ejvilla

He's only 23 - that's the key piece to remember - still a few years off his prime for his position. Tie him down. Will be a worldy by 26 if he works for it.

Players can be proud of that... wouldn't expect heads to drop. Liverpool are on a different planet and were off it today. Would normally have scored 2 or 3 of those chances first half. Took the foot off after the goal and we might've nicked it. Thought the Allison/Ings was a pen, but ref was super lenient on pens in 1st half too so swings and roundabouts. Play with that level of effort and intention and we'll beat most teams in this league.

John mcginn is a legend. Unreal fight in the guy. We've a long way to go but had more heart than Leicester today.

Some great performances again. Gave to Cash - was so aggressive on Sterling, then great going forward. Could've been nakamba, target, luiz, watkins... v impressive. Unlucky not to equalise.

Tight between mcginn & Nakamba for me - 2 great performances. Onwards & upwards!

Great result. Was a real war of attrition. Cash & Targett were both quality. Nakamba nicking balls was great to see - and he didn't make a balls of it in possession. McGinn was v good. Mings v good. Watkins good when in proper position. Ramsey a great prospect. Ings not good enough again. Buendia average. Changes changed the game for us. Wasn't sure about Young coming on, and was worried when he slotted into JJs space, but did well. Bailey looks threatening but will beed to track back harder. AEG brought energy at the end. Credit to Gerrard. Team was well drilled. He brought great energy. Would've been happy with a clean sheet at half-time to stop the rot. Amazing to score 2 and shut them out. Hear a lot about Brighton needing a striker, but they wouldn't control the game as well without the midfield overloads. They do need ball playing forwards who arrive in the box and can finish.

Deserves the sack. Setting us back years with myopic, machiavellian moves. Smith back in. First good manager we've had since MON (the early years). First we've had in my adult life that actually cared about the club as more than a stepping stone. #PurslowOut #LangeOut

I read this was because they wanted a relegation release clause.

If they appoint Gerrard without trying for Emery... well that would be typical

Unai Emery. Was willing to go to Newcastle. Pretty great record to be fair.

Agreed. Ings makes no sense without a planned system change. No evidence that the system changes were planned (would need much better CMs as a priority). Whoever sanctioned Ings signing needs a slap. Reminds me of the Darren Bent signing. Ings is better & more industrious, but completely wrong for the system we've been building towards over last few years. Watkins was a pacy, pressing forward/ target man. We needed a like for like option to push him. Ings can't lead the line without a powerful, possession retaining midfield.

Squad's not good enough. Overperformed last season because we had one of the best players in the world. Replacements haven’t bedded in yet. Glimpses of quality from Buendia and Bailey. Luiz has looked good. Ings is too slow for the type of football we play. Haven't had time to build patterns of play. Nightmare injuries, decisions going against us. Can't all fall on Smith. He is accountable for mentality - though that's a fragile thing & difficult to manage. Needs to take them all on a foreign holiday team building break. Block social media and go full siege mentality. Needs to sign 3 first teamers who raise the level in Jan. Avoid relegation this year and go again. Haven't seen a name linked I'd want to replace Smith. Don't want another journeyman. Definitely don't want that scumbag Terry anywhere near Villa.

El Ghazi... ffs... shocking that he gets into this team.

You know your team is average when you're hoping kids like Chukwuemeka or Archer get a look in. Too many poor signings for the money spent. No match winners. Someone deserves a p45 for sure- it's not clear who though. Smith? Lange? Purslow? Soft red, but likely would've conceded if Konsa hadn't intervened. Hause should've gone too tbh. Bailey was anonymous / average. Never looked threatening. 2 very soft goals in first half. Smelly attitudes throughout the team. Hard to watch at the moment.

Doesn't feel like we have a single match winner in the team. So average. Whoever controls the transfers is most to blame. If that's Smith, then on his head be it. 100s of millions spent and no talisman / gamechanger. Coaching is also not great, but would any of these players get in west ham's side today? Besides martinez obviously, I don't think so.

Shocking performance. Hope he doesn't just swap bailey for targett - cash didn't get a touch... needs formation change. If watkins wasn't getting spanked by gabriel I'd take ings off... but instead ollie off, tz off, bailey + sanson... maybe even ings for archer tbh as ings runs like an octogenarian.

Spurs getting the break of the ball. We knew there'd be a reaction. First time this season they've looked like they care. They lack character though so suspect they'll fade. We're full of character so expect improvement. Tough decision on who to sub... ollie lacking composure, but he stretches the game - would be concerned we'd lack his hold up capability if subbed. Need to see buendia by 60th min.

Watch the replay - that's as good a team goal as you'll see. And Cash had 2 men he could've layed the ball off to - Ramsey in acres of space. Ramsey could've put Ings through earlier too. Ings with the assist for Bailey's 2nd. First 11 wore them down. Changes finished them off.

He changed it, moved konsa to rb, pushed cash forward to rm, and we scored as a result. Then made a sub and that sub contributed 2 more. 3-0 against a solid everton side. What more is wanted? Big risks taken. Masterclass.

Regardless of the domain, be it football or any other industry, the best managers assess the capabilities within their team and distribute responsibilities to deliver the best possible outcome. A manager will have a vision for how they'd like a team to organise, and will surely explore opportunities to shift to that model, through recruitment and people development. Bad managers impose a system without regard for existing capability. Some inherited teams are so badly organised, or of such weak capability, that the risk of imposing a system on underprepared people is equivalent to making no change. These teams will have high attrition and, while some will deliver high reward, in most cases the risk will materialise as underperformance. Some organisations have unlimited funds and can afford the wreckless abandonment of existing staff to restructure for an incoming manager. These orgs are rare and tend to have more money than sense. The best managers are adaptable. If you are in a management position, I'd implore you to read a book on the subject.

He often looks like he's about to lose the ball, but then he just... doesn't. Top class

Very impressive. 3 difficult finishes, expertly taken. Looked great up front and on the wing. Challenges AEG for me based on that (though JPB also had a stormer and deserves a shot after a great preseason too).

Looked a lot better today. Faded around 65 minute mark. Perhaps not at peak fitness. Always looked dangerous. Seemed like we were a lot better organised from set pieces. He seemed to be positioned in the best possible places for breaking balls.

If he scores one from 25 yds for the first team and he'll never look back. Exciting time for him. Hope he gets the little bit of luck needed to kick on. Who does he remind you of?

Much stronger with the 433. Midfield 3 are doing well. Pleased with Ramsey. McGinn bringing intensity. Luiz looks good. AEG struggling, but Emi looks very good. Ings... what a finish.