RR Rating and Reactions: VIlla v Notts County

[gharperr]

hahaha these write ups from those at the game compared to the people in the match thread is amazing. One point someone mentioned they felt sorry for the guys who went to watch the game lol

[Brumerican]

hahaha these write ups from those at the game compared to the people in the match thread is amazing. One point someone mentioned they felt sorry for the guys who went to watch the game lol

The most fun i have had at VP in ages . Best £12 I ever spent.

[CrackpotForeigner]

I'm not quite sure where to start.

 

I guess first up, you'll see better teams play at Villa Park this season - better Villa teams and better opposition, you'll see football that's technically better and you'll see games that are at a higher level. What you won't see is a game that's more entertaining.

 

First up, when you pick a team that plays 4-1-4-1, that second four are supposed to be midfielders - there's always a worry with 4-1-4-1 that you end up with a 4-5-1 that nullifies the opposition and makes games dull. In order to counter that threat, we pretty much played 4-1-5 from the off.

Tim was clearly worried that the threat of a dull game might still exist however and decided to put Sanchez into the back four just in case.

 

Playing 4-1-5, even against lower league opposition is likely to mean that your defence is occasionally overrun and you concede goals. It's reckless at best and foolish at worst, it's not clever management. It's not. Tim, stop giggling.

 

What it also means is that you're going to create chances, according to the beeb, we had 31 efforts on goal - that's more than during the entirety of Paul Lambert's reign and more than Darren Bent had during his time as a Villa player. I think they've underestimated the count.

 

This game had eight goals and I'm not exagerrating in saying there could have been eight more, it had two penalties, one of which (ours) was a little dubious and three other good shouts, two of which were for us and should therefore have been given. It had a player that should have been sent off and a few who might have been booked. We could have scored four in the last five minutes of regular time, we could have had five or six in the second half of extra time, I didn't feel safe with a two goal cushion and two minutes left, it was joyous madness. It had saves, it had misses, it had end to end play,it had music, laughter and dance*.

 

*(sort of)

 

Sinclair had a hat-trick and could have had six, Grealish should have had a hat trick and came away with his egg still intact, individually there were good performances, one in particulat that sticks with me.

 

Adama Traore is an alien, he moves in a series of small explosions at a speed that I'm unable to process, the full back should have been sent off for several hacks at him, I hope he's okay. There are two things I like about Adama Traore, the first is that every eleven year old in that stadium wants to be Adama Traore, that's how they want to play the game - the second is that he makes me feel like I'm eleven when he picks the ball up.

 

The back four were all okay, Sanchez was surprisingly good as a centre back, the two full backs were solid enough whenever they ventured back into their own half and Baker was good in the air. They were out of position a few times, but then that happens when you don't have a midfield in front of you.

 

Veretout was excellent, sharp, energetic, sensible and good with the ball, a great advert for normal football.

 

Grealish was silky and inventive and Gil complemented that, but I don't think we'll see them together too often. (No Tim. No.) Bunn was okay, Kozak did a good job when he came on, I thought Cole was very good, maybe his best for us and of course Bennett scored a fabulous winner after dribbling past four players; which was the only logical way for a game like that to end.

 

Only Ayew remained a concern and my biggest concern with him is his lack of pace - early days yet though still.

 

There were moments of sportsmanship, Burke's superb goal got a round of applause around the whole ground and Grealish was greeted like a hero in front of the away fans, there was aggression in the tackle, there were handshakes and hugs on the pitch and off it - mostly what I'll take from this game is the smiles on peoples faces all around the ground, the laughter as another chance went by or another save was made, people just enjoying it. The reminder that a fabulously entertaining game of football can be just that; fabulously entertaining, without the stress, the dread, the pain and the anguish. This is as much fun as I've had at Villa Park in years and I loved it - sometimes we should remember that this is a game and that sometimes carefree abandon is okay - football after all should be an exciting, joyful addition to our already happy lives right?

 

Then on the way home, the draw was made, and the game reminded me that it's not that, that it's something else altogether. 

 

A brilliant fun night has been had at Villa Park. An altogether different brilliant night awaits us.

 

There won't be many more entertaining match reviews anywhere of this or any other game.

[Mantis]

May have been against lower league opposition but I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable even if our defence was a bit worrying. Thought Sanchez was brilliant at CB and mopped up almost everything - kind of embarrassing for Baker really who was just dreadful. Sinclair should be played as a striker - the guy has a knack for getting goals.

 

Funnily enough, when Bennett came on I actually said out loud that he'd score. Also my Dad said Sinclair would grab a hat-trick after his first goal. Spooky.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Mantis

[Ponky]

For those that went. Apart from that amazing goal, how did Burke look? Any cause for regret at releasing him?

[maqroll]

Interesting manager rating results.

Really hope Adama is ok...wondering if our prize player should have been out there to begin with? League cup minnows will try to break his legs every time.

[AVTuco]

Thanks for the great reviews everyone.

One thing though: I'm surprised how quite a few were calling Tim naive (or similar) for his decisions, as if Tim didn't know what was coming and was surprised that we didn't just come out with a 10-0 score.

[Raver50032]

A great entertaining evening - and nice for my daugther to finally see a Villa win in the flesh!

 

The minute's silence prior to the game relating to the Shoreham disaster was exceptionally observed at both ends - hats off to both sets of supporters.

 

The match itself was excellent value for money - £17.00 for adults in the Upper Ellis sounded steap initially for a match against lower league oppo in such an early seeded round of the league cup. Isn't this normally an Ayrton Senna? 

 

It never felt like we should panic, despite falling behind for a third time in the game. And what a goal by Burke. Great to see Villa fans take off the claret blinkers and applaud it too - a fine goal for which he should be proud.

 

Given how end to end and exciting the game was, it was actually just desserts for all concerned for it to go into extra time.

 

I won't go into detail about the player ratings as others have eloquently described it all in pages past. Suffice to say, Traore is a truncheon... Cor blimey, what a player he will be. Fingers crossed he is not out for long. Ayew is a concern for me at this time - needs something to happen for him to either ignite his game, or give him some confidence to show justice in his fee.

 

 

Back to the Holte for me on Saturday... CTFO Villa... CTFO.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Raver50032

[Harry]

I'm posting now in the cold light of day having been at the game. Its funny reading some of the thoughts on here and I would disagree with quite a few comments made but I guess its how you see the game.

 

Firstly Tim's tactics I thought were bordering on suicidal and in a way disrespectful to County who IMO dominated most of the first half and were really only undone in the last 15 minutes and extra time by their lack of fitness, they literally ran out of steam. Their tactics were very simply pump balls into our half and expose a weak defence as they had decent height in their front two. Our team selection was bizarre. I get the idea of giving players a run out and match time but that lash up of a defence and an ultra attacking midfield was asking for trouble. We could have easily conceded a couple more, they missed an open goal at one point and a couple of really good chances that they squandered.

 

Having said that given the chances we had Iater on we could have scored probably four more; two tap ins missed, Grealish fluffing a lob into an open goal and Kozak being denied by a superb save.

 

I won't comment on all who played but my thoughts are:

 

Sanchez: I don't get the love in of him at CB. I thought he was poor. He is not a good header of the ball and is not tall enough. His ball playing skills saved him a few times but he was way too keen to push forward leaving us exposed. Not an experiment to repeat.

 

Baker: He is a stopper pure and simple and a good one but needs to play with an intelligent ball playing proper CB partner. Him and Sanchez were a near liability together.

 

Hutton: Did OK save for his Amavi type error which gifted them their opening goal.

 

Richardson: Struggled in the first half but when space opened up later in the game looked much better and was excellent going forward.

 

Gil: Very good game and worked hard. He is the player we think he is.

 

Grealish: Gets better every game and he is eliminating his poor passing and shooting selection from his game. Troubled their defence all night.

 

Adama: Will be a very special player for us but so raw at the moment. He has pace and guile but needs to be way less greedy. How their left back stayed on the pitch is beyond me as he fouled Adama from the very first time he ran at him.

 

Veretout: Maybe a surprise to a few but my MOTM. He played really well and I think in the medium term will be better than both Cleverley and the Snake.  Good pass section and some great covering tackles. Last night will be a major confidence boost for him.

 

Sinclair: Quiet for much of the game as he stayed quite deep at times but the goals speak for themselves. He missed one simple tap in and fluffed another great chance. How Gabby gets a game ahead of him is totally beyond me. He needs to play as an out and out striker.

 

Ayew: Major disappointment for me. This was the game he needed to build his confidence and I think it did the complete opposite. We used to say Benteke was born offside, I think Ayew was conceived offside. He ran into too many blind alleys and was largely ineffectual. Not written him off yet but the signs are not good.

 

Kozak: Should have been on from the start. Played on the shoulder of the CB and caused real problems and tied up their defence. He also gave much needed height to set pieces. Funnily enough this game was probably made for a player like Gestede with his height but Kozak was a great alternative and better with the ball at his feet. We should definitely be keeping Kozak as I think he will get better with more game time.

 

Bennett: The hated man of VT. I have always been a fan and he is footballer. Great goal and a super cameo in central midfield.

 

One gripe we have turned wasting set pieces into an art form, we don't have to take them quickly and short every time and then give away possession.

 

Yes we won and yes it was entertaining in the end but lets not kid ourselves we played well because we did not. We won because we were fitter and had more options off the bench.

 

If we play anything like that or field a similar comedy defensive unit against Blues we will lose. A few posters have commented on the negative posts made on the match thread particularly in the first half. Based on what I watched in that first half most were probably totally justified. 

Edited August 26, 2015 by Harry

[lapal_fan]

£15 for that? Any day of the week.

 

After having one of the most boring days ever at work, that game was sorely needed.

 

For some reason, I love it when smaller teams take the lead against Villa in Cup games, because it's good for their supporters and the game, like others have said, after they took the lead, the game was never boring.

 

It was absolutely everything a cup game should be, goals, mistakes, skill, full blooded tackles, penalties, the see-saw effect of concede, score, concede, score.. it was just absolutely a full barrel of laughs.

 

As has been said, I never felt at peril, just that there was more drama to come.  Some of the goals were brilliant, whether it was Burkes firecracker into the top corner from 20 yards or well worked goals like Traore's or Sinclairs 3rd.

 

Ok, ratings time;

 

Bunn - 6/10 - He distributed well I thought, when he wasn't under pressure he'd find a close man, when he was under any pressure, he went long.  However, his blip to me was the penalty.  It was a cock up between both him and Baker and I always feel, as the last man on the pitch, that Bunn should have been more commanding and come out quicker.  He did make a smart save at his near post towards the end of the 90 minutes, but on this evidence I think Guzan will be in goal in the next game.

 

Richardson - 6/10 - He did the basics okay.  When further forward a couple of times moves broke down because of him trying to slide a ball through that was over hit or intercepted.  Defending wise he was positionally a little naive I thought, not closing down the winger quickly enough to prevent a cross which - against different teams may lead to goals conceded.  He did have a couple of bright moments though and his experience went a long way in helping out whoever was in front of him.  Unspectacular, but solid enough for who we were playing against.

 

Baker - 6.5/10 - So commanding in the air, almost Laursen like, but not quite.  He made 2 very spectacular sliding tackles where he slide for about 30 miles to cover for full backs, which I think he gets way too much pleasure from.  I think his main problem is when the ball is being played neatly on the floor in front of him.  He wants to lunge, or commit to a tackle he's not going to recover from.  Until he cuts out that need to attack the ball, he will make a few mistakes.  But he wasn't rubbish by any stretch.  The penalty incident I don't put much blame on him for to be honest.

 

Sanchez - 7.5/10 - He just hustles and bustles everywhere.  Due to his natural position as a midfielder, he shows this calmness on the ball which I don't think our other defenders have, he's composed and sure of himself, which is a valuable asset.  Caught out of position maybe once or twice, but the amount of times he got a head on the ball, intercepted or was in the right place at the right time was wonderful.

 

Hutton - 6/10 - At fault for the first goal by running into trouble and dallying with the ball (although he didn't have many options to pass to!).  He got very frustrated at Traore twice for not passing to him when he was hugging the line and Traore had coaxed 11 Notts County players into trying to tackle him, but he was okay.  Didn't really have any stand out moments apart from a dribble or two driving towards the box.

 

Veretout - 8/10 - He started the first 20 minutes quite shaky I thought.  But after that he was great.  He got stuck in a few times which was nice to see, but I think his main asset was his keep it simple, yet effect approach.  When he got the ball in the middle and it was high tempo, he'd pop the ball to someone out wide and in space.  When he had to drive forward because he was afforded space, he did so without taking risks and losing the ball.  He finds our players, he covered a lot of ground, he reminded me of a more mobile Gareth Barry, who looks like he can shoot with power.  Looking very good from last nights performance.

 

Grealish - 8/10 - How did he not score last night?!  He did absolutely everything but score.  Everyone here knows about him now, he's so comfortable on the ball, in tight spaces, in wide areas, in the middle.  Just give him the ball, watch him commit 3 players and he'll pop it off to someone to cross/shoot.  An absolutely wonderful football player in the making and we're thoroughly lucky to have him in the team.  We'll be getting large bids for him when he's 22/23.  2 assists which were great, but I've taken 1 mark off him because there were times when the ball was there to be shot, and he wanted the extra touch, I assure everyone that in time, he will be scoring goals.

 

Sinclair - 8.5 - Great hat trick - should have had 5 goals .  He seems to be in the right place at the right time.  He's not overly quick, but he does have a certain elegance on the ball, he makes defenders uneasy with little shimmies and has a nice, clean, powerful shot on him in tight situations.  Played a few nice reverse passes to get wingers into their box too.

 

Traore - 11/10 - This guy is tripping balls.  I don't conceivably understand how 4 professional defenders can go to tackle one 19 year old kid and he just comes out of the ball of smoke with the ball, completely unscathed.  He's like the really talented kid in the school ground, the ball just sticks to him like glue.  He's sooooo fun to watch I was giggling like a school girl every time I saw one of our players knock it into his feet.  How the flippity flap did we manage to sign him?  He's rawer than an unearthed potato, it's going to be a shit load of fun watching him play.  Hope his injury wasn't too bad.  His goal was good too, makes everything look easy, like he's slowed down time but is still zipping around like the Flash or something.

 

Gil - 6.5/10 - Slippery little fella He just glides around effortlessly and keeps possession, always finding a Villa shirt.  He didn't penetrate as often as I would have liked him too, but this was a decent game from him, he did little wrong.  Pass and move, pass and move and so on.

 

Ayew - 5 - Shame really, but he didn't penetrate any lines, he had his back to goal quite a lot but he did lay the ball off nicely quite a few times to help us build attacks.  Considering Notts County played such a high line, I was surprised he didn't try and get behind very often, if at all.  Caught offside a lot however, which means I guess he must have been trying.  Let's give him a few games before we start lampooning him, he didn't look terrible, but he just looked slightly out of place.  It will come in time.

 

Subs;

 

Cole - 6.5 - Lost the ball with his first 3 touches, but his movement off the ball is something I wish I could bottle up and give to the rest of the players.  He's still a wonderfully gifted player, he just "gets" football.  If his body was any better than it is now, he'd still be playing in the CL.  Got a wonderful assist (aided by his work off the ball) too.  I really enjoyed his cameo.

 

Bennett - 7.5 - A high mark I know, but he looked extremely sharp.  When the ball came into his feet, you could see him looking behind him to see what was around, his movement was quick and fluid and his goal was an absolute peach.  Could this be his breakout season?  All the players looked genuinely happy for his goal and ran to hug/celebrate with him.

 

Kozak - 7/10 - For a big guy, his touch is brilliant.  Held up play brilliantly, brought others into the game and had a shot finely saved by Carroll which would have ripped the net had it gone in.

 

Feel of the match, the great applause from the County fans for Jack Grealish.  The whistle blew, he ran to the Holte, then he ran all the way to their supporters and gave someone his boots to much applause and a great chant.  Their fans were really good I thought, we'll have worse in the PL.

 

Overall entertainment/value for money - 10/10.  I felt like I should have left more money on my seat than the £15 I spent on the ticket.

 

Maybe I should go to more games, I was there for the 6-1 sunderland, 3-2 everton and a couple more wins I can't remember, but I seem to be quite lucky when I choose the games

[Mantis]

Notts County really are dirty **** aren't they?

[Whatever happened to .....]

Great experiment bet Tim learned a lot

[Nigel]

Really good write up there Lapal!

[Raver50032]

Notts County really are dirty **** aren't they?

Yes - for all their whining at the ref at the end, they were lucky not to have one or two sent off on the old 'totting up' rationale.

[BOF]

Just got back in from the game*, and it's funny how different people can have completely different perceptions of how people played. For me:

*yes, I'm now an ex-HanoiVillan

[dont_do_it_doug.]

20 minute highlights now on AVTV.

 

I'll be saving them for bed time, let Joe Bennett "finish me off" as it were

[The Fun Factory]

Probably echoing what has already been  very well written in the  thread but that was a proper cup match. 8 goals and both teams going for it, even though it was a bit of a mad selection by Sherwood.

 

Very exciting in periods going forwards, but some worries at the back. But I will take this over Mcleish and the later Lambert era any day of the week! Grealish was excellent, pleased to see Sinclair getting in the goals, and Traore looks a real talent, Slighty concerned over Ayew and I am not sure why Baker is still at Villa, but overall a hugely entertaining match. Pleased to see Kozak back as well, if we don't get another target man he needs to stay as back up to Rudy. Shame more didn't come to the match, but it's about as big as Albion and Blues's matches combined.

 

A shout out to county as they played very well for a league two club, and the applause to Grealish was a nice touch. 

[Neil]

WAtching barnsley vs Everton.  And they seem to be having the same game, as I imagine, that villa had yesterday.

 

Reading between the lines and all, of those that actually went to the game...seems to be the same problems.  Barnsley taking all their chances / etc.