A'Villan

I woke up and saw 2-0 to Sheffield United and thought no way am I turning this on to watch! Gobsmacked that we pulled that one back to a draw. Brentford simply dominated the ball. They didn't need to hit us on the break, they were comfortable in possession and set the tempo. We didn't get the ball passed the halfway line for the first 10 minutes, forget the final third! After 90 minutes we had two shots which were of any significance. Brentford didn't have all that many more but they were constantly penetrating (giggity) and supporting each other in attack, they had the ball in ideal positions for most of it. It was an error by Elphick that led to the equaliser. Misjudged the timing and Muapay or whatever his name is punished.

Well said. Most of that gets the nod from me. My comparison to Bruce was intended to illustrate how bad things got on the pitch under Bruce too. Yet he was afforded some time and came good for the most part. You mention time in isolation achieving nothing. Another reason I make comparison to Bruce is that Bruce did not have us as league leaders in areas that Smith did. You're right, circumstances are different, Bruce adopted a club void of any sign of salvation from the downward trajectory it was in. Smith has renewed expectations to deal with. I'm not trying to give an all encompassing account of things, I know jack s*** outside what I view and read from over here in Australia. So probably very little. One thing I found interesting was the commentary on my stream. You know how Brentford have their 'system' of analysis used to assist decision making and scout talent? Well, according to that system, they should be sitting in 7th. Funnily enough, it wouldn't surprise me if that account had some merit to it. We have dropped points where more often than not we walk away victors. We have dropped points where other teams get a cheap result against the run of play. The margins are so fine. That's why Bielsa is hitting up training grounds and watching endless hours of footage. Every inch is an edge. As I have said elsewhere, Brentford might've been the first game I've seen in full since the draw to QPR at home. I've only seen highlights otherwise. I did watch the games in November and December in full except for Leeds and I saw us play in a way that really troubled the top end of the table and some. So it's no wonder I'm inclined to be optimistic about Smith being able to find his feet. I haven't seen the poor performances of recent.

Well played. However it would be my verbose drivel that is the issue, not familiarity itself.

Top post. However with more coordinated off the ball movement and support from players looking to receive we can play through a press without resorting to direct and long ball. I don't subscribe to the notion that our players are so inadequate that we can't operate as a functional whole to overcome the tactics employed at this level. Whelan's passing range is very limited, Hourihane's is probably adequate and McGinn's is better than average. With that balance we should be equipped to compete. Mings showing us all he can keep the ball at his feet is fine but was done to excess against Brentford. It just invited trouble, doing nothing to start our build up. But back to our midfield. Whelan is a veteran who was a mainstay for Stoke in the Premier League. Hourihane has done it at this level for a while now and is well established. McGinn is the best of the bunch. All three should be able to play a short pass and have the fitness to run over the 90 minutes. Essentially that is what is required from midfielders when playing the ball on the floor. Pass and move. You don't beat a press by your ball carrier pondering on the ball or going it solo. You beat a press by passing through it. Teamwork. That was the difference between us and Brentford. They knew where to be and when. They knew when to play a pass and when to take a man on. I don't think we had a sequence of more than 5 passes that came to anything of note all game.

When you put it like that, we would require a win ratio above 70%. Leeds are the league leaders with a win ratio of 55%. I still sort of rate us if we can rekindle the performances that we saw in November/December. It's frustrating that West Brom scored from both their counters against us and yet Adomah and Hourihane miss their opportunities against Brentford and we lose in stoppage. I haven't been able to watch every week recently so I can't comment on those performances, but earlier performances merited a higher points haul than what we've got.

The adage, "familiarity breeds contempt". It's ridiculous. It's mistaken. IT'S WRONG I TELLS YA! If you're a c***, take me for granted or can't honour the relationship, then perhaps I might choose to spend my time elsewhere. But to suggest that familiarity alone is the culprit for someone choosing to regard another person with contempt is nonsense.

If she has shown you things that you couldn't see in yourself that changed you for the better, then pay your dues and pay it forward. Be true to the hot motherlover in you and remember that you know love and what it can offer, as you say, 'things you can never take away'. Share that in life. Use that self esteem to grow and build from here, fight the good fight (the battle within). You are free to define your own value. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." "Even though we survive through the struggle that made us, we still look at ourselves through the eyes of people that hate us" Chin up.

Bruce started his tenure with a near 60% win rate which lasted for almost two months before declining. Then this time two years ago we lost 5 on the trot including a 3-0 to Brentford and a 3-1 to Barnsley. Far worse than Smith has seen. Bruce finished that season with us in 13th, his win rate being chopped in half from his initial results. What went wrong there? Next season he went on to have us finish as the 4th best team, with a points haul that might gain automatic promotion in previous years. Obviously there's a myriad of factors that are at play in determining how well a team gels and performs. But, to put it in a nutshell, I think our recent 'dip' in form, like what happened under Bruce, can be considered growing pains. It might be more serious than we all think, which would be unfortunate. I'd be curious to know why you are inclined to suggest that though? I'm not concerned with the appointment of Smith or what he can bring to the table at this point, he's shown already that he can turn us into league leaders. The next step is producing it over the length of a season and on any given day rather than for a short lived month or two, amounting to little. Unfortunately, for me, there is a concern that the season that it comes together needs to be this one, due to circumstances outside his control. But that is just a FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) and not something I can really explore as I'm not informed on the ins and outs of behind scenes happenings.

Disagree. To me we look like a team lacking in confidence and vigor rather than riddled with complacency and halfheartedness. We've had continual major upheavals and have been on the peripheral of the Premier League for the most part of a decade now. Smith turning it all around in under 5 months and making us a team that is a cut above on any given day is a difficult task. Bruce finished 13th in his first season after being appointed a week earlier in the year than Smith was. We lost 3-0 to Brentford in February 2017, lost 3-1 to Barnsley a few weeks after, whilst on a 5 game losing spree. The following year Bruce had us as the 4th best team in the division. However unspectacular we were for most of it. Today's game against Brentford was reminiscent of the first half in the POF against Fulham. They set the tempo and we bowed to their whims. Difference being the timing of the goal was kinder to Fulham than it was Brentford.

Well we lost 3-0 to them under Bruce in February 2017 so you might be on to something. Maybe the players are inferior now, but the game plan was well executed and effective, which is always a key ingredient in victory. Their players knew their role and made sound decisions as to whether to play a pass or take us on themselves. They supported each other and were clearly a team that had an understanding of how it was going to cause us problems. It was a commendable effort, regardless of how lackluster we were.

Championship is one of the best divisions in the world so it's no surprise that it has teams that will punish us if we're not ready and able to play our game.

Not going to lie. I've been impressed with Brentford here. Their options off the ball were always there to receive and the delivery pass was good. Every player had an understanding of their role and every player for them in the final third backed themselves to take it to us and win the contest. They deserved it today. As for us, we looked like a team that had accepted our place as the team on the back foot. Not good. Calls into question what the game plan was. I'm not quite sure what else to say.

Absolutely. As it is though they are in command of the game. Not just the possession. That's dangerous and far from smart from Villa.

Easily winning is a bit of a stretch. Adomah missed a chance. They had an effort from the top of the box nearly lob Kalinic. They've had the ball where they want it. We need to pull our socks up and get stuck in to this game if we're going to come away with a win.

I highly doubt things are going to plan. That said, I'm with you, I think we can win.

Brentford have set the tempo and are the team in control of the match. As a consequence we're all over the shop trying to keep up. Comes with the territory.

Like it or not Adomah is one of our better ball carriers.

Bruce lost 5 in a row following the 3-0 defeat to Brentford in February 2017.

This cannot be a Neighbours reference, surely?

Start the dialogue with yourself first. Be clear on what it is that is hurting so that you can make decisions that will enable you to heal properly. You owe it to yourself. I honestly wish you all the best going forward. I'm not sure I can co-sign the suggestion that you will end up heartbroken again if you continue to see this woman. From where I sit it seems like it could be the opposite. It seems like there's a lot of genuine love there, the chemistry rather than biology kind of love. As long as both of you remain respectful of the others decisions and both of you have the inner resources to be able to grow and experience the blessings that life has to offer independent of the relationship, then I see every reason for you two continuing a relationship of some sorts. Whether as friends or partners. Even if you go separate ways it seems like it should be with each others best wishes. Memories to be cherished and fondness of the other person are great experiences. Let them serve as a catalyst for your continued growth as a person. Don't ruminate on things that have and never will serve you in your life. Remember what was good, what was not so good, and why, so that you can make choices that will serve you in future and leave anything that doesn't offer fulfillment or anything wholesome. In regard to you wanting to talk to her in order to heal, I'd recommend some caution telling yourself that. Especially because of the emotions that have been stirred. Don't get me wrong, communication is fundamental and talking may offer you some closure that will be helpful moving forward. I just don't understand what exactly you hope to heal from talking to her at the moment. That's totally your business and I'm not asking you to inform me the reasons. I guess there's a part of me that's wondering if the healing you want to do is something that you need to do on your own (please know that I'm in all probability an idiot who you don't have to take any notice of) and once you have addressed whatever is getting the better of you, then you can return to any relationship from a position of strength and independence. Me and this woman I know had been expressing our love for one another from the age of 14. Despite it never progressing into an exclusive relationship, we were best friends for years and years, until the age of 25. She was an absolute inspiration in my life and a muse for how to live better, aspire and grow. I don't want to go into much detail as this post is long enough, but for whatever reason our friendship ended and all contact was severed. It all ended in a way that was really unfortunate. I had a lot to come to terms with at the time, but losing this chick from my life was the hardest pill to swallow. Not because it made me miserable and downhearted, but because someone dear to me, someone who evoked the strongest feelings I've ever had and was just a very wholesome part of my life, was no longer there for me. It left a void. So, I wrote her a letter, and I would recommend you do that too, as you mentioned talking to her as a healing process. By writing a letter you can process and express what's going on for you without saying it all in the moment, or on any partial feeling. You can choose to give it to her or not. If there's one thing I can promise you, it's that learning how to be your own best friend and being kind to yourself is fundamental to you developing worthwhile relationships with others. Your relationship to yourself forms as the very fabric for how you relate to the rest of the world. If you think about it you are this world. Without eyes the sun would not evoke light. Our attitudes and beliefs evoke our actions and understanding for what's possible.

Yeah, I'm with you. Sorry if I misrepresented what you were saying. I guess I just wanted to chime in and say that Terry needs to be accountable for our defensive performances. While it's ultimately not up to him whether or not we press or sit deep, play this or that formation, or even select certain players, he's responsible for the team too and will even have a say in those things and his input is part of the process that enables the head coach to make better and informed decisions. Because he is tasked with formulating the drills necessary to develop skills and implement game plans he is at the core of how we go about our business.

Both Bruce and Smith were appointed in October. Bruce didn't get us promoted in his first season. He got us to 13th, with a week longer than Smith will have had. The first day of February in Bruce's first season saw us lose 3-0 to Brentford, the start of a 5 game losing streak.. Before that Bruce had made a promising start to his tenure. It is interesting to see there are a few parallels. Both men start in October, both will play Brentford in February, both made promising starts only to lose form. There's a few interesting differences too. Aside from approach to the game. Bruce took over as things only looked to get worse, momentum seemed to be taking us firmly on a downward trajectory, even with a Champions League winning manager and some expensive and notable players for the division, we looked set to be outdone by our rivals rather than climb upwards. Smith, on the other hand, has come in at a time of renewed expectation, due to the success of Bruce in bringing us back to winning ways and putting us in contention for promotion. Bruce's second season saw an 84 point haul, enough for automatic promotion at times in years gone by. He very narrowly missed out on promotion. In my opinion, Smith will have us finishing higher than 13th, which is what Bruce achieved in the same amount of time. I don't want to come across as too optimistic, as Smith is yet to prove himself as someone who can do it enough times over a season to get promoted, but I think given time we will see bigger and better from Smith than we did from Bruce. The mood seems to be one of disappointment reading through some more recent posts. I'm no one to tell people how to feel but for me there's actually more reason to be upbeat.

Their importance is certainly not to be underestimated or overlooked. I think that it's an underappreciated role. Perhaps misrepresented at times as well though. Tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. A coach does all the preparation in order for a player and their team to develop. Individual skills and team coordination. From Under 6's grassroots football through to the Premier League, the quality of instruction received will determine the cohesion and ability of a team. How good a player gets is determined by how much they invest in their talent and that is partly down to their own ingenuity, but mostly the inspiration they get from others (coaches).

Terry is responsible for implementing schemes and developing players. He is also tasked with formulating and supervising skill training programs for individual players. So while I see and agree for the most part with your points, it's not all that misguided to suggest that he is responsible for the defense. It is in his job description. One of the major roles in his job description is to identify and report any deficiencies requiring urgent attention to the head coach. Now, while I have never met an assistant coach who's authority extends beyond that of the head coach and therefore any finger pointing needs to be directed at the head coach, I have also never come across an assistant coach who didn't have serious input and involvement in the way a team goes about itself. Being a great defender is largely about the ability to anticipate and react to opposition play, how you communicate with your team and your fitness levels and how you manage exertion. Being a player, or defender in Terry's case, is rather spontaneous even with the best attempts to have rehearsed and coordinated efforts influence what's happening. Being a coach might as well be a different ball game, the roles are that different. Maybe Terry becomes a good coach, it's yet to be seen. My point is that a great player does not become a great coach by default. No doubt being an exceptional player will bring insight and know-how that is invaluable to a coaching role, however the ability to dissect it and come up with methods of conveying it to others so that those skills and strategies are implemented effectively, is a very different challenge.