Ratings & Reactions: LC3: Man Utd v Villa

[andym]

1 minute ago, CVByrne said:

I'd just change the spine of the team to change the culture. We haven't got tough winners anywhere. Failure is fine and acceptable. 

Let's just get rid of them all over nest two years and spend on new players. New culture something Emery can own himself 

You keep saying things like this, but its a core who won promotion, dug it out to stay up in their first season, got to a cup final and didn't roll over against the best side in the country who dominate that competition, and then the season after that were one of the best sides in the league at holding onto to points.

'Mentally weak' and 'cowards' etc are just aimless buzzwords that get thrown round when teams lose. You don't get to this level of football if you have those traits. Are Liverpool players (premier league and champions league winners) bottlers because they lost to Forest and Leeds back to back, putting them way behind in this seasons title race? No, they just aren't as good ability wise as they used to be.

Now, if our lot are not good enough in terms of ability for where we want to go and can be upgraded, then fair enough.

But i'll give them a chance to show what they've got under the first manager they'll have had who is actually good enough at this level.

[QldVilla]

As much as we all want a cup run, this isn’t the season for it, that’s Gerrard’s doing. Emery needed to learn about the players he has, but also be mindful of wanting the 3 points on the weekend against Brighton.

I thought we were ok besides the individual errors. It was the errors that cost us, not great play from Manure.

Today showed that the weekend was no fluke, it was our fatigue levels in the last 25 minutes and those errors that cost us the game.

[Lochheads twin]

The good news is the manager will have learned a lot tonight. It's just a shame its at the expense of a place in the next round. It was there for the taking.

Before i start. Some people on here need to give their heads a wobble.  We have only changed the manager and have not replaced the entire squad as some seem to want or expect. A bit of patience required.

Reshuffling the majority of defence was always a risk. Thats said, Ashley Young was my MoM. Chambers seemed slow and unsurprisingly short of match sharpness.

Things it has shown.

• Without scapegoating Olsen, a better back-up keeper must be high on the list of priorities.
• Ollie displayed the full package tonight.
  • Took the goal extremely well by lifting it over the keeper. Greedily wasted another opportunity and completely screwed up a great opening made by Bailey. 
  • Top drawer striker please Santa. But thats been on our list for many years.
• We are short of cover for both full backs, sadly Ash can't go on forever.
• We need to be stronger away from Villa Park. Both mentally & physically.
• we need to cut out the mistakes

Let see what we get at Brighton. I assume Emery will revert back to a similar team to last Sunday.

A work in progress. Onwards AND upwards. UTV.

[TomC]

 

A few comments before replying to others:

Not only did we play a different side tonight, but so did United...having Bruno Fernandes was huge for them.

JJ was my player of the match. I've thought of him as a runner until now, but his passing is getting better (another assist) and so is his defending. He's turning into a more complete midfielder.

Olsen is an OK shot-stopper, but his ball handling is simply not good enough for this level. You can't build from the back in the modern game with a keeper like that.

Augustinsson also is not good enough for this level.

McGinn is still out of sorts and shouldn't be starting anytime soon.

26 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

it doesn't look like Emery fancies Archer

It's way too early to say this. If we were still leading 2-1 at the end maybe we would have seen him (and Sanson). Unai decided to go for the win at the end, which meant bringing on first team players for the second team players who were already out there.

 

26 minutes ago, KAZZAM said:

Taking Konsa off vs Rashfords pace was catastrophic. 

Excellent observation. With the high line that Unai likes to play, Konsa's pace is crucial.

 

24 minutes ago, MackHaakon said:

The high line is suicide without strong press on the ball. Needs practice but in time can work.

The team was clearly instructed to play out from the back. 

Good observation about the press.

Playing out from the back doesn't work when players like Olsen and Augustinsson don't have the skill for it.

 

23 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

Chambers tbh cant play the high line emery likes, he's too slow and doesnt track players well, he just isnt suited to the emery style tbh.

Agreed. I've always rated him, but he didn't look his best in the system. Maybe he's just rusty, but it wasn't encouraging.

 

18 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Let’s not forget Watkins stumbled his way out of a golden chance at 2-2 after fantastic work from Bailey.

True, but give him credit for the first goal. For once, in a one-on-one situation, he chipped it instead of trying to drive it, and it worked. I've wanted to see him develop a chip for a long time. Glad to see it's in his repertoire.

 

12 minutes ago, MrBlack said:

Disappointed Emery seems to have prioritised the league over the cup there. With United being as shit as they were, a lot of PL teams going out,  there was a real chance for us.

7 minutes ago, KMitch said:

Rotated the squad out because we have 3 matches in 8 days

I was disappointed too...with hardware and a Europa League entry at stake, a relatively clear field, and no hope of qualifying for Europe through the PL, we should have gone for it. If we can get into the Europa League, we know that Unai is capable of winning it.

I'm a fan of squad rotation, and in the middle of an ordinary season, I could see rotating with 3 matches in 8 days. But except for Dendoncker (couldn't play anyway), Bednarek (couldn't play anyway), Emi, and Cash, everyone has a month-long vacation coming up. Push yourselves for one more week and then rest up. And if you insist on rotating, you can argue that the cups should have been priority now. I certainly hope that he takes the FA Cup more seriously.

At least Unai will come away knowing at least 4 players who are not fit for his system (Augustinsson, Olsen, probably McGinn, probably Chambers).

 

[TomC]

22 minutes ago, imavillan said:

Some really poor performances in there tonight. Olsen, Chambers, Mings, Ings, Buendia to name a few

Disagree about Buendia. He made an important pass in the buildup and a run to distract a defender for our second goal.

[smg]

Players, coaching staff, managers constantly criticised on here. Fans beyond reproach, they are the best. 
 

Why not sit back for a few weeks after the break and see what happens? Relegation is highly unlikely. We have rich, supportive owners and a new highly regarded manager why not just let them get on with it and be supportive rather than focussing on pre conceived ideas of how shit everyone is.? We need a fresh start but that can’t be achieved instantly. If Emery is as good as he is supposed to be the shit players will be moved on and new better players bought in, but that takes time. Whether he favours youth who knows but he has to be given time to show or deny this. I know this is a forum and that needs to have personal opinions aired, but at the moment as soon as things go wrong (ie we don’t win) the negative takes total control and a cloud of doom descends over the forum. We should in my opinion get behind the club in this building period if we want to get to the level that everyone wants to be at. 

[tomav84]

2 minutes ago, juanpablosaliceband said:

I’m not trying to call people out but I’m genuinely curious about why some people think that game didn’t matter. City and liverpool just got drawn in the next round. We had a great chance to win that cup. 

we need to climb the league, and hopefully we'll be in a better position when the FA cup rolls around

besides, it's not like we played the kids. it was all senior squad members both in the starting 11 and off the bench.

emery would've been disappointed that no one staked a claim for a start on sunday

[juanpablosaliceband]

20 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

I'd just change the spine of the team to change the culture. We haven't got tough winners anywhere. Failure is fine and acceptable. 

Let's just get rid of them all over nest two years and spend on new players. New culture something Emery can own himself 

We don’t need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Martinez, Cash, Digne, Carlos, Kamara, Luiz, Ramsey, Bailey and Buendia is a decent core. Add more quality to supplement them, along with good coaching, and we can feel positive. 

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

0-3

4-0

0-4

3-1

2-4

Crazy set of results. Hope Unai can sort us out during the break and address our abysmal away form. Disappointed in his team selection tonight, it will be interesting to see how quickly he learns in comparison to previous incumbents who had blind faith in certain players.

 

[DaveAV1]

Just now, juanpablosaliceband said:

I’m not trying to call people out but I’m genuinely curious about why some people think that game didn’t matter. City and liverpool just got drawn in the next round. We had a great chance to win that cup. 

It’s a case of priorities. I’d imagine that the board, given the position we’re currently in, would want the manager to concentrate on improving our league position  at the moment. I hear people say that players shouldn’t need a rest as they’ve got 6 weeks rest coming up. What that doesn’t take into account is that there is more pressure on the Brighton  game  to maintain some momentum. Rather than go into the break on a down and not be able to play for 6 weeks, when incidentally we play Liverpool. 
 

A team not far from us, geographically at least, had a nice day out at Wembley a few years ago, before disappearing without trace to the murcky depths of the Championship, hopefully never to be seen again.

[rjw63]

31 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

For me, a nothing game. The Sunday win was the important one. And the manager gets to see if the second string are up to the task. Playing the long game.

Normally I'd agree, but this year a host of good sides are already out. 

Apart from Citeh and  Jawdeescum we might have had a chance this year, no one else to fear. Not that it matters now, probably be one of the same scum6 names on the trophy again. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by rjw63
Keenanism

[turvontour]

1 hour ago, Spoony said:

Man our squad is so shit 

Our second team isnt great obviously, which most of that was tonight. 4 of the back 5 was not first choice.

But the 3 or 4 subs that we would make to the first team within game are pretty decent.

[Follyfoot]

Gridlocked in Salford

 

[TomC]

From ten Hag:

Quote

They play with a high line, so pass the ball behind them. I think we were quite successful with that in the second half. The problem in the first half was that we had too many touches and missed the moment to pass the ball in behind; that’s why we brought Christian Eriksen on.

Word is already out. It's going to be interesting to see how teams try to exploit this and how Unai counters.

 

[Only2McInallys]

14 minutes ago, andym said:

You keep saying things like this, but its a core who won promotion, dug it out to stay up in their first season, got to a cup final and didn't roll over against the best side in the country who dominate that competition, and then the season after that were one of the best sides in the league at holding onto to points.

'Mentally weak' and 'cowards' etc are just aimless buzzwords that get thrown round when teams lose. You don't get to this level of football if you have those traits. Are Liverpool players (premier league and champions league winners) bottlers because they lost to Forest and Leeds back to back, putting them way behind in this seasons title race? No, they just aren't as good ability wise as they used to be.

Now, if our lot are not good enough in terms of ability for where we want to go and can be upgraded, then fair enough.

But i'll give them a chance to show what they've got under the first manager they'll have had who is actually good enough at this level.

Couldn’t agree more.Bottlers and cowards?Its so easy to say.Are Mcginn and Mings bottlers or cowards? No.

Do they have technical weaknesses and make mistakes yes.

Mcginn for me is finished at the level we want to be.Mings I am not sure.He has been pretty good for us this season.

One thing both of them can say is they don’t hide and they take responsibility which for me is very important.

I do like that I can see some thought in our set up and our style of play.We have been in desperate need of an experienced manager

and that’s what we have.We need to be patient with Emery and give him time to bring players in and retrain our players in the style of play he favours.

[mikeyjavfc]

Quite painful to watch the second string try to play Emery ball. It’s clear that Emery requires technically able players who like the ball at there feet. Ohlsen, McGinn and Chambers in particular like fish out of water. With a few players uncomfortable with the ball added to the line up it was clear how the whole system broke down regularly. I’m sure Emery will have learnt a lot about who in second string can play his style today. Shame not to see Sansón get some minutes as I’m sure he can adapt well to Emery’s style, unlike McGinn. Hopefully back to the strongest 11 on Sunday. 

[Farlz]

City and Liverpool being drawn together makes that result tonight even more disappointing. There was a real good chance to get far and it was such a winnable game. 

I mentioned us going stronger but in fact we didn’t even need to, just play Martinez and we win. 

Disappointing, real feel it’s a lost opportunity but oh well I guess. Can’t do nothing about it now. 

[Zhan_Zhuang]

New Villa, Old Villa.

For almost forty years I've seen Villa display that terrible quality of imploding.

I'm hopeful Emery will see that tonight and address it.

Kamara was probably MOTM.

I'd like to have given it to Watkins for his sublime finish and all-round play but then he fluffs the chance from Bailey.

McGinn is s***, Olsen is S*** too, Chambers likely has played himself out.

Manure are horrible cheating b******s, I hate them more than any other team. Their fans cheer odd things and hence have no idea, they only started singing when they were 3-2 up. 

In contrast the Villa fans were impressive and it was good to hear Emery comment positively about the support.

[Zatman]

1 hour ago, CVByrne said:

Mark my words and I'll quote this post. We all know thos team are mentally weak. They can't deal with any setbacks or adversity. The points gained from losing positions is the worst in the league every year. 

We hope Emery can change it. We hope Gerrard was the problem but we all know it's the team. We know when things get a bit tough they capitulate. They have the safety net of a new manager and new manager bounce.

This team are the problem at the football club. I know we want to bel they aren't. But we all know they are. It won't change until we get rid of 4 or 5 players.

McGinn, Mings, Konsa, Watkins, Luiz can all fetch good prices and I've just had enough of them and their association with the club's problems. I just want them gone and new players signed. 

 

That is some absolute rubbish but unsurprising

[dublinvilla2014]

If we want to change our style play out from back mistakes are going happen it will take time , better than just launching it up the pitch u can see the difference already after 2 games what a good coach can do we actually look like a team now onwards and upwards