West Bromwich Albion 1 - Aston Villa 2

Dave Watkin:

I left the Hawthorns feeling thoroughly frustrated, we failed to beat a distinctly average Villa side and had the worst of every major refereeing decision.

Albion played poorly during the first half and fell behind just after the interval. However, we came back into the game and netted a good equaliser. It was then that the referee Mr Styles took a hand. He had already upset the home fans by not awarding a penalty for a blatant hand ball and not issuing a second yellow card to a Villa player. He then infuriated me and most others, by allowing Villa to take a free kick early, when up until this point he had insisted on enforcing the ten yard rule and then by giving a penalty when the ball struck an unprepared player on an arm at point-blank range.

It has to be said that Albion did not play well. Curtis Davies gave another assured defensive display and Tomasz Kuszczak was competent in goal, but the team as a whole and particularly the centre midfield pairing gave away the ball far too often, putting us under a lot of pressure. To his credit Watson did make a number of important blocks and tackles, but Carter looked completely out of sorts and should have been replaced by Chaplow at half time. We seriously missed the flair of Gera and Inamoto and the steadiness of Wallwork. I was again disappointed that Earnshaw was not on the bench, his pace may have paid off once we went a goal down. Unless we can add at least one quality player to central defence, midfield and the attack during the transfer window, we will seriously struggle.

TEAM NEWS

Albion reverted to 4-4-2 and brought back Diomansy Kamara, Jonathan Greening, Kanu and Nathan Ellington, Ronnie Wallwork was absent through injury and Richard Chaplow, Kevin Campbell and Geoff Horsfield returning to the bench.

HIGHLIGHTS

Albion posed the first threat with what turned out to be their best move of the game. Nathan Ellington fed Diomansy Kamara who played a one-two with Kanu before racing clear down the right wing. He slid a low cross perfectly between keeper and defenders, but beyond the far post Greening screwed the ball wide with his right foot, when he would probably have hit the target had he used his left.

A dribble by Kanu was halted when he was robbed inside the box as he was about to shoot, but this was matched at the other end when a perfectly timed tackle by Curtis Davies prevented a strike from Baros.

Villa then missed two good chances. They broke three on two and when the ball was crossed in Moore was on his own but from point-blank range crashed his shot against the bar. Then, following a scramble from a corner the ball dropped in front of Delaney, but from inside the six yard box he scooped his shot high into the Brummie Road. In between these two opportunities, Kuszczak pulled off two good saves, tipping over an inswinging corner and a dipping shot.

In the 47th minute Albion fell behind when a regulation through ball was miscontrolled by Clement and Villa took advantage. Milner was given possession wide left, he jinked past Albrechtsen and crossed deep for the onrushing DAVIS to head past Kuszczak.

Albion who had played poorly up to this point began to get their game together and had strong appeals for a penalty denied when Hughes climbing all over Kanu batted the ball away with his arm. There were also two saves from Taylor, from a shot cum centre by Greening and a header by Kamara.

McCann had been booked in first half stoppage time and when in the 76th minute he went through Darren Carter with the ball nowhere to be seen, he surely deserved a second yellow card. However, referee Rob Styles considered a free kick sufficient punishment. Albion made Villa pay however, by scoring from the set piece. Jonathan Greening curled the ball in and Watson rose to head goalwards. The ball was only partially cleared and STEVE WATSON was first to react, slamming a low shot through the legs of the defenders past the unsighted keeper.

It looked as though we might have a grandstand finish until the 80th minute. Mr Styles correctly gave a free kick when Robinson brought down Moore on the edge of the Albion box. He then allowed Villa to take the kick whilst the Baggies were still organising the wall. The kick by Barry was poor but struck Watson on the arm and he gave a penalty. The spot kick from BAROS was straight down the centre, eluding the diving Kuszczak.

The late substitutions of Horsfield for Clement and Campbell for Ellington made little difference, but there was time for one more close thing. A twenty yard lob from Darren Carter which was just inches over the crossbar.

ALBION FORMRATE : POOR

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH : CURTIS DAVIES

John Green:

If ever we needed a win, it was today. After the disappointment of not picking up the three points against Villa, it's going to be a long hard winter. I'm not too despondent just yet though. We have some great players in the squad and I am still positive. I think our downfall today was the lack of strength in depth in the squad. I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I think it would have been a different game with Wallwork and Inamoto playing. Carter is fine as a squad player, but lacks the quality for the Premiership. Other than his wonder strike against Arsenal, he's done little to convince me this season. His distribution is extremely poor, but then again, so was Alby's today and Watson's wasn't much better either.

Let's not get on Watson's back for the penalty. They took the free kick quickly and Watson did what he could to reach it.... but he just wasn't ready. It's also a shame that the ref noticed that penalty, but not the one we should have had maybe 15 minutes before when Delaney (I think) almost threw the ball out of the box! The ref can only give what he sees, but these crucial decisions can make or break a season.

We were lively in the first 25 minutes, but never really troubled Taylor that much. I think a few longer range shots might have troubled him. He's no Kuszczak! Too many of our players were off the boil today. It wasn't that they didn't make the effort, they just were not good enough on the day. Robson needs to bring in real quality during January, because without Kanu and Kamara, who are arguably two of our best players this season, we will struggle like hell while they are away.

• Kuszczak: Didn't do much wrong. Couldn't really be faulted for the goal.
• Albrechtsen: Put some good tackles in, but had a bit of a mare otherwise. Gives the ball away far too easily and none of the trademark runs today. Went AWOL in the first half when Villa hit the bar. It was 3 against 2 and Davies didn't know which way to turn because Alby was nowhere to be found. Lets get Watson back there ASAP. Alby's a squad player at best.
• Robinson: Blood and guts performance as always. Shame he gave away the free kick on the edge of the box from which the penalty was awarded. It wasn't really necessary IMO
• Clement: Solid, if unspectacular
• Davies: Great game and really up for it. Grows in stature with every game. Still prone to the occasional howler, but we can forgive him for that. Just a bit better than Darren Purse eh!
• Watson: OK game and took the goal well, although it was lucky to get through all those legs. Shame about the pen, but c'est la vie. Prefer him at right back. Needs to find a player wearing a stripy shirt more often.
• Carter: Lacks the quality we need. He gives the ball away far far too easily and made some dreadful passes today even when he wasn't under pressure. Had a decent shot towards the end though which wasn't far away. Come back Ina !
• Greening: Not his usual self but then again, he has not been for some time now. Still deserves a place though for his ball control. Has bags of skill when he uses it.
• Kamara: Excellent game and full of confidence. Shame he can't cross, shoot or take a corner, but he's fun to watch and creates chances. Let's hope Gera is ready in the next week or two.
• Kanu: Played rather deeply IMO, but it worked well. His ball control brings others into the game and when he does go forward he's always dangerous. Came close today, but it wasn't to be.
• Ellington: Bit of a passenger today. Villa defended well and Ellington never got a chance really. Shame we couldn't find him when we needed to.
• Horsefield: He ran onto the pitch then walked off it. Has this guy dyed his hair or what?
• Campbell: Didn't really see the logic in the substitution at that stage. Maybe we should have given him longer. Got stuck in and was full of effort. The legs are not what they were though. Can't help thinking that Earnie would have been better on the bench.

We need something from somewhere, but let's not get too upset. It was a scrappy game, but we competed and showed the right attitude. We are just a couple of players short of a decent squad and that lack of quality cost us today.

Let's pray that Bryan does the business in January and that we get the lads on a "Stripy Shirt Recognition Course" ASAP!

Let's take nothing away from Villa though. They defended as a unit and took their first goal well. I'm beginning to see why Liverpool wanted rid of Baros though. Eeee Aw... The words barn door in a storm come to mind. I'm surprised he converted the penalty. Does anyone else think his goatee is more than a little dodgy??

Des:

I am really angry and pissed off at that gutless, inept display. To put this in the context of me, about 80% of my friends and family are Seals and for the last 20 years they have had all the bragging rights. This evening I will be going to a birthday party where my brother and his family and I and my family will have the p**s taken for supporting such a s***e football team with the work ethic and passion of a slumbering pig. I had stupidly thought that the manager might have taken the time out to explain to the players the importance of this derby game to the fans and created some sense of urgency and desire, fat fecking chance. The first half was an embarassment, the seals could have been 3 nil up at the break, because and only because our lot just weren't that botherered.

I have seen pub players with more movement than Watson, he is at best a squad / cover player for a right back. He could hardly move today never mind run and his tackling and passing were woeful. Some redemption came with the goal but then he gave away a penalty. Watson if you are reading this you are s***e in midfield and don't let anyone tell you any different.

Talking of s***e in midfield, Darren Carter. Stood around most of the game with his hands on his hips totally confused. Again passing and tackling absolutley woeful. In fairness to these two dimwits they were up against Villa playing 5 across the middle and it was no contest, they are hopeless at the best of times but against a capable midfield in which they were out numbered they were totally ineffective.

Talking of totally ineffective, Joey Kamara. What is the point of this guy and why oh why do we allow him to take corners. He hits them about 3 feet off the ground to the first defender. Even this moron got the message after about an hour, and then started ballooning corners to the opposing corner flag. Absolutley s***e,the ANC can't come quick enough for me as far as Kamara is concerned. Meanwhile if Gera needs to go to Lourdes, the 7th son of a 7th son or to see Eileen Drewery or whatever miracle recovery we need, just do it.

The Duke turned in a paupers performance. Anyone relying on this guy for salvation is smoking dope. He is supposed to play off Kanu's sholuder and get the crumbs that fall from the Nigerian's table, but he just couldn't be arsed to run. Ellington if you are reading this you should be f*****g ashamed of yourself it was a derby, against the Villa, for f***s sake.

Neil Clement, what has happened. Terribly at fault for the first goal, school boy error. Clemmo was carried in defence by a lad with half Clemmo's experience. I like Clement but something has gone v badly wrong with his game, he was poor today.

Albrecthson runs down the wing and then kicks the ball out, runs down the wing and kicks the ball out, and then he runs down the wing and kicks the ball out. If you can't do better than that son, feck off.

With everything going completely tits up what did we have on the bench, nothing and then nothing. While Earnshaw is crap IMO he is not as crap as Horsefield and Campbell both of whom were brought on. Campbell brought on with 3 minutes to go, absolutely laughable. Meanwhile Chaplow had to sit and watch Laurel and Hardy play in centre midfield for the whole game, unbelievable.

Only players to come out of this disaster with any credit were, in this order, Davies, who had a great game, Kanu showed wonderful skills, Kuszczak did really well throughout including a brilliant save in the first half, Greening the only midfield player we had to day, Robinson usual passion from Robinson although I think it was him who made the stupid lunge which gave away the free kick which led to the goal.

As for Robson, he needs to take a close look at himself. The Villa players wanted it more than the Albion players by about 100%, they looked bright and lively full of running and in fairness 2-1 flattered us. How is it that a dull bugger like O'Leary can get his players fired up and our manager can't. Find the answer to that and you find the answer to why we lost in such a disgraceful way today. I have now had ten text messages from piss taking villa fans and its not even three hours after the game has finished, their fun at my expense has not even started yet. Robson if you're reading this thanks a f*****g lot.

Cuzer:

Pretty p**s poor today I'm afraid. Villa were the better side throughout and the only real spell we had was when Villa decided to defend deep, sit back and we penned them in, after some close shaves the goal came. Criminal to concede so quickly afterwards, Rob Styles again, never gives us anything, bloody useless ref.

Positives - Not many today, Robinson, Kanu at times, Kamara at times, Davies at times.

My big concerns with Curtis is he is just soooooooooooooooo soft, watched him closely today on set pieces and he let Melberg completely man handle him on each occasion. Christ I play centre half if you are marking a danger man who is good in the air you get close to him, have some of his shirt, block his runs yet Davies did none of those, also for I think it was their first goal he's covered well yet put in a weak challenge when he should have put the ball and the player 20 yards away! Villa pick up the loose ball and seconds later it's in our net. Good player, possibly MOM but Pearson as a no nonsense CH needs to have a serious word!

As for Clem - two shockers back to back, let's hope the Ugo rumours come true as we are desperate for another CH.

Missed Ina, may even have missed Ronneh, thought Watson did OK in the centre but Carter was just plain rubbish and needs replacing in the window urgently.

Ellington was very poor, never in the game and when Kanu's gone, god help us, if Robbo thinks Horse or Cams are good enough he's off a another planet, we need a striker, a midfielder and a centre half in the window....... and that's AT LEAST!

Garbage today!

Jules:

I am disgusted, only Steve watson deserves any credit today. Everyone was below par at best. Kamara was too lite-weight, Greening needs a kick in the arse, Carter should be gased now, Kanu had reasonable patches, Ellington was no-where, Clement was like an epileptic corpse, Robinson i think saw that no-one else was interested so didn't strain himself, Davies was ok in patches, same with Albrechtson. Kuzsczak was left a sitting duck by his team mates.

No discipline in the ranks what so ever, do derbys mean nothing to you Robson? Do you not realise this was the best time to play Villa and we'll probably have to wait years before the opportunity arises again? Disgraceful, why do we pay for this crap? Albion never came and saw me when i was bad. I leave the country in a weeks time so this was my last eague game. Now i'm leaving with a very bad taste in my mouth, will i get an apology for that Bryan? Will i or the other twenty odd thousand who suffer ever be rewarded for our loyalty? I suppose we're fickle fans complaining, but i suppose its a much better position for the playing and management staff to judge from their sports cars and multi-million pound houses. What do we know?

Welcome to 2006

thecads:

Oh, am i fed up. I'm typing this and i'm still in a bad mood.

I don't mind losing and tbh we deserved nothing more than a draw, at a push. however, i don't mind losing if we have a go - today first half we were just shoddy - passing was poor - villa deserve credit - they'd done their homework - mark kanu and hassle midfield - our midfield couldn't cope with the pressure and passed badly.

i got quite cross listening to all the whingers on the radio coming back. yes we lost, yes we could have played better first half, but robson had the best team out he could. any team with 3 first choice midfielders missing is going to struggle - imagine liverpool without gerard, kewell & hamman or man utd without scholes, ronaldo and giggs. we missed ronnie for his link up play, we missed gera's creativity and we missed ina's drive and hassle. you cannot rip the heart out of team and just pick up straight away.

manmarks -

• kuscak - 7 - did all he could - a few dodgy kicks
• clem - 7 thoguht played well
• davies - 7 - played baros v well
• robbo - 7 - committed
• albie - 6 - qot stuck in - didn't get forward but i think he was injured first half - we had noone to replace him on the bench
• greeing - 6 - get that ball in!! worked hard, but off the pace
• kamara - hot or cold, cold or hot - what a frustrating but at times brilliant player - worked hard
• carter - 6 - worked hard but off the pace - what a shame his effort at the end didn't go in. why did blues love him so much? he doesn't shine for me?
• ellie - 5 - wasn't involved apart from first 5
• kanu - 7 - the class player (we'll miss him) but he was man marked out of it by delaney - i'd get him if he's asked for a tranfer - i think he's a great player
• horse - 6 - on too late
• campbell - 5 - what can he offer us?

i'm deperately disappointed with these things however:

1. no earnie - that could have cost us the draw today - we needed his pace- yes his first touch is poor, but to not pick him on the bench is madness
2. 2. rob styles - what a *anker. why wasn't mccann dimissed with a second yellow after a late tackle on carter? he bottled it. why didn't we get a penalty for the obvious handball that everyone saw apart from him? why did he allow barry to take a quick free kick when the rest of the game he hadn't? terrible. i have no idea why a penalty was given (i couldn't see from the brummie). an absolute disgrace. he's so inept
3. our lack of depth of quality. the match shows that we desperately need more recruits to the side. imagine that team today without kanu and kamara? mr peace has got to get his cheque book out now - we need 3 quality players - a winger, a central midfielder & a forward (if earnie is out)
4. what a terrible indifferent bench - we had no player on the bench who i was thinking, great they'll change the game.

the serious message is - we need a minimum of 6 wins - i'm worrying a little now - the next 3 weeks without kamara, kanu and possibly gera look to be a very worrying time. how are we going to get these wins without key players?? got to buy people early in jan - not at the end.

Pete Cottrell:

It looks as though Ronnie Wallwork?s place is secure for the rest of the season once he has shrugged off his current injury. He may not be everyone?s favourite player, but he was certainly missed today, as was Junichi Inamoto as the Baggies gave as inept a performance in midfield as we have seen all season. From start to finish ? even during the 15 minutes spell half way through the second half when we were clearly on top ? Villa were first to any free balls that were going, and their players were never closed down with anything like the efficiency that we have recently grown used to.

Agreed, Greening had a very active game today ? although he still lacks confidence in attack and never seems to want to get to the goal line ? but Kamara seemed only half awake at times and Watson made far too many errors and seemed to have a poor judge of when to challenge and when to back off. As for Darren Carter?as far as I was concerned, the jury had still been out until recently, but today gave him an ideal opportunity to show what he could do and press for a regular place (at least in the 16). However, he showed what a number of commentators on this website have been saying for a while: he?s not up to first team standard and is unlikely ever to be so. The unfortunate fact is that he lacks the basics: he cannot trap the proverbial bag of cement, he always looks unbalanced when trying to shoot, he cannot pass accurately over more than 10 yards and he is a poor timer of tackles. Apart from that, I?m sure that he loves his Mum and is kind to small animals, but he has no place in a Premiership football team.

If we add to the mid-field?s poor display a half-hearted effort from Ellington (was he injured, hung-over, not trying, or is he just crap???) which meant that the attack had no bite at all, and Clem?s giving away the ball needlessly which led indirectly to both goals, it is a wonder that we ever got a sniff of the points. The only bright spot was the increasingly composed performance of Curtis Davies: he is the first Albion player whom I have seen for over 20 years of whom I could say with any real confidence that he will one day play for England.

Player Ratings:

• Kuszczak 7: Unnecessarily put under a lot of pressure by his own team mates, but coped admirably.
• Albrechtsen 5: Seemed reluctant to tackle and reluctant to attack, which for an overlapping full-back are two huge omissions.
• Davies 7: MOM. Might have been 8 if I weren?t so jaundiced by the team?s performance. His timing matches that of Rio Ferdinand any day.
• Clement 5: A couple of mid-field blunders of the sort that cost Gaardsoe his place. Not a match that he will be happy with for a number of reasons.
• Robinson 5: Poor by his standards. Positional play was all over the place at times.
• Greening 6: Certainly tried hard but still not up to last season?s form. Could have done better with a chance in the first five minutes.
• Watson 5: At least he scored, but his distribution was at times woeful.
• Carter 3: First touch awful, second touch (if he got one) ineffective. Surely Chaplow is better than this?
• Kamara 5: Appeared to be a bit knackered, although as the game went on it seemed that the most likely source of a goal would come through him and Kanu.
• Kanu 7: Not his scintillating best as against Spurs, but still a level above the rest of the team in terms of skill and vision.
• Ellington 4: Aren?t strikers supposed to (a) find space for themselves and (b) pull defenders out of position? He lacked the ability to do either.

Subs: Not on long enough, but what was having both Campbell and Horsfield on the bench supposed to offer? The only rational explanation that I can think of is to rub Earnie?s nose in it, which is pretty shabby treatment whatever you think of him.

If we are to reach the magic 40 points for the season, that is another 3 thrown away. Remember ? we need 10 wins and 10 draws. Losing matches against Blues, Villa and Portsmouth is far more significant than the occasional victory against Arsenal ? however satisfying that might be at the time.

[Incidentally, I missed the penalty incident. I thought that they were still lining up the wall and had looked away for a second.]

Martin C:

I will leave the full report to others. I will concentrate on the crazy situation with Earnie. 4 games in 8 days and he hasn't even made the bench. I don't blame him for putting in the transfer requests and had I been him I would have done so ealier. He is being treated like a leper. How on earth do Horsfield and Campbell get in ahead of him?

Fact: We have scored 3 goals away this season. Fact: Earnie scored 3 goals in one away game at Charlton last year and he came on as SUBSTITUTE. After today's inept "performance" I am not even convinced that Duke is better than Earnie. As my missus aptly put it: would Robson and Earnie benefit from a trip to Relate? Even Megson and Lee Marshall got on better!

Rob Hewlitt:

Happy New Relegation Battle! I fear the first games of 2006 in the Premiership may have sealed (no pun intended) Albion's fate. Yes you may think this is a kneejerk reaction to today's defeat by I honestly cannot see us staying in this division at the end of the season. The fact is there are not 3 teams worse than us in the division. Sunderland will be relegated and then who?

• Blues - porn financiers will back Bruce and have publically stated their support for the manager.
• Pompey - backed by Abramovich tribute act and bankrolling yet more foreigners in harry's league of nations
• Villa - beat us with barely a fit squad and possible beneficiaries of a takeover
• Us - will lose 2 of our best attacking options for a month, last season's player of the year is unfit, last season's top scorer is wanting to leave
• Fulham - consisitently pick up points at home while away form is comparable to us.

With the transfer window open we need to move to move quickly and swiftly - 4 players through the heart of the team needed. The reason I have called this subject February dealine is that by the end of this particular month is when we will see if we have a realistic chance of staying up. With the fixtures coming up between now and March 1st we will need at least 4 possibly 5 victories as I honestly cannot see us picking up a single point in March.

With regard to today's game it was the players and not referee Rob Styles who cost us. His decisions or lack of them certainly did not help but for a decided that dominted Spurs less than a week ago this was a shocking performance.

The midfield were overrun, the delivery from set pieces embarrassing, too many occasions where quality crosses in open play were watched rather than attcked, individual errors cost us 2 goals - Clem allowing ball to go under his foot for the first goal and then an awful defensive header put us under pressure and Robbo's rash tackle brining about the free kick that led to the penalty.

Where was Earnie? Just accept his transfer request or start playing him! It is all well and good saying he has a part to play when Kanu and Kamara are away on international duty but at least make him feel part of the team.

Just an additional point - when we have our best team out we look capable of playing like a Premiership team but any sort of disruption causes massive problems. Therefore I would love to know how many times Wigan have played the same 11 this season as they rarely seem to have to make many changes to their team.

Oh well - resigned to relegation and the prospect of watching Reading on Saturday will only confirm to me what we will be missing next season. Disillusioned and disappointed.

Chris Gullick:

Totally inept, spineless performance today.

Only Robinson, Kanu, the PIG and Davies deserve any kind of credit.

As for the rest, Clem made basic errors, Greening and Kamara were ineffective and we lacked the ball winnning/holding midfielder. We REALLY missed Ronneh and Ina in CM. We looked at the team sheet and bet money on Carter scoring the first goal (with him being a Bluenose, you thought that at least he would be up for it - how wrong we were)

Ellington - I could understand if he had played 90 minutes against Liverpool as an excuse for being tired, but he only played 10 minutes or so. He looked about three yards off the pace. Whenever Kanu won the ball he was looking for options that were not there because Eillington was nowhere to be found.

Villa wanted it more, so much more than us. We were sat in the Directors Box (Thanks T-Mobile for an ace day BTW) in front of two Villa fans, and they said they were woeful, but we were worse. They laughed at our inability to find a player in the same colour shirt, and could not believe the amount of overhit passes that were played.

Mind you, Deadly Doug looked liked his named suggests!!

Our crowd were awful, I lost count of the Villa fans going "shhhhhh" at us with no reply. We started singing when we scored, but soon shut up when they went 2-1 up.

Robson - This performance (if you can call it that) should make you ashamed to manage such a poor excuse of a team, and it beggars belief to see how we can totally outplay Tottingham but get beaten by such a poor side as the Villa. You have to ask questions of your man management skills and if you cannot motivate a team to give a better performance ion a local derby game, you should walk away before you get pushed.

Also, don't blame the Ref. Whilst he was nowhere near a decent showing, the team and manager loses games not refereeing decisions.

Some people may look at this posting as being very harsh - I saw little to be positive about today. The future's not bright, the future's Coca Cola coloured.

Bryn Jones:

Lack of pace up front surely remains Albion?s biggest New Year weakness with Kamara heading for the Egyptian tournament and the anyway inconsistent Earnshaw apparently beyond the pale. Assuming the injuries to the missing midfielders, Wally, Ina and Gera are temporary then that the board must forego their second-half share dividends and put that dosh towards a loan/purchase of the proverbial pacey frontman.

Today?s team, especially the midfield, seemed to be still half-asleep for the first half of this mid-day game. Not only did Villa boss the midfield and create the most clear-cut chances up to the break, they had six corners to Albion?s one, the Wittonites also hit the cross bar. O?Leary said in his post match comments that Villa were the best team by a mile. Major bull-shit quota in this statement because after the break it was the Baggies that caused the most goal mouth action. Watson?s second-half equaliser was a just reward for a period of sustained pressure which included four corners.

IMO we lost mainly because of a slow and uninventive midfield. For all his faults Wallwork is, on the whole, a better passer, than his replacement Watson. Carter, Watson?s central midfield partner also needed too much time and space - which their more eager Villa counterparts rarely gave them. On the flanks Greening and Kamara got small change out of the Seal?s defenders but improved a bit in the second half after Robson?s touchline instructions to swap wings.

Despite Kanu?s clever promptings Ellington was ineffective for both halves and was fortunate not to be subbed before he eventually went off in the 66th minutes. The hapless Clem also made way for the willing but unpacey Horsefield with Albion switching to a 3-4-3 formation for the last 10 minutes. The captain had contributed to Villa?s first goal, just after half time, by losing possession in front of his own penalty area. Neil?s continuing tendency to drop clangers is a bit worrying and probably disheartening for the team mates to whom he is presumably meant to set an example. Fortunately, the other defenders were sharper. Davies ? apart from losing Baros on the halfway line in one first half incident ? was composed and decisive. Albrechtson marked well and used the ball constructively in the second half; while Robinson continued in the more clinical version of his customary crunching mode.

The mystery for me was Robson?s approach to our attacking problems. After we had gone behind again to Baros?s well-taken penalty, the central Villa defenders seemed to tire a bit and to look vulnerable when dealing with balls over the top for attackers to run onto. Crude stuff I know, but needs must when the Devil is holding the lead. Yet the sluggish Ellington is replaced by target man Campbell, who is joined by the positively snail-like Horse with less than 10 minutes to go. Why not push Kamara up front, instead; with Chaplow, who might have added fresh legs, replacing him in midfield? ?Joe? improved on an erratic first half but his eyes-down style constantly ran into too many opponents in midfield whereas he could have easily outpaced Melberg and co. in a more advanced role.

If the injured and the Africans are restored then we could still have a half-decent squad to battle for 17th position come February. But without splashing out on a quick front man Albion look like a one-trick attacking pony - over-dependent on Kanu?s classy but unsustainable horsemanship. With the even more costly relegation slots beckoning once more...

Lord Charles:

Thought I would wait and get through a cooling off period before giving my views. I was worried before a ball was kicked that we were going to struggle especially when I saw our midfield quartet.

Over the 90 minutes Villa were deserving winners if only for the fact that as a team they worked harder than we did.

Having said that Albion really should have been ahead from their first attack when Greening somehow missed a gaping goal from Kamara?s excellent cross. From that moment onwards we were second best and I was relieved to see us go in all square at half time.

I?m sure we were all hoping Albion would get better after the break, and they did, eventually, but not before going behind. Clement seems to be making a habit of making costly mistakes (Pompey and Liverpool) and again today he played a significant roll in both goals. It?s unfortunate that he has no real competition for his position (Moore & Gaardsoe are not good enough) and it is an area that Robson must strengthen this month.

The major talking points were the two penalty incidents and having had the benefit of seeing them several times referee got the one he gave correct because Watson clearly handled the ball. The other incident involving Hughes was less clear cut. I felt it was a case of the ball hitting the arm rather than a deliberate attempt to handle the ball. I have seen many of those given and it certainly begs the question why did Hughes have his hands in that position?

That penalty incident changed the course of the game. Don?t listen to the rubbish spouted by O?Dreary because Albion were the better side after the introduction of Angel and after Albion had equalized we looked the likely winners. For all their superiority Villa only managed 4 shots on target.

One of other reporters suggests that referees do not lose games it?s managers and players. I strongly disagree. Referees change the course of a game with some of their decisions (Remember our first season in the Prem?). Rob Styles was poor today and perhaps had he been tougher on Gavin McCann Villa would have ended the game a man short. That could have changed the game. Also had he awarded Albion a penalty then that would have changed the game too.

Despite all the talking points Albion were a yard off the pace today. Carter for me is not good enough and Ellington owes the fans an apology for his performance. From my vantage point he seemed totally disinterested. Of all our outfield players only Watson showed the effort and commitment needed for a local derby and even though some of his passing was poor and he gave away the penalty he was streets ahead of Greening, Kamara and Carter.

Some have mentioned why not play Chaplow? I have heard he?s a very poor trainer and has an attitude problem. I have also heard that Earnshaw is injured. How true these stories are I?m not sure. What does disappoint me is that the new coming out of the club is very poor. It seemed that Inamoto just missed out on being fit for Old Trafford and Wallwork was expected to be fit for this match. If Earnshaw is injured tell us if not then play him or sell him.

Happy New Year to All Baggie Fans... and let?s hope it is a good ?un!

didge:

Maybe I look at the game through the proverbial "rose tinted", but I don't think that there was much between the teams. We were on top for the first 15 mins and than Villa the better side for the next half hour. Ok Villa sat back after their first goal and looked dangerous on the counter, but Albion had by far the better of the second half and after our goal Villa started to panic and there looked only one winner. You can't legislate for the handball incident.

I still think that the mistakes we made were in the summer. The purchases of Kamara, Carter and earlier Chaplow are all midfielders with little defensive capability. Although Kamara does offer something in attack, we really only have Wallwork who can get his foot in and so cover for our defenders is almost non exisitent and tends to make them look worse than they are.

Watson is not the ideal replacement for wallwork, but is the next best option, but playing in that position you need genuine 360 degree vision - there is more to it than putting yourself about.

Midfielders with exclusively "ball playing" skills don't exisit anymore in the premiership and is the reason that Koumas can't hack it at that level and why Arsenal are relatively unsuccessful at the moment. So I would like to see any investment in players in midfield with a physical presence maybe with the addition of an experienced centre back with some organisational nous. I think that would be enough to keep us up - just.

AJ-B:

Well that same old chestnut reared again, team selection! How on earth could Robson assume that with a central midfield of Watson & Carter we would get a result from this game? We had no spine at all. Villa were not much better & it is easy to see why they are struggling, but Albion!!!!! we were truly awful. Also how inspiring was our subs bench? seemed like a throw back to 'Dads Army'. I could have sworn I heard strains of the 'Donkey Serenade' being played as Horsefield & Campbell were introduced. If this was the best squad Robson could muster then we really are in deep trouble, yes OK we have injuries, but Villa have had more, trouble is our back up is geriatric to say the least. Also if Chaplow & Carter were our pre-season signings of a future Albion, then we are in even deeper mire because neither is anywhere near the basic standard reqired for this premier league, Against Liverpool Chaplow was disgraceful & Carter, apart from the Spurs game, has also been dreadful. WE SO BADLY MISSED RONNIE WALLWORK AND/OR INAMOTO.

We seem to have a plethora of left footed players, Robinson, Clement, Carter, but they are just that - left footed players, not one of them it seems can kick with the right foot! how many times have they been caught out by having to turn to their favoured foot only to lose the ball or at best hoof it way back to our 'keeper? Villa were at least a yard faster than us all over the park, they had the desire, we had too much festivity I feel. Robson is becoming a 'clone' of O'Leary by bemoaning refereeing decisions & all manner of things, but the truth is we are not good enough, this means ,as it is his team, the manager is not good enough. We are now firmly back into another relegation struggle, I only hope that Robson gets out his pruning shears & removes ALL the deadwood & re-plants with more vibrant & better quality species.

Everyone is worrying over us losing Kanu & Kamara for a few weeks, stating we are losing 2 of our most influential players, I say to those, how many games did Kanu play early season, how many weeks went by without him being even in the squad, & how many of you thought he was a luxury we could not afford to have?????? amazing isn't it that a few games in the past month has altered your opinions? If we managed without him through most of last season & a fair slice of this season, sureley we can cope for 3-4 weeks now - or can we?

MY PLAYER REVIEW:

• KUSZCZAK: After his heroics against Liverpool, another superb display.
• ALBRECHTSEN: Despite some crticising him, Martin at least showed passion & energy.
• DAVIES: I have been critical of him but against Liverpool he was superb & against Villa another assured display, his passing though is still woeful.
• CLEMENT: After his best performance of the season against Spurs, he then puts in 2 horror shows against Liverpool & Villa, both games he was awful.
• ROBINSON: Not really been the same since his concussion at Man U his passing lateley has been awful, but still gives commitment.
• KAMARA: Another 'in & out' showing, at times looks a world beater, at other times *****! Seems to have been taking lessons from Greening on corner kick taking!
• WATSON: Yet another role thrust upon him & once again he was one of our better players, in fact over the 4 festive season games he has been by far our BEST player. Had to do work of 2 men against Villa as Carter was 'missing'.
• CARTER: I praised him against Spurs, must have been dreaming! He has played in all 4 games and without doubt is the WORST player over this festive season, Steve Bruce sure pulled one over on his mate Robson by selling him to us - 1.5 mill. Has to be the practical joke of last year.
• GREENING: Showed again glimpses of last seasons form, but still inconsistant, at least showed some passion in some of his tackles even though mis-timed.
• ELLINGTON: He stopped doing what he has been doing, runs off the ball, pulling defenders out of position, bad day at the office today, out of touch, out of sorts.
• KANU: Getting a reputation again, following his recent good performances now attracts 2-3 defenders every time he gets possession, trouble is we have no-one to take advantage of these situations.

SUBS:

Not worthy of any comment.

BRYAN ROBSON: His team 'rotation' has proven to be futile, no good blaming injuries, he assembled the squad, so if all he has to call on are geriatrics then that is the wonderland he has led us to. Only 3 points out of 12, only Sunderland have performed worse over Xmas/New Year. Thank you for another relegation battle.

bucksjim:

The key IMO that Villa were a yard faster all round, and appeared to have a modicum of organisation. The deep free kick to be nodded back appeared to be our only tactic, and boy did the players apply it - in spite of evidence it was not working.

Villa deservedly won.