Aston Villa (A) - Sat 21st Dec, 12:30 | PL | Pre-Match Thread

[Chak19]

The youth players would be making the same mistakes as the seniors. There is little wriggle room and little time for them to really develop and really could end their careers before it began.

Or they could learn from it and improve ?

 

[chickaroon]

I think the manager should have said forget them breaking our lines and just go out and enjoy yourself and don't fear losing, When form is a struggle last thing you need is the fear of losing. But what we are watching is the manager hoping the transfer window opens this weekend so he can fix a problem called Rodri missing from his system.

Pep does not have a plan B or a system he is happy with, it has been crying out for a system change instead of playing somebody in that role who is not good enough to play the holding midfield role,

We are a complicated setup and use players who are inverted wingbacks and splitting the centre-backs so Rodri can pick up the ball deep or take the ball off the keeper, I do wonder why Pep never changes the setup and uses the false 9 and pack the midfield and bench Haaland

I agree with you about, going out to play and enjoy themselves. That attitude would have beaten Utd. Let's hope Pep can free up their minds for Villa.

 

[aka blue jambo]

Haha that’s where my confidence level is, mate.

As I say, I hope I’m wrong pal but I’ll take your bet as it’s for charity.

Cheers glad you took it in the spirit I meant
Just a fun friendly wager

 

[DJBusinesscake]

I'm certain we won't win and I'm almost certain we will lose, but hey, ya never know...

 

[Eric Hitchmough]

The youth players would be making the same mistakes as the seniors.

Nobody can say that with any degree of certainty mate until they actually get a run in the team.

 

[Bellamy's Caddy]

Last season at Villa was the biggest battering we’ve ever had under Pep.

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We didn’t have a shot after the 8th minute and even one of the ones we had early doors was a miskick. If it had been 5-0, I don’t think anyone would have begrudged Villa.

I hope that is fresh in the mind of the players. Because Villa - while not looking as good this season in the PL - have beaten Bayern at home in the CL.

Spot on mate, it's one of the most one sided (for the opposition) games I can remember and we were just lucky that the scoreline didn't reflect it.

It was a warning shot, as to how vulnerable we were without Rodri (plus some other injuries), as were the other games we lost during his suspension. Sadly we didn't take that warning, and this recent spell has been a further continuation of that. The Phillips signing is more and more disastrous the more I think about it. As was the inefficiency not to address that during the summer transfer window.

Rodri, plus the horrible run of injuries and over reliance on other players have created a perfect storm. We're too cautious in attack and timid in midfield, and we desperately need players back to try and not let the season totally get away from us during the festive fixture pile up.

We really need a win, but a draw isn't a disaster here. Have a feeling it will be extremely hard fought if we come away from this one with any points.

 

[Kamikaze Blue]

Still reeling from Sunday. Was painful that we failed to control the game against a frankly mediocre United. Can't make a prediction for Villa, just praying that we find a line up/formation that gives us a bit of solidity in defence. Can't attack with confidence when the defence is so fragile. Grealish should start not because he's ex Villa but because he's brilliant at holding the ball and/or drawing the foul. We need to grind out a result.

 

[RayCTID]

Nobody can say that with any degree of certainty mate until they actually get a run in the team.

The seniors can't help at all as they have their own form to consider.

 

[Lavinda Past]

I would imagine that there won't be a single player, at any level in the club, who will be confident that we can get a result at Villa.

Sunday's abysmal showing, and even more abysmal result, will have almost certainly have destroyed quite a few of our players psychologically.

Pep's second biggest challenge this week will be to lift morale and confidence in the dressing room. His biggest challenge will be to convince himself that he can do that.

While a point or three would be welcome, I would have no problem with a 1-0 defeat at Villa, provided our team spirit, commitment, and overall performance shows a significant improvement on recent games.

I'm not at all confident that we'll see any improvement on Sunday to be honest.

 

[supercity88]

What I want to see is a different approach to the game. We can't keep turning up with the same system and expect results to change. We're not pressing which is leaving us open at the back. When we do try and get back to defend we're panicking and dropping too deep, ignoring the space and players and not picking people up.

We were woeful against the rags but still should have won the game. That's because they're shite. Villa aren't shite. They've had mixed results but a big game at home is going to see them lift their level and they'll take us to the sword if we don't change things. They've got a lot of pace and physicality and we'll be destroyed playing the way we have been.

Pep wants to keep the system that brought success and just get us to implement it better, but through injuries and form we can't. Unless this week off suddenly heals a load of players and we can press with the intensity we used to we'll get beaten.

Things need to change - this game is a tough one but then we have a run of games where we can pick up points - and we need to. Because when we go to PSG, which is a must win, we start a horrific run of fixtures that could see us fall off a cliff otherwise.