Ratings and Reactions: Villa v Brentford

[maqroll]

I'm dedicating the rest of my farts tonight to this result

[DrUnKeNbUm]

Just got back. First half we played quite well, then on 35 minutes we just stopped playing. 

Other than a couple of flashes in the second half we didn't do anything, but kept Brentford contained. I can't remember Gollini having a serious save of note during the game. 

On 80 minutes it literally went to pot. Every player in a villa shirt panicked as soon as they got the ball. 

 

The only player to come out of the second half with any credit for me is Westwood. He was the only one who was trying for close down Brentford and was the furthest player forward on a number of occasions. 

This 4-2-4 doesn't work, play the players in the right positions and results will change

[AVFCDAN]

I do wonder if it's possible to get any lower as a villa fan? I'm certainly at my lowest point.

This is a league where the contenders to go up are winning week in, week out, as we are already seeing from the likes of Newcastle and Norwich. Can anyone honestly see us in that position this season? It's becoming more and more apparent that it could be years before we even resemble a competent football team.

 

[TheMightyVillans]

we are going to get spanked by newcastle

[Vive_La_Villa]

Second half was a shambles. Just don't understand why they can't keep the ball.

[Upper north stander]

11 minutes ago, Daniel said:

 

I was at the game. It was piss poor. Players out of position and a midfield that went missing. Brentford bossed us after the first goal. We scored and imminently sat back and let them play. You could see all game what was going to happen. Couldn't call on any of the bench players to make a difference as the bench was full of defenders, one who came on and played as a winger after Ross (striker) was playing as an attacking mid/wide player.

We have changed manager/owner/players and nothing has changed from last season. It's the same shit.

Me too just got back! 

Out played out battled by Brentford same old shit... I Really am sick of it... At one point amarvi had swapped with kodjja and was playing right mid!!!!! Yes that's right everyone.... Amarvi right midfield!!!!!!! What does RDM say to the players at half time?????? Elphick..... I like the guy but blimey he has more than one mistake a game in him!!! Gardner needs to not be played!! I could go on but I'm just too fed up!

 

 

[Gary Thomas]

Just got back. Completely gutted and deflated by that.  It all just feels so familiar.  What the hell were we doing in that second half?  You could just see their goal coming but they will not help themselves.  Score - drop deep and invite pressure - concede - repeat.  What annoys me is when we are playing normally the opposition have few if any chances - why do we insist on changing because we have a goal.  Just keep the same shape, keep playing, keep attacking. 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2016 by Gary Thomas

[Vive_La_Villa]

This is first time I have been tonight and in that second half it was so clear we had no shape at all. They completely bossed the game. Other games this season i have only seen on tv so you can't see the shape from a distance. Does this happen every week? It was shocking. 

[Hoof hearted]

"Westwood" and "Bacuna", wasn't at the game, didn't keep an eye on what was happening.... Not surprised.

[Brumstopdogs]

Can anyone confirm what the price is at Villa Park for Hot Dog and Chips?

[commander]

51 minutes ago, gatecrasha said:

As long as Westwood stays in that midfield we will never do well. He brings zilch to the party

This is the key thing for me. He attracts negativity, he's weak, any pressure and he buckles. He's been utter gash for 5 years. Every time he starts we're giving the opposition a way into the game. He literally offers nothing positive to this team

The rest of the players are words removed too - but we can't expect to win games if we have weak, cowardly, abject losers like Westwood playing every game. 

[Harry]

I said to my son that I bet Brentford score right at the end; I even said on 88 minutes too. The fans around us in the Holte were going ape sh*t during the second half. Utterly pathetic, same old ponderous build up play, little end product and a defensive howler. Welcome to the world of  Aston Villa.

[Spray]

1 hour ago, Newry_Villan said:

This club is cursed.

Division change.

Owner change.

Manager change.

Players change.

Set-up change.

....But we are still getting atrocious results?

This s*** is unbearable and can only be put down to some sort of hex on the club.

[Harry]

57 minutes ago, Grasshopper said:

I would love to hear from someone who was at the game.

Well I was and it was grim viewing. Out smarted in midfield again, Oh and too many players playing out of position. Little end product and rightly booed off at the end. I am rapidly losing faith in RDM.

And the irony of us struggling against Brentford and Albrighton scoring in the Champions League.......

Edited September 14, 2016 by Harry

[Harry]

1 hour ago, Kiwivillan said:

Obviously Tshibola was injured still

Well a mate of my son's saw him in Sainsbury's at Mere Green and asked him if he was fit. He said yes and he was playing tonight. Confusing or what!

[TRO]

1 hour ago, gilbertoAVFC said:

No there isn't. The fans are edgy as f***. Every game when we are leading the atmosphere just goes so jittery after a little spell of pressure. This causes it to build and build. It's a combination of the players not being able to deal with this nervousness and the fans being incapable of getting behind the team when they get put under the cosh.

What comes first the chicken or the egg....and what happens when you play behind closed doors.

The fans are not the problem....The way the team is set up is.

[Harry]

1 hour ago, gatecrasha said:

As long as Westwood stays in that midfield we will never do well. He brings zilch to the party

Too weak and too defensive. Oh and Gardner is dreadful too.

[OutByEaster?]

We were brilliant on Sunday, really very good indeed and we deserved so much more than a point. We didn't deserve a draw out of the game tonight, it was awful, truly dire.

We've gone out in the summer to buy leaders, and we've done that, and it was important, and it's a good thing - what we haven't bought is legs. With the exception of Ayew, there's no energy in this team, no running. When we don't have possession, that's apparent in how much space we allow teams. I don't think I've ever seen a Villa side, or indeed any side put so little pressure on the ball as we did tonight. Time and time and time and time again, Brentford players had the freedom of Villa Park, acres of space and enough time to put down a blanket and get their sandwiches out. Yes it was hot and humid, yes it's our second game in four days, but we chased nothing and no one - lacklustre doesn't cover it, we were miles away from competing for anything. 

Worse still, that's not a lazy day or a bad day at the office, that's the squad we've got. There are no legs out there, no energy. Our plan seemed to be to let them play until they made a mistake, get the ball to Ayew and hope he'd make something happen. In fairness to him, there were times where it almost looked like it would work. When we did manage to get the ball off them after a stray pass, our lack of energy meant that we couldn't support our front line - our midfield doesn't get forward - and what's more it won't - it's not who they are - Westwood isn't going to make a forty yard run into the box, Jedinak is a good player, but he needs someone else to make those runs for him and it's not natural for Gardner either - we've got the most static midfield options I've seen in years. The team is desperate for a Gueye, a Cleverley, heck a Hendrie would do it, but there is no movement.

We're not going to get that energy from up front either, Gestede isn't a mobile striker, McCormack is clever, not quick and Kodjia only really comes alive when he's got the ball or he's in a threatening position - he's not going to put in the kind of shift that can cover for our shortcomings elsewhere (nor should he have to in fairness.)

The manager has to bear some responsibility - our shape is wrong - throwing on more strikers isn't making the problem better - expecting a rusty left back to turn into a left wing genius is wishful thinking - we are unable to provide cover to our back line which means the full backs can't get forward too much and we're unable to provide support to our front men which means that on those occasions where Ayew does get something going out wide, his options are cross it into a static big man or.....well, or not. There aren't midfielders screaming into the box - we haven't got any that can do it.

People will point at the late goal and say pressure, they'll point at us scoring and then conceding and say mentally weak - I didn't see that tonight, the pattern of the game didn't change at all, Brentford didn't pile men forward as a last ditch effort, they did what they'd done all game and passed it around while we waited for them to make a mistake. The goal was coming, they deserved it and we didn't deserve the one point we've got.

Some time around christmas I gave up on last season, stopped caring, didn't feel the pain, didn't get angry. I'm angry about this one - the shape was wrong, there was no energy and we didn't know what to do about it. I left Villa Park tonight with a bigger hump than your nans best mate at the home.

Missing Grealish hurt us - he's the only other player in the squad that has the ability to link midfield and attack and we need him so that it doesn't become Ayew vs. Brentford, or Ayew vs. whoever - but the glaring hole in the middle of the park is a massive problem for us and one that we can't fill until January - by then promotion might be a pipe dream.

It's a test for Di Matteo - the formation isn't working - we can't persist with 4-2-4 - we don't have the players for it. The longer he persists the way he is, the more fuel there is for his critics. We've got good experienced coaches who should be pointing this out.

If we want to see what we're missing, their red headed midfielder, who I think is called Woods, was superb - picking the ball off the back four, tackling anything that came near, moving play around, supporting our wide and up front and generally bossing the game. He was so good I've called him red headed and not the other word. If we can't learn by watching others, then we're in even more trouble than it looks.

The two positives were Ayew's performance - he's our best player by a country mile - and a really good first goal for Kodjia, who looks like he could score a lot if we get the balance right. That's it though, this isn't a night for positives.

Slow, ponderous, immobile. Sort that Mr Mondeo.

 

[OutByEaster?]

1 hour ago, gilbertoAVFC said:

No there isn't. The fans are edgy as f***. Every game when we are leading the atmosphere just goes so jittery after a little spell of pressure. This causes it to build and build. It's a combination of the players not being able to deal with this nervousness and the fans being incapable of getting behind the team when they get put under the cosh.

It wasn't like that tonight. Honestly. I don't think our problems are mental.

[OutByEaster?]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Broken record, but i'm telling you, it's the bloody midfield! Tshibola AND Jedinak in and we win these games, still pathetic, we need our first choice XI ffs!!!

I think we need those two and one more - no two of our midfielders are good enough on their own - we need three from Jedinak, Westwood, Tshibola and Gardner starting every game.