6 | Nathan Ake - 2023/24

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Came on for 5-10 mins to seemingly calm things down, yet his defending, or the lack of it, cost us the 3rd. He cost us against Wolves as well. Everyone was quick to attack Gvardiol, who wasn't even responsible for any of the goals, or Kovacic, who wasn't responsible either. I love Nate, but how is he getting away with it today when Josko and Mateo are attacked for much less? I am making a point here because I rate all of them highly, but there seems to be some bias involved. Shouldn't we hold someone who has been at the club for years to a higher, not lower, standard? Ake will not magically solve our problems because Gvardiol is not an issue. They can both play. I am much more concerned about Kyle Walker playing every week. The point is that people scapegoat our new signings when most of our signings need time to adapt, yet the regulars are getting away with the scrutiny.
 
Haaland94 said:
Came on for 5-10 mins to seemingly calm things down, yet his defending, or the lack of it, cost us the 3rd. He cost us against Wolves as well. Everyone was quick to attack Gvardiol, who wasn't even responsible for any of the goals, or Kovacic, who wasn't responsible either. I love Nate, but how is he getting away with it today when Josko and Mateo are attacked for much less? I am making a point here because I rate all of them highly, but there seems to be some bias involved. Shouldn't we hold someone who has been at the club for years to a higher, not lower, standard? Ake will not magically solve our problems because Gvardiol is not an issue. They can both play. I am much more concerned about Kyle Walker playing every week. The point is that people scapegoat our new signings when most of our signings need time to adapt, yet the regulars are getting away with the scrutiny.
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He could have anticipated the ball into the box more, but Kulesevski had the run on him so there wasn't a lot more he could do. That goal came from Walker fucking trotting out and making no real effort to stop the cross coming in. Bernie was there backing Walker up so he should have sprinted out to make sure Johnson's only option was to go backwards. Piss poor. All the goals we are conceding are piss poor to be honest. Their second - Alvarez trying a little flick over to Haaland and then one header just wipes out our whole midfield and Dias was like a fucking bus trying to get anywhere near Lo Celso to block the shot. The first - a joke. Gil does very well on the edge of their box, but Doku has to deal with Son. And Ederson has to save that shot.
 
supercity88 said:
He could have anticipated the ball into the box more, but Kulesevski had the run on him so there wasn't a lot more he could do. That goal came from Walker fucking trotting out and making no real effort to stop the cross coming in. Bernie was there backing Walker up so he should have sprinted out to make sure Johnson's only option was to go backwards. Piss poor. All the goals we are conceding are piss poor to be honest. Their second - Alvarez trying a little flick over to Haaland and then one header just wipes out our whole midfield and Dias was like a fucking bus trying to get anywhere near Lo Celso to block the shot. The first - a joke. Gil does very well on the edge of their box, but Doku has to deal with Son. And Ederson has to save that shot.
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I would also add that Akanji's pass to Alvarez was unnecessary for their 2nd goal. He had Walker to his right with a ton of space. On the other hand, Alvarez was surrounded by defenders with no real options, and it reminded me of when Rodri passed the ball to Lewis in a similar fashion last season. Then, Lewis obviously lost the ball, and the opposition scored.
 
Haaland94 said:
I would also add that Akanji's pass to Alvarez was unnecessary for their 2nd goal. He had Walker to his right with a ton of space. On the other hand, Alvarez was surrounded by defenders with no real options, and it reminded me of when Rodri passed the ball to Lewis in a similar fashion last season. Then, Lewis obviously lost the ball, and the opposition scored.
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The positive in my opinion, is that these things are all largely from a change in personnel and formation and easy things to iron out. The defending has been abysmal but we're looking back on the past few games as missed opportunities rather than downright pathetic performances with no character, no fight and wondering how we're going to improve. There are some very easy fixes potentially. Getting a solid back 4. Getting someone alongside Rodri rather than having Alvarez on the pitch. Sadly, Villa will be a makeshift side and we're going to have to dig deep and fight for our lives to take the 3 points there. On paper it's another team perfectly set up to run our current defence ragged.
 
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