Aston Villa (H) Pre-season Friendly Thursday 21/7/11,

[Griff]

Silly Walsall fans panicking again...

Who's panicking?!?

silly Walsall fans

What are you panicking about then?

[King Crimson]

Manny Smith brushed off the ball. Result? Goal for them.

Consistent with Tuesday night against the Orange Drabs.

[Cheesebag]

Silly Walsall fans panicking again...

Who's panicking?!?

silly Walsall fans

What are you panicking about then?

The Greek economy... What about you ?

[Cheesebag]

All our goals against, during pre season have been scored in the 6 yard box. Something for Deano and Nicholl to work on.

Three WITHOUT Butler on tho!

[Whitters]

Goals:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZTRecqNJak[/youtube]

Thanks for that!

[Mal]

Again decided to go against the Villans at the last minute and having seen the team sheet before kick off it was clear McCleish had picked his first 11 to get a view of what he has.

We however played a weakened side compared to Wolves on Tuesday and too be fair were given a spanking in the 1st half loosing 3 nil

Nice comment earlier in the thread regrading 'I wish we had a player like Bent' well if we had 24 million to spend on a player we wouldn't be in Div 3 and might even own our ground, but lets not start that one off again :lol:

For those who didn't attend, excellent crowd but not as good an atmosphere as Tuesday against the Dingles. dancing Kev update, while he did his usual away fan masturbating I am sorry to report I did not witness any gambols which was a little dissapointing!

Before I give a player run down a funny incident before the game when queing for my ticket. A lad in front asks for a ticket in the home end, for which the lass behind the counter asks 'What stand?' to which he replies 'I dunno, not been before the big one', the lass replies 'Are you a Villa fan', he replies 'No', she replies 'Can you name one of the stands in the ground?', he replies 'Err dunno', she replies 'Look your a Villa fan, bugger off and queue with the rest of your mates!' to say he was red faced standing in his fake burberry cap was an understatement...anyway maybe you had to be there! :oops:

Walker - Had the crack with Dancing Kev, that was his highlight

Beevers - No cover in front and exposed, that's four goals in six down our right hand side in the last two games regardless of who plays there
Smith - One dimensional and easily not first choice but adequate enough
Lancashire - Very strong in the air, comfortable and looks to have carried on from the end of last year
Sadler - Tough time against Albrighton but did well

Gnakpa - An enigma certainly, doesn't like to defend (see Beevers), strong in the air and in Div 3 should create problems
Taundry - Played like this was last chance saloon but with composure and did the simple things well, my MOM as well as the sponsors, two great free kicks
Chambers - Carried on from Tuesday and always in the action
Hurst - More defensive tonight to support Sadler but for me is a solid signing, very Wrack like

Jarvis - A Macken clone and you can see his quality, is scoring goals his strong point not sure but a good signing who can only get better
Macken - Again looked fit and some great touches, Collins went through the back off him at one point as he held the ball really well

Subs

Groff for Walker - I really like this lad, we have a bargain on our hands here as I said post the Dingles just reminds me of the last young lad from County!
Westlake for Sadler - Looked more assured than Beevers at right back, tough call for Deano here
Butler for Smith - Captain Butts played last 30 mins and straight away improved the back line, the first choice CB's together
Jones for Beevers - Debut for Jake Jones, only 30 mins but I was impressed you can see he has quality
Paterson for Hurst - I really like this kid as I have said lightweight but really turned on the tricks tonight and impressed
Grigg for Macken - Looks to have gained a yard of pace and is a clever touch player, does well against big CB's
Bowerman for Jarvis - Looked a little overawed and runs funny but chuffed the lad got his first goal with the big boys
Peterlin for Chambers - Another lad I like, I think we missed him even though Tauns played well, unless Deano has someone lined up see no reason not to sign

We won the 2nd half 1 nil so that's a positive

Overall a decent workout which petered out with the subs as the Villa fans left the ground early, the last 20 minutes being rather flat. The important thing to say is we are playing football and although we were not as fluid as against the Dingles we look comfortable all round the pitch.

Will we score enough goals? not sure but it will be interesting to see how we play against Port Vale to get a better idea.

[Duke]

Pre - season results mean absolutely nothing to me , yes it would have been nice to get something against Wolves and Villa but lets remember they are Premiership clubs and fielded strong line ups against us better than any league opposition side we'll meet this season.

What matters is our players have spent more time on the pitch together , are much nearer to match fitness and the club have made a few bob in the process .

[Walsall_Casual]

Another decent game and workout. Villa looked a much better side than Wolves a couple of days earlier and I think two games in three days against good opposition told on the players. Dancing Kev's fits are getting really embarrassing now if that weren't embarrassing enough before. I'm not knocking him at all but he shouldn't be allowed to get away with what he does. You may say let him be but if he knocked my child over running/ gambolling to away fans I would have series issues!!!

Anyway, the players:-

Walker - Again let down by loose defending. Didn't have much to do or do wrong other than that.

Beevers - Sloppy in possession and exposed far too often by Gnapka.
Smith - Ok I suppose. Not tight enough but he's never tight enough.
Lancashire - Excellent solid performance. Will be a really good player this lad - my MOM.
Sadler - Did well throughout. Solid.

Gnakpa - OK. We will see but i'm sure about this lad.
Taundry - Worked hard as usual. Seems improve on what will be a big season for him.
Chambers - Heavily involved again.
Hurst - I like this lad. At League One level and with the freedom to go forward I think he'll be a key player for us.
Jarvis - Quiet.
Macken - Was a threat for Villa's two international centre halves.

Subs:

Groff - Steady.
Westlake - An improvement on Beevers but he did seem to have more protection.
Butler - What a man! Enough said!
Jones - Good engine and quality about the kid.
Paterson - Looked excellent when he came on. Hope to see more of this lad during the season.
Nicholls - Much improved on Tuesday night. Needs to perform at that level week in week out for me.
Grigg - Fitter then ever and as a result the goals will come.
Bowerman - First professional goal - well played!
Peterlin - Very tidy indeed. I personally will be pleased if/ when he signs.

[WFC_Rob]

Agree completely with Mal's assessment of the game.

Beevers and Smith were a worry for me last night. If a full-back is getting repeatedly skinned by Emile Heskey, it doesn't bode well for games where he might face a proper winger with pace.
Similarly, Smith showed that he's not fit to lace Lancashire's boots, let alone Butler's. I just worry where we go if one of Lancashire or Butler get injured.

Gnakpa is an enigma - shows some nice touches, but turns down blind alleys all too often for me. Hopefully he'll learn when to pass as he gets to grips with league football.

I wasn't convinced on Tuesday, but Taundry genuinely impressed me last night. A well deserved MoTM.

And a word on Grof - he has looked the business so far, albeit early days in his professional career.

[Deano_Saddler]

Thought it was a good game up until both teams brought on most of their youngsters. I like the look of Jones & Paterson. Butler gave the defence a more solid look when he came on which was needed. Like others i wasnt convinced with Beevers nor Smith. Also haven't been to impressed with Hurst and Jarvis. Grof was making a stupid mistake 1 minute and then making great saves the next, needs to learn when to stay and go but looks a good shot stopper. Sadler,Gnakpa and Chambers all look like very good signings.
Nicholls has also impressed me so hopefully he can wake up a little bit and do it more consistently. Taundry was easily motm, he played very well but can he do it more often? Only time will tell. I would also give Peterlin a 12 month deal too.
I still think we need another centre midfielder, a winger and a striker but i doubt we will get that.

[brummie saddler]

All our goals against, during pre season have been scored in the 6 yard box. Something for Deano and Nicholl to work on.

exactly and i think the majority have been balls that have gone from left to right or right to left before being tapped home, very frustrating.
as for being "paced" by Emile Heskey,it sounds like a disgrace but i have seen him play before at villa and he has got a decent turn of pace and speed for a big guy

[Pedagogue]

As for being "paced" by Emile Heskey, it sounds like a disgrace but I have seen him play before at Villa and he has got a decent turn of pace and speed for a big guy.

Correct - the one attribute that Emile Donkey does have is pace - certainly quicker than most League One forwards.

[WFC_Rob]

As for being "paced" by Emile Heskey, it sounds like a disgrace but I have seen him play before at Villa and he has got a decent turn of pace and speed for a big guy.

Correct - the one attribute that Emile Donkey does have is pace - certainly quicker than most League One forwards.

Still, the fact that Beevers & Gnakpa were nowhere to be seen defensively for most of the first half is worrying. Warnock must have got to our byline unchallenged four or five times from left back.
I think there's a lot of room for improvement with Westlake defensively, but he'd certainly be my preferred option at the moment.

[Jolly Johnny]

I thought it was a bit of a pointless match.

...apart from a 7,000 gate paying cold hard cash.

Hopefully by the next time I see Walsall (Yeovil at home), we will be top of the league and in the next round of the League cup. :mrgreen:

I think you definitely are, as your location says, in cloud cuckoo land Steve!! :wink:

... Apart from that taundry was quality.

Damn! I knew I should have gone to this game! :D

[nathyb]

Hi there. I always look at this board but haven't really contributed to it since I was at sixth-form college. I've just graduated from university, so that's how long it's been.

I wrote on my blog a little thing about the Walsall - Villa friendly. I didn't go to the Wolves game, so it seems I missed out on a bit of a better game. Anyway, please have a look if you like: http://wp.me/pwKKq-q4

[We-ARE-Walsall]

Villa's team of crack internet monkeys has described it as a "dream start" for McLeish. Beating Walsall. One of the favourites for relegation from Division Three. A DREAM START! They'll be throwing their season tickets at him after three defeats on the bounce. Good grief. Pointless club supported by idiots from Sutton Coldfield.

That is without any question of a doubt, my favourite post, on any forum, ever !

Quality, thanks for that, really cheered me up :D

[bangsection]

Villa's team of crack internet monkeys has described it as a "dream start" for McLeish. Beating Walsall. One of the favourites for relegation from Division Three. A DREAM START! They'll be throwing their season tickets at him after three defeats on the bounce. Good grief. Pointless club supported by idiots from Sutton Coldfield.

That is without any question of a doubt, my favourite post, on any forum, ever !

Quality, thanks for that, really cheered me up :D

You're welcome, Blazing! I may have been rather a long way into a very acceptable Cotes du Rhone when I wrote that, but I stand by every word!

[latviancheese]

You dont need alcohol to realise what filth that lot are.

I always find it helps with the flow of insults though.