Aston Villa (A) | PL | Post Match Thread

nothing surprised in this game. went as I expected, slow not dangerous attacks from City with little end product from attacking players. they were able to unlock all our tactical setup with couple quick runs , our setup with these players is asking for trouble. I wonder if we practice in training this that our defence need to defend huge area behind them when they put the ball behind them for a runner. quite a general situation we struggle with in almost every game yet we keep asking a very bad Lewis/Gundogan duo to read these situations before they occur. good luck with that.

I am fed up with our wingers creating nothing or not scoring ever again but partially blame is on Pep, he is asking them to receive the ball wide deep and with their back to the net and recycle it. Cash even allowed huge space there for Grealish we couldnt use, he got the balls from long balls, Cash closed him down every time, and opportunity was lost, rarely anything came from it. teams respect our wingers less and less because they provide no threat anymore. they would not do that to Sake or Salah on the right side.

this run we have is absolute brutal, any half decent team can beat us, the Forest win was a strange one, I guess we have a payback.the better sides or better managers can beat us without much risk and heavy tactical gimnastics.

Emery knew what to do, there will be much harder home 3 points for them this season than this was. but same story elsewhere.

look at Palace-City 2-2, Arsenal goes there they win 5-1 2-3 weeks later.
Sporting-Arsenal 4-1
Arsenal goes there and wins 5-1 2 weeks later.
Spurs beating us then they lose a couple on the bounce.


Pep gave two extra days off for the players after the derby loss, wonder now he gives them all week off before we play Everton. there isnt any hard work on training anyway, because if there is and this is the result what we see week in week out, I do wonder wtf is happening on trainings.

like practicing service to Haaland. or track runners in a pushed with a defence. or corners. do we practice these until nosebleed? really?
 
It just goes to show that no matter how many days rest we have in between games it makes not a jot of difference to performance and fitness levels. We play better when we're playing every few days in my eyes, we're generally shit when we have a week's gap
 
We should start coming out late after half time and pick up the fines as no idea what happens at half time but we are even worse in the second half’s.
Some of our defeats, we have played well bar finishing in 1st half’s but had total collapses after half time.
 
GoatersLeftShin said:
I really don't know what to say about today but when I saw the team sheet I knew we were in trouble. The first few minutes showed how slowly and lazily we approached the game. We seem oblivious to the idea that the opposition are going to press us like we used to press teams. Gvardiol clearly was not ready to play a game and was switched off as the game started!

Unless we change our approach we are going to lose far more games than we win, it's as simple as that. I know Pep has his principles but he simply has to change his approach NOW to save this season.

Our midfield must now be the worst in the league. It offers absolutely no threat going forward and no cover to the defence. It's a pointless midfield and something needs to change for the next game. I'm sick of watching paases going backwards than forward. It's incredible how useless it is really given the players we have.

Haaland was anonymous again and unless we sort the midfield out there's absolutely no point playing him. He offers no threat to the opposition. He's a world class player who's getting no service from a useless midfield. He needs dropping until we can pass the ball forward.

We need to resort to the absolute basics and stop conceeding goals. Until that happens were sitting ducks. I have no confidence in the defence either and are capable of cocking up.

Pep needs to have a really hard think about this now. It's not a blip, it's beyond that, we've been found out and also our squad is too injured. We cannot keep playing this passionless, slow game as it's not working now.

Pep clearly has no confidence in the players in the Academy so we might as well sell the lot of them. If none of them are better than the ones on the pitch we cannot carry this deadwood and it needs to go.

Everton is a massive game for us now. And I'm honestly not confident of winning it. If they come to us and use their pace, physicality and counter well I think they will score at least 1 goal. We are going to have to be far better than recent to match that.
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Today was horrible. That second half was the worst of the lot. Dreadful performance from the team and from Pep.
 
hertsblue said:
We should start coming out late after half time and pick up the fines as no idea what happens at half time but we are even worse in the second half’s.
Some of our defeats, we have played well bar finishing in 1st half’s but had total collapses after half time.
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It used to be the other way round

Our opponents used to be dead on their feet after an hour

More signs that we have a squad full of unfit and old players that have all hit the wall at the same time
 
HarrytheBlue said:
Seventeen games into the season - every team is exactly where they deserve to be - no ifs, buts, maybes - half way through the season the table the table does not lie. I wouldn't make excuses for Chelsea - they're in the bracket of spend, spend, spend until the team plays as a unit. 'Unprepared' because they were overloaded with eye wateringly expensive players is not an excuse. We won that game deservedly. Megabucks sides are judged on results.
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I don't think they knew their best team/tactics at the time but they do know.

Not that long before we play them at home, we'll need a huge improvement in form if we are to get a result.
 
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BlueMoonz1977 said:
This group of players has ran through walls to get the trophy haul and put our club on the map - guided by the greatest manager of our time

This squad and I'm talking about the experienced players have all hit a brick wall at the same time - for those expecting them to go at it every year and perform like they have over the last years (whilst being pushed to the brink by both the dippers and arsenal) do you not think at some point this would happen?

For those of us that lived through the "actual" shit times, this is nothing, but the final song of a team that brought success we never thought possible coming to its end.

Yes it hurts to see it, and this season is going to be tough, real tough which will only highlight those players that have come to the end of their journey and need to move on
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Here's the issue I have - we have to differentiate the players in this squad.

There are those like KDB, Bernardo, Gundo, Dias etc that have been instrumental in our success and it's hard to have any gripes with them in terms of application.

However, there's another load of players that haven't been instrumental in our success and absolutely deserve calling out. Grealish, Doku, Gvardiol, Nunes, Rico etc have not been pivotal to our success and if the senior players are having a dip, they do not/have not shown the quality to step up.

They can't behind the quality of KDB, Bernardo, Gundogan etc.
 
MMA said:
A small drop off yes...

But in case you've not noticed we've fell off a cliff.

He maybe not calling the team dogshit.

But that performance and the previous 11 have been dogshit.

It's not acceptable for where we are now..

We . Are . Not . Managed. By. Stuart. Pearce. Anymore.

And we are not owned by John wardle anymore.


There is high standards now and it's not about glory hunting.

I've always always said I could take The scum beating us 20 nil as long as I saw my team trying.


Not one person can say they have seen anything like the "team" trying in these last 12 games.

Coasting. Taking the piss.

They can hate the manager.
Hate the tea lady for all I care but you have to have to as an individual earn your wage and have your own pride in your work.

The "team" imho are taking the piss.
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I agree but I think this team just isn’t giving the effort or has the physical stamina to do what made us so good in the first place. It’s not a tactical issue for me. It’s a capability to do what’s asked that’s the problem. What made us so good and what has lacked the last two months is the desire and will to press relentlessly, we don’t see the will to swarm 3 or 4 deep around the ball when we lose the ball. Not to mention the lack of creativity and the complete lack of ability to play out the back with ease. Which are all things that has separated us from the pack in the past seasons. Without these things our style of play is completely ineffective. Pep not having a plan b. No long ball after long ball to Haaland making runs, nothing. We are going to have to replace 5 or 6 easily
 
HarrytheBlue said:
Seventeen games into the season - every team is exactly where they deserve to be - no ifs, buts, maybes - half way through the season the table the table does not lie. I wouldn't make excuses for Chelsea - they're in the bracket of spend, spend, spend until the team plays as a unit. 'Unprepared' because they were overloaded with eye wateringly expensive players is not an excuse. We won that game deservedly. Megabucks sides are judged on results.
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Mental not having a full squad.

Worked in the past but not now all this working with a smaller squad.

The premier league is not la liga.
It's not the bundesliga.

You need a full 25.

Teams have caught up tactically and we have no competition for player places.

What we do have ( fuck injures) is a team coasting. Taking the piss.

Feel sorry for pep for the most part because he can't do fuck all when the 11 cross the white line , but he's not helping himself having a small squad not competing with each other in the hardest league in the world.
 
BlueMoonz1977 said:
This group of players has ran through walls to get the trophy haul and put our club on the map - guided by the greatest manager of our time

This squad and I'm talking about the experienced players have all hit a brick wall at the same time - for those expecting them to go at it every year and perform like they have over the last years (whilst being pushed to the brink by both the dippers and arsenal) do you not think at some point this would happen?

For those of us that lived through the "actual" shit times, this is nothing, but the final song of a team that brought success we never thought possible coming to its end.

Yes it hurts to see it, and this season is going to be tough, real tough which will only highlight those players that have come to the end of their journey and need to move on
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Can't argue with that other than the club should have seen it coming to a certain extent.

We all knew Walker was done last season, we should have bought a RB.

And not having suitable back ups for either Rodri or Haaland is abysmal planning.
 
Fordyboy46 said:
It just goes to show that no matter how many days rest we have in between games it makes not a jot of difference to performance and fitness levels. We play better when we're playing every few days in my eyes, we're generally shit when we have a week's gap
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Have taken my time today but it’s all really quite upsetting seeing how low we have fallen Two minutes before their 2 nd we actually got to the edge of their box where all that was needed was a cross onto the pen spot Said cross was provided by Grealish who put it into the side netting ???? That is fkin criminal and sums us up at the mo Its awful , no leaders , embarrassing That’s it really
 
Dereck Jeffries 3 wd said:
Another couple of minutes in that FM Cup final we would have got a draw in 90 mins. Had some good conversations with Chelsea fans on the train back to the London hotel!! Got my programme handy!!!
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I got to know the former Chelsea player, Colin Lee some years later. When I mentioned the match, he said that it had turned into a friendly kickabout for both teams long before the end, and that Doug Rougvie's own goal was intentional.

Unfortunately, it was a little less friendly in the car park after the game!
 
Safely back home from Villa Park after taking a scenic route.

We are a soft touch basically. Nobody dared go near Morgan Rodgers all day, and we keep conceding the same goal straight down the middle and our throats every week. Villa didn't really have to do much to win today, they just coasted and it was relatively easy for them.

Our Support was class as always but Pep can't keep asking knackered, old, unfit or talent deficit players to play his system as they simply can't do it.

We need at least 2 Midfielders immediately - one of whom has to be a Hold - and both need to be mobile, physical and be able to actually put in a tackle once in a while.

Walker is a car crash these days and just shouldn't be on the pitch until he's sorted his chaotic private life out, which has to be having an effect as his drop off is so stark. Gundo gets old manned at least 3 times in every game now & it's sad to see. Meanwhile John Stones "45 mins every 6 weeks" routine is a waste of everyone's time. He's been a gem for us and played his best ever game for us in the European Cup final, but the time may have come for him to depart with his contract up in 2026, at his age and with his injury record.

We don't currently have a single player playing well. Not a single one.
 
apart from Spurs we’ve not had a thrashing in terms of scoreline. Still a positive goal difference.
 
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