Norwich V Aston Villa: Monday 28th December at 3PM

by **Sandie** Sun Dec 27, 2015 2:38 am

At Christmas the fixtures come thick and fast and so we have a speedy return to action after the West Ham draw with a Monday afternoon fixture against Norwich.

This is another game some people will be branding 'must win' coming as it does against another team in the relegation battle but we have an irritating habit of blowing those games so I'm not going to use the description. Norwich have been sucked in to the relegation battle of late as they've only won one game in six (against no hopers Manchester United) which only looks pretty against opposition who've won only one in eighteen.

What do we expect will happen on Monday, then? Over to you folks...

by **Sandie** Sun Dec 27, 2015 2:44 am

Not sure what to expect for this one other than a continuation of the tactics we've been using in recent games.

I don't foresee a defeat for some reason, Garde has, of late, started to turn the games we'd have lost under Sherwood into draws (this would be good if it weren't for our dire need for wins) so at least another one of those? But maybe this can be the lucky win we seek that can get us rolling? I'll have a think...

by **villabromsgrove** Sun Dec 27, 2015 1:59 pm

Right it's time to get serious. We need a right back who is prepared to defend his space, we need a right wing provider who can get more than one assist in eighteen matches. Westwood is a waste of space and Sanchez is out of the equation for now.

Remi Garde has to start picking a team that reflects his stated intention .... to win ten games.

He has to play 4-4-2 (not 3-5-1-1 which is what Hutton turns his current 4-4-1-1 into) and make sure that his team defends as a unit at every attack. He has to play with two wingers who can beat players and who can kick a ball reasonably accurately and are prepared to drill the ball into the box on the floor as well as in the air, and he has to have two strikers busting a gut to get on the end of these balls time after time.

It's really simple when you have only one option.

I worry that Remi is building a style of play for next season and will try to build for strength and industry with an increasingly fit in your face hassling team (full of Sanchez's, Westwood's, Gana's and Hutton's) during the rest of the season, rather than chance the 100% attacking approach which is our only chance now.

2-1 Norwich.

by **villabromsgrove** Sun Dec 27, 2015 2:18 pm

Twenty games left and we have to win at least half of them. The way we're setting up and our current style of play will not achieve that.

Gil only featured yesterday due to an injury to Sanchez. Adama only had 10 minutes on the pitch. Grealish is evidently still being punished.

Remi Garde's current approach puzzles me. His pre match interviews indicate that he knows what we need to do, yet his team selection and tactics demonstrate that he will not change his football philosophy even in a period of extremis. His post match interviews are either slanted to protect our players, or he isn't seeing what fans can clearly see.

If Remi is to have a Premier future he must deal with the reality of our situation, not with what he would wish it to be.

We can beat Norwich if Garde is prepared to change things.

by **Sandie** Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:06 pm

The problem is that with our current approach our narrow midfield pretty much demands that both fullbacks act as a supply line thus we have this situation with Hutton.

by **villabromsgrove** Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:01 pm

Sandie wrote:The problem is that with our current approach our narrow midfield pretty much demands that both fullbacks act as a supply line thus we have this situation with Hutton.

That makes it a flawed system.

by Chris Harte Sun Dec 27, 2015 9:31 pm

I can't help thinking that we'll win this one. Gawd knows why I'm thinking like this.

by **Sandie** Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:57 pm

I think so too, also for unexplained reasons.

Apparently, Sanchez is out with injury so some kind of tactical change might be forced on us.

by **Sandie** Mon Dec 28, 2015 2:05 pm

And the tactical change is...

Richardson back in the team!
Norwich V Aston Villa: Monday 28th December at 3PM Cxuvou10

Great. He's also changed the centre halves (back to the pairing we were poor with) and brought back Sinclair. Hope it works out as I'm far from convinced this is a step in the right direction.

by **Sandie** Mon Dec 28, 2015 2:25 pm

I suppose with the number of fixtures at this time of year we need to do some rotation, that's probably the explanation.

by **Sandie** Mon Dec 28, 2015 3:07 pm

Started well...

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:25 pm

I've just got in having totally missed the matched and had a detailed match report from two of my sons.

I then checked the team selection for myself before posting about a game that I've not watched.

WHAT THE F*CK !!!!!!!

Garde has no excuse for this .... a half arsed blue's supporter could have done a better job. Garde appears so determined to stick to his philosophy of one up front and filling a narrow midfield so that Hutton can work his magic, that he's prepared to see us relegated so that he can continue to play football "his way".

This team never had a chance of winning and everyone (bar the bunch of cretins employed to run the once Great Aston Villa) knew it the moment they read the team sheet.

Two up front against West Ham (even without proper wingers) showed that 4-4-2 is the way we have to go. Fans left that match saying "at least Garde has figured it out at last". What a load of old cobblers! Remi was obviously unhappy with what he saw, because he's immediately returned to a sh*te system.

Unfair criticism from someone who didn't watch the match? Or a fair assessment of an obstinate, blinkered manager, who has more attachment to his philosophy than he does to Aston Villa.

Must win fixtures that a manager was afraid to try and win!

by **Sandie** Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:38 pm

I'm not sure Garde has a philosophy. If he does it doesn't really show. We're not a counter attacking side, we're not an outstanding passing side. We sometimes try the odd long ball but we don't always have a target man in the side which is a head scratcher.

We started off well today, then the goal went in because we can't defend. He rested players because of fatigue no doubt but he seemed ignorant of how this was a 'must win game' and how we have no strength in depth.

I wish I could be as upset about today as lots of other people seem to be but I'm not. I've accepted relegation and I think the club has too.

by **Sandie** Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:01 pm

Good piece here: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-analysis-wrong-tactics-10659865

Results tell the story and the table doesn’t lie, but it also hides a sad reality.

Villa actually are not one of the worst three teams on paper.

It’s hard to pinpoint what has gone wrong at Villa, there are so many things to hurl into the mix, so many factors on and off the field.

They do have some real quality in the side though and technically they should be performing so much better than they are.

This is a team that hasn’t had an identity in five years and the rot has set deeper and deeper.

These are good players being dragged down by such a negative and festering ethos.

by **villabromsgrove** Mon Dec 28, 2015 7:12 pm

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/aston-villa/news/remi-garde-we-deserved-to-lose_263062.html#$$o0312s&&GWJ4Sq2WEeWB0wqapbHBvQ$$

Garde says that we didn't defend as well today .... guess who changed a good working centre back pairing .... he says we didn't have as many scoring opportunities .... guess who dropped the big striker in favour of the non existent Sinclair. He then blames the players lack of confidence. Wouldn't you be nervous if you saw yourself included in such a brain dead line up?

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Norwich V Aston Villa: Monday 28th December at 3PM

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Re: Norwich V Aston Villa: Monday 28th December at 3PM

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Re: Norwich V Aston Villa: Monday 28th December at 3PM

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