ozvillafan

8 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

i dunno, the keeper is out of the box, any header to the keeper would prob reach him before he could get back in the box, and Olsen isnt exactly agile.

I can see why Carlos didnt head it back to him.

Me too....

.... but I can't explain what he was thinking with that "clearance".

Bring the ball under control, turn out towards the side line and, if needed, play it long down the line. This isn't hard stuff.

23 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

When I seen Olsen coming on, I kind of sensed that they smelt blood. They really upped their intensity after the break, causing us to panic in possession. 

While I agree that Olsen doesn't inspire confidence, the 2nd half stats were pretty much a repeat of the first - except we somehow managed to score 2.

Just now, DJ_Villain said:

Emi saves that Gallagher goal… 9 times out of 10

Nah. Finish was excellent.

2-0, and largely comfortable....

.... but I can't shake the Brentford feeling.

Makes it too easy for journalists, to be honest

• Slot machine
• Time slot
• Coin slot
• Expansion slot
• Mail slot
• Wrong slot (that's for you @rjw63)
• Slot racing

Then there is the "clever" use of slot instead of snot

• Slot rocket
• Slick as slot
• Slot nosed
• Beat the ever living slot out of them

2 hours ago, stewiek2 said:

 

 

Seems to happen a lot at some clubs - Sheffield United a good example.

Honest question: Are we any better? That is, if we are 3-0 down at home by halftime, do we leave Villa park half empty?

6 hours ago, Kuwabatake Sanjuro said:

He may well have been an excellent footballer but such a toxic influence.

Hmm... interesting take.

What I heard was this: "Some junior players were in first class, and some first team players were in economy."

Why? Why not all in the same class? If I was Terry, I'd be annoyed too. Had AVB made them all fly economy, then that's that.

The worlds number 1!!!

Is it only me that gets annoyed with Konsa dithering on the ball?

... Imagine if we played this game with a bit of bravery

Very sloppy in this second half. Thought we might pick it up after a fairly ordinary first half - but no.

We needed to make a change....

... but we have little on the bench

1 minute ago, PaulMcGrath_5 said:

One season in the Champions League would change nothing at all and would by no means guarantee we will be in it year after year, thereafter. 

Not sure I agree with you. 

1 season in the champions league would mean:

• A better chance to keep our best players 
• A better chance to attract better players 
• Some global exposure 
• More money
• A great experience for fans

And that's all a big change on this season 

I'm not a fan of Carlos...

... but in a sea of outstanding Villa performances, he's my MOTM. Thought he was excellent today.

Good game of football. Some good stuff from both sides.

Torres worries me defensively, but Carlos has been good again. Zaniolo good too

8 minutes ago, deeps said:

Can’t stand Maddison. 

I like him. I'm more than twice his age....

... but still have more hair than he does

So fast is Van Der Ven. 37 km/h top speed. I've heard it multiple times in this match....

... but I can tell you exactly how fast he was going for those 2 Newcastle goals. Hard to get above 0 km/h when you are on your butt.

35 minutes ago, Keener window-cleaner said:

I'm not convinced that he is good enough, one of the most important things in a CB is reliability imo. He has some standout qualities and at times pings some great passes and makes some great challenges/blocks. But at the same time his passing is also quite often risky, especially the ones straight in the middle where we often lose the ball and get a counter against us, he also misplaces passes frequently and thus gives the ball away. Defensively he is sometimes all over the place, the reliable positioning is not there. I think that with a proper reliable CB with his head switched on all game we wouldn't have let in one or two of the goals against Brentford.

Didn't appreciate the constant ruffing with Sanka at the set pieces either, made both of them look silly.

Pretty sure Sanka made himself look silly - should have been a penalty.

6 hours ago, DJBOB said:

Yeah the problem is that he’s a CB. 
 
And he plays like a CB even at RB. Tends to drift too narrow and doesn’t put an emphasis on blocking the cross. 

This all day.

Their 2nd and 3rd came from crosses on his side where he hardly "busted a gut" to stop the cross coming in. Just a lazy leg and a turn of the body in case it might hit you. Sunday league stuff.

Cash often gets stick for his defensive abilities - but he puts his body on the line often to stop those coming in.

Straight up: I'm not a huge fan of Carlos.

However, he was the best of our defenders today against Brentford. Should have had a penalty and a lovely read to stop one of their only attacks on the break in the first half. I thought he was solid throughout.

Let down badly by both Pau and Ezri, however.

5 hours ago, TRO said:

That's like a lovely shiny bucket with a hole in it.

The first job of a CB is to defend.....if they can play out, that's a bonus. i.e VVD

This all day.

The reason why Paul McGrath is rightly revered is he could do both. He could head the ball clear, he could tackle, he could read the play and intercept and he could mark.

I've heard Pau often mentioned in the same breath in this thread - but his defendng is not great. He's not a great read of defensive situations which puts pressure on the other defenders.

It's not a once off either: There are numerous times in previous games he drops out of the defensive line and plays attackers on - particularly in our box - but we haven't been punished for it. For the second and 3rd today he made poor defensive decisions when all that was needed was to mark a man (or the right man for the 3rd).

He needs to get better, otherwise we have a perfectly good defender ready to take back his spot (next season, once he recovers from the ACL).

Pau Torres. Wonderful with the ball at his feet. Woeful with his defending in the box.

Dougie out against Arsenal

this ref.

He's as out of his depth as Konsa is across the halfway line