Ratings & Reactions: Villa v West Ham

[Bottle Maker]

I think Southgate should be banned from watching villa play.   Whenever he is there Jack does not seem to play his best.  

42010 was an amazing turnout on a Monday night.   I thought the referee was better than we have had of late although from where I was in the lower Trinity Jack should not have had a yellow and they did not deserve the second yellow/red.  

I had a look at a West Ham forum they seem to hate Mike Dean's but agree Noble was lucky with just one Yellow, 

My man of the match was Engles not as in obvious as Ming's but not a lot gets pass him

 

[ExhallVillan]

Second clean sheet at home in a row-----that is a big positive----its just a shame we could,nt capitalise at the other end---

42010 is a tremendous turn out for a night game----

Marvellous looks like he will be a force in midfield----but i think Conor needs game time --our free kicks and  corners when we get them are wasted,

i,m sure i saw Declan Rice as i was going down the steps  applaud the Holte End at the final whistle!--thought it was Snoddy at first so had a quick second glance---am sure it was Rice,why was that?

its only 2 goals conceded at home --in 3 games a penalty and an awful pass across field --both in the first 15 minutes of the home fixtures,---full credit to the defence,

Keep The Faith-----

[sheepyvillian]

Collymore, saying Wesley looks unfit. The kettle and the pot comes to mind. Look how much West Ham paid for Heller and he didn't look anything special last night.

[NeilS]

58 minutes ago, ExhallVillan said:

Second clean sheet at home in a row-----that is a big positive----its just a shame we could,nt capitalise at the other end---

42010 is a tremendous turn out for a night game----

Marvellous looks like he will be a force in midfield----but i think Conor needs game time --our free kicks and  corners when we get them are wasted,

i,m sure i saw Declan Rice as i was going down the steps  applaud the Holte End at the final whistle!--thought it was Snoddy at first so had a quick second glance---am sure it was Rice,why was that?

its only 2 goals conceded at home --in 3 games a penalty and an awful pass across field --both in the first 15 minutes of the home fixtures,---full credit to the defence,

Keep The Faith-----

That was Declan Rice applauding the Holte, my Dad commented that it was unusual for the opposition to come and acknowledge the home support. Snoddy came up to applaud after as well.

I think you are right and Conor needs to be tried, his deadball delivery and ability to pop up with a goal is something that is vital and we may need to utilise. It is hard to see where the goals are going to come from at the moment. It may have all turned out differently if we had buried one or two of those first half headers that Wesley and Guilbert missed.

[TRO]

16 hours ago, bannedfromHandV said:

I thought it was an odd game, scrappy and slow tempo from both teams.

McGinns energy levels seem to be dropping, doesn’t quite look the same player but hard to tell if that’s just because of better calibre opposition.

They were there for the taking before they went down to 10 men, the game was crying out for energy up top and the Davis substitution was 20 minutes too late.

The players at this level are more savvy.....and inclined to close you down more.

[gaffer85]

We need kodja back the game needed him last he does the unexpected and drives at defenders which we need at the moment 

[barry'sboots]

When you watch the extended highlights, it is all Villa and largely Jack and SJM.  We were better than them.  For 5 games in for a new side, admittedly with offensive issues, versus an established PL side which has invested heavily (that front 3 has a net cost of £100m with options on the bench at a cost in excess of our record buy!!), as have Everton, I was pretty pleased.  

I think we do have an issue with our structure.  All of the wingers we have are traditional wingers.  The better sides nowadays have wide players that are capable of coming inside and scoring goals - less out and out wingers and more inside forwards with pace and strength.  Probably the best Villa performance in the last 5 years or so was our victory against Plop in the FAC SF when Jack and Insomnia both played (certainly Jack did) as inside forwards and got close to Tekkers.  At the minute Wes is so isolated - the wingers are out wide and Jack and SJM are both coming from deep.  If we are going to play 4-3-3, I think the wide players need to get closer to Wes at times. This is easier for the RW as Guilbert can then cover the flank.  Not as easy for the LW whilst Taylor is playing. 

Equally, I would prefer us to play 4-2-3-1 with Jack at "10" so he can get closer to Wes and affect the game more in the opponents half.  When you watch the highlights reel from any Villa game this season, or last for that matter, you will see that 90% of anything we create comes from Jack - the same yesterday.  He is getting a lot of stick in this forum and, whilst I know he wasn't perfect, he still created most of the good things we did.  He is a real handful in and around the box but seems to want to drop deep all of the time to pick the ball up.  I saw an article where he was saying he is not a LW but would play "10" although he prefers "8".  I don't know whether this is because he enjoys being on the ball more or because he thinks he has a better chance with England at "8" - England have no other options at 8 as far as I can see!!  I would personally prefer to see him at "10", interacting more with Wes and the wingers, with McGinn slightly deeper where his engine will still allow him to get forward. 

I also want to see Targett in asap.  Whilst Taylor has done okay defensively and is decent back up for a newly promoted side (upgrade him and Elmo next summer hopefully), he offers nothing when we are in possession and this means that El Ghazi is often up against 2 with no support unless Jack or SJM come out to him.  We look unbalanced in offence.  I would also prefer Hause at 3 than Taylor - when he played LB last season his crossing was as good as I have seen for a Villa FB and he is also a good defender.

I think we do have options and personnel to play differently:

• Personally, I would love to see us try a 4-4(diamond)-2 and get Hourihane in at 10 playing off Wes and Davis (those two would be a real handful for a CB pairing) or Jack at "10" with Henry or Douggie Luiz coming in as a replacement for Jack at "8" (I think they both have more energy than CH in this role).
• We could also play a 3-5-2 with the same CM three and Konsa or Hause stepping in to a back three, Targett or Trez on the left with Freddie on the right and get Wes and Davis playing together up top.

However, I think Smith is pretty rigid around his 4-3-3 as we saw last season when Jack and Henry were both out and he only really had one box to boxer in SJM but he still insisted on playing 4-3-3.  I hope I am wrong and he can find the way to flex when needed this season.

 

[striker]

Thought both teams played some nice stuff at times but both toothless upfront.

I think Villa's better players such as Grealish and McGinn are still adapting to the pace of the Premiership and will get better with more games.

However, as I've stated before Wes is a real worry for me. Looks powder puff up front and so far looks the least successful of Smith's signings.

Marv after a nervous start grew into the game and could end up being a cult hero at the Villa as could Villa's new central defensive partnership which look Premiership class already.

I wouldn't be too negative yet as there are signs that Villa may be ok this season with the addition of another striker in January.

[ExhallVillan]

3 hours ago, NeilS said:

That was Declan Rice applauding the Holte, my Dad commented that it was unusual for the opposition to come and acknowledge the home support. Snoddy came up to applaud after as well.

I think you are right and Conor needs to be tried, his deadball delivery and ability to pop up with a goal is something that is vital and we may need to utilise. It is hard to see where the goals are going to come from at the moment. It may have all turned out differently if we had buried one or two of those first half headers that Wesley and Guilbert missed.

Thanks for confirming--it really surprised me i had to have a second look--as your Dad said its real unusual for an opposition player to applaud home fans--unless hes previously played for the club or has a connection  eg Barry Bannan and Joe Lolley-- often-give a clap to the Holte when they trot across to take a corner--i cant recall many if any previous instances in 55 years going to the majestic old ground-----full credit to the lad-----

 

[TRO]

8 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

Collymore, saying Wesley looks unfit. The kettle and the pot comes to mind. Look how much West Ham paid for Heller and he didn't look anything special last night.

It was a heller  a lot of money for Haller.

[Villastine]

Must have watched a different game to most on here. 

I thought we were decent, fully deserved the point and could well of won it, Wesley should have put away a great cross from Jack. 

Jack probably will be disgusted with himself for his miss in the 2nd half. 

Some missed placed passes and poor defending at keys times let us down. Jack, Jota, Marvelous, Luiz, El Ghazi, Gulibert all guilty along with a few more. 

Don't like West Ham, never did, and even more so since the smut bros bought them. But I have to admit they have a very tidy side. Some excellent footballers in there. Lanzinni is some player. 

Will agree that our subs didn't work. Replacing Jota just before the red card was unfortunate. Waited too long for the other 2 changes. Think the win might have been there for us. 

That been said I'm happy with the point against what to me looks like a very good side. 

By the way VP was rocking. What an atmosphere. It's night like Monday that makes me feel the last few years might have been worth it... Just 

 

[Kiwivillan]

14 hours ago, gaffer85 said:

We need kodja back the game needed him last he does the unexpected and drives at defenders which we need at the 

 Did you miss all the games he was ineffectual in lower division?

[gaffer85]

5 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said:

 Did you miss all the games he was ineffectual in lower division?

Just to be clear I meant as a sub as he has something different to our other stikers

[TRO]

On 17/09/2019 at 02:12, Junxs said:

Wow, cant believe I'm the first to give the ref a very poor rating, most have given him a good/average.

Firstly when McGinn was through on goal and the ref gave them a free kick, the linesman didnt flag as he saw no foul, and replays showed that their defender just slipped - no foul. McGinn was clean through on goal - shocking decision, why not let it play on and come back to check if there was a foul on VAR if you are not sure (obviously can't have been sure as replays showed it was just a slip).

He booked Mings for a nothing challenge, and also Grealish for his first foul. Noble clearly dived looking for a penalty, and should have been off for a 2nd yellow there an then;  doesnt matter that it was the first half. Last week Grealish got booked for alleged diving, so Noble should have been off by the letter of the law. 

As for their sending off, we might feel we deserve the rub of the green - but 2 wrongs dont make a right, Elmo went down far too easily and it was barely a foul let alone a 2nd yellow. 

Going back to the Noble dive for a moment, the commentator stated that it couldnt go to VAR as it doesnt get involved with diving incidents.. what the actual ****?? so if the ref had given a penalty there, VAR could not overturn it? thats shocking.

Can't believe most of you thought the ref had a good game judging by the poll.

Good points.

I thought too the sending off was harsh.....but I am too busy looking at our injustices as you pointed out.

I understand why VAR was brought in ,but fear its being used wrongly.....I fear Refs will use it as a crutch one minute or dismiss it when they fancy, that will breed frustration and yet another element of discretion. I think we will end up with a no mans land of decision making where a gap develops between the ref and VAR and a gorge of uncertainty will exist.

I can see crowds getting very agitated and disgruntled.

[alreadyexists]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Good points.

I thought too the sending off was harsh.....but I am too busy looking at our injustices as you pointed out.

I understand why VAR was brought in ,but fear its being used wrongly.....I fear Refs will use it as a crutch one minute or dismiss it when they fancy, that will breed frustration and yet another element of discretion. I think we will end up with a no mans land of decision making where a gap develops between the ref and VAR and a gorge of uncertainty will exist.

I can see crowds getting very agitated and disgruntled.

I think they already are TRO, you’re quite right. When they use it, and when they don’t seems arbitrary. It was meant to stop ‘clear and obvious errors’ but I think that’s too subjective a term.