In What Year Will This Downward Spiral End? - Notes for Aston Villa Friday, 10th Feb 2017 10:48 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday’s game at Villa Park by delving into their forums. “The season is over, I’m afraid”, “This January has been bloody awful”, “We are bottom of the form table now”, “Can we forget this fantasy nonsense of promotion? No chance. I will settle for staying in this division because despite spraying money all over the league, we look completely toothless.” Villa head into Saturday’s match on the same points tally as us, but a seven-game winless run stretching back to Boxing Day has killed promotion hopes for this season. Poor tactics, careless defending and a needless red card in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Forest typified a campaign which has angered many fans. “Honestly, we’re our own worst enemies”, “As disjointed a rabble of footballers as I have ever seen”, “I’m bored watching a team with no intensity, no cohesion and no leadership”, “I give up, I really do. We are eight points off the relegation places. I suggest that’s the end of the table we should watch.” “As time goes on, it feels more and more like we are the new Leeds or Sheffield Wednesday”, “Don’t for one minute think next season will be easier. The three sides coming down will be stronger than us and they will have more parachute money. If we don’t go up next season, then heaven help us.” “I don’t have an answer, I wish to God I had, but I am just so sick of this relentless rubbish week in, week out”, “It seems our honeymoon with Steve Bruce is well and truly over. Recent results and performances have been scarily reminiscent of Roberto Di Matteo’s failed managerial tenure.” Steve Bruce“Mr Bruce, the spotlight is on you, your players, your style and your team. Make it work or go”, “He has had no impact”, “I hope he throws off the shackles and has a go now the season is over. One of the best squads in the league and he sets us up negatively with less than a third of possession.”  “I am indifferent as to whether we stick or twist with Bruce, nothing seems to change these days. What I am seeing though is that he doesn’t seem to be any less of a chancer than the previous half-dozen managers we have had”, “I have given up trying to understand what he is doing tactically.” The 56-year-old former Birmingham City boss took charge last October after the side made a poor start to the season. Fans have been left perplexed by his cautious approach against often inferior opponents, his habit of playing men out of position and some of his over-defensive substitutions. “I have been with Bruce as he has generally spoken sense and not sugar-coated anything, However, I am losing faith after another inept performance with players out of position”, “He allows opponents to control the ball and has a defensive mindset”, “He is being far too conservative for no reason.” “This is going to take time.” Some fans are urging patience given his track record and having just had a first transfer window to reshape the squad. “Bruce has brought in his own players and has a track record for getting teams promoted. Why not see where it goes before having yet more upheaval?” A Great Transfer WindowThe West Midlanders have worked hard to rebuild their squad this January. Keeper Sam Johnstone has arrived from Manchester United on a six-month loan deal along with the permanent additions of left-back Neil Taylor from Swansea and 19-year-old right-back James Bree from Barnsley. “We just bought in three players who like scoring goals.” The main priority has been central midfield where three experienced players have been added, Conor Hourihane from Barnsley, Henri Lansbury from Forest and Birkir Bjarnason from Basel. Striker Scott Hogan has also joined from Brentford.  Jordan Ayew (now Swansea) v Chambers Five first-team squad players have left. Midfielder Aaron Tshibola and striker Ross McCormack are both on loan at Forest, midfielder Ashley Westwood has joined Burnley and strikers Rudy Gestede (to Middlesbrough) and Jordan Ayew (to Swansea) have also left the club permanently. A Switch to Wing-Backs“Everyone and their dog knows how to play Aston Villa, high tempo and press. We cannot deal with it or match it”, “We don’t have a discernible style of play and we make other teams look great”, “We have spent more money than any other club in this two-bob league and still cannot pass the ball.” There is little pattern to the team’s play with so many fresh faces working together. “At present the team selection looks a shambles, methodology and application look loose and there is no shape or fluidity to our play. We do not pass the ball well and we allow teams to dictate the tempo of play.” JohnstoneElphickChesterBakerBreeHourihaneLansburyGrealishBjarnasonHoganKodjia
“We have to stumble across a system that works soon, don’t we?” Bruce has used 4-3-3 this season but switched to wing-backs (above) for Saturday’s Forest game. Fans felt that changing the system and also starting four January signings in midfield plus a new striker was simply too much too soon. “The selection looks wildly unbalanced again”, “You cannot play with all your new toys at the same time.” Henri Lansbury was stationed in a holding role, Bjorn Bjarnason played at left wing-back while left-footed Conor Hourihane was on the right of central midfield, all three out of their best positions. JohnstoneElphickChesterBakerBreeHourihaneGreenBjarnasonGrealish (Sent Off)AdomahBacuna
“Two strikers off, 5-4-0 now”, “None up front now. What on earth is Bruce doing?”, “With no threat up front, Forest will have a 10-minute shooting contest.” The manager withdrew both strikers after Jack Grealish’s dismissal on 79 minutes with the scores level. Forest scored a stoppage time winner. More widely, fans believe that the squad has been left with two weak areas which will need looking at this summer. Sam Johnstone has inspired very little confidence in goal but the bigger concern is the need for a top holding midfielder to take over from the injury-prone and ageing Mile Jedinak. “Jedinak is a big miss in front of the back four. It’s like the parting of the Red Sea every time teams run at us”, “Forest could pass the ball around our centre circle all day we and didn’t have a player within 20 yards of them”, “Get Jedinak in and let Hourihane and Lansbury do their creative stuff.” “For all the captains we have bought, I can’t see one who is a leader for us”, “We start high up the pitch and play brightly for 10 minutes, then slowly collapse backwards towards our own goal and invite the opposition to attack us”, “We drop too deep and allow teams to push us around.” Despite their current problems, most are happy with the overall quality of their squad. “We have the ingredients for success but it may take time to develop”, “We are very much improved on paper but these new signings aren’t going to click on their first appearance”, “We just need time to congeal.” Failing to Press the Opposition“Our total lack of energy is a real concern”, “Why do Villa teams never pressure the other side when they have the ball? We give teams too much time to set a pass and deliver it”, “Were Forest really so threatening that we had to stand off them by a mile?”, “Push up and take the game to them.” “I’m tired of seeing us allow teams to knock it around. We stand off with no pressure on the ball and let teams play themselves into the game. We need to be more intense”, “It is as if we’re waiting for the passage of the game to become favourable to us rather than actively trying to chase the ball down.” Nottingham Forest 2 — 1 Aston Villa“Ladies and Gentlemen, that is how you gift three points”, “The season in a nutshell, summed up in one game”, “We threw a game away that we could easily have won through a terrible goalkeeping error and a daft sending off”, “A joke of a performance. I’m not happy but not remotely surprised.” Jonathan Kodjia put Villa ahead on 19 minutes only for Britt Assombalonga to level on 42, pouncing after Sam Johnstone allowed a routine 25-yard shot to bounce off his chest. The hosts grabbed a late winner from 17-year-old substitute Ben Brereton after Jack Grealish was given a second yellow card. “Aston Villa shoot themselves in the foot, episode 749”, “We knew they would score in the end. We called it 10 minutes before it happened”, “We are mentally fragile. As soon as we concede you can smell the fear from our lot and it becomes a car crash. Just like last season, only a division lower.” Brentford 3 — 0 Aston Villa“An abomination of a performance”, “One of the most disgraceful displays I have ever seen”, “A wet Tuesday night in Brentford. We should have known that in the Championship there would be nights like these”, “I can’t believe that this keeps getting worse”, “The more we spend, the worse we get.” “With all due respect, it’s Brentford.” The hosts took the lead courtesy of a Lasse Vibe chip on 25 minutes after the visitors had made a bright start. The Bees then took complete control of the game, adding a second from Nico Yennaris on 38 before Vibe added a third, firing home just after an hour. “What a nightmare, losing to a mid-table second division team without a shot on target for an entire 90 minutes. We truly are an embarrassment”, “Thrashed by little Brentford. Christ what a nightmare this club is”, “Brentford closed us down all over the pitch and we kept lumping it back to them.” JohnstoneHuttonChesterBakerAmaviHourihaneLansburyBjarnasonAdomahKodjiaGreen
“How can you bring in an entirely new midfield and make it worse?” Brentford nullified the visitors’ midfield trio through a combination of high-intensity pressing and by specifically targeting Henri Lansbury after he had started brightly. “We offered absolutely no opposition in midfield, again.” “What is our style of play? Have we even got one?”, “I’ll tell you what, those idiots need harry the opposition. The amount of space Brentford had on the ball was ridiculous”, “The perfect storm hit us. Brentford can cut any team to pieces on their day and they did”, “We got what we deserved.” Aston Villa 2 — 2 Preston “Still undefeated at home under Bruce, I suppose”, “From completely dominating to drawing 2-2 is awful”, “We need to take a tablespoon of reality medicine. We are a bang-average Championship side. No ifs, buts or maybes, just a run-of-the-mill Championship team”, “That was vintage Villa.” Villa kept their unbeaten home record intact with two Albert Adomah goals, on 22 minutes and then from the penalty spot on 36 after Aiden McGeady was adjudged to have fouled him. One-time Town target Jordan Hugill responded for the Lilywhites with goals on 64 and 76 minutes to draw the game. Goalkeepers and Defenders“Why Sam Johnstone? He is so error prone, instils no confidence and isn’t even our player.” The 23-year-old Manchester United loan signing was on loan at Preston last season. “He is starting to make regular calamitous mistakes”, “He’s a good shot stopper. It’s the rest of his game that is worrying.”  Sam Johnstone“This keeper is most unconvincing”, “Johnstone is hugely suspect”, “I’m not impressed. He looks nervy and other teams can sense it”, “Handling errors, bottling crosses or palming the ball into the middle of the area”, “At times he seems positive but there always seems to be a mistake in him.” “How Alan Hutton is still in the team I will never know.” The 32-year-old former Spurs right-back “is a terrible player who gets away with it by busting a gut so he is ‘showing some passion’. If you watch him he gets caught out of position far too often and he commits to tackles far too easily as well.” “You can never fault Hutton’s effort but his positional sense is absolutely atrocious”, “He doesn’t ever provide something going forward”, “Preston exploited the space left by him when Hugill went on a run to score their first goal”, “I have never seen a defender with such a poor positional sense.” “Leandro Bacuna is best at right-back where he can run up and down and work with the ball in front of him.” The 25-year-old ex-Groningen man “has always tried extremely hard but he is capable of extreme brainlessness”, “He produces one to three moments of really genuine quality per game.” “James Bree looks quite tidy, doesn’t he?” The 19-year-old new arrival from Barnsley made his debut at right wing-back at the City Ground. “He was very composed for a young lad, calm on the ball and he was confident when defending”, “His right foot looked decent but his left was there to stand on.” “Neil Taylor is tidy on the ball. I have never seen him embarrassed or easily beaten when playing for Wales.” The 27-year-old left-back and new arrival from Swansea was unable to make his debut last Saturday through illness. “A solid defender with lots of experience and will be more than capable.” “Taylor has had plenty of good seasons for Swansea in the Premier League so he should be more than comfortable at this level”, “He’s an experienced club and international defender, Workmanlike and solid in defence”, “He will be solid if not spectacular, very much in contrast to Jordan Amavi.” “Jordan Amavi isn’t a defender and would be much better suited to playing as a midfielder.” The 22-year-old former Nice player “is good going forward but awful at times defensively”, “A skilful player but not a left-back. He’s a shockingly poor defender”, “I can see why Bruce wanted a new left-back.”  Grant Ward v Jordan Amavi “Amavi is a player who sums up our season, some good play and some woeful. He needs to improve his decision-making and be on his game for 90 minutes”, “He has no positional sense and bottles out of challenges”, “The panic merchant”, “Amavi’s a flaky lightweight flat-footed tart of a defender.” “Tommy Elphick is dreadful. All that ‘Captain Courageous’ blood-and-thunder stuff is all well and nice but he’s really not a very good player at all.” The 29-year-old ex-Bournemouth centre-half “is an accident waiting to happen”, “The ball seems to be a hot potato for him and his passing is appalling.” “Tommy ‘Cooper’ Elphick cannot be trusted”, “He has a foot like a sheriff’s badge”, “He was shocking against Forest, missing two sitters and looking ropey at the back”, “I’m not sure if he was ever any good as a defender but he has been hopeless for us”, “He’s dreadful, an extremely poor defender.” “James Chester was so out of position for Brentford’s first goal, he might as well have been on the North Pole.” The 28-year-old ex-West Brom centre-back “was absolutely abysmal, running out after a ball like Lassie”, “It was the worst game he has had for Villa, so the whole back four went to pot.” “On his day, Chester is our most mobile defender and sniffs out threats quickly”, “He’s too good for this league”, “A brave player and a consistently calm head”, “His positioning suffers when his form dips. He left his man to go for a cross he had no hope of getting in the build up to Forest’s first goal.” Nathan Baker“Baker is a more solid centre-back option than Elphick and complements Chester quite well.” The 25-year-old youth product was on loan at Bristol City last season. “Heart and soul but a poor footballer, he doesn’t have a pass in him. This is his level and we will need an upgrade when we are promoted.”  “This level suits Baker. He has his limitations but has been dependable so far this season”, “We are so much better at the back with him playing”, “He puts his body on the line”, “Strong in the air and brave in the tackle, he’s cutting out rash challenges but the accuracy of his passing is inconsistent.” Central Midfielders“Jack Grealish has the IQ of a goldfish.” The 21-year-old cannot play in Saturday’s game after picking up two yellow cards at Forest, the first for kicking the ball away. “One of the most frustrating players I have ever seen. You can see the talent but his work off the ball isn’t good enough”, “A show pony.”  Grealish v Chambers“Gary Gardner must be nowhere near the team. Sorry, but he has been dreadful all season.” The 24-year-old youth product has been a peripheral player lately. “Injuries has restricted his mobility but he still wants to get forward and shoot. I worry that he won’t keep his position in the holding role.” “Has anyone ever played five-a-side football with a big strong guy who has never played before but runs around a lot and tries really hard? Birkir Bjarnason really reminds me of that guy.” The 28-year-old Iceland international and new arrival from Basel debuted in a central role against Brentford. “Has the Icelandic bloke not played for a while? Everything was going on around him”, “I couldn’t tell if he was any good with the ball. He was nowhere near it”, “Thor was chasing shadows”, “It’s early days but he looks woeful”, “He needed more training time before being thrown in at Brentford.” “Conor Hourihane’s position is odd. He doesn’t look comfortable there. Maybe Bruce thinks that he’s more likely to score cutting in. It’s not working”, “He has failed to carry the ball once and was forced to clear the ball with his weaker right foot”, “He is a very good freekick taker. His left peg is a wand.”  Conor Hourihane“Early days, but I have not been particularly impressed. He looks like he is wearing diving boots.” The 28-year-old new arrival from Barnsley and former Town man “had a terrible debut at Brentford, anonymous and a rabbit in headlights. Playing a left-footed midfielder on the right beggared belief.” “Despite the criticism that Mile Jedinak is poor on the ball, he is the missing link in the new midfield set-up.” The former Palace holding midfielder “is more important than ever”, “Which sums it up, a 32-year-old whose legs have gone”, “He is a poor passer, but we miss the protection he brings.” “I hope Jedinak is fit for Ipswich as he will let Lansbury and Hourihane do what they are good at, box-to-box and creative”, “He wins the ball and gives it to get things going. He’s guilty of the odd poor pass, but Brentford would not have gone through us like a dose of salts had he been playing.” Henri Lansbury“Lansbury played a wonderful pass early on at Brentford. Then they adjusted their play to close him down and he disappeared from the game.” The 26-year-old new arrival from Forest “is not a holding player”, “Every time he vacated the role, Brentford played someone in to drive at our centre-backs.”  “What a difference he makes further forward. There is movement and purpose to him and it appears infectious”, “He’s head and shoulders above anything we now have. He gets his foot in, sprays fine passes around and seems available for the ball”, “His forward thinking and running will improve us.” Wide Midfielders“Andre Green is very tidy on the ball. He looks confident. His pace can hurt teams.” The 18-year-old youth product “was the only player to come out of the Brentford game with any credit”, “He is very promising and has made more of an impact than someone with his experience could have done.” Albert Adomah“I wonder if Adomah has the speed of thought to accompany his skill”, “He is decent enough and puts the effort in but ultimately lacks any real quality.” The 29-year-old ex-Middlesbrough man “gets is good positions but does little with it”, “He is so wasteful with his crossing, always hitting the man.” “Adomah has so much of the ball with abysmal effect”, “He can beat a man and pull the ball back but every time it hits the defender or is overhit”, “He started the season well but has faded badly”, “He beats his man and finds space near the corner flag but completely messes up his crosses”, “Useless.” Strikers“I already love Scott Hogan. He looks a real goalscorer and looks promising if given the ball.” With Gabriel Agbonlahor out with a hamstring injury, Villa will look to their new arrival from Brentford. The 24-year-old impressed on his debut at Forest. “Those direct runs will be useful on the break.” “I like Hogan, he’s nippy, stocky and he has good movement”, “He reminds me of Dean Saunders in style and work rate”, “The only front player who closes down opponents and harries them properly”, “He is busy, hard-working and has good movement. He will score plenty if Kodjia will pass to him.” Jonathan Kodjia“Bloody hell Kodjia, can’t you pass the ball at least sometimes?” The 27-year-old ex-Bristol City striker “has to be more of a team player”, “He’s selfish, greedy and frustrating but has enough individual ability to win games”, “He needs to remember that there are other players out there with him.”  Kodjia v Youssouf Mulumbu“You watch his goal and wonder how he hasn’t made a career at a higher level. Then the rest of the game makes the case why he hasn’t, he’s work-shy and cowardly”, “He scores a great goal yet never holds the ball up. His work ethic is poor”, “No use as a target man when we are in ‘lump it’ mode.” Villa Fans’ Thoughts on ITFC and the Game“Steve Bruce v Mick McCarthy. Anyone making reference to the beautiful game may find themselves reported to trading standards”, “Bruce v McCarthy can only mean it'll be a turgid 1-1 with both sides trying to have 29 per cent possession”, “I think Ipswich are doing about as badly as us over the last month.” “Somebody is due a good 1-1 draw and I reckon it's Ipswich on Saturday.” With 63 per cent of Villa fans predicting a home win against 16 per cent a Town victory, West Midlanders are approaching the game with cautious optimism. “We’re unbeaten at home still amazingly and that won’t end against Ipswich.” “It’s never easy against a McCarthy side, ugly but can be functional at this level”, “Big Mick McCarthy will set 'em up to frustrate”, “McCarthy will come for the draw and wait for a mistake, that's one thing I'm sure of”, “Ipswich are poor and we seem hell-bent on doing favours for struggling teams.” “From what I have seen of Ipswich and heard from their own fans they are dire. They will park the bus and hope this Tom Lawrence lad can do something which in recent weeks he has. The guy seems to score a stunning goal every week”, “I can see this being a draw as Lawrence is on fire for them.”  Lawrence v Villa“Ipswich are a one-man team, keep Lawrence quiet and we'll be fine”, “We need to ensure Lawrence doesn't destroy us. He's been banging in some great goals recently”, “A team with no confidence in the system they are playing versus a team with a Leicester loanee who is on fire at the moment.” “The one positive Bruce can point to is that we are undefeated at home”, “We are unbeaten at home. This should be a routine home win, but I just have no confidence at the moment”, “It won't be pretty but we will win”, “It would be great to stuff Mick McCarthy and the Tractor Boys.” “I dislike Ipswich from the time they ruined our Wembley dream in 1975. A poxy little village with rubbish fans and television's love in with Robert Robson. Oh, I haven't forgotten they lost the league in 1981 rather than us winning it”, “As long as that so-and-so Eric Gates isn't playing, we'll be fine.” “Well we generally get the better of them at Villa Park but I will never ever forget 1981, particularly 14th April when we lost at home 2-1. The ground was packed and then some, the atmosphere was both electric and so tense. It was seen as a must-win in our bid to become champions.” “And so we welcome back the team that will never forgive us for taking the league title they thought they had won at Villa Park 36 years ago. Sir Ron Saunders asked back then ‘Do you want to bet against us’ and no doubt some Aston Villa fans may be tempted to do so this weekend.” WebsitesThere are a large number of active Villa message boards. One of the busiest and easiest to navigate is Heroes and Villains. Other busy forums include Vital Aston Villa and Villa Talk.
Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 295 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
