Ratings & Reactions: Brentford v Villa

[sne]

[KangarooVillan]

18 hours ago, avfc1982am said:

I've been saying this since Gerrard took over. We've dispensed with width and wide forwards to stay compact centrally however, it is having a knock on effect with our creativity and potential to counter attack teams. It also leaves us exposed when Cash or Targett bomb on. If Gerrard persists with this then we may as well get rid of the wide players, Targett and Cash and start again and get to FBs that are strong, quick and can cross the ball. 

It stuck out like a sore thumb last night - so many occasions Target/Cash/Traore would be in a wide position and turn back and recycle the ball centrally.

The confusing bit is they were getting on the cusp of those wide positions but would always turn back - almost as though they’d been instructed not to cross.

[Phil Silvers]

Villa's amazing record of opposition teams firsts, records set, ducks broke etc.

Brentford's second yesterday was apparently their first premier League goal scored from outside the box.

 

[John]

14 hours ago, QldVilla said:

Thought Brentford started slowly today and allowed us to look very good for the first 35 minutes and we should have killed the game in that time.

They got better and started to be more physical and knocking our players off the ball and we started to give the ball away cheaply.

I look at the spine of our team today and there are no leaders, no one to take control of the game and that showed in the result and in the second half we were just kicking the ball around like a bunch of headless chooks.

Gerrard has a lot of work to do, the honeymoon is over.

Agree 100%, other than with the final honeymoon bit. He has earned some leeway with our earlier wins and this was the first result under him, that echoed the previous bad times where we lost games that we should have won, having gone ahead. In a way, this result may not end up being as bad as it now seems, in the long run. It will show SG that the players that he has inherited are not all up to it after all and that we do need some surgery during this window and the next If in fact, he was ever in any degree of doubt about that. I'm sure the boss will have been as angry with this result as we are and will have let the players know that it was not acceptable. I doubt very much that we will be losing these sort of games next season. 

[Only2McInallys]

As others have stated that was a game we should have won.We didn’t make the most of our dominance in the first half and we were sloppy in possession in the second.We seem to be weak .

So who is responsible and who do we replace?

As much as it pains me it’s Mcginn and Luiz.They are not consistent enough and if they play poorly we lose.The big problem in replacing them is that it’s going require £40-£50 million .

[sir_gary_cahill]

21 hours ago, vreitti said:

Honeymoon over. Buendia still playing like a pub player. We badly need new players. 

I thought Buendia was excellent against Brentford 

[romavillan]

1 hour ago, John said:

Agree 100%, other than with the final honeymoon bit. He has earned some leeway with our earlier wins and this was the first result under him, that echoed the previous bad times where we lost games that we should have won, having gone ahead. In a way, this result may not end up being as bad as it now seems, in the long run. It will show SG that the players that he has inherited are not all up to it after all and that we do need some surgery during this window and the next If in fact, he was ever in any degree of doubt about that. I'm sure the boss will have been as angry with this result as we are and will have let the players know that it was not acceptable. I doubt very much that we will be losing these sort of games next season. 

Yep, you'd think minimum, top class centre back and a 6 in jan if he wants to push on and improve on last season's league position. Possibly a fullback too but you'd think the rest can wait for the summer but it only took Mings being out to show we don't have depth int he middle of the defence, an injury to Cash woudl do that at fullback too and if Emi Martinez got a long term knock then we might find Steer isn't top half Prem standard either as much as I like him. 

[PussEKatt]

The thing with Steer is that he probably is the best GK you can get who is happy to be number 2,I mean think about it,if he was as good as Martinez he would be number 1 somewhere else.

[villabromsgrove]

Brentford battled we bottled. You wouldn't want to go to war with our nice bunch of lads. 

The commentators repeatedly said that we were "dominating" Brentford but just playing lots of nice triangles doesn't win a football match, goals and clean sheets do. We currently lack the right attitude and application at both ends of the pitch. Gerard has some 'ass kicking' to do.

[TRO]

22 hours ago, Peter Griffin said:

It would be a real statement from AVFC to fine Trez for that. I l really like that idea. 

It would be a good start for football to be cleaning itself up.

[TRO]

1 hour ago, villabromsgrove said:

Brentford battled we bottled. You wouldn't want to go to war with our nice bunch of lads. 

The commentators repeatedly said that we were "dominating" Brentford but just playing lots of nice triangles doesn't win a football match, goals and clean sheets do. We currently lack the right attitude and application at both ends of the pitch. Gerard has some 'ass kicking' to do.

MyThoughts entirely......We might have been dominating possession, but we wasn't dominating Brentfords Players, they just chose to stand off, in the first half, and subsequently invited us to play.....The second half became a bit more arduous for us, as they decided to get closer to us, and as pre Gerrard we wilted....yet again squandering the lead, which is slowly becoming part of our DNA.....We need that negating.

That was the first time, since Gerrard arrived, that we did not mirror the manager, maybe the second half against Chelsea too.

It won't be a walk in the park for him to eradicate this, I thought he had, only for it to rear its ugly head, once again....... IMO I fear, it will require new faces, ones with character......SG identified "Grit" and "Aggression" as the missing commodity, I think we have too many players, who haven't got it in a natural form....its not intrinsic in some of them, like he had it.

Edited January 3, 2022 by TRO

[OutByEaster?]

It's very, very unlikely that his contract would allow us to fine Trezeguet for that dive. 

I can't imagine any contract where the club could take money off a player for something that is ultimately subjective, even if in this case you'd be hard pushed to find anyone who didn't think it was a dive. 

 

[Peter Griffin]

8 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

It's very, very unlikely that his contract would allow us to fine Trezeguet for that dive. 

I can't imagine any contract where the club could take money off a player for something that is ultimately subjective, even if in this case you'd be hard pushed to find anyone who didn't think it was a dive. 

 

Didn't Durie get charged with misconduct by the FA for feigning injury at Spurs years ago? I think he was the first (and maybe only) player to be done for feigning injury. If u are done for misconduct then I am guessing u can be fined

 

Edit: Bloody hell, I just looked it up and it was 1992, that is 30 years ago. I feel ancient

Edited January 3, 2022 by Peter Griffin

[TRO]

6 hours ago, hippo said:

That should do the trick.

Have we really paid a rookie coach £150k PW to give out ear bashings ?

How about a style of play and tactics. 

And ffs drop this narrow formation bllx.

You take some colloquial comments too literally Hippo.

Last 2 games while the cats away....we have slipped back to our old ways....of passive play.

Mouriniho, was also a rookie coach at Porto, they have to start somewhere.

You can quote tactics and Style all day long.....but if there is no grit or aggression in the play , teams will play around you.....thats what happened.

You say we are too narrow, change it and we are wide open in the middle......players have to put themselves about and stop letting teams play around them, what ever system we play.

If the players are not good enough, no system or style or tactics will bail you out.....and no manager, will make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

Conte has changed the mentality at Spurs, but the talent was there before.

SG has affected the mentality, with us, until he went missing, with Covid.....but he can only take the horse to the water, he can't make them drink.

I suspect, providing, we have a bit of luck in the transfer market, some of the players we think are ok.....will be gone, in the next 2 windows.

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by TRO

[TRO]

5 hours ago, KangarooVillan said:

It stuck out like a sore thumb last night - so many occasions Target/Cash/Traore would be in a wide position and turn back and recycle the ball centrally.

The confusing bit is they were getting on the cusp of those wide positions but would always turn back - almost as though they’d been instructed not to cross.

Its not just there, but the we are weak in wide positions IMO.

We have one winger, possibly worth giving a chance, 2 full backs, I'm not convinced with, on a consistent basis...certainly need challenging.

We need a powerhouse in the middle of mid field.

[hippo]

Just now, TRO said:

You take some colloqial comments too literal Hippo.

Last 2 games while the cats away....we have slipped back to our old ways....of passive play.

Mouriniho, was also a rookie coach at Porto, they have to start somewhere.

You can quote tactics and Style all day long.....but if there is no grit or aggression in the play , teams will play around you.....thats what happened.

You say we are too narrow, change it and we are wide open in the middle......players have to put themselves about and stop letting teams play around them, what ever system we play.

If the players are not good enough, no system or style or tactics will bail you out.....and no manager, will make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

Conte has changed the mentality at Spurs, but the talent was there before.

SG has affected the mentality, with us, until he went missing, with Covid.....but he can only take the horse to the water, he can't make them drink.

I suspect, providing, we have a bit of luck in the transfer market, some of the players we think are ok.....will be gone, in the next 2 windows.

 

Agree with the last bit. A major overhaul managed by Stevie G looks on the cards - it sends a shudder down my spine to be honest.

This is the best squad of players we have had for 10 years.

We have decent and wealthy owners - and finished in a solid mid table last season.

Sadly we have a relative novice as head coach - we look set to take a few major steps backwards. 

[TRO]

16 minutes ago, hippo said:

Agree with the last bit. A major overhaul managed by Stevie G looks on the cards - it sends a shudder down my spine to be honest.

This is the best squad of players we have had for 10 years.

We have decent and wealthy owners - and finished in a solid mid table last season.

Sadly we have a relative novice as head coach - we look set to take a few major steps backwards. 

I totally disagree with that.....We could have an experienced coach, with out the right Nous, and we have had a few of them and not got very far.

It might be the best squad in 10 years, but that doesn't explain how poor we was at recruiting, but maybe that reflects it, and why it has taken so long to improve at a slow pace.

I look around this league and I am amazed at some of the players who have been bought, for modest fee's and are causing us problems in games.....That can mean a combination of things, but I can assure you, I am not confident in our recruitment even now, so far.

• How many players do we sign with a natural nose for defending?
• How many players do we sign, who has a natural instinct for going after the ball to win it back?
• When was the last unit we signed as an outfield player, Mings maybe?
• How many players do we have or look for with a natural trait of feeling angry when we lose?....like our manager?...is there any?
• How many players have we got, with a natural tendency to cause danger with aerial balls?......( 15-20% of goals are headed goals)
• How many players do we have, where we feel confident of them staying on the ball in the face of a physical challenge, or close contact?
• How many players, do we have, with natural pace like Gabby or Julian Joachim?
• How many players do we have with a natural instinct for reading the game, smelling danger, or seeing the penetrating ball?
• How many Players do we have who can run with the ball, and stay on it, with any aplomb?.....Like Dennis Mortimer did.

I will end it there.....When I see our recruitment team address some of those issues, only then, will I be able to rejoice.

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by TRO

[hippo]

2 minutes ago, TRO said:

I totally disagree with that.

It might be the best squad in 10 years, but that doesn't explain how poor we was at recruiting, but maybe reflects it.

I look around this league and I am amazed at some of the players who have been bought, for modest fee's and are causing us problems in games.....That can mean a combination of things, but I can assure you, I am not confident in our recruitment even now.

• How many players do we sign with a natural nose for defending?
• How many players do we sign, who has a natural instinct for going after the ball to win it back?
• When was the last unit we signed as an outfield player, Mings maybe?
• How many players do we have or look for with a natural trait of feeling angry when we lose?....like our manager?...is there any?
• How many players have we got, with a natural tendency to cause danger with aerial balls?......( 15-20% of goals are headed goals)
• How many players do we have, where we feel confident of them staying on the ball in the face of a physical challenge, or close contact?
• How many players, do we have, with natural pace like Gabby or Julian Joachim?
• How many players do we have with a natural instinct for reading the game, smelling danger, or seeing the penetrating ball?
• How many Players do we have who can run with the ball, and stay on it, with any aplomb?.....Like Dennis Mortimer did.

I will end it there.....When I see our recruitment team address some of those issues, only then, will I be able to rejoice.

 

Short memory mate.

This isn't a bad squad. There will be plenty of takers for the likes of Ming's / Watkins/ Luiz / Martinez - they probably won't believe there luck that we consider them not good enough.

I expect them all to join clubs higher up the food chain than villa.

But hey Stevie knows best 

[PaulC]

The squad is inblanced imo. We dont have a dynamic midfield player unless yoi call McGinn that. We dont have a ball winner in midfield. We have zero competion in the full back positions. wide players are either never fit or too slow. We have to move some out and get some in. The players I would not want to sell are Martinez, Cash, Mings, Konsa, McGinn, Buendia, Watkins, Ings, maybe Bailey. The rest Im not bothered about. 

[TRO]

1 minute ago, hippo said:

Short memory mate.

This isn't a bad squad. There will be plenty of takers for the likes of Ming's / Watkins/ Luiz / Martinez - they probably won't believe there luck that we consider them not good enough.

I expect them all to join clubs higher up the food chain than villa.

But hey Stevie knows best 

You mention, amongst the best players, we have got.....I'm not suggesting, they will come under scrutiny.

FWIW despite his brain farts, we all saw how much Influence and organisation was lost with Tyrones Suspension yesterday.

They won't be joining anyone imo.

It isn't a bad squad at all....but in my opinion, there is plenty of scope for improvement as I have pointed out in my last post to you.

SG is still evaluating what he has and the inconsistency of our players, will be no help to him.

I know you don't fancy him as manager Hippo, but don't concoct fantasy theories to confirm your point.

Ps I didn't fancy us in that game against Brentford, and said as much on here, before the game.....I didn't change my opinion, even after we went a goal up and at the end of the first half, even though we dominated possession.....and the reasons is amongst my observations on the previous post to you.