Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Spurs

[TRO]

22 hours ago, duke313 said:

First half we were excellent (aside from the mistake that led to the goal). Second half was a disaster. If we had Kane and Son instead of Watkins and Ings, we’d have been 4-1 up at half time, that’s the difference.

maybe their defenders would have negated Kanes headers and not been so benevolent.

[TRO]

20 hours ago, og1874 said:

Was expecting a hiding and a poor performance

Got a hiding but actually showed some very encouraging signs imo

We didn't really get a hiding in one sense.....just woeful defending undone every bit of good work, we could muster.....and its not just Spurs, who do this to us.

I would be extremely angry with our defensive offerings, if I was manager and I would be planning changes now.

[TRO]

12 hours ago, Kingman said:

WTF is all this xg all of a sudden?

media bull****

Its an alternative to watching a game....Virtual football

**** knows what it is.

[TRO]

16 hours ago, Laughable Chimp said:

Players miss chances more often than people think. Unless they're facing an open goal or a penalty, it's rare that the xG of the shot even breaches 0.5. Son is noticeable a freak overperformer in this regard however.

 

He just loves defenders to make errors......He waits around for another Bjorn Engels.

[TRO]

9 hours ago, JPJCB said:

I agree with your general point that gerrard can be tactically naive. But I’m not sure we can blame him for saying “keep it up” to the players at half time after our best half in months. Why would you change it at that point? His problem was not reacting quick enough to conte’s tweaks rather than his half time team talk 

we **** ourselves with long balls per se....so the tactics were hardly rocket science.

[TRO]

11 hours ago, delboy54 said:

And where is TRO with his words of wisdom???

swallowed them all , when I witnessed that poor defensive display.

[TRO]

11 hours ago, foreveryoung said:

Yeah this is my only worry. Gerrard don't really react to changes. All they did was start to play long ball to Son and Kane, wouldn't have been too hard to black that out. Conte vs Gerrard I guess.

and it isn't the first time, is it......Engels horror trap.

[nick76]

11 minutes ago, TRO said:

Nick, I think what JV is saying is....while the result is pants, the performance in the first half showed signs of not all is doom and gloom.

I know most fans will turn to the poor attempts in front of goal.....but I buried my head in my hands at the defending, particularly in the air for Kanes assists.....its passive play and these things are undoing us.

I know, we could have scored goals and the misses can't be dismissed.....but equally, we could have had a 0-0 draw too, if we wasn't so benevolent to the opposition.

I understand that Kane and Son are top class.....but they don't have to be, as other teams can testify with that kind of defending.....I would make changes after that,shit show of defending, even if it was a token gesture.

I understand what JV was trying to say but in almost any situation you can find positives despite the overwhelming negatives, some of which you have rightly pointed out.  I had an old rusty Vauxhall Astra when I was 17 years old, loved that car and had a great stereo system and still look back at that in fondness despite the exhaust and engine collapsing onto road in Castle Brom as I was driving and written off because it was dangerous.  The stereo was great though!  Kind of like some parts of yesterdays performance but the whole game, score line, defending and finishing was my Astra car.  Always a bright light somewhere if you look for it.

[TRO]

7 hours ago, flashingqwerty said:

Most online sources actually have Mings as our worst defender btw.

Not saying they are right, I also think Konsa was our worst defender, but it seems non-villa fans disagree

I think Konsa was turgid and in my eyes, responsible for much of the poor defensive work.

[TRO]

7 hours ago, flashingqwerty said:

One of the moments that really irked me was Remero shoulder charging Digne in the back.  Earlier in the game McGinn was penalized for a similar but much less aggressive version of the same challenge.

Had the ref applied even decision making, Romero should have been sent off, as he was already booked and that challenge was overly aggressive and unnecessary as the ball was out.

Resulted in Digne dislocating his shoulder and having to go off

I too am disgusted with that seemingly convenient blind eye.

[sheepyvillian]

On 09/04/2022 at 20:09, avfc1982am said:

Gerrards system is the issue and has been since he arrived. FBs getting continually caught up field and leaving us exposed at the back. Midfield too narrow, can't pass for shit. Story of the season. 

I'm not having it. We were continually being walked through by the opposition even under DS. Some of these players just don't have the minerals for a battle when their backs are to the wall. 

[avfc1982am]

30 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

I'm not having it. We were continually being walked through by the opposition even under DS. Some of these players just don't have the minerals for a battle when their backs are to the wall. 

You don't have to have it, that's just my opinion. You can't say the players don't have the minerals for a battle when we bullied Spurs in the first half. Our problems go deeper than just being up for a battle. 

[Zhan_Zhuang]

10 minutes ago, avfc1982am said:

You don't have to have it, that's just my opinion. You can't say the players don't have the minerals for a battle when we bullied Spurs in the first half. Our problems go deeper than just being up for a battle. 

I honestly think most of our players are average at best and drag the good ones down with them.

The mental weakness of many players at Villa results in many mistakes every single game. They are losers and are used to it, it's harsh but true.

It's simple they just aren't good enough.

We need a new spine to replace the one, two and three players who make mistakes every single game.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Zhan_Zhuang

[VillaParkAvenue]

Looked at the heatmap for the first half, it was almost absurd. It’s rare for teams to dominate games as much as Villa did in those first 45.

The problem is, when you lose 4-0 the gut reaction will automatically be to do everything different next time. 

[skell]

11 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

I'm not having it. We were continually being walked through by the opposition even under DS. Some of these players just don't have the minerals for a battle when their backs are to the wall. 

I agree same smith problems. When you say we dont have the fight I'm not sure I agree. It's simple mistakes, and ability only. But he needs to shore things up next gaame

[sheepyvillian]

11 hours ago, avfc1982am said:

You don't have to have it, that's just my opinion. You can't say the players don't have the minerals for a battle when we bullied Spurs in the first half. Our problems go deeper than just being up for a battle. 

What about when the second goal went in ? We totally crumbled. The more players lack confidence and belief in their own ability, the more prone they are to making individual, costly errors.

 

[sheepyvillian]

12 hours ago, TRO said:

I think Konsa was turgid and in my eyes, responsible for much of the poor defensive work.

Let's be honest, the defence as a whole were simply woeful. Not one of them came out of that game with any credit . You can talk about systems till your blue in the face, but, for me, our two central defenders are not good enough to take this club into the top eight of the Premier League 

Edited April 11, 2022 by sheepyvillian

[The Fun Factory]

We have been deeply mediocre for over a calendar year, under both Smith and Gerrard. Which suggests some issues with players and/or lack of balance in the side.

[Davkaus]

The mixed reaction to the performance reminds me of the Chelsea game at the start of the season, where we missed a bunch of chances, and got thumped 3-0, but some were keen to stress it was a good performance regardless and a sign of promising things to come. We know how that panned out.

[TRO]

3 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

Let's be honest, the defence as a whole were simply woeful. Not one of them came out of that game with any credit . You can talk about systems till your blue in the face, but, for me, our two central defenders are not good enough to take this club into the top eight of the Premier League 

Couldn't agree with you more sheepy.