Dean Smith

[romavillan]

6 minutes ago, TRO said:

We wasn't defensive in the true sense of the word, but Nakamba for me was very impressive with his ability to get his foot in.

I am not a great student of stats....but those figures do reflect how i saw the game.We do have a tendency to be easily closed down in midfield, sometimes fouled, but sometimes being slow to move or move the ball.

where they excelled was their ability to close us down and deny us space to play.....they snapped in the tackle and turned the ball over very well, Henderson used his physicality very well.....they are a good team after all.

our possession stat of 24% or there abouts reflected that....in contrast we yielded possession to them much more readily in general, not sure if that was by design or just inability to relieve them of the ball in the middle of the park, particularly.....we reserved our efforts to the danger area's in their final third, i guess to conserve energy.

 

You have to have 10 special outfield players to play it round them and keep the ball for long spells. Like Pep's Barca style 10 special outfield players. They are incredible off the ball and then when they get it they don't exactly beat around the bush in trying to get a shot on goal as a result of their possession. 

We deffo weren't set up to defend, I think the comparison was with Bruce, we weren't just trying to defend the 18 yard line and pretending the other 3/4 of the pitch didn't exist other than to just smash the ball into before the next wave started. We tried to play it out from the back, we tried to be smart and move it quickly on the counter and we did manage it a few times to really good effect and lacked a bit of calm in the decision making and the final ball was off a few times. If Connor's cut back ahd found Wesley after an incredible bit of work between him and Trezeguet down the left and we'd gone 2-0 with 10 mins left I doubt we'd have let it slip from there. A Bruce side wouldn't be capable of that IMO.

Truth is Klopp sides are a bit special, put in the financial muscle Liverpool have know to back that up and it's not an accident they won the Champions League is it?

[TRO]

7 hours ago, romavillan said:

You have to have 10 special outfield players to play it round them and keep the ball for long spells. Like Pep's Barca style 10 special outfield players. They are incredible off the ball and then when they get it they don't exactly beat around the bush in trying to get a shot on goal as a result of their possession. 

We deffo weren't set up to defend, I think the comparison was with Bruce, we weren't just trying to defend the 18 yard line and pretending the other 3/4 of the pitch didn't exist other than to just smash the ball into before the next wave started. We tried to play it out from the back, we tried to be smart and move it quickly on the counter and we did manage it a few times to really good effect and lacked a bit of calm in the decision making and the final ball was off a few times. If Connor's cut back ahd found Wesley after an incredible bit of work between him and Trezeguet down the left and we'd gone 2-0 with 10 mins left I doubt we'd have let it slip from there. A Bruce side wouldn't be capable of that IMO.

Truth is Klopp sides are a bit special, put in the financial muscle Liverpool have know to back that up and it's not an accident they won the Champions League is it?

• I clapped them off at full time.
• I predicted on here we would lose 1-4 such was my opinion of the opposition.
• For 87 minutes we aquitted our selves admirably and beyond most expectations.
• I would have accepted worldy shots befitting the European champions status as opposed to the clear errors offered to a team that failed to score in 87 minutes.
• May i be bold enough to remind you of the 5-1 against the current European Champions in Dec 1976..... so its a moot point, really.
• I refuse to ignore shortfalls in play to mitigate a spirited performance they are not mutually exclusive.

It is not a case of being ungrateful for our performance.....its more a case of not accepting defeat so lightly and improving from the lessons learnt.

Winning is contagious......Liverpool are where they are in the main from an attitude built up over the years set by Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley and followed on by other distingushed managers.....Liverpool have had their difficulties in the past, but they have never, accepted second best or defeat.

We can be grateful for our recent improvements and I respect the job Dean is doing, despite commenting on some shortfalls In our play and respecting they will be addressed, but as a group we must, if we want to progress, be steadfast in defying defeat.

You can dress things up to gain solace or satisfaction, nowt wrong with that......but Winning is the holy grail.

Edited November 3, 2019 by TRO

[Ikantcpell]

The best thing that has happened to this club in a very long time ,when he took over we were struggling in the championship playing crap football

Now we are in the PL playing very good football,and the team just get's better and better.

I like his ability to spot a good player aswell, i hope he will be the villa manager for a very long time.

[DaveAV1]

TRO you can be assured, that reminding us of that incredible 45 minutes in 1976, moot point of not, will always be welcomed. 

[mikeyp102]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

•  
• May i be bold enough to remind you of the 5-1 against the current European Champions in Dec 1976..... so its a moot point, really.

Winning is contagious......Liverpool are where they are in the main from an attitude built up over the years set by Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley and followed on by other distingushed managers.....Liverpool have had their difficulties in the past, but they have never, accepted second best or defeat.

Football is an entirely different beast than it was in those days. The gap between a newly promoted side and European champions is huge these days. 

As for the second part I don’t buy that. During  utds period of dominance there were Liverpool managers who said they couldn’t compete with Utd. Under Hodgson they celebrated a draw against Albion. That’s not the mentality you talk about.

As for Smith, I’ve no doubt that’s he’s disappointing we didn’t get something out of the match and will look to improve us. 

[Sulberto21]

17 hours ago, TrentVilla said:

So it’s irrelevant mentioning where we were 12 months ago but relevant to mention the window before last that pre dates our current manager..... 

And no, I don’t think anyone prefers defending for 73% of the time. That’s just another of your false narratives.

The point was it’s pointless calling out Villa fans who have genuine concerns about What they perceive are the same mistakes our team has made since the start of the season. It is irrelevant because the majority of the players from twelve months ago are gone.

And Liverpool had 73% of the ball therefore its not a false narrative. Don't take take my word for it check the stats from yesterday’s game.

[TrentVilla]

3 minutes ago, Sulberto21 said:

The point was it’s pointless calling out Villa fans who have genuine concerns about What they perceive are the same mistakes our team has made since the start of the season. It is irrelevant because the majority of the players from twelve months ago are gone.

And Liverpool had 73% of the ball therefore its not a false narrative. Don't take take my word for it check the stats from yesterday’s game.

Yes, it is a false narrative when you counter points people aren’t making.

I don’t need to check the stats for the game I’m already fully aware of them. You seem to be labouring under the misconception you have a level of knowledge that is superior to those who don’t agree with you.

Nobody is saying people can’t have concerns or be critical. What people are saying is that people need to keep a little perspective when doing so.

[Sulberto21]

2 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

Yes, it is a false narrative when you counter points people aren’t making.

I don’t need to check the stats for the game I’m already fully aware of them. You seem to be labouring under the misconception you have a level of knowledge that is superior to those who don’t agree with you.

Nobody is saying people can’t have concerns or be critical. What people are saying is that people need to keep a little perspective when doing so.

Making assumptions about me again I see. I don't claim to have knowledge above anyone. 

[TrentVilla]

4 minutes ago, Sulberto21 said:

Making assumptions about me again I see. I don't claim to have knowledge above anyone. 

You literally just suggested I wasn’t aware of the stats for the game.

[PieFacE]

With each week our performances are generally getting better, I think after Christmas we'll be flying tbh. Need a couple of additions in January though. I don't think there's a chance we're getting relegated at all (unless we have an injury crisis).

Edited November 3, 2019 by PieFacE

[CosmicVillan]

Smith has brought us along massively in his first year. He's stil learning, the team are still learning and the coaching staff and the new people that came into the club along with NSWE are learning too.

I take a huge amount of confidence that we are on the right path, this young team that were assembled some 6 months ago is starting to gel in the toughest league in the world.

Whilst I expect highs and lows we seem to be on an upward trajectory after years of failure and mismanagement.

UTV

[TRO]

4 hours ago, DaveAV1 said:

TRO you can be assured, that reminding us of that incredible 45 minutes in 1976, moot point of not, will always be welcomed. 

The second 45 was not so productive....but we still held firm and seen the 90 minutes out.....that is the crucial bit.....our front line was boys too, still learning their trade......it just goes to show how far " no fear" and a determination to win will take you....its a mentality.

The Ron Saunders team was not great technically......" but you wouldn't bet against them"........pardon the pun.

[TRO]

5 hours ago, mikeyp102 said:

Football is an entirely different beast than it was in those days. The gap between a newly promoted side and European champions is huge these days. 

As for the second part I don’t buy that. During  utds period of dominance there were Liverpool managers who said they couldn’t compete with Utd. Under Hodgson they celebrated a draw against Albion. That’s not the mentality you talk about.

As for Smith, I’ve no doubt that’s he’s disappointing we didn’t get something out of the match and will look to improve us. 

Did you not read the bit where I said....Liverpool have had their difficulties in the past.

My point was this is not the first time Liverpool have been a force.

Edited November 3, 2019 by TRO

[Keyblade]

Honestly can't wait to see where we are this time next year, after 2 more windows and another preseason and a whole season of PL football under our belt. I reckon we'll be a team not to mess with.

[villan-scott]

47 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Honestly can't wait to see where we are this time next year, after 2 more windows and another preseason and a whole season of PL football under our belt. I reckon we'll be a team not to mess with.

I agree. Hopefully can continue the trajectory and good work so far!

[Tomaszk]

49 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Honestly can't wait to see where we are this time next year, after 2 more windows and another preseason and a whole season of PL football under our belt. I reckon we'll be a team not to mess with.

If we stay up, I don't think we'll be in any danger next year. It'll be another summer of strong investment.

[villalad21]

7 hours ago, Tomaszk said:

If we stay up, I don't think we'll be in any danger next year. It'll be another summer of strong investment.

If we do stay up.

Mediocrity won't be acceptable, not with these owners. Pressure will be on

[Mister_a]

2 hours ago, villalad21 said:

If we do stay up.

Mediocrity won't be acceptable, not with these owners. Pressure will be on

I think the owners, for now, will understand that teams with a bench that cost more than our entire club cost them might play a bit better than us, no?

The only thing the owners will be doing is looking to invest in better players, but it's going to take some time before we can compete with the top 10, let alone anything else.

Look at where we have been for the past few years. It almost sounds like you want us fail so you can say I told you so.

[nick76]

I've enjoyed the start of the season, I didnt think we'd be this competitive.  Yes I know how much we spent in the summer but that was largely to replace players lost in my opinion and have a base of a squad that had a chance of staying up.

We are 16th in the league after 11 games, 3 points above and a strong goal difference compared to the bottom three.  We have just played Man City and Liverpool after already games against Arsenal and Spurs.  We have been unlucky with VAR and I'd point out Palace and Arsenal games which rightly would've/could've gave us more points but here we are. 

We have a new squad that are just trying to blend and play at this level, a manager at team that have never played at this level before and we are doing well.  Arguably at the start of the season we were the worst team in the league as we were the third placed team to come up from the championship (obviously our summer spend helped improve that) but we are playing established teams, some of the best teams in Europe and even mid-table teams spend heavily every summer on an already strong base.

We are going to make mistakes and we still need some re-enforcement's but coming for me coming away from a game against the European Champions who literally win every week and we were 1-0 for 86 minutes is unbelievable.  Absolutely gutted we lost and two goals we could've avoided but they probably felt they could've avoided Trez's goal for similar reasons.  

I'm proud of where we are.  The team have a bond, they are playing with their hearts and giving everything.....the club from Owners, Manager, Players to Fans are all together in this.   The crowd were immense again against Liverpool.  This feels like we are on a journey rather than the disarray of when we went down.  I'm proud and really feel the last two games performance will hold us well against lesser teams and if we continue to stick together that not only will be survive this season but start a real growth of this famous club back to where it should be because the the previous three years, and to be fair long before that, this club was falling apart.  You cant say that now!!!  Up the Villa.

[lapal_fan]

I didn't see the game Saturday, but I checked my phone at 5.45pm and saw the score and thought "bloody typical villa".

After catching up, reading the opinions on this thread, watching the highlights and a few youtube videos I can honestly say that I got it wrong with my assumptions as to how the game went. 

Reading through the player threads after Saturday made me feel optimistic rather than irritated and nervous.  I've seen the majority of our games (on TV) and I've liked what I saw.  We tend to give a good account of ourselves and we look like a team.  I think stats like "points lost from winning positions (11pts!)" seems awful at first reading, then I look back and see how we've conceded these goal and my God we've had some bad luck/decisions against us in our 11 or so games.  We seem to be learning though, and whilst we will concede goals with the way we try and attack teams, but don't appear to be making the same mistakes over and over.  I think it's really reassuring reading through the threads at the minute that most of the posters seem to think we actually had a really good game against Liverpool. 

And to think we are where we are now, with more transfer windows coming up just makes me excited.  We're doing ok with the first 11 now, just think where we'd be if we had a more mobile striking option to come off the bench, or a full back, or a really decent midfield option?  We're a tiny bit thin squad-wise, not helped with Kieran's injury and Jack's absence on Saturday.  2 or 3 more quality additions to the squad will give me much more assurance when we're defending a lead and we have viable options coming off the bench.  That's not to say I hate Kodjia or any of the other subs, but on Saturday we could have done with a prime-Gabby to hassle their defence, because with pace up front, Andy Robertson isn't gonna be in our 18 yard box is he?  The extra few bodies will give Deano more options tactics-wise and I'm looking forward to it. 

We also have mentally good players, we don't have many aggro players or diva's.  We've got players like Mings, Engles, McGinn, Jack etc who seem level headed and calm.  I can't see a squad collapse or in-fighting like Fulham had last year which didn't help them.  

I'm impressed with the positivity of the club, and I hope we maintain it going forward because that's the wave in which we need to surf on.  It's obvious from club comms that Deano is excited about being in the Prem, he believes in his squad of players and they seem to be responding to what he's saying.  

It's always difficult to keep that attitude going, but if we keep playing like we are, the fans keep doing a great job of backing the team (like they did at full time Sat) then we'll be ok.  

I'd rather do it our way, than the way Newcastle appear to be doing it.