Villa 4 - 1 Wolves: Verdict
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playtheace
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Anyone else notice how much the players slipped tonight (did Bruce soak the pitch?) this also happened in the Fulham match (and they did water the pitch to fuck that day)
Im sure there is a corrrelation, ill go away and think one up.
Im sure there is a corrrelation, ill go away and think one up.
MARKakaJIM
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Don't opponents play on the same surface?
Johnny75
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This is a few time that half time has had a negative effect on us. QPR, Norwich, Fulham and today.
Alan
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Yep. Jota especially seems convinced he can just walk the ball into the net any time he receives it.
playtheace
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I said this after the Barnsley match and probaly even before..Jota (for one) was starting to be miles too greedy infront of goal when the easier option was on.
Now theyve gone about turn and trying to walk the ball into the fucking net and looking for that extra extra pass.
Boozad
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Tonight was beyond negative, we looked like Leeds second half.
playtheace
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First of all credit to Aston Villa, they were better than us all over the pitch. Organised and solid defensively (they barely gave us a sniff in the final third) combative in midfield and dangerous going forward. As much of a prick as Grealish is, he played well tonight and made them tick.
Onto us, first half was a tight affair, not many chances created at either end. Thought Neves looked good in the first half, barely gave the ball away and spraying some lovely passes around. Second half it all went wrong. We looked sloppy, leggy and generally second best.
Fingers will get pointed at the defensive side of today’s performance (and rightly so) but we lacked that spark and creativity going forward. We never really looked like scoring, especially in the second half, and created very little over the 90 minutes. Now some of that will be down to Villa’s defending, but also our attackers. Jota doesn’t look right, just seems to want to get into a scrap and put himself about. Bonatini’s confidence is shattered, and it showed today. He needs pulling out of the side and given a rest. Cavaleiro is another who looks like he could do with a break but not sure how we switch all three.
Defensively we have had a horror show. Sometimes you see a goal and you pick something out and say maybe if we had done this we could have prevented it, all four goals today the blatant nature of the errors smacks you in the face. Doherty – great play for our goal, I will give him credit for that, but defensively he was appalling today. Batth at fault for the first goal, and twice for the third Villa goal. The marking for the second would be insulting to describe as school boy, as would the half-hearted defending for the fourth goal, Doherty, Saiss, Neves and Coady all had opportunity to get a challenge in and nobody did. Boly was great in the first half, but his standards slipped the longer the game went on. Also, I will never understand the weird way Douglas attempts to challenge somebody, sort of lunging his leg in and then turning to block. Makes it way to easy for players to get past him.
Having said all of that, I trust in these players and in Nuno to sort this out. We have come up against a good Villa side, who have played well and we haven’t been at our best. This group have got us into the position we are in - 76 points, 3 points clear of second, 7 clear of third with 10 games to go. Have the last few weeks been disappointing? Yes. But if any of us were offered the position we are in now in August, we all would have grabbed it and ran.
We have Reading and Burton at home in the next 7 days. Two wins from those games (and I think we will win both games comfortably) and things will look and feel a lot better. Yes, today was a huge disappointment, as was the Fulham game, but we are still in pole position in this league and every other club would swap with us in an instant. Let’s put this behind, get behind the boys on Tuesday and give them the push to get over the line.
Onto us, first half was a tight affair, not many chances created at either end. Thought Neves looked good in the first half, barely gave the ball away and spraying some lovely passes around. Second half it all went wrong. We looked sloppy, leggy and generally second best.
Fingers will get pointed at the defensive side of today’s performance (and rightly so) but we lacked that spark and creativity going forward. We never really looked like scoring, especially in the second half, and created very little over the 90 minutes. Now some of that will be down to Villa’s defending, but also our attackers. Jota doesn’t look right, just seems to want to get into a scrap and put himself about. Bonatini’s confidence is shattered, and it showed today. He needs pulling out of the side and given a rest. Cavaleiro is another who looks like he could do with a break but not sure how we switch all three.
Defensively we have had a horror show. Sometimes you see a goal and you pick something out and say maybe if we had done this we could have prevented it, all four goals today the blatant nature of the errors smacks you in the face. Doherty – great play for our goal, I will give him credit for that, but defensively he was appalling today. Batth at fault for the first goal, and twice for the third Villa goal. The marking for the second would be insulting to describe as school boy, as would the half-hearted defending for the fourth goal, Doherty, Saiss, Neves and Coady all had opportunity to get a challenge in and nobody did. Boly was great in the first half, but his standards slipped the longer the game went on. Also, I will never understand the weird way Douglas attempts to challenge somebody, sort of lunging his leg in and then turning to block. Makes it way to easy for players to get past him.
Having said all of that, I trust in these players and in Nuno to sort this out. We have come up against a good Villa side, who have played well and we haven’t been at our best. This group have got us into the position we are in - 76 points, 3 points clear of second, 7 clear of third with 10 games to go. Have the last few weeks been disappointing? Yes. But if any of us were offered the position we are in now in August, we all would have grabbed it and ran.
We have Reading and Burton at home in the next 7 days. Two wins from those games (and I think we will win both games comfortably) and things will look and feel a lot better. Yes, today was a huge disappointment, as was the Fulham game, but we are still in pole position in this league and every other club would swap with us in an instant. Let’s put this behind, get behind the boys on Tuesday and give them the push to get over the line.
White Wolf
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Well then! That second half was a fucking embarrassment. First half was okay, second half terrible.
From the first minute it was clear Danny was going to have problems and Grabban really troubled him. First goal is on him. We didn't turn up until ten minutes in. After that we improved, Doherty did well for the goal, and we were in the game for the rest of the half despite not making the keeper work and often overplaying it. Sometimes we need someone to just take a shot.
We didn't come out for the second half and we were even worse than against Fulham. I thought we could have ended up conceding 5 or 6 as after we let in the second goal we were completely gone (seemed like Neves won the ball though?), N'Diaye failing to track his man. Third one Danny was shit, and Boly should not have let Grabban get in front of him. Didn't see the penalty appeal so couldn't say. From 3-1 I'd like to see our pass completion rate, we could hardly string three passes together and even Neves was giving the ball away regularly. Fourth goal we closed down poorly and question marks over if Ruddy could have done better.
Didn't rate the ref, not sure on the foul for the FK for their 2nd goal or Coady's yellow and some other fouls. I still think we will go up but am really concerned by that performance. Villa weren't that good, but we made them look really good. If we play like we did in the second half against Reading even they would beat us by 2 or 3. Despite their position in the table they still have a good performance in them so I'm not expecting an easy match but we should bounce back. But still there are two recurring themes since the turn of the year: our full backs aren't contributing enough to our attacking play any more, Douglas especially was really poor today, and our front three has not been playing like a unit often enough. We have three very talented lads up front but it isn't always clicking and most games I notice at least one of them ends up having a poor performance. We need to step it up.
Next game I'd swap Batth for Bennett, Vinagre for Douglas is overdue as other than his set pieces he has not been doing well enough, bring Saiss in for N'Diaye, start Afobe instead of Bonatini, and play Costa ahead of Jota. Next two games are massive and we really need to win both (which I think we will), falter and pressure is really going to be on us with two tricky away games at Middlesbrough and Cardiff to come in the next month. We were the best team in the league until the new year, now's the time to show we still are.
From the first minute it was clear Danny was going to have problems and Grabban really troubled him. First goal is on him. We didn't turn up until ten minutes in. After that we improved, Doherty did well for the goal, and we were in the game for the rest of the half despite not making the keeper work and often overplaying it. Sometimes we need someone to just take a shot.
We didn't come out for the second half and we were even worse than against Fulham. I thought we could have ended up conceding 5 or 6 as after we let in the second goal we were completely gone (seemed like Neves won the ball though?), N'Diaye failing to track his man. Third one Danny was shit, and Boly should not have let Grabban get in front of him. Didn't see the penalty appeal so couldn't say. From 3-1 I'd like to see our pass completion rate, we could hardly string three passes together and even Neves was giving the ball away regularly. Fourth goal we closed down poorly and question marks over if Ruddy could have done better.
Didn't rate the ref, not sure on the foul for the FK for their 2nd goal or Coady's yellow and some other fouls. I still think we will go up but am really concerned by that performance. Villa weren't that good, but we made them look really good. If we play like we did in the second half against Reading even they would beat us by 2 or 3. Despite their position in the table they still have a good performance in them so I'm not expecting an easy match but we should bounce back. But still there are two recurring themes since the turn of the year: our full backs aren't contributing enough to our attacking play any more, Douglas especially was really poor today, and our front three has not been playing like a unit often enough. We have three very talented lads up front but it isn't always clicking and most games I notice at least one of them ends up having a poor performance. We need to step it up.
Next game I'd swap Batth for Bennett, Vinagre for Douglas is overdue as other than his set pieces he has not been doing well enough, bring Saiss in for N'Diaye, start Afobe instead of Bonatini, and play Costa ahead of Jota. Next two games are massive and we really need to win both (which I think we will), falter and pressure is really going to be on us with two tricky away games at Middlesbrough and Cardiff to come in the next month. We were the best team in the league until the new year, now's the time to show we still are.
YoungWolf
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he literally walked the ball in for his goal, to be fair.
Siggy
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Very poor tonight but some of the problems were obvious early on and not addressed. Danny Batth was dreadful and set the tone for unusually nervy defending, I can forgive lack of ability but the zero effort put in to challenge the cross for their third is too much for me, he is bottom of the pile now and will most likely not play for Wolves again.
Leo was awesome early in the season but didn't do anywhere near enough for me, he had the ball so many times in good areas only to miscontrol and lose possession sorry not good enough, Afobe comes in for me now.
On the positive Neves was excellent and I think it's time for Saiss to come back in alongside him. Alf was brilliant against Leeds and has had quite a lot of decent performances but is very inconsistent and we can't gamble on that.
Ref was shocking but we can't blame him for our shoddy defending.
Massive few games now the boys need us more than ever, Nuno will sort it out.
MOTM Neves
Leo was awesome early in the season but didn't do anywhere near enough for me, he had the ball so many times in good areas only to miscontrol and lose possession sorry not good enough, Afobe comes in for me now.
On the positive Neves was excellent and I think it's time for Saiss to come back in alongside him. Alf was brilliant against Leeds and has had quite a lot of decent performances but is very inconsistent and we can't gamble on that.
Ref was shocking but we can't blame him for our shoddy defending.
Massive few games now the boys need us more than ever, Nuno will sort it out.
MOTM Neves
Felt it was an even game up until the double-whammy second and third goals in the second half. Lots of stuff people have said I agree with - midfield was fine, attacking three not right, Batth... just awful and needed substituting much earlier - but also: I think our 3-4-3 system is increasingly being found out against the teams that look to be on a par to us for skill. Bruce set his team up tonight to concentrate pressure on the outside centre-backs and wing-backs and it worked a charm. I do think we were fine in the centre of midfield, but that wasn't where the game was being won or lost, it was in the channels and wider areas. In defence Villa's organization was excellent too, and I have to say, I was surprised Cavaleiro was the one to make way first. He was the least bad for my money; Bonatini and Jota were both not great, and Jota's attitude is starting to frustrate more than his skill produces results.
Something that has struck me about the "wobble", as this part of the season has been called, is that it's pretty much exactly what some fans of Nuno's former clubs warned about. Teamwork and defensive structure are his strengths, but his teams tend to end up relying on the individual flair of attacking players to actually score goals, rather than more coherent attack plans, and I think you can see that in how some games we've been reduced to passing it in a big arc from one wing-back, along the three centre-backs to the other wing-back, and then back again - switching sides over and over until a gap appears, but nothing really more complicated or ambitious than that unless someone wants to try and be a hero.
And let's remember here, our best players are almost all very young, and playing week in, week out, is a new thing - we should expect players like Jota and Neves to have issues with consistency, they're not the final product yet. (Although if I had to pick a MOTM today from our side, it'd be Neves, who had something of a Sisyphean task for much of the second half.) In the first half of the season, a lot of our power to blow teams away was surely down to a combination of those players being in good fitness and form, a tactical setup that's unusual and novel at this level and tricky for many managers to handle on the first go, and intensive training drills through pre-season and beyond. It's a long season, and for me, it's not surprising that the flipside of being so physically impressive in the first half of the season is that the second half of the season looks a little limp by comparison. (Quite why we've become so bad at defending set pieces again, though, I have no idea.)
Something that has struck me about the "wobble", as this part of the season has been called, is that it's pretty much exactly what some fans of Nuno's former clubs warned about. Teamwork and defensive structure are his strengths, but his teams tend to end up relying on the individual flair of attacking players to actually score goals, rather than more coherent attack plans, and I think you can see that in how some games we've been reduced to passing it in a big arc from one wing-back, along the three centre-backs to the other wing-back, and then back again - switching sides over and over until a gap appears, but nothing really more complicated or ambitious than that unless someone wants to try and be a hero.
And let's remember here, our best players are almost all very young, and playing week in, week out, is a new thing - we should expect players like Jota and Neves to have issues with consistency, they're not the final product yet. (Although if I had to pick a MOTM today from our side, it'd be Neves, who had something of a Sisyphean task for much of the second half.) In the first half of the season, a lot of our power to blow teams away was surely down to a combination of those players being in good fitness and form, a tactical setup that's unusual and novel at this level and tricky for many managers to handle on the first go, and intensive training drills through pre-season and beyond. It's a long season, and for me, it's not surprising that the flipside of being so physically impressive in the first half of the season is that the second half of the season looks a little limp by comparison. (Quite why we've become so bad at defending set pieces again, though, I have no idea.)
playtheace
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Tom Hark
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Ironic that if we'd drawn at both Leeds and Villa we might not be feeling quite so concerned, despite having one point less. Leo has never been the quickest, but I don't think I've seen him give a performance quite as lacklustre as today's. The most disappointing of today's crock of crap for me. It's ridiculous that we're now needing, as opposed to anticipating, wins against the likes of Reading and Burton to get our ambitions back on track. I'm glad that's who we're playing next, though.
Nuno's Beard
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Criminal defending from set pieces all evening, criminal defending from Batth for the third, I'd be surprised if we see him again. Some poor decisions from the ref at key times of the game which if they had have been given, may have helped us out, but ultimately we weren't very good and they exploited our frailties. I honestly didn't think that we should have been 4-1 losers. Still top of the league and it is very much in out hands. We need to put a run together before the Cardiff fixture
Alan
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Walking it in from the 6 yard box is one thing. He wants to walk it in from the halfway line.
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I agree with a lot of Trips' post.
The first goal was crap, but I was really pleased and impressed by our reaction to it. We took control of the game, kept possession well, deservedly equalised and it was anyone's game at half time. When we talk about positive responses, I was delighted with Wednesday and I thought we had that same battling quality when we equalised through til half time.
And then the 2nd half happened and I am at a loss to explain that performance. Sure, Villa were good but the goals - especially that 4th - were not like us at all. I think Boly has escaped a lot of criticism - his positioning was really poor. We didn't get a hold of the ball in midfield which was totally different to the 1st half and we had no ideas going forward.
It wasn't a free kick for Villa's 2nd goal - a poor decision - but I didn't think the challenge on Doherty was a penalty. Absolute stone wall handball from Neves' free kick though. But we didn't lose because of some refereeing errors, our defending was the worst it's been all season, we look flustered and panicking in possession and had no control of the game whatsoever in any areas of the pitch after half time.
Unfortunately, I agree that Batth was awful but it's really sad how quickly people write off his excellent display in midweek. I'd still bring Bennett back in on Tuesday, I agree he's not one of the first choice centre backs but I feel sorry for Danny Batth with the levels of criticism he's receiving tonight. Sure, he had a mare and Grabban and Adomah had a field day against him but the overall reaction to his contribution this season is so one sided and unfair. You'd think we'd re-signed Kaspars Gorkss going by some of the comments I've read.
Changes needed in midweek - Leo was really poor tonight so I think I'd like to see a Jota - Cav - Costa triumvirate up top again.
A worrying 2nd half display - we need to do to Reading what we did to Leeds - bounce back against a side we really should beat.
After what happened on Friday, this has been the shittest weekend I've had in years.
The first goal was crap, but I was really pleased and impressed by our reaction to it. We took control of the game, kept possession well, deservedly equalised and it was anyone's game at half time. When we talk about positive responses, I was delighted with Wednesday and I thought we had that same battling quality when we equalised through til half time.
And then the 2nd half happened and I am at a loss to explain that performance. Sure, Villa were good but the goals - especially that 4th - were not like us at all. I think Boly has escaped a lot of criticism - his positioning was really poor. We didn't get a hold of the ball in midfield which was totally different to the 1st half and we had no ideas going forward.
It wasn't a free kick for Villa's 2nd goal - a poor decision - but I didn't think the challenge on Doherty was a penalty. Absolute stone wall handball from Neves' free kick though. But we didn't lose because of some refereeing errors, our defending was the worst it's been all season, we look flustered and panicking in possession and had no control of the game whatsoever in any areas of the pitch after half time.
Unfortunately, I agree that Batth was awful but it's really sad how quickly people write off his excellent display in midweek. I'd still bring Bennett back in on Tuesday, I agree he's not one of the first choice centre backs but I feel sorry for Danny Batth with the levels of criticism he's receiving tonight. Sure, he had a mare and Grabban and Adomah had a field day against him but the overall reaction to his contribution this season is so one sided and unfair. You'd think we'd re-signed Kaspars Gorkss going by some of the comments I've read.
Changes needed in midweek - Leo was really poor tonight so I think I'd like to see a Jota - Cav - Costa triumvirate up top again.
A worrying 2nd half display - we need to do to Reading what we did to Leeds - bounce back against a side we really should beat.
After what happened on Friday, this has been the shittest weekend I've had in years.
The only thing in Boly's favor for me is that he wasn't as obviously bad as Batth, but I can't think of a worse game he's had yet this season. In the second half Villa came out and really pressed both of the outside CBs, and it worked extremely well - they weren't given any time on the ball, and it ruined our ability to effectively play out of the back, as well as forcing us into the kinds of situations with niggly fouls that they scored their second from.
