Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Norwich

[jackbauer24]

Awful. But three points makes it just about bearable. If I was a Norwich fan I'd be fuming having lost that.

I'm beginning to have massive issues with Smith; his ability to set up teams is bordering on questionable, his ability to adapt is atrocious.

We have only a few areas where he's got somewhat of a luxury of players, the midfield, and yet we're not seeing a clear direction and we're seeing almost a scattergun approach to lineups. And that's not just through injuries. He also sticks with some players far too long whilst abandoning others at the drop of a hat. Elmo should never start ahead of Guilbert even if Guilbert had a bad game last time out - 9 times out of 10 Guilbert is by far the better player. Hourihane is clearly a starter, especially in McGinn's absence.

Fundamentally the set up isn't working though. We are appalling in midfield both in attack and defence, largely because the wingers are not of high enough quality or simply not at pace. This then forces Grealish out wide, Wesley too deep and means we get overrun on the wings or leave huge gaps in central midfield as we try to cover. Trez, El Ghazi and Jota have mostly been embarrassed at this level. Weak, poor reading of the game, bad touches, limited tracking, no end product. All of them. Clearly we need to set up differently until that's resolved with new personnel or introducing them to the league ONE at a time.

I'm no massive fan of Wesley but it's true to say he's getting nothing. Completely isolated, playing far too deep, no options and no support. He should be in and around the box, yet I see him trying to win balls and take on players a quarter of the way up the pitch, he's not that sort of player. Kodjia, for all his flaws, would suit that role better if it's what Smith wants to play.

We need to be playing a more solid 4-4-1-1. Grealish central behind Wesley, linking up midfield with our striker. Then Conor, Luiz central with either new wingers, slower introduction of current ones or even playing someone like Guilbert in that role with Elmo behind him.

This team are simply not good enough to survive as it stands. Smashed by Southampton, outplayed by Norwich, with McGinn out for ages, persisting with three or four very poor players. Smith needs to re-evaluate otherwise we'll be adrift by end January. He can't justify playing Trez, El Ghazi or Jota at the moment and certainly not more than one of them - we start games with effectively 9 men when we do.

Really worried.

[TRO]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

In my opinion, big, strong midfielder and wingers would make the team, AND Wesley better.

However, i've also been critical of him myself today.

We definitely need a striker but I think we need to address the support system (And the actual system) more importantly.

Also baffles me how opposition teams have so much time and space around our box.

I do understand the importance of a CF to the overall team but I think we are neglecting all other areas of the pitch to single him out.

I think the wingers are woeful......but we can't keep signing them until we get it right.

We will have more wingers than British airways.

[TRO]

9 minutes ago, jackbauer24 said:

Awful. But three points makes it just about bearable. If I was a Norwich fan I'd be fuming having lost that.

I'm beginning to have massive issues with Smith; his ability to set up teams is bordering on questionable, his ability to adapt is atrocious.

We have only a few areas where he's got somewhat of a luxury of players, the midfield, and yet we're not seeing a clear direction and we're seeing almost a scattergun approach to lineups. And that's not just through injuries. He also sticks with some players far too long whilst abandoning others at the drop of a hat. Elmo should never start ahead of Guilbert even if Guilbert had a bad game last time out - 9 times out of 10 Guilbert is by far the better player. Hourihane is clearly a starter, especially in McGinn's absence.

Fundamentally the set up isn't working though. We are appalling in midfield both in attack and defence, largely because the wingers are not of high enough quality or simply not at pace. This then forces Grealish out wide, Wesley too deep and means we get overrun on the wings or leave huge gaps in central midfield as we try to cover. Trez, El Ghazi and Jota have mostly been embarrassed at this level. Weak, poor reading of the game, bad touches, limited tracking, no end product. All of them. Clearly we need to set up differently until that's resolved with new personnel or introducing them to the league ONE at a time.

I'm no massive fan of Wesley but it's true to say he's getting nothing. Completely isolated, playing far too deep, no options and no support. He should be in and around the box, yet I see him trying to win balls and take on players a quarter of the way up the pitch, he's not that sort of player. Kodjia, for all his flaws, would suit that role better if it's what Smith wants to play.

We need to be playing a more solid 4-4-1-1. Grealish central behind Wesley, linking up midfield with our striker. Then Conor, Luiz central with either new wingers, slower introduction of current ones or even playing someone like Guilbert in that role with Elmo behind him.

This team are simply not good enough to survive as it stands. Smashed by Southampton, outplayed by Norwich, with McGinn out for ages, persisting with three or four very poor players. Smith needs to re-evaluate otherwise we'll be adrift by end January. He can't justify playing Trez, El Ghazi or Jota at the moment and certainly not more than one of them - we start games with effectively 9 men when we do.

Really worried.

You are right about the wingers, he seems obsessed with them......one winger who can beat his man and cross the ball is ample, in our present position...we just need them to do their job, but they are passengers.

Dean really worries me with his insistence with them.

[TRO]

1 hour ago, pacbuddies said:

Wesley needs dropping asap. We are playing with 10 men every game he plays in. A new proven striker in January is a must!

Maybe so......but he is far better than the 2 who pose as wingers.

[The Fun Factory]

Still not quite sure how we won that, Norwich must be kicking themselves.  Grealish is carrying the side and if  Heaton not pulled off a world class save we would have dropped two points again.  We saw at least an improvement in effort from last Saturday but it is debatable if we saw an improvement in quality from Villa.

Wesley ran around a lot, Marvelous is not marvelous and Targett was utterly dreadful. We have definitely played better this year and lost which I don't know if that is a good point or not.

Somehow got the win but we need to up our performances to progress up the table. Perhaps this will give the boys some confidence to do so. UTV.

[Horan86]

Look it's a win wasnt pretty Norwich probably deserved something but plenty of times this year we should have got something and came away with nothing,confidence is low and we arent playing well there is a lot of weak points but I think there is a lot of poor teams this year ,January is vital we need a couple in st least it could make all the difference I think there isnt much between a lot of teams in bottom half dont lose the faith yet long way to go yet I can see a few teams like Newcastle coming back into the pack aswell  there is probably 7/8 teams that could go down 

[Hanky]

On the flip side we were getting beat comfortably by sides like Norwich in the Championship just last year. I know we’ve spent money but shows that we’ve come a fair way in a short space of time.

Feel we will need significant reinforcements in Jan though.

[smg]

Playing up front on your own in a struggling side in the premier league must be soul destroying. At least you can rely on your wide players to get up and support and provide accurate service .......... or you could be playing with trezeguet and el ghazi, Harry Kane would struggle with those two providing support.

[MikeAVFC]

Very fortunate win but I'll take it. It's all about points 

[ciggiesnbeer]

Needed points. 

[Delphinho123]

Smith won’t keep this lot up 

[turvontour]

Cheers Norwich. If we stay up this season we'll owe a lot to you.

[VillaCas]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Maybe so......but he is far better than the 2 who pose as wingers.

Not for me he’s not - £22m with no goal in 11 and no attempt on goal in the last four. The biggest problem as far as I’m concerned 

[KentVillan]

• Heaton 9 - don't remember him putting a foot wrong, do remember him making some spectacular saves
• Elmo 5 - strange pick really. A mix of some good passing and overlapping, and some really poor stuff
• Konsa 6 - fairly anonymous, but not really to blame for anything. Made one very good recovery tackle against Pukki (who should have played in his teammate).
• Hause 7 - grew into the game, and was superb in the closing minutes. Second half performance probably an 8 or a 9, but was a bit wasteful with the ball in the first half.
• Targett 5 - lots of his usual tidy passing in the opposition half, but he is defensively suspect and lacks urgency
• Nakamba 4 - his instincts are good, but he has a heavy touch and he doesn't pass the ball cleanly
• Luiz 8 - one of his best games in a Villa shirt. Very composed with the ball, trusted by his teammates to receive it under pressure, and generally showed good workrate in defence, as well as covering Targett's adventures down the left flank. Made an astonishing goal line clearance. Showed that he has the heart for a relegation battle.
• El Ghazi 4 - largely anonymous, except for missing two gilt-edged chances. Also acted like he had a serious injury, then managed nearly 90 mins, which suggests either Smith is making him play through injury, or he's a bit soft. We know he has it in him, but he needs to find form somehow.
• Grealish 9 - an awesome performance that surely kicks down that England door if Southgate has any sense? Played some beautifully weighted passes, and assisted Hourihane's goal with a beautiful jinking run. Other teams' fans and pundits increasingly praising him as one of the best players in the league.
• Trezeguet 5 - showed his usual huff and puff, but zero end product. Has the heart for the battle, but needs to show more ability or he'll be on the bench if a new winger arrives.
• Wesley 5 - I think if his job was to play as a second striker he would have got a 6 or a 7 for today's performance. But as lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 his movement was perplexing. We need a goalscorer spearheading this attack and pinning defences back.
• Hourihane (sub) 7 - came on for Nakamba, who was having a stinker and had just handed a chance to Norwich. A very well taken goal, and played with admirable intensity. Should probably start while McGinn is out.
• Lansbury (sub) - not on long enough to influence the game
• Jota (sub) - not on long enough to influence the game

Overall, a mixed bag of a performance. Some players were outstanding, but too many had stinkers, and we were lucky to come away with 3 points.

• Dean Smith 6 - he made some very good calls (Konsa in for Engels, sticking with Hause, switching Grealish central in a 4-2-3-1, bringing Hourihane on). However, refusal to bring Kodjia on was strange, as we were crying out for someone to get in behind Norwich's backline. He gets some leeway because he's missing Mings and McGinn, and most of his decisions today came off. But he got bailed out by Heaton, and will need to do better than this against Watford.

[sheepyvillian]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

I think the wingers are woeful......but we can't keep signing them until we get it right.

We will have more wingers than British airways.

Even for your standard that's pretty dire. 

[sheepyvillian]

31 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

• Heaton 9 - don't remember him putting a foot wrong, do remember him making some spectacular saves
• Elmo 5 - strange pick really. A mix of some good passing and overlapping, and some really poor stuff
• Konsa 6 - fairly anonymous, but not really to blame for anything. Made one very good recovery tackle against Pukki (who should have played in his teammate).
• Hause 7 - grew into the game, and was superb in the closing minutes. Second half performance probably an 8 or a 9, but was a bit wasteful with the ball in the first half.
• Targett 5 - lots of his usual tidy passing in the opposition half, but he is defensively suspect and lacks urgency
• Nakamba 4 - his instincts are good, but he has a heavy touch and he doesn't pass the ball cleanly
• Luiz 8 - one of his best games in a Villa shirt. Very composed with the ball, trusted by his teammates to receive it under pressure, and generally showed good workrate in defence, as well as covering Targett's adventures down the left flank. Made an astonishing goal line clearance. Showed that he has the heart for a relegation battle.
• El Ghazi 4 - largely anonymous, except for missing two gilt-edged chances. Also acted like he had a serious injury, then managed nearly 90 mins, which suggests either Smith is making him play through injury, or he's a bit soft. We know he has it in him, but he needs to find form somehow.
• Grealish 9 - an awesome performance that surely kicks down that England door if Southgate has any sense? Played some beautifully weighted passes, and assisted Hourihane's goal with a beautiful jinking run. Other teams' fans and pundits increasingly praising him as one of the best players in the league.
• Trezeguet 5 - showed his usual huff and puff, but zero end product. Has the heart for the battle, but needs to show more ability or he'll be on the bench if a new winger arrives.
• Wesley 5 - I think if his job was to play as a second striker he would have got a 6 or a 7 for today's performance. But as lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 his movement was perplexing. We need a goalscorer spearheading this attack and pinning defences back.
• Hourihane (sub) 7 - came on for Nakamba, who was having a stinker and had just handed a chance to Norwich. A very well taken goal, and played with admirable intensity. Should probably start while McGinn is out.
• Lansbury (sub) - not on long enough to influence the game
• Jota (sub) - not on long enough to influence the game

Overall, a mixed bag of a performance. Some players were outstanding, but too many had stinkers, and we were lucky to come away with 3 points.

• Dean Smith 6 - he made some very good calls (Konsa in for Engels, sticking with Hause, switching Grealish central in a 4-2-3-1, bringing Hourihane on). However, refusal to bring Kodjia on was strange, as we were crying out for someone to get in behind Norwich's backline. He gets some leeway because he's missing Mings and McGinn, and most of his decisions today came off. But he got bailed out by Heaton, and will need to do better than this against Watford.

The Luiz goal clearance has to be up there with the very best. 

Edited December 26, 2019 by sheepyvillian

[KentVillan]

Just now, sheepyvillian said:

No mention of the Luiz goal clearance, which as to be up there with the very best. 

Quote

Luiz 8 - one of his best games in a Villa shirt. Very composed with the ball, trusted by his teammates to receive it under pressure, and generally showed good workrate in defence, as well as covering Targett's adventures down the left flank. Made an astonishing goal line clearance. Showed that he has the heart for a relegation battle.

It's there if you look closely enough.

[sheepyvillian]

Just now, KentVillan said:

It's there if you look closely enough.

My apologies, I did try to edit, but forgot to save it. I'm sure you'll agree with my opinion though. 

[KentVillan]

Just now, sheepyvillian said:

My apologies, I did try to edit, but forgot to save it. I'm sure you'll agree with my opinion though. 

I've run out of reactions for the day, which is a sign of a Boxing Day well spent. No apology required, haha 

[srsmithusa]

I was too late in prematch thread.  I thought Konsa and Elmo came in because Engels and Gilbert got burnt by speed repeatedly.  Konsa has more speed and Elmo has more experience to anticipate better.  Konsa did very well,  Elmo had moments but as always he leaves opponents on the back post too open.  Heaton saved one sure goal and Luis the other.   
 

contrary to most VT’ers I think Nakamba is incredibly efficient and effective as a DM.   He’s the best we have at reading and breaking up play.  He needs to think a bit faster to know his outlets sooner.  But I think that could come with time.  
 

when house first came in at left back last year, I thought he was a disaster.  My apologies, sir, you have proved me wrong. 
 

Weslie is a great talent in the wrong team.  The other 11 play like he’s John Carew or Andy CArroll.   He ain’t that.  He’s closer to Romario (but taller of course).  Through balls on the ground he can be brilliant, but most balls are player to his head with his back to goal.  Either he needs to change his game (not likely) or the team needs to change to match his strength.  It might actually work for us to drop the wing play put jack and jota behind him telling them to hit the through balls early.  But the easier solution would be to replace him.  
 

jack did really well on the goal but Conor set it up and finished it.  
 

luiz seemed out of sync with the team except for that block.  AEG missed 3 decent opportunities.  Trez pretty much balanced promise with ineffective. 

I’ll take the 3 points and celebrate, but not hugely proud.