Ratings & Reactions: UECL: Villa v Zrinjski Mostar

[KentVillan]

16 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Completely agree, like I said this in their head, they are good enough footballers they're just not playing like it

Same as the Everton game it's like this is all beneath them, second class competition with a "reserves team" and the effort the concentration whatever all drops off

Its not a case of we need to buy more players or we need to play our best 11 every game we need to sort these guys out

My worry is it's something specifically about these players' mindsets which can't easily be fixed. Particularly Tielemans, who has history. Some players make good squad players, and some don't.

You wouldn't have seen this from someone like James Milner, for example.

[smg]

46 minutes ago, Spoony said:

Beat one of the best teams in England 6-1

Barely scrape a win against Bosnian team

Make it make sense 

Brighton will be found out over the season. A Bosnian team that travelled to play a premier league team in a fantastic stadium with the backing of magnificent fans, they responded, played out of their skins and will be devastated to not have got a point.

[Jas10]

 

[fruitvilla]

46 minutes ago, MarkLillis said:

I promise I will NEVER follow a game via the Villa Talk match thread again.

I am stuck in. Hotel bar in Egypt with no other way of knowing what is going on.

You lot are miserable as ****.It was depressing but I couldn’t stop looking…

each new post was a new moan and you have the nerve to create threads about the atmosphere at VP.

I genuinely hope none you actually ever go to VP because you will make it worse…

UTV!

The game was not as bad as people make out ... even the first half.

[Jas10]

 

[Marka Ragnos]

2 minutes ago, fruitvilla said:

The game was not as bad as people make out ... even the first half.

I agree, and Mostar were very competent and passionate. A really good training/learning experience for our players. I like Unai's philosophy of play, play, play, play, play as a way of learning and improving.

[mjmooney]

Quote

On the half-time changes, McGinn said: "A lot of attacking threat. I don't think it was anything to do with the boys who went off."

Spoken like a captain. 

[Jas10]

 

[TomC]

9 minutes ago, fruitvilla said:

The game was not as bad as people make out ... even the first half.

Agreed.

At the very top, the continent has gotten pacier, and the English game has gotten more technical and tactical, but there's still a big difference. You can't expect European matches to look like the PL.

EDIT: Also, Zrinjski won their league. Maybe it's not a very good league, but they still have a winner's mentality if they got there. These are not loser teams.

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by TomC

[MaVilla]

i wonder what the odds would be on this after 2 games.

[Jas10]

 

[AvfcRigo82]

2 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

i wonder what the odds would be on this after 2 games.

That's a cracking looking table.

The entire exact numbering of this table I am finding very soothing.

[AvonVillain]

26 minutes ago, CosmicVillan said:

True, I met him in the early 2000's when he was Eng U21 coach and he didn't seem to really want to talk about the Villa. Never meet your heroes.  

True. Platt is in the same ex-Villa camp as Southgate for me.

[KentVillan]

5 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Spoken like a captain. 

I like having a captain who is smart, in terms of IQ and EQ, as well as leading by example. Think Emery has been very astute with McGinn, because it would have been easy to drop him after the Gerrard era.

[Marka Ragnos]

1 hour ago, Spoony said:

Beat one of the best teams in England 6-1

Barely scrape a win against Bosnian team

Make it make sense 

Rotated team. A sense of PL entitlement. Ignorance about football in the Balkans probably mixed in with a bit of national chauvinism. The sheer passion of Mostar.

You asked.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Marka Ragnos

[Lochheads twin]

Wow!.How important could that late goal be.?

The first half very forgetable with a lack of movement up front. We had that pedestrian look about us and it was feeling like a re-run of one of those disappointing episodes of our second string. I don't think it was all down to Tielemans,  there was no real movement for him. Unless Digne or Bailey created something, we were not scoring.

Introducing Douglas, Cash & Ollie. The whole dynamic of the side changes.

Dougie really is top quality and make this side tick. Cash was pushing up and we were threatening to get in behind them, which is where the goal did eventually come from. Emi didn't have much to do but when he was needed, they were not getting past him. Traore also added extra threat late on.

Nearly another frustrating night but when you list Mings, Buendia, Moremo, Ramsey, Diaby & Kamara all not available it does limit our selection. With a full squad we can just make 3 or 4 changes and not disrupt the team quite so dramatically.

I did feel some sympathy for Zrinjski and they defended heroically all night.

Onward. Another team in old gold is the next one awaiting a beating by us.

[ender4]

24 minutes ago, Nigel said:

All of you saying we should stop this rotation do realise that the season has just started and we will need every one of them.

They need to be integrated as much as the first team.

We won the game tonight and gave 45 minutes football to much of the squad, its a double win if you ask me!

TBH I’m not saying don’t rotate, I’m just asking the B team to be better. Much better.

[Marka Ragnos]

11 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

i wonder what the odds would be on this after 2 games.

It's ours to win (and ours to lose). I'm good with this. My feeling is these Europa Conference matches provide an excellent whetstone for sharpening our game and exposing our weaknesses without the sort of damage done by a loss to a lesser club in the PL. It's great having these. Have no doubt Unai is making lots of notes in the margins of his Emeryball book.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Marka Ragnos

[stewiek2]

41 minutes ago, CosmicVillan said:

True, I met him in the early 2000's when he was Eng U21 coach and he didn't seem to really want to talk about the Villa. Never meet your heroes.  

True. One of the must self centred arrogant people I've ever met.

[Talldarkandransome]

Glad I went, needed the fresh air.

We dominated most of it without causing much trouble, better in 2nd half. Tielemans was shocking again.

McGinn MOTM

Their fans were entertaining, seemed to be following a set routine