This is not an attempt to absolve anyone of any blame for the unacceptable performance at White Hart Lane last night, but it’s become painfully obvious to me in the last 18 months or so that in the fans’ eyes it’s players that win games… and managers that lose them.
Let me give you an example:
Towards the end of last season, in what would be Gerard Houllier’s final game on the sidelines, we took on the hapless West Ham at Upton
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I said I’d be happy with a point before kick off and I would have been too. And with five minutes or so left on the clock I began writing just that, but then Gabby popped up in injury time and forced a rewrite I couldn’t be happier about!
The game got off to the worst possible of starts after Robbie Keane took advantage of Ashley Young’s failure to leave his post quickly enough at a corner and blasted in from
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Big game, big opportunity today. Here are today’s Premier League matches followed by the confirmed line-ups for Aston Villa and West Ham:
Birmingham City (16th/35pts) vs Sunderland (13th/38pts)
Everton (7th/44pts) vs Blackburn (15th/35pts)
West Brom (10th/39pts) vs Chelsea (3rd/58pts)
Blackpool (17th/33pts) vs Wigan (20th/31pts)
West Ham (18th/32pts) vs Aston Villa (14th/37pts)
West Ham
Aston Villa
1
Robert Green
1
Brad Friedel
37
Lars Jacobsen
36
Kyle Walker
22
Manuel Da Costa
29
James Collins
15
Matthew Upson
5
Richard Dunne
36
Wayne Bridge
2
Luke Young
16
Mark Noble
6
Stewart Downing
11
Thomas Hitzlsperger
19
Stiliyan Petrov
32
Gary O’Neil
20
Nigel Reo-Coker
33
Victor Obinna
7
Ashley Young
35
Robbie Keane
18
Emile Heskey
9
Carlton Cole
39
Darren Bent
Subs
Subs
31
Ruud Boffin
33
Andy Marshall
4
Daniel Gabbidon
24
Carlos Cuellar
18
Jonathan Spector
21
Ciaran Clark
13
Luis Boa Morte
8
Robert Pires
26
Zavon
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It seems like a lifetime ago that our 2010/11 season kicked off amidst a mood of confusion and uncertainty with a surprisingly emphatic victory over West Ham at Villa Park. For the Hammers, it was a glimpse of the months that lay ahead for them. For us, it was very much a false dawn.
Of course, it was actually only eight months ago, but here we now are in the middle of April, West Ham occupy the relegation zone where they
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The average position map reflects the fact that 53% of Villa’s attack went down the left channel. Considering Ashley Young pretty much spent the first 45 minutes on the right wing, that’s some achievement.
Again, since MON made a change at half time, Reo-Coker on for Heskey, I’ve included 12 players on the map. You can see how lop sided and unbalanced the shape is. Can’t help feeling sorry for Habib Beye.
2
West Ham
Oct 31st 2009
Aston Villa
1
57
Possession %
44
20
Shots
19
7
On Target
8
6
Corners
14
3
Offsides
3
45′
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This one is a tough pill to swallow, folks. Lots of incidents to discuss, not so much football. Where to start?
Teamsheet seems like a good place – Friedel, Beye, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Young, Heksey, Petrov, Sidwell, Agbonlahor and Carew. Ash played on the right in place of the injured Milner with Heskey on the left flank. I would say that the Warnock / Heskey combination down the left worked a little better than the Beye /
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I figured this match was worth doing a very quick preview for since there’s one or two interesting factors at play.
James Collins and Nigel Reo-Coker return to their old club, one more welcome back than the other I feel. Hopefully both players will remind the home fans what they’re missing. For me, Collins has been a revelation and perhaps he is even surprising one or two Hammer fans with his performances now he’s in a real Claret and
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Fortune favours the brave and you make your own luck in this world, son. Hopefully less clichés in this review of Villa’s smash and grab at Upton Park.