TRO

3 hours ago, switters said:

Not our worst performance of season  - we were worse against Chelsea at the weekend for one - but a v frustrating one, couldn't sustain momentum at got some real bad luck like the deflected 4th. Clearly missed Tielemans, Martinez, Pau, much lesss able to get control of games without them three. 

Ref got so many things wrong, little & large, just added to the frustration of it all.

Still wouldn't say no chance in the 2nd leg. We got chances there, and if we go in with positive mindset and get a lead, it's game on. Genuine chance to seal Champions League qualification at weekend now.

was it bad luck? or poor defending?, by turning your back,sideways, you are aiding the trajectory of the shot.

Unai was asked, by a reporter, did you have bad luck on the night and he replied.........No, it was down to us.

3 hours ago, osmark86 said:

It was one of those games were you feel you're doing things right, but the results are all wrong anyways. That gets so deflating, but it happens.

but there was many things, in our play, that wasn't right....in those circumstances, the results are usually reflective of that, and they was.

3 hours ago, DaoDeMings said:

One of those games. Nothing went our way. Still in the tie though.

Win on the weekend vital

seen a few lately..at home.

2 hours ago, Jareth said:

Made up 2 goals tonight, can do it again. 

sure we can go there and score 2......we can always score goals.

but, Have you considered they might do the same....and that's not such a long shot, is it?

2 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Also think it's really showing and is key to us right now and in recent games - we're desperately missing Kamara

we have no midfield 

All this about why has Luiz dropped off, why is he playing so poor... Kamara not being there is why 

Sure.

He had games like this, before Kamara arrived....Dougie is not a No 6.

It is not his fault, he is being deployed in a position that doesn't entirely suit him....its a result of having only one recognised CDM in the squad.....and it took us long enough to get him....it's a priority.

2 hours ago, KevinRichardsonsMoustache said:

They were v canny. They took their chances and played dirty at times. Their fans were excellent, too.

 

Having said all of that, we lost that game ourselves 

Of course we did.....overtones of that game, have been in previous games lately, too.

2 hours ago, andym said:

Learnt nothing from the Lille tie

Yet again in Europe we start the game passive and sloppy - the save Olsen had to make in the first few minutes (which was wrongly flagged offside) should have been the warning, but we carried on as we were and got deservedly punished.

The ref was shit, but at the end of the day 4 goals conceded at home in a semi-final is an absolute disgrace. The back 4 were a shambles, not helped by Luiz and McGinn being awful.

If Pau was on the bench purely for rest and he's not managing a knock, then Emery deserves criticism as well.

 

Is a concern, in fact the nature of our breaches are a concern, not just the quantity.

We can't defend as a team.....endorsed by Alan Hutton.

If we have any serious ambition, and I have no reason to question that, we need to address that as a matter of priority, in the summer.

17 minutes ago, leighavfc said:

Terrible performance by most our players tonight.

Lenglet and Olsen in the same team is criminal imo! The dynamic changes massively with just one of them in the team, never mind both of them. Both so nervy on the ball. Do we know why Pau didnt play? Carlos would have gone in for me over Lenglet. Hes been ok at times but we dont look anywhere near as good with him in the team, thats how good Pau is i guess!

Dougie and Mcginn non existent

Cash probably only player who comes out with any xredit for me.

Olympiacos did a job on us and took their chances. They prressed us very high up the pitch, causing us too make mistakes constantly in defence and midfield. I didnt think they were as bad as people are making out, we of course caused ourselves a lot of problems on top!

Havent seen penalty back but seemed harsh at the time, the 4th was because nobody pressed and a unfortunate deflection to take past Olsen. 

Dougies penalty just summed the night up although a bit of pressure on it so wont be too harsh.

Still got a chance but its going to be tough and we are going too have to put one of the performances of the season to get to the final imo. Missed Tielemans and Emi massively tonight!

 

Many teams are doing a job on us lately....and it's not hard to do.

We can go back a while to know, Dougie and McGinn have had some howlers together in the middle....but, we still seem to find a way to rely on them, after all that time....we know, we are down to the bare bones, but it's funny, how we still seem to be destined to revert back to them, for those roles.

I had an inkling Dougie was going to miss that, his expression, leading up to it was not good and looked anxious, his performance overall, was probably weighing on his mind.

Sadly, Nothing surprised me.

So many elements of the game reminiscent of the Chelsea game.

3 minutes ago, villan-scott said:

I haven’t been this excited about a Euro Semi since watching Eurotrash in my earlier years! 

Fearing we’re running on fumes but hoping we have enough to get the job done!

The no excuse mantra will see us through....Unai is right, its an opportunity for the peripherals, to show their worth and state their case.

Like " you've knocked my door, now show me"

They don't lose many games.....It will be tough.

However, It was a really tough journey in 1982....but the resilience, saw us through.

This Semi final, will be all about, a will to win, and a mental approach to seeing it through.

I am on the same page as Xristos Farrow.....if we play passively, like we did against Chelsea, we could struggle.

I don't see us, tying the game up at Villa Park....I think the big performance is needed in Greece.

I don't see a scenario, where we score enough goals, to make it comfortable.....Game management will be key IMO.

20 hours ago, RicRic said:

Its more the fact we could be in the biggest competition in football next season so upgrades are needed for sure.. Bailey is the only winger who looks capable of starting against lets say a barcelona, diaby,rogers and JJ are certainly not ( possibly a fit JJ *undecided*).

We are not starting with another player similar to Kamara because we only need him and Luiz who drives further forward, then we have Tielemans and Mcginn who can play multiple roles in the central midfield area, but we do need a backup to Kamara as Tim isn’t ready yet. If Duran leaves we then need to look at signing a forward again… 

So B**locks to FFP we will need to spend at least £100M on 3/4 positions its not fair we cannot.

*RB*
*LW*
*CDM/CM*
*ST*

In a game, where there is a need to win the ball back, often........It can be too much work, for one, and to go after opponents, 2 is better than 1.

In most games, where we are in control, I agree 1 CDM is fine......but I am thinking squad as opposed to team. An additional quality CDM gives Unai options, and some opponents is hard to get the ball off them.

Anyway, in the cold light of day, I trust Unai to get it right.

On 01/05/2024 at 09:44, duke313 said:

A quality DM and RB for me, if we only signed those and nothing more i'd be happy enough.

Me Too.

Dougie will be fine, played in his right position No 8.....I thought the idea was for Tielemans to compete with him for that shirt.

Having one dedicated CDM leaves us vulnerable.....we need an additional quality one who can pass the ball, and stay on it, to help us control games.....to play alongside, Kamara

Wingers.....we currently have Bailey and Diaby, and possibly Philogene coming back, not to mention Kaden Young in the academy, looking for his chance.

I don't really understand the need, here.....unless we are actually saying, they are not good enough.

i think there are positions in the squad that clearly need strengthening.....other area's are just cosmetic choices.

14 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

The fact that Chelsea looked a lot more dangerous in the 2nd half than they did in the first, I think, adds weight to my opinion. 

You're right, they are just opinions. 

I can't deny that.

14 hours ago, lexicon said:

You just asked and answered your own question there 

No I didn't.

I have my opinion, but respect yours.

4 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

But for all their possession in that first - half, aside from hitting the post, they never really looked like scoring. We were disciplined in our defensive organisation. Not so in the second  - half. The confidence had evaporated and we lost our structure. I honestly don't believe that would have been the case has Emi not departed. 

I respect your opinion, Sheepy.....but I think it's a stretch to suggest, that Emi could influence, what was wrong with us in that second half....you could be right, after all....but I didn't see it that way.

Jackson had a close offside too, first half.....I thought Olsen saved a worldie, from Palmer too. He is never going to give us the assurance Emi does, but their goals came from passive play, from us.

I'm not suggesting you are wrong about Emi, we will always miss him....but I think the midfield, was a central culprit in our poor night.

just opinions.

On 29/04/2024 at 17:20, Villatillidie95 said:

i think we should be able to score a couple past olympiacos without him in the first leg, brighton we seem to do really well against for whatever reason, really glad its only a couple of weeks he misses because the guy has really stepped up for his since he started becoming a regular in the team

just 2..... we don't like 2

7 hours ago, lexicon said:

I know you're not going to like this @TRO but for me it's about wages again . He's pretty much fine as a backup CB, but for the money he's supposedly on, I think we need to offload him in the summer and replace him with someone on a more reasonable, sustainable wage. 

why wasn't I going to like it ?.....I respect folks opinions.

I just don't want to busy myself, with other folks wages.

4 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

But there have been countless games where we have surrendered possession and still managed the game to our advantage. Spurs away, Arsenal at home and away, in the first - half. 

In that first - half against Chelsea, every time we hit them on the counter we looked like we would score. However, that dangerous weapon was almost non - existent in the second  - half. We became fixated on trying not to concede, to the point where we forgot about trying to get a third goal. We allowed ourselves to become overwhelmed and Chelsea sensed the fear and panic that consumed our players. Like I said, even the crowd sensed the change in our approach, and sadly, the inevitable happened. Without confidence there's no cohesion, instead of asserting ourselves, we kind of crossed our fingers and just hoped we didn't concede. I really don't think that would have happened had Emi not been replaced. He's the captain for a reason, he brings that assured presence, that sadly, Olsen doesn't. 

The top 3 have only averaged just over 2 goals per game this season......with all their fire power....Arsenal and Man city 2.4 and Liverpool with 2.2

I don't think it's reasonable to assume, we can keep scoring so freely.

I can't offer an explanation, as to why, we let them back in, but if we couldn't secure the ball, maybe it's one answer.

I ask the question, did we go defensive? by design or by necessity or did we just retreat, because we couldn't get the ball?

I think we tried not to concede, because we couldn't get the ball, to launch an attack, we effectively lost the midfield.....I do get your point, our strength is attack, and the "goals for" column supports that.....but when we couldn't get the ball, the only alternative is to keep what you already have.....but sadly, Chelsea had different ideas.

4 hours ago, MaVilla said:

we are really stacking up the absentees at the moment.

Missing..... Martinez, Moreno, Mings, Kamara, Buendia, Tielemans, Ramsey & Zaniolo.

 

It's the new Spire Little Aston -Hospital team...They are waiting for 3 more to arrive.

On 28/04/2024 at 00:57, VillaChris said:

They're not as good as Lille.

Looking at their squad and plenty of experience. Vicente Iborra as DM in midfield is 36. El Arabi their main CF is 37 and Jovetic comes in at a youthful 34. Their main danger will be Podence on loan from Wolves who caused us issues at VP last season.

I think we can take a 2 goal lead to Greece and that should be enough.

Mendilibar is their coach so it will be a very very low block for this leg so we'll have to be patient. Really hope Unai just dosen't treat it like a chess match due to facing a compatriot as he overthought the Wolves games last season facing Lopetegui and that played into their hands more than ours.

Can see us winning this 3-1.

We can't defend them at home

.....I'll get my coat.

13 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Sorry mate I never understand people posing this question.  

We play constantly against some of the best teams in Europe in the Premier League and have a very good record against them.  

Newcastle only missed out on going through group stages because of a last minute incident.  

Emery has great European pedigree.  

We have many top level international players like Martinez, Torres etc.  

The best way to learn imo is by experience of doing it.  

We aren’t expecting to win it but given the strength of the PL which we have played well in compared to many clubs from countries in much poorer leagues.  

Then having the mastery of Emery and a summer of further squad adjustments then with 8 games we have a great chance of getting through to the next round in the new format.

it's a question Nick, not an answer.

The reason, I have asked it Nick.....is to get eloquent views like yours.

see.......I get the best out, in you.

2 minutes ago, viivvaa66 said:

A chicken and egg question. Unless you have Champions League and the income that comes with it, you wouldn’t be able to attract and pay for the players to build the squad required for Champions League. If we qualify for Champions League this season, the next and the one after that, I think by then we would be ready for Champions League.

good answer imo