Lerner's Driver

This is another **** annoying game.

Moreno is blowing. 

Get. The. ****. In.

C'mon, you Villa boys!

Our cautious 'baiting the press' isn't working how it used to. Cautious has become passive and/or too casual, whereby our defensive players think they have more time than they do.

The quick infield passes that were helping us to cut through teams earlier in the season are no longer happening to the same extent because teams are closing off the second, third and fourth pass after Emi's first .

I know injuries have played a big part, but it feels like our system can be negated when opponents force us into mistakes because we very quickly run out of outball options.

3 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

I agree. I also think we're running up against a reality that no one really wants to face and talk about, and that's simply that our player-quality -- whilst amazing -- falls slightly short, overall, of the clubs at the very top. It feels like we're doing a lot with dwindling resources, and it's starting to catch up? I actually think today could have gone either way before the post-HT collapse. I wouldn't rate Tottenham as the very top, but they and ManU are our closest rivals for fourth.

Yeah spot on. 

It comes back to the thing that Tro and I have been banging on about all season. Any team that harries us and stresses us out when in possession has a good chance of winning.

Our champagne football comes when the opposition lets us play. Spurs hassled us and we're much better on the ball when they had it and that is because on the whole, they have better players.

Doesn't stop our achievements this season from being amazing, but it does look to be the case that we are running out of steam as Spurs are gathering theirs.

1 minute ago, Jas10 said:

Depressing

Not really, why? You have watched Villa for years. 

I said I wouldn't melt down and I won't. Not hugely disappointed because I expected us to lose.

Spurs the better team throughout and looking a much better bet for fourth at this moment in time. 

This will upset some, but I am afraid today we have bottled it again when it was necessary to turn up and deliver.

Tis the Villa way.

Just now, Herman22 said:

The ref has played this well today. He’s won spurs the game. Exactly as wanted. 

No. You are just frustrated. As was John. We ain't at it today.

lol. 

Spurs the better side.

Villa playing catch up.

We deserve to be losing.

Fairly predictable, sadly. The occasion was too much. Timid, uncertain play throughout.

Have they announced the team?

34 minutes ago, AVTuco said:

I'm too anxious. I hate football.

I hear you. I'm a bit nervous, but not anxious because my hard-bitten instinct is that Villa down the years have often choked when the games are genuinely big, as this one is. Obviously, that is more true pre-Emery and genuinely a lot less so these days, but the hope only contributes to the anxiety! 

We have very decent recent form, but only beaten or drawn against teams we "should" be getting those results against and we've not hit the heights of our pre-Xmas imperiousness since. There are good reasons for that obviously and it is testament to Emery and the lads that he has kept us going, but this is a match of a different order.

We absolutely can win, score first and we have a very good chance, but if they do, well a draw could be a good result. No meltdown from me if we lose because I am half expecting it.

C'mon lads, prove me wrong!   

3 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

I'd say he is more like Jimmy Saville then!

Because children have... (Yeah, you probably don't think you're really that funny anymore either, do you?)...

On 06/03/2024 at 09:58, Mr_Dogg said:

It's a mad forum, he has 60 minutes playing time...

And people are sharing their initial impressions, is that surprising?

5 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

Really poor - the wrong attitude to the game right from the off - we looked like we wanted to keep a clean sheet and win it 1-0, like we were playing Milan or something - we then carried out that plan poorly, we were sloppy and we played some awful stuff in possession. A terrible ref didn't help us either. 

We should have gone for these from the opening whistle and looked to score three or four - we've shown them far, far too much respect and ended up creating a second leg where we have to turn up, pick a strong side and work hard if we want to win it.

Spurs is a big game, and we did the right thing in weakening for this game, but losing Konsa makes it more difficult for us to do that in the second leg and West Ham is a game that's very, very difficult. Torres doesn't seem to have 90 minutes in him, let alone twice in a week, so if he plays against Spurs it'll be Lenglet/Carlos or Lenglet/Chambers for the second leg of this one - we really could have done with a cushion here.

Lose at West Ham and drop out of Champions league qualification and you can pin it on this performance, the approach and the attitude tonight - I'm really disappointed with it.

 

 

Yeah, to summarize your post, half arsed.

Fine. Ref wank, disappointing that we couldn't assert ourselves properly.

Just now, sidcow said:

Will you lot stop moaning about the ref. It's dull, we've got to look to ourselves etc. etc, etc, etc. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nope, he's shiiiiitttttt.

That was coming. Load of shite.

Going to plan, I suppose. It's no surprise we are not very fluent with the b team representatives in situ - we've seen it before, but even with that said, we've offered nothing going forward. Nonetheless, score first and we can smash them, but we just need to up the tempo now and bring some of the big guns on.

What do you know, the ref is wank.

Just now, Sulberto21 said:

I was referring to how they play specifically. They’ve given all the top teams a tough game. 

Good for them. 

1 hour ago, Sulberto21 said:

Maybe watch how they play. They’ve pushed all the top teams this season.

I watched the game. They are third bottom for a reason. It would have been criminal to have thrown that away after the first half showing. We let them back into it.

1 minute ago, Sulberto21 said:

Luton are a better side than most give them credit for. 

We showed huge bollocks to win this. 

Third bottom ain't that great.