Ratings and Reactions: Liverpool v Villa

[chappy]

The game must have looked different on TV going on some strange comments in this thread.

I've seen Gestede called crap and Hutton good. The former was our best player and the latter should've been hooked after ten minutes, he was having the very definition of a shocker.

Sherwood takes the blame for this one for me, crying out for a change after an abysmal first half but he did nothing and sure enough we were two nil down before he could get Veretout on the pitch. Even that change, he shouldn't have brought off Sanchez! He had looked one of our better players. Westwood off would've been the switch for me. I would've brought off Sinclair (who did little to nothing) for Ayew too.

Gestede had a really good game IMO even without the goals, was fighting a losing battle at times up on his own but he was fighting. Two smashing goals, the header was one of the best headers I've ever seen in the flesh.

Traore needs to stop hugging the touch line and come looking for the ball at times, even though he is class at beating his man.

Lescott shouldn't be in the team based in today and the short goal kicks to him are really frustrating and just invite pressure.

Veretout looked alright when he came on except for a couple of kamikaze passes across the defence which almost (and should have) cost us.

As for the famous Anfield atmosphere... same old same old library vibe.

Our chant of the day "we love Milner more than you".

[Mammoth10]

Haven't bothered with Villa for a couple of weeks, was Agbonlahor dropped or just injured for this one?

Injured. No doubt he would have started if fit.

 

Thought as much, cheers. Might check in next game whenever that is, probably won't. Really bored with this club.

 

Edited September 26, 2015 by Mammoth10
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[VillaCas]

Last season: I will never let Aston Villa be in this situation again if we beat relegation... I will build a great side

This season: Our performances have merited better than one win in seven games but I said from the start it would be an uphill struggle. We need to stay in the division and if we do we will be stronger next year

which one is it Tim? I know my opinion!

[momo]

Wow...So the team lets in another 3 goals without Clark...

Wow...Guzan is actually good. Don't know why Sherwood is so inclined on showing him some support. It is obvious that he is too good to be in a team fighting relegation.

Gabby was not playing...the team looks worse without him. The reason managers play him, is because he takes up so much space and is a nuisance for the opposition.

Anyway

We go again!

[One For The Road]

Genuine question: Has any manager in our history ever made the exact opposite of the correct substitutes on such a regular basis?

If we do not sack Sherwood then we will go down. Moreover, I doubt he will ever manager a team higher than Championship level after the inevitable happens. He is absolutely dreadful. 

[dakid007]

Team going forget needs to be

Guzan

Bacuna Richards Clark amavi

Gana Veretout

Traore Gil Jack

Gestede

[Harry]

Reading Sherwood's comments on the OS suggest to me someone who is divorced from what is actually going on on the pitch. To say something like this about the first half:

"It was too early to change the plan then. You have to stick to it, try and stay in the game and we created a few opportunities to score in the first period."

That says he know it was not working but he's going to persist and see if it does which is naive in the extreme. And 'try and say in the game' against a Liverpool side low on confidence an racked with injuries?

Very rapidly losing the plot IMO. Lose against Stoke on Saturday and it could get very ugly. I really do hope he can do the job, and I'm not saying we need to get rid, but the more I see of him the more I can't help but think he is totally out of his depth managing in the PL.

[TRO]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, no bottle and no one that knows how to grab a game by the scruff of the neck, same problem we've had for years. No leader on the pitch, no winners. It doesn't matter how fancy you play if you haven't got a strong character or two willing to take one for the team, willing to dig deep when it really matters

                    This Imo is central to what is wrong.

....I'm not so sure about the tactics being wrong we simply haven't got the personnel who have a bit of guile and brawn..... we have midfielders who apparently can't close down ...deny opposition space and get in their faces.

                      WE ARE FAR TOO BENEVOLENT.....It needs to stop.

[Biskitt]

What I don't get is that we played 2 number 10's in the cup semi final and it worked a treat so why not use it again?  Gil and Grealish would have been ideal for this as Grealish tends to drift left and Gil drifts right so would have had a good balance with a solid midfield 3 behind them. 

No idea why Sanchez was taken off today, I understand we were chasing the game but defensively he was doing a lot of good work and Westwood and Gana weren't exactly having great games either.

Manager has to take the blame for this one, the tactics, substitutions and mentality of the team today were simply not good enough

 

[TRO]

Its not looking good....That is for sure.... we are so open, its is frightening.

Tim says that we have a young side and it will take time to Gel .....It was always going to be a roller coaster this season right from the off.

I accept all of those things ....but there must be a trade off.

Young players do lack experience, but they also have energy to sell/Burn, they should be running the legs off some of these older players and getting about them.

The worrying thing for me is " Heads you lose, tails you lose" is starting to creep in.....We have some decent individual players, but no team.

 

[OutByEaster?]

No idea why Sanchez was taken off today, I understand we were chasing the game but defensively he was doing a lot of good work and Westwood and Gana weren't exactly having great games either.

I can understand it - Sanchez doesn't seem to have 90 minutes in his legs and he's a passenger after 70 minutes - the problem is that if Westwood isn't playing well and if Gueye is as bad as he was yesterday, we start the game with a problem - we need to use a substitute to replace Sanchez and we've only really got Veretout on the bench who can replace one of the three - yesterday, you could make a case for all three of them coming off, Westwood got the most criticism, Gueye put in the worst performance and  Sanchez can't finish a game. For me, that shines a light on our decision to go into the season with only four central midfielders in our squad if we're going to start games with three in the middle. We're light here.

 

Edited September 27, 2015 by OutByEaster?

[OutByEaster?]

Our chant of the day "we love Milner more than you".

I cringed when I heard it. We're like some lovestruck pup who once had a date with the pretty girl in school who probably doesn't remember our name.

 

[chappy]

Our chant of the day "we love Milner more than you".

I cringed when I heard it. We're like some lovestruck pup who once had a date with the pretty girl in school who probably doesn't remember our name.

 

It was the context of it that I liked, he got more claps from villa fans as has came over to take a corner than he did from the Liverpool fans in the side stand (despite being their captain who had just put them one nil up)

[Zatman]

Our chant of the day "we love Milner more than you".

I cringed when I heard it. We're like some lovestruck pup who once had a date with the pretty girl in school who probably doesn't remember our name.

 

I'm glad I didnt hear that. Disgusting

like the reverse of Houllier fiasco at Anfield

Edited September 27, 2015 by Zatman

[OutByEaster?]

Our chant of the day "we love Milner more than you".

 

I cringed when I heard it. We're like some lovestruck pup who once had a date with the pretty girl in school who probably doesn't remember our name.

 

 

It was the context of it that I liked, he got more claps from villa fans as has came over to take a corner than he did from the Liverpool fans in the side stand (despite being their captain who had just put them one nil up)

But the wider context is that this is a player who jumped ship at the earliest possible opportunity after what, three seasons with the club, one of which was on loan?

We DO love Milner more than they do, the reasons why are baffling and make us look a little bit desperate.

 

[AntrimBlack]

I think we actually have the personnel. I think our problem is the manager's choices. They are finding it hard to gel when he keeps playing the wrong players together. The back four on Tuesday we finished with were good - he changes it. Grealish and Ayew were terrific on Tuesday - look, no Ayew. Traore - wrong decision. Take off our best midfielder? 

I like Sherwood, but someone else should have an input to the decisions made during the game, because he is getting them all wrong.

[VillaAndLoyal]

Our chant of the day "we love Milner more than you".

 

I cringed when I heard it. We're like some lovestruck pup who once had a date with the pretty girl in school who probably doesn't remember our name.

 

 

It was the context of it that I liked, he got more claps from villa fans as has came over to take a corner than he did from the Liverpool fans in the side stand (despite being their captain who had just put them one nil up)

But the wider context is that this is a player who jumped ship at the earliest possible opportunity after what, three seasons with the club, one of which was on loan?

We DO love Milner more than they do, the reasons why are baffling and make us look a little bit desperate.

 

Absolute rubbish.

One of the most brilliant things about Villa fans, particularly the away support, is our gallows humour and our class. Milner was an extremely popular player at the Villa for reasons I don't need to go into now but which are blindingly obvious - what I will say is the way he left the club when a much better opportunity presented itself oozed class and he has always talked very affectionately about the club and its fans. It was a proud moment when the whole away end stood to sing Milner's name yesterday when he came to take a corner in front of our support. It takes a class above set of fans to put aside any in-game differences (especially when he's already scored against you) to show respect to a popular former player and the Liverpool fans duly acknowledged this by applauding our fans. Did it give Milner 'an advantage'? No. Did it stop fans who paid £45 for a ticket backing Villa for the other 89.5 minutes? No. But does it give certain uninformed Villa fans the opportunity to label our loyal away support 'desperate'? Unfortunately, yes, but then that's the internet for you. Kudos to the Villa support today - the only thing keeping our sorry club going at the moment.

You take away our gallows humour and you take away our class and what are you left with? Oh yeah, people sitting on an internet messageboard criticising our own fans... how utterly depressing...

[troon_villan]

Don't get all the Gestede hate, he's a striker and strikers are supposed to score goals. He did twice, (second was a great header IMO?). Would people rather him or a Heskey who works his socks off but never ever scores? We got lucky with Benteke and maybe just a little spoilt?

What hate?

[Zatman]

oozed class? He went the whole summer denying everything. Classy would be putting in a transfer request in June if he really wanted to move onto better things

[VillaAndLoyal]

oozed class? He went the whole summer denying everything. Classy would be putting in a transfer request in June if he really wanted to move onto better things

You and I clearly have different definitions of the word 'class' then if you think handing in a transfer request is the way to leave a club. Thank heavens your viewpoint isn't the majority one going by the reaction of the Villa fans yesterday. Got a link to all the occasions Milner "denied everything" have you?