Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Manchester City

[OutByEaster?]

No injuries, no suspensions and Citeh are very, very good. For me, on the day, those are the things that matter. The season on the other hand is altogether more complicated, more worrying and more difficult to predict.

Playing without a striker is difficult, there's no one running the channels and no one to lump it up to - there's nothing simple for the back line to do with the ball - we have two lines of midfielders - a back line with Luiz, Drinkwater and Hourihane and then a front line of El Ghazi and Grealish. You can't lump balls up to the front line of midfielders from the back easily - you have to find the perfect pass just to get them the ball surrounded by defenders - so all the centrebacks can really do is try to find each other or try to find the deeper line of midfielders - the problem with that is that because there's no striker and no one running the channels, the opposition can press that deeper line - which means that they're always facing the centrebacks - which means they usually give it straight back to them.

That's trouble - you've got a whole team that are like a circle facing inwards - everyone is pointed at Tyrone Mings - the ball goes to the back three then maybe along the back three, then into midfield where it comes straight back to the back three. There are only two ways out - either El Ghazi or Grealish beats three men, or one of the full backs storms forward into a high wing position. Neither of our full backs can do that. You're asking Grealish and El Ghazi to beat three men just to get into the opposition half.

It's a mess, and it's a mess that means our centrebacks spend far, far too long with the ball - the game is played on our back line - and as you'd expect, sooner or later we make a mistake. Man City will devour your mistakes.

Our entire game plan was based around frustrating them for as long as we could - unfortunately they're too good for that - Taylor got sucked out of position and Mahrez had the quality to do something about it for their first - from there, the shape we were playing was of absolutely no use to us at all. After the first goal we should have taken Hourihane off for Vassilev. 

Individually it's hard to pin anything major on any of the back three or the keeper - I'm sure there are individuals to blame for each of the calamities we gave away - but ultimately if you defend as often as we did and you can't get out, those mistakes will happen. The full backs aren't enough for this league - if we stay up, both of them need to go in the summer. I'm surprised we didn't see Guilbert.

In midfield Luiz was sort of okay - he looked like he could see the problem and was the only one trying to make the long bursts into the corners to give us something to aim at - Drinkwater looked reasonably tidy in what will have been his most difficult debut - Hourihane for me was our worst player today, he did nothing either on or off the ball. For me there was one too many in the middle of the park and that one was the one that didn't get involved.

I thought El Ghazi did okay - he worked hard on trying to hold up the occasional long ball and beat the three men around him, he deserved his goal. Jack worked hard too, but it was a day that really did look like Jack Grealish and the darts team from the local trying to beat the pros - the boy needs help and he needs it quickly.

I'm not going to blame the manager, even though I thought he could have changed the shape earlier - there's only so much that can be done given the limitations of this squad. The remains of this season (and our long term future) will not be determined by how much we can get out of this group - it'll be determined by how much we can strengthen this group. I'm not sure I've ever seen a team with a bigger, more obvious problem or one with a solution that can be so easily described - we buy a striker or we go down. 

We might need more than one, we could definitely do with more than one forward player - but if we don't buy a striker and a good one, we're done. We can't play without one. The problem is very simple.

No injuries, no suspensions and Citeh are very, very good. That'll do for today. Today won't define our season. This week will; this week might define the future of the club under this ownership group.

There is some serious work to be done.

[NurembergVillan]

That should've been on Pornhub, not Sky.

[VillaFaninLondon]

14 minutes ago, smg said:

Villa fan admitting leaving at half time and then watching the second half at home ...but wishing he hadn’t done it. Why don’t you go and follow another team you don’t really want to be a Villa supporter

To be honest he'll have only been staying in the 2nd half to watch the oil barons players run rings around us. Anyone who stayed was only watching one team as we as ever didn't bother turning up. 

[Nigel]

So much for the free hit game!

[kiltorken]

Championship playoff winners get beaten comfortably by the reigning Premier league champions. Hold the front page. 

[rjw63]

15 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

That should've been on Pornhub, not Sky.

The way the SkyScum presenters stroke off and rim Citeh, I'm in full agreement.

[DeepDish]

So, I have decided to take two days off work in order to see the Watford match in a few days, spent money on a plane from Oslo to London and train to Birmingham and booked a hotel Tuesday. To see a team that doesn't give a shit?

Think this was THE game that defined our season. Either it is downhill from here (with early relegation) or we get our act together and turn the season. Now I am afraid it is the former and not the latter that we have in front of us.

Edited January 12, 2020 by DeepDish

[Nigel]

It has to be said that we looked like a team that had played a backs to the wall cup semi final only a few days back.

Citeh can get away with it by means of pure quality, we cant.

Smith's changes tried to help but the lack of depth we have really shone. 

I just hope that the inevitable beating doesn't affect confidence for Brighton. 

[KillieVillain]

Had a power cut after first goal, came back on about 1.5 hours ago, the best game I’ve ever missed !

[Darth Villa]

I don't like it but logically a defeat to Man City shouldn't be a surprise.

What I cannot stand is the spineless, weak, soft touch "nice bunch of lads" mentality.

It's 11 men versus 11 men, they may be better players technically but why do we never make them work for it, never see crunching tackles or any type of physical presence on the pitch.

We cannot put boys out to face men in this league or our tenure will be very short lived.  Suso and Smith, sort out the squad or we're nailed on certainties for relegation.

Grealish can't do it all on his own and even he's beginning to look hacked off with the situation and if he stops trying then we're well and truly screwed.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Darth Villa
Typo fix

[rjw63]

1 minute ago, kiltorken said:

Championship playoff winners get beaten comfortably by the reigning Premier league champions. Hold the front page. 

Norwich are shit, they did a fair bit better than we did. that's the kind of thing that annoys me.

Anyhooooo...

I was at my brother-in-laws with some of the family and was therefore forced to watch the whole game.  It was truly horrific, and makes me glad I stopped going to games a few years back.

At 4 or 5 nil you'd think some of our players might have felt a bit embarrassed enough to start leaving a foot in, but no. Just stood back and watched them have nothing more than a training exercise.

Why the referee didn't book Golden Hat Trick Boy for fouling then shoving Grealish, I'd be keen to know. Drinklager was absolute pants. Hourihane was David McCallum. All the defenders should be ashamed.

I'll be very surprised if we stay up. It might depend on if or when we acquire a goalscorer. Going by our previous signings I'm not feeling very hopeful.

[kiltorken]

2 minutes ago, DeepDish said:

So, I have decided to take two days off work in order to see the Watford match in a few days, spent money on a plane from Oslo to London and train to Birmingham and booked a hotel Tuesday. To see a team that doesn't give a shit?

Think this was THE game that defined our season. Either it is downhill from here (with early relegation) or we get our act together and turn the season. Now I am afraid it is the former and not the latter that we have in front of us.

Fair play on making that trip! 

I wouldn't think today was a season defining game tho. City and Liverpool are lightyears ahead of the rest of the league. 

[nick76]

20 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

To be honest he'll have only been staying in the 2nd half to watch the oil barons players run rings around us. Anyone who stayed was only watching one team as we as ever didn't bother turning up. 

That’s not the point though! You support the team through thick and thin

[OutByEaster?]

3 minutes ago, rjw63 said:

Hourihane was David McCallum. All the defenders should be ashamed.

I'm guessing you don't mean Steel?

 

[kiltorken]

4 minutes ago, rjw63 said:

Norwich are shit, they did a fair bit better than we did. that's the kind of thing that annoys me.

Anyhooooo...

I was at my brother-in-laws with some of the family and was therefore forced to watch the whole game.  It was truly horrific, and makes me glad I stopped going to games a few years back.

At 4 or 5 nil you'd think some of our players might have felt a bit embarrassed enough to start leaving a foot in, but no. Just stood back and watched them have nothing more than a training exercise.

Why the referee didn't book Golden Hat Trick Boy for fouling then shoving Grealish, I'd be keen to know. Drinklager was absolute pants. Hourihane was David McCallum. All the defenders should be ashamed.

I'll be very surprised if we stay up. It might depend on if or when we acquire a goalscorer. Going by our previous signings I'm not feeling very hopeful.

The lack of fight is a worry in fairness but I think Bournemouth and Norwich will go down and I think we'll sneak up, hopefully Brighton or Burnley will fall apart 

[VillaFaninLondon]

1 minute ago, nick76 said:

That’s not the point though! You support the team through thick and thin

We were getting slapped by the opposition and it's horrible to watch! I agree walking out is counterproductive but I understand people not wanting to go through that

[leemond2008]

36 minutes ago, smg said:

Villa fan admitting leaving at half time and then watching the second half at home ...but wishing he hadn’t done it. Why don’t you go and follow another team you don’t really want to be a Villa supporter

yup I went at half time, I wasn't enjoying myself down there, I've got to the point where I won't torture myself and force myself to sit through 90 minutes of utter dross, if the team look like they are trying and there is a modicum of effort on their side then yeah fair enough I'll stay down there and give my full support, I've gone past the point of having to prove that I am  "a proper fan" if you want to start throwing that sort of shit around, the club gets enough money off me every season and I can do what I want with my ticket.

And for the record there were more than a few people who left before I did, I suppose we just aren't real fans like you are.

[KentVillan]

I made the trip up to Villa Park today and trying to think of some positives to take from it.

Nakamba smashing Foden in a 50-50 and Trez showing a bit of energy and enthusiasm were the only two, really. Some entertaining back and forth on the old **** VAR chant with the City fans. El Ghazi taking a good pen. I guess I can squeeze a few more positives out by the end of the day.

I have consistently defended Luiz, but my god he was poor today.

City are very good and we need to be realistic, but I am feeling quite depressed by that showing today. We looked like a team who weren’t really up for it.

[rjw63]

6 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I'm guessing you don't mean Steel?

 

No I mean the Invisible Man, you must be younger than me even if ya don't look it

[nick76]

3 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

We were getting slapped by the opposition and it's horrible to watch! I agree walking out is counterproductive but I understand people not wanting to go through that

I understand people not wanting to go through it but I don’t understand people leaving!  I just don’t get it, you stick it out, you take the lows with the highs.....it makes the highs sweeter if anything!