Team for Villa

[westcoastcanary 173]

Not one poster including Wes in their lineup. Have we decided he is past it?

[nutty nigel 7,506]

Pointless exercise Westy. I''m still trying to get my head around the "team for Barnsley" thread.

My old mate City1st called that one but few others did.

Ruddy

Pinto Bennett Bassong Olsson

Howson Dorrans

Jacob Hoolahan Naismith

Oliveira

[nutty nigel 7,506]

Same 2 centre backs not neccessarily because I think they''re the best. But changing them every week just doesn''t inspire me. No combination has proved better anyway.

[Diane 500]

I know its harsh to drop Pritchard but I think we need Wes''s experience and if that doesnt work we have Pritchard and Mulumbu to bring on at halftime?? Ive assumed Jerome wont be fit.

Ruddy

Pinto Klose Martin Olsson

Howson Dorrans

Jacob Naismith

Wes

Oliveira

[morty 0]

[quote user="Yellow Wal"]Whether an in depth report was obtained, given or had been acted upon, if the manager had made changes to the team that had comprehensibly beaten Brentford he would have received criticism from all quarters.

I still do not believe the team was the problem, I do not believe the players were the problem. I believe it was the way the game was approached that was the problem.

I cannot remember the last time that we played away and imposed ourselves on the opposition from the first whistle. It seems we want to slowly get into the game and not do anything rash early on in case we give something away.

Unfortunately all we do is pass the impetus on to the home team and then find ourselves chasing the game.

Barnsley, I believe, played with two up front. Therefore the midfield could not have been packed. So why were we so unable to compete?[/quote]Its the managers job to pick the best team to win the game. End of.Not worry about what people might say if he gets it wrong.I wonder sometimes if he reads this forum.....

[pliff 4]

[quote user="lake district canary"]It''s about having a viable left sided midfielder fiesty enough to deal with opposition right wingers. Brady for me doesn''t do enough. You were there yesterday - where was Brady for the scond goal? Trotting back from the half way line as casual as you like.[/quote]Didnt go yesterday first away game i have missed for a while two things i have seen from the highlights Brady''s poor attempt to cut out cross for first goal and Murphys feeble attempt to tackle for lead up to second goal. Too many players on good money going through the motions not hungry enough, fit enough and willing to put the effort in to achieve promotion knowing that they might get a better offer in Jan or the summer. As a club we are treading water i hope i am wrong but cant see us getting anywhere near promotion this season.

[westcoastcanary 173]

Yes, completely pointless exercise nutty. We should make it that people pay £1 into Ray''s Funds for every player they suggest who doesn''t feature in the actual eleven on the day. That would give it a point.

[paddycanary 538]

Agreed Move Klose, although if Naismith is available, perhaps keep Jacob in reserve for second half. Experience will be important if the squad want to nail 3 hugely important points & keep the wolf from AN''s door. Wes provides another attacking option after 65/70 mins. I wonder will we see Klose again in a yellow shirt? I hope so

[Bagster 101]

[quote user="morty"][quote user="Yellow Wal"]Whether an in depth report was obtained, given or had been acted upon, if the manager had made changes to the team that had comprehensibly beaten Brentford he would have received criticism from all quarters.

I still do not believe the team was the problem, I do not believe the players were the problem. I believe it was the way the game was approached that was the problem.

I cannot remember the last time that we played away and imposed ourselves on the opposition from the first whistle. It seems we want to slowly get into the game and not do anything rash early

on in case we give something away.

Unfortunately all we do is pass the impetus on to the home team and then find ourselves chasing the game.

Barnsley, I believe, played with two up front. Therefore the midfield could not have been packed. So why were we so unable to

compete?[/quote]Its the managers job to pick the best team to win the game. End of.Not worry about what people might say if he gets it wrong.I wonder sometimes if he reads this forum.....[/quote]

Well if he does Morty he obviously doesn''t read palma''s posts ;)

[Green and Yellow fellow 0]

Ruddy

Pinto Bassong Klose Olsson

Murphy Howson Mulumbu Brady

Prichard

Oliviera

I wouldn''t be surprised to see Jarvis in contention for this match if he has managed to stay fit since Swansea. Dorrans has featured a lot for us recently and although he can take a penalty (just) he has been in poor form. I''m starting to like the look of Oliviera and I like the thought of seeing him upfront with Jerome, but I doubt AN would play 442, unfortunately. Villa will be a tough match and they know we are under pressure. I just hope the pressure doesn''t get to the players, we need a confidence boost and beating a quality team should do that. OTBC

[......and Smith must score. 1,331]

Who knows and does it matter ?If the eleven who eventually turn out in the shirt don''t turn up again on the pitch it makes no difference.

[The Bristol Nest 513]

Probably not but here goes.

Ruddy

Pinto Martin Klose Olsson

Howson Thompson Mulumbu

Jacob M Brady

Oliveira

[The Bristol Nest 513]

Brady could be swapped for Wes ,Pritchard or Naismith

Howson in front of the DFMs

[hogesar 9,606]

Is there a chance Jerome will be back? I''d like to see us try two up top and see if pressing high and defending from the front works better than our current setup. I''m not sure it''ll make much of a positive difference but it may surprise Villa.

[Capt. Pants 4,194]

[quote user="Green and Yellow fellow"]Ruddy

Pinto Bassong Klose Olsson

Murphy Howson Mulumbu Brady

Prichard

Oliviera

I wouldn''t be surprised to see Jarvis in contention for this match if he has managed to stay fit since Swansea. Dorrans has featured a lot for us recently and although he can take a penalty (just) he has been in poor form. I''m starting to like the look of Oliviera and I like the thought of seeing him upfront with Jerome, but I doubt AN would play 442, unfortunately. Villa will be a tough match and they know we are under pressure. I just hope the pressure doesn''t get to the players, we need a confidence boost and beating a quality team should do that. OTBC[/quote]

That would be my preferred selection although I don''t think Klose will play. We need Pritchard playing and to play well if we are to unlock the Villa defence - they don''t concede many.

[Woodman 92]

It seems we now need to pick a team to negate what the opposition are good at, rather than one where the opposition will fear us. But, given the dire straits we''re in, I understand why we have to do that, so I think its time to go for something that will really solidify us at the back. I also think we need to take out some of our lightweight options. Too many times this season we''ve been bullied off the pitch (Preston, Leeds, Barnsley).

Ruddy,

Pinto Martin Klose Olsson

Mulumbu Dorrans

Howson Naismith (or Wes) Brady

Oliveira

[Indy_Bones 441]

I''m still in favour of trying the 3-6-1 that I''ve suggested on a few occasions now:[url=http://lineupbuilder.com/?sk=c32w31]NCFC 3-6-1[/url]If Jerome isn''t fit then Olive starts, possibly also Mulumbu for Thompson if he''s out as well.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

Another thing, I find it strange he hasn''t tried the diamond again.

It worked very well last time in the championship.

Maybe,

Ruddy

Pinto Martin Klose Olsson

Mulumbu

Howson Dorrans

Pritchard

Jerome Oliveria

[sonyc 5,481]

I agree with Woodman ..... It would seem Neil wants to mix it up more and contain the opposition. It is odd to consider we might be in dire straits as that indicates a kind of relegation mentality. Which was one of the thoughts that crossed my mind reading his interview.

...... ( cue posters now with Dire Straits songs?.... Can''t think of money part from Money For Nothing for players'' salaries)

[Van wink 2,994]

We don''t seem to have many players who are capable of putting two decent performances in in a row.

[AJ 1,218]

Probably because Tinkerman likes to tinker VanWink!

I''d go for;

Ruddy

Pinto Bennett Klose Olsson

Tettey Dorrans

Murphy Howson Pritchard

Oliveira

[hogesar 9,606]

People won''t like it but we''re not good enough at the moment to just let our attacking players attack, so let''s use Howson on that right side and offer some solidarity, hopefully.

Ruddy

Pinto Martin Klose Olsson

Tettey Mulumbu

Howson Hoolahan Naismith

Jerome

It''s not the most exciting team, but we need to work hard, win the ball back and use our attacking players as subs, with a bit of thought behind it!

[Highland Canary 76]

Agreed. Neil''s best hope of keeping himself in a job is packing the team full of experienced midfielders and praying for a 0-0. How sad this seems to be the limit of our ambition now.

[morty 0]

[quote user="hogesar"]People won''t like it but we''re not good enough at the moment to just let our attacking players attack, so let''s use Howson on that right side and offer some solidarity, hopefully.

Ruddy

Pinto Martin Klose Olsson

Tettey Mulumbu

Howson Hoolahan Naismith

Jerome

It''s not the most exciting team, but we need to work hard, win the ball back and use our attacking players as subs, with a bit of thought behind it!

[/quote]But are we in danger of showing Villa a bit too much respect?They aren''t actually that good away from home. I agree Alex may try and play it safe, but we have proven we are at our best when we stick to our attacking principals, at home anyway.I do not agree we should even consider playing for a draw tonight.

[hogesar 9,606]

You''re right Morty. But i''m not showing Villa respect, if anything i''m disrespecting our own players because of their own inept displays.

We can''t afford a draw right now, only a win will do I agree. But with the way we''ve been playing that''s the best way I see us getting a win. The only potential other way i''d try is Howson in Number 10 and Jacob on the right.

[Hairy Canary 667]

Agree with that Morty.

If we can get on the front foot and get the crowd on their feet then maybe it will inspire a bit of confidence, particularly if we can take the lead.

From what I''ve seen of Villa under Bruce they look hard to break down and have been more physical so I''m hoping for a more "aggressive" approach from us tonight.

[ZLF 271]

Its about recognising our own problems rather than giving villa to much respect.

Start by only sending one full back on the attack at a time, that moves us from 2 defenders and a defensive midfielder to 3+1. Or if we have to do that then we must have 2 disciplined DCMs to help provide cover. That will restrict space for villa and hopefully mean we can restrict how many goal we concede.

Personally I would stick with 4231 and make sure olsson and pinto show some discipline & ensure one of the dcms stays no more than 10 yards from our own half.

Ruddy

Pinto Martin Klose Olsson

Mulumbu Dorrans

Howson Pritchard Brady

Oliveira

Subs Jones Whittaker Bassong Tettey Wes Jacob Jerome

[YankeeCanary 0]

From what I''ve seen of Villa this season I know one tactic I would employ is to hit the ball down Villa''s right side and put my fastest winger to press on those occasions.. Hutton will either concede free kicks ( or incur a yellow card ). If pressed, he is a weakness we should exploit.

[Rogue Baboon 0]

Sort of feel a bit sorry for Neil tonight.

Do we set a team up to go at Villa or do we nmake changes to counter there main threats?

If we set up to stop there main threats, it will be a negative team selection where we have little going forward

If we set up the team to go at Villa, it could turn into a Newcastle-eque game (last season) where even though we think we have Villa pinned back they will just counter time & time again down the flanks

[morty 0]

[quote user="Rogue Baboon"]Sort of feel a bit sorry for Neil tonight.

Do we set a team up to go at Villa or do we nmake changes to counter there main threats?

If we set up to stop there main threats, it will be a negative team selection where we have little going forward

If we set up the team to go at Villa, it could turn into a Newcastle-eque game (last season) where even though we think we have Villa pinned back they will just counter time & time again down the flanks[/quote]Agree with this.I have no idea of team, but I would have Brady on the left, Mulumbu in, as I think he has been excellent last few games. I would like to see Naismith, who has showed good form, and he is just the kind of experienced player we need tonight.I''d like to see Martin and Klose at CB, I would start with Pritchard, with Wes to replace him if we need to keep the ball, in the unlikely event we''re ahead.