Ratings & Reactions: Spurs v Villa

[TRO]

3 hours ago, PaulC said:

Dissapointing performance. After getting back into the game, conceding the goal the way we did was awful. We were playing against a team low on confidence and it I felt theres was no fluidity in our play at all. 

Their defensive game of pressing and closing down, not to mention the blocking, denied us the opportunity to be fluid, on too many occasions, they was first to the ball and their touch and running was superior.

[vreitti]

4 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Based on the midfield today being non-existent, that's what LOL!

The same midfield that bossed Everton and Manure. 

[Keyblade]

3 hours ago, lexicon said:

Very reminiscent of a game we lost to spurs years ago, where the difference between the two teams was Rafael Van der Vaart - this time it was Son. 

It's important to note that spurs played well today. They knew how we were going to line up and obviously had a plan ready and they executed it effectively. 

It showed the limitations of that system and if I'm honest, I'd much rather we went back to having wingers and one striker. We need that creativity and guile in the attacking third to break teams down. 

Almost every game against Spurs goes exactly the same way. It's either 2-0 or 2-1.

[TRO]

3 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

They were really up for this. We wernt great but sometimes you have to give the opposition credit. They won the battle. I’ll also say it again. Son is something else. 

in a nutshell.....but they have a better touch overall, which is understandable, but when they are quicker to the ball too....thats when the problems start.

[TRO]

3 hours ago, MotoMkali said:

We don't have a style and we don't consistently win because of it. When I've been old enough to watch we have never played in a consistent way. And we have never played as a team. That's the issue. I don't know what it is, but we have never played a style of football even when managers have successfully instilled it at other clubs as well. 

I don't know how old you are but I have seen several managers get us to play like a team.....I thought we played like a team, last week and to an extent today.

but when individuals lose their duels or one on ones, it has consequences.....too many players particularly in midfield, losing their battles and subsequently we lose territiory....we then proceed to give the ball away cheaply, when we have it....Thats a recipe for today's outcome.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

20 minutes ago, vreitti said:

The same midfield that bossed Everton and Manure. 

Bossed Manure, yeah right.

We have a squad with depth, guaranteed it will be changed next match!

[TRO]

3 hours ago, hippo said:

Apart from the first 5 minutes and the equaliser we never looked like winning this game.  Martinez kept the score down made it look like a narrow spurs win - Really they strolled it.

Hause is a good player to step in as cover but he shouldn't be a regular start of choice.

Really not sure why we brought Ings - it gives a selection problem where we have one of our best players - Shoehorning those pair in - keeps players like BT and AEG (who score a fair quote of goals) out of the side.

Team selection backfired today. But this is a midtable villa team/squad

you only have to look at the top teams....we haven't got the quickness of feet or thought, to be anything else,at present.

It will take us some time, to progress to such quality.

[hippo]

2 hours ago, flashingqwerty said:

I'm not too worried by today's result.

What bothers me more is how much Dean talks about all the options he has and how it allows us to play so many different ways and to change things up.

Well, it needed changing today, and he waited until 80 minutes to change.  Too little too late.

For me, Nakamba had to play today to give us extra steel in the middle.  Today was an excellent example why so many wanted us to sign another centre mid - too often we get dominated in that area because Luiz, McGinn and Ramsey are all too similar and none offer any real steel.

Spurs have been on a dire run of form, and good old Aston Villa gave them the win they needed to pull out of it.

Biggest plus, Ollie scored.

I think the options are our problem. Last season BT or AEG would have played.

In place of those we have Ings - a fox in the box - whose seems to play anywhere but the box.

[OutByEaster?]

35 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Based on the midfield today being non-existent, that's what LOL!

He's not a midfielder.

[TRO]

4 hours ago, KentVillan said:

Too reliant on long ball / set piece football against a Spurs defence that handled it really well. With Skipp on a yellow, I think we should have been trying to play through the middle - bring Buendia on earlier, and try and play it out from the back.

Got no problem at all with the Matty Cash long throws, as they looked really dangerous, and happy for him to swap wings to take them... but that can't be our main attacking threat.

Referee was okay tbh - excellent advantage for our goal, and got the big decisions right, but one or two niggly tackles seemed to go the wrong way.

Hause unfortunately showed why he is a squad player. Son turned him too easily for their second.

My MOTM was Cash, who was a constant threat down the right. Martinez also had a good game. Rest of the team were a mixed bag... all had some good spells, but also made mistakes.

I gave Smith "average". We were away at Spurs and went toe-to-toe for most of the game, and it could have gone either way. Not a horrific performance, but it felt like we let a very dangerous counter-attacking side play on the counter the whole game.

Son done Hause up like a kipper, granted.....but there was one or two players in midfield out manoeuvred off the ball too and caused us grief....we have to be fair here.

[TomC]

6 minutes ago, hippo said:

In place of those we have Ings - a fox in the box - whose seems to play anywhere but the box.

You have a good point here. Deano seems to want both Ings and Watkins to drift outside often, maybe too much.

 

[Zhan_Zhuang]

4 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

He's not a midfielder.

Ok in between attack and midfield...his tenacity reminds me of a midfielder...we had none of that today.

I'm really not sure he's our best right-winger either...

We'll see I guess.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Zhan_Zhuang

[TRO]

I didn't think we was that bad, but Spurs found the form that has them the reputation they have.....Son was a stand out performer on the day.

I would sum it up by saying " They stopped us, better than we stopped them"

I didn't think we was bad at everything today, just not so good at some things, paradoxically, some of those things was in evidence at OT.....its just that we won,there. so they wasn't so obvious or popular for discussion.

 

[The Fun Factory]

1 hour ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

The problem is there are too many on this forum who are in denial about Smith and think he can do no wrong but when it's pointed out that tactically he had a poor game you get slated for having a negative point of view.

 

I said after that Manure game, despite the result, this formation is not working to the strengths of the squad. Buendia is our creative player yet doesn't get selected, with Ramsey being preferred which is a nonsense selection because other than his energy Ramsey doesn't offer very much and often wastes the ball in good positions. 

 

Ings-Watkins simply doesn't work, they've only scored 2 goals between them in open play. Ings looked much better when Watkins was injured, now he's fit he's trying to shoehorn them in and he needs to stop it now before he comes under fire from the fans. Choose one or the other, I'd personally go Watkins because he offers more to the team but Ings is a great option off the bench. 

 

Smith's deliberating also irritates me. The players were warming up at half time, yet he takes until 69 minutes to bring Buendia on when it was clear we needed a change at least 10 minutes earlier. He then makes 2 changes after 80 minutes, what a waste. Not sure what Nakamba has done to the manager but I think he could have been ideal for today's game, El Ghazi seemingly out of favour too even as a squad player. 

 

We signed three players in the summer to replace a world-class player, one is permanently injured (Bailey), one never gets picked (Buendia), and one just isn't working in our system. This needs to change ASAP.

You do know we are only 7 games in right?  Chill

[TRO]

4 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

Was like a cup tie at the end there .

watching Son today was probably what it was like for the opposition fans watching Grealish play for us the past few seasons 

There are games when 3 at the back works and there are games when it doesn’t , today was one of those where it didn’t come off , Spurs were fragile today and we let them grow into the game too much in the first half .

I like Ramsey he looks a tidy player , but he isn’t up for it physically and can only play in that 3 man formation , so Smith had some decisions to make about how we are going to line up , but Cash looked horrible exposed today and I think he needs Buendia in front of him giving him some support.

Hause great in the air and marshalled Kane quite well but when Son ran at him for their winner he turned like an American car and was horribly exposed 

Time to try 4-4-2 

 

There are reasons why we did, that and in the main, it was losing the duels, that allowed them to steal the initiative, it put us on the back foot.

[OutByEaster?]

4 minutes ago, TRO said:

There are reasons why we did, that and in the main, it was losing the duels, that allowed them to steal the initiative, it put us on the back foot.

I thought we did a good job of winning the duels, won more than we lost.

What we did badly was win the ball, then give it straight back to them - the passing today was poor.

 

[TRO]

4 hours ago, alreadyexists said:

I think we could’ve taken them… and that’s the frustrating bit 

I think they was winning the battles, so it would mean having a moment against the run of play.....we can't keep relying on them.

In most games you have to win the initiative, to convert that in to goals.....you can't keep winning games on the counter......To win the initiative, you have to win more indidvidual encounters than them, we didn't.

They deserved, their win and it could have been more emphatic.

We had some below par, individual performances....I don't blame Dean or the system, I think some of the players could have done better.

[TRO]

1 minute ago, OutByEaster? said:

I thought we did a good job of winning the duels, won more than we lost.

What we did badly was win the ball, then give it straight back to them - the passing today was poor.

 

down to interpretaion, thats what I meant....I agree.

I thought they were quicker to the ball too.

[TRO]

58 minutes ago, vreitti said:

The same midfield that bossed Everton and Manure. 

Thats why we are mid table, consistency.

[KentVillan]

30 minutes ago, TRO said:

Son done Hause up like a kipper, granted.....but there was one or two players in midfield out manoeuvred off the ball too and caused us grief....we have to be fair here.

Yeah agreed, didn’t mean to pin all the blame on him. Most of the team were inconsistent. Just never got a rhythm going