BFTG - Villa

[tidus_mi2]

Steve Bruce claims they didn't deserve to lose and blames a striker shortage.

We played the whole game without an out and out striker, our two main strikers being injured while they started with a good striker who scored 15 goals last season and had to sub him off for another striker.

This is Rodgers level of denial from when he was taking us down to League One, the Villa fans must be getting sick of him.

[Westwood52]

While the result and performance should not paper over the cracks;for an hour or so last night as a team we were very very good. The last 20 minutes however was very different & we were lucky to get away with all the points, when we could have easily let them slip.
IMHO:

Mannone: 6: Distribution not the best, but did very little wrong.

Gunts 6: Typical Gunts performance; poor crossing & uncertain when someone runs at him.
Blackett 7: Never a wing back; but did OK.
Moore 7: Usual service.
Mc Shane 6: A bit rudimentary at times,but really brave.
Joey 6: Very poor ten minutes-but strangely we missed him when he came off.
Swift 7: Just about MOM. Got very tired late on.But never wasted a pass.
Kelly 6: A couple of wasted passes; but got about the field well.
Mo 7: Our most dangerous player.
Pelle 6 : Played out of position, but did alright-good on the ball. Tired badly.
Popa 6: Not quite on the money & struggled a bit at times

Evans: Tidy on the ball, but very slow.
Macca: Maybe should have done better with his chance, but clearly not fit
Roy: No comment

Aston Villa were awful & Terry treated the game as if he was in a holiday camp. Good fans though.

Ref: Prem refs usually struggle at this level. But apart from the ridiculous booking of Moore, did OK.

[Muskrat]

Good performance last night, fully deserved our win against a frankly abject Villa side but you can only beat what's in front of you and that's what we did. They had given up ten minutes before time and we were able to just play keep ball. Their goal came just too late to instill enough belief in themselves but could have stolen an undeserved point but for a poorly executed free kick.

No bad performances for me with Barrow, Popa and Moore were the stand outs. I'm encouraged

[RoyalBlue]

For the first time in ages, I sat there last night thinking how the opposing fans must grudgingly be admiring the excellent quality of football being displayed by our team! Good times are only just around the corner now!

Oh, and we also have a good number of really exciting and entertaining players in our squad now. A 'spark' is only ever a few minutes away now.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

While the result and performance should not paper over the cracks;for an hour or so last night as a team we were very very good. The last 20 minutes however was very different & we were lucky to get away with all the points, when we could have easily let them slip.
IMHO:

Mannone: 6: Distribution not the best, but did very little wrong.

Gunts 6: Typical Gunts performance; poor crossing & uncertain when someone runs at him.
Blackett 7: Never a wing back; but did OK.
Moore 7: Usual service.
Mc Shane 6: A bit rudimentary at times,but really brave.
Joey 6: Very poor ten minutes-but strangely we missed him when he came off.
Swift 7: Just about MOM. Got very tired late on.But never wasted a pass.
Kelly 6: A couple of wasted passes; but got about the field well.
Mo 7: Our most dangerous player.
Pelle 6 : Played out of position, but did alright-good on the ball. Tired badly.
Popa 6: Not quite on the money & struggled a bit at times

Evans: Tidy on the ball, but very slow.
Macca: Maybe should have done better with his chance, but clearly not fit
Roy: No comment

Aston Villa were awful & Terry treated the game as if he was in a holiday camp. Good fans though.

Ref: Prem refs usually struggle at this level. But apart from the ridiculous booking of Moore, did OK.

Considering we pretty walked over Villa, those are some fukkin' tight-arse scores

[Hound]

Do think that was the most complete performance of the Stam era

We've had good defensive performances such as the play off games vs Fulham, but that was prob the most fulfilling of his philosophy

Good control and posession first half, followed by going for the jugular from the wings in the second as they tired and lost heart

[Ascotexgunner]

WTF happened last night?......Width, Creation, Crossing, Wide men taking on fullbacks and getting behind the defence. It was like a new team. Has JS unleashed a beast?
Best and almost the most satisfying performance under him. After that early scare we never looked back.

[Longhorn1970]

WTF happened last night?......Width, Creation, Crossing, Wide men taking on fullbacks and getting behind the defence. It was like a new team. Has JS unleashed a beast?
Best and almost the most satisfying performance under him. After that early scare we never looked back.

I suspect the powers that be want to see some football for their penneth, rather than counting the number of empty seats or the number of passes completed backwards and sideways, and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if one if the suits has told Mr Stam to spruce it up pronto ...

[RoyalBlue]

WTF happened last night?......Width, Creation, Crossing, Wide men taking on fullbacks and getting behind the defence. It was like a new team. Has JS unleashed a beast?
Best and almost the most satisfying performance under him. After that early scare we never looked back.

I suspect the powers that be want to see some football for their penneth, rather than counting the number of empty seats or the number of passes completed backwards and sideways, and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if one if the suits has told Mr Stam to spruce it up pronto ...

Unlikely. He would have to be a miracle worker to be able to make that change on command! This is just the consequence of 12 months' hard work, increasing confidence and comfort with the style of play amongst the players and the addition of some more good signings.

[Hound]

Is it a serious suggestion that one of the suits told Stam to up the team's entertainment levels?

Sure Stam would have taken that very well if there was any remote possibility that had happened

[muirinho]

WTF happened last night?......Width, Creation, Crossing, Wide men taking on fullbacks and getting behind the defence. It was like a new team. Has JS unleashed a beast?
Best and almost the most satisfying performance under him. After that early scare we never looked back.

I suspect the powers that be want to see some football for their penneth, rather than counting the number of empty seats or the number of passes completed backwards and sideways, and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if one if the suits has told Mr Stam to spruce it up pronto ...

Go home, you're drunk

[tidus_mi2]

WTF happened last night?......Width, Creation, Crossing, Wide men taking on fullbacks and getting behind the defence. It was like a new team. Has JS unleashed a beast?
Best and almost the most satisfying performance under him. After that early scare we never looked back.

I suspect the powers that be want to see some football for their penneth, rather than counting the number of empty seats or the number of passes completed backwards and sideways, and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if one if the suits has told Mr Stam to spruce it up pronto ...

Go home, you're drunk

At least he's quoting the right way now.

[biff]

Watching the highlights and it's becoming obvious how good a player Clement is in this system. Constant movement to create space, clever and talented footballer, only going to get better with more first team fitness.

[NewCorkSeth]

I forgot to say did anyone else see the bit where the ball was heading out straight towards Stam and Green was running at him then stopped VERY quickly. Stam must still be intimidating behind the ball..

[NewCorkSeth]

WTF happened last night?......Width, Creation, Crossing, Wide men taking on fullbacks and getting behind the defence. It was like a new team. Has JS unleashed a beast?
Best and almost the most satisfying performance under him. After that early scare we never looked back.

I suspect the powers that be want to see some football for their penneth, rather than counting the number of empty seats or the number of passes completed backwards and sideways, and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if one if the suits has told Mr Stam to spruce it up pronto ...

I think it's more likely the players are getting more into the swing of things and allowing their work on the training pitch to show on game day.

[Snowflake Royal]

Playing against someone shit who don't have 9 men defending their box all game probably has a deal to do with it.

It's hard to pass, move and exploit space in a tightly compressed space.

[Longhorn1970]

Is it a serious suggestion that one of the suits told Stam to up the team's entertainment levels?

Sure Stam would have taken that very well if there was any remote possibility that had happened

If you didn't know it goes on, you do now ...

[CountryRoyal]

Is it a serious suggestion that one of the suits told Stam to up the team's entertainment levels?

Sure Stam would have taken that very well if there was any remote possibility that had happened

If you didn't know it goes on, you do now ...

I'm not convinced, though it wouldn't surprise me. Obviously promotion is the aim especially financially, but from the owners perspective they've got a product which needs to be marketable and attractive and it was appearent last season that winning alone wasn't necessarily enough to do that.

Besides, I think a "more exciting" playing style could probably be more effective. We're in the championship and and quick balls and pacy play goes a long way to creating chances. A non league side can defend well if they sit back and all the play is in front of you. Sometimes I think that if we were to take a few more chances and risks and compromise some of the patience then it would be more exciting and potentially conducive to the result.

Like everything it's about balance, there's no perfect system and it's about adopting and implementing the systems and styles you have at your disposal which compliment your player's abilities, as a team and individually.

[Longhorn1970]

Is it a serious suggestion that one of the suits told Stam to up the team's entertainment levels?

Sure Stam would have taken that very well if there was any remote possibility that had happened

If you didn't know it goes on, you do now ...

I'm not convinced, though it wouldn't surprise me. Obviously promotion is the aim especially financially, but from the owners perspective they've got a product which needs to be marketable and attractive and it was appearent last season that winning alone wasn't necessarily enough to do that.

Besides, I think a "more exciting" playing style could probably be more effective. We're in the championship and and quick balls and pacy play goes a long way to creating chances. A non league side can defend well if they sit back and all the play is in front of you. Sometimes I think that if we were to take a few more chances and risks and compromise some of the patience then it would be more exciting and potentially conducive to the result.

Like everything it's about balance, there's no perfect system and it's about adopting and implementing the systems and styles you have at your disposal which compliment your player's abilities, as a team and individually.

Ditto, the Chinese owners/shareholders are notoriously more hands on, some would say interfering :/ I can't see them tolerating the 'keep ball', 'no end product' malarkey and the swift transition on Tuesday signalled a completely different mindset to me, for better I hasten to add ...

[Hound]

Come on. The owners being there had nothing to do with us playing a different style on Tues

We just played well