Eccles Blue
Well-Known Member
I thought that but then I moved the cursor along the red line thingymabob to 6.28am and she is excellent. Very articulate and not over biased for us, very supportive though.
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Aston Villa (A) | PL | Post Match Thread
- Thread starter MCFC1993
- Start date
Gabriel
Well-Known Member
Interesting perspective. I thought VIlla were very good and worthy of their win, but not brilliant. We had too many players in their wrong position last night and Villa really should have scored more from the chances created. Arsenal are in less disarray than Spurs and us, so Saturday evening should be a sterner test of your credentials. Would be good for the League if you found your shooting boots, however.Just from the other side of the glass, I agree with a lot of this. I believe football is often about timing & everything was in place for us last night. City without Rodri is a different proposition and him alone would have probably changed the dynamics of the game last night - he is that good.
But we were brilliant, it sounds a bit extreme but I'm genuinely not sure the last time I have seen a Villa team play that well. Maybe even in my lifetime. I know watching City you've seen some ridiculous heights of late (and it's often been a pleasure to watch as a neutral), but I couldn't have envisaged seeing a Villa team play at that sort of level. There is no point getting too giddy, we will inevitably drop off and there is a long way to go, but I'm not sure there is a more difficult away game right at this minute.
I don't see any great panic at city, I'm convinced they'll still be title contenders (if not winners) once the squad settles again and Pep finds a way again (he always does). Let's be honest, you should have been 5 up v half time against Spurs & Liverpool hung on 2nd half. Last night was different, but like I said a few things fell into place for that to happen.
pride in battle
Well-Known Member
I would say villa were fantastic, I can't remember a side playing so well against us in recent timesCouple of points on the game last night - We WEREN'T shit, and Villa are a VERY good side under Emery.
Their style of play (very compact out of possession, and quick to press) forced errors, and we struggled to deal with it. I thought we actually defended well at times. Had it not been for the deflection I think Ederson had that shot covered.
Referee was okay last night, although I though a couple of Villa players could have/should have been booked.
Wretched Vengeance
Well-Known Member
That spell just before they scored was utterly bewildering. Can't recall us being so unorganised, rattled and unable to do simple things. No one could pass the ball to a team mate.
I know we have injuries and suspensions, but something just seems off. To me, it appears too many players are being forced into unnatural positions. One or two is probably fine, but I'd say we're currently playing with Silva, Foden, Gvardiol and Alvarez out of position. I can't understand why Pep is persevering with this.
If we had lost by several more, we could have had no complaints. Villa were as brilliant as we were abject.
I know we have injuries and suspensions, but something just seems off. To me, it appears too many players are being forced into unnatural positions. One or two is probably fine, but I'd say we're currently playing with Silva, Foden, Gvardiol and Alvarez out of position. I can't understand why Pep is persevering with this.
If we had lost by several more, we could have had no complaints. Villa were as brilliant as we were abject.
I said after 10 minutes that I would take being home before midnight and a 0-0. I was home at 11.50 and we scored 0 so two out of three...
I am still trying to work out what formation we played last night and I am struggling. It looked like 5 at the back with both Stones and Akanji stepping into midfield leaving the full backs and Ruben as a back three but then who was supposed to be playing DM. Rico was in the middle then shifted to the right, Silva was on the right, shifted to the middle then the left, Walker tucked in then shifted to wide right, it was a bizarre performance. At half time we should have reverted to a 4 2 3 1 and brought on Kalvin (yes I know) and Kova to be the two pivots, left Stones in the middle with Ruben and taken off Lewis and Akanji. Three would have been Foden Alvarez and Silva. Stones could have stepped in to support the two pivots and Kalvin could have brought some legs to the middle and closed down the likes of McGinn who we made look like prime Gazza. Could have also helped if Haaland hadn't been so static all game and made some runs into the channels. Look at the movement of Watkins as a comparison. Would be interesting to see the running stats last night as I reckon Villa out ran us by plenty of kms. Big game on Sunday coming up.
I am still trying to work out what formation we played last night and I am struggling. It looked like 5 at the back with both Stones and Akanji stepping into midfield leaving the full backs and Ruben as a back three but then who was supposed to be playing DM. Rico was in the middle then shifted to the right, Silva was on the right, shifted to the middle then the left, Walker tucked in then shifted to wide right, it was a bizarre performance. At half time we should have reverted to a 4 2 3 1 and brought on Kalvin (yes I know) and Kova to be the two pivots, left Stones in the middle with Ruben and taken off Lewis and Akanji. Three would have been Foden Alvarez and Silva. Stones could have stepped in to support the two pivots and Kalvin could have brought some legs to the middle and closed down the likes of McGinn who we made look like prime Gazza. Could have also helped if Haaland hadn't been so static all game and made some runs into the channels. Look at the movement of Watkins as a comparison. Would be interesting to see the running stats last night as I reckon Villa out ran us by plenty of kms. Big game on Sunday coming up.
BlueAnorak
Well-Known Member
- Joined
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Aston Villa are the best team we have played this season. I think they could very will win the league. Defensively they were solid and four of their midfield players Bailey McGinn, Luis and Tielemans were sensational. There was a reason we wanted the last two.
Yes we were abject, but we were abject for a reason - quite simply Villa were brilliant.
Yes we were abject, but we were abject for a reason - quite simply Villa were brilliant.
jimmygrimblesboots
Well-Known Member
Even more crazy we are only three points in front of the Rags , bewilderingThe crazy thing is if Villa take points off Arsenal and we beat Luton ( Nowhere near a given at the moment! ) then in spite of this shit run we're right back in the mix.
the-ecstacy-of-eight
Well-Known Member
Feel sad for Ederson, no way was he getting beat last night, deserved a clean sheet IMO.
Spawny lucky/unlucky deflected-goal was the only possible way to beat him last night.
But we're not great without Rodders, are we?
We were out played pretty much all over the pitch, but I got "Champs league final against Chelsea" vibes about the whole match. Like a domino effect of all our team's deficiencies unfolding in a single match; stemming from a missing key player, resulting in a left-field team selection, which looked a bit risky on paper, and looked even worse on the pitch.
No proper DM leads to too little control for us, and with that we turn to runny-shit! Just rushed sloppy play everywhere. Misplaced silly rushed panicky passes all over the pitch and it (almost) always puts us in the shit defensively, almost instantly too, due to our emphasis on numbers in attack, and the opposition's "hit 'em fast" perma-tactics.
When we've got a patched-up bullshit midfield with nobody in there who knows how to quietly stamp their presence on the match and play the role effectively, we can't play PepControlBall, and, unfortunately when this current collection can't totally control the play, it's 50:50 at best if we get any sort of result out of the match.
Also...
No Kev, and Haaland feels like a bit of a luxury up front too. Like having a team of 10 plus some big bloke who just turned up and can "apparently play a bit" but doesn't really know which attacking runs to make. Worked hard on his Harry Kane role up and down the pitch though, put a lot of effort in.
Bad night, absolutely, but it felt like a bit of a "perfect storm" of unavailable players, with a bit of a Pep "bullshit idea" team selection thrown in, plus a deflected lucky goal jus for good measure.
We deserved a draw IMO.
Spawny lucky/unlucky deflected-goal was the only possible way to beat him last night.
But we're not great without Rodders, are we?
We were out played pretty much all over the pitch, but I got "Champs league final against Chelsea" vibes about the whole match. Like a domino effect of all our team's deficiencies unfolding in a single match; stemming from a missing key player, resulting in a left-field team selection, which looked a bit risky on paper, and looked even worse on the pitch.
No proper DM leads to too little control for us, and with that we turn to runny-shit! Just rushed sloppy play everywhere. Misplaced silly rushed panicky passes all over the pitch and it (almost) always puts us in the shit defensively, almost instantly too, due to our emphasis on numbers in attack, and the opposition's "hit 'em fast" perma-tactics.
When we've got a patched-up bullshit midfield with nobody in there who knows how to quietly stamp their presence on the match and play the role effectively, we can't play PepControlBall, and, unfortunately when this current collection can't totally control the play, it's 50:50 at best if we get any sort of result out of the match.
Also...
No Kev, and Haaland feels like a bit of a luxury up front too. Like having a team of 10 plus some big bloke who just turned up and can "apparently play a bit" but doesn't really know which attacking runs to make. Worked hard on his Harry Kane role up and down the pitch though, put a lot of effort in.
Bad night, absolutely, but it felt like a bit of a "perfect storm" of unavailable players, with a bit of a Pep "bullshit idea" team selection thrown in, plus a deflected lucky goal jus for good measure.
We deserved a draw IMO.
JTFactsPlz
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You must be doing some magical voodoo, I can't get it to rewind that far back.I thought that but then I moved the cursor along the red line thingymabob to 6.28am and she is excellent. Very articulate and not over biased for us, very supportive though.
the-ecstacy-of-eight
Well-Known Member
Mate, because of the result, you can look back at the performance and rightly be proud that you spanked us! :)Just from the other side of the glass, I agree with a lot of this. I believe football is often about timing & everything was in place for us last night. City without Rodri is a different proposition and him alone would have probably changed the dynamics of the game last night - he is that good.
But we were brilliant, it sounds a bit extreme but I'm genuinely not sure the last time I have seen a Villa team play that well. Maybe even in my lifetime. I know watching City you've seen some ridiculous heights of late (and it's often been a pleasure to watch as a neutral), but I couldn't have envisaged seeing a Villa team play at that sort of level. There is no point getting too giddy, we will inevitably drop off and there is a long way to go, but I'm not sure there is a more difficult away game right at this minute.
I don't see any great panic at city, I'm convinced they'll still be title contenders (if not winners) once the squad settles again and Pep finds a way again (he always does). Let's be honest, you should have been 5 up v half time against Spurs & Liverpool hung on 2nd half. Last night was different, but like I said a few things fell into place for that to happen.
But, I agree, it was a bit of a perfect storm last night with Kev out (which we've kind of found a way to work around, but only kind of) and also Rodri out (which we haven't a clue how to adapt to).
None of our replacements are really up to speed with how to play Pepball yet, and it kinda shows.
Hoped we'd hang on for a draw which would have allowed our performance to be forgotten about somewhat, but a (sour grapes :) lucky goal beat my CityMotM.