I went lastnight and it proved to me that we cannot play a flat 4-4-2 going forward. It left us so exposed down the wings it was unreal and also we were overran on midfield. Do you guys agree? Also Tierney had a shocker, let's hope garrido stays fit. I was disappointed lastnight and I though fox should have been given a go. Shay given was awesome in goal for them.
4-4-2 CAN work, but it rarely works against a five man midfield. 4-5-1/4-3-3 is a much more fluid and flexible formation - that's why many teams use it. the extra man in midfield is vital to us to protect our defence. no problem changing a few personnel but i feel the system should have stayed in place. also, apart from an absolutely stunning, world class save from a holt header, i thought given was incredibly shaky. on that evidence, its no wonder he's been dropped!
fully agree Supers the system works, personnel will always have to change surely one should play the system and make the personnel adapt better than changing both personnel and system, thought Holty looked lost last night, Morro should have scored one of his chances after the break then it could have been different but in all Villa deserved the win, hope they go all the way to Wembley with the small squad and go down with QPR and Reading
I just popped over here to see how may there are on here licking their wounds Out of Curiosity what was the reception like for Lambert in the end? Also how did he react to his victory. In my head I imagined he would act like a bit of prat (mainly because I think he is a prat) but it was a very good win for them so interested to hear how the fans and manager reacted on the night... Also I think it has been eluded too on here already but in reality last night was just a pleasant distraction from the task at hand. Had you lost 4-1 in the league then I imagine you would be a lot more concerned but I think that win was far more important for Villa and Lambert than it would have been for Norwich and now you can concentrate on the more important task at hand which I'm sure you will achieve. Also it would be fantastic if Villa went on this season and did a 'Birmingham' win the League cup & qualify for Europe only then to promptly go and get relegated
lambert received a mixed reaction. most politely clapped, others (like me) did nothing. there were a few cat-calls but nothing vicious - more pantomime than anything more malicious. i must confess to being a tad embarrassed by the boos - i couldn't understand them at all - but generally everyone just got behind hughton. a few around me got their knickers in a twist when he 'over-celebrated' his OWN TEAMS GOALS ... funny how we lapped it up when he did precisely the same thing at the cuckoo against colchester!! short memories some people... overall villa deserved the win. the score line was ridiculous - it was a very close game but villa just edged it. we got caught a couple of times on the break at the end so it looks like a thumping but it really wasn't and considering how many changes we had to make and how few villa did, we should be encouraged that on another day we'd have won the game ourselves. i must admit, judging by the reaction of the villa faithful and their gaffer, it meant a hell of a lot more to them than they had ever let on! i don't think i've ever seen a set of supporters go so wild in celebration at their goals - it was all a bit over the top - so i did have a little chuckle at that, especially as the villa fans i'd spoken to said beforehand the match meant nothing to them. missed opportunity for us because we'd have fancied our chances of winning the whole competition had we got through but as you say, the league is the bread and butter and if, as i expect, we stay up, the league cup disappointment will be a small footnote in another good season. oh, and judging solely on last night, villa are not going to go down.
It was a missed opportunity but well done to Villa - I had no animosity to Lambo last night and remained silent and just cheered for Chris. No point being negative - we were undone on the night but on a positive note it's more cash in the bank (although it would have been a whole chunk more had we have gone through) and we didn't get any more injuries (I think) which hopefully means we'll be able to field a stronger line-up for the more important game on Saturday.
i had a bit of a panic when holty went down early on. my first thought was that he'd done his knee ligaments! it looked a bad one as he hit the turf
This is so true. The way they celebrated, you'd think they'd just scored a winner in the last minute of extra time in the Champions League final against an assorted XI or Birmingham, Wolves and West Brom. Never in my life have I seen such a ludicrious over-celebration of a goal.
a few of us were comparing it to last season when giggs scored what looked like being the goal which could win united the premier league, yet even then, that was a more restrained celebration than we saw last night. i was a bit embarrassed for them because it was so pathetic - it was laughably over the top and did nothing for their 'big club' ideology. it was how i imagined bradford fans celebrated last nights win over arsenal. then it is justified but last night was bizarre
There was no internet link last night so we couldn't see for ourselves how the game was played and who did well and who had one to forget. Listening to CanaryWorld, Greg Downs was the colour, the impression was that particularly in the early stages of the second half, we created chances, decent chances and that they fell to Morison who missed them. Is this fair? Did he miss easy chances? Home commentaries can be so biased and a simple tap in was in reality 20 yards out with the box full of defenders. I like many others, do not see Steve as a Prem striker, certainly not with us. Greg Downs said he looked as though he wasn't the striker who would snap up the type of chances presented to him. I've seen his goal and it was well taken and looked as though he had sussed what was going to happen and ran into the space well. However its the six yard tap ins we need to bury as well. He can't compete with Holt, we know that. The commentators said once again, even at the death, Holt was chasing down their defenders. I liked him at Millwall and saw some good things in him last season but I just cannot make up my mind.
Let's not forget as well that they lit A FLARE when they scored the 3rd goal. Could you imagine how they'd act if they actually won an important match?!
i felt morison played very well last night, he looked sharp until he got a little knock and came off. he took his goal early and brilliantly. he was very unlucky to have one ruled out for a marginal offside decision. he went close with a difficult header, missed a slightly easier chance when he chipped the keeper (and the goal) when rounding given would have been the better option. overall he was a real handful and had a much better game than holt did. on another day he'd have banged in a hattrick and people would be lauding him but unfortunately he didn't have much luck. only the one chance he missed was a result of poor finishing and even then it was bloody close to going in! there is little doubt holt is our best centre forward and i'm still not keen on playing both him and morison together, at least, not from the start of matches as it gives a tendency to go long too often, as happened last night. morison got a knock with ten minutes left and was visibly limping so to accuse him of not closing down at that stage is grossly unfair - he signalled to come off moments before. morison is a fringe player, no question, but he doesn't half get unwarranted criticism from some quarters over the tiniest details. if a better alternative is found in january or more likely the summer then i think he'll be dispensed with, but until then he's an important part of the squad and someone who CAN deliver on a premier league stage.
I was in the N&P end, so far away from the Villa fans, but the excitement seemed so great that at one point someone got their inflatable penis out Could somebody please confirm this, before I book an appointment at Specsavers
From where I was sitting there appeared to be any number of massive c**ks sitting in the Villa end! I think we learned that whilst our first XI and formation combined with a bit of luck and a lot of confidence and organisation are pretty solid in the PL. If we change personnel and formation we lose a lot of defensive strength - remember before the good run our defence at times looked pub league standard. I would imagine that come Saturday we'll see a reversion to the personnel and tactics which have worked so well for us. Have to say I was really worried when GH went down but I forgot that he is made of teak and I thought his effort level was superb considering he was in discomfort for most of the game.
losing ruddy, tettey and hoolahan, its hardly surprising that we are considerably weaker as that's 3/5s of our spine! any team would struggle losing that many key players
I feel 4-1 was an unfair reflection of the game. When Villa scored their second it was already late in the game. We stopped playing after that. Particularly after the third. Goal difference is irrelevant in a cup compared to the league. 3-2 does the same as 3-1. As for Villa's celebrations, do they think it was the semi-finals last night or do they think the semi-finals are played at Wembley like the FA cup?
Out dated, unsophisticated, cumbersome, predictable that is what I think of the 4-4-2 formation, think outside the box and be progressive with formations. I've said for many years this formation has stunted the growth of British football, even as kids we raised to play in 4-4-2 formation a team full of players with engines who can run around for 90 minutes, a lot of pace on the sides and perhaps a bit of power up front, I can't stand it.
If 442 has gone for us after last night, does that mean Jackson has gone, too? Where can he play in a 4411 formation? Personally I'll be sad because I think he's a good player who always gives his all. Also his run of goals did a hell of a lot to get us into the Prem, including the Portsmouth game of course, so I'll always have a soft spot for him.
I think the wild celebrations were relief that the man who was to be their saviour had at last delivered. I thought Villa were well organised, up for it, and had a couple of really talented players, especially Benteke. The fans responded to this in the way we did in the last few seasons. Strangely, I didn't feel at all upset by this. We've had the Lambert resuscitation, and we've moved on. And, whatever the scoreline, they only just beat a NCFC missing some key players. I agree about the deadness of the formation; but thought Morison did really well, and with Snodgrass looked the only ones at full fitness/speed. Hughton said, after the Swansea game, that there were players with knocks, and he had some difficult decisions to make, (what a refreshingly honest manager he is). We saw the result of this. And 24 hours later I am finally thawed out.
