Villarocker

On 04/04/2023 at 21:45, stewiek2 said:

I only gave Unai average as I thought we could have gone more high tempo and put pressure on them when they went down to ten men.

You must be non-human if you're questioning the absolute genius professor of football that is Unai Emery.

This guy is something else. It's like having another winger in the team and you can see the rapport he's building with Emi Buendia. Those two are great down our left right now. 

The way he scored and celebrated that goal showed just how much it meant to him to be back. That ending will do his confidence the world of good. Brilliant goal. 

Brilliant goal tonight. Took out three defenders and the goalie. 

Sensational lately - Ty and Ezri. 

14 minutes ago, Dodgyknees said:

He’s done this without an overhaul of the team. Mental. 

This! ^^^^^^

These are players that so many people were willing to discard plenty of, myself included. Now, they look unbeatable with a proper manager and coaching team to work with. 

You could tell right from the start of his tenure here that this man makes a difference. The way he arranged the players from the touchline was completely different from what we've seen here.

He is a genius and we absolutely have to back Unai in the summer and see where this legend can take us. I love him! 

I think Arsenal will come knocking again in the summer with £40m+. 

2 hours ago, Adam2003 said:

It’s like comparing a binman with an astronaut

Perfect analogy! One had a reputation as a great footballer who turned manager the other is the opposite. We have the better of the two! 

Surprised it took this long to come out in the papers. I heard about his antics last year from a guy I know. A pal of his witnessed a party where there was loads of that stuff  brought by Bailey. 

Not my kind of thing so have no idea if or how that would affect his performance on the pitch. 

Personally, I think he's a flash-in-the-pan kind of player. One minute he looks amazing and the next 89 he looks disinterested, lazy and out of his depth. Perfect example was that game where he ran through and screwed it up by falling over shortly to be followed by bringing a ball out of the air, that wascoming over his shoulder and heading out of play, before going on a great run. 

He shows flashes of brilliance but flatters to deceive. Two seasons now. I want him to do well consistently but I don't think he has it in him. I'd rather see big Jhon or Bertie given a chance. 

Great penalty and great performance. Set a record that he should be proud of. Back him to score next game - there's no stopping Ollie now. 

He was immense today. Made some great saves and put lots of pressure on their attackers in the box. He's more than just a shithouse! 

28 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Even that badge is better than our current  one

They are literally called FC Aston Villa. 

We are currently third in the Premier League - in Antigua & Barbuda. Currently sat above Swetes and Willikies!:

https://uk.soccerway.com/teams/antigua-and-barbuda/villa-lions-saint-johns/10138/ 

Their badge will be beautiful to fans of the green and black shirt we had:

5 hours ago, Chicken Field said:

On average fouls per match we are joined 4th to 7th. Man utd are the only team above us in the league table that have committed the same amount, no team above has commited more. Honurable mentions go to Arsenal who are 16th, liverpool (terrible season) are 18th and man city 19th most fouls commited. 

That may well be but, in the last two games, which were against the top two in the league, you'd expect us to commit more fouls. Kamara didn't make one against Man City and McGinn and and Luiz didn't against Arsenal. They are pretty much the centre of midfield. I think that them getting stronger tackles in against the big boys might make a difference. Maybe I am wrong but, in my opinion, when you play the so-called bigger clubs, I would like to see our players be a bit more physical against them. 

On 19/02/2023 at 10:11, Delphinho123 said:

Not sure what you’re getting at here.

My point is that I would expect, if we are going to lose a game, to have at least put a few challenges in to at least show the opposition they are in a game. Saka was on the winning side and nearly broke Moreno's ankle. Look at the teams at the top and see how many fouls their players make. 

Ridiculous to the sublime. 

Tell you what I've noticed. 

I do bet builders on every Villa game - not to try to win lots of money but, just to add a bit of other interest in the game. 

I always would have Luiz or McGinn to get booked or make a certain amount of fouls etc. Against Man City, Kamara didn't make a single foul. Today, McGinn and Luiz both failed to make a foul. 

I've played football at Sunday league level and can't imagine ever having a game where anyone playing in midfield failed to make a foul. Those players should be making fouls, unless they're so perfect that they fairly win every challenge they contest. 

We need to go all out for Pau Torres and play him alongside Diego Carlos with Konsa and Mings as back-ups. 

5 hours ago, DJBOB said:

I thought he battled Saka well and gave him a lot of grief. Telling that he got under Saka’s skin. Not an easy job trying to mark that Saka-Odegaard-White combo but more than held his own with help from Kamara and Coutinho/Ramsay. 
 

And of course a lovely assist. 

My thoughts exactly! 

I think he had a great game. If others were as intelligent as he is he would have been played through a few more times too.

59 minutes ago, maqroll said:

Hopefully Sawiris will back him this summer. 

This is key because he needs chance to play HIS players. 

I love hearing Unai speak. His passion comes through and when he's pissed off he let's it show - which is how it should be. They're all grown men and if they can't accept the hard truths of a poor performance they shouldn't be in the game. 

It is abundantly clear that he is trying to get us to play football. I mean, proper football. I love what he's trying to do and he will see as we see that some of these players are just not capable of it and, hopefully, they will be cleared out in the summer and replaced with proper footballers. 

Coutinho, Buendia, Moreno, Luiz, Kamara - they'll survive. Half of that starting lineup will be replaced although, I think Watkins may make it if he keeps scoring like he has been for Unai.

Some people criticise some of his substitutions but I like how he mixes it up and adds fresh legs to the team. 

Our second goal was a proper footballing goal. On a couple of occasions prior to that goal, Moreno sprinted down the left but players failed to play him in. He trotted back gesturing about those players not being on the same wavelength. He gets what Unai wants. 

I think that Unai has the potential to be the best manager we've ever had. I hope the board back him financially. 

Signing all the Brazilians and Portuguese players from now on then

Some personnel lacked bite yesterday. Neither of Kamara or Buendia committed a foul yesterday, in a game where we were losing 3-0 at half time - not a single foul! As a team, we were far too passive. We need a Guendouzi type of player in there to add a bit of steel. 

If we only tried harder and had more belief and urgency we could get something out of this.