Villa Vs City Post Match Discussion Thread

[FromPollockToSilva]

Unfortunately it's left us a little more open and our defence is quite weak.

But we haven't really conceded any goals due to our defence being more open. We've conceded two direct free-kicks, two corners, one blatantly offside goal and one from an awful mistake by our two centre-backs. The only goal that I think you could even remotely blame on Pellegrini's more aggressive system is the first against Cardiff, and that's still arguably more to do with the players not doing their jobs (going with a runner/preventing a cross coming in) than with any inherent deficiencies in our formation.

So far this season, we're conceding fewer shots per game than last season (9.2 to 10.4) and making more tackles per game too (19.3 to 18), while also conceding fewer fouls (10.5 to 12,4). So I don't think we need to panic about being more 'open' - that really isn't the problem as far as I can see.

 

[FantasyIreland]

Some revealing info from the DM. Sounds like Pellegrini finally lost his temper at the players and who can blame him?

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One-by-one they trooped down the tunnel, anger barely concealed, as requests for post-match comments were brushed aside.

Apart from Vincent Kompany, who gave an interview to the club’s in-house media, no-one stopped to give a post-match reaction.

As one observer in the tunnel said: ‘They’ve just been given a rollicking in there. A big one too.’

It has taken six games and three indifferent performances away from the Etihad Stadium before the Chilean has blown. And, make no mistake, he had every right.

The statistics give a flavour of the visitors’ overwhelming superiority. Sixty-seven per cent of the possession. Twenty-seven shots. Thirteen corners. And still they lost.

Pellegrini’s angst was evident during the game. With Villa struggling to find a way back into the match, 2-1 down in the second-half, Edin Dzeko was dumped on his backside near the manager’s dug-out.

The Bosnia international was taking his time rising from the turf. His manager was gesturing frantically for him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get back in the game.

Pellegrini had perhaps sensed the over-confidence. He is too experienced to know that Villa could not be just brushed aside in front of their own supporters without the security of a two-goal cushion.

It never came. And, as often happens in football, it took a strike with more than a hint of offside about it, a wonderful David Beckham-esque free-kick and an instant of defensive sloppiness to leave Manchester City’s boss fuming.

Sound familiar. Didn't he do the same thing when we were 2 up away to Fulham in the title winning season with Fulham going on to score. And I think he may have done it last year too which resulted in the opposition scoring? Possibly one of the Liverpool games?

Its incidents like the above that prevent Dzeko from being universally accepted and admired.His attitude and application doesn't always reach the level it should,there's also a selfishness about his game I don't like.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

I see everyone panicking. This game is the worst game to panic about. The team played excellent and Villa scored two goals that shouldn't have been (offside and false free kick). We were unlucky. End of.

Maybe .....
but we had much more possession , far more corners , and far more shots than Aston Villa , yet only managed the two goals ...... and one of those came from a midfielder !
If we'd been a bit more clinical in front of goal , as Liverpool have been at Sunderland , we might just have got away with our kamikazi defending ...... there are many that say you make your own luck !

Both goals by Suarez were tap-ins and one of our great weaknesses is that we don't create easy chances.
Granted Aguero's second last week was unmarked (and even then he hit the keeper with it) but yesterday's chances were all significantly more difficult than Suarez's pair this afternoon.
No easy chances at Cardiff or Stoke from what I remember either.
We've done it in the past of course, Mario's second, Aguero's and Dzeko's first in the first six-one, but that was hardly the case in many other away games over the past two seasons. Look at the quality of finishes of all six in the other six-one for example.
We don't make it easy for ourselves; we have players capable of scoring brilliant goals, but it's rare for one team to score enough to win the league. We did it two seasons ago, but I'm wondering if it's a feat that can be repeated.

Is it possible our forwards just don't have the mobility to find space, or our creative players can't find them when they do?[/quote]

Certainly we have a lack of pace and trickery up front, and especially when Aguero's not there. Watching Sturridge and Suarez yesterday, they have such pace, power and trickery, they go past defenders in tight spaces for fun, and create chances out of nothing. We just don't have that option, which is especially useful in exploiting space on the counter. Perhaps explains why Liverpool and Arsenal in particular just don't look like losing away from home at the moment

 

[Jumanji]

Pretty hard to fashion easy goals when every team you play parks the double decker bus.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

Certainly we have a lack of pace and trickery up front, and especially when Aguero's not there. Watching Sturridge and Suarez yesterday, they have such pace, power and trickery, they go past defenders in tight spaces for fun, and create chances out of nothing. We just don't have that option, which is especially useful in exploiting space on the counter. Perhaps explains why Liverpool and Arsenal in particular just don't look like losing away from home at the moment

I don't really see how Giroud is any quicker or trickier than our forwards. I think our strongest line-up with Navas, Silva/Nasri, Aguero and Negredo/Dzeko is actually fairly similar to Arsenal's Walcott, Cazorla, Ozil and Giroud line-up, in terms of pace and personnel, albeit with Aguero providing more of a goal threat (and less creativity) than Ozil.

 

[samharris]

Pretty hard to fashion easy goals when every team you play parks the double decker bus.

This it seems is our achilles heel..

 

[TGR]

Pretty hard to fashion easy goals when every team you play parks the double decker bus.

This it seems is our achilles heel..

It most certainly is and it has been for some time.
However, lets not start believing we are the only team where 'lesser clubs' park the bus every week.
As much as I hate to say it the rags for almost 2 decades manged to break down such tactics and come out winners.
We need to learn to change our tactics and formation to do this. However, as skillful and talented some of our players
are they do not seen capable of doing it. The new managers tactic of defending with a high line away from home doesn't look the answer either.
It is a problem for sure.

 

[Marvin]

Some odd comparisons being made here

For a start Aguero didn't play because he is not 100% fit and is needed for Bayern.

And Sturridge and Suarez were not that great against Sunderland. I watched the whole game, and for lengthy spells they struggled a lot. And Sunderland had a good go at them. They attacked them. Teams don't play that way against us so we struggle for space

 

[Jumanji]

Some odd comparisons being made here

For a start Aguero didn't play because he is not 100% fit and is needed for Bayern.

And Sturridge and Suarez were not that great against Sunderland. I watched the whole game, and for lengthy spells they struggled a lot. And Sunderland had a good go at them. They attacked them. Teams don't play that way against us so we struggle for space

Yup. They pretty much never do.

A team will come to us and park the bus, and play Arsenal the next week, for example and whilst still being defensive, they'll be a bit more open against them.

The team lower top-6 teams do have to face teams that park the bus but I do not for once believe it is to the same extent that we encounter.

In 2011 and prior, we hardly had this problem even though we were a top 4 calibre team. Even in the title winning season, teams weren't parking the bus at first. It seemed to start after Napoli did it so well, and then it became the way to stop City. After the 6-1, it was game over, not only where teams parking the bus, but also defending in each match like warriors at a last stand...putting their bodies on the line, and playing very aggressively.

We'll have to get use to these tactics as they aren't changing any time soon.

 

[OB1]

Pretty hard to fashion easy goals when every team you play parks the double decker bus.

This it seems is our achilles heel..

It most certainly is and it has been for some time.
However, lets not start believing we are the only team where 'lesser clubs' park the bus every week.
As much as I hate to say it the rags for almost 2 decades manged to break down such tactics and come out winners.
We need to learn to change our tactics and formation to do this. However, as skillful and talented some of our players
are they do not seen capable of doing it. The new managers tactic of defending with a high line away from home doesn't look the answer either.
It is a problem for sure.

We put 39 crosses in on Saturday, inc corners, and the quality of them was better than ususl, IMO, but we did not get on the end of enough of them.