND LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW
STOP BEING A PRICK
SORRY THAT WAS FOR BLUEY
UTV
Reply to Villa_Chris:
The team got skinned we were top for half a season 9 year ago whats your point
Spurs have a pretty terrible away record . . . then again so did Stoke! Oh dear this will be a long 10 or 11 days.
Thank Fuck I handed back my Man city ticket when mon pulled out the team for Moscow.
Mon will have an excuse for everything. The players will tell us how they owe us a performance.
As soon as we decided we were too big for games the rot set in.
The prima donas thought they were to good for stoke look what happend tonight it took a rocket from MoN to make them look interested in the second half.
All the pundits said you cannot rely on luck for ever, the stepford wifes tried to dicredit fans for us daring to question what was going on.
Fickle..the new 'buzzword' on this blog!
The season isn't over yet and Arsenal have a difficult run in so it's still all to play for. But we do need to start winning at home.
HOPE somebody asks MON WHY ... PLAY RIGHT BACK AT LEFTBACK,PLAY CENTREBACK AT RIGHTBACK, PLAY HESKEY INSTEAD OF CAREW,CHANGE A SUCCESFULL TEAM/FORMATION SINCE SIGNING HESKEY,KEPT GABBY IN THE TEAM WHEN HE COULDNT HIT A BARN DOOR WITH A BANJO,RESTED PLAYERS FOR OUR LAST CHANCE OF SILVERWARE, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HIS EXPLANATION.
told you heskey is s**t!!
why leave a fit carew on the bench?? gabbys f***ed needs a rest!!
martin sort this out quick please,this season could come to nothing if we arent carefull!!
the fourth place is looking very dodgy at the moment!!
i believe (do you believe??)
in mc grath we trust
You are correct flabster Mon has done great. This team would be bottom half without Mon
Reply to Pat_AVFC_17:
Stop kidding yourself mate
Hurry Back Laursen, its all gone down the pisser since hes been gone!
To all those that are banding the word 'FICKLE' about pause and look at the recent games. Now ask the question 'Has the manager made the right decsions?' If you are able to answer yes then I think your the ones being FICKLE because you can't admit that this season will end poorly. I can't wait for the DVD to be released of this season. I reckon every manger of the other 91 teams will buy it. Why? 'cause it will show them how not to do things! Start the season in July and give up by March. Shut up saying that we are FICKLE! We are pleased we are where we are, yes, but even a fecking idiot can see that we are in the shite, the laughing stock of the PL. I for one am so looking forward to watching MOTD with those two scouse pricks saying that our season is over!
NO WE CAN'T
SIGNED FICKLE TWAT!
unlucky guys i can not believe some are talkin about martin oneil out. you guys are feeling the pressure of a new situation , you played your best football to get you into a great position which you are still in , a couple touches of luck again and you could go on another decent run , villa couldnt keep playing at their peak for so long but your team are still in the 4th position so cheer up
On the other hand, we're still in with a shout. I know many people won't give us a chance for 4th place, but it's up to the players and M.O.N to show the fans that they want it.
It's not over yet...but it's going to be very tough
To all the idiots spouting their brand of thoughtless negativity, go and support Man Ure. You deserve each other.
To anyone else who is angered and bewildered by the first half performance, I say that I share your feelings. We were terrible in the first half (and in fairness Man City played well). Why we were so bad, I don't think anyone knows. Of course, it has nothing to do with formations; we played 4-2-4 in the second half, played them off the park, and could count ourselves a little unlucky not to escape with a draw, if it wasn't for that first half performance being SO bad. We got what we deserved tonight. Man City played well, whilst we only showed up for the second half. I don't believe MoN will allow that to happen again.
no squad, eight point lead diminishing. arsenal fans laughing all the way. out of all cups. what a joke, how did mon not strenghten the squad in the last transfer window is beyond me, 30-40 million to a club are size should be standard precedure being a top four club in january. i think paying more than 50k a week is the problem though hence our top players wont be arond for long if a top four finish escapes us. they wont be leaving for there for there chance of silverware,it will be for the highest wage offer. mon sticks with a team that are on a bad run and will not change his management style, plenty of jumping up and down and plenty of fist pumping but not much in the tactics department. for me its painfull to watch. just glad i didnt spend money on the moscow trip, istanbul my lord - more like cocked it up my lord. i will stick by him for his five year plan but i wouldnt be suprised if he was at man utd before then, 30 top players and an open cheque book. shouldnt be too hard with those resources hey mart, villa forever. villa_ks
Lets hope Mon Learns from this.
He must Line up players for next season not waiting to see what other teams like Man City Do. We will not be targeting the same players as them anyway. Get our players in early so we do not need the excuse of no pre season or limited players at xmas.
Let’s hope we try & win every cup competition next season. Even Man U were happy to win the league cup. We have won nothing & DECIDED to win nothing this year. Inexcusable.
We should all take some Egg Baskets to Villa park so Mon will not put all our eggs in his one Basket again
and it was a cheap move throwing the uefa cup away, i think simular almost about afc & the carling cup but i believe villa would have won the uefa cup , he should have stuck with the winning formula and kept the same team and used momentum , it will make him a better manager this experience even if villa dont make the top 4
Only wanting to pay £3-4m on our strikers has to be a big mistake even DE splashed the cash on Collymore & JPA
villa needed a more aggressive striker than heskey ,they needed a man who could play upfront alone and the team could switch to 5 in midfield with agbon going wide when you werent in possesion or in control and then linking with the forward to create a 442 when the team was on the attack , heskey isnt even ambitious enough to want to score goals , someone carewish but younger with legs for the duration
Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of points on which to criticise MoN, but blaming him for tonight is ridiculous. And also making judgements on players worth is also ridiculous.
Knight - has done remarkably well given he's 4th choice centre back at the club.
Davies - has been poor of late, but that's because he's got a wonky shoulder.
Milner - was a no frills wide player who works his socks off, and still is. Does that make him a bad player? Of course not. He's fitted well into the team and has done a good job - whilst still having room to improve.
Agbonlahor - a fantastic player who would have benefited from a rest some time ago. But anyone with ANY sense at all can tell that he's a class act, and has been doing the job - and more - in every department aside from putting the ball in the net, which in my view is purely down to mental fatigue, compounded by a loss of confidence.
Carew - is making his way back from injury. He's not the best striker in the world, but he's done a fine job for us all in all. His sub-par performance is purely and simply down to a lack of match fitness.
Heskey - I've never rated him, and nothing has changed. In the short-term he might do a job. I'm hoping rather than expecting.
Is the squad smaller than everyone would like? Yes. Are some of the players in our squad not quite up to it? Yes. Does MoN know this? Yes. Is any of this relevant to how many points we accumulate between now and the end of the season? Absolutely not. The players have played alot of games, but tiredness won't be a factor from now on. We're not going to have a fixture pile up, so the players we have will be able to play every game. And the players we have are not only good enough to maintain a 3 point lead over Arsenal, but good enough to extend that lead and overhaul Liverpool. I don't believe there's any evidence to suggest that the bottle and belief of the team is anything otehr than rock solid, and they now have the perfect opportunity to prove it.
UTV
Simeon How will MoN Not allow that to happen again.
I know in mon we trust & all that shite no opinions are allowed.
I am afraid the other team will always have a say.
The players that do have not heart, or desire & bottle it every time there is a bit of pressure will not change.
without a true winner like ML out there we are shafted.
Ashley is one of my favorite players, but to him, like it was for Dwight, it is just a game you need a spine of winners.
We do not have one at the front or the Back so shafted.
Reply to arsene wenger:
From what I can gather, you're trying to offer some rational comment, and, to give you credit, for an Arsenal fan you're exceeding my expectations. That said, you're still talking a load of rubbish. I would be worrying about your own team. Go and celebrate Everton's draw with Blackburn (even though it's arguably one point gained) because you're battling with them for that 5th spot. Meanwhile, leave us to worry about our campaign to finish in the top 3.
Simeon I agree with your last post but Gabby is not a Fantastic Player.
He is an important player to us with his pace but Fantastic is going too far.
Do not tell me he reads the game well, links up with his strike partner has skill in his locker to beat players like Ashley can or sniffs out goals in the box.
He has a great asset with his pace & has scored a good few goals but lets not chastise the Lad or pretend he is something he is not.
I know Mon need to lift players but his arrogance drives me mad. If I were playing with him I would want to smack him raising his arms when the ball is not delivered to him, yet when it is it bounces anywhere.
Reply to Villa_Chris:
we are not fickle we just dont like you!!
Reply to FatKev:
I think to suggest that Ashley Young is anythong other than a winner is crazy. With all due respect, he will be hurting more than either of us tonight. I think he is infused with steel.
As regards other players, of course there are questions to be answered. But from what I've seen of this team, and the individuals in it, over the past two seasons, I think these questions will be answered positively.
As for Laursen, I love the guy. He's courageous and whole-hearted, but that doesn't necessarily make him a winner. Being a winner is about being arrogant, having a sense of entitlement, and backing it up. I think Young has that arrogance (in a good way) more than any of our other players in actual fact. I don't think Laursen does, but that doesn't mean that he's going to bottle it. He, like the rest of the squad (and with these things it's about the group rather than individuals) will be doing their utmost not just to ensure that we keep our noses in front of Arsenal, but keep Liverpool and Chelsea firmly in our sights.
We didn't lose tonight because of lack of winners; we just played rubbish in the first half - for whatever reason, and as I said, no-one knows, perhaps not even MoN. We drew with Stoke in ridiculous fashion, but again, it wasn't because of a lack of leaders. It was just one of those things that had a chance of happening because we were a tiny bit complacent.
How we react to that first half performance is critical - and I believe our reaction to the performance is more important than the reaction to the result. I happen to believe that we will react positively, because that's what past 'form' suggests.
As for MoN supposedly being untouchable, I'm not one who thinks so. His dealings in the transfer market have at times been shambolic, and in my view, next summer is a make or break period for him. He will have no excuse not to bring in perhaps as many as 3 real quality players (because we will be playing CL football next season). Should he fail to...
Rock solid with Martin Laursen, he also offers a threat in attack.
Bottle perhaps Not We are just not good enough.
I had hoped we could fluke it against the poor teams that defend & Catch the good teams on the break.
All the fans that defend the Moscow etc decision may now see it made bugger all difference the other teams will always have a say.
If it was down to rest then Ashley had come off a 3 match suspension why did he not figure because MoN wanted to have an excuse if we did not beat the ring rusty russians already in the CL
My reasons for believing Gabby is a fantastic player:
Two good feet (unlike some overrated Portuguese monkeys I could mention).
Good in the air, despite not being a 6ft'er.
An ability to finish, therefore, with left, right and head. The hattrick against City earlier this season isn't necessarily proof, but is certainly a handy illustration.
Is aware of what's going on around him.
Is strong, and capable of competing with defenders much bigger than him.
Did I mention his lighting pace?
At the start of the season, I would have said that Gabby is a fair finisher with great pace and not much else. That might have been a little unfair on him, but the strides he's made this season have been nothing short of phenomenal. His all-round game isn't at the level of a Bergkamp, clearly, but it's still pretty decent. For example, compare him to Owen. I would say that, despite Owen being almost 30, that Gabby's all round game is already far superior to his, and he's still improving.
He's missing alot of chances lately, but as I mentioned before, this is due to mental fatigue leading on to loss of confidence, and MoN really should have anticipated this and had another striker in before the season started. He's been a giant for us this season, which is in danger of being forgotten.
Simeon i wish i could type as fast
Ashley is my favorite player but he is a gifted player that wants to play & create he is happy to let others have the glory of his hard work.
ML thinks no one will get past him or beat him to the ball in the box totally focused.
We will have to differ on Gabby I have always thought he was one of the most overated players going.
I do believe he has a winners mentality but not the skill to back it up.
Its a bastard of a mix its why so few make it.
I thought Collymore Angel Savo & Dallian were going to be the one enough said
Reply to FatKev:
We've conceded goals with Laursen in the team as well. As good as he is, he isn't rock solid. His weakness is overcommiting, diving in to challenges and leaving himself exposed. I think we've really been missing him since Davies did his shoulder. Before then, he and Knight were doing fine (much to my surprise, but there we go).
As for not being good enough, what about Liverpool? They're not good enough either. And, to be honest, Man Ure also fail to impress me. Mourinho's Chelsea would wipe the floor with them, and that's only going back a couple of seasons. Imagine what some of the great teams in the '90's would do to them! We are better than the likes of Arsenal and Everton, who in turn are better than Man City, Wigan and West Ham, who in turn are better than Spurs, Sunderland and Hull, and West Brom are the worst team in the Premiership. I'm not happy with how good we are in absolute terms, and I sincerely hope that we improve massively over the coming seasons. But we are good enough to finish above Arsenal and compete with Liverpool.
Reply to FatKev:
I like Gabby's attitude actually. I think he's laid-back, and I think - despite his current lack of confidence - that he's naturally confident. Vassell, for example, had no belief in himself, and that's why he's never made it. Luke Moore looks like he won't make it because he doesn't apply himself. He's got more natural talent than Gabby, but the work Gabby has put in to improve himself I believe is there for all to see. Whatever your opinion of him, you have to admit that he's a far better player now than he was last season. He's improved massively, and though he's still a little rough round the edges, he's well on his way to being a diamond.
My advice is not to allow players from the past to colour your judgement. Dalian Atkinson, like Luke Moore, ultimtaly didn't have the application. Savo had a very good career, and we would do well to remember he scored as many goals in his first season as Bergkamp did. Two words why it didn't work out for Savo: John Gregory. Who was also a disgrace with regard to Collymore. Stan perhaps didn't give himself every chance, but Gregory's man-management of him was disgraceful - as it was with Bosnich, Yorke, Ehiogu, Southgate, and even Barry.
As for Angel, he had one terrific season, and a few average ones (and a couple of 'mares). He perhaps didn't have the best circumstances in which to work, but at the same time must take some responsibility for not doing better.
Gabby is different, and is benefiting from more favourable circumstances.
simeon,dont be upset,i give credit where its due,villa deserve some, but the team need to be at their best or their ordinary, heskey is ultimately your rvp,he will cost you, if you lot win your next two games we will both be in the cl league because liverpool well their just pants and they fooled people for long enough
I could not agree more about Gregory he really fkd us, we had success but such terrible football to watch I will never forget the chelski game. I feared how we were going to approach it on the way down.