Match Prediction: Away to Pompey
Sunday, 25 January 09, 07:05 AM · Comments (80)
Fortunately for us, Portsmouth hired Tony Adams to be their manager after Harry Redknapp did a runner to a bigger club on first time of asking and we all deep down know how successful Adams is going to be as a manager.
Since Adams took over, Pompey have done very little to convince that they've got much of a clue under him and defeat yesterday to Swansea and taking Jermaine Pennant on loan, just go to further prove he's not really got a clue.
Factor in they're just three points above bottom three at the moment and you've got to fancy we can go to the South Coast and pick up three points, much like West Ham did recently and I suspect more clubs will start doing.
Harry Redknapp was a very good manager and if they don't get rid of Adams soon, they may struggle this season and if i's not this season, it will be next, but I suspect most Pompey fans know this too.
Anyway, to the match and we should win this. Mostly because we're second in the current form league table and we're actually better away from home. However the reason why we should win this, is because we have to. We can't afford to be dropping points against teams like Pompey now and if we do then it will be our own fault if it goes horrible.
Some positive news ahead of the game is we should see Emile Heskey make his debut which may mean Martin O'Neill decides to change around the formation that has brought him so much success recently, however I don't think he will. I think he might use this as an opportunity to rest Gabby and see what type of impact Heskey has.
Playing five in the middle has been good for us this season and Heskey is used to playing as the lone striker. He'll know what to look for and he can work the channels as good as any player in the league.
So, to my prediction and not wanting to disappoint, I'm going for an away win and not just because we need it, but because I actually think we'll get it against a team managed by Tony Adams and with Arsenal having to travel to Everton the day after, if we do win and they struggle, which is entirely possible, it starts to give us a nice little cushion, which I believe is going to be needed.
So, that is my Sunday. I'm going to get a bacon sandwich and with the wife and son out shopping, I'm going to get the best seat in the house, in front of the TV for some FA Cup football.
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80 Comments · Add yours
Don't agree with you there Damian. I think he will play Heskey on the left in Ashley's position. Precisely the same position he has had with so much success for England.
4-0 Villa
AVMark
You rarely agree AVMArk, so little surprise there.
i think we will be 4-4-2 for this one dropping sidwell who is going through a rough patch at the moment.
but we should wi this easy but i would be happy with a 1-0
Reply to AVMark:
Have I missed something?
I agree with Ask Paul, 4-4-2 for me with Sidwell dropping to bench.
I think gabby and Heskey could both start but maybe in a 4-5-1 with heskey as the target man and milner and Gabby playing wide off him feeding off the knockdowns. Sidwell isn't playing well but i think MON will stick with him, he had very little football at Chelsea and had injuries when he arrived at VP so he will find his form soon. He'll come good just like Petrov did.
I think playing HESKEY up front on his own would be crazy. Our midfield don't score enough. GABBY's pace would be more complimentary, and create space for MILNER and SIDWELL to push forward.
3-0 to us, with Heskey getting a goal on his debut, milner and gabby. Portsmouth were good last season, but due to the way the club has been run this year it's all falling apart, I feel sorry for their fans. If we stick to the same system I think Sidwell should drop to the bench but if we try something different then I'd like to see him given more chance to prove himself as i'm certain he will come good soon. Think Everton will draw with the ass so hopefully we will have a 5 point gap soon enough!
The nice fact is though that MON has more options now and has Young and Carew to come back. Imagine chasing a game with Carew, Heskey, Gabby, Milner and Young all in attack!!!
as i said on your last thread how many times have we seen a player return to his old club to haunt. them realy would not suprise me if heskey played and scored
Win for Villa, and definitely agree that 4-4-2 is king on this one, Milner left, Barry and Petrov with Reo Coker right, Heskey and Gabby up front. Would even look at Shorey LB still, is Luke Young still banned or is he back for this one?
wheelo2020 did you get my message about the coach for the wigan game
Reply to 1874AVFC:
I think reo-coker is injured although no one seems to know anything about it. He limped off yesterday.
Reply to DanWilson82:
Yeah, you are right, forgot about that. Gardner for me then, Sidwel needs to have a rest and fight for his place again.
off subject but arse look bad and bentner is having a nightmare
Reply to 1874AVFC:
Luke Young had a 1 game ban for collecting 5 yellow cards, so should be back against Pompey.
Should be a good game, as you say its showing now!! top four mentality, we are all beginning to expect wins and points on the board!
Given our most recent performances, I think this is more a game Pompey will lose rather than Villa win (if you know what i mean), but lets see what impact Heskey has.
Reply to villa_biker:
Did heskey play for portsmouth?
i hold my head in shame
As Damo often says, it'll actually be a 4-3-3 in attack if Heskey is the lone 'striker', with Gabby on the right and Milner the left. I've a feeling Heskey might be more influential than JC.
Have just seen Bill Howells comment on our game at Sunderland. He said "Ashley Young's challenge (that got him sent off) was the challenge of a coward, perhaps". Who is this guy that he can come out with disgraceful comments like this. Yes the challenge was bad but the act of a "coward" how did he come to that conclusion? He should explain himself and then apologise to Ashley Young. No wonder I no longer buy the B'ham mail if they employ idiot's like him.
I want that Bill Howell out of the Mail they guy is just a prick making up stories and chatting bubbles. As for the pompey game, it will be tough still you know if they can get their act (because adams is underpressure) they might just pull something off this isn't a certain 3 points.
i think he should play heskey on his own with gabby and milner feeding off of him
and we still need reinforcements with a striker and a centre back and maybe a left back
any way 5-1 to the villa
UTV
well good news arse have just drawn and to be fair they looked average. think they will win at the emerates but its another game for them and a chance for em to pick up some injurys. cardiff looked very phisical out there today
pompey 1 Vila 2
LIV 0 EVER 1 lesscott the scorer
ATTENTION!!!
again, sorry for making this so dramatic but Newcastles Nzogbia has come out again over his possible move to Villa!
LINK
In the article he claims Villa is his preferred destination over Arsenal.
if anyone is watching ever v pool i missed the start is keene on the bench or is he injured if on bench he must be getting well pissed off by now cant see him wanting to stay much longer
Reply to Aero-4-Villa:
nice link shows he wants to come to us
Reply to kohoutek:
Yes, that's what I'm thinking too.
If it is 4-4-2, I think that'll fit Sidwell well. With AY out and NRC nursing a knock I'd expect Barry to move out left if it is a fairly formal line up.
Agree with mr_chips that it'll be tricky... still think we'll sneak it though, 3-2
I think it will be 4-4-2. Can't see him playing Heskey on his own up front. He certainly cannot afford to rest Gabby with Ash out. Gardner to start instead of Sidwell unless Coker is fit, then I'd play him.
I think it could be the 0-0 draw that will TRULY bring this blog to life.
(Or a plucky 1-0 to the home team resulting in calls for MON's resignation.)
Reply to villa_biker:
Not in squad at all and not because of injury - Benitez said that he wanted to pick 19 players but could only choose 18!
Reply to Nan_was_a_fan:
Yep, losing will surely be a portent of doom
Before Sunderland's game, I was thinking I'd be happy with 6 points from Sunderland/Pompey/Wigan. I know many will say we should aim for 7 or 9 but even a bad result tomorrow can be turned around at the weekend.
Think Keane is on the bench as he didnt start and to be honest if I was him I would be rightly pissed off!! Get him in a Villa shirt!!!
this game will end in a draw if we dont go 4-4-2.gabby and heskey up top,milner,barry,petrov,and coker if fit.sidwell for me looks like a waste of money.goes missing in games and wont score many goals imo.should be looking to offload him in the summer. think we need another fullback and another striker.we can get 4th spot this year but we are going to have to win most of our games to do it as arsenal are not going to go away
Reply to JonnyW:
you got it Jonny W
Reply to villa_biker:
Bentner is a big lump, amazing that Arse play him - he is not their type of player at all not to mention rubbish - although young so could improve
Reply to villa_biker:
not on bench, don't know why
Because he is crap.
Reply to Nan_was_a_fan:
Keane crap? Wouldn't mind him at Villa
draw donny or villa v man utd
Reply to villa_biker:
Oh well, fun while it lasted
Reply to villa_biker:
what the draw hasnt been done yet or is that your prediction
Reply to SidCowanslovechild:
sorry mate went upstairs came back down and wife said she saw villa had man utd so i believed her she will be punished wont be allowed on my chopper this week
liverpool or everton
Liverpool or Everton
not the best draw at all
Liverpool v Villa...Barry to score the winna..!
why are we always away from home
Im going to this game as I currently live in Portsmouth. I know a lot of Pompey fans and they are scared. I spoke to a season ticket holder today and he said he would take 2-0 now because he thinks its a case of damage limitation. Noone seems to know where the goals are going to come from, only Crouch can find the back of the net and hes not getting the service he needs. They were awful yesterday and are a club in turmoil. Morale is as low as the cash flow and they really are there for the taking. We owe them a beating for 2 terrible results last season. They spanked us at VP and when we went to Fratton we gifted them a bizzare own goal and Carson let Defoe lob him. I think we will stick with the 4-5-1, put Milner on the left, Gabby on the right and Heskey through the middle. Ive got a feeling Emile is going to score tommorow. We have been playing poorly lately, luckily for us we have still been getting results. Ive got a feeling we are going to turn up Tues, and considering Pompeys current situation, we are going to get a comfortable result. 3-0. UTV
Reply to villa dave:
With our form an away draw is better for us. Lets hope Liverpool beat Everton and then Villa travel to Anfield and show everyone just how good we are. N'Zogbia to get the assist for Bent's winner
Reply to Aero-4-Villa:
I like the way he suddenly prefers villa over Arsenal , i think this means we have shown interest to his agent. Good young player bring it on I say .
it is really clear that 4-5-1 doesn't work. ever since we have started using this formation we have been crap and had to win ugly. i hope we go back to 4-4-2 because we need two up front, especially against lower teams because they defend all match and we struggle to break them teams down. but i don't think heskey is the answer to our problem.
Damien, in your article you say that Redknapp is a good manager, which is true, but you fail to mention that he is a giant cock. Just pop that into it next time.
It is clear that our 4-5-1 doesn't work?
Oh my God.
I despair.
Reply to Nan_was_a_fan:
yes it is clear, since playing in 4-5-1 we haven't played any where near as good as we used to when we played 4-4-2.
Reply to Nan_was_a_fan:
I agree dont worry.
We rely on the long ball too much when playing 4-5-1, and with gabby up front it really doesnt work, but, they say never change a winning team!
Reply to HoofHearted:
we didn't win. we drew against DONCASTER.
Reply to HolteEndHero:
Im talking our very impressive premiership run.
The Doncaster game was a minor blip, we will walk it at VP.
Reply to HolteEndHero:
Holte...Nan was taking the piss ou of you...!
I was hoping for a reasoned rebuttle to your comment though by Nan.
4-5-1 doesn't work for us!
we have only managed to win by lucky goals since switching to 4-5-1. And its because of to many long balls and a crowded midfield of players playing crap. SIDWELL!
should be 3 points added for us after pompey, can i just say that steve sidwell is a top quality footballer and plays a vital role for villa. A lot of his best work goes unnoticed and then people focus on negatives like a few missed chances. he brakes up play brilliantly in defence and some of his passing is incredible, he also always gives 110%. having him and petrov together is a great midfield partnership to have. johnson, richards and sturridge is wot we need now, aswel as n'zogbia. UTV - i honestly believe we have wot it takes to win the title, have faith! luck may play a factor but we can do it.
As a suffering Pompey fan, I hope that you will understand when I say you villains may just be counting chickens before they hatch.
We need a lift after Saturday - and if we can sprinkle a little on your strawberries it would make a lovely pick-me-up...!
I didn't see the game yesterday but have seen a few positive comments about Shorey.....is it possible he's capable of doing a Petrov?
Just one point to add to villajoe's possitive comments about Sidwell...he has missed numerous good chances to score, but isn't the positive thing that he is getting himself in the position to score them in the first place? Hopefully once he starts scoring, the goals will come freely.
Oh well, better try and keep AA happy.
I felt your comment about it all going wrong since we switched to 4-5-1 was a bit ridiculas. We have been playing 4-5-1 for a number of reasons. Carew has been out 'injured'. Marlene is struggling. Fonz is not yet ready. We are trying to draw teams onto us and hit them on the break with fast, decisive football. It has been working reasonably well over the last few games, we've managed to pick up the odd point despite the shortage of strikers.
Oh yeah and it's been the most positive spell in Villa's footballing history for a long, long time.
In short the idea that 4-5-1 has been a failure is total madness.
It may well be that with Heskey now on the payroll 4-4-2 will suit us much better in some situations, but I'd be surprised if we abandoned the 4-5-1 altogether.
Is that better AA? Or was I too wordy?
Much better my little pal
Reply to Aero-4-Villa:
its awesome that players are seeing the present and 'future' of villa under mon and are wanting to come to us.this lad would be an excellent buy and hopefully we get him.its imperative we get in the top 4 and put villa back where we truly belong at the top of the english game
as for our trip to pompey i think there in disarray which is sad for they were so good last year-i think well win 3-1-heskey will be excellent for us hes a footballers football player very smart
Been reading for a couple of weeks, but felt I should post something about the people like Nawasafan. You really seem to think you are something. Clearly from your posts you have never been or very rarely been to a football match. You appear to have a view on things like you can tell everyone how to do things, but you have never really done or experienced these things yourself. Are you a college lecturer?
I read on a rival blog that Harry Rednapp is to make a bid for a Villa player in the next 24 hours. It was going to give the info in the morning. I presume it's going to be Shorey?
When does any player who has recently signed immediately start? We're going to start the game with a 4-5-1 and Heskey will be subbed in, either for gabby leaving the formation or for a midfielder to go 4-4-2. Don't expect anyone to be instantly dropped from a starting roll.
Nan explained it well, but I would put it like this. 4-5-1 worked wonderfully vs. ManU, Arsenal and Everton and ofted away from home because we knew those teams would come at us. 4-5-1 hasn't worked against some lesser teams at home and in particular away at Hull, West Ham and Sunderland(though we won) because those teams figured out that they can sit back and nullify our counter-attacking threat as a result. 4-5-1 isn't a failure but isn't the formation we should be going with against the mid-table and bottom half sides. I hope you are wrong Damian that we will be going back to 4-4-2 for quite awhile (exceptions being the Big 4 I hope). You look at all the goals we scored last year (especially against sides below us in the table) and that's because we had Carew and Gabby going great guns up front along with production in the midfield.
Prediction time. All I wanted was for Tony Adams to be in the job when Villa came to Fratton Park and he is. I know its tough not to have Young, but I think Heskey is going to play real well and we might see a Gabby Agbonlahor hat trick, 4-1 to the Villa which will mean 6 consecutive away wins (and when's the last time Aston Villa did that)!
. Zidave Wrote: | 02.05GMT | Jan 26, 2009
When does any player who has recently signed immediately start? We're going to start the game with a 4-5-1 and Heskey will be subbed in, either for gabby leaving the formation or for a midfielder to go 4-4-2. Don't expect anyone to be instantly dropped from a starting roll.
Spot on
Sky Sports say Luke Young back and Heskey to play. With no Ashley this is the perfect time to get match time playing 4-4-2. If we can be comfortable playing 2 ways we'll have a much better chance in those games where our current system fails to make an impact.
Get Carlos the thug to bully Crouch and concentrate down our right flank with Jimmy to take thier best player out (Johnson at right-back) and we should have no troubles dispatching Pompey!
I'm not sure how true this is but i read on news now this morning we're after sturridge and johnson of Man Shitty, Then something caught my eye saying that we've got got a french U-21 on trial from Marseille, His name is Elliot Grandin. Can anyone else confirm this?
Pompey have just signed a couple of players - Mullins and Pele. Might give them a lift but I can't see a 68 year old getting the better of Davies, no matter how many world cups he's won!
I still think that villa could do with byeing a couple more player's, a left back and a attacking middfield player, there is a left sided player that plays for CSKA Moscow called Yuri Zhircov that looks good, he can play as a left back or a left winger and the game's i've watched him play he's been very good, someone like him would be a really good singing for villa cos he would provide cover for A Young and W Bouma killing too birds with one stone
VILLA 4 LIFE
Reply to nowinlondonvillan:
Bit harsh on Nan? He tends to just say he thinks MON rather than him knows best?
Still, takes all sorts.
Please let it be Shorey - swap deal for Bale who I really like even if he looks like a monkey and has still not won a game he has started with Spuds
Reply to villa_biker:
that's alright, still tough but winnable - couldn't see us getting past Man U
Nowinlondonvillan
Apologies if I offend you. I talk a lot of football shite like most on here. I rarely claim I am right and others are wrong. I simply try to persuade people to agree with me (as most people on here do). I enjoy the 'sport' of the debate.
Do you find educators offensive?
Reply to villa_biker:
when did Heskey play for Pompey?