Aston Villa v Everton

[JaseTheVillain]

Good call.

Villa were very good today and deserved the win (I was there), but going forward I'm still not overly convinced with them unless changes are made in the summer. They've clearly improved under Sherwood and they should stay up, as I predicted when he took over, but I still think he's a manager for getting the best out of players in the short term and will struggle to take Villa much further up the table next season. He deserves the chance though.

I actually thought Villa created very little today, and their third goal came against the run of play at a time when Everton looked like scoring every time they came forward. They still have problems at the back and far too often they resort back to the side-to-side passing that typified Lambert's reign at the club which is all too easy to defend against.

Saying that, Delph and Grealish were fantastic and if you create chances for Benteke he'll score more often than not. After the shit they've been through in recent years league survival and a cup final appearance is a big achievement.

I said it first! And do remember that Sherwood hasn't even had a pre-season with the lads yet, and is playing with entirely Lambert's squad. If we keep hold of Benteke and make some smart signings, we'll do very well next season imo.

 

[GodsGift]

Ah, that old cliché. Some fans seem to think a pre-season and the unlikely prospect of a completely new team will completely change your fortunes. One guy on 606 even said Villa could reach Europe next season...

We'll see what happens over the summer but I can't see anything other than another lower mid-table finish.

 

[Super_horns]

Sherwood has good motivational skills if nothing else.

Certainly got Villa playing for him and the fans.

 

[joethegill]

Cleverley has been excellent of late, which combined with the superb form has Delph has given Villa a very capable central midfield for the first time in ages. That's the big difference for me, as the forwards were starved of tsupport under Lambert, but Sherwood has given his midfielders license to break forward (Cleverley today, Delph at Wembley) which stretches defences. Keep it up Villa!

 

[JJ1532]

Good call.

Villa were very good today and deserved the win (I was there), but going forward I'm still not overly convinced with them unless changes are made in the summer. They've clearly improved under Sherwood and they should stay up, as I predicted when he took over, but I still think he's a manager for getting the best out of players in the short term and will struggle to take Villa much further up the table next season. He deserves the chance though.

I actually thought Villa created very little today, and their third goal came against the run of play at a time when Everton looked like scoring every time they came forward. They still have problems at the back and far too often they resort back to the side-to-side passing that typified Lambert's reign at the club which is all too easy to defend against.

Saying that, Delph and Grealish were fantastic and if you create chances for Benteke he'll score more often than not. After the shit they've been through in recent years league survival and a cup final appearance is a big achievement.

I read the game very differently to you(I was also there). Thought first half, every set piece and cross Villa looked a threat. Thought 2-0 was a fair reflection of the first half, Vlaar and Benteke could have both scored before the latter eventually did. After they got the first and with Everton looked so disinterested, they didn't really need to press for more goals, hence why they were probably happy to knock it back and forth whilst not really going anywhere.

2nd half, Everton improved but not by much. Think saying they looked like scoring every time they came forward is way too generous. Couple of mazy runs from Lukaku, couple of half chances which Given easily held. Penalty was soft and the 2nd was slightly fortunate, another ref would have given a foul on Given there. Whilst I would agree the 3rd came against the run of play, it was hardly like the alamo at the other end. I would agree that they still have problems at the back, but then I don't think Richardson and Bacuna(who was also good today) are natural full backs either. Okore looks like a massive upgrade on Clark and Baker thats for sure.

I wouldn't criticise Sherwood(who I do think is overrated btw) until he's had a pre-season and a transfer window to improve the squad. The fact that he's managed to motivate this group in the way he has is the biggest achievement, as is getting Benteke back into form. I would agree that if you remove Benteke from the Villa team, they look far far worse. If he leaves in the summer as I expect he will, Lerner needs to give every penny of the transfer fee to Sherwood to try and get some more firepower. Weimann and Agbonlahor are capable players, think Kozak could also make an impact now that he's back from injury, but they do need another goalscorer. They could probably do with trying to sign Cleverley and Sinclair permanently as well, couple of full backs too.

Really good game today. Scoreline flattered Everton in the end, Villa deserved to win by a bigger margin. Hope they can become a truly decent Premier League side again, their fans deserve it.

 

[JaseTheVillain]

Ah, that old cliché. Some fans seem to think a pre-season and the unlikely prospect of a completely new team will completely change your fortunes. One guy on 606 even said Villa could reach Europe next season...

We'll see what happens over the summer but I can't see anything other than another lower mid-table finish.

Well we won't make Europe, but top half is certainly a possibility, if you look at us man to man, are we really much worse than Swansea, Stoke etc?? This team is actually pretty good, but they've needed managing properly for a while. I don't think anyone will stump up what we want for Benteke, especially if the rumours of an imminent takeover are true. They'd have to pay a fair whack to prise him off us for what he's worth to us (upwards of £30-35million imo). For me, top half is a more than realistic expectation next season. Out of this team as is, we probably need a couple of wingers, someone to back up Benteke (though apparently Sherwood wants to keep Bent, capable replacement if nothing else!), back up fullbacks (Hutton and Cissokho our first choice fullbacks are out, not forgetting our injuries at CB, leaving us with only 2 fit out and out defenders, Bacuna and Richardson are CMs if anything which is something a lot forget). We could also do with someone to replace Vlaar as he's out of contract our defence should be Okore and another. After that we're looking very competitive. Villa seem to do well with good old fashioned managers, look as us under O'Neill for christ's sake. If Sherwood can keep this squad motivated and get us a relatively capable defence, keep it together as is, and we're looking very good indeed.

The question as ever is whether we'll be allowed the investment to sign the roughly 3-5 players we need, which, to be fair, is a lot less than a lot of teams could claim. Sherwood is showing the true talent of this group of players, Lambert failed tactically and as a man manager. In the short time Sherwood has had, he's motivated the squad and made a few good tactical moves (see FA Cup semi Vs Liverpool...)

We SHOULD and I do stress should be in a far better position next season.