I feel really sorry for Sunderland’s fans.
Why?
Because that was the most inept and gutless performance against us that I can recall for a very long time.
And we thought we were in trouble, with the manager having to go, just a few weeks ago?
I’ll be very surprised if Gus Poyet hasn’t resigned by monday, as it was obvious to me that the players just don’t want to do it for him.
Still, it takes two teams to make a match and I’m not going to dwell on Sunderland’s woes, as we’ve had our fair share of the same, for far too long.
We did all that was required of us, in that we battled and won the balls where and when it mattered.
Bacuna and N’zogbia ran riot over Sunderland’s midfield, with Delph and even Cleverley just being far too good for the opposition today.
Frankly, that wasn’t difficult. When you see even Benteke getting time on the ball to play passes, you just know there’s something wrong.
The goals came so thick and fast that I can hardly remember them all.
1) Bacuna played a lovely ball in for benteke to sidefoot it home.
2) John O’Shea misjudged a long ball. Gabby got in behind him and cooly put it beyond Pantillimon. I’ll just call him Pants, because that’s what he was, today.
3) the ball comes in from the right and Gabby just drifts around two defenders who really didn’t seem to care, to fire home again.
4) Probably the most embarrassing of all. Bacuna floats one in and Benteke heads home so casually, it was frankly a joke.
4-0 up at half time then and the home fans had started to stream out before the interval.
The traditional season ticket and a scarf were thrown at the Sunderland bench and I just felt sorry.
Even worse, the fans booed the home side when they came back on. Which was just sad.
Fans of any club shouldn’t have to undergo what we saw today, in my opinion.
And just as you’d expect, we took our foot totally off the gas, which quite disappointed me, as I felt there were easily more goals to come.
Still, while it would have been nice to improve our goal difference further, there really was no need to kill ourselves. We’d done the job.
Although Sunderland did have a couple of chances.
The icing on the cake?
Hepburn-Murphy getting 10 minutes on the pitch.
What was Lambert thinking?
Oh, I nearly forgot.
Lambert wasn’t managing us was he?
And didn’t it show?
The Tim Sherwood show goes on and I’m loving it.
Dare I mention Europa league?
What a breath of fresh air to turn on the box & watch MOTD now instead of cringing when it’s time to view the VILLA match,also to hear positive & complimentry remarks from the pundits all good imo.we’re over the nightmare now it’s now the dawn of a new chapter at the VILLA.UTV
Last post I said we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves with some predicting a 4-0, a 4-1 score etc.
So pleased to be proved wrong!
There is still a lot to do as some have pointed out, but its the resluts that matter at this time of the season. And hell, it ONE MILLION times better than under Lamberk. A win over Swansea next would be great and bring us to 31pts with safety in touching distance.
UTV.
Nice to wake up with a smile on your face isn’t it?
MOTD yesterday – Villa first game on – TS interviewed in person by Lineker – 4 goals away from home – doesn’t come much better than that.
As I’ve now got the scores for the last two games spot on (pure luck of course) I’m going to look in my crystal ball and I see a 3-1 win for the Villa. Swansea aren’t a bad side so I’ve let them have a goal.
Looking at the Sky schedule the next live Villa game is away to Man City, quite fancy our chances 😉
I’m in shock, put radio WM on yesterday – we were 4-0 up before half time!
I thought I was in an episode of the twilight zone and I’d found myself in some alternative reality.
UTV!
You are….the alternative to Lambert !!!!!
You have entered a new strange shadowy dimension – Its called Sherwood Goalfest 🙂
THERE IS A FIFTH DIMENSION BEYOND THAT WHICH IS KNOWN TO MAN.
IT IS A DIMENSION AS VAST AS SPACE AND AS TIMELESS AS INFINITY.
IT IS THE MIDDLE GROUND BETWEEN LIGHT AND SHADOW BETWEEN SCIENCE AND SUPERSTITION AND IT LIES BETWEEN THE PIT OF MAN’S FEARS AND THE SUMMIT OF HIS KNOWLEDGE.
THIS IS THE DIMENSION OF IMAGINATION IT IS AN AREA WHICH WE CALL THE SHERWOOD ZONE.
Your not a Jehovist are you BWS? There looking for recruit’s round by me, they got pissed off because I put a give blood sign up. The only space I know is one in the ground.
Hey Bill When a Jehovah’s Witness dies and gets to heaven, does God hide behind the pearly gates and pretend he’s not in?
Bet you’ve never run one down the paths telling them to do one.I’m bared to them.
Well worth a look, good overview of the teams in the relegation mix –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31892314
Quite fancy Burnley to stay up and its probably either Sunderland or Hull to go down with QPR and Leicester. Just have a look at Hull’s fixtures though – really scary (for them I mean).
MATE any fixtures between now & the finale can go either way fuck the form book,VILLA’s remaining fixtures are all winnable imo the same for any struggling team yes I’d prefer our run in to hulls but who knows football’s a funny old game.
Great Result Yesterday and gives plenty of Optimism. Not getting carried away yet and i think the Swansea game will be huge. Looking at our April Fixtures we have Manure, Spuds and City all away – not sure when the QPR fixture will be. Even being optimistic getting many points out of those may prove difficult. May – all winnable games, but if April has been a struggle and the pressure comes back on, it does worry me how we may play and go back into our shells. Pick the points up against Swansea and think we’ll be okay for there. Just can NOT believe Burnley picked a win up yesterday though
Thinking I need to change my name now, the New Regime I so whied for is now inplace and how good it seems to be becomin, i for one was more than sceptical about the TS appointment but the guyh has obviously got something about him, i feel like a villa fan again finally, can a beer and motd for the last two weeks i mean fuck its been a loong time!! All the praise goes out to TS and his staff and lets hope finally steer clear of all this relegation stuff in the next few weeks and actually push on with a proper vision in place for our club, were actually trying to football, see that pass for the first goal yesterday fromcleverly to zogs, it was bloody forward, actually really properly forwards!!
In other news there some rumours knockin about that RL is in talks with a party who cant be named for legal reasons about selling the club, anyone know anything else about this?
What a couple of weeks it has been, welcome back my good old football club
UTV
YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS WHAT A RESULT and lewis winning the grand prix wooo.Have a good sunday bloggers wwwooooo.
what a great result for villa!
4-0 great score. Villa losing 8 games and making up for it by winning 4-0 against sunderland and was 17th in the table and now coming 16th on an amazing game for villa! I say well played for villa and hard luck for sunderland.
villa were amazing in that game it was a great game all the Sunderland fans left before the first half even ended I cant believe it great score 100% and had a great win gabriel and christian scored all the goals only them two it was: benteke,gabi,gabi,benteke sunderland were very unlucky I say well done villa!!!!!!
Are you related to Big Badger????
I waited to hear Tim’s comments yesterday and it proved instructive. He said he arrived to find a team of players not really equipped mentally to play possession football, with not enough fit defenders to soak up pressure. So he adopted tactics to play to the team’s strengths and disguise the weaknesses. A complete contrast to Lambert who sought to change the players’ natural style of play.
The strengths of the team are the speed at which we can attack if the keeper, defenders and midfield will only seek to exploit it when they win a tackle at the back. An aspect of this is we are good a shooting with a good sight of goal, not good at trying to hit the ball round a defender three feet away.
The weaknesses are still many.
Sitting back on a 1 goal lead and hoping not to give the oppos a shooting chance. This was something we emphatically scotched from the routine at S o Fright, but a glimpse of it occurred in the second half with Guzan getting in a flap and nowhere near Fletcher shot that hit the post. Mind you – we were missing all the first choice back line by then.
Corners at both ends are still a weakness, we do not have enough good hearers of the ball, and when it comes to delivery only Bacuna sends in a good corner kick, and even he may not know exactly where he will put it.
Second half fade. Not tested this week because we did not need to get anything from the second half after that blistering first period.
Gil was bought as a lock-picker for a team that builds patiently, and so finds 8 defenders in position when it is attacking. He may not have the legs or the lungs to contribute to a game like yesterday’s but it will be the case that he is needed as a sub when we need to change the result in the closing minutes.
OLL, you make some very good points.
I find myself wondering how we’ll do against the better teams, fwiw, but it doesn’t matter, as our big weakness was in not beating the teams around us.
Now it seems we can at least compete with, if not beat them.
I believe our defence is dodgy to say the least, but Sherwood has indeed disguised this by making us go on the front foot and playing to our advantages.
That’s what did it for me with Lambert.
He wasn’t using us to our best.
I was going to slate Guzan in the headline post, as I think his footwork and clearances are just abysmal.
He always looks like he’s flapping and rushed, doesn’t inspire any confidence and needs loads of training in this area, imo.
Sunderland’s biggest mistake was not countering the threat we produced down our right hand side, but I’m not sure if that was down to Poyet or just the lack of ability in that area?
reader headers not hearers
Commenting
Hah. Damn mobile eagerness.
I was thinking about an earlier post about who TS has inspired. And then thought about the polarization of players at Tottenham. Who do you think he’s NOT inspired? Vlaar?
I don’t know about Vlaar, but I’ll bet Gil isn’t impressed.
I’ve read the reasoning, but still don’t understand it, tbh.
If you were Gil (who I believe has done pretty well and he’s probably thinking the same), what would you think about a 16YO coming on before you?
It’s a tricky thing keeping players happy and I wouldn’t want the job, as you’re guaranteed to upset someone.
I do get it. It sounds like although TS uses attack as the best form of defence, we need players who can defend, and maybe Gill isn’t that player and is a luxury we can’t quite afford this season. Next for sure! 🙂
I’m confused by your reply, Bum Bum.
You either want players who attack, as our best form of defence, or you want players who can defend.
Either way, I can’t see how a 16YO kid is going to be a better defender???
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the fact that Sherwood brought him on.
But when you’re 4-0 up, this was definitely a game where I’d have given Gil a bit of backing and said ” go and do something”.
It definitely seems Sherwood has something against Gil, imo.
I’m also baffled as N’Zogbia and Sinclair don’t defend, especially the former. Gil actually gets back there, no he’s not good at it, but he actually does try. Just have to watch the Chelsea game where Hazard destroys him each time, Hutton often out of position and Gil having to cover. first one that came to mind but Sinclair nor N’Zogbia are going to defend.
I can see bringing on a 16 year old because we are 4-0 up, but why Sanchez or Weimann? They know they’re going to play, Gil doesn’t, or shouldn’t at this rate.
Actually Andrew, I disagree. I watched the whole of yesterday’s game and one of the things that impressed me was the tracking back of NZog and Sinclair. They both defended when they had too and then got up the pitch to attack – I suspect that would be alien to Gil. Once we are out of the mire I think Gil will come into his own (might find he is a big player in the FA Cup)
I watched the whole game too, and past games in which Gil got back to defend.
I see yr point. We didn’t need Gil though at four up did we? Just worth blooding a youngster. When other youth team players see that happening they’ll bust a gut to make the next step up. I’m saying we have the next Harry Kane, but you never know. If Gill is left out for the first six games of next season, then you’ll be right about him peeing off the boss.
Personally couldn’t give a toss who is left on the bench as long as we’re winning they can get over it.its a team game & they should be pleased with the lads whoever’s playing.
But why would you want to stay at a Club you’re not playing at, Giddy? Watching your team win can be enjoyable, but he’s not a Villa fan, he’s at Villa for a job, and that’s to play.
BUM BUM, but why does Sanchez and Weimann get to come on, and Gil can’t? Sanchez and Weimann know they’re going to play in the future, Gil seemingly probably hasn’t a clue. He’s the only one Sherwood’s said has to improve before he gets back in the team, and overall he was one of our better players under Lambert since January.
Obviously Sherwood sees something day in day out with Gil he’s not over struck about,just because he’s probably the fans choice we don’t pick em.so as for not being picked I haven’t heard given complaining about being dropped after his performances in the cup have you?? maybe Gil thinks he’s better than a bench warmer then just get on with proving himself to the gaffer.
Interesting as gill has been great for us. I’m thinking that Sherwood dosnt think he can last 90 minutes
He probably thinks that about most of the squad,maybe he’s upping the fitness levels & Gil appears to be lagging behind obviously Sherwood knows what he’s doing.
Why would Given expect to start though, Guzan’s been our number 1 all season. In fact Guzan’s been our number 1 for going on his 3rd season now. So if Given was going to complain, he’d have started a while ago.
Gil has every reason to complain, he comes in expecting to play, and is dropped by Sherwood for what reason? A few bad corners that not a single player we currently have are good at? Same thing with Sanchez. 1 bad game in which he was the only player putting passes forward and he’s dropped?
That’s interesting Oohah which is odd because as he not playing 90 minutes under Lambert? 359 minutes in 5 games total, 31 in his debut v Liverpool, 90 minutes against Arsenal, Chelsea, Hull, 58 minutes against Stoke and that’s it. All of a sudden he can’t even get a sub appearance in the league for the last 3 games. Unless he doesn’t think he can’t keep up with the pace, which he definitely can, there’s no reason why for 3 League Games he can’t come on as a sub for at least 30 minutes.
My god Andrew you’ve answered it yourself he played under our predecessor but not Sherwood timbo didn’t buy him so again maybe he don’t rate him simples
Ps I didn’t realise it was part of his job description included YOU MUST PICK CARLES GIL EVERY GAME WHEN FIT.
Change pick to PLAY
No one has even said he has to be picked every game. However the question I had was why the hell is he not playing, when he was one of our only inspired players, and he was singled out as having to work to get into the team? Hell he played for the U-21’s today, that’s embarrassing.
NZOG gabby cleverly all performing now didn’t before Gil performed before but don’t now on we don’t know what goes on in training unless you have inside knowledge I’m not going on about this anymore maybe have this discussion when start losing.
Gabby Abonglahor and Christian Benteke both shared goals in the first half Gabby Abonglahor doing a sprint over to the goal and scored. The player passing to Benteke was great to set up Benteke’s goal he was sprinting like Gabby and had a shot … in! Christian Benteke and Gabby sharing all 4 goals 2 each and scoring them all in the first half! I’m very proud of Christian Benteke and Gabby Abonglahor making villa make the win and making Villa take the win happily and making up after losing 8 games! So other than Gabby Abonglahor and Christian Benteke I’m proud of the whole team for taking the win. Well done villa! YESSSSSS!!!!!
Well written kidda glad you enjoyed the game keep the faith up the Villa
could not have said it better myself!
Villa 4-0 very good sunderland were unlucky for how amazing Villa played it was brilliant good game WOW! its been good in the FA weve won all our games in the FA knocked WBA out of the FA how amazing (got to semi final so far) we could win the FA or not we might even play Liverpool.
As you might have guessed, the previous comments by Badgergrandkid A and B are by the lads, who wanted to post their opinions.
It’s all their own words, unedited.
7 YO twins, so forgive any repetitiveness or inaccuracies.
Shows they’re indoctrinated already 🙂
MATE I thought someone was taking the piss using a mobile connector LOL fairplay 😀
Nice to see the grand kids having a say. We took two of ours (7 and 6) to the QF and they had a great time in the Lower Holte. I was 11, first time I Went to VP – can’t start them too young.
Sherwood has addressed what we all saw as the problem. negative football. Does anyone on here think that, under Lambert, we would have gone to Sunderland looking to blow them away? We would have tried to contain and control the game, handing them the initiative. The would have scored and we would have been screwed.
The downside of committing men forward when we attack, is the vulnerability to teams breaking on us. That means players need to work hard to at least ensure we aren’t outnumbered. That means fitness and commitment. Sherwood has got the team to buy into that.
We are a long way from where we need to be, but I would rather lose trying to win, than roll over or just try to defend a 0-0.
I like us having a go, and so do most fans. How could Lambert not see this? I watched a documentary on Glen Hoddle tonight. It featured Keith Burkinshawe talking about wanting an attacking, inventive team as that what the fans wanted. Lambert knew what we wanted, and in spite of that retreated into as defensive way of thinking. The ultimate sacking was inevitable. That begs the question, “why”? How could he not see that? Same with McLeish. At least fail trying to deliver what the fans want. If you go against that, you need to produce fantastic results.
It’s irrelevant now, but it really puzzles me how they (Lambert and Mcleish)could get so disconnected from the fans wishes.
Just a comment on your last point: it seems to me that most people in football these days are pretty-well in a ‘bubble’ most of the time; there is little connection with fans at any time.
If you go back 30+ years it was fairly common for managers and/or players to meet fans every now and then at club forums – remember the ones that Tony Butler used to do in his first stint at BRMB?
Today these guys are completely isolated from the fans at all times, only attending carefully managed press conferences, where even the slightest difficult question is ignored, or the questioner banned. I don’t imagine any of them reading stuff on fan-sites like this one , either.
It’s been quite refreshing to see Sherwood indulge in some banter with fans at VP so far – I think back to MON [just as a contrast] who didn’t ever seem to even notice the fans when the ground was full.