Player Match Ratings: Our slump continues unabated!

[John]

An outstanding start to the season is looking increasingly likely to be followed by a wretched end to it. Our early season form had us dreaming of a top six finish, but our present dismal run, that has brought us only 4 wins from our last 14 games, has us looking increasingly likely to drift into the bottom half of the table and to finish nearer the bottom six, than the top six.    

The goals have dried up, to the extent that we have only scored once in our last four games. We are now not even creating any decent chances, having gone almost an hour yesterday without having a shot on goal. Our midfield has badly missed Jack’s creativity during his absence and unfortunately when he is out injured, it is rarely for only one or two games. Even our cast iron defence is beginning to feel the strain now of knowing that conceding the first goal, invariably results in a defeat.

Where once we were an exciting team that were hard to beat, we have now become a joyless side that even clubs that are on a bad run can look to turn over, as defeats against Championship bound Sheffield United and now Spurs have demonstrated. Fulham will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of visiting B6, after the coming international break!

Spurs cannot have believed their luck yesterday. They arrived at Villa Park in crisis, having surrendered a two-goal advantage on Thursday to go out of the Europa League. Jose was under pressure, his team were low on confidence and they had seemed there for the taking, but currently we stand accused of being “on the beach” which clearly flaunts the government guidelines! We are also a tonic for ailing football clubs, rather than a team that will put them to the sword.     

We have now won one of our last seven games and this defeat was our sixth successive home defeat against Tottenham. This Spurs team looked to me, the least effective that they have played against us for some years. They did not play particularly well last night and sadly they did not need to. They all too easily were able to take all three points back to North London, when I am sure before the game started, they would have gladly settled for one.  

Both teams began the game slowly, in the case of the visitors perhaps understandably, in our own case, less so. We began to have the lion’s share of the possession after the opening uneventful minutes, but we were unable to create anything with it, lacked any spark and posed no threat up front, before we gifted them the first of their two goals. The visitors had gained some much-needed confidence by the second half, due to a large extent our own ineptitude and had begun to look increasingly comfortable. Although the game was by then over as a contest, during the last ten minutes, we did belatedly begin to venture forward a little and we did look a touch more interested. What a pity we did not try this during the first eighty minutes!       

My player ratings from a game that Jack could only helplessly watch from the stand, in what appeared to be a designer onesie, during his continuing absence through injury are:

Emiliano Martinez – 4 – His error handed the visitors their opening goal. Emi came out of his area to claim a ball played forward but instead of putting his laces through it and clearing it well up the field, he attempted to find Cash, who was a few yards in front of him. Lucas Moura picked up the loose pass, played a one-two with Kane, running to the left edge of the 6-yard box, before hitting the ball between Mings and Cash, and past Emi at the post, towards two unmarked Spurs players lurking in front of goal. Of these, it was Vinicius who scored with a 29th minute tap-in. Emi was sent the wrong way by Kane when he struck their penalty into the left-hand corner of the net after 68 minutes. Hojbjerg hit a 78th minute shot from just inside of the box, which he parried away diving to his right.          

Matty Cash – 4 – Made a rash 67th minute attempt to block a potential Kane cross by sliding in closely between him and the goal, catching his foot after the ball had gone out and giving the England captain an opportunity to fall to ground clutching his lower leg, to win the penalty that clinched their win. Mike Dean could not wait to give it either, I wonder if Harry gave him his match shirt afterwards?

Ezri Konsa – 6 – MOTM – Made an important early intervention by clearing a Sergio Reguilon low cross that had been intended for the waiting Vinicius. Had another solid game, that left me wondering how Eric Dier (dropped yesterday) got into the England squad ahead of him.

Tyrone Mings – 6 – Had a solid game.

Matt Targett – 6 – Made a nice late run into the box to reach a sweet 21st minute ball that Traore had hit from the right edge of the area, on the edge of the 6-yard box. Having done so, he might have done better to have attempted to beat Lloris himself, rather than to try to play the ball across to Watkins, who had three defenders in proximity, one of whom Tanganga, cleared it to safety.

Mahmoud Trezuguet – 4 – Industrious, but he failed to produce any real product, and something more than hard work is required at this level. Sanson pulled the ball back from just inside the left edge of the box on 58 minutes, finding him just inside the centre of the area, but his shot lacked pace and was easily blocked by a defender who was positioned in front of Lloris. Hit a 73rd minute shot wide of the left post from the edge of the box.  

Douglas Luiz – 4 – His recent drop in form has surprised me.

John McGinn – 4 – Hit a 59th minute shot from the edge of the box that was comfortably gathered by Lloris down to his left. 

Morgan Sanson - 5 – Hit some inaccurate crosses and has yet to make quite the impact that we had hoped that he might, although joining us at a time when our form is on the slide, has not assisted him in settling into the PL. Needs to start our remaining games and to stay on for more than an hour.    

Bertrand Traore – 4 – I had been hoping that he would step up in games like this one, during Jack’s absence. He does have undoubted ability, but he needs to produce it throughout a game, rather than once or twice.                                     

Ollie Watkins – 5 – Starved of service, but this still did seem some way off the level of performance that won him international recognition last week.    

Substitutes:

Anwar El Ghazi – 5 - Replaced Traore on the half hour and looked relatively bright initially, before falling more into line with the inept level of performance of those around him. Hit a 61st minute shot from just outside the left edge of the box, which brushed the side netting, although had it been on target Lloris did have it covered.    

Ross Barclay – 4 - Replaced Sanson on 66 minutes and had a couple of reasonably decent moments on this latest brief outing. Not so clearly our worst performer in this game, as there was an awful lot of competition for that unwanted accolade last night!

Keinan Davis – Came on for Trez after 79 minutes. Looked interested and made a relatively positive impression, which were things that very few of his teammates could be accused of last night. Pulled the ball back to Barclay from the left of the box, but his 84th minute shot was blocked by a defender. Not on long enough to gather a rating, but he did make a bit of case to be considered in front of one or two of those that did start, last night.

Up the Villa!

John Lewis

[PaulC]

Spot on John