Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Manchester City

[Harry]

3 hours ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

Nyland  0: Worst keeper I've ever seen play for us and I've seen some real shite, from Adam Rachel to Gabor Kiraly to Peter Enckleman. With Nyland in goal you may as well shoot on sight. Pathetic for the first and third goals, the sixth goal through him, terrible, terrible keeper.

Elmo 1: Pathetic play for the second goal, defends pathetically throughout, no excuses for dropping Guilbert, awful from Smith.

Konsa 2: A total mess today.

Mings 2: Spineless and pathetic, showed no leadership.

Hause 1: All over the place and a complete liability, pathetic for the sixth goal.

Taylor 0: Worst left back I've ever seen play for the club, makes Richardson look like Roberto Carlos. Putrid display.

Luiz 1: Weak as piss and brainless. Shocking display.

Hourihane 0: A nothing player who spinelessly disappears and shirks the basic duties of a central midfield player. Needs to be sold.

Drinkwater 0: The worst debut I've ever seen from a Villa player, don't know where to start describing how bad his performance was.

Grealish 5: Tried hard, showed some quality on the ball, but couldn't do anything on account of being surrounded by utter **** shitheads.

El Ghazi 3: Scored a pen, did **** all else, lacks desire.

Trezeguet 6: very bright when he came on, wins a pen, impressive and I'm certainly not one of his admirers. Our MOTM IMO.

So not much of an over reaction.

[TRO]

3 hours ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

Terrible. But we all knew that. I hope the players and most importantly Smith & staff learn from this. As they should from playing against such quality.

The tragedy is.....some of the stuff they produce is world class, no doubt about it.......but some of the other stuff, doesn't have to be world class, its just basics being executed professionally......Their selfless running and making it difficult for us, is something we could have done better with the right application.

Edited January 12, 2020 by TRO

[terrytini]

5 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

Well I think it sends a wrong message to the team to sing how great you think they are. I was singing a slightly different song.

I’d say it’s about the Club rather than the team.

[TRO]

2 hours ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

Said this before ko and got slagged off for it. The writing was on the wall really. 

 

Still think we'd have lost, but Targett, Engels, Guilbert, Trez and Nakamba should have played today. Selecting Drinkwater really shows how out of touch Smith is - the guy has not played a full game of football in 2 years. When you play a side of their quality you have to play your strongest team - it was obvious that players like Taylor and Hause were going to be shown up today as quite frankly they probably aren't even Championship quality. 

 

It pains me to see how Pearson has turned Watford around while we sink ever lower with Smith at the helm. I know we have had injuries etc and that can't be helped, but his tactical awareness is so bad it's painful. These players play like a deer in headlights most of the time. 

Pearson does not surprise me, very deliberate man like Sir Ron.

[terrytini]

31 minutes ago, Elton said:

It clearly wasn’t tactical for us to stand off them as Smith complained about this post match. But Smith must know Hourihane rarely tackles and he dropped the player most likely to in Nakamba. Gilbert also likes a tackle but he’s dropped for Elmo. 

This was the biggest disappointment today, yes we made individual errors but there was no intensity to win the ball back, tackle, block, the basics. 

I’ve not seen the interview, but my concern is that he’s said that before. 
If the players are not doing what he’s telling them to do, he’s failing.

I want him here, because I think he’s a decent coach and I like how he wants to play the game, but if he can’t get the players to do as they are told, he needs to leave, it’s as simple as that.

I don’t think team selection is the issue ( although I agree with your points about those players ) because if he wanted us in their faces and aggressively competing for the ball, he wanted them all to do it, and they didn’t.

[Kiwivillan]

Just now, TRO said:

Pearson does not surprise me, very deliberate man like Sir Ron.

 Always rated him and was up there behind Rodgers of people I wanted to replace Bruce

[Harry]

Well that was a couple of hours of my life I won’t get back. A few thoughts in no particular order:

1) Poor team section at the outset. Freddie should have started  as should have Marvelous.Tactics were all wrong.

2) Douglas Luiz (spelling?) is shit. For every good thing he does he makes five mistakes.

3) Drinkwater responsible for three of their goals. Ok he did some good stuff but should not have started today.

4) Lets not forget we were playing £500m of Man City players.

5) We conceded the first two goals with pub side defending yet again.

6) Our midfield was non existent today. No defensive cover at all which put pressure on our defence. Man City just ran through us unopposed.

7) Not impressed by all the Smith haters out tonight. He called in all wrong today but who is a viable and gettable alternative? The real problem is the quality of the squad, Given we lost 13 players at the end of last season I think over the summer you cannot create a premiership squad for £130m. What  we have is a very good Championship grade side.

’8) The most worrying bit for me was the way heads went down after the second goal. We were there for the taking and it was a matter of how many they scored. My money was on 8 so it was a bit better . We need too be much tougher and fight. Not sure if that is down to Smith  and coaching or having players not up for the fight.

9) A lot of people were going on social media about how good the support was from the Villa fans despite the result. Well we are at the back of the Holte and loads of fans left at half time. We were quiet for big chunks of the game and the singing was pretty sad: John Carew, Benteke, European Champions, shit support (the away section was sold out!!), etc. Gallows humour at best and nearly a fight between two Villa fans next to us.

10) Sadly we will be relegated. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by Harry

[terrytini]

1 hour 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. 

There’s always plenty to watch in your own team, especially in a drubbing. Character, commitment, doggedness, leadership, effort, ball skills, etc....they all still matter and you can see quite a lot about a player.

Plus, we scored !!!

[terrytini]

1 minute ago, Harry said:

Well that was a couple of hours of my life I wont get back. A few thoughts in no particular order:

1)

Can’t argue with that

[terrytini]

1 hour ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

We haven't had any proper highs for decades though 

I’d say there’s been loads. But I guess it depends what you mean.

[TRO]

2 hours ago, nick76 said:

My thoughts exactly! Fans singing until the end and deserved the goal for our support as funny as that sounds being 6-0 down.

Team rubbish, we couldn’t compete with quality obviously but should be able to compete on other qualities but we didn’t.

 

And that is the crucial bit.....the stuff we could possibly do something about....we failed miserably and its not the first time.

[terrytini]

28 minutes ago, DJ_Villain said:

Completely outclassed by a team that has been expensively assembled over the past decade, won many league titles and is riddled with world class players... Jesus, their bench is more expensive than our first team...

Not happy with the performances whatsoever, but if anyone honestly thought we were going to get anything out of this game, I want what they are smoking...

On to the next three games which it is imperative we win at least two... Otherwise, we are in the brown stuff and something has got to change...

I had, and have, no interest in the result ( although it’s put a big dent in our GD) but when we play sides in the top half I expect a performance. That’s reasonable. We didn’t get anything resembling one.

[sne]

In one word: spineless.

[TRO]

When, I realised that I wasn't going to enjoy the game, mainly due to the anticipated scoreline after about 25 minutes.....I started watching them and their anticipation of movement.

I thought, I will get something out of the game if it kills me.

We have way too many players, not on their wave length, in so many aspects of the game.

[TRO]

6 minutes ago, sne said:

In one word: spineless.

That's the tragedy for me.

[sne]

Just now, TRO said:

That's the tragedy for me.

We sorely missed Heaton and McGinn.

Drinkwater gifted them 1 and was a spectator for another 3 in the first half.

Nyland had wrists like wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man.

To get anything from a game against City you need to be incredibly lucky even if you do everything right. This current version of Villa was never going to get anything today.

But going forward we need to address the blatant weaknesses in the squad, asap.

[PaulC]

Hands were tied I know but you can’t set up ultra defensive against the top sides and not press them at all else you are just going to loose anyway. Might have got away with it against a Leicester side who played with three cbs, but that was as bad as anything we did under Sherwood or Garde. 

[terrytini]

6 minutes ago, TRO said:

When, I realised that I wasn't going to enjoy the game, mainly due to the anticipated scoreline after about 25 minutes.....I started watching them and their anticipation of movement.

I thought, I will get something out of the game if it kills me.

We have way too many players, not on their wave length, in so many aspects of the game.

I know it’s easier to work hard when you are 6-0 up, and I know dominating possession means they are relatively fresh, but that moment when 6 of them converged on Trézéguet after his run down the wing in the 88 th minute was sensational.

 

[terrytini]

Just now, PaulC said:

Hands were tied I know but you can’t set up ultra defensive against the top sides and not press them at all else you are just going to loose anyway. Might have got away with it against a Leicester side who played with three cbs, but that was as bad as anything we did under Sherwood or Garde. 

You can if instead of pressing you sit the whole side very deep and defend like lions. I prefer your pressing idea, but there is another way.

Sadly we did neither.

[ExhallVillan]

• gutless display  outclassed outplayed out tackled----some of them players need to have a long look at themselves--and consider maybe a change of career!
• thought AEL Jack and Trezeguet were the only ones who earned their mega bucks,--
• stayed til the end---howcome only 1 minute added time with 6 2nd half substitutons? 
• was surprised to see Guilbert dropped,
• too many looking like rabbits trapped in the headlights---and seemingly just  being most grateful to be on the same pitch as Citeh---cant we tackle? what goes on at B.H.?
• a word for the support from The Holte End --after a quiet spell and after  i think the 5th went in---the singing was loud and proud-----Villa Till I Die, and Holte Enders in The Sky being particularily loud---a credit to the club guys n gals.and the roar that greeted AEL converting the penalty--would have done a match winning goal proud..
• we must pick up now in the next 2 games---otherwise i really fear the worst!!
• got on the m6 and  consequently home in record time---the only good thing about a 4.30 sunday kick off,