Villanbee

Already 2-0 down against Liverpool. Both goals really sloppy. We are just so poor in defence. It's hard to compete when you give away soft goal after soft goal.

Missed the game again. But really chuffed about the result, especially with a weakened team. Onwards once more.

Didn't see any of it as I was at VP. Great result.

I'm baffled by this. So do the FA review every single game to see if there are any instances of foul play that the referee missed so they can issue what is essentially a post-match straight red? This happened right in front of the ref, so how can they say it was missed? No Bristol player seemed to complain at the time. The player complains to the ref, who then seems to speak to Daly after the player gets up. The ref seems to be speaking into her mic, so assume she is conversing with the official running the line, who clearly didn't see it either otherwise the red card would have been shown. Has a complaint been made post match? The problem is, she can't justify raising her arm to shrug off the player who is clearly pushing her in the back. It's an elbow.

I think no one mentions Bescot because there's nothing we can do about it. I'm disappointed we are still playing there.

Too many individual errors. Simple as that. Not just defensively either. We missed some absolute sitters. We played some nice stuff, but let's not forget who we were against. Some will say it was a smash and grab, but it wasn't. We were masters of our own downfall. Sloppy at both ends of the pitch at crucial times.

But yet again, we pass it straight to them for their goal. Fantastic strike, but she shouldn't have had the chance. We're just far to easy to score against.

Such a good start, but undone with really sloppy play. Second game running a defender has passed the ball straight to an attacker resulting in a goal. We're clearly the better side, but that's so frustrating.

Team is out. Much as expected really. I'll be watching on FA Player. Let's hope for a good result and a positive performance too.

The problem is, there has been so little to be positive about. Apart from DvD, who I really rate, I can't think of any other positive. Recruitment was ok, but apart from the DvD master stroke (I genuinely worry that we'll lose her) I don't feel we brought in any player to help us move forward. Is Leon any better than what we had/have? And she's over 30. Salmon is a bench player (admittedly young so ok), Parker we seemed to shoehorn into the midfield. The one player who I think really needed replacing (Mayling) wasn't. And it continues. Maritz has been brought now, but she seems to have replaced Pacheco, with Mayling still starting. That in itself seems strange. I felt Pacheco was a real positive of last season but she has been on the bench regularly this season. Our coaching seems poor. Ball retention and picking basic passes (an example would be Mayling's mistake for Man U's first goal on Saturday) I think are a particular issue. More concerning, I can't think of a single player who has improved this season (apart from the one who just jumped ship), some have regressed and too many are simply at the wrong end of their careers. Contrast that to the men's team where, since Unai's appointment, pretty much every player, even those who would be considered a weaker link in the team, have developed. Add to that the shambles of the Sunderland game, the strange decision to loan out Olivia McLoughlin so far before the end of the transfer window and the loss of Rabjohn earlier in the season, and it's hardly surprising that supporters who were so optimistic at the end of last season are a negative.

Agreed, Farlz, especially when you know that one of your most promising players has a release clause so essentially you are always walking on thin ice. I know it always seems like I'm being negative and twisting the knife, but after the excitement and promise of last season, this season has been a total let down and, with the goings on off field too, bordering on a shambles.

What worries me now is how many of our other better young players have release clauses? Especially worried about DvD who has probably been our only bright spark this season. For us to sign a player like her we must surely have sold her a project of joining the top teams in the league. Look at who else was mooted to be after her. Someone posted on Twitter that the women's team seems to be less of a priority since Purslow left. Fair point?

Yep. A message dead on 11pm as the transfer window closed. Of course, no news about any replacements. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Genuinely always admire your positivity and your knowledge of the women's game. But I've watched nearly every game and we've looked woeful at times this season, sometimes ok but I'm struggling to think of any sustained period of time we've looked genuinely good. Do you honestly think we've got any chance of catching Spurs and Liverpool with potentially a weaker team? We've not laid a glove on either of those teams, or the top 4 this season. Best game was the opener at VP against Man U where we actually played with a bit of confidence (although they were the better team) which quickly disappeared once we were soundly beaten by Liverpool the week after. You say it's deluded to say we couldn't break into the top 4, but Liverpool are only 3 points away from Man Utd with half the season played. They've beaten Arsenal and Man U this season, so they seem to be having a good go. They are doing this season what we should have. Yet they only came back to the WSL last season.

Well, it's six pm and she's still here. Wishful thinking? Nevertheless, this is the issue with letting players have release clauses in their contracts. It leaves you in the mire should a bigger club suddenly activate it for a player you don't want to sell. It takes the control away. Essentially, assuming the worst happens, all we've done for LBB is train her up for Man City. She's spent a couple of seasons as a squad/rotation player rather than a nailed on starter, then just as she's becoming a more regular starter, boom, she's off. I suppose we're £200k up on the deal, so maybe it's being seen as a good bit of business, as the Grealish deal was for the men's team. I'll be interested to see how it's used in preparation for next season. I don't know, but I just get the feeling that we are just making up the numbers. We constantly hear "We can't compete with the big clubs..." I hate that argument. It's small time, and that phrase should never be associated with our club. Even our manager was playing that card before the season started. Why can't we compete? I look at Man Utd, who didn't even have a women's team that long ago. They got serious, presumably splashed the cash, signed top players and coaches and within two seasons became one of the top teams in the country. In the women's game, Man Utd weren't a big club... Until they decided they wanted to be. Is there a reason they were able to do that and we can't? Have the rules changed or are they simply more ambitious/ruthless about where they want to be? Genuine question. In comparison, after the promise of last season, this season has become a damp squib to the point where we're just plodding along happy to beat Brighton, Bristol and West Ham and bigging ourselves up when we have a spirited loss against the aforementioned team that didn't even exist a few years ago.

I thought the idea was that we were supposed to be closing the gap on the big teams, not acting as a feeder club for our most promising players to go elsewhere? That's the Aston Villa of old. Where's the project the players are supposed to be buying into? Of our promising young players, in the last six months we've lost Hampton and Rabjohn and now possibly Blindkilde. I wonder how long it'll be until DvD has someone come knocking. Let's face it, her signing was a bit of a coup, but I'm sure she didn't join to be messing about in mid to lower table obscurity with a defensive mess in front of her. Then we'll be left with one real class player - an ageing Rachel Daly - and who else? Kenza Dali hasn't looked like the player of last season and is 33 next season. Jordan Nobbs and Lucy Staniforth are at the tail end of their careers. Adriana Leon is 31 and hasn't pushed us on to the next level. Corsie 34. Perhaps if we hadn't made such a mess of this season, and we were building something exciting at Aston Villa women, Blindkilde wouldn't be having her head turned.

Yep. Was thinking domestically. Probably should have been clearer in my original post.

Can anyone give me a recent example where any player has been able to represent two teams in the same cup competition? Being aware of cup tied players is one of the most basic fundamentals of team selection in cup games. Something every player and manager would be all over. I can't imagine any situation at this level of the game whereby player and manager, when every professional instinct based on their knowledge of the game tells them the player must be cup tied, do not have sufficient doubt to strongly question the accuracy of being told the player is eligible to play.

Much needed win and, importantly, a much better performance than the last one.

Embarrassing. As comfortable a 3-0 win for Everton as you will see. So now we're out of the FA cup as well. What an absolute disaster this season is turning out to be.

Been coming all game. Same problems all season not addressed. We can't string basic passes together. No ball retention. The ball constantly seems like it's a stretch away from our players. Basic close control lacking and poor first touches turning over possession. And our defence is awful. All over the place.

Awful to give away a 2 goal lead. Perfect storm really though. Kamara, Pau and Tielmans would have all started today. Still, no matter who was missing, giving away a 2 goal lead. No excuses for that.

I think, being only 2 points off the bottom having played 9 out of 22 games, we could be very near relegation. Do I think we'll go down? No I don't. But it's a pretty sad state of affairs when we are even mentioning the word when we consider where we were last season. Next two games are huge. Brighton, who have had a couple of decent results this season, at Bescot (where our form is poor) and then Leicester away.

We play some nice stuff then sucker punch ourselves with a cheap turnover. Daly doesn't get nearly enough service from out wide. She seems frustrated. To me, it's almost like when the men's team were struggling and we had Benteke. By hook or by crook, get the ball to the in form centre forward. It's still not right. It's a shame because Man City didn't look all that special.

Now is the time to start a process to cut loose and begin to rebuild for next season. Why wait, when we can do it now? Look for the coaching team who are going to move us forward. Interestingly, Carla is listed pretty most places I look as manager, not head coach. I recall an interview where she said herself, she delegates much of the coaching out, focusing on people management. Nevertheless, this season the team seem poorly coached. Team selections seem baffling and confidence seems low. Useless, you have said players are sloppy, seem too comfortable, have regressed (e.g. Mayling). I agree. Sam Rose was replaced by Leanne Hall as Assistant Manager. As far as I can see, the first team coach is still Luke Tisdale. Is the loss of Rose and replacement with Hall the issue? Do we need to replace Carla or bring in a new team to work under her? Do we need a head coach (like the men's team) rather than a manager? Surely we can't keep doing what we are doing now and hope for improvement? We're not improving!