Villa 1 - Wolves 1 Verdict thread

[Parkins left foot]

Hindsight is a useful trait to have, but playing a midfield full of centre mids was not the right tactic yesterday

Put a lot of pressure on Costa to provide the width and pace (as it wasn't coming from the full backs) which fortunately he did till he was kicked off the pitch

Villa defence was very suspect and Cavaleiro or Texeira on from the start may well have given us a decided advantage early on

Defence is still suspect & needs attention in January, but we have some quality & options further forward & can do damage. What we lack is a forward with an instictive scoring skill - Bodvarsson is a very good buy, but does not have that - Dicko does, but needs time on the pitch to get that back. You can see that it is coming, but is not quite there yet.

We are in a reasonable position & not that far away from being able to make a concerted push for the top six at the very least.

 

[malta mick]

Hindsight is a useful trait to have, but playing a midfield full of centre mids was not the right tactic yesterday

Put a lot of pressure on Costa to provide the width and pace (as it wasn't coming from the full backs) which fortunately he did till he was kicked off the pitch

Villa defence was very suspect and Cavaleiro or Texeira on from the start may well have given us a decided advantage early on

Defence is still suspect & needs attention in January, but we have some quality & options further forward & can do damage. What we lack is a forward with an instictive scoring skill - Bodvarsson is a very good buy, but does not have that - Dicko does, but needs time on the pitch to get that back. You can see that it is coming, but is not quite there yet.

We are in a reasonable position & not that far away from being able to make a concerted push for the top six at the very least.

+ 1

 

[lemonjelly]

He's also clearly not 100% fit which is scary. His knee is still heavily bandaged and he's not turning or accelerating right at all. We'll definitely see how good he really is on Tuesday, Kayal is the best centre mid in the division IMO and Stephens is not far behind him. It'll be his toughest game so far and it'll be interesting to see how he gets on.

Kayal is out injured for a couple of months isn't he?

 

[YoungWolf]

Yes out until December now, thankfully

Definitely didn't think we were as bad as people thought in first half, as I said just a bit directionless. When Nouha came on up top with Jon Dadi you could see what we might potentially be all about. Quick, direct, skilful and in other team's faces. Hard to sustain over 90 minutes (and 3 games a week) but we have a big squad.

Costa was fantastic and you can see how good a player Saiss is (and no yellow card this time!). Both of them will only get better. Saiss I think needs a better options in front of him in midfield. Coady and Edwards did fairly well at times in the game but when he picks up the ball neither offer great angles, or pick up good positions further forward for me.

It was the first time I've seen Bodvarsson play and I thought he was awesome. He's surprisingly quick! Him and Nouha (when fully fit) are two fantastic strikers to have at this level.

 

[Johnny75]

Yes out until December now, thankfully

Definitely didn't think we were as bad as people thought in first half, as I said just a bit directionless. When Nouha came on up top with Jon Dadi you could see what we might potentially be all about. Quick, direct, skilful and in other team's faces. Hard to sustain over 90 minutes (and 3 games a week) but we have a big squad.

Costa was fantastic and you can see how good a player Saiss is (and no yellow card this time!). Both of them will only get better. Saiss I think needs a better options in front of him in midfield. Coady and Edwards did fairly well at times in the game but when he picks up the ball neither offer great angles, or pick up good positions further forward for me.

It was the first time I've seen Bodvarsson play and I thought he was awesome. He's surprisingly quick! Him and Nouha (when fully fit) are two fantastic strikers to have at this level.

I thought when Costa went centrally and we went 4-4-2 (latterly with Dicko) that Saiss really came into his own, yes he had oceans of space but the options Costa, Dicko, Bod and Cav gave him gave him the space he needs to operate. I much prefereed it when we put pressure on the Villa back line by playing Cav, Bod and Dicko pushed onto them it showed what a strong midfield we could have if we played that way from the start. Agreed you can't keep it up for 90 but if you start that way and get early pressure it is then about how strong the other team is mentally and how quickly they adapt. Doing it later in the game requires the other team to be tired, but then our players could be also, it's a bit too risky.

Hughton tends to set his teams out not to concede and they aren't the strongest at the back, get after them early and I think they'd fold.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Grealish banned for three games, the little shit.

 

[Boozad]

Good, vile little twat.

 

[Wombat del combate]

He's a twat in the Nick Kyrgios mould, except without the high Scrabble point-scoring potential.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

u are too kind. I prefer a nasty obnoxious little cunt. Proves he should hgave seen red on the night and should have been joined by others if the ref had not had such a stinker.

 

[darlowolf64]

He's a $#@! in the Nick Kyrgios mould, except without the high Scrabble point-scoring potential.

In the Forestieri mode more like...dirty, cheating little shit

 

[adwolf returns]

Cheating little git.
Still not convinced that his heel was clipped for their Penalty.

 

[darlowolf64]

Cheating little git.
Still not convinced that his heel was clipped for their Penalty.

I keep saying that the camera angle from behind the goal shows no contact apart from him kicking his own ankles together and tripping up...however with the angle the referee had I can see why he bought it

 

[Dublin Drummer Wolf]

Cheating little git.
Still not convinced that his heel was clipped for their Penalty.

I don't think it was. It seemed like he was falling over anyway, and made the most of the pressure coming in from Iorfa.

Anyway, delighted to see he got banned. He's a self centered shitebag who believes his own hype.

 

[adwolf returns]

I keep saying that the camera angle from behind the goal shows no contact apart from him kicking his own ankles together and tripping up...however with the angle the referee had I can see why he bought it

Unfortunately, players are getting very adept at simulating as if they have been tripped.
At normal speed and in the heat of the moment, it's very difficult for referees not to get conned.

 

[Nando]

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce believes England Under-21 international Jack Grealish's three-match ban for violent conduct was on the harsh side.

Grealish was punished by the Football Association after video evidence showed that his boot made contact with Conor Coady while in a prone position in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wolves.

Bruce told BBC WM: "It's something we'll have a conversation about.

"But I feel he's been a bit hard done by. It's because it's Jack Grealish."

Deluded tit.

 

[Tony Towner]

I do think there should be grades of violent conduct rather than the standard 3 game ban. I'd be fine if this was 1/2 games, whilst some went to 5/6.

 

[Langers]

Deluded tit.

Typical Bruce. 'Because it's Jack Grealish' indeed. Fuck off defending the indefensible.

 

[darlowolf64]

"Grealish was punished by the Football Association after video evidence showed that his boot made contact with Conor Coady while in a prone position in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wolves."

No it didn't, he fucking stamped on him!

He actually looked and then stamped...3 games is nowhere near enough of a punishment