you have to give credit to Villa for defending superbly, they stook to their task really well and deserved it in a way because they really did do what they needed to.
I don't think we played that badly, we passed it around pretty well but we could never translate that into real clear cut chances. Villa were very deep and we just ended up playing in front of them for 70 minutes, without really making much happen.
We need to iron out these defensive issues, once again Hart has spilt a shot he needed to deal with better, I really do think that unless he's imminently going that Shay deserves a run of games. Kolarov is looking ever more impressive and I think we have a gem there 2bh, he just needs time. Boateng is further behind but I think he needs time and a proper pre-season with us and just more time to get used to the league.
At centre back I think Vinnie is on his own. He is a step above any other centre back we have, and I think we need to invest in this area. Kolo is decent but not tall, so set pieces are a problem, but he would be good as a back-up, but as a long term centre back partner for Vinnie? with his age and limitations I don't see it. Lescott is inconsistant and lacks the real quality, so I think he should make way and we should bring in a top quality CB partner for Vinnie and give them time to gel together. Keep Boyata as the #4 for now, or maybe send him out on loan and let Boateng show his versatility.
In midfield I think we are weak, because our only back-up is Vieira. I think we need to move to the point where players like Barry and Milner are squad players and not relied on to be key first teamers. I think we need a top quality central midfielder, a creator who can unlock defenses from 30 yards away from the box, who can draw players out to him and leave gaps for others to exploit. At the moment defences can stick 8 men behind the ball knowing that Barry and De Jong don't have the technical ability to unlock them, and Silva gets crowded out around the edge of the box. So we really do need 1 or 2 centre mids to really strengthen that area. Convert Milner as he's not a winger and Barry is getting on a bit and I think should only have a year or so left at the club 2bh.
In terms of wingers, well we never really use any pace or width which is a limitation imo. We need guys who can draw fullbacks out but also beat them. Neither Kolarov or Boateng are that quick and the only other winger we have is AJ, however a) he plays on the right and b) he isn't quick. AJ isn't Messi but he's stuck on the right constantly and he's just expected to dribble past everyone all the time and make things happen, where sometimes he'd just be better stuck on the left pinging balls in for Dzeko, instead of Dzeko drifting out to the left and pinging balls in to sweet fuck all.
Carlos and Silva are tending to drop too deep, and I think that needs to be rectified because we need to push up the pitch, not the other way around. They are both great players though and need to be playing as often as possible.
I think there's an issue where Mancini does not really seem to trust the defence completely yet and so plays Barry and De Jong, and I think we need to move to just 1 sitter in midfield and move to a more Barca model of team pressing when we don't have the ball, 5 back and 5 forward, and 3 of those forwards prepared to run back if needed, but for that you need a bit of pace.
We can play beautiful football, it's just little mistakes and the limitations of certain players in certain formations, it's a difficult balancing act but unfortunately I think we need a summer of investment as a Champions League team, buying Champions League players. There's several players in the first team that I think should be bench players for a top 4 team, and some on the bench/play occassionally that should not be near a top 4 squad.
I think we're 1 more summer away from really getting it right, 1 more year. I think we will finish in the top 4, and the improvements are there to see. Mancini is doing well, but I think he needs to find a plan B, and realise that some players he's willing to stick by might just not be good enough. It's a problem that he doesn't seem to get on with certain players Hughes bought in the same way Hughes didn't get on with anybody that Sven bought.
I think maybe some people got a bit carried away with being up at the top, I don't think we're ready. We might already have a better squad, but they have the cast-iron mentality and knowledge of how to regularly win these trophies. We have to be that much better than them on the pitch to make up for it, and just at the moment I don't think we're quite there yet, but the signs are there that we are not far away.
We are going to lose sometimes, it's inevitable, and I don't think we played that badly at all 2bh. The most important thing now is how we bounce back, sometimes playing a lower league team like Notts County is a perfect way to get tonight out of the system.
