Ratings & Reactions: Everton v Villa

[briny_ear]

2 minutes ago, TRO said:

and I don't think we are likely to.

But I expect you would have said the same thing for Man City and Arsenal before we beat them both. Will enjoy returning to this post when we beat Liverpool.

[Sulberto21]

15 minutes ago, TRO said:

It was both.....if you struggle physically, the technical game can get affected adversely...as opponents stop you playing your normally technical game.( by the way, I am not trying to labour physicality, because its just one element of game....but it does seem to be dismissed, very quickly, as irrelevant ,in some quarters)

All those teams,above,  let you play, because they fancy their chances as Liverpool and Newcastle highlighted in their home games against us.... we was pummeled with intensity, and urgency, not to mention talent...and we had no answer.

Look, we are doing some things right, no doubt, and in some of the better games, doing more right than wrong.....but it doesn't stop us looking at the last 3 games, and seeing shortfalls, that maybe we can work on.

Hand on heart....was that what you expected form a top 4 team today?....be honest.

 

As per Emery we were in control for the most part but didn’t take our chances. 

also we had as many chances as Newcastle did in that game but they took theirs we missed too many easy chances hence lost.

[TRO]

5 minutes ago, briny_ear said:

But I expect you would have said the same thing for Man City and Arsenal before we beat them both. Will enjoy returning to this post when we beat Liverpool.

yeah.....you're right Brin.

I hope, I am wrong and we do beat Liverpool.

I didn't think we would beat Man City and Arsenal, but, it was great.....but if we played them next week, I would still feel the same.

but I did think we would beat Sheff Utd, did you?

Edited January 14 by TRO

[srsmithusa]

frustrating match for anyone that loves the beautiful game.  Dyche set up to pressure the ball aggressively in hopes of creating mistakes.   it didn't work to create any goals,  but it did prevent the villa from progressing the ball all the way to score it's own.   Second half, they couldn't keep up that intensity and they reverted to heavy fouls to slow us down to a pace they could continue.  The referee allowed it.  But that's the style in the prem referees right now.  Let heavy fouls go unless they directly impact a goal or likely goal.   it's defensive officiating.  

We made two errors. especially in the first half we allowed thier harrying to rush us into poor passes.  especially in the second half, we allowed ourselves to get frustrated and sometimes even retaliated in kind because we were frustrated.  We should have stayed above the thuggery but we also should have supported the player fouled more than we did.  (Everton did that after Tarkwoski's hard challenge)  That and we should have played with the quickness and skill we have, they couldn't match it.

As it was we were pretty unlucky not to win in the second half anyway when they scrambled several desperation blocks and saves, got a way with two on Diaby and the ref fell for Tarkowski's flopping in front of Ollie.   But we can and I think will get better at managing negaitve football, it comes with experience.  And experience dealing with negative tactics comes from being a top club that weaker opponents try to beat by chicanery.   I still take the negaitve football we are seeing from opposition as a complement and one that will take us some time for us to figure out.

[Django_Zooms]

Wishing all the players and staff relaxing and restful 7 day holidays, presumably in Dubai mostly.

[Marka Ragnos]

19 minutes ago, AVFCDAN said:

The problem is we’ve hit the ceiling with what’s possible with our first 11, nothing to do with Emery or his ceiling, he’s gotten the max out of this team. Even if we add a couple in Jan I wouldn’t expect too much improvement until next season and they would have to be real quality additions circa 50-60 million.

This season has to be about top 4 and nothing else. Forget winning the title it’s not going to happen, it’s starting to look like hanging onto top 4 is going to be an epic challenge.

I think that’s accurate. Yes, there are certainly variations and lots of risks in terms of cost/benefit in spending on quality players, and everyone knows that spending doesn’t guarantee you anything.

On the other hand, you can only do what you can do with your squad, and honestly, it’s remarkable what Emery has been able to do so far with many in the squad coming from the championship.

We need to hang on and work our magic where possible. But Emery needs a few 90+ rated Rares. 

[Jas10]

 

[TRO]

1 hour ago, villabromsgrove said:

The ref was really weak and that allowed a 'Dyche' scenario, which is play the man not the ball and make it a broken stop start game.

I enjoyed some periods of our play very much, but poor refereeing and VAR ruined the flow of the game.

However, I'll happily take a point with no bad injuries and move on. (Tarkowski's tackles were reminiscent of Ben Mee, so no serious injuries is a bonus)

I didn't comment on the match thread during the game because many of the posts were toxic.

Try and enjoy being a Villa supporter, win, lose or draw for a change because we're in a good place.

You will support Villa for many years so try to enjoy it.

Its a great time to be a Villa Fan.....but we should still be able to look at games objectively....and not fear egg shells.

Personally, I was pleased with a clean sheet.....but I thought we made such hard work, of our efforts.

I don't want to pee on anyones chips, because where we are is great....but thats not talking about the game, its talking about the season, which has been phenomenal.

Edited January 14 by TRO

[TRO]

22 minutes ago, Sulberto21 said:

As per Emery we were in control for the most part but didn’t take our chances. 

also we had as many chances as Newcastle did in that game but they took theirs we missed too many easy chances hence lost.

we didn't lose, we drew....a good point, in a way.....but I wager, we was expected to win in our position.

However, the notion, that missed chances, by any team is a from of mitigation, is folly.

It tickles me, when teams say " they were more clinical than us".....or "we hit the bar twice"....... the teams who score more are better then.

Its part of the game.

Edited January 14 by TRO

[FLVillan]

32 minutes ago, Paul33 said:

We haven't played particularly well since McGinn lost form. He is a key playmaker for us but I've never seen him as bad as he has been in recent weeks. Not sure what is up with him but he looks slow, ponderous, confused and, at times, disinterested !

Don't think he's been as bad as that, but I do think he's physically and mentally fatigued.  He's played in every game for us, most for 90 minutes, plus has played every single Scotland match.  Furthermore, he hasn't got into any sort of rhythm or groove as he's our midfield utility man, plays on the left, the right, holding and even as second striker.  On the left, he's rarely played with Moreno, as that was Ramsey last season.  Unfortunately he's indispensable, so unless he (God forbid) picks up an injury or suspension I don't see him getting the break he probably needs. 

[hogso]

2 hours ago, Spoony said:

Our time mixing with the big guns is coming to an end. We just cannot break down teams that play like this. 

Congrats on the Six-er

[mykeyb]

In the last few games we seem very happy to play it back when we have runners who could be played in or just forward options that could be found. We are not generating the scoring opportunities that we were earlier in the season.

[Sulberto21]

1 hour ago, El Segundo said:

Don't think we've beaten Liverpool since Emery took over.

Apart from them. They’ll get theirs at Villa Park. 

[PaulC]

Lack lustre forward display Watkins apart. Where was the Bailey that was brilliant against Man City.  We should have won thst game. Everton were dire. 

[Rosch]

As has been said, we crumble against physicality.  A committed high press and willingness to foul will frustrate us.  A low block will choke us.  Against teams that are trying to score, we fly.  But most have decided that against our offense, the best bet is to clamp down and hope for a lucky counter.  I trust that Emery will evolve the tactics.

[striker]

After reading people’s views on recent games it really doesn’t wash continually blaming the ref or missing players.

Both Luiz and Kamara were playing today plus Lenglet whom was arguably Villa’s best player imo.

Yet today’s game was a repeat of performances in recent weeks which have been a struggle.

For example restricting Watkins to a box striker rather than running behind the opponents on the flanks has nullified Watkins somewhat. Movement up front is currently minimal with Diaby’s form dropping off a cliff while Bailey has been inconsistent!

Static forwards equates to being marked too easily while the midfield has very little to hit other than sideway passes.

In summary Villa’s play is too predictable and I feel a defeat is coming probably against Newcastle.

 

[Panto_Villan]

I didn’t get to watch the match unfortunately, so I just followed the live text. Sounds like one of the better ones to have missed tbh.

It’s a frustrating result but one positive is that most of these frustrating results are (away) draws, not losses, and we generally have had good opportunities to get all three points when it happens.

But we can’t have too many more of these results if we want to earn a CL spot. It feels to me like things are slowly but surely slipping away after a really promising start. Ending up in the Europa places would feel like a disappointment, even though it’d still be an achievement worth celebrating.

[Rugeley Villa]

1 hour ago, Rosch said:

As has been said, we crumble against physicality.  A committed high press and willingness to foul will frustrate us.  A low block will choke us.  Against teams that are trying to score, we fly.  But most have decided that against our offense, the best bet is to clamp down and hope for a lucky counter.  I trust that Emery will evolve the tactics.

I don’t think we crumbled today far from it. This game reminded me of the wolves game at their place that turned into a battle and we held our own.  Yes frustrated but we fought hard  in that game today . 

[Brumstopdogs]

 

[The_Steve]

Two fouls. No pen. Disgrace.