Villa Vs City Post Match Discussion Thread

[Hanger]

Its exactly what happened last season, dominate play but not finishing teams off. Happened for Mancini and now for Pellegrini , need to start turning dominance into goals.

 

[BluessinceHydeRoad]

It appears we're on page 103 and we're no nearer understanding what happened yesterday. I think that's because we're trying to explain - and explain rationally - what is inexplicable and irrational. We played well enough, there was nothing wrong with our tactics, the team selection was easily good enough, the substitutions can't be criticised, but we lost. Pellegrini was spot on when he said that in two moments we threw away 90+ minutes of good work. I think that we've heard enough, and seen enough, to show that we will defend a higher line than we did under Mancini, that we'll get more players forward than last season and we will play a "high risk" game. This means that we will probably have more big wins than we did, but, I suppose, the corollary is that we'll concede goals that we didn't last season, and maybe lose games we would not have lost. My hope is that we're getting the bad news first - we can only defend such a high line if we put real pressure on the ball, and we haven't done this consistently yet, notably for their third yesterday and for all three at Cardiff. Hopefully this will be remedied in the next few games. Apart from that we suffered from a piece of very poor officiating and were victims of a free kickth at was of the "1 in 20 chance" - the commentators even got who was going to take it wrong, but then assured us that the lad had "done it before", but couldn't remember when! When you cop for all three - an "offside" goal, a free kick right in the top corner and a failure to mark up or attack a long punt down the middle - you've certainly fallen foul of sod's law!

 

[vintiz]

I agree that yesterday's problem was not about a lack of balance or about needing to go 4-5-1. None of that had anything to do with the officials allowing an offiside goal to stand from a rare Villa attack or Nasty committing a needless foul. Tactics, team selection and substitutions were not to blame for yesterday's defeat. Obviously, if any of those things had been different, the game would in some way have unfolded in a different way but I think that would be more of a philosophical debate!

I disagree. If we kept the pressure we would've scored a third and killed it. Instead, we we gave them a breather and they made every kick counts. You cant expose your CBs and expect them not to make mistakes. We lost edge in the midfield (first line of defense) by removing Nasri. Aside from an offside goal, the game was going so well for us until the substitutions and tactics change.

I don't think Pellegrini wanted his team to give Villa any sort of breather: IMO, he brought Navas on to try and strike a killer blow. After Nasri left, most of the play remained in the Villa half.

We'll just have to disagree.

That was what I also taught with the sub. And he almost provided an assist for our 3rd goal.

 

[Anonymous]

Why are you expecting Arsenal to be "reeled in". They have a much better record than us over the last 20 premier league games.

Blinkers off a realist would say Arse are improving while we have been declining for over a season now.

They're an unknown quantity imo. The biggest single factor to their form this season has been the form of Ramsey. Whether he can keep that form up is a big question.

 

[vintiz]

its the result that counts we lost we shouldn't have how many corners do we have to have to score a gaol? surely we need to get some basic footballing practice going between games to improve our set pieces and defending we need a response and that means some should be dropped from a great height

its not the first time we have been poor away and lost games when we should be cruising to victory not wishful thinking just an accurate analysis of what resources we have @ our disposal and what other teams in comparison have its embarrassing to think we cannot close a game down simply not good enough

I watched the game, our football was fantastic, one offside goal, a great free kick and freak 3rd don't change that. So we are playing great football and a result goes against us, there's not too much to fix. We will win the league by a good margin, only spurs are any real threat.

Well tbf our strikers let us down then ? Didn't score from open play. If our attacks where that potent then we should have been 2-0 up b4 half time.

 

[leewill31]

Well in that case it better work for him because whether you like or not he'll come under more pressure quicker than Mancini did because he's meant to be a significant upgrade. I have the feeling he's going to give everything to try and win our CL group, and take us fighting for 3rd/4th this season because he's going to rely on our players getting this gung-ho way and having a great league run at the end of the season and get us far in the CL so that we end the season in an optimistic mood.

Ultimately though every position we finish lower in the league the bar in the CL pretty much raises up to the next round. To win the league however you need to be able to hold onto leads against mediocre sides away from home, whether you have 1, 2 or 4 up front.

and one your penultimate point, if it doesn't work people are going to get on his back a lot quicker than you or me would like because of what happened last May. Last season was very poor but in reality the barometer he has to go up against isn't solely last season, it's Mancini's reign as a whole. That on a CL front is easy but on a league and FA Cup front isn't(even League Cup semis). I don't think a lot of City fans will take 3rd and Last 16 this season, which if we don't win on wednesday is quite likely as we could easily be handed a Barca or Real in the Last 16, especially if some of our other English teams happen to win their group and we get left with 4 potential Group Winners.

It's convenient that Arsenal have started playing their best football in 4 years when Wenger knows they have to get results against Napoli and Dortmund. Come January they'll fall off again because he'll have achieved what the board need him to. United are sods but would you rather end up in Spain or Donetsk?

In reality wednesday is hugely important because if Pelle isn't going to be pragmatic and is going to risk league form in the hope we turn the Premier League into La Liga and people roll over whenever they see a good player then he has to really win the group or his season is going to be risked on winning a Last 16 tie as an underdog.

That's where we'll find out more about Pellegrini ... between January and May rather than between August and December. A squad our size should prioritise every competition they enter.

completely agree with this.

Far to earlier to judge a new manager bringing a new style to a team and all so adapting new players to that style as well,im not overjoyed at our league away results but there is still plenty of time for improvement.

 

[waspish]

Watching the highlights today I think it was 1 player having a really really bad game Nasty was at fault directly and indirectly for all goals he needs to learn but he had time on his hands..

 

[samharris]

Beat Everton next week and thus ends the bullshit!!

 

[citytill1die84]

Beat Everton next week and thus ends the bullshit!!

Not really m8 because Everton is a home game.

 

[bluemoon32]

Beat Everton next week and thus ends the bullshit!!

Unless we wimp out at Upton Park too & then it'll start all over again

 

[Mr HJ]

The only good thing is that we are still only six games into the season, other teams have faltered. Concerning the central defence we need Demichelis back to have as an option and hopefully if he shows his Malaga form he will dominate alongside Vinny. Up front though we need to stick with first choice of Sergio and Alvaro - only problem is how long will it take for Edin to start sulking again. Like it or not Edin you are a superb impact sub but at present Negrado's work rate and skill at creating space for others is better. Looking forward to wednesday can't wait.

 

[Anonymous]

Villa deserved the win. This "flukey" bullshit on here is absolute nonsense,bury your heads in the sand all you want but there will be plenty more Cardiff and Villa results to come. The next 6 games will tell us all we need to know about the current squad of players but I can see us being as much as 10-12 pts off the pace come early December, if that's the case then it's curtains in the league for us.

They had 4 shots on target. 1 goal was offside.

Look at the balance of possession.

Possession is good. If it means you control the game. If you control the game you restrict the opposition's ability to score by denying them the chance to score. They scored 3 and came back twice from being a goal down to win the game. That is not the hallmark of a team controlling the game. Possession with out control is an exercise in futility.

We had 67% possession yesterdray , but still managed to lose to probably Villas only three attempts on goal !

The City defending for the third goal was like something you'd see in a sunday league pub game , and the defending for the first was hardly any better .......

it's a fair bet that all and sundry connected with Aston Villa will wake up this fine morning and wonder how they even managed to win that game!

 

[kippaxblue76]

One big issue for me yesterday was when we retook the lead to go 2-1 up we stopped closing them down as quickly, I said this to the lads I was sat with and they all agreed. You could see Villa start to put one or two passes together and it gave them a foothold in the game, were they under instructions to do this or was it 'ok the jobs done they wont come back again'. Another crucial point for me was why have two on two at the back for there third goal, surely an extra defender always ??

 

[adrian99]

its the result that counts we lost we shouldn't have how many corners do we have to have to score a gaol? surely we need to get some basic footballing practice going between games to improve our set pieces and defending we need a response and that means some should be dropped from a great height

its not the first time we have been poor away and lost games when we should be cruising to victory not wishful thinking just an accurate analysis of what resources we have @ our disposal and what other teams in comparison have its embarrassing to think we cannot close a game down simply not good enough

I watched the game, our football was fantastic, one offside goal, a great free kick and freak 3rd don't change that. So we are playing great football and a result goes against us, there's not too much to fix. We will win the league by a good margin, only spurs are any real threat.

 

[bluemoon32]

One big issue for me yesterday was when we retook the lead to go 2-1 up we stopped closing them down as quickly, I said this to the lads I was sat with and they all agreed. You could see Villa start to put one or two passes together and it gave them a foothold in the game, were they under instructions to do this or was it 'ok the jobs done they wont come back again'. Another crucial point for me was why have two on two at the back for there third goal, surely an extra defender always ??

Piss poor attitude again imo, something the Manager has to weed out of the club but it'll take time.

 

[jimharri]

One big issue for me yesterday was when we retook the lead to go 2-1 up we stopped closing them down as quickly, I said this to the lads I was sat with and they all agreed. You could see Villa start to put one or two passes together and it gave them a foothold in the game, were they under instructions to do this or was it 'ok the jobs done they wont come back again'. Another crucial point for me was why have two on two at the back for there third goal, surely an extra defender always ??

Piss poor attitude again imo, something the Manager has to weed out of the club but it'll take time.

Heard it said once that the best way to defend a one goal lead is to turn it into a two goal lead. Teams are never killed off while they're only one goal in arrears; ask QPR!!

 

[FantasyIreland]

The only good thing is that we are still only six games into the season, other teams have faltered. Concerning the central defence we need Demichelis back to have as an option and hopefully if he shows his Malaga form he will dominate alongside Vinny. Up front though we need to stick with first choice of Sergio and Alvaro - only problem is how long will it take for Edin to start sulking again. Like it or not Edin you are a superb impact sub but at present Negrado's work rate and skill at creating space for others is better. Looking forward to wednesday can't wait.

Id agree with all of that,without doubt our best 11 does not accomodate Edin,thats not to say he's a bad player......just the fact we have better.

I too think Demichellis will partner Vinny and he will hopefully bring a calmness and composure we are occassionlly missing.Nasty is a lucky lad having two superb mentors.

Despite yesterdays result..... we are playing fine football and the Bayern game will be fantastic.

 

[kippaxblue76]

One big issue for me yesterday was when we retook the lead to go 2-1 up we stopped closing them down as quickly, I said this to the lads I was sat with and they all agreed. You could see Villa start to put one or two passes together and it gave them a foothold in the game, were they under instructions to do this or was it 'ok the jobs done they wont come back again'. Another crucial point for me was why have two on two at the back for there third goal, surely an extra defender always ??

Piss poor attitude again imo, something the Manager has to weed out of the club but it'll take time.

If the manager and coaches couldn't see it from the sidelines then you need your leaders on the pitch to step up, Vinny, Zabba etc, "come on boys lets put this to bed and fucking steamroller these now"<br /><br />-- Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:55 pm --<br /><br />

One big issue for me yesterday was when we retook the lead to go 2-1 up we stopped closing them down as quickly, I said this to the lads I was sat with and they all agreed. You could see Villa start to put one or two passes together and it gave them a foothold in the game, were they under instructions to do this or was it 'ok the jobs done they wont come back again'. Another crucial point for me was why have two on two at the back for there third goal, surely an extra defender always ??

Piss poor attitude again imo, something the Manager has to weed out of the club but it'll take time.

Heard it said once that the best way to defend a one goal lead is to turn it into a two goal lead. Teams are never killed off while they're only one goal in arrears; ask QPR!!

Exactly, Keep going like we did against the rags until we kill them off.

 

[hgblue]

Its exactly what happened last season, dominate play but not finishing teams off. Happened for Mancini and now for Pellegrini , need to start turning dominance into goals.

Could explain why Mancini wanted Cavani. Dominating possession against lesser teams doesn't impress me in the slightest. It's what you do with it that counts.

 

[bluemoon32]

One big issue for me yesterday was when we retook the lead to go 2-1 up we stopped closing them down as quickly, I said this to the lads I was sat with and they all agreed. You could see Villa start to put one or two passes together and it gave them a foothold in the game, were they under instructions to do this or was it 'ok the jobs done they wont come back again'. Another crucial point for me was why have two on two at the back for there third goal, surely an extra defender always ??

Piss poor attitude again imo, something the Manager has to weed out of the club but it'll take time.

If the manager and coaches couldn't see it from the sidelines then you need your leaders on the pitch to step up, Vinny, Zabba etc, "come on boys lets put this to bed and fucking steamroller these now"

-- Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:55 pm --

Piss poor attitude again imo, something the Manager has to weed out of the club but it'll take time.

Heard it said once that the best way to defend a one goal lead is to turn it into a two goal lead. Teams are never killed off while they're only one goal in arrears; ask QPR!!

Exactly, Keep going like we did against the rags until we kill them off.

We have a few flat track bullies, fine if the opposition roll over but can be a problem if they don't