Ratings & Reactions: Southampton v Villa

[NeilS]

6 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said:

5 points ahead of Palace, and 5 off 5th. Pretty good considering where we were. 

Winning ugly is just as good as winning pretty

Yep, even the best teams win ugly every now and then. Let’s not forget where we were only a few months ago. We are not going to suddenly play every team off the park, so for me a wins a win.
 

lets Enjoy it, good times are coming.

 

[1974Centenary]

2 minutes ago, Pongo's Socks said:

Madonna looking good for her age

ive shagged her

[Condimentalist]

2 minutes ago, Farlz said:

A bit different to the past league games where I thought everything up until the ball got to the final third was great today. Our attacking players really aren't it right now and it's a bit of a concern. Making very hard work of games we should be comfortable in. 

At the risk of being shot down I do think we've been quite fortunate with these wins lately, never really convincing at all and I doubt we'll keep up with it but for now it's working so we'll take it. 

Definitely need a new attacker in by Leicester.

I think almost certain we'll have at least one

[stewiek2]

Dear board,

Give this man whatever the f**k he wants, whatever player he wants before he gets on the coach/plane back tonight.

[bobzy]

2 minutes ago, Farlz said:

A bit different to the past league games where I thought everything up until the ball got to the final third was great today. Our attacking players really aren't it right now and it's a bit of a concern. Making very hard work of games we should be comfortable in. 

At the risk of being shot down I do think we've been quite fortunate with these wins lately, never really convincing at all and I doubt we'll keep up with it but for now it's working so we'll take it. 

Definitely need a new attacker in by Leicester.

Agree against Leeds but we looked really comfortable today.  I mean, Southampton should have had a goal, but they really didn't do anything.  We utterly controlled that game.

[TomC]

I said it a week ago and I'll say it again...the best teams find a way to win matches when they aren't playing well. We were not brilliant, but we found a way.

We certainly played better than against Leeds. We kept possession well. Someone called it Gerrard Ball in the match thread, but I couldn't disagree more. You could see what we're trying to do.

That said, we needed a rare free kick goal to win. If Unai has solved the problems in back and in midfield, we still lack something up front. I'll repeat what I said in the match thread: When things were going wrong under Deano, then under SG, the question was, is the problem the players or the manager? The answer is: both. Unai is getting the most out of these players and we've improved from the last two managers unquestionably. But it's now clear that these players have limitations.

First, the positive: Emi may be the best GK in the world, Kamara was great again, the Kamara-Doug combination has proven to be what we've needed in midfield for a long time, and the backline was pretty solid except Moreno. I can see the player in Moreno, but he's clearly struggling to adjust to the PL. Only time will tell whether he's an upgrade from Digne. For now, we have no choice but to give him a baptism by fire.

In attack, we need an overhaul. In the end, it looks the Grealish money was, if not a complete waste, then not certainly not maximized. I rated Ings, and he was usually our best forward when he came on, but apparently he wasn't the right fit for either SG or Unai. It pains me to say it, because I was one of Bueni's earliest defenders and I've been a fan, but he's just not the answer to be our creative fulcrum. Whether his talent is just a little bit short or whether it's all in his head, he's not getting it done. Ditto for Bailey. Decent players both, but not world class. Coutinho looks like a flop. Watkins will always have a place in the side because of all the little things he does, but he is not a world class striker and is unlikely to ever have a 20 goal season. JJ is still young enough to have hope, and I don't want to judge him based on the last few matches because he's coming back from injury, but I'm not sure that he's a fit for Unai's system and I'm beginning to worry that maybe he's reached his ceiling early.

In short, maybe Unai can get us to an upper-middle side with this group of players, which is where we should have been all along, but we're still 3-4 players away from seriously threatening for a CL place.

 

 

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

Since Gerrard left we’ve won 6 drawn 1 from 9. Only Newcastle and Liverpool the blemishes. What a turn around so pleased Big Nas got the right man in

[chrisvilla4]

2 minutes ago, 1974Centenary said:

ive shagged her

 

[Beastmix]

We're winning ugly, but we're winning.

Will take that all day.

[Brumstopdogs]

 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Just now, Beastmix said:

We're winning ugly, but we're winning.

Will take that all day.

Thing is we have spurts of brilliant football in there as well.

Can't wait for Unai to be able to properly build the side

[djdabush]

Amazed that some thought we were lucky with the VAR decision. Pretty clearly steps on his heel.

Not a vintage performance but some nice build up play at times. Still think we ack a bit of creativity in games we are expected to win but hopefully Emery will bring in a couple more players who can offer something different in attack.

[avfc1982am]

I thought first half we were excellent all over the pitch just missing that killer pass or bit of luck. Second half a thought Buendia, Bailey and JJ switched off at times allowing Southampton to regain possession to easily with poor give aways. The defence along with Kamara and Luiz were excellent all game. 

Martinez, Luiz and Kamara are on another level to the rest of the team imo. The 3 musketeers. Swagger, composure, just pure class, and most importantly end product on a consistent basis. Luiz stats against JWP at half time weren't even comparable the domination was so one sided.  

[TheMightyVillans]

We look more comfortable playing out from the back and played some great stuff Through the midfield in that first half. Just need more competition upfront/out wide to take us to the next level.

Edited January 21, 2023 by TheMightyVillans

[one_ian_taylor]

Seem to be becoming smash and grab specialists. I like it

[icouldtelltheworld]

12 minutes ago, juanpablosaliceband said:

Do you think they were hard done by though? I thought all the big decisions were right on both sides, although many were close calls. And we had the better of the play overall. 

We were probably the better team on the day, and so I'd certainly feel hard done by if we'd missed out on the win because of a disallowed goal like that. Suspect most of us would 

[ROTTERDAM1982]

My thoughts

Martinez, probably the best goalie in the Prem atm

Young and Moreno......Young was the better of the 2, i think we need to get used to Moreno being better going forward than he is at defending. Their RW is a lively player though, as is their RB.

Konsa and Mings......very comfortable, their best game for quite a while imho.

Kamara......always comfortable, a ver very good all round player.

Luiz........better than last week, keeps the ball moving, think he needs to be more positive.

Ramsey......I think he is a key player for Emery, his  movement, pace, and willingness to get in the box I think is essential to how Emery wants to play. Not yey up to pace, but could be a very good player.

Emi/Coutinho........both want the ball, I think Emi is safer in posession, but PCs attempt to play the ball forward quicker than Emi is what Emery wants from this position. I really want one of them to step up, get more assists and more goals, if not to move forward we will have to replace.

Bailey/Watkins,.........both work hard, both have their moments, but want too many touches imho.

Like to see another good midfielder come in, prefer Guendhouzi, and being greedy a CF

[tinker]

Martinez, best keeper in the world. Ref was poor all round, soft foul for their chalked off goal (Why he pushed Ramsey is a mystery that only shit players no about) but Ramsey should have had a penalty as well,  he was wiped out in their box, ball was nowhere near their defender, unbelievable weak decisions and he did that all through the game, countless heavy tackles went without punishment. 

We played some lovely stuff at times but just lacking the composure for the killer ball, shot or run. Bailey missed some good chances when he probably should have done better. Ramsey still looks a bit rusty but alot better than against Leeds. 

We tend to play intricate passes in tight areas that draw the opposition players in but when they come in we need to play out of those tight spaces and into the space the opposition players have left to close us down, we are nearly there.

We are drawing them down the pitch with our possession at the back but we need to use the width of the pitch as well to further stretch them. 

Overall very good performance, Emery's style is showing and this was a hard game, Southampton are fighting for their lives and at home they need to show more but their quality up front is championship at best, Adams.........? Their going down .

[catanzaro]

I was at the match.. although it wasn’t vintage.. it was so much better than I’ve seen here for years.. clearly the players know the plan.. they believe in it.. Saints did f all.. our momentum and possession meant we would get the (legal) goal.. in my opinion.. up the Villa.. and the away support was epic x

[macandally]

Should have been a couple up at half time, would have made life easier as we bossed the first half. Some of the one touch interplay to break the press was superb. 

They rallied second half but still thought we deserved the three points.  Welcome to the “new” Villa!