Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Man United

[The_Steve]

17 minutes ago, NeilS said:

Jeez, I have not seen that. That is almost up there with the Spurs lad pullinhg Helenius Shorts down to his ankles. Still, nothing surprises me any more. I have more chance of winning the Euro Millions than us getting awarded a penalty against Man Utd.

I don’t think there was even a VAR review. Sickening. 

[TRO]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Emery got it wrong from the off? Really?

I don't think that was on UE...buts thats just my opinion.

However, I am not trying to be controversial when I say....I think too much is spoke about tactics....Tactics was not the main culprit here IMO...and I don't think emery's substitution was a direct result to that puny goal we conceded...that was on the players.

Harry Maguire, had one of his best games, for Utd yesterday.....their first, was a dominant header in to the box, and created the desired panic, they was looking for......Without Tyrone Mings, there is no one to negate him or the likes of him...Then McTominay, used his savvy and courage to "Cash In" sorry for the pun.....It just takes moments to score goals, and thats what they do to us......when Kieffer Moore, dominated us for his goal, first game of last season, Mings was out again......we simply have no one dominant in the air, outside of Mings in the squad, in any position.

We can say we was the better team, to passify our emotions....but we lost, and while we do not deal with those moments from them, we will keep losing....its not luck, its application....and the 2 boxes, is where we need to improve.

Rinus Michels......"football is like war, if you play too properly, you lose"

We mainly concede goals through pressure from opponents, but we are not the best at it as a team.....John McGinn has a go, and Kamara did well , yesterday, but not enough is in the side.

just as a side example, Yesterday.....Arsenal was still pressing West Ham 6-0 up and minutes to go......this is just a general comment, not necessarily about our game, yesterday......some of ours couldn't press their trousers, in previous games.

 

 

 

Edited February 12 by TRO

[RicRic]

1 hour ago, striker said:

Like most on here got up this morning and felt absolutely sick Villa losing yesterday in the manner they did. Still angry at the substitution of Bailey. Therein lies the difference between Villa and Man U even in the Ferguson period. Manchester bring on subs to try and win the game while Villa do the complete opposite.

I agree that generally McTominay is not seen as an attacker but he has been scoring goals lately and his cameo was to push onto the weak Villa CBs whenever possible. Sadly it worked.

Emery got it wrong yesterday right from the off and compounded that further by settling for the draw when, yet again, Man U went for the win.

Its a mentality issue against Manchester United and Haag exploited it!

 

Angry, bitter and seeking immediate revenge which is not possible is how im feeling even almost 24 hours after, confidently telling these united boys after their 3-2 win against us to come to villa park and see what happens there and that backfired which has me feeling battered but i really should know better its United at villa park after all the scripts already f**king written and forever will be it seems.
 

Just when I thought that curse was finally lifted it well and truly isn’t, look i hate the blues but man united are on that level or even worse i absolutely hate them they have angered me way too much since watching villa, cant speak for everyone of course, doesn’t mean i don't bleed villa by hating blues and united on par and believe me i really hate them.

 

[TRO]

I didn't see it properly, was McGinn dragged to the floor in the area, just before the half time whistle?....looked like a pen to me.

[TRO]

11 minutes ago, RicRic said:

Angry, bitter and seeking immediate revenge which is not possible is how im feeling even almost 24 hours after, confidently telling these united boys after their 3-2 win against us to come to villa park and see what happens there and that backfired which has me feeling battered but i really should know better its United at villa park after all the scripts already f**king written and forever will be it seems.
 

Just when I thought that curse was finally lifted it well and truly isn’t, look i hate the blues but man united are on that level or even worse i absolutely hate them they have angered me way too much since watching villa, cant speak for everyone of course, doesn’t mean i don't bleed villa by hating blues and united on par and believe me i really hate them.

 

I don't blame other teams, when they beat us....I look closer to home.

" A bad workman, always blames his tools"

We can't change, what other teams do, only ourselves....its all on us.

[PaulC]

Firstly the corner for the first goal should never have been and the foul leading up to it was never a foul. The ref bought it. However having Kamara on Macguire was plain stupid but neither lenglet or Carlos came out to attack the ball. So given that goal should never hsve happened, we should have easily won the game with the chances we created. Watkins, Ramsey and Luiz all guilty of bad misses. So the late goal for.man u would have been a consolation

The tactics Emery employed were good apart from having kamara mark Macguire from corners.

 

If we take thst performance into the rest of the season we will win a lot more than we loose.

[OutByEaster?]

2 hours ago, striker said:

Emery got it wrong yesterday right from the off and compounded that further by settling for the draw when, yet again, Man U went for the win.

We dominated the game - I can only imagine what would have happened if he'd got it right. It was one of our better performances of the season, tactically we were a step ahead of them, the players were motivated, we showed quality, controlled the ball and the game, and then didn't finish our chances - I'm fairly sure Emery didn't instruct them to finish badly, but if he did, then I guess you're probably right.

I think the substitution of Bailey is a difficult one - he rarely plays for ninety minutes and he's rarely good for more than 45 minutes - it's why he's often so good as an impact sub, as I seem to recall you saying in his thread (and I completely agree) - he was clearly tired, and he'd clearly passed the point in games where he's usually at his best...BUT, he was still looking a threat and still having an impact - so I think taking him off is a questionable decision - I think it's also slightly muddied by Emery's habit of making non-linear substitutions to create tactical imbalances - he really replaced Bailey with Diaby and Kamara with Tielemans, but by bringing the players on in the opposite order, he creates five minutes of confusion that he tries to capitalise on. It's difficult, Bailey was still an obvious threat and bringing him off will always open up criticism. The idea that he did so because he was settling for the draw though is somewhat peculiar - we continued to create chances after the substitution and continued to dominate, both before and after McTominay's sucker punch.

On another day we win that 4-1 - tactically and in terms of performance, we were spot on - we just need a bit more composure and a bit more luck in front of goal.

 

[El Segundo]

Result aside, lots of positives about the performance today,  and if the ball had run for us a bit more of if we'd gone for the corners we could and should have had 3 or 4 today.   We didn;t deserve to draw, we deserved to win.

Taking Bailey off was a mistake.  He and McGinn were making stuff happen and were a big threat second half down their left. We lost some momentum after that and Lindeloff must have let out a huge sigh of relief. 

Diaby just isn't up to snuff - I had zero confidence in him scoring from that breakaway for example and it was no surprise it went very high and very wide.  He never seems to connect properly with the ball, whether crossing, shooting or passing.  I'm still hoping he will come good like Bailey eventually did but he's had 8 months under Emery now and seems to be getting worse.

Much as I like Matty Cash I'm getting very frustrated watching him.   Not sure he is good enough either defensively or in attack.  He should have competed better for the header McTominay scored from, but seemed to go at it half-cocked.   I don't know if he's playing to orders but the number of times he's had the chance to pick out runs by Bailey and instead turned back inside and gone backwards is really frustrating.   Seems afraid to play the slightly risky forward ball.  

[El Segundo]

17 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Firstly the corner for the first goal should never have been and the foul leading up to it was never a foul. The ref bought it. However having Kamara on Macguire was plain stupid but neither lenglet or Carlos came out to attack the ball. So given that goal should never hsve happened, we should have easily won the game with the chances we created. Watkins, Ramsey and Luiz all guilty of bad misses. So the late goal for.man u would have been a consolation

The tactics Emery employed were good apart from having kamara mark Macguire from corners.

 

If we take thst performance into the rest of the season we will win a lot more than we loose.

I believe Kamara played a fair bit at centre back for Marseille in the past and is supposed to be an option there for us as well.  If so then not really a mismatch.  Maguire is often very good from set pieces.  Then Ollie was slow to come out and played Hojland onside.   

No doubt about the about the foul the goal came from though, I couldn't believe it when I saw it back.  No contact whatsoever, blatant dive and the ref awarded it based on the reaction of Rashford rather than what actually happened.  Which is the kind of thing that marks out a truly shit ref.  As was penalty not awarded for the blatant shirt pulling and wrestling on Carlos by Lindeloff and his failure to give yellows for dissent to at least two Utd players.  

[rubberman]

Watching again and many other games that would have gone the other way. Obv their first goal shouldn't have happened from the previous offside and we should have had a penalty. Looking at the goals - theirs were 1) just low enough to go through Emi's legs and 2) just inches to the side of his hands while at the other end our shots hit Onana pretty much full-on every time. Very, very fine margins from that being 3 or 4-0.

Disappointed in the result, but encouraged by the performance. Still - the defending really highlights the missing of Konsa and in particular Mings. Without them, we rarely get commanding headed clearances and the number of times Ty would get in the right place for blocks last season was huge.

[AvonVillain]

Went to Weston-super-Mare today (a Manchester United stronghold, obvs) and wore my Villa top with pride. F*ck it. We'll almost always lose this fixture; that's just how the footballing Gods want it, but now we actually compete to finish above them.

[PaulC]

8 hours ago, El Segundo said:

9 hours ago, PaulC said:

Expand  

I believe Kamara played a fair bit at centre back for Marseille in the past and is supposed to be an option there for us as well.  If so then not really a mismatch

In terms of height and physicality it was

[TRO]

19 hours ago, PaulC said:

Firstly the corner for the first goal should never have been and the foul leading up to it was never a foul. The ref bought it. However having Kamara on Macguire was plain stupid but neither lenglet or Carlos came out to attack the ball. So given that goal should never hsve happened, we should have easily won the game with the chances we created. Watkins, Ramsey and Luiz all guilty of bad misses. So the late goal for.man u would have been a consolation

The tactics Emery employed were good apart from having kamara mark Macguire from corners.

 

If we take thst performance into the rest of the season we will win a lot more than we loose.

We will.......but just remember, the work in both boxes, was a part of the performance too.

[TRO]

19 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

We dominated the game - I can only imagine what would have happened if he'd got it right. It was one of our better performances of the season, tactically we were a step ahead of them, the players were motivated, we showed quality, controlled the ball and the game, and then didn't finish our chances - I'm fairly sure Emery didn't instruct them to finish badly, but if he did, then I guess you're probably right.

I think the substitution of Bailey is a difficult one - he rarely plays for ninety minutes and he's rarely good for more than 45 minutes - it's why he's often so good as an impact sub, as I seem to recall you saying in his thread (and I completely agree) - he was clearly tired, and he'd clearly passed the point in games where he's usually at his best...BUT, he was still looking a threat and still having an impact - so I think taking him off is a questionable decision - I think it's also slightly muddied by Emery's habit of making non-linear substitutions to create tactical imbalances - he really replaced Bailey with Diaby and Kamara with Tielemans, but by bringing the players on in the opposite order, he creates five minutes of confusion that he tries to capitalise on. It's difficult, Bailey was still an obvious threat and bringing him off will always open up criticism. The idea that he did so because he was settling for the draw though is somewhat peculiar - we continued to create chances after the substitution and continued to dominate, both before and after McTominay's sucker punch.

On another day we win that 4-1 - tactically and in terms of performance, we were spot on - we just need a bit more composure and a bit more luck in front of goal.

 

I think its fair to say, that the work between both boxes, villa was the better team for most of the match......sadly football, doesn't work like that, and what happens in the Boxes, as random as it might seem to some, is what counts.

We was again, undone by powerfully executed headers.....Now this is nothing new to us, so we can forget being unlucky, savvy teams are well aware of our achilles, even if we are not.....so they expolit it.

On another day, when we get some of our weaknesses ironed out, as we are still WIP.....We will win that.

We need to stop looking at Man U as some sort of Demon, for our own sake.....and look at why we let them off the hook, time and time again.....The answer is within us, not them.

PS I am surprised, how very few have reported on that second Goal, how Dalot was free to cross, and McTominay free to bully Cash.......We have to be able to deal with the likes of that better than we did.....else these type of results will continue, when our strikers have an off day.

[PaulC]

3 hours ago, TRO said:

We will.......but just remember, the work in both boxes, was a part of the performance too.

Not disagreeing

[PaulC]

3 hours ago, TRO said:

I think its fair to say, that the work between both boxes, villa was the better team for most of the match......sadly football, doesn't work like that, and what happens in the Boxes, as random as it might seem to some, is what counts.

We was again, undone by powerfully executed headers.....Now this is nothing new to us, so we can forget being unlucky, savvy teams are well aware of our achilles, even if we are not.....so they expolit it.

On another day, when we get some of our weaknesses ironed out, as we are still WIP.....We will win that.

We need to stop looking at Man U as some sort of Demon, for our own sake.....and look at why we let them off the hook, time and time again.....The answer is within us, not them.

PS I am surprised, how very few have reported on that second Goal, how Dalot was free to cross, and McTominay free to bully Cash.......We have to be able to deal with the likes of that better than we did.....else these type of results will continue, when our strikers have an off day.

Yes we were better between the.boxes and man u were better in the boxes. I  agree we should have defended the late goal better. We switched off. 

[TRO]

2 hours ago, PaulC said:

Yes we were better between the.boxes and man u were better in the boxes. I  agree we should have defended the late goal better. We switched off. 

 

2 hours ago, PaulC said:

Yes we were better between the.boxes and man u were better in the boxes. I  agree we should have defended the late goal better. We switched off. 

The thing for me Paul.....That has been dismissed far too easily for me....almost, thats the way it goes.

No it isn't the way it goes, and while we do that, we will be forever, scratting around for comfort in a game.

The execution of that goal should be called out....for what puny offering it was, at a crucial time in a game, poised at 1-1.......The rest is sweat, artistry and toil, despite it being pleasing on the eye....but it matters not, when the business end is not catered for.

Graham Taylor, had his theories, (and I am not comparing him with Unai) when he used to say to his players, pick them up where it matters, in and around the area, thats where they can hurt you....save your energy for danger zone.

We are conceding sloppy goals, to not even, well worked goals in most cases.....However, McTominay's was a worldie, from a very determined young man.

 

Edited February 13 by TRO

[PaulC]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

 

The thing for me Paul.....That has been dismissed far too easily for me....almost, thats the way it goes.

No it isn't the way it goes, and while we do that, we will be forever, scratting around for comfort in a game.

The execution of that goal should be called out....for what puny offering it was, at a crucial time in a game, poised at 1-1.......The rest is sweat, artistry and toil, despite it being pleasing on the eye....but it matters not, when the business end is not catered for.

Graham Taylor, had his theories, (and I am not comparing him with Unai) when he used to say to his players, pick them up where it matters, in and around the area, thats where they can hurt you....save your energy for danger zone.

We are conceding sloppy goals, to not even, well worked goals in most cases.....However, McTominay's was a worldie, from a very determined young man.

 

Yes but we have to cling onto some positives and that was a much improved performance from Newcastle and Chelsea. Take that into the next three games and improve where it matters in both boxes hopefully we can remain on track for a top 5 finish 

[striker]

On 12/02/2024 at 11:46, Vive_La_Villa said:

I read your posts and sometimes think you’re trolling us. Maybe it’s the fact you were a visiting supporter for so long.

Thanks for reading my posts. Mucho appreciate! I can absolutely assure you I post my honest opinion and wouldn’t troll anyone. What would be the point in that. I support both Villa & Everton. More Villa now but still follow both teams.

[striker]

On 12/02/2024 at 13:52, OutByEaster? said:

We dominated the game - I can only imagine what would have happened if he'd got it right. It was one of our better performances of the season, tactically we were a step ahead of them, the players were motivated, we showed quality, controlled the ball and the game, and then didn't finish our chances - I'm fairly sure Emery didn't instruct them to finish badly, but if he did, then I guess you're probably right.

I think the substitution of Bailey is a difficult one - he rarely plays for ninety minutes and he's rarely good for more than 45 minutes - it's why he's often so good as an impact sub, as I seem to recall you saying in his thread (and I completely agree) - he was clearly tired, and he'd clearly passed the point in games where he's usually at his best...BUT, he was still looking a threat and still having an impact - so I think taking him off is a questionable decision - I think it's also slightly muddied by Emery's habit of making non-linear substitutions to create tactical imbalances - he really replaced Bailey with Diaby and Kamara with Tielemans, but by bringing the players on in the opposite order, he creates five minutes of confusion that he tries to capitalise on. It's difficult, Bailey was still an obvious threat and bringing him off will always open up criticism. The idea that he did so because he was settling for the draw though is somewhat peculiar - we continued to create chances after the substitution and continued to dominate, both before and after McTominay's sucker punch.

On another day we win that 4-1 - tactically and in terms of performance, we were spot on - we just need a bit more composure and a bit more luck in front of goal.

 

Yes I did say Bailey is better as an impact sub and will stick to that although he was still creating a lot of problems for Man U. I just felt due to those problems Man U we’re glad to see him hooked.

Agree that Villa were the better team but sadly less clinical in front of goal. I would have started Iroegbunam and Roger’s just to freshen things up a little to add more pace and physicality but understand this may not have been the game to do that.

Since Kamara also joins the injury list Tim should play more even if Emery wants to change it a little. I’d also like to see Rogers played against Fulham. Could be the ideal game to bring both in and give someone a rest?