When the game started, I wondered what was going on, as it became immediately apparent that the three centre backs were pretty much holding each other’s hands, while the wingbacks seemed to take their normal positions.
Even though we’re normally quite narrow for the most part, it was just something that immediately hit me and something I’d never noticed before.
I don’t profess to be a master tactician and I don’t really study our positioning etc, but it seemed that as the game went on it was a specific tactic in going out of our way in stopping the Man City attack coming straight down the middle, something they always do to great effect.
I’d appreciate your comments on that, if indeed there’s anything to talk about there, but to me, it just seemed different. Something that seemed at odds with the way Lambert normally sets us up.
Back to my usual generalities then and didn’t we look poor for the first twenty minutes or so?
It was totally backs to the wall stuff and I believe possession at one stage was down to 22 or 23%.
Exactly what I didn’t want to see from a side that had nothing to lose.
But, even though City had chances, the defence held out and then around the 30-40 minute period, we actually had the audacity to outplay the Champions-elect on their own turf.
“I knew we should have gone at them” I was saying to myself.
But City’s class brought them back into it and both teams went in 0-0 at half time.
What was pretty much a siege continued and it was pretty obvious we’d concede eventually.
When we did, our heads dropped somewhat, as you’d expect.
But the lads didn’t give up and indeed came back with some play of their own.
A few minutes later, it was 2-0 and then with the pressure off City, there was only way things were going to go.
Not that we deserved to lose 4-0, after holding out so well for an hour.
The gulf in class was there for all to see tonight.
But do you know something?
I was actually proud of that performance.
Ok, it wasn’t the out and out entertainment I wanted, but I felt they tried their hearts out and you can’t ask more than that.
At least we didn’t totally roll over from the off (McLeish anybody?) and we put up a fight, that earned a ten out of ten award for effort from me.
But then, I’m not totally happy.
I don’t want to see a Villa team play like that.
It’s just that we aren’t good enough to have realistically done anything different, are we?
Let’s hope that changes next season.
A very good defensive display up until the first goal. Disappointed that we were not more adventurous though. Would have liked to seen Robinson and Grealish given more game time…..
Good defensive play we had ten men behind the ball and lost 4.0 ffs. And we did play hull on sat!!
Correction x 2. You said ‘AT Hull’ on Sat….and I said ‘we defended well up until the first goal’…….FFS, pay attention! 🙂
I’m alittle confused reading your report.
We did lose 4-0 didn’t we?
We did fail to have a single effort on target didn’t we?
We did set up 5-4-1 didn’t we?
That was shocking, so negative it beggers belief.
To think some fans think that was acceptable just because it wasn’t McLeish.
Well let me say this. Paul Lambert is a total disgrace and the players that represent the club are simply not good enough.
Another stuffing on Sunday and then we await Lerner’s statement with baited breath.
With you on that Nath.
billy McNeil be told thats not me he talks way to much sense 4 me
Yep your right, slightly different mojo, must go and get them peepers of mine looked at. Thought you had come around to agreeing Nath. Silly me.
We have a manager who blindly sets up his team in the same fashion over and over again even when it’s a losing formula. Don’t you think tonight would be the game to just say fuck it, let’s try something crazy, especially when you consider that we are safe. Surely if there is a time to change it up completely, try something new, go mental, put Guzan outfield, get the team playing like they don’t care, it’s tonight.It’s not like we’re gonna beat man city anyway is it now unless we fluke it like last time. I cannot wait for Lambert to leave our club, and the yank can fuck off with too
Careful Langford, disagree to much with the owners and the tend to ban you, especially when you prove them wrong edit
Actually that’s not true.
We only ban people who don’t discuss the subject and just come on slag us off.
Just like you just have.
Debate the points being made and you won’t have a problem.
We’re big enough to hear criticism of what we say, but we expect it to be in a polite(ish) and more importantly reasoned way.
Carry on posting the way you have above and you won’t last long.
It just adds nothing to the debate and wastes our time.
4goals conceded in 4 of last eight games and we are supposedly getting better,the sooner lamberts gone and get manager come in and do what big ron did clear out all the rubbish andstart with new deck.
Aston Villa needs a breath of fresh air and no change in manager is gonna do that. Its Randy that needs to go. All well and good blaming Lambert and by god he has his faults but Randy has set the tone with spending. It wouldn’t matter what manager we had with this squad at most they would have got possibly ten more points say. What use is that. We will still moan and rightly so. Wages is the key. Lambert bought in players that was in the wage bracket set by Randy Lerner. I dont think any manager could have done much better and if I’m right we had two possible candidates turned down the challenge. For that reason alone I have respect for Lambert. He took on the challenge when others didnt. On this basis I think getting rid if Lerner is more of a priority than Lambert. Randy, you have done good for the club in many ways but not the one that counts most to the fans….. a team to be proud of. LERNER OUT THEN SEE WHAT HAPPENS .
lerner has spent almost 90 million in last 4 years not including ireland. he just kept picking wrong manager
Yeah, I’m making no excuses for Lerner. But surely we could have assembled a team with up and coming/decent championship players, rather than league 1/2 and French second division at the start of the season and still saved on wages.
Scott Dann, Jordan Rhodes, Liam Bridcutt, Troy Deeney, Aaron Cresswell to name a few. Not exceptional players, but definitely better than what we have and a step in the right direction. Some of those mentioned did move in the Jan transfer window and coped well.
The young, hungry, cheap wasn’t a bad strategy, just don’t understand why we scoured around the lesser leagues and towards bottom of the football league pyramid. They need to be better than our academy players otherwise there isn’t much point.
Lambert has to go. We should just get rid now that we arw safe. Let Cowans and Given do the last game. Give Robinson and Grealish starts and give the fans something to look forward to next season. If Lamberk stays it will be another park the bus job with 5 at the back and hoping we dont concede 4 again.
It was pouring with rain in Manchester – a city deliberately built where it rains most often to stop the cotton from snapping. So added to the fact that we were giving away 70% possession and 70% territory we accept the risk of a slippery error. That roughly accounts for the first goal when the centre to Dzeko was not blocked. Apart from a bad decision to kick rather than catch a ball coming straight at his shins – it surely accounts for Guzan’s two footed scoop for the second goal which moved the ball only a yard.
Mistakes were going to happen in those conditions and Villa did really well to make so few while parking the bus, but if we had adopted the opposite tactic of hoofing the ball into their half and running it down – some of the errors might have happened near their goal not ours.
Like you I thought that – Bowery apart – we really put in a shift. My disappointment was in the tactics and the negative choice of starting line up – the attacking subs only appeared once the game was lost.
Must admit, Brad doesn’t fill me with confidence. His is obviously a very American style of goalkeeping. A bit like Sylvester Stallone in Escape to Victory!
It does amaze me how only Lambert who can keep an actual back 5 (most teams usually put their wing backs a bit higher up), keeping 3 midfielders as far back as possible and dropping Bowery back most of the time, essentially keeping 10 in the box for the majority, can concede 4. I don’t even think McLeish could pull it off.
Its quiet simple really Villa playing like they did was inevitable, all City had to do is bide their time, 3 goals came from the left back position and may I add on the substitution, the fourth straight down the middle, to me ,and what do I know about football, you can get rid of the midfield, plus all the defence except Vlaar, the likes of Delf, and that other none creative prats called midfielders can go with them, Lambert went with a plan let’s get a draw and if we hit them with a quick attack we will win, that’s our manager, any twat can try that, and you want to keep him, it must be April the first every day we play.
Agree but vlaar responsible got first goal switched of to let djeko get in front. The last 10 games he has played poorly before that he played well but gone back to last seasons form
isn’t he on his way to manchester Utd. !!!!
hope so he wont last long there trust me
Oohah did you watch the game? I’m seeing it again Vlaar is under pressure every game he play’s he cleared ball after ball, even commentator commended him, don’t knock a player for failing when he has fucking twats playing in the team, blaim the idiot that runs the club. If I was Vlaar I’d want away from players fucking up football like we have.
true but he was playing really well with the same players up to the chelsea game. since that game he has switched of again before that he was ok
Gotta agree Bill… Vlaar nor any of our defenders should be under as much pressure as they are every single game. It’s an utter joke.
Lambert is even shit at parking the bus.
There’s no sugar coating it we lost 4-0 outplayed by a far superior team. Lerner fuck off Lambert fuck off.
I wasn’t proud, as it should, on any other day been 7 or 8 nil… Felt sorry for the lads they looked like lambs to the slaughter…. We had nothing to lose we should have had a go from the off, City would not known what to have done…. but on a soaking wet night when mistakes are always made we decided to play most of the game in our penalty area. Shit Manager, shit owner and shittier CEO.
A disgrace. In a game that held no importance for us we parked the bus. There was no effort to entertain or try to win.
It was pure numbers that kept man city out for so long not good defending. How many times did they have the overlap on Bertran.
Sadly if you look at the stats they are not dissimilar to a lot of our games this season in terms of possession, action areas and shots both on and off target.
I think Lamberts sole plan for last night was not to get stuffed and he failed.
I would rather he blood one or two of the younger players and lost 6 – 0 than watch that pile of junk.
Where was Albrighton – was he dropped for attempting to go forward in previous games.
Lambert in my opinion isn’t up to it. The sad thing is because it is obvious Lerner and Faulkner have no footballing knowledge Lambert can pull the wool over their eyes with his 5 year plan and injury excuses. The fact is if you go down the young hungry long term route you need to be showing progress year on year and this year in terms of watchable football is a lot worse than last.
We have been very lucky with several fluky wins this season and deserve to have gone down. Fulham did the double on us.
Lambert out.
I agree Steve where was the harm in giving the Youngblood a blow out.
Villa parked the 97 fuckin disgrace nothing to lose Lambert flapped it damage limitation.Should of gone for it instead we were always on the back foot.Change or die AVFC
Lambert has come out and said keeping us in the premier league this year is his best ever footballing achievement.
So let me get this right.
Being worse than last year is his best achievement. Isn’t that a contradiction.
Lambert out.
you couldnt make it up the guy is an embarrasment
Roll on Sunday, when the L plates are taken off Villa’s bus.. The driver has failed the test, but it is no longer Lerners.
I have the game on now, Bacuna is and was at fault in that left back position, he is weak all 3 goals ,the last third goal standing just watching other players , with Tores goal hadn’t a clue how to tackle him. I’m now seeing how bad that player is, of course with many more of our team, Sunderland’s game shows me how they have improved under a manager that understands football.
HI ALL JUST PUT NEW POST UP
the entire squad is filled with rubbish,only ones to keep for next year,guzan vlar lowton bacuna benteke wieman delph loan out helnius tonev to xmas,the rest can go need a lb 2cb am dm a winger to go straight in to team
way to optimism on ere for me, one more game and i will be glad 2 leave the site for my hols
but before i leave, i am starting to agree with lambert out mob, call it being brainwashed but i agree its all lamberts fault, look i bet if we got another manager, whoever it maybe,he wouldn’t need a penny over the 20 million lambert spends per season and wage budgets is really spot on ~ no sarcasm i really believe this
the game was not nice 2 watch with a villa heart, but the team battled and the game was always gonna end, the minute city scored. my mates pointed out the team sheets were miles apart read down the transfer of the city man and compare this 2 the villa line up and worse was the bench,
Bloody hell Nath I hadn’t got down to this post and said the very same thing, welcome to the real world Nath , and I’m off soon on my hols, have a nice one .