Snow joke at Villa Park
Sorry, obvious title, used many times the past few hours and totally sums up how I feel today.
Snowy Villa Park
We was robbed, to use an old saying, for 90 minutes, given the conditions and negative position of Liverpool I thought we did really well but the luck deserted us, none more so when Downing only had to be an inch wider to score. Then Torres who had done nothing all game, the defence had played well, took advantage of a Dunne slipped that fell perfectly to him to produce a world class finish that Gabby a few minutes earlier in the same position had failed to do.
What we have seen the past few days is the quality needed to challenge for the top 4, we can compete with the top sides but we just lack the final quality to seal the games and in tight games to take the few chances that are on offer.
At this point I will comment on John Carew, last night certainly around myself in the Lower Holte the love affair is over. I thought he had a very poor game (disagreed with mates in the pub afterwards !) and the effort is simply not there and nor is the first touch to control the ball. This is now a position we need to strengthen and if we get the right player in over the next 4 weeks there is no reason we can not finish top 4.
The last two games are a setback not a disaster for our ambitions. Some fans have now pressed the panic button far too early !
Snow will not stop a win against Liverpool
If the weather is not too bad tomorrow then we will have a very interesting game. Against Arsenal, there was a problem with our creativity and a couple of players looked like needing a rest, Downing in particular but with Young out they may prove to be difficult.
Martin O’Neil has to prove he can rotate the team and still get results because a defeat tomorrow will prove to be the catalyst for a lot of fans to fear a repeat of last season’s fade out. With Young definitely out then we presume Milner will revert to the right but neither NRC or Sidwell can provide the creativity we will miss from him, so is it an impossibility that Albrighton could start ?
Liverpool will come to Villa Park, knowing a win is vital for them to retain serious hopes of a top 4 position but it is unlikely that both Torres and Aquilani will both play and their reserves are clearly not good enough for a ‘proper’ Liverpool team. Therefore a win is more than possible, a win in fact is what we should expect but our record is so poor at home to them, there is understandable anxiety over the game.
A win tomorrow will ease the fears and once again raise the hopes of what is at times a fickle ad negative crowd if one game goes badly.
As a Villa fan I am well used to that !
Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 3 – What a result
Well what can you say about that
We were in our worse ever run I can remember, we seemed to be self imploding amongst ourselves and the fans and yet produce THAT performance
This will do immense good to our confidence and self belief and hopefully shut up some of the moaners and whingers who had started to dominate the support.
We can not under play just how brillaint that result was and at times the performance especially in the last 30 minutes of the first half as we stemmed the Liverpool expected storm.
The basic stats of the game was simple we were outplayed in many ways but the defence led by Friedel was immense and the midfield resolute and strong and Gabby ran his heart out for the club and cause. The man thought to take all the credit was NRC, he was immense with his pace and power and nearly scored a great breakaway goal whch he throughly deserved.
The win was a testament to the way we play in a 4-5-1 and now MON must realise this is the way to go and now go forward and stengthen where we desperatly need it the result tonight makes that task so much easier.
I am proud to be a Villan tonight.
Liverpool preview and 8 days to go
Well just over 8 days to go until the transfer window closes and whilst it appears we are close to signing up Warnock, even I am a little worried at the centre back issue. I don’t think any Villa fan can quite understand why we sold Knight with no immediate replacement and then we see Davies really struggle with his shoulder injury with no reason why he did not have it operated on at the end of May.
So we come to tomorrow’s game at Liverpool with Davies very unlikely to play, team morale at apparently rock bottom and a large number of unresolved issues in the team formation and style. Never mind the uncertainty over the future of John Carew (toe and a virus in a week, really ?) and of course Nicky Shorey.
Can I really take any guess over the team and the formation we will play, frankly I have no fecking idea what MON will do, I just hope if Davies is injured we keep Beye at RB and play a proper centreback which of course is Clark.
In midfield I hope that NRC plays with Sidwell and Petrov and I hope that Young is allowed free to roam with Carew (despite great reservations over him) up front and if not Carew then Gabby.
This game will not decide MO’s future we all expect a defeat and in some quarters a heavy one but the standard of performance is vital we have to see an improvement for morale sakes alone.
This is MON’s toughest ever period in management I back him to come through it but the decline has to be stopped tomorrow in the performance and any result is a bonus.
Recent Comments