Ratings & Reactions: Bournemouth v Villa

[NeilS]

Concede early, huff and puff for the rest of the match, struggle to break down a team defending their lead. It’s the same old Villa from last season, it happened in too many games. We need to cut out conceding early goals, and making life harder for ourselves. We never seem to learn. 

[R.Bear]

The crossing today was baffling. We kept crossing from deep all game and it was just food and drink for the Bournemouth defenders. Whether this was a gameplan or the players were doing it off their own back doesnt matter. It should have stopped the moment it wasnt working. They had it so easy today, we did nothing to scare them.

[Ouchmefoot]

Well it's only one game into the season and already my hopes of top 6 and a good cup run are in tatters and now we will be battling relegation. 

Complete nonsense of course but that's how it feels  

[picicata]

2 minutes ago, R.Bear said:

The crossing today was baffling. We kept crossing from deep all game and it was just food and drink for the Bournemouth defenders. Whether this was a gameplan or the players were doing it off their own back doesnt matter. It should have stopped the moment it wasnt working. They had it so easy today, we did nothing to scare them.

It's pretty much what we do every game and why we create so few clear chances. That is our game plan.

[maqroll]

The collective body language looked weird and tired and confused.

Not a good early indicator. 

[david-avfc]

3 minutes ago, R.Bear said:

The crossing today was baffling. We kept crossing from deep all game and it was just food and drink for the Bournemouth defenders. Whether this was a gameplan or the players were doing it off their own back doesnt matter. It should have stopped the moment it wasnt working. They had it so easy today, we did nothing to scare them.

I think calling it "crossing" is generous - that implies we were trying to get the ball onto the head of a team mate in a dangerous position. We were mindlessly kicking the ball into their box because we had no other ideas. 

[PeterSw]

1 minute ago, maqroll said:

The collective body language looked weird and tired and confused.

Not a good early indicator

Maybe the squad wasn't too impressed with the captaincy situation?

[maqroll]

Just now, PeterSw said:

Maybe the squad wasn't too impressed with the captaincy situation?

It should have gone to Martinez. 

Now it's a problem. 

[nepal_villan]

In terms of tactics, the commentators were pretty much echoing  what is being said here.  Everyone seems to see the problem but the coaching staff.  I recall SG having three long breaks, including this preseason,  where he had time to organize the team and each time we have looked worse after the breaks.

[Wurzel]

What are the odds on Gerrard being the first manager sacked? His record is appalling as is his setting up of the team. If I was him I would revert to a flat back 4 with five across the middle and a sole striker and try and grind some results out, because he clearly has no clue.

[Villaphan04]

 

 

 

[david-avfc]

Publicly sacking Mings as captain and then dropping him only for us to concede two sloppy goals from set pieces... hmm. Mings has his faults but leads the defence well and knows how to make blocks, clearances, headers. Keiffer Moore is a championship level big lump but caused problems for Konsa all day.  As for the attacking play we were completely toothless, we seem to be unsure as to how we are actually supposed to create chances, is it by playing nice one-two's through the middle, or sending it down the line for the full backs? In the end we pass the ball too slowly and are easily controlled by a well organised defensive unit.  

[CLARETANDBLUEFOXY]

Anyone think we are gonna struggle to pick up points this season? 

[Wurzel]

37 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

 

 

Absolutely lost.

 

 

Ab

I'm already sick and tired of hearing him give these excuses.

[RAN4OSU]

I have no doubt! a lot of people commenting on here, never kicked a ball in their life and if they did, it was on a training pitch, at best. That being said, It is clear to anyone who kicked a ball at a decent standard and did or didn't ultimately make it to the big show, this team is being lead by a a fraud. He was an exceptional player, but not premiership management material. 

1) He pushed to sign Coutinho, when anyone with an ounce of football knowledge, should see he is past his “sell by date”. A squad player at best, who will produce moments of genius, but never a starter.  For gods sake, Ronaldinho at 42, could contribute those moments of magic, but no manager is signing him. I watched every pre season game and he should not be near starting. It was obvious after 10 minutes that starting him was a bad idea. Why did our manager not see that? 

2) Who in their right mind would make McGinn captain, let alone start him? This chap is devoid of natural football talent, is overweight,, and it seems his only current talent is restricted to sticking his fat ass into opponents. Villa should have cashed in on his false and media hyped adulation 2 years ago, yet Gerrard has made him captain?
3) Archer? Honestly, would any other premiership team start that guy? May have ability but never a starter in the premiership. Our manager subbed him at half time.  Wasn’t 20 mins enough? Wasn’t pre season enough?

4) Last year, it was obvious that our main issue was our slow and ponderous play at the back. Predictable, slow pass, left to right and right to left,. This let teams reposition easily and defend accordingly. Why on earth have we approached a pre-season and now opening day with the same approach? How can everyone on here, idiots or not, not see this shortfall, yet our manger be oblivious to it?

As passionate Villa fans, I suggest we demand that Mr Gerard have some class, put his hands up,  admit he does not have what it takes to manage at a real level, and resigns.  We as fans have had enough of watching our team play sub standard football, since  the wonderful days of Ron Atkinson.  For anyone who wants to tell me Martin O”Neill had a team that played good football, either you are Irish or truly don’t have a clue about our wonderful history.  

 

 

 

 

[lapal_fan]

Preseason 

After one game

[The Fun Factory]

Let's go... and get rid of Gerrard before it's too late

Even more clueless without Beale, the brains of the operation.

I guess we go again next week.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Awful. 
Like really bad.

After a full pre season, STILL no joined up play.
Europe? Your having a laugh.
 

 

[bose]

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

There goes my bubble.

I came into this one optimistically - we have some really good players, we've added some quality and we can legitimately be hoping to push for that 7th spot. It's a really good squad with talent and depth.

This performance was just awful - it's knocked seven shades of sh*t out of all of those ideas.

I didn't like our opening shape - neither Ramsey or McGinn is really right in a 4-1-2-3, they don't defend enough and playing Coutinho in front of them gives a midfield with a number six and three players who are by nature number tens. I wasn't too impressed by our centre back pairing - a player who has never played Premier league football and a player who is awful in the air against a side with some really big threats from set pieces didn't seem the most sensible.

Still, against what might be the worst side in the Premier league for a number of seasons, I figured "Why not?" let's really go at them and score some goals.

As things transpired that didn't happen:

We had no pattern to our play at all.

We had no pace or drive to our play at all.

So that's the wrong selection, a lack of any sort of evidence of tactical nous and a complete lack of motivation.

All of that is on the manager - all of it - every single bit.

Individually we weren't great, but it was difficult because our shape and pattern (such as they exist) make it really difficult for our best players to be in the right positions at the right times to do the things they are good at.

I'm not going to pick on players - this one is on the manager - we've got the best owners in football and right now, by the look of how that team played, we're wasting them.

Watford last season were much better than this Bournemouth side and this Villa squad is much better than the one we had then - this is a much worse result and performance than that was.

The result is shameful.

The performance is incredibly worrying, it's as bad as anything I remember, as bad as the Villa side that got relegated - and this team is a hundred times more capable than that one.

Lose to Everton and the knives come out.

I can't see us beating Palace on todays' showing and if we get to the 28th August without a point, Villa Park will be a horrible place to be.

The manager needs to give the players a bollocking, then someone at the club needs to have the manager at their desk on Monday morning so that he gets some sense of just how much better he needs to be and how little time he has to do that.

We've gone backwards since last season - two wins in twelve games and those two against Norwich and Burnley.

The clock on this manager has started ticking and he needs to sort himself out sharpish.

This was a bad, bad day.

 

Agree with every single word there. If things don’t improve drastically in the next two games, the owners need to act right away.

[Made In Aston]

1 hour ago, rjw63 said:

We have excellent owners.

We have a strong squad.

We have money, and have spent again in the closed season.

We have a great stadium and superb training facilities.

Yet we play a newly promoted team. allegedly missing their best defenders, who have spent almost nothing and still have the majority of their championship team.

And we lost.

I can only deduce that the buck must stop with the manager.

Yes I know people will say "it's only one game/the first game".

Bullshit.

Last year it was "he needs a full pre-season with HIS players".

Well he's had that and today we sounded even worse.

To have the amount of attacking quality in our squad that we do and not be able to muster any decent chances is pathetic - especially against the poor opposition. It was the same in preseason, so isn't some opening day blip.

For me, it has to be down to the system and manager. Much more of this garbage and I hope Purslow would be as quick to get rid of Gerrard as he was with Smith. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Made In Aston