Official Villa post match reaction thread. {merged - trial}

[simon23]

Re: Plan B please mr Mancini?

i dont even like plan A
i reckon the players are good enough, its the poor tactics, too much backwards,sideways
not enough forward passing,not enough speed.
the top teams dominate and penetrate ,but this manager is happy to be patient and not concede
but when we do concede the op is correct there is no plan B

This.

We do seem to always take a cautious approach to the game, every game we take time to settle... and sometimes we have already conceeded a goal before we do start to gain control of the game. We have the players and the funds to go out and play a very attacking minded game of football... just like Arsenal and Man Utd do, they even go out to score against the big teams. We had Bellamy who was on cracking form, often bombing down that wing and causing all sorts of problems to the opposition.... yet we shafted him out on loan to Cardiff? I fear the same will happen to some players come the summer transfer window... too many changes made to the squad and then we hear another excuse that "They need more time to gel".

Its all well boasting about our passing game... but watching it today, they simply said go ahead and knock it about between yourselves. They had 11 men behind the ball and we still continued to knock it between the back four

at the start of the season we were way too catious but i dont think it was that today...i think it was just a bad day at the office

having said that i would like us to play at a higer tempo and when a team parks the bus like villa today we do probably need a change of tactics

it helped whe we eventually moved AJ out wide today and stretched them....

 

[K.Reeves right foot]

Re: A worrying trend

Bad result, and I can take losing [it happens to the best teams] but some things worried me today:
1. NO leader on the pitch driving the team forward when we were struggling - we looked a bunch of expensive strangers
2. TEVEZ has to learn he can't always score, when he's not in a position to score and team mates are in space he should pass but doesn't.

This is the worrying bit:
3. Mancini did not address where we were going wrong. Super worrying. We could all see we needed width yet Johnson was inside too much while the 2 occasions he got on the outside he looked dangerous and isn't that the point of bringing in Dzeko? He was shifted out to the left when he should have been told to remain central and the full backs or Johnson told to get crosses in at pace.
4. Complete lack of urgency as a team. The players seemed half asleep. I'll forgive Silva, it was his worst performance, he looked like a zombie out there but collectively they were asleep and obviously Mancini didn't affect them at half time.
5. Movement up front was non-existent.
6. Against a poor but highly motivated Villa we couldn't find a solution - that is very worrying as it's become a trend that Mancini hasn't adressed in his time at City.

BUT
Kolarov was fantastic today. The true Kolarov and our only decent player.

Mancini needs to adress these shortcomings as it is THOSE points above which make the difference between 3rd/ 2nd or 1st NOT just buying another striker and throwing him in.

NOt saying Mancini out, i've warmed to him since my Birminngham rant but there is still something about him which makes me think he won't deliver when we really need it, when the pressure is really on, that extra 5% of managerial expertise that unfortunatly TW*T HEAD over in Stretford has.

I fully agree, just one more point:
Where was Silva, and why wasn't the lack of any creativity (presumably expected from him) mended? Everyone can have an off day, including Silva (although I've never seen him "this absent" and am still puzzled by it), but the real problem is when nothing is done about it, as you rightly say above. Even bringing in Milner and taking Silva out, giving it a shot, would have been better (or less bad) than this...

Agree mate, I am beginning to wonder if some players are bigger than our manager. Yaya was awful today [OK this can happen to any player] but why wasn't he taken off? We have Milner on the bench a similar player yet he wasn't utilised. That for me is the worrying thing, Mancini I believe will get us top 4 for the next 20 years but as I have said all along, I don't believe he will deliver the top top honours. Does anyone really expect us to go to O.T to win? I don't.
Mancini needs to learn to gamble. Take a risk. Bold managers usually make their own luck.

 

[Bongo Joe]

Re: Official Villa post match reaction thread.

we have 4 or 5 players that are NOT good enough.

Like who? Who out there played bad today and is not good enough?

 

[The Fixer]

Re: Plan B please mr Mancini?

just one of those days today

we have to keep our eyes on the main goal - champs league place

then we push on from there

anything higher than 4th is just a bonus and at least spuds only drew so not too much damage done

Bit of a worry trend, we need to learn to be not so predictable imo.

Man City managed only two shots on target v Aston Villa, the 5th time this has happened to City in 2010-11. Blunted.

 

[sammyvine]

Re: A worrying trend

I still cant see why Johnson doesnt start. Baffles me.

 

[ManCityBlues]

Re: Official Villa post match reaction thread.

One thing i definitely learned is that Tevez, Johnson don't know how to cross the ball and don't know how to pass..
Tevez- Goes solo too much, doesn't know how to cross, Dribbles tooooo much.
Johnson- Doesn't know whens the right time to cross, dribbles too much, decides to dribble at the wrong times, Crosses at the wrong times

Tevez for me is Terrible honestly, hes full of himself, the only reason he is scoring right now in these past games is since every team puts 2 or 3 defenders on Dzeko which leaves Tevez the open space.. He is a solo player, rarely ever passes the ball and when he does its to the wrong person, same goes to Johnson.. Great game by Kolarov, Kompany, and Joe Hart..

 

[Joycee Banercheck]

Re: Plan B please mr Mancini?

just one of those days today

we have to keep our eyes on the main goal - champs league place

then we push on from there

anything higher than 4th is just a bonus and at least spuds only drew so not too much damage done

Bit of a worry trend, we need to learn to be not so predictable imo.

Man City managed only two shots on target v Aston Villa, the 5th time this has happened to City in 2010-11. Blunted.

Stats don't always tell the full story. Although we were predictable and we didn't trouble them as much as we'd have liked, we were never really on the back foot or in any real danger. I have to agree with the 'one of those days at the office' cliche.
Tevez might have scored when he let it pass under his lef off a AK corner, and Komps was unlucky off another. NDJ hit a post, their defence blocked a couple... one of them might have gone in on another day. I'm happy with where we are at and what we've done so far to get there. Mancini is also learning about his squad as well as the players are about theit own team-mates. Excellent position to be in all in all.

 

[2sheikhs]

Re: Nothing wrong

Whilst I agree we were unlucky, if we want to play through the middle for 70 minutes, then you have to have power and strength driving forward from midfield. Waddle was bloody annoying but he was right, we were making it very easy for them.

It changed a little when Johnson came on but we created few 'great' chances. There were lots of half chances and lots of blocked shots but we not for the first time in games like this, we never tested the keeper.

For all our dominance, Joe Hart was actually called upon to make a sight more saves than the Villa keeper was.

We were unlucky to a degree, but to blame it all on bad luck is burying your head in the sand. There are still pieces of the jigsaw that very much need filling.

For luck, I don't mean hitting the post etc.I mean the quick passing around the box where they get an outstretched leg to intercept the pass or a blocked tackle that falls to one of theirs.As for extra pieces to the jigsaw, I think we're reaching,or have already reached the point where adding more players will cause resentment and insecurity to the current playing staff.

 

[ManCityBlues]

Re: Official Villa post match reaction thread.

And also I don't see why we can't just use the simple 4-4-2 Formation..

-----------------------------Joe Hart-------------------------

Jerome Boateng----------Kolo Toure-------Vincent Kompany--- Kolarov-------



Johnson-------------Yaya Toure------------Nigel De Jong----------Barry---


--------------------Dzeko-------------Tevez(Has to pass more and stop playing solo)

If Tevez were to go solo every time in possession I would sit him on the bench and throw in Adebayor, honestly because that would be the only way to teach his ass an lesson to pass the ball.. I know i might get flamed for my opinion but this is what i would do if i was Mancini...

 

[Mancio]

Re: Official Villa post match reaction thread.

we have 4 or 5 players that are NOT good enough.

Like who? Who out there played bad today and is not good enough?

joe hart
kolo toure
nigel de jong
gareth barry
adam jonsohn

none of them are top team material.

and i've great doubt about tevez too.