I will admit I got it wrong! I didnt see this coming today but im absolutely thrilled it has. There is no greater feeling than a last minute winner and the fact Weimann got it made it all the better. I along with many others have been calling for him to get his chance and he has become an instant hero with a winner at the Holte End.
This result puts to bed any lingering doubt of relegation, it seems as though Wigan, Wolves and QPR are destined for that after todays results. Now we can look to the future and start to try a few things differently.
I think today will be the making of Andi Weimann, its what he has dreamt of for years and the celebrations were just a joy to watch and be a part of! He must start next game, although I doubt he will. We need to start giving the likes of Weimann and Gardner starts rather than cameos because they are the future of Aston Villa and the more they play, the better they will get.
Hopefully today is a turning point, but it definately highlighted one thing, the youngsters hold the key to our success.
Showing posts with label Gary Gardner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gary Gardner. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Mcleish To Keep Herd Grounded
After a great few games in the holding role, Herd has been the main positive for fans to focus on recently. However Alex Mcleish doesn't want to heap too much pressure on him so early in his career. I've been so impressed with him this season, ever since I saw him play right back against Wolves. He should definately play whenever fit in the holding role and then we can play a couple of attack minded midfielders ahead of him, hopefully Gardner soon!
Here is what Mcleish said:
"What the boys have normally done after a defeat is give me a good reaction.
"We have a tough one at the weekend but I will be looking at possibly freshening things up in any way that I can.
"Guys like Chris Herd are getting a crash-course in the Premier League.
"He was all over the place. He made tackles, got booked, he's an athletic kid but his legs gave away towards the end. If we expose him too much we risk injury.
"To rely on these kids for the whole season is putting a lot of pressure on them.
"He's certainly shown the mental toughness to handle it. He's developing but let's not put too much pressure on him."
Here is what Mcleish said:
"What the boys have normally done after a defeat is give me a good reaction.
"We have a tough one at the weekend but I will be looking at possibly freshening things up in any way that I can.
"Guys like Chris Herd are getting a crash-course in the Premier League.
"He was all over the place. He made tackles, got booked, he's an athletic kid but his legs gave away towards the end. If we expose him too much we risk injury.
"To rely on these kids for the whole season is putting a lot of pressure on them.
"He's certainly shown the mental toughness to handle it. He's developing but let's not put too much pressure on him."
The Youngsters Showing Us How It's Done
I've just watched the highlights from Villa's NextGen Series 3-0 victory over Ajax and all I could think throughout was, why can't the first team do that?
Obviously there were a few sloppy errors but you will always find them at youth level, they soon learn to cut them out once they are on the big stage and realise just how costly a mistake can be. The midfield duo of Gary Gardner and Daniel Johnson looked very comfortable on the ball and very dangerous coming forward. We've all heard a lot about Gardner and saying that he should be given a chance in the first team, and why not? The current lot clearly aren't cutting the mustard at the moment so things can't get worse by putting Gardner in there. He's 19 years old, that's about the age that top youth players start making an impact on their respective clubs first team and I feel that the time he is spending in the youth and reserve teams is a bit of a waste of time. The NextGen Series will do a lot of good for him to experience european competition but it's clear that he is way too good to be playing at that level.
His partner in midfield, Johnson, also looks like a very decent prospect. I noticed he made a couple of cup squads early last season without getting on the pitch. I can clearly see why Houllier liked him. He reminds me a bit of Barry Bannan. Quite slight but very comfortable on the ball, close control and a lovely left foot. I can't see where he would really fit in with the first team squad at this moment in time but I would like to see him maybe go out on loan and get some time playing championship football because I can see him having a good future.
Finally I would like to mention a couple of wingers, Jack Grealish and Jordan Graham. I've heard in the past about Chelsea showing an interest in Jordan Graham and I can see why. Still at a very young age he made the Ajax defence look stupid (those of you that have seen the highlights will know which bit I'm on about). That was quality wing play and the more he plays, the better he will get and I think he could be really special. The same applies to Grealish. I first saw him play in the 4-1 win against Rosenborg earlier in the competition. He looks like another very skillful player who, like Graham will just get better with time and could become really special.
I heard Alex Mcleish was at that match, so hopefully he will have picked up a few tips on how to set his teams up (TO WIN!). He simply has to start including Gardner in the squads over the next few weeks and we can all finally see what he can do in the Premier League.
Other than that I would like to leave you with my ones to watch:
Jack Grealish
Jordan Graham
Obviously there were a few sloppy errors but you will always find them at youth level, they soon learn to cut them out once they are on the big stage and realise just how costly a mistake can be. The midfield duo of Gary Gardner and Daniel Johnson looked very comfortable on the ball and very dangerous coming forward. We've all heard a lot about Gardner and saying that he should be given a chance in the first team, and why not? The current lot clearly aren't cutting the mustard at the moment so things can't get worse by putting Gardner in there. He's 19 years old, that's about the age that top youth players start making an impact on their respective clubs first team and I feel that the time he is spending in the youth and reserve teams is a bit of a waste of time. The NextGen Series will do a lot of good for him to experience european competition but it's clear that he is way too good to be playing at that level.
His partner in midfield, Johnson, also looks like a very decent prospect. I noticed he made a couple of cup squads early last season without getting on the pitch. I can clearly see why Houllier liked him. He reminds me a bit of Barry Bannan. Quite slight but very comfortable on the ball, close control and a lovely left foot. I can't see where he would really fit in with the first team squad at this moment in time but I would like to see him maybe go out on loan and get some time playing championship football because I can see him having a good future.
Finally I would like to mention a couple of wingers, Jack Grealish and Jordan Graham. I've heard in the past about Chelsea showing an interest in Jordan Graham and I can see why. Still at a very young age he made the Ajax defence look stupid (those of you that have seen the highlights will know which bit I'm on about). That was quality wing play and the more he plays, the better he will get and I think he could be really special. The same applies to Grealish. I first saw him play in the 4-1 win against Rosenborg earlier in the competition. He looks like another very skillful player who, like Graham will just get better with time and could become really special.
I heard Alex Mcleish was at that match, so hopefully he will have picked up a few tips on how to set his teams up (TO WIN!). He simply has to start including Gardner in the squads over the next few weeks and we can all finally see what he can do in the Premier League.
Other than that I would like to leave you with my ones to watch:
Jack Grealish
Jordan Graham
Saturday, 15 October 2011
A Long Way To Go
I think a lot of Villa fans were expecting a scoreline similar to 4-1, perhaps not quite as bad, but it's the way in which we conceded the goals that annoyed me. I said before the match that I thought had learnt our lesson since last year and we wouldn't concede any cheap goals, but here we are, talking yet again about sloppy goals.
It seems as though Warnock is never going to learn how to be a 'solid' defender. Yes he has his good days, Wigan being one of them, but I have voiced my concerns about hi in the past and he is doing nothing to change my mind. He is an accident waiting to happen every single game, and against Man City he is starting to make a habit of having shockers. Surely Ciaran Clark deserves a chance at left back against West Brom. I know he isn't a left back, but he was more solid last season than Warnock has been recently so that change can't hurt.
Our other full back, Hutton, is another accident waiting to happen. I know a lot of Villa fans have said that they feel Chris Herd should be given more of a chance and I have to say that I agree. Hutton has looked dodgy since joining and Herd has only played one Premier League game and he got MOTM. Surely it's a no brainer!
Moving on to midfield, and it pains me to say it, but Delph just doesn't seem up to it at this level. I could see glimpses earlier in the season of a real quality player but his past few performances have been getting increasingly ropy and it must be time for him to be dropped. I would like to see us revert back to the diamond midfield that we saw against Wigan as it made us attack with a bit more intent and it wasn't too 'structured' where everyone has a fixed position and is afraid to move out of it.
Up front Bent didn't really have a sniff once again. It is more understandable against top quality opposition but he must be getting more and more frustrated by the game. Reverting back to the diamond midfield I think will create a lot more chances for Bent, as long as Bannan is on the pitch as he looks like the only player in the team who is actually focused on trying to release him.
This is the team I would like to see line up against the Baggies:
Given
Herd Collins Dunne Clark
Petrov
Bannan Jenas
Ireland
Bent Agbonlahor
I know the odds of Mcleish making all these changes is next to nothing, but that is the team I would personally like to see. If Jenas still hasn't recovered then I would like to see Gary Gardner given a start alongside Bannan. People keep on giving him rave reviews so it's about time we saw if he has what it takes. He can't be any worse than Delph has been recently.
It seems as though Warnock is never going to learn how to be a 'solid' defender. Yes he has his good days, Wigan being one of them, but I have voiced my concerns about hi in the past and he is doing nothing to change my mind. He is an accident waiting to happen every single game, and against Man City he is starting to make a habit of having shockers. Surely Ciaran Clark deserves a chance at left back against West Brom. I know he isn't a left back, but he was more solid last season than Warnock has been recently so that change can't hurt.
Our other full back, Hutton, is another accident waiting to happen. I know a lot of Villa fans have said that they feel Chris Herd should be given more of a chance and I have to say that I agree. Hutton has looked dodgy since joining and Herd has only played one Premier League game and he got MOTM. Surely it's a no brainer!
Moving on to midfield, and it pains me to say it, but Delph just doesn't seem up to it at this level. I could see glimpses earlier in the season of a real quality player but his past few performances have been getting increasingly ropy and it must be time for him to be dropped. I would like to see us revert back to the diamond midfield that we saw against Wigan as it made us attack with a bit more intent and it wasn't too 'structured' where everyone has a fixed position and is afraid to move out of it.
Up front Bent didn't really have a sniff once again. It is more understandable against top quality opposition but he must be getting more and more frustrated by the game. Reverting back to the diamond midfield I think will create a lot more chances for Bent, as long as Bannan is on the pitch as he looks like the only player in the team who is actually focused on trying to release him.
This is the team I would like to see line up against the Baggies:
Given
Herd Collins Dunne Clark
Petrov
Bannan Jenas
Ireland
Bent Agbonlahor
I know the odds of Mcleish making all these changes is next to nothing, but that is the team I would personally like to see. If Jenas still hasn't recovered then I would like to see Gary Gardner given a start alongside Bannan. People keep on giving him rave reviews so it's about time we saw if he has what it takes. He can't be any worse than Delph has been recently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)