Ratings & Reactions: Villa v Spurs

[VillaChris]

8 minutes ago, DJBOB said:

Zaniolo, Luiz, McGinn and Bailey with Tielemans dropping in from the second striker spot. 
 
Unai has outthought himself in a few matches this year trying to keep certain players on pitch instead of just living with the results

Zaniolo starting his first prem game for about four months would've been a huge call. He was lively when he came on but it's completely different dynamic to actually starting a match.

If Rogers had been here since the summer he'd have started I think but still getting up to speed with the training and tactics.

Only big surprise to me was Moreno not starting in a back 5. Digne is more suited to a back 4 and was clearly told to stay back. Would've been interesting Moreno in that system, when he came on it was a back 4 and down to 10 men so little chance to get forward.

Edited March 10 by VillaChris

[DJBOB]

1 minute ago, VillaChris said:

Zaniolo starting his first prem game for about four months would've been a huge call. He was lively when he came on but it's completely different dynamic to actually starting a match.

If Rogers had been here since the summer he'd have started I think but still getting up to speed with the training and tactics.

Maybe so but just as big of a call to go with a system we have not played all season in a crucial match. 

[AV82]

5 minutes ago, StefanAVFC said:

Back 4 - probably Konsa and then moreno due to less attacking RB

tielemans mcginn Luiz Bailey 

watkins diaby

 although he’s been poor it balances out the team better imo 

Cool. So in your example Konsa theoretically could've passed to Moreno, Pau, Cash, Tielemans, McGinn, Douglas and Bailey (7).

During our actual game, based on the formation you're using as a stick to beat Emery with, Konsa had Digne, Pau, Lenglet, Cash, Tielemans, McGinn, Bailey and Douglas (8) to pass to. Even if you remove Tielemans, who I'm including because he was the one who actually 'received' the ball, it's still even. Could you please explain to my monkey brain how your formation prevents that second goal?

Edited March 10 by AV82

[VillaChris]

Just now, DJBOB said:

Maybe so but just as big of a call to go with a system we have not played all season in a crucial match. 

According to the world feed we played it at Brentford away.

I can understand why it did and ultimately it was 0-0 at half time so the platform was still there to win the game but a shocking 20 minutes ended all that.

[El Segundo]

1 hour ago, sheepyvillian said:

I think that's a tad unfair on Zanilolo, although I agree in regards to Diaby.

If our starting 11 had shown the fiery spirit that Zani showed when coming on, it may well have been a different outcome. The effort to make something happen is sometimes what gives a team the catalyst it desires. 

It's not about coming on and just running around a lot though is it?  We may have well have kept Trezeguet if we are to be satisfied with that.  We need players coming on who can add some quality as well as up the energy levels.   At the moment nether Diaby or Zaniolo bring much to the table in terms of effective contributions or end product.  As for your Konsa comment, he played a poor ball out of defence to McGinn first half which we were lucky to get away with, as well the one second half which led to the goal.   Defended ok but his playing out was ropey today,

[alreadyexists]

3 minutes ago, El Segundo said:

Today showed we probably don't quite have the strength in depth or the mentality for CL football yet but we shouldn't be giving up on it, especially as we can strengthen in the summer knowing we'll have some extra revenue.  It's going to be harder after this season if the likes of Newcastle, Chelsea, and Man Yew get their acts together.        

The loss today hurt, but what about beating Man City, and Arsenal, and Spurs in the reverse fixture? Do they mean we are/aren’t ready for CL? I don’t think this one game defines us, any more than an excellent win elsewhere does, and I don’t think it has meaning beyond a lost 3 points in what would’ve been an excellent time to get 3 from a rival…

I’m gutted, but we can’t let the team, or the fans give up on a phenomenally good season and the best chance we’ve had of CL for nearly 20 years. 

[Captain_Townsend]

I am 100% behind Unai and the team. Loving this season.

Bad day but we are still in 4th. That was more of a must win for them than it was for us.

 

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

This was the first time we failed to score at home under Emery 

[jim]

10 minutes ago, El Segundo said:

Today showed we probably don't quite have the strength in depth or the mentality for CL football yet but we shouldn't be giving up on it, especially as we can strengthen in the summer knowing we'll have some extra revenue.  It's going to be harder after this season if the likes of Newcastle, Chelsea, and Man Yew get their acts together.        

I don’t think we’ll have another chance like this for a long time. We need to cling onto 5th and do well in the conference cup.

[DJBOB]

4 minutes ago, VillaChris said:

According to the world feed we played it at Brentford away.

I can understand why it did and ultimately it was 0-0 at half time so the platform was still there to win the game but a shocking 20 minutes ended all that.

I think that when you set the team out to play a 532 and play scared and defend deep to try and get one on the counter, it permeates through the whole team. They played with little confidence and it showed even in the final third when they really didn’t know where each other would be. 
 
All of the training and automations went out the window. Why would Watkins look for Tielemans on the left when he’s to his right 95% of the time. Bailey played exclusively on the wing and now he’s a central striker. Cash and Digne as attacking wingbacks? Makes little sense. 

[Steero113]

The player threads are a car crash. 

It's like the world is ending. 

We were due a battering. It's happened, we immediately bounced back from the Newcastle 5-1. Lets do the same again. 

[Radness]

We have been out scoring teams all year, taking it to the big boys.

Then in the last two games we set up and played equal opposition like we were petrified and would be lucky to escape with a draw. What happened?

[Tomaszk]

31 minutes ago, AV82 said:

I was happy to see Pau on the ball in midfield, I thought it was a great idea. That, and our 'formation' is not the reason we lost today.

It was the formation, and the performance within it.

My concern is Unai thinks the legs have gone and that's why he played that way.

You don't go at City only to stand off Spurs.

Concerning.

[Mantis]

1 minute ago, Tomaszk said:

It was the formation, and the performance within it.

My concern is Unai thinks the legs have gone and that's why he played that way.

You don't go at City only to stand off Spurs.

Concerning.

I still think people aren't taking into account the absence of Kamara. He's crucial to being able to take the game to the better teams.

[markavfc40]

Always find these threads fun reading after we don't win, or when we do win but haven't blown a team away, or shock horror we concede goals. It often feels like all perspective has been lost and the fact we were just 16 months ago relegation fodder has been forgotten.

No doubt today was disappointing but hey ho it happens at this level when you are up against a very good side and aren't completely on it especially if you add in a couple of simple errors and then that getting compounded by a player losing his head.

Even whilst walking back to the car today though and the rain pissing down on me I could already put today in the perspective of sitting in the top 4 when in reality we should at best be sniffing around 6th or 7th. Put today in the perspective that the defeat came off the back of 3 wins on the bounce. Put today in the perspective that in 4 days time we'll play our biggest game in Europe for 15 years under the lights at a rocking VP and that in a week's time we'll again get the opportunity to bounce back from a defeat in the league by getting a positive result and maintaining our remarkable record of not having lost two league games on the bounce in over 10 months.

 

We can bitch and moan but the facts of the matter are we are massively overachieving so defeats are going to happen, poor performances are going to happen, goals are going to be conceded. Overall though when you put things into perspective we are having a hell of an unexpected (at this stage) ride.

[sheepyvillian]

13 minutes ago, El Segundo said:

It's not about coming on and just running around a lot though is it?  We may have well have kept Trezeguet if we are to be satisfied with that.  We need players coming on who can add some quality as well as up the energy levels.   At the moment nether Diaby or Zaniolo bring much to the table in terms of effective contributions or end product.  As for your Konsa comment, he played a poor ball out of defence to McGinn first half which we were lucky to get away with, as well the one second half which led to the goal.   Defended ok but his playing out was ropey today,

But he didn't just run about, he ran with purpose and tried to make things happen, which is a hell of a lot more than Diaby done, that's for sure. 

If Konsa hadn't contributed to us conceding that second goal, I would have given him motm, at moments, his defensive awareness was on point. 

There wasn't a player on the pitch who didn't play a misplaced pass, Zani gets credit for effort, which is more than most others gave, and there are no excuses for lack of effort, not in my book anyway. As for Konsa, he at least done some things that were pleasent to the eye, to those of us who are not optically challenged that is.

Edited March 10 by sheepyvillian

[AV82]

3 minutes ago, Tomaszk said:

It was the formation, and the performance within it.

My concern is Unai thinks the legs have gone and that's why he played that way.

You don't go at City only to stand off Spurs.

Concerning.

I don't see how either playing Cash in midfield (who has more legs than any other player in the squad) or having Pau push up into midfield to supplement our attack with his passing range means we're playing this naive, 'pls don't lose' way. I just don't see it. That's even before we talk about who we'd have played in midfield instead. How we were set up and how we were playing was working just fine until a freak cross and a mistake by Konsa.

[DJBOB]

1 minute ago, AV82 said:

I don't see how either playing Cash in midfield (who has more legs than any other player in the squad) or having Pau push up into midfield to supplement our attack with his passing range means we're playing this naive, 'pls don't lose' way. I just don't see it. That's even before we talk about who we'd have played in midfield instead. How we were set up and how we were playing was working just fine until a freak cross and a mistake by Konsa.

I don’t see how anyone would take away anything from the first half except, “Just got by.”

I’ve seen this team under Unai completely outplay champions league and title winners. We were absent two players (Kamara and Diego Carlos) from the team that faced City and Arsenal yet set the team up like wee were Sheffield playing the invincibles. It was completely mind boggling. 

[Tom13]

Just now, DJBOB said:

I don’t see how anyone would take away anything from the first half except, “Just got by.”

I’ve seen this team under Unai completely outplay champions league and title winners. We were absent two players (Kamara and Diego Carlos) from the team that faced City and Arsenal yet set the team up like wee were Sheffield playing the invincibles. It was completely mind boggling. 

Title winners who played a midfield of Stones and Akanji. And Kamara is a monumental loss.

[DJBOB]

1 minute ago, Tom13 said:

Title winners who played a midfield of Stones and Akanji. And Kamara is a monumental loss.

He’s a loss but not so much of a loss that we play a completely different system and look inept while doing so.