Ratings & Reactions: Man City v Villa

[Leeroy]

All those who jumped on my posts in the prematch thread, shame on you.

 

It was a shit show from start to finish. The lineup, the subs (Chambers, FFS). Injuries don’t help but to me Emery was experimenting tonight. He threw that game as far as I’m concerned. Even at 2-1 when we were getting battered he could have got Bailey and Tielemans in there, he waited until 3-1 and the game was done.

 

Look, I’ll get criticism for reproaching Emery, of course I will. But he has made some very big mistakes as Villa manager and tonight he got it badly wrong again. Of course he’s done some incredible things but fast forward just four months on from when we beat city in December and we look a much worse team. This calendar year we don’t look as good as we did at the end of 2023, in essence we look like we’ve regressed. Injuries haven’t helped but what on earth was he thinking putting that team out there tonight, I’ve no idea. 
 

All will be fine if we win the games we should, like Brentford on Saturday. Win that and everything is ok again, even if we play crap like we seem to most games this calendar year. But things aren’t as good as they were and we look a million miles from the top teams again, as tonight showed.

 

Equally we need players back. Martinez and Watkins at the minimum better be back on Saturday, along with McGinn. We need our players to stand up, be fit, and help us along the line now. Not get injured or ‘ill’ when we need them the most.

[GingerCollins29]

Why did chambers get booked for a shoulder barge but a few mins earlier konsa got shoulder barged in the box and no pen? 

[sheepyvillian]

21 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

An still people don't rate Foden 

Shame he doesn't do it at international level. 

[Jas10]

9 minutes ago, stewiek2 said:

Cheating cocksuckers 4 Villa 1

Nice one Chris

[sheepyvillian]

2 minutes ago, GingerCollins29 said:

Why did chambers get booked for a shoulder barge but a few mins earlier konsa got shoulder barged in the box and no pen? 

He should have been booked for that istake which led to their 4th.

Edited April 3 by sheepyvillian

[jackbauer24]

Sorry, whilst I understand the rationale, I will NEVER accept giving up before a ball is kicked. Emery's lineup may have been impacted by injuries and suspensions but it doesn't explain all the decisions on TOP of that.

No Pau, Bailey, Tielemans when available. Bringing on Chambers and kids to replace seniors players. We may as well have just played all the kids such was the approach and set up to that game.

I'm genuinely fuming that we are all so ready to accept this approach. Not taking risks with likes of Watkins and Ramsey might be fine, but to simply rest players in the Premier League (unless against WORSE) opposition is, frankly, pathetic.

I get it, I really do. But I do not like it and will never like it. They rested players against us to some degree because they have bigger games coming up and put out a team they still (correctly!) thought could win. We simply gave up. Based on how that went, a draw wouldn't have been out the realms of possibility if we'd approached it with integrity.

I imagine Martinez's illness got a lot worse when he saw the team sheet.

The team did well enough in the main, but they could play that match 100 times and never get a point such was the difference in quality. We were set up to fail and obviously lost.

I never want to see a Villa side throw a game and that's what thar effectively was. You rest players against worst teams and perhaps mess it up, but you don't surrender like that.

So for all the good he has done, that has to be a VERY POOR for Emery and I never want to see that approach again.

[sheepyvillian]

You just can't rise to some comments. I'm slowly learning that.

[GeordieVillan]

6 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

All those who jumped on my posts in the prematch thread, shame on you.

 

It was a shit show from start to finish. The lineup, the subs (Chambers, FFS). Injuries don’t help but to me Emery was experimenting tonight. He threw that game as far as I’m concerned. Even at 2-1 when we were getting battered he could have got Bailey and Tielemans in there, he waited until 3-1 and the game was done.

 

Look, I’ll get criticism for reproaching Emery, of course I will. But he has made some very big mistakes as Villa manager and tonight he got it badly wrong again. Of course he’s done some incredible things but fast forward just four months on from when we beat city in December and we look a much worse team. This calendar year we don’t look as good as we did at the end of 2023, in essence we look like we’ve regressed. Injuries haven’t helped but what on earth was he thinking putting that team out there tonight, I’ve no idea. 
 

All will be fine if we win the games we should, like Brentford on Saturday. Win that and everything is ok again, even if we play crap like we seem to most games this calendar year. But things aren’t as good as they were and we look a million miles from the top teams again, as tonight showed.

 

Equally we need players back. Martinez and Watkins at the minimum better be back on Saturday, along with McGinn. We need our players to stand up, be fit, and help us along the line now. Not get injured or ‘ill’ when we need them the most.

To be fair - he already had the subs ready to come on at 2-1. Sadly they scored as we were waiting for a stoppage in play, then it’s a very different game when they come on.

[sheepyvillian]

If Luiz hadn't have been so careless in what was a crucial time in the game, then just maybe, we could have got something. That just knocked the stuffing right out of us.

Edited April 3 by sheepyvillian

[Leeroy]

7 minutes ago, GeordieVillan said:

To be fair - he already had the subs ready to come on at 2-1. Sadly they scored as we were waiting for a stoppage in play, then it’s a very different game when they come on.

The ball went out several times just before the third. I was desperate for him to bring on subs and he didn’t. 
 

I personally think he was waiting until the hour to make them and they scored just before then. Even then the subs were odd to say the least. Chambers for Tim who was having a good game, then leaving Rogers on whose inexperience was showing and Zaniolo who looked tired and taking off Luiz and Diaby. 

 

i get trying to save players for the run in but it seemed when those subs were made we’d conceded the game. It was just another horrible night and another thrashing and hopefully that’s the last one this season because I can’t take another performance like that again.

Edited April 3 by Leeroy

[turvontour]

I get the context of it but such a shame we couldn't go there and make an attempt at doing the double over them this season.

Just crazy that Douglas Luiz was the only surviving player of the front 6 that beat man City at villa Park. No Martinez either. Pau too.

What an odd and disappointing reverse fixture.

Edited April 3 by turvontour

[Leeroy]

42 minutes ago, JoshVilla said:

Arsenal fans in the latest "being bedwetters" shocker. They're having a meltdown on Twitter about the team that Unai put out, without realising that half of the changes were forced. They're convinced he's done it so that City go above Arsenal.

 

Not wrong.

[avfc1982am]

I don't blame Emery or the players for tonight. As I've said previously we could've put out our strongest side had everyone been fit and still got turned over convincingly. 

I think Unai went for a more physical set up realising we wouldn't be able keep City off us for the 90 mins. Tim, Zaniolo, Duran and Rodgers have all had minimum game time so would probably never had the legs to last the full 90 mins anyway. Then there is Saturday, had Unai had Bailey, Pau, Tielemans on from the start tonight and we'd still got done then people would have said he should've been smarter considering Brentford the weekend. Dammed if he does, dammed if he don't. 

I think all things considered the ball is still in our court with the points already on the board. We've just got to make sure that tonight blip is just a blip. 

Finally I think supporters need to lighten up. With the injuries we've had where we are is fantastic, so support the manager, the players and be real fans. If we end up just missing out on the CL so what, we'll be back in Europe next season with hopefully a much stronger squad and still a great manager at the helm. UTV

Edited April 3 by avfc1982am

[Galway Lion]

16 minutes ago, jackbauer24 said:

Sorry, whilst I understand the rationale, I will NEVER accept giving up before a ball is kicked. Emery's lineup may have been impacted by injuries and suspensions but it doesn't explain all the decisions on TOP of that.

No Pau, Bailey, Tielemans when available. Bringing on Chambers and kids to replace seniors players. We may as well have just played all the kids such was the approach and set up to that game.

I'm genuinely fuming that we are all so ready to accept this approach. Not taking risks with likes of Watkins and Ramsey might be fine, but to simply rest players in the Premier League (unless against WORSE) opposition is, frankly, pathetic.

I get it, I really do. But I do not like it and will never like it. They rested players against us to some degree because they have bigger games coming up and put out a team they still (correctly!) thought could win. We simply gave up. Based on how that went, a draw wouldn't have been out the realms of possibility if we'd approached it with integrity.

I imagine Martinez's illness got a lot worse when he saw the team sheet.

The team did well enough in the main, but they could play that match 100 times and never get a point such was the difference in quality. We were set up to fail and obviously lost.

I never want to see a Villa side throw a game and that's what thar effectively was. You rest players against worst teams and perhaps mess it up, but you don't surrender like that.

So for all the good he has done, that has to be a VERY POOR for Emery and I never want to see that approach again.

Just look at the bigger picture. Brentford and Lille far more important games than going full pelt against these cheat’s 

[avfc1982am]

3 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

Not wrong.

Don't embarrass yourself dude. Chill out

[Leeroy]

5 minutes ago, avfc1982am said:

I don't blame Emery or the players for tonight. As I've said previously we could've put out our strongest side had everyone been fit and still got turned over convincingly. 

I think Unai went for a more physical set up realising we wouldn't be able keep City off us for the 90 mins. Tim, Zaniolo, Duran and Rodgers have all had minimum game time so would probably never had the legs to last the full 90 mins anyway. Then there is Saturday, had Unai had Bailey, Pau, Tielemans on from the start tonight and we'd still got done then people would have said he should've been smarter considering Brentford the weekend. Dammed if he does, dammed if he don't. 

I think all things considered the ball is still in our court with the points already on the board. We've just got to make sure that tonight blip is just a blip. 

Finally I think supporter need to lighten up. With the injuries we've had where we are is fantastic, so support the manager, the players and be real fans. If we end up just missing out on the CL so what, we'll be back in Europe next season with hopefully a much stronger squad and still a great manager at the helm. UTV

I will forgive him tonight if we beat Brentford. If we don’t I’ll be fuming. We’ve effectively thrown tonight’s game to focus on Saturday, which is fine if we win that match but absolutely not fine if we don’t win it.

 

We are much better than them so really should, as long as Emery plays the strongest team. I’m starting to worry he doesn’t know what that is though. 

Edited April 3 by Leeroy

[Leeroy]

3 minutes ago, avfc1982am said:

Don't embarrass yourself dude. Chill out

Not embarrassed myself at all, freedom of speech, you chill out.

Edited April 3 by Leeroy

[il_serpente]

The goal in first half stoppage time changed it from a game we looked well capable of getting something from to one that we were almost certain to lose.  I don't like to say "if only xxx..." when a great save or the woodwork denies a goal or even when poor excecution or simple lack of ability causes a player to gift a team an easy chance or a goal.  But when players just do stupid things and it turns the game, I can't help it.  You simply cannot give a free kick just outside the box when you're trying to see out the last couple of minutes and unexpectedly get in at halftime level.  And turning sideways in the wall is schoolboy stuff.  Unfortunately, Dougie has previous  for losing his head at the wrong time.  And we then had to listen to Peter Drury suck Foden's c*ck over a poor free kick that by all rights should have been straight into the wall at chest level.  Even with the compounded mistakes of Luiz and Zaniolo and the hit to the confidence and morale, we came closer to levelling in the 2nd half than they did to increasing their lead until they finally got the 3rd.   I think it would have been a very tight match if Villa had gotten to halftime at 1-1.

[jackbauer24]

I assume this also means we will be 'throwing' the Arsenal and Liverpool games too as we have winnable fixtures and European games around them...

[John]

That could have been a lot worse (not as bad as those drummers before the game though). Was I the only one, that was worried, we might have Douglas sent off towards the end of the first half? UE sensibly prioritised our next two games and given the team we put out, I would have not been shocked by a three goal margin, at kick-off. As it was we gave a good account of ourselves in the first half and had them worried, until our wall collapsed for their second. Foden was the difference and playing Citeh after their draw at the weekend, was always going to be a bad time to meet them. This was always going to be a free hit and home wins from our next two games is what matters to us now.