Mjvilla

I wouldnt disagree. But let's not confuse a sliding tackle with a sliding block to stop a cross, which Targett does alot very adeptly. Show his man down the line and stop the cross. It's the job of a full back and Targett does it very well. He rarely slide tackles, he slide blocks. Full backs are usually up against the quickest players and it's not a slight on a player to be beaten for pace, but if said player can still stop the cross then his job is done. Targett hasn't been beaten many times this season, not sure why you had to drag him into this. Guilbert, yes, would get caught out alot and need to slide tackle.

The same posters who, in the pre match thread, were expecting us to get beat are now moaning we didn't win. From outside, it's look an agenda. It looks like certain people don't trust Smith, so think we will lose. If we don't lose, and overachieve against these posters expectations... It's still not good enough and the manager gets the blame. I'm struggling with it. I don't post in the match thread. I don't post immediately after in the post match thread because it's so clear. I usually post the morning after so as not to get caught up in the completely overreactions. This place is slowly becoming unreadable, in my opinion. I literally shake my head in disbelief at some of the comments. The first time in 8 years we have achieved 40 points and it's just all so so negative. The youngest squad in the league, we are learning and developing. We learn and develop through good form and probably more through bad form. We will add to the squad again in the summer, it's all positive for me.

Spot on, he is. Going with mcgoldrick takes him further away from where he should be, however. The reason he is in no man's land is because is because he is pressuring the left back in the build up (a job Elmo should be doing?) Nakamba closes mcgoldrick who switches it... Nakamba works hard and gets back in, goal side of his man, as you can see from the still. If you want to criticise Mcginn, it should be for not working hard enough to get close to his man (the man he ends up 20 yards away from). He knows that's where he should be because when the original shot comes in.. he makes a move towards that man in case of a lay off. Or, for not communicating with Elmo there's a man coming onto the back post. Not following Mcgoldrick isn't a reason to criticise Mcginn.

I notice from this still you conveniently leave out the man completely unmarked about 25 yards out (just to the right of this shot). HE is mcginns man. Konsa is marking Brewster. Nakamba is marking the 3. Mings is spare/cover for the left side. Ramsey is clearly trying to get in and help out targett who gets caught. If mcginn follows Mcgoldrick and the ball gets laid to the man 25 yards out, you criticise Mcginn for being in Elmo's position. Any still can make anything look bad and make you interpret it the way you want, particularly when it doesn't show the whole picture. Show the still from a couple of seconds later and include the man on the edge and you see Mcginn marking his man and Elmo caught out. You can see Elmo drifting inside in this very picture from the direction of travel. Perhaps the communication from Mcginn is the problem, he should be screaming at Elmo that he has a man on and then get closer to his man. He is NOT at fault for not following Mcgoldrick and any coach at any level would tell you so. Every man has his job when defending and if you do that job well, you reduce the risk of conceding. Elmo's, as a full back, is the back post when crossing from the other side. Mcginns responsibility is the man unmarked 25 yards out. Without any question.

He also ran past Elmo whilst Elmo drifted inside. There's 2 centre backs marking 1 man. 1 is spare. Elmo is not needed as a spare man too. His domain is the back post. He drifts inside from his supposed defensive position. If mcginn goes with mcgoldrick, the guy 25 yards out is left unmarked for a free shot on goal. You can see mcginn drift towards him. It is never and has never been a midfielders job to mark a striker, wether he's running from deep or not, when there's 2 free defenders to do that job. He could've perhaps communicated with Elmo 'thats your man', who's to say he didn't? We don't know. It's not on mcginn, not in the slightest.

Mcgoldrick, a striker, scored. I don't want my midfielder ... Who has 3 men to contend with in there, to be made to pick a runner. It's a defenders job to do that. Elmo had to be aware of the back post movement from mcgoldrick. He didn't and drifted inside for some strange reason. If cash was playing, I think we may have seen a simple clearance made. The difference between our first XI and what's behind it will cost us this season, as said all along. This is another example of that.

Another club that absolutely bloody hates us and I don't know why. Add to the list alongside Leeds, west ham, Newcastle . I don't get it Tough game for sure tonight, will absolutely snap your hand off for a 1-0 win. Just hope we are motivated and there's no complacency. Sheff united will be pretty physical I'd imagine, certainly the front players will work hard even if they aren't prolific. Need to be at it to bring home the points.. Sheffield United 0-1 Aston Villa

I watched the first half last night, it was absolutely abysmal. That's both sides. Probably the worst level of football I've watched in a couple of years. And I've watched ALOT of football!

Have they? Is there any evidence, I'd like to see it but don't do social media! It's like when the big kids pick on the little kids at school. Karen Carney, Matt Targett.. next it'll be Warwick Davis!!

It was a direct results of years and years of poor management. We came up with 2, possibly 3 players good enough to play premier league football. No manager has built nearly an entire squad and kept it up in premier league history. The players signed last season, are doing pretty well this year. With a couple, for me, deserved of an England call up. By all rights, we shouldn't have come up, by all rights we shouldn't have stayed up. You can try and butter it up anyway you'd like, Smith has achieved more here than Bielsa at your club. That's a fact.

I think MON did well. It's difficult to compare the two really because of the differing start points. One think I do think though is that Dean has a higher ceiling. MON was very limited in what he did, not using the foreign transfer market for example. Smith can take us further, in my opinion

'we don't have the players to stop teams' with the second most clean sheets in the league.

Should still make subs earlier though.

I remember Garde drew his first game at home to man city 0-0 and I walked away thinking 'were going to be ok'. It's amazing how wrong us football fans can be sometimes. Deano has done such a remarkable job that we just have to back him and will back him and protect him from the moaners so long as he continues!

All this talk of Leeds players being beyond ridiculous is pointless. They just don't get it. The only things that needs to be considered are: Leeds United 0-1 Aston Villa. Also, The league table. 4 points ahead with 2 games in hand. They can throw as much salt, as much bitterness as they want and complain about us but the league table doesn't lie. I, also, think you could make a pretty strong argument that they were better than us last year despite being in a league below us. We were shite and they won the league at a canter. So much for Bielsa behind a master. Deano has achieved more in his time here than Bielsa in his time at Leeds! Fact

It's interesting that the debate of youth against experience debate should pop up in our most experienced players thread. (Out of the regular starters). And also that the debate should happen when the most experienced player is probably our weakest performer. It's been pretty clear to me that we are going a certain direction with this squad from last summer onwards. It's all been about building and developing players. We have the youngest squad in the league (I think I'm right in saying that). That's by design. I think we saw an opportunity with Barkley, which hasn't worked out. His signing was the exception to the rule, though, in general. We've seen teams like west ham and Everton, year after year buy experienced players from top sides. They don't progress that way. They stay idly sitting 7th-12th most seasons, sometimes slipping below that. I, genuinely, think we are aiming higher than that. Buy young and develop them. Mould them into the players Dean wants. It's a project worth taking the time to allow it to take its course. We've seen the development, it's been huge. I think it's why Dean is rigidly sticking to a certain way of playing and formation. He wants this to be the villa way. I think those asking for a soucek type will be disappointed. I don't think it will happen because it's not what Dean wants..the proof will come in a few years time. Do we sit idly mid table hoping for a good season to finish sixth? Or do we follow another path? I look at the average age of the players Leicester have signed over recent years and allowing them to develop and get regular PL game time and become excellent premier league players. I think this is more the model we are going for. I think it's the right way to go.

I'd never heard of Luca Netz before a scout bought him to my attention on FM tonight. Now I see him mentioned on here on the same evening! I feel young again

If you're going to play full backs and allow them freedom to get forward then you have to accept sometimes that they will get caught upfield. Otherwise, your back 4 will be rigidly stuck in position and you will lose options in attack. Teams at this level counter attack so quickly that you need to be fluid in the way you defend. You can't say 'the CDM stays central to mark', that's just not going to happen. The CDM will have to cover in those circumstances that the full back is caught high. The problem in this instance, is that the LB and another central midfielder, along with the left winger are caught too high up the pitch on the left. That's where the inquest should begin. Why are they all so high? If this is the case, and you have 3 people caught to high, then you should be able to rely on the third central midfielder (Barkley in this case) to sniff the danger and drop in. Which he doesn't. It's all hand on deck to 'get back in'. But it's not acted out that way. The danger, for Douglas Luiz, is the man with the ball. (Tielemans) if he doesn't close him, tielemans has a free run down the wing unchallenged. He does close him (right thing to do) and he should be able to rely on one of his teammates to drop in and help out by dropping on Maddison. Barkley doesn't see it (wrong thing to do). There were a lot of faults in this goal, the stills earlier in the thread showed it too well. Being caught too high, not tracking back, not closing the shot down. But I don't see the CDM done much wrong here.

Not on Twitter so won't post a link, but a friend has shown me 'celebrity refs'. Worth a search for those is you on twitter, some very funny stuff on there. Alot of it Mike Dean based.

Refs reviewing it. Refs are the ones getting the decisions wrong, even with a review... Are they going to change their mind and get the decision right? Using that Fulham - Sheffield United one as an example, not one person who has played the sport at any level doesn't think that's a penalty. 2 referees decided (VAR and infield ref), plus an ex ref who does a column thinks it's a penalty. The problem isn't with VAR, the problem is with the referees and a lack of understanding of the game. Reviews don't fix that bit.

I read Andre marriner had admitted to being a villa fan... Is he the second?

My brother hasn't played for about 15 years and he's thinking of getting it and asked what villa are like. I said 'martinez, jack, cash, targett and konsa are all underated. You have no money to spend, the owners clearly aren't rated as all that rich which is completely wrong. But, there's some good youngsters.' I think I summed it up nicely. Glad to hear those 2 have upgrades. I think after a full season, the others should all get upgrades too.

Absolutely not the answer. It will be 'refs' reviewing it. These same refs who looked at areola belt the Sheffield United player high across the shins and decide he 'got enough of the ball'.

Kevin Friend. How does he still get premier league games. And big ones at that. Veltman threw himself to the ground last night when Milivojevic blatantly pulled out of any tackle and was about 5 yards from making contact with Veltman. Free kick given in a dangerous area. Milivojevic literally collapsed to the ground in shock it was given. This, the same ref who booked Grealish for diving after his fantastic assist for Lansbury away at palace last season. Anyone else think there's more to it in respect to the reasons why we haven't seen him since? He hasn't reffed us since then, has he?

No, no!! Join in with the conspiracy theories. He was in a box to hide the fact his leg is in a cast!! Confirmed. Stress fracture, 3 months minimum.