Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Everton

[Peter Griffin]

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

We do but this window was solely the Grealish money. 

I am not sure what you are suggesting, is it that NSWE haven't spent money? Someone still has to approve spending 95m on players and increasing our wage bill. 

[Phil Silvers]

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

We do but this window was solely the Grealish money. 

 

Just now, Peter Griffin said:

Does that mean we are stronger having sold Jack and bought 3 quality players which increases quality across the first XI and increases quality on the bench?

I think we were looking to spend more but level heads prevailed and held funds back for windows in the future. If our No1 MF target could have happened it would have, in the past e pick up our 3rd choice target and end up moving sideways. What we have done is hopefully moved forward enough to make progress and if we do we only need need 1 or 2 more come next summer.

[TomC]

9 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We do but this window was solely the Grealish money. 

Deano said that they planned to buy Buendia before they knew that Grealish was going. Only Ings and Bailey came from the Grealish money.

NWSE have £40m burning a hole in their pocket. Can't wait to see what they do with it next year.

[WakefieldVillan]

1 hour ago, rbcuk said:

5 at the back at home to everton who had rondon as the main striker was completely the wrong set up, game changed soon as Bailey came on and got rid of a back 5

WE DIDN'T CHANGE FORMATION

Well done Dean, well done team! Shaded first half then ran out worthy winners with MOTM Bailey's cameo.

Thought Mings was very good and also Nakamba proving that he's more than capable regardless of what many on here think.

Some of the comments in the match thread are laughable, it's like people have absolutely no faith in our manager. He knows what he's doing. Bailey will start games soon. As will Buendia. He has real options now. And I have every faith in him

 

[Phil Silvers]

2 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

It was selling Grealish that enabled us to have this side. There is not a chance we could have bought 95m worth of players on the wages they are on and complied with FFP. Yes it would be nice to have Grealish in the team. The current squad and the current squad with Grealish are mutually exclusive

I think our wage structure is a key part in this and having one player earning more then double, maybe even treble what the others are on is bad news. 

[villalad21]

1 minute ago, TomC said:

Deano said that they planned to buy Buendia before they knew that Grealish was going. Only Ings and Bailey came from the Grealish money.

NWSE have £40m burning a hole in their pocket. Can't wait to see what they do with it next year.

If we keep spending at this rate it feels inevitable that we'll break into thr top 6 sooner or later regardless who the manager is. 

Money talks. It really does. 

[Brumstopdogs]

 

[Designer1]

14 minutes ago, Xela said:

 

It's beyond parody now isn’t it? Fair play to it, it makes me laugh every time it posts. 

[smg]

1 hour ago, thunderball said:

Maybe @villalad21 was right, maybe 4-3-3 was the right decision? I personally didn’t think the 3-5-2 worked today like it did against Chelsea: Ramsey, Watkins and McGinn were red hot then, not tonight, and again, Ings was peripheral - we didn’t buy him to assist goals from our own half? 

I bigged up Smith big time last week, but today I reckon he made a few wrong calls, and the benched players made the difference.

this is not an anti Smith post. I just think Benitez got it right for the most part and Smith wasn’t brave enough, I hope he realises what talent we have and has the balls to play to our strengths. I note Neil on For the love of Paul McGrath suggested the league has turned to favour those who attack, maybe he’s right and maybe we now have the talent to exploit that? Today suggested that was the case.

Not looking for an argument but if he got it right last week why not start with the same team ? Then when he saw it wasn’t working he made changes that won the game comfortably. Who knows but would Bailey have been so effective from the start? Looking at an Everton forum they clearly don’t think Rafa got it right at all. They were weakened by injuries we held them easily for an hour then hit them with a more potent force when they were tiring. I have no doubt Bailey will start very soon, but being able to bring on players like him and Traore in the later stages is a very potent attacking force.

[Adam2003]

1 hour ago, villalad21 said:

Thought he got it terribly wrong with his team selection. 

Only playing 2 attacking players against a low block team who do not play it out from the back.  Very odd decision. 

When we are playing at home against even sides or weaker sides we should go 4-3-3. Set up in a more attacking shape. 

Bailey sub changed the game but I hope Smith got a wake up call despite the win. 

Your man got tactically outsmarted by Steve Bruce this weekend

[DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth]

Shout out to Nakamba. Though he was so assured when he came on tonight. Even made a few runs and incisive passes.

[villalad21]

Just now, Adam2003 said:

Your man got tactically outsmarted by Steve Bruce this weekend

I actually lost a lot of respect for him after spending 30 M on Dan James. 

Managers like players can regress... 

[Adam2003]

Just now, villalad21 said:

I actually lost a lot of respect for him after spending 30 M on Dan James. 

Managers like players can regress... 

I think they can also go up and down, different managers suit different teams etc. But also very rare they sustain a high performance for very long - there is a limited lifespan for most managers as with most players.

[TheStagMan]

53 minutes ago, TomC said:

LOL sounds like a certain now-departed player...

Yes, I miss Conor as well.

[It's Your Round]

3 hours ago, It's Your Round said:

Shouldn’t Bailey at least be credited with an assist for the OG?

He was. 
 

Nice 9pts in FPL, thanks Leon.
 

 

[Guest av1]

4 minutes ago, Made In Aston said:

I'm actually glad he is gone. Not because he wasn't a good player, but more to do with how restricted it made us. He would start every game and be the focal point of attacks, while dictating a one gear tempo and making us predictable.

There is a greater fluidity this season, with Buendia and Bailey starting on the bench to accommodate a different formation today. Against Chelsea, going with an unexpected formation put us on the front foot in the first half. Last season we stuck with one formation to accommodate Grealish and suffered in some games because of it. 

Spot on. Talking to a few fans before the game I know some were a little disappointed with the formation, but the fact is we started with a strong looking side and had about £100m of talent on the bench. 
 

Last season our K Davis was our only attacking option from the bench, this year whatever formation we play there will be at least 2 top class options. We are completely different, and IMO much better. 
 

Look Jack is world class and I was gutted when he left, but the more I see, the more I think it was a deal great for both parties. 
 

Not to mention the FFP benefits of having a 0 net spend. 

[Guest av1]

6 minutes ago, Only2McInallys said:

There is a saying in business that you should try and employ people better than you.
Not that these appointments are actually better than him but as you state he is making appointments that are making us stronger without worrying how it might affect his position.

Slightly OT but the best gig I’ve ever been too was Alice Copper who has always surrounded with brilliance. 
 

Nita Strauss (insert Kenneth Williams gif) 

[HKP90]

42 minutes ago, av1 said:

Not long back from the game, was just watching some highlights of Baileys goal and i thought the commentary was brilliant. 

‘And Villa Park, this famous football cathedral, finally has a team worthy of this stage again’

Thank you gaffer. 

How was the atmosphere? Was not there today, but watching MOTD, it seemed amazing. Almost deafening. 

[Follyfoot]

Just got back after having a couple of pints with my old fella, he made a couple of interesting observations regarding tonight’s game. He said, and I do agree with him thinking back that the performance tonight was very much like thd kind of thing that happened with the 1976/77 side. We would be fairly even with a lot of teams but then find a 15/20 minute spell  where we go into turbo mode and get three or four and totally overrun them. If this team goes on to be half as exciting as that one we are in for an absolute treat

[Guest av1]

7 minutes ago, HKP90 said:

How was the atmosphere? Was not there today, but watching MOTD, it seemed amazing. Almost deafening. 

It was great overall tbh. Kind off standard VP, good in the early stages, a bit nervy and quite if we aren’t 2-0 up after 3mins, but then stunning once we got on top. 
 

It really was great towards the end though.