Jump to content
Just visiting?

John

Established Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    8,455

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by John

  7. John
    We showed some much needed fight and spirit yesterday against a team who were no better than we were and were perhaps fortunate to leave Villa Park with a point. But when we concede the first goal this season it is very unlikely that we will win the game because try as we might we do not really pose a significant goal threat to our opponents.
    West Ham had their best moments at the end of each half. They went ahead in first half stoppage time and seemed the team most likely to score when it was us that really needed to have been pressing for a winner near the end but we had the best of the game overall.
    There are signs of improvement now and our players do seem to be settling into a system as well as into this league. We came back from being a goal down as we did at Newcastle and have now for the first time this season gone 2 games without defeat. These are positives we can take from a season where positives have been very few and far between for us.  
    So we have now gone 10 home league games without a win. We have not won in the league at Villa Park this season and have only won one of the 18 games we have played since the first day of the season. That form sadly has relegation written all over it.
    On the two previous occasions that we were bottom of the table at Christmas we were relegated and the odds are against us making it third time lucky. The two teams that were bottom of the table at Christmas 2013 and 2014 survived but to have any chance of doing the same we really need to be winning games like this one and we did not.
    A draw from a game like this would have been OK if we had say another 10 points to our name but we are playing catch-up and we will not catch up in time by drawing games.
    We are 9 points adrift of Norwich who currently sit just above the drop zone. We play them next and follow that up with Sunderland who are only 4 points clear of us. We need to win both of those games now to bring those clubs within our reach. They are 6-pointers and must win games. Make it so Villa!
    My player ratings from a game that has left us hanging onto our top flight status by our finger tips are:
    Brad Guzan – 6 – Got a hand to a 25th minute near post shot from Zárate which he turned wide and gathered a shot from Obiang on 79 minutes a little uncomfortably. Brad again left a lot of space at one side of his goal for a late stoppage time free kick but managed to scramble across his goal to turn Valencia’s shot out for a corner.                                                                          
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Alan worked very hard as he always can be relied to do but his crosses were generally poor and he left wide players in too much space on a couple of occasions. On one such occasion Valencia had oceans of space in the build up to the move that led to Kouyaté striking the woodwork. Former Villa target Cresswell then found himself with no-one anywhere near him before he cut inside and picked his spot on the edge of the box. Alan later had a far post header cleared near the line by Collins on 74 minutes.
    Jores Okore – 6 – Jores gave another solid enough display at the back.       
    Joleon Lescott – 6 – The captaincy appears to have had a positive impact upon Joleon who looks more assured now and organises those around him pretty well.                                   
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Adrián blocked his 28th minute shot from the edge of the box which bounced to Gestede who was unable to get enough on his header from the rebound to trouble the keeper. 
    Jordan Veretout – 7 – Had a 53rd minute shot pushed past the far post by Adrián after Hutton had found him on the edge of the box and he had ran into it between 2 defenders. His recent improvement in performance is being sustained.  
    Carlos Sánchez - 6 – We lost some shape when he went off through injury on 38 minutes.                   
    Idrissa Gana – 7 – An encouraging display. Put himself about yesterday and stood up to be counted.
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Hit a shot over the bar from 30 yards after Bacuna had found him in space and did the same with a volley on 71 minutes after the ball fell into his path from a corner. Might have conceded a second half penalty when the ball struck his arm but that would have been harsh on him and on us.    
    Jordan Ayew – 7 – MOTM - Jordan was as cool as a cucumber when he stepped up to slot home his 62nd minute penalty sending Adrián the wrong way. He really looks up for the fight and looks a quality forward now.   
    Rudy Gestede – 6 – Won balls in the air and was brought down for our penalty by Kouyaté as he raced onto a ball having got in front of his man. He seems to now be settling into playing in this league but he needs to find the goal touch he produced for Blackburn in the league below if we are to avoid joining them next season. Headed a Veretout cross wide of the post on 18 minutes and headed a Hutton cross over the bar on 50 minutes that he really should have headed downward. Turned well inside the box on 59 minutes following a Veretout free kick but his shot was parried away by Adrián.    
    Substitutes:
    Carles Gil -  6 - Replaced Sánchez on 38 minutes. Took a while to find his feet but he played his part in getting us moving forward in the second half. Hit a 44th minute shot wide of the near post from the edge of the box.  
    Adama Traoré – Replaced Veretout on 83 minutes but was not on the field long enough to merit a rating.  
    A Happier New Year to all readers - Stay up Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  12. John
    What a game that was! It’s not very often that Villa draw a game 5-5. The last time we did so was way back in 1966 when we came back from 5-1 down to draw 5-5 at White Hart Lane. Tony Hateley scored 4 of our goals against Spurs on that day. On this occasion it was Tammy Abraham that did the same.       
    When the dust has settled, we can reflect on the positives and negatives to be taken from this game. We scored 5 goals but conceded 5 as well. We pulled goals back to equalize on three occasions but couldn’t hold onto a lead against 10 men when we had eventually got one. We are unbeaten over the last 4 games, but our winning run came to an end last night. Our attack was impressive, but our defence was shambolic. Tammy Abraham claimed the match ball but wasn’t on a winning side. The referee correctly sent off Figueiredo, but his allocated stoppage time failed to take full account of the 4 minutes that had elapsed between that incident and the resultant free-kick being taken.       
    When we found ourselves two goals down after just 6 minutes, I would have gladly taken a point from this game but when we had drawn level within 8 minutes, I had hoped that we would be able to complete the comeback and claim all three points. Doubt crept in when we went behind again on the 22nd minute and then again on the 51st minute but hope was reignited when we equalized again on a second and third occasion on 36 and 71 minutes. When they went down to 10 men on 68 minutes and we then took the lead for the first time in the game with only 15 minutes of normal time remaining it seemed the game would be ours. This game was anything other than predictable though and we have a habit of not capitalizing on teams being a man down as well as not being able to see out games when we sit back so there proved to be a sting in the tail.       
    It was perhaps inevitable that Joe Lolley and Lewis Grabban would make an impact on the game last night. A brace of goals from a player that is s Villa fan himself and another from a striker who has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus one of which was us in the second half of last season was a little too much of an impact for my liking.              
    Forest scored with every on target shot that they had. Our defence is clearly our Achilles heel and Forest ran through it like a knife through butter last night. We should have had a penalty in first half stoppage time and had two late goals ruled out for hand ball and offside It was a game that neither team really deserved to lose but I could have just about have coped with our visitors being the team that did. We could now do with a win at Boro to make up for dropping two points at home last night albeit in a highly entertaining goal fest.     
    My player ratings from a game that will live long in our memories are:
    Orjan Nyland – 3 – Beaten by all 5 of the on-target shots that he faced last night. Grabban hit the ball between the space he had left between himself and the near post for their fifth. He was beaten by shots from Grabban and Cash whose runs into the box were not picked up for their second and third goals. Watched rooted to the ground as Lolley’s well hit shot from distance went past him. No positives to be taken from this at all as any one of us could not have done any worse.          
    Alan Hutton – 5 – His cross late in first half stoppage time was handled by Cash but this was ignored by the referee.  His unnecessarily hot-headed reaction following the sending off led to a booking that will see him miss the Boro game and we can ill afford that.    
    James Chester - 4 – Was grounded near the half way line when Grabban started his run into the box that nobody else picked up thus leaving him unmarked and in space to turn in their opening goal. Remains alarmingly below his very best and we are so reliant on his leadership. Is he still not fully fit?      
    Axel Tuanzebe – 5 – Grabban squeezed his last goal past Axel and inside the near post to secure a point for the visitors. The best of our defenders last night.               
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and played a one two on the edge of the box with Abraham but his 74th minute shot was blocked. Cleverly found El Ghazi for our fifth. His defending was a cause for concern at times though.     
    Yannick Bolasie – 7 – Made a nice run into the box and was brought down by Robinson for our penalty. Always a threat on his first start for us.               
    John McGinn – 8 – Hit a 30-yard shot on 14 minutes that Pantilimon was unable to hold, Kodjia was first to the loose ball but his effort was cleared off the line only for the ball to go in off Abraham’s outstretched leg for the first of our equalizers. Hit another good shot from outside of the area following a lovely turn on 39 minutes that Pantilimon was only able to parry away. Hit a sweet cross 2 minutes into first half stoppage time that Abraham headed straight to the relieved Pantilimon. Not fully fit and therefore not able to offer the sort of barrier he normally would in preventing opponents running through us.
    Conor Hourihane – 4 – Outpaced by Carvalho who ran on into the box and hit their second past Nyland as both Hutton and Axel tried to get near enough to make a challenge. Hit a dangerous 48th minute cross that was cleared for a corner by Dawson with Kodjia in attendance. Finding the defensive part of his current role difficult to get a grip on.    
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Good when we were moving forward and always looking to find a pass, but Jack needs to remember to track back and be a nuisance to opponents when we don’t have the ball.       
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Not quite able to connect with a nice 2nd minute cross from McGinn. Grealish played a nice ball through to him on 14 minutes, he ran into the box and had a shot blocked by a defender. Hit the shot that led to our second.             
    Tammy Abraham – 10 – MOTM – Scored four and could have had another. Headed in a sweet Bolasie cross at the far post for our first on 11 minutes. Was in the right place at the right time to get in the way of Grabban’s attempted clearance 3 minutes later. Made it a first half hat-trick when he hit his 36th minute penalty down the middle as Pantilimon dived to his left. Headed home a 71st minute Grealish free kick at the near post for his fourth. Scoring goals for fun which is good because we were conceding them as fast as he could score them last night!      
    Substitutes:
    Anwar El Ghazi – 7 – Replaced Kodjia on 66 minutes. Hit what could have been our winner 9 minutes after coming on when Taylor found him on the edge of the box and he hit a splendid shot into the left-hand corner of the net. He was booked on 87 minutes for using his hand to put an Elmo cross into the net to reprise Maradona’s infamous 1986 Hand of God moment.
    Glenn Whelan – Came on for McGinn on 79 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.     
    Ahmed Elmohamady – Replaced Bolasie on 83 minutes. A floated cross from Taylor deflected off a defender’s head to him on 93 minutes but Pantilimon parried it and was relieved when Abraham was flagged offside having forced home the loose ball on the goal line. Not on long enough to gather a rating.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  13. John
    This was a game of two halves. We scored twice in the first half, might have put the game beyond doubt and were a constant threat to the visitors who appeared to be there for the taking but we then snatched a draw from the jaws of victory. I suspect that our players thought that they would be able to comfortably coast through the second half but Simon Grayson’s half-time words stung Preston into second half action and they dominated the second half as much as we had controlled the first.
    They got into our faces and scored the vital third goal of the match on 64 minutes which led to our players showing the anxieties and frailties that they are still prone to. Our visitors ran the show in the second half and were level on 76 minutes with their second goal in 12 minutes. We were fortunate that they did not push too hard for a winner that would have shattered our unbeaten home record. 
    Each game we play seems to put a play-off place further away from us. We are now 9 points off sixth place. Defeats for the fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs gave us an opportunity to close the gap on them further but we squandered that chance yesterday. We need to go on a run of wins now to make up the gap between us and sixth spot and to leapfrog the teams (including yesterday’s visitors) that stand between the top six and us. Sadly, we draw too many home games and lose too many games away to make us going on such a run look a realistic prospect.     
    Before the game, I along with others were left wondering why on earth Gabby was in the starting line-up yet again. We now know. He was in the team because Ross McCormack has in recent weeks developed the sort of fitness and attitude issues that he had himself displayed over recent years. It is almost amusing that the recent behaviour of McCormack which mirrors that of Gabby over a longer period has ensured Gabby’s extended run in the side at a time when we had hoped McCormack might take the opportunity that the absence of Kodjia and Ayew on international duties offered him to show he could get goals for us as regularly as he has for others in the past. 
    We now have some time available to reinforce further the team that will travel to Brentford with new signings and players potentially returning from international calls. That time will also offer McCormack an opportunity to begin to change his attitude and to try to seek the forgiveness for his misdemeanours that Gabby has been granted for his by Steve Bruce.    
    My player ratings from a game before and during which we remembered Graham Taylor are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Had the quietest of first halves. He appears to like to take the option of punching rather than trying to catch the ball when he has the choice doesn’t he? Given that, he needs to try to get some more distance on those punches on a more consistent basis if they are to become a reliable safe option. Grabbed an 82nd minute header near the goal line and has a level of confidence about him.     
    Alan Hutton – 7 – Made some decent forward runs particularly early on and this must go down as one of his better games for us.     
    James Chester - 7 – Won everything in the air. Was left flat footed on the edge of the box as Hugill took the ball to his right and hit their opener before Amavi could get a challenge in.      
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Another competent performance by what is our most improved player this season. He certainly learnt some good things during his loan to Bristol City last season and has now become one of the first names on our team sheet.
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Lost possession more often than he would be expected to and disappointingly looked less effective as the game wore on prior to his late substitution.
    Albert Adomah – 7 – MOTM – Albert scored a brace of goals which should have been enough to secure the win. His first was a tap in from around a yard when unmarked but he was in the right place at the right time to put us ahead on 22 minutes and the referee let it stand despite vociferous appeals from the visitors for a foul by Gabby on the keeper. Sent Maxwell the wrong way from the spot after 36 minutes for his second. He had been found on the edge of the box by Amavi and ran on only for McGeady to win the ball but bring him and concede a penalty that incensed the visitors. Had an 88th minute shot kept out by Maxwell at his near post.     
    Henri Lansbury - 7 – Pinged a couple of excellent passes and looked comfortable on the ball. He also takes a good corner which makes a pleasant change to what we have grown accustomed to. His lack of recent games started to tell in the second half as Preston took control of the midfield and he was substituted on 77 minutes. He will get even better with games and with another new midfield maestro alongside him shortly.    
    Ashley Westwood – 6 – Started well and looked to be enjoying playing alongside Lansbury but faded somewhat as the game wore on and the opposition found him less of a barrier to their progress through the middle than they would have the injured Jedinak. Hit the ball just over on 32 minutes after Lansbury had played a terrific ball to find Adomah.    
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Needs to try to impose himself more on games than he did yesterday and to remember as he had started to do up until yesterday that he has a role to play when the opposition have the ball as well as when we do. Given little protection from some rough treatment from opponents by a referee who appeared unconcerned that they were using this tactic to nullify his undoubted but too rarely seen talent. Hit a stoppage time cross behind Gabby when a late winner had for a fleeting moment looked possible. Might have won this one for us at times but didn’t quite produce the final touch to do so.
    Andre Green – 6 – Missed a good opportunity to open the scoring on 12 minutes when he headed Gabby’s cross wide when he really should have at least been on target. He clearly has potential and the ability to take on and beat defenders. He needs games and the increased confidence that a run of first team appearances should give him.    
    Gabby Agbonlahor – 6 – Gabby’s starting place is now unlikely to come under any serious threat until Kodjia or Ayew or both return from international duty or we sign another striker. Gabby did well enough yesterday and worked very hard. It was asking a lot of him to play as a lone striker but he did win a couple of balls in the air and pressed defenders. He does not have the pace he once had and what goal threat that he once possessed has now almost entirely been extinguished but he will no doubt claim an assist for our opening goal. Grealish chipped a ball over a defender for Gabby to run onto inside the box but his attempt to chest the ball down only led to the ball bouncing out of his reach. He tried to get his foot to the ball as he collided with the keeper and the ball ran loose to be tapped home by the unmarked Adomah near the line for our first. The ball ended up in the side netting on 33 minutes when he looked to have an opportunity to add a second. His best display for us in a long, long time but that is not saying that much, is it?    
    Substitutes:
    Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Replaced Henri on 72 minutes. Hit an 83rd minute shot from the edge of the box that Maxwell held easily enough.    
    Gary Gardner – Replaced Amavi on 89 minutes. Not on long enough to merit a rating.      
    Keinan Davis – Replaced Grealish on the 93rd minute and was also not on long enough to get any sort of rating. Perhaps he should have been given a chance earlier?
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  15. John
    Leeds stretched their lead over us to 15 points with their late, late winner yesterday. I can’t really see us closing that gap during the second half of the season. That would leave us with just one automatic promotion place to aim for namely the one currently occupied by Norwich who are currently 14 points ahead of us. To claim that place we must rely on Norwich not being this season’s Cardiff and, on our ability, to overtake them along with the likes of WBA and Derby. It might just come down to a winner takes all clash with Norwich at Villa Park on the final day of the season.
    We currently stand 11th in the league table and that doesn’t make great reading does it? We are also just 5 points away from a play off place and with half of the season left to be played I still expect us to finish sixth or better.        
    Neither team really deserved to win this one, but we did lose it and that can be attributed to our porous defence which was a weakness to begin with and is now even more so due to injuries. Leeds won for the first time at Villa Park since 2002 yesterday and they did so having been two goals down after just 17 minutes. The lead was never a comfortable one though was it? There always lingers a doubt that we can claim a clean sheet and the third goal always looked like it might be crucial. So, it proved. Although we started the second half well and had the visitors on the back foot for the first 10 minutes of it, they claimed the third goal of the game and had drawn level 5 minutes later. It was more than cruel for their late winner to be scored in the 5th minute of stoppage time though. Had the referee decided that we would play on until they score when the 90 minutes were up?      
    Our 7-game unbeaten run came to a sorry end yesterday and our new boss tasted defeat for the first time at Villa Park. We must now bounce back on Boxing Day in our middle of the table clash with Swansea so that we don’t give ourselves and our hopefully reinforced defence too much ground to make up in the New Year. Given we have now gone 3 home games without a win, perhaps it is to our advantage that this one will be away?        
    My player ratings from a game that did little to lift our festive spirits and instead had us reaching for them are:
    Orjan Nyland – 6 – Did well to help a 22nd minute Chester back header over the bar when it might otherwise have produced a fortuitous goal for the visitors. Left too much space between his left-hand post and himself on 37 minutes and was relieved to see the free kick from Hernandez fly just wide. Did well to tip a 63rd minute Klich shot from the right-hand edge of the box over the crossbar. His poor clearance from a 67th minute Chester back pass fell dangerously to an opponent around 30 yards out. Parried a 79th minute Alioski shot away.            
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 4 – Gift wrapped them their late winner with a tame back header that played an Alioski cross straight to a delighted Roofe inside of the box in the 95th minute who proceeded to hit the ball into the corner of the net. He had earlier made an 8th minute challenge on Harrison that prevented him making contact with a Roofe cross at close range.         
    James Chester - 6 – The best of our defenders yesterday which is not saying a great deal. Nobody went with Jannson as he headed in his 61st minute equalizer having ran in between James and Hutton to glance the ball in.      
    James Bree – 5 – Needed to try to make a move towards Clarke as he ran all too easily past Elmo inside the box before hitting their first into the far corner of the net. Playing out of position through necessity. Must be worth a shot starting in his natural position.              
    Alan Hutton – 5 – He really isn’t a left back, is he?     
    Glenn Whelan – 6 – Started well enough.               
    John McGinn – 8 – Had another impressive game and gave everything he had. Why does he get booked so often when opponents who do the same or worse to him escape punishment so often by the way? We need to get up this season to keep him.  
    Conor Hourihane – 7 – Hit our 17th minute second with a sweetly placed left foot shot from outside of the box after Kodjia had done so well to make room for himself on the edge of the box before playing the ball inside to him.    
    Yannick Bolasie – 6 – a nice back heel by Whelan led to the ball cannoning off Kodjia and running on to him on the edge of the box but Jansson’s 47th minute challenge averted the danger just as he was about to pull the trigger. Produced one superb piece of Cruyff-like skill out wide on 51 minutes that left 2 defenders bamboozled.      
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Headed a 13th minute Hourihane corner wide of the far post. Won the ball on the edge of the area and flashed a shot just over on 48 minutes.            
    Tammy Abraham – 8 – MOTM – Tammy really didn’t deserve to end up on the losing side yesterday.  He back heeled the ball to Hourihane on the edge of the box who in turn played it inside of the box for McGinn the loose ball was behind Tammy but he stretched his leg to make good contact with it and hit home his 9th goal in 8 matches on the 5th minute. Worked very hard throughout.     
    Substitutes:
    Anwar El Ghazi - 5 – Replaced Kodjia on 62 minutes and made no positive impression on the game.
    Birkir Bjarnason - 6 – Came on for Whelan on 73 minutes. A welcome return following his injury lay off. His 85th minute corner almost produced a third, but a fine reflex stop by Peacock-Farrell spared Forshaw conceding an own goal. Will need a couple of outings to build full match fitness.     
    Scott Hogan – Replaced Bolasie on 83 minutes. Not on long enough to earn any rating.   
    Up the Villa and Happy Christmas & 2019 to all Villa Talkers!
    John Lewis
  18. John
    The news that had spread around Villa Park before yesterday’s game that Abraham may well have played his last game for Aston Villa deflated our spirits and the game that followed did nothing to lift the gloom.
    Dean Smith tasted his second defeat at Villa Park yesterday. Swansea recorded their first ever cup win against us. We produced the sort of shambolic performance that was reminiscent of those that we had grown accustomed to witnessing during our relegation season. We were knocked out of this competition in the 3rd Round for a third consecutive year.
    Abraham was the perfect fit for us up front as were we the perfect football club for him. If it turns out that he has played his last game for us, then we will not only have a defence and a midfield to worry about but also a forward line that has been neutered.     
    The depth and quality of our squad had already been found wanting by the absence through injury of Jack and Axel. It was further put to the test by leaving James Chester, Conor Hourihane, Yannick Bolasie and Jonathan Kodjia out of the starting line-up. Who was to know that among those that were selected there were several players that would choose to take the afternoon off as well?           
    Our defence once again conceded goals for fun yesterday and our midfield did little to halt the progress of their opponents through it or to create much themselves in and around the penalty box. What was different was the absence of any threat up front from us. With Abraham in the team there is an expectation that we will score goals as freely as we concede them. Without him, that would be highly unlikely to be the case and yesterday was a worrying sign of things that may be to come. Sadly, the strikers we had on the pitch yesterday did nothing to suggest they would be able to score goals with any sort of regularity should Abraham make a move to a football club in the Black County that is suffering from chronic delusions of grandeur.               
    This sorry capitulation was very hard to endure. We gift wrapped Swansea (who failed to make a similar number of changes to their team in order to try to even things up) a place in the 4th Round and they must have had to pinch themselves to believe how easy we made it for them to score 3 goals without reply yesterday.
    We are now free to concentrate on the league and this abject performance, which led to merited boos at the final whistle will also give our players a weekend’s break from the rigours of football on 4th Round weekend!          
    My player ratings from a game that extended our FA Cup years of hurt into a 62nd year are:
    Lovre Kalanic – 6 – Let’s give him a little more than 90 minutes to prove his true worth to us. Peter Shilton would have struggled behind this defence (although he is getting on in years now)! Lovre conceded his first goal 2 minutes into his debut when he blocked a low cross but unluckily the ball rebounded into Baker-Richardson and was deflected in off his shin. Turned a 32nd minute shot from outside of the box from Roberts past the post for a corner. Beaten low to his right for their second and third goals. Made decent saves on 76 and 83 minutes to prevent the score looking even more humiliating.                
    James Bree – 5 – Will have and has had better games than this one.         
    Alan Hutton - 4 – He’s not a left back and he’s certainly not a central defender either. Playing him in this position lost us the forward runs that he makes from wide positions and it did nothing to make our already suspect defence look any more solid. Fer ran for and crossed a loose ball following a challenge with him to Fulton to score their third as Alan stood statuesque in the centre of the penalty area.          
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Headed a 74th minute Lansbury corner wide of the far post.              
    Neil Taylor – 4 – Looked far from comfortable on his return to the first team.            
    Glenn Whelan – 4 – I would have anticipated that Glenn rather than Bjarnason would have been rested for this one.                
    John McGinn – 7 – MOTM – It was surprising that John played the full 90 minutes yesterday (he was the only player to really do so). He is another player that I think would have benefited from a rest, Dean said post game that he would get one when his next booking presents him with a 2-game suspension and therefore an enforced rest! Showed his usual tenacity and work ethic along with his understandable frustration on 92 minutes when Lansbury played a free kick to him and he blasted it over the bar.
    Albert Adomah – 4 – A couple of times early on, I thought that he might just produce something of his old self yesterday, but this ended up being another disappointing afternoon. Curled a 54th minute shot over the bar and Mulder kept out an 80th minute attempt by him.    
    Callum O’Hare – 6 – Taken out of the firing line on 55 minutes. Like Doyle-Hayes, I think we have a player here, but they both need games and experience. This was an experience that Callum will have been able to take little good from. Showed promise at times along with his inexperience on other occasions. Would benefit from a loan in much the same way that Jack once did in my opinion.          
    Anwar El Ghazi – 4 – He looked like he really didn’t want to be there most of the time yesterday. Can do and needs to do better than this on a consistent basis. Was ball watching and failed to pick up Dyer who ran behind him onto Fer’s nice through ball before slotting the ball past Kalanic.             
    Scott Hogan - 5 – Lacking in the confidence that scoring goals would give him, but he is not looking likely to go on a scoring run any time soon, so it is a bit of a Catch 22 situation. Lost possession on the edge of the box which led to their opener. Turned a 1st minute El Ghazi cross wide of the near post and 5 minutes later hit an Adomah cross goalward which hit Mulder on the line rather than the back of the net. Kodjia touched the ball back to him on 62 minutes but his attempt was blocked at the near post by a defender. Had one of these gone in it might have shaken us out of our lethargy.           
    Substitutes:
    Jonathan Kodjia - 5 – Replaced O’Hare on 55 minutes and didn’t live up to his nickname in the time he had on the pitch.
    Henri Lansbury - 6 – Came on for Whelan on 60 minutes and appeared to want to take the opportunity he was offered to show that he could do a job for us in the future. Hit a 64th minute shot from outside of the box that flew wide of the left post. Did well enough on a day that too many of those around him did not.     
    Keinan Davis – Replaced Hogan on 72 minutes. Held the ball up well again but he won’t score with the regularity that we need someone to and needs to play alongside another striker. Not on quite long enough to gather a rating.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  19. John
    At half time it was a question of how many goals that we would win by rather than whether we would win. They appeared to be just what we had needed to face last night namely a team that had less confidence and were in worse form than ourselves. At the end we proved to be just the team for a club at the bottom of the league to have faced. At half time it was Alex Neil’s managerial future that looked likely to be under more threat than Steve Bruce’s at the end of the game. What a difference a referee can make!    
    Preston had offered no threat up front and little resistance at the back in the first half, but a spot of dressing room half time cup throwing had them taking the game to us at the start of the second period. The referee’s subsequent intervention when he gave the visitors a very soft penalty and then compounded that by sending off our captain left us in disarray. Chester’s challenge on Nmecha was an innocuous one and if the referee really felt compelled to award a penalty then that should surely have been adequate punishment.      
    Had it not been for that sending off we might well have been in the top six rather than two points off the play off places this morning. I suspect that we would probably have weathered Preston’s early second half efforts and cruised to a comfortable win, but it wasn’t to be. Had we been in any sort of form we would have been out of sight before Chester’s dismissal because the Preston defence made our own look almost solid up until then!  
    The referee changed the course of this game, but we too readily surrendered the initiative when we went down to ten men last night. Other teams go down to ten men and it doesn’t have the same devastating impact upon them as it did on us yesterday. We should have tried to add another goal when we were still a goal ahead rather than negatively rely on a defence that is brittle even with Chester in it to hold out for the rest of the game. When we did move forward in stoppage time their defence showed itself to be as leaky as it had been in the first half. We left it too late to find out.        
    If there is one player and one position that we cannot afford to lose a player for most of a second half and for another game due to an unwarranted suspension, then it’s James Chester and our central defence.     
    Why did a player who has scored one goal in 7 years step up to take a vital penalty? Our designated penalty taker may have already been substituted and others may have been sitting on the bench but Bolasie who had already scored wanted to take it and surely Jack or McGinn should have also been ahead of Whelan in the queue to take the spot kick? They should have prised the ball out of the substitute’s hands.            
    My player ratings from a game that we looked like winning at half time and then did again with the last kick of the game but didn’t are:
    Mark Bunn – 4 – Surprisingly it was he rather than Moreira who replaced Nyland and Bunn doesn’t inspire too much confidence either does he? Came out of his area on 24 minutes to get his feet to the ball before Robinson and blocked a cross at his near post on 50 minutes. Sent the wrong way from the spot by Johnson for their first on 56 minutes. Gallagher’s 79th minute free kick went past a poorly lined up wall and our keeper for the day left too much room to his left to allow their second to creep between him and the near post. Their 86th minute third from Moult appeared to go straight past him. Gathered a 66th waist high shot from the left edge of the box from Robinson and kept out a 79th minute. Perhaps Burnley could spare us one of their three keepers in January?  
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and had a decent enough game.     
    James Chester - 6 – His sending off left me wishing we had Mile available on the bench to bring on.      
    Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Finally played in the centre and looked well worthy of retaining his place last night both with and without our captain alongside him. Moved a loose ball forward to Bolasie to hit in our third.           
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Might have got to the corner that led to their third.     
    Birkir Bjarnason – 6 – Looked comfortable and increasingly effective in the middle in the first half. Pushed to the ground at the far post to ensure he did not get his head to McGinn’s late corner and give us our late penalty.              
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Faded in the second half but he was not alone in that.     
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Hit a 14th minute shot from the edge of the box over the bar. Showed some fleeting signs of still having the ability to run a game in the first half.           
    John McGinn – 6 – His challenge on the touchline allowed Abraham to run on to hit home our second. Has not quite seemed to take games by the scruff of the neck in the way he had been doing of late but it’s asking a lot of him to do it on his own every time.    
    Tammy Abraham – 6 – Scored our second and what should have been decisive goal on 37 minutes when he ran into the box from the left and stroked the ball past Maxwell into the corner of the net. Unlucky to be substituted on 56 minutes following the sending off to make way for a defender.             
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Had a 9th minute downward header from a Hourihane free-kick blocked at the near post and was found by Elmo inside the box on 16 minutes but his shot was deflected by Maxwell at the near post across the face of the goal and out for a corner. Scored our opener on 26 minutes when Hourihane swept the ball wide to Elmo whose cross was headed past the keeper and into the far corner of the net by Jonathan. Had unusually done some work in his own half in the first quarter of the match less involved in the second half prior to being substituted.     
    Substitutes:
    James Bree – 6 – Replaced Abraham on 56 minutes. Got a good block in on Fisher at the near post on 81 minutes.   
    Yannick Bolasie – 6 – MOTM - Came on for Kodjia on 74 minutes and hit our 91st minute equalizer in at the near post. He must be starting games now.   
    Glenn Whelan – 4 - Replaced Hourihane on 83 minutes and made a difference but unfortunately not a positive one. Showed acceptance of responsibility by taking the spot kick that should have given us a late winner on 96 minutes but his decision cost us the game because his penalty was poorly hit to the keeper’s left and was just begging to be saved. Just because the ball was in your hands when the penalty was awarded does not mean you have to take the penalty Glenn when you are ill equipped to do so!   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  20. John
    Aston Villa have now dropped five points due to conceding goals during the last 5 minutes of games this season. Had we seen these games out rather than conceded goals in the 85th minute against Sheffield Wednesday, in the 86th minute against Huddersfield and now in the 87th minute against Forest we would now have had 11 points rather than 6 and would have been in 5th rather than 17th place.  
    We are currently just 2 points clear of the relegation places and 10 points behind the early league leaders. Our next game against Brentford has begun to have the look of a “must win” game about it.
    With such a large number of new signings and a lingering hangover from the pitiful relegation season that we had to go through last season it was perhaps asking a lot for us to hit the ground running from day one. Six points from six games is nevertheless just not good enough. A point a game over the course of this season would put us in a relegation battle for a second year. I am confident that the players we have are too good for that and will prove it as they become more familiar with playing with each other but last season demonstrated that a none winning habit can be hard to break and with each point we drop our confidence takes another hit.       
    This first meeting between European Cup winners outside of the top flight ended all square. We had the best of the first half and this was even more the case in the second. The woodwork twice denied us but we did the hard work by coming back from a one goal deficit to lead with only 16 minutes to go only to concede a late equalizer and drop another 2 home points. Forest will be happy with their point but we really needed all three. Our two goals in 2 second half minutes came from our 26 attempts on goal where Forest scored with all but one of their goal attempts. On another day we could have had five and once again the rub of the green went against us. But we need to start making our own luck. The two we did get came from McCormack and Gestede who have now scored seven goals in their last seven games against yesterday’s opponents. How they must be looking forward to the return trip to Nottingham.   
    We clearly need to start seeing games out when we have only 5 minutes of normal time remaining. At the moment we seem to need a two goal cushion to be able to win a game. We seem to have it in us to concede a late goal that undoes all of the good work that has gone before it in each game. We need to start winning games at home and away if we are to get out of the bottom half of the table and then challenge for a play-off place but preferably a top two finish. One win in our first six games was what we got last season we need to get the winning habit and the confidence that brings sooner rather than later.      
    My player ratings from a game that exposed our fragility near the end of games, a lack of midfield creativity and our present need to score 3 goals to win a game are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – Substituted at half time due to an injury he sustained on 28 minutes when bravely diving at full length to punch the ball beyond the reach of Lansbury.   
    Ritchie De Laet – 6 – Showed he has an Icelandic-like long throw and looked decent on those occasions he did venture forward. 
    Tommy Elphick - 6 – Solid enough.    
    James Chester – 6 – Beaten too easily on the edge of the box for their equalizer.  
    Aly Cissokho – 6 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and had a shot deflected over the bar off a defender when an 89th minute ball from McCormack dropped to him near the far post. Was a touch fortunate that the card he was shown on 85 minutes was yellow when a rush of blood between Lithaj and himself left both of their heads all but touching.  
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Failed to show the sort of creativity we were looking for yesterday and I would guess that his starting place will be under serious threat after this from Jedinak. Hit a long range shot on 40 minutes that was gathered easily enough by Stojkovic.
    Gary Gardner – 5 –  Did not make the sort of impression he would have hoped for against the team that he has spent a lot of time playing for on loan. I would anticipate Tshibola assuming he is fit to play by Wednesday like Jedinak above may well re-claim his starting place for the Brentford game. Clipped a shot over the bar after being found by Grealish near the edge of the box on 51 minutes.       
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Jack had us on the edge of the seat when he moved the ball forward with some purpose. Jack did not anticipate an 84th minute McCormack free kick dropping into his path but turned the ball towards goal which Stojkovic gathered comfortably underneath the bar.  
    Jordan Ayew – 8 – MOTM – Claimed assists for both of our goals. Westwood played a sweet ball to him in the 4th minute but he failed to get a shot in on goal, he then deflected a 34th minute Cissokho cross just wide of the post off his body before running into the box and shooting wide of the near post on 42 minutes. Jordan rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot from the edge of the box in the 59th minute and hit a bouncing shot wide of the post on 69 minutes.       
    Ross McCormack – 7 – Hit the post from very close range on 33 minutes when he had looked likely to turn the ball in. Ayew had run to the edge of the box before playing the ball wide to Kodjia who then played the ball across the goal for Ross to meet at the far post. Ross was later found by Grealish on 46 minutes and curled a shot from the edge of the box that flew just wide of the post. He climbed well at the far post to get his head to a nicely weighted cross from Ayew on the 71st minute which Stojkovic luckily kept out with his left hand. Ross then scored our equalizer on 72 minutes hitting his measured shot through the despairing Mancienne and past Stojkovic after Ayew had fed the ball to him just inside of the box.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Powered a far post header from a 43rd minute Ayew cross that Stojkovic struggled to prevent going over the line which goal line technology was not available to clarify yesterday. He then got on the end of a 63rd minute McCormack free kick which Stojkovic dived to his left to keep out. Jonathan climbed well at the far post on 78 minutes heading a Cissokho cross just over and was very unlucky on 91 minutes to see his header from a Grealish corner deflect inches over the bar off Mancienne. Once he gets one he will get more.
    Substitutes:
    Mark Bunn –  5 - Replaced Gollini for the second half. Will Steer get the odd game on our bench at some point?  
    Rudy Gestede – 7 - Came on for Gardner on 65 minutes and hit our second on 74 minutes which should really have been our winning goal. He got a foot to Ayew’s cross and with his second touch hooked the bouncing ball down and into the net. This was a well taken goal.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  24. John
    A Villa team that seem incapable of seeing out even the last 5 minutes of a game seemed to decide last night to try to see out the entire second half. We left it to the visitors to take the game to us rather than take the game to them in the second half having gone ahead on 19 minutes. As we know a one goal advantage is not enough for us and so it proved again last night.
    We have now dropped seven points due to conceding goals during the last 5 minutes of games this season. Had we seen these games out rather than conceded goals in the 85th minute against Sheffield Wednesday, in the 86th minute against Huddersfield, in the 87th minute against Forest and now in the 88th minute we would now have had 14 points rather than 7 and would have been in 4th rather than 17th place.  
    After failing to win for a fifth successive time we are left with seven points from seven games. We now face an away game at Ipswich who for some reason still have a problem with us that dates back to season 1980-81 and in-form Newcastle at Villa Park who also have a problem or two with us of a more recent nature. So getting points on the board from these two games will if anything be harder on paper than was our last three games.         
    This was our first league meeting with Brentford since season 1946/47 when we won 5-2 at home and followed that up with a 2-0 win at Griffin Park. Since then we have met in the FA Cup in 1953 when we drew 0-0 at Villa Park before winning the replay 2-1. I think we will need to win there again to make up for the points we dropped last night if we are to sustain a promotion challenge this season as well as at a few other grounds including our own more often than not!
    To be honest Brentford deserved at least a point. They had more possession, corners, shots and shots on target. We gave a first half performance that was some way below the one we gave against Forest and were fortunate to have a one goal lead to show for it. In the second half we needed to go for a second to give us the cushion that we currently need to seal a win. Instead we dropped back, surrendered the initiative and hoped for a rare clean sheet that would see us hang on for a win. It was surprising that our visitors failed to score earlier but an equalizer looked increasingly likely and it inevitably arrived during the last five minutes of the game. Someone betting on our opponents scoring at that sort of time in games would currently have a very healthy profit for doing so by now!     
    We had injuries both before and during the game to cope with but we were unable to do so and it seemed each substitution made it less likely that we would win this one.      
    My player ratings from a game that led to a return to the boos at the final whistle with which we grew so accustomed last season and in which our home attendance fell below 30,000 for the first time this season are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 7 – Held a 44th minute Hogan shot after the striker had an opening following an Elphick error and deflected another shot from the same player into the side netting on 48 minutes after he had picked up a loose ball from an Elphick back header. A good steady performance.   
    Ritchie De Laet – 5 – Substituted on 67 minutes having sustained an injury. Needs to show a bit more than he has done to date for me.  
    Tommy Elphick - 6 – I’m not sure Egan’s 88th minute effort was going in before Tommy appeared to get the slightest of touches on it only inches from the goal line but if he had not done so Hogan was waiting unmarked to tap it in on the line in any case. Kaikai had got his cross in all too easily although both Bacuna and Gardner were on him, the ball evaded both Cissokho and the player he was marking before it fell to an unmarked Egan on the far post. Gollini moved quickly towards the striker who hit the ball across the goal towards our captain and Gardner who had left Hogan to try to keep out Egan’s cross/shot. He organises well but his own game was not quite error free today.       
    James Chester – 6 – Gave a decent overall display.  
    Aly Cissokho – 6 – Took a first half knock which had seemed likely to lead to Amavi taking his place. Solid enough at the back.   
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – A much better first half performance and he seemed to relish playing in front of the bearded one. His second half display was not near to being as effective. He along with others dropped back in the second half allowing the visitors to dictate the rest of the game and the midfield area in particular.
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Looked the steadying influence that we need in our midfield particularly in the first half but he also dropped back in the second half and was playing just in front of the back four for much of that half which allowed the visitors too much room to play unhindered in the centre of the field.       
    Jordan Ayew – 6 – His performance was some way off the excellent one he had produced against Forest but he lacked service and the ball did not quite run for him last night. Hit a nice cross towards Kodjia on the 74th minute that he was unable to quite get on the end of and then hit a shot well over a minute later.
    Rudy Gestede – 5 – He really looks a lot better coming off the bench than he does when starting a game. De Laet found him on 21 minutes but his shot was held by Bentley. Rudy was then just wide with a 37th minute header from a nice McCormack cross. Did little else of significance.       
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Substituted at half time having picked up a knock and his presence was much missed.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 8 – MOTM – The one bright light on a pretty dim night for us. Looked a significant threat to our visitor’s goal every time that he had the ball. Found by Gestede on the 5th minute but his near post shot was pushed out for a corner by Bentley. Picked up the ball near the line having been found by Jedinak just outside of the box. Jonathan than cut inside the box making an angle to shoot and not giving Bjelland an opportunity to get a challenge in before hitting an unstoppable 19th minute shot past Bentley’s outstretched hand into the top corner of the net. Made a good run across the edge of the box on 80 minutes before he forced a save from Bentley.
    Substitutes:
    Jordan Amavi –  5 - Replaced McCormack for the second half and was obviously uncomfortable playing in a role he seemed unaccustomed to playing. 
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 - Replaced De Laet on 67 minutes. Failed to get into the game and this was a sad return to the sort of level of performance that he gave us all too often last season.
    Gary Gardner – Came on for Gestede on 82 minutes so was not on quite long enough to make a sufficiently positive or negative impression to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
×
×
  • Create New...
Â