birdman

Yes that's the Super John we know and love! He's back! It was just a case of fitness/match sharpness and confidence. Last night will do him good, showing the tenacity of old! 

Thought Targett had a decent enough game last night however he still makes me very nervous. He looks nervous himself! The worst thing is his ball watching and he seems to struggle with concentration. I hope it's something the coaching staff are helping him with. 

All this Jack went missing stuff is just nonsense really. It was a tough game all round and unfortunately he didnt see much of the ball as we were passing sideways or backwards when we did have the ball. We also missed Reinas distribution massively although I did agree with Nyland starting. Should have gone for the jugular but easier said then done to play without fear!

If Jack played for City he would have an absolute field day... we're talking Ferris Buellers Day Off levels of fun lol. 

But yeah Foden was decent yesterday. 

Frustrating thing is his ball watching. Has happened many times this season and doesn't seem to learn. Maybe I'm being too simplistic but you track your man and get in his face, forget where the ball is.

He's really good at going forward and passing or shooting but didn't see any of that yesterday. 

He wasn't bad, just not great either. Seems to struggle to make an impact which is what the expectation is. To be fair the whole team were on the back foot most of the game playing with a bit too much fear at times.

3 hours ago, brummybloke said:

Took the ball with the outside of the boot, clean challenge. Went in hard which has been lacking most of the season and ends up with a yellow ? Commenters all crying for red, see replays and back down then the yellow then they say its justified.

Yes it looked a foul but the replay I saw he took the ball cleanly with no studs showing.

Was the only one trying in our cm today and played very well. He needs a strong none bottling player alongside him. I presume that's what drinkwater was signed for ? 

Gary Neville wet himself over Guilbert pushing the ball into Sterlings chest lol Horrible listening to those two today! 

Tough game for Jack because he couldnt get on the ball much due to being dragged out of position into ineffective areas. City did well to keep him quiet although he didnt look 100% to be fair. Hope he's not inured anyway! Thought we battled hard regardless which is encouraging. If we can play like that for our remaining games we'll have a chance! 

40 minutes ago, Mazrim said:

There was another debate, which could have its own thread in fairness, but as Barry is arguably or potentially our best or most high profile youth player, it's on his thread.
That debate was, if Dean Smith was to make a point of putting a youth player in instead of an established first teamer who is under performing (naming nobody specifically but there are several choices) is it a good idea?

I think its an interesting distraction as we wait to get hammered by Man City on Sunday. I think a few players need a kick up the arse and this is just one way of doing it. It might be wrong, hence debate.

I wouldnt agree with starting him because he could be shell-shocked up against Man City who move the ball around so well. However should have him on the bench ASAP in case we're losing by a couple and we can throw caution to the wind and give him some valuable experience 

12 hours ago, Thug said:

wtf are you on about?

 

Benefit of the team? How was that in ANY way for the benefit of the team? 

 

that was for no-ones benefit except their own egos.

 

go over and encourage him up by all means. Remonstrate with each other is fine. ‘You should have passed’ or ‘you’re not pulling your weight’

To tell the physio to stay off the **** pitch because he’s a faking bastard?
I have NEVER seen that before. 

trying to pick him up to push him off the field?

I have NEVER seen that before.

And time out? Who said time out? 

let him get his treatment then at half time you tell him to grow a pair.  What was the urgency? Was it the 90th minute? It was a corner, game had stopped. And here were two grown assed men humiliating their own team mate.

i suggest you watch it again and try not to cringe at any one of the three.  Appalling behaviour all round.

 

You're making a mountian out of a molehill! Just as El Ghazi does when he is tackled! Rolling around like that when we're in a scrap for survival. I'm still of the opinion he could have carried on and I'm inclined to agree with the actions of Jack and Tyrone to get on with the damn game! 

2 hours ago, avfc1982am said:

Here's another vid of an overrated Jack Grealish. this one shows actually how long hes been taking the proverbial. 

 

Can you imagine how many assists he would have if he had a world class striker front of him! Great video

Jack wasn't great but unfortunately when you constantly dance through a field of 5h1t eventually you get 5h1t on ya shoes!

Why can't he just stick Jack in the centre every game? Playing on the left with Targett seems to stop Targett bombing forward himself which is what he's good at! This chopping and changing is doing my nut and clearly not helping our cause

Been critical of Doug in the past but looked much more organised and composed against Spurs. Needs a couple of goals for extra confidence and hopefully hell start spreading his wings.

3 hours ago, Dave-R said:

Why is no one talking about the most comical thing a player has done all season, which was Reina's reaction to son's Penalty, omg I felt pepesfrustration but at the same time me and my son just couldn't contain ourselves. When a players reaction to a penalty is to slightly bend his legs, lean back and pull his shorts upto his criminal area while pulling the most funniest face I've seen all year, I'm still laughing now.

I need a video of it if there is one LMAO.

It was brilliant to the see the passion and frustration and summed up every Villa fan! He's been absolutely epic and the players will need to make the most of his experience and advice. Must be doing his nut the stupid mistakes we keep on making! 

Completely agree with the pro Drinkwater comments vs Hourihane. Unfortunately Connor is a fair weather player and will look good when the going is easy. When the going gets tough he's nowhere to be seen and I can't possibly see the advantage over Drinkwater who I think has more potential and brings a better balance to midfield for our current relegation scrap. That's not to say he shouldn't be subbed if he starts blowing after 60 mins! But for me Connor has alot to prove at this level and im not sure he can cut it week in week out. Lastly if he does make an appearance this weekend I hope he scores another screamer! 

22 minutes ago, vreitti said:

I agree, he is merely a championship player, but so is Drinkwater too, based on what we've seen so far. Hourihane's been with us longer, knows how Smith wants to play, and has shown he can link up well with Grealish. Add to that his goal threat, and it's not even close which of them should be starting. 

Hourihane should not be starting, such short memories some of you have lol

I would much rather have Drinkwater. Personally think he looked promising yesterday despite lacking fitness and a yard of pace. If he works hard there will be more improvement.

Connors left peg is premier league quality but thats it I'm afraid. Can't have someone in the team who shys away from tackles and generally does not work hard enough. 

Funny that we now have to repeat the conversation about Luiz being better from the bench. But some people just won't have it that he's inconsistent and very lightweight in terms of getting stuck in on tough games. Shame Drinkwater was injured as I think he would have started and brought much needed stability to midfield. 

On 27/01/2020 at 11:18, villa4europe said:

based on the first leg we still cant do that, clock management comes in to it too and jack winning a soft free kick and taking 3+ minutes of the clock is as important as defending 

Yep no doubt he's best in the business of keeping hold of the ball and dictating pace of the game when we need to the most. As others say likilihood is that he'll play every minute tonight but I just hope the ref gives some protection! If by some minor miracle we have the luxury to take him off I hope we do so. As much as I want the team to smash Leicester and get to the final I want 40+ league points even more! 

I'm hoping we can get a lead against Leicester and defend that so Jack can be subbed on 70 mins. We do need to be careful with him. Good news having new striker as it improves out sub options. 

7 hours ago, zab6359 said:

Garbage.

Unbelievable isn't it lol

To my eyes an unfit Drinkwater has proven more effective than Luiz who has bags of potential but is still learning his trade. 

3 hours ago, Didiersix said:

I think he really helped Marvelous out, which is why you saw a better performance from Marvelous last night. Undoubtedly brings a better balance to our midfield. I understand why people think 'Luiz must start'... but I think tactically it is about right -  Drinkwater will keep it tighter and then we bring on a fresh Luiz when there is more space on the pitch. 

Yep spot on. Can't believe how many people on twitter saying Hourihane and Luiz should have started yesterday?! Talk about head in sand. And then you get the hindsight brigade saying "told you so" just because Luiz scored! Drives me mad! 

Judging by the last 5 premier league seasons and the points tally of the 18th placed team we need at least 38 points to survive. We're 13 points off that with some tough games coming up. Gonna be a roller-coaster ride that's for sure! 

22 minutes ago, LoughboroughLion said:

Agreed - but he's competing with Luiz surely?

I don't think he should have started last night. As everyone seems to be suggesting, he's not match fit yet.

He also doesn't seem to take on the role of the pivot like Luiz does, which limits our distribution. The number of times Luiz was level with our CBs to try and build play from the back was a noticeable difference compared to Drinkwater.

I think he'll improve, but he needs to get sharper before he starts meaningfully impacting our play.

He started because a part fit Drinkwater has shown he is better then a fully fit Luiz in that role. People have such short memories - Luiz form has been poor up until his recent appearances from the bench where he's finally contributed. Yes Luiz is or will be technically better but that doesn't mean he should be starting games. The great thing is that we now have options rather than being forced to play out of form/tired players. 

That's the Matt Targett I want to see every week!