Ratings & Reactions: FAC4R: Villa v Chelsea

[lapal_fan]

Whenever Moreno or Cash got the ball, they seemed to have a 4 on 2, and we didn't have a pass on into midfield.

It's like midfield were absolutely smothered and we didn't know how to deal with that. 

We also struggled to get any passes from CB into midfield and we didn't have any options (or much pace) to go long.

They did a number on us and deserved it.

[Okonokos]

4 minutes?!

4?!?

[RicRic]

Lee Dixon please go F**k yourself you word removed, he p*ssed me off more than the performance the whole bloody game he spoke about villa so badly it was unreal, at any opportunity he pounced to talk so negatively about us…but anyway what the f**k was that, i said before the match anyone thinking Konsa’s absence will be minor can think again! he is colossal for us.

Carlos,Lenglet and Cash cannot be starting im sorry ive enough from them all season and Kamara can probably add himself to that list after tonight, there is no MOTM but i guess i picked Diaby  

No fluidity, no patterns of play it all went to pot tonight, Emery has to fix that very quickly we have a very huge game coming up we cannot afford any errors.

[TRO]

44 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

Maybe there were players who were worse, but he wasn't much better. The way he let Jackson get past him on the touchline in the first - half. That was embarrassing. 

I thought the whole shebang was embarrassing.

It was too similar to the problems we encountered in the Newcastle game......We lost the midfield again, and it all went to poo.

[The_Rev]

Just back now. Watched from the Trinity for a change so my perspective might be skewed, but I thought Chelsea were the best team I’ve seen at Villa Park this season. Poch completely shut down our midfield, they had this system where they could overload on either side very easily and would have 3 vs 1 on McGinn or Tielemans which meant passing to them stopped becoming a viable option and they were just removed from the game.  As well as being out thought, we were out fought. Lost too many of the 50/50s, the only way I could see out of the overload was the big diagonal pass which we tried a few times and it never worked. Moreno was poor and Kamara had a bad game too.   Chelsea on the other hand were excellent, their movement was great and the constant rotation of their forwards and the sharpness of their passing was miles better than anything we were doing.  I felt they ran through us with ease and we just couldn’t live with them.  Very poor performance, we need to get a second wind because smart teams have figured out how to nullify us. 

[TRO]

Its just no good picking out individuals....its a collective issue.....and the problems, eventually affected everyone.....and its not just this game either.

[jim]

1 hour ago, Herman22 said:

You think Carlos and Lenglet are worth 70 million quid? FFS!!

And so we’re clear that’s about half what one of Chelsea’s midfielders is worth. 

That’s what their last transfer fees were. Let’s not make out we were forced to play kids.

 

Edited February 7 by jim

[TRO]

23 minutes ago, The_Rev said:

Just back now. Watched from the Trinity for a change so my perspective might be skewed, but I thought Chelsea were the best team I’ve seen at Villa Park this season. Poch completely shut down our midfield, they had this system where they could overload on either side very easily and would have 3 vs 1 on McGinn or Tielemans which meant passing to them stopped becoming a viable option and they were just removed from the game.  As well as being out thought, we were out fought. Lost too many of the 50/50s, the only way I could see out of the overload was the big diagonal pass which we tried a few times and it never worked. Moreno was poor and Kamara had a bad game too.   Chelsea on the other hand were excellent, their movement was great and the constant rotation of their forwards and the sharpness of their passing was miles better than anything we were doing.  I felt they ran through us with ease and we just couldn’t live with them.  Very poor performance, we need to get a second wind because smart teams have figured out how to nullify us. 

Teams are going to be good, if you let them be.....our problem is, we can't nullify opponents. We don't have enough players who are gifted at shutting players down, we just have many that want to play and have scant regard for the opposition.

Tonight, when they had the ball, they had space.....when we had the ball, we was smothered, legally or illegally, teams take their chance, and if referee's are weak, we just lose out....Right Now, we are passive.

Teams in this league, can play, if you let them.....there are 2 sides to a game....with the ball, with space, we are great.....without the ball we are a gift horse.

 

Edited February 7 by TRO

[jim]

1 hour ago, smg said:

That’s the club’s decision to employ them and pay them didn’t see anything other than them giving their best on the night not much more than they can do than that. Plus the fact they were royally screwed over by our equally expensive midfield who were crap.

I wasn’t knocking them and I don’t think they were the problem. It was aimed at the op that they were 4th and 5th choice.

[RicRic]

1 hour ago, stewiek2 said:

Athens in May sounds alot better than cockneyland anyway.

Only care about the conference as a gateway to europa league but FA Cup is trophy ive dreamed about us winning since a kid so theres no comparison of what is a proper trophy 

[TRO]

10 hours ago, Made In Aston said:

We are struggling to create chances at home, no matter the quality of opposition. It is a worrying trend that Emery needs to sort out asap if we are going too qualify for champions league this season 

We allow ourselves to be shut down too easily.....Its a real problem for him, because  we have been a fortress, at Home.

Our play has suddenly developed a huge dollop of benevolence, is it complacency? I don't know, but the shift, is alarming.

I didn't think Chelsea, started that well, they just capitalised, on our crap, and we turned them in to a Champions league team.....crikey, Wolves just beat them 4-2 at home.

We are not competing in games just now, and if we do that, opponents will snatch the momentum....and thats what they did, and Newcastle did.

 

Edited February 8 by TRO

[The_Rev]

Also: It’s much easier to get to a 90,000 seater stadium in Brent then a 30000 seater on the very edge of Europe 

[TRO]

8 hours ago, lapal_fan said:

Whenever Moreno or Cash got the ball, they seemed to have a 4 on 2, and we didn't have a pass on into midfield.

It's like midfield were absolutely smothered and we didn't know how to deal with that. 

We also struggled to get any passes from CB into midfield and we didn't have any options (or much pace) to go long.

They did a number on us and deserved it.

not for the first time...Newcastle did too.

You cannot go from the ridiculous, to the sublime and back again, without a deep rooted issue at hand.

Edited February 8 by TRO

[The Fun Factory]

A disappointing night, with yet another ealy FA cup exit. 3 games though counts as a run for us in recent years.

Never on it tonight, we fluffed our lines. Verry similar to the Newcastle game. All the pressure was supposedly on Chelsea but we never asked the questions.

Most of the team was poor. Luiz was below par and Calros and Lenglet showed why they are 3 and 4th choice. Our fullbacks got creamed all night by the Chelsea wide boys. Once they got the goals they sat back and we did not see to know what to do. Far too slow until the subs at the end when the tie was over,

What is disappointing is that we had a bad start, and Emery and the team did not change at all tonight to respond. Especially after Emery gave it he big un in the news conference.

Once again when their was an opportunity for a good run we failed to deliver. 1 FA  home cup win since 2015? Againsit Wycombe. On that record I shouldn't be surprised. Oh well concentrate on the league and conference league.

[TRO]

I said in the pre-match thread it was going to be tough...that was a euphemism, to how I really felt.

I am not happy to say, I am not surprised....and unless there is a huge shift in what has us, gifting games, the same will happen on Sunday.

There is a reason for these displays, and its not just a bad day at the office.

Edited February 7 by TRO

[striker]

1 hour ago, imavillan said:

you are right, it was an awful performance but to say ''not one player on the Villa team gave anywhere near 100% is bordering hysteria. It's harsh on Watkins who didn't get much service but still chased many a lost cause. I would also defend Martinez as he could do little for the goals. 

agree it was poor management from Emery, subs should have been made at HT and yes, a performance like that and Manure will turn us over.

and as for the lack of investment in January, have you not heard of FFP?

No-one knows if Villa are close to breaching FFP. Besides Villa did invest but not really in the first team.

[striker]

1 hour ago, sheepyvillian said:

If there's a weakness to Luiz, it's a lack of real pace, I mentioned that a long time ago, he's improved no end since then, but tonight that lack of pace was very evident. 

Unfortunately none of Villa’s starting midfield tonight had pace or physicality. Nor did the four at the back. They were absolutely destroyed by Chelsea’s midfield tonight and I feel Man U will do the same.

[TRO]

Just now, striker said:

Unfortunately none of Villa’s starting midfield tonight had pace or physicality. Nor did the four at the back. They were absolutely destroyed by Chelsea’s midfield tonight and I feel Man U will do the same.

sadly ditto.

[The Fun Factory]

37 minutes ago, RicRic said:

Only care about the conference as a gateway to europa league but FA Cup is trophy ive dreamed about us winning since a kid so theres no comparison of what is a proper trophy 

 The Scum 6  virtually win it every year  , at least the Conference has a variety of winners. I honestly can't tell you the winners of the last 5 finals apart from the Leceister one. It has been an endless combination of Chelsea, Arsenal,City and  Liverpool for he last 10 years.  Once we lose I pay no attention to it all now.

[El Segundo]

Chelsea probably played the best they have all season.  That’s not saying much , but their midfield dominated ours and actually looked like the £200m+ midfield it is.  They were quicker, hungrier and sharper all over the pitch and played with zip and pace.  They went from end to end in seconds, we took minutes to not get there.  It’s the worst I’ve seen us in a long time, so may awful individual performances.

One wonders why that was though – surely we should have been up for this one after battling to get the replay.  We just seemed half arsed and after looking really good for about 5 minutes we decided we couldn’t or wouldn’t  pass to each other, or move, or cover, or mark, or create anything.  It was worse than the awful Everton cup game.  I’d already had a shitty day and it was  so bad I went for a pint after 35 minutes as I couldn’t take any more of it.

We’ve been poor in our last 4 home games, conceding 9 goals, all against teams that are either at the bottom of the league or have been struggling for results.  We’ve won one of those , and were fortunate to get that.  I fear Emery’s approach has been sussed out.  Brilliant as he’s been up to December,  his apparent inability to adopt a different approach to suit the circumstances and respond to adversity makes me concerned that perhaps he’s not quite the elite manager we like to think he is.  Not making changes at half time tonight was a case in point, it coudln't have got any worse if he'd brought some under 11s on.   I hope he dispels those doubts soon. Sunday for starters.