handsworthvilla

I think this is the key point in tomaskz argument - its very easy to look at 4 losses and say we are a shambles defensively - but when you actually put the results to one side and examine what happened in the games (statistically) we have been unlucky. Its the classic thing that pundits do that really frustrates me. A team scores a scrappy last minute equaliser from a corner and all the pundits immediately after the game talk about how they've got such fight, spirit and never say die attitude. If that scrappy shot had've been cleared off the line and the team end up losing - would the pundits be saying the same thing? No, they'd be highlighting all the reasons why they lost and how poor they were. The whole post-match narrative gets changed based on moments of luck - you very rarely get informed commentary about how teams have actually performed over 90 minutes - the commentary is always so biased based on the result. Obviously over a 38 game season the results are informed by the performances, and there is little point in talking about being lucky/unlucky when you have a sample size of 38 results. But over short spells of games it is perfectly reasonable to not just take the results at face value.

The whole point of zonal marking is so that key players like Mings are placed exactly where they need to be Zonal marking is one of those things that is always held up to blame when a team concede from a corner, but you never hear of it being praised when a team goes games without conceding from a set piece. Its only when a goal goes in that suddenly zonal marking is obviously to blame. There's a reason that pretty much every team uses a mix of zonal and man marking - it has been proven statistically to work better than straight man to man marking.

Haha very true. I personally felt it was a bit of a fluke shot. The ball took a horrible bobble just before it reached his foot, which added pace to the ball so he only had to side foot it in. I could be wrong but felt that without that bobble that wasn't going in

Really hope we don't fall into the trap of playing like a "big" team and going all out attack against these. They will just pick us off on the break. Nuno is the ultimate Mourinho disciple and is a master and getting his team to just wait for mistakes from the opposition. I fear we may fall into the trap.

You could argue Idrissa Gueye based on his subsequent career, but he didn't look particularly commanding to me when we were getting spanked every week

This is pretty high in your list of reasons considering he's started 1 out of the 4 games we've lost this season. Scapegoat

Love him leading the line … but I couldn't quite believe his penalty stats when they came up on the screen last night. That's 4 of his last 6 he's missed. That's an atrocious record at any level and he really should never take one again

My prediction for VT post-match commentary - If Conor starts and we lose, it'll be his fault. No energy, not enough bite, doesn't put himself about enough It Conor starts and we win, it'll be a coincidence, everyone else carried him

Behind Jack, who had the most goal involvements crucial in keeping us up last season?

Its actually quite embarrassing when you consider he's been such a core part of our revival over the past few years Some people have got their minds made up on him regardless of what he contributes

Agreed - Conor always seems to pop up with assists/goals against the likes of Norwich, Brighton, Newcastle etc

Don't see it at all. RVP had a wand of a left peg, could score curlers from range, take free kicks etc Watkins seems to me to be more of a poacher with good hold up play. His goals all seem to be in and around the 6 yard box (not a negative at all) I've been really impressed by his ability to take the ball down and hold it up with a defender behind him, considering he's not the biggest striker in the world.

And yet just scroll back a few pages and you'll find people questioning if he is the right man for the job after 2 losses which couldve went either way. Absolutely bonkers.

Would've been dropped for Nakamba this eve if it were up to a few on here The lad is absolutely quality, and finally having someone on the same wave length as Jack gives us so much more potential in each game

Oh dear. Something tells me pretty much every modern football coach in the world worth his salt would disagree with that statement

Always found it bizarre the amount of disrespect Conor gets on here. We would have been relegated by about 10 points if it wasn't for his goals / assists last year , yet he's the first player to get slagged off and called pointless Yes he's not the most robust player defensively, but he contributes consistently in the areas of the game where most players can't - goals and assists Take away his winners against Norwich / Newcastle and several assists in points winning games and we'd have been down Very efficient player and also a model professional, clubman, never hear any issues re: off the field etc … yet for some reason he gets so much slack. Btw - this is not a reflection on him not starting at the moment. Barkley is obviously a massive improvement and should start ahead of him, just never really understood why Conor is perceived so different to someone like McGinn when he contributes offensively just as much if not more, and certainly played a much larger role in keeping us up than him last season.

Quite simply, he's just not very good

I thought I explained why in the post, but I'll try again .... Absolutely agree .... You don't actually believe that surely? I love Villa just as much as everyone, but I'm realistic enough to know he will not win the PL or play in the CL whilst playing for Villa over the next ten years. So he won't be able to feel that I agree, there is absolutely no upside to Aston Villa of Jack leaving. My point was more around the upside to Jack Grealish than to Villa. Doesn't matter how much money we get there isn't a like for like replacement out there Sometimes if you love someone you have to let them go. Ok that was a bit cringe, but you get my point. I could say I want Jack to stay with us for the next 10 years regardless of how we are doing. But I, like a lot of villa fans, have taken a real likening to Jack because of his affection for the club. You can see it on his face that it means so much to him. I'd hate to think that he spends his career battling relegation with us and never wins anything that reflects his talent

Doesn't matter how much money they throw at it, he'll be gone this summer. I think the only thing that could possibly result in him staying is if the Covid19 situation completely messes up the transfer market and big clubs decide they can't make big purchases. But I think thats unlikely He'll be gone and I'll wish him well. He got us up and gave us the one season in the PL that we wanted. A player with his talent needs to go and challenge for trophies on a regular basis. I'm aware he nearly won one this season but he is clearly a champions league calibre player and realistically will never play in that competition for Villa. In a bizarre way I actually want to see him leave and fulfil his potential at the highest level, just to prove to everyone else what many of us villa fans see in him. I've never felt that way about a player before, I always wanted to keep players like Yorke, Benteke, Young etc when they were being linked with moves away. I think its the fact he clearly loves the club as much as any of us, that is without question, so I just want to see him achieve everything he possibly can.

He is a strange one. When Jack came back from injury last year and tore through the championship on that 10 game run Southgate was asked if he would be picked for England. He responded that we wouldnt select him because he wasn't playing in the Premier League. That same squad he gave Hudson-Odoi his first call up and he hadn't even made a PL start for Chelsea at that point (he'd played a few games in the Europa League). So he would rather call up a kid who had looked alright against some part-timers in the EL versus a guy running rings around every team in the championship. Its been said many times before but its very true, the moment Jack leaves for United, Liverpool, Spurs etc he will be the first name on the England team sheet guaranteed.

I think the club can be excused for taking a punt on him in January. I thought at the time it was a bad signing but I am open minded enough to see why people thought it may have worked out and can understand their thought processes (eg; ex-PL league, good pedigree, get some match fitness and he'll be back to 2005 version) Saying that ... if anyone STILL thinks it could work out as a good signing after what he has shown in the games so far then they are deluded I'm afraid. He is washed up and his confidence is shot to bits. Crowd is on his back. It would be one of the biggest turnarounds I've seen if he were to suddenly start putting in 8/10 performances. How on earth someone demonstrating that type of form could be the key to keeping us up is beyond me.

Just based purely on players that I idolised rather than any coherent system - Bosnich Solano - Mellberg - Laursen - Wright Carbone - Ian Taylor - Merson - Grealish JPA - Milosevic The front 6 is basically a list of the players who I've had on the back of my shirts over the years - minus Dion !

Yeah it is very very difficult to make a comeback once the genie is out of the bottle. When we get relegated I'd be very surprised if we stuck with Smith, because it is so hard for the same voice that got a team relegated to be the voice that motivates them to start winning every week. Its almost a safer option to go for a fresh voice. I can't think of too many examples of managers who have took a team down and come back up. I know Dyche did it with Burnley, and arguably Rafa at Newcastle although he came in at the end of their relegation season so didn't really get them relegated

This. Squads just not quite good enough. We were the 5th best team in the championship and bought a couple of OK players ... we were always going to have one of the worst squads in the league

I like the starting line up Cue the unjustified scapegoating of Hourihane if we lose