Ratings & Reactions: Everton v Villa

[ozvillafan]

Not as bad a result as it seems. Yes, Everton are thugs and bullies - just like Newcastle - but we kept a clean sheet

3 things I learned:

• World's No 1 goalkeeper? Nah - he's better than that.
• An overlapping Cash starting would have been perfect against this anti-football lot
• Tarkowski is Ben Mee in disguise.

[Spoony]

5 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. 

I should probably add context to this given the response. I think we have done phenomenally well and I love the squad and what they’ve achieved. What separates us from the big guns (Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City) who we have been ‘mixing’ with is we are not used to playing teams who play 11 behind the ball and kick the shit out of us. The big boys deal with it season after season and know how to deal with it. We don’t. We can easily go toe to toe with top teams, but when we get ‘Dyched’ we don’t really have a response. We get frustrated, lose our structure, lose our discipline and just can’t break through. We aren’t used to being treated as a quality team. I think that’s why earlier in the season we pulled Everton apart. People are wising to the fact we are actually a good team and it might actually be better to just contain us and get a point or a smash and grab. 

[GlobalVillan]

I think that we have become a very ill disciplined side, who are too easy to wind up.

I also think that I was wrong about us struggling should we lose a few key players.

In reality, we struggle when we lose just ONE key player these days.

Missed Torres today massively. 

 

 

[est1874]

13 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said:

I think that we have become a very ill disciplined side, who are too easy to wind up.

I also think that I was wrong about us struggling should we lose a few key players.

In reality, we struggle when we lose just ONE key player these days.

Missed Torres today massively. 

 

 

Easy to wind up? Yes possibly 

Ill-disciplined? I think that's harsh. We played today against an incredibly dirty Everton side who were given the extreme benefit of the doubt by a shitty, shitty ref who should have been binned from top flight duty a long time ago.

[maqroll]

I had a feeling we'd drop points today. Hopefully this gets Monchi working extra hard to shift Digne, Traore, Chambers and Duran, if reports are true that he wants out. 

 

[The_Steve]

12 minutes ago, maqroll said:

I had a feeling we'd drop points today. Hopefully this gets Monchi working extra hard to shift Digne, Traore, Chambers and Duran, if reports are true that he wants out. 

 

Digne’s been one of our most consistent players though. 

[Marka Ragnos]

5 hours ago, Marka Ragnos said:

This. Houston, we have a problem … with defensive opponents. Mings, Buendia, Pau badly missed, but we have to start finding the net. 

no disrespect meant, but I just don’t give a shit about bad refereeing today. I would feel angry if we had lost. Our problems go beyond refs or VAR. I don’t know if it’s tactical stuff, or a lack of quality upfront. I suspect it’s the latter. I’m not positive Emery has the tools he needs to take that last step upward to the top of the league. We’re not conceding too many goals, and that’s great, but there’s a log-jam with scoring.

We all know Emery can work miracles with players, but there’s logically going to be a limit to that, too. I think we may have hit the limit.

Again, I’m not saying that the referee wasn’t annoying today, or even deeply concerning, but I just don’t think that should be our focus as a club in terms of going forward.

Also, not saying Villa as a whole are in trouble. That would be absurd. We're No. 3 in the table! But we do seem to have a very specific connected set of challenges -- I don't even want to call it "low blocks" because that's simplistic -- that's proving persistent. Every club, even the best, have dry spells with where juicy finishing seems to evaporate. I guess I was sort of expecting Duran to improve by now. 

[DJBOB]

Shows how anti-football Everton were. One Diego Carlos brainless moment aside, they hardly threatened. 
 

 

But for comparison, look at City’s positioning and how aggressive they are in the midfield and how they can offer more support in the final third. Our back 6 positioning continues to be too conservative against low blocks. 
 

 

[TRO]

8 hours ago, Aston_Villan4 said:

Appalling. Absolutely inexcusable that it wasn’t given and that Tarkowski wasn’t penalized for that.

that tackle was from the same training camp, that Ben Mee learnt how to tackle Wesley.....it was malicious.

[TRO]

9 hours ago, allani said:

Indeed.  Moaning about us being **** for drawing 0-0 away at Everton having dominated possesion, created the better chances and being 3rd in the table is madness.  After the first 15 minutes we controlled the ball pretty well and created multiple opportunities without ever quite creating a clear one.  But we have a clear tactical approach that we are following more often or not.  I think too many people have forgotten all those seasons when it looked like none of our players had any idea what they were supposed to be doing.

• The performance was not one of our best, in anyones language.
• We controlled the ball, when they backed off, when they come after us, we didn't.....we also play the ball around the back, which skews the possession stats, when no one is near us, ball control is bound to be good.
• I don't think our play, was ever convincing in this game, it was well below, what we was capable of, and the front players, were passive in their work.

We can have the tactical approaches, but if the players, don't apply themselves like they can, The tactics are less effective.

We had 2 weeks off, and they played like they need a rest.

PS 3rd in the table, is the games we played well in, that got us there......this game was not up to those standards.

Edited January 15 by TRO

[TRO]

9 hours ago, tinker said:

Tarkowski should have had a straight red for his first tackle on Diaby, he got the ball, because Diaby was fouled before and then followed straight threw Diaby, he never even got a card for it, absolutely disgusting from the officials. 

you are right.

...but if you are waiting for officials, to protect us, you will have a long wait.....we have to do that for ourselves.

Why do you think Man City have Rodrigo?....why do you think SAF had Roy keane to look after his flair players, during their halcyon days.

You should have seen Eamon Deacy in his pomp, they didn't call him psycho for nothing....look the game has changed, I can hear it coming....but you still have to have a destroyer in the ranks, they are just stealthier with it, as Tarkowski, can testify.

[TRO]

3 hours ago, The_Steve said:

Digne’s been one of our most consistent players though. 

good job, he didn't go, when we thought he would.

[TRO]

when we come up against these physical sides....its always, this player or that player is missing....when in fact, it doesn't matter who we choose from the squad, we have the same problem.

Teams like Bournmouth and Brentford, suffered in the past, but they did something about it....Everton was never aggressive, like they are now.....Man City, can mix it,  when it suits them.....and Eddie Howe introduced a fast aggressive, high intensity bunch.

we are a relatively small side, give of take one or two.....so these kind of games will be tough on us.

We have to prepare the squad, for it......not just the fair weather, games

Edited January 15 by TRO

[TRO]

4 hours ago, Spoony said:

I should probably add context to this given the response. I think we have done phenomenally well and I love the squad and what they’ve achieved. What separates us from the big guns (Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City) who we have been ‘mixing’ with is we are not used to playing teams who play 11 behind the ball and kick the shit out of us. The big boys deal with it season after season and know how to deal with it. We don’t. We can easily go toe to toe with top teams, but when we get ‘Dyched’ we don’t really have a response. We get frustrated, lose our structure, lose our discipline and just can’t break through. We aren’t used to being treated as a quality team. I think that’s why earlier in the season we pulled Everton apart. People are wising to the fact we are actually a good team and it might actually be better to just contain us and get a point or a smash and grab. 

We have been like this, for some time, before UE arrived....but the frontline, needs to be aggressive/assertive too....we don't force errors, we just wait for them, in games like this.

Arsenal bought in Rice for a reason, the midfield wanted stiffening, Rodri does the same for Man City and Spurs have Hojbjerg or Bentancur, Everton have Onana and Doucore...etc.etc

We currently have one qualified CDM with quality......its thin, IMO

[chips'ngravy]

Some have described Everton's tactics as low-block, but that wasn't how they played. The periods they had every man behind the ball were when we pushing them back with our possession play. 

We had plenty of space to attack them and did so on numerous occasions through Moreno on the left. They actually played into our hands by trying to press us but not doing it well enough which enabled us to play through them and spark the kind of attacks we were accustomed to seeing a month or so ago. McGinn was off it today but it largely broke down up front with all 3 nowhere near sharp enough. Hard to be too tough on Bailey as he's been in such sparkling form of late so he was due a bad one. Ollie's touch wasn't good enough on a number of occasions and Diaby put in another insipid showing, his lack of confidence highlighted in the move when he was put through down the middle but checked back. 

As for the disallowed goal. Was it clearly offside? Clearly not, as it wouldn't have taken 4 mins to decide. They drew a line which was their ultimate response but you couldn't even see the player making the pass in the frame they used. So how could we tell if that was the right moment to freeze it? Very unsatisfactory to say the least. The fact they show them looking pretty clueless as to what or where the infringement took place only further underlines how confused the whole process is.

[CVByrne]

I think Emery is right, we got through the initial part of the match where they had energy and we imposed our game on them and began to control the game more and more and we had chances, enough to get a goal and didn't get it. They had the DCL chance and the follow up and other than that had very little, only 3 shots in second half for xG of 0.13 to our 10 shots for 0.85 xG

I think it's becoming clear we aren't able to create enough chances away from home to the mid table and lower sides. Something we need to improve on and something that needs players like Buendia, Pau, Tielemans etc. with skilled quick passing

[PaulC]

I dont think we lost the physical element yesterday at all. We controlled most of the game. We kept Everton down to a few chances but thsts going to happen with the high line.  I just think Diaby and Bailey were off their game and we didn't create enough chances.  That with Everton deliberately trying to spoil the game with there being too many stoppages in play breaking our rhythm and good attacking moments.  

Edited January 15 by PaulC

[duke313]

9 hours ago, Spoony said:

I should probably add context to this given the response. I think we have done phenomenally well and I love the squad and what they’ve achieved. What separates us from the big guns (Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City) who we have been ‘mixing’ with is we are not used to playing teams who play 11 behind the ball and kick the shit out of us. The big boys deal with it season after season and know how to deal with it. We don’t. We can easily go toe to toe with top teams, but when we get ‘Dyched’ we don’t really have a response. We get frustrated, lose our structure, lose our discipline and just can’t break through. We aren’t used to being treated as a quality team. I think that’s why earlier in the season we pulled Everton apart. People are wising to the fact we are actually a good team and it might actually be better to just contain us and get a point or a smash and grab. 

We didn’t play great, but the ref cost us three points. Any half decent ref would have give Diaby a pen, and sent Tarkowski off, you can be sure City, Liverpool or Arsenal would have got one.

[TheMelvillan]

Honestly don't think I have seen a softer non existent stupid yellow card than the one Youri got.

He got body checked by Coleman off the ball, gets back up without reacting then does absolutely nothing and gets a yellow. I get why his reaction was utter bemusement

Also what did Carlos do wrong for the ball over the top that ended up with Ollie putting it across to lenglet to finish?!?! At least let the play finish and then review

Dumb reffing team 

[Herman22]

The good news? We don’t play again until Jan 26th so we can all have a nice break! 

Hopefully it gives time for Pau and others  to get back to full fitness. Chelsea on the 26th (FA cup) and Newcastle on 30th are two huge games for different reasons.