Ratings & Reactions: Man City v Villa

[duke313]

I think we'd all have taken 3 points from 6 from City at the start of the season.  

[sheepyvillian]

11 hours ago, jackbauer24 said:

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...

Maybe last - nights performance will give the other two a false sense of security when we do meet. Every cloud and all.

[TRO]

12 hours ago, ozvillafan said:

Rodri the difference. Foden's finishing was great.

From our lot, only Chambers concerns me. Would be happy to see him leave. The rest did well all things considered - the 2nd goal was the killer.

That's what world class CDMs do.

Even a few layers down, would be nice.....while Kamara is out.

[striker]

1 hour ago, Leeroy said:

Look I’m sorry if my posts have offended you, I get very emotional about the Villa and this is a really important period while we try to clinch 4th place, I’m a rational guy but match day is different, if you don’t like it you don’t have to read. I was being silly about Martinez, I don’t think he faked illness, but it’s very very frustrating to have your best goalkeeper by a mile pull out just before kickoff when we’ve already got a load of players out as it is and it just seemed a bit off to say he was ‘ill’ given he was in the team initially. I also don’t think anything I’ve said about performances have been inaccurate, other than Forest and Man Utd at home and Sheffield Utd away, we’ve generally been recording lower XGs against our opponents and playing much worse than we did in the first half of the season. Even wolves who had kids in their starting 11 were the better side against us. We don’t look a top 4 side any more and injuries don’t help but don’t tell the whole story.

 

I never expected to win last night but to put out that team really hurt as I basically had no hope after that and I’ve now seen us get battered 4 times this season (Newcastle 5-1, Liverpool 3-0, Spurs 4-0, Man City 4-1). For context last season under Emery we didn’t lose a game by more than 2 goals. It has become a common thing for us to be torn apart by teams when things aren’t going for us and that soft underbelly is something I want eradicated next season.

 

As I said all will be forgotten about yesterday if we finish the season well. He clearly rested players yesterday so we could play them to win the more winnable games. He now has to follow through on that by winning the winnable games or his strategy has failed. We basically need to win 4 of our last 7 games to get 4th and Saturday is one of those games. 

Think the above post is a very honest summary of Villa’s present form in particular the second paragraph.

I too am alarmed at the drubbings suffered this season which are unbecoming of a fourth placed Premiership team. I’ve read some of the excuses like injuries and fatigue. While I have some sympathy for the first I do not believe you can use the second as most of the players used should have been reasonably fresh. You could also argue that City were under strength too resting two of their best players!

Arsenal demonstrated how to nullify City in the previous game so much so that a much lauded Foden looked ordinary.

Villa’s high line is an invitation to the better teams to hit through and over the top passes to break the offside trap. We’ve seen it time and time again even in pre-season against teams with pace!

Whilst I fully admit Villa were suffering from a spate of injuries last night I was frustrated to see Emery setting up Villa as he has done all season without adapting much to the opposition with no plan to nullify Foden.

Foden must love playing against Villa. For such a talented player to have the freedom of the park it’s no wonder he scored a hat trick last night.

It was naive in the extreme by Emery especially when the team was injury hit. He could have at least tried to smother City through the middle as Arteta did.
 

Arteta has learned the hard way against City in previous games against Pep so maybe Emery will now do the same next season at the Etihad rather than going toe to toe with a better team?

[TRO]

The result was predictable.

I cannot just ignore the antics in the wall, it's quite laughable, and lacks courage.....what is the point of one, if it just parts like the red sea.....that changed the game, and injected the belief to go on and score freely.

I also think, that game highlights the inability to win the ball from duels....we clearly have to find some naturally gifted defenders.

However, it was our reserves.....but I still don't think that has a bearing on the wall.

[fightoffyour]

13 hours ago, wishywashy said:

For clarity, here is an entire starting XI you could make with the players who didn't start today, ranging from injury to suspension to clearly needing rests:

Watkins
Bailey Buendia
Ramsey Kamara McGinn
Moreno Mings Torres Cash
Martinez

This isn't far off being our best 11. In fact, Konsa in for Cash and Luiz in for Ramsey or Buendia and I'd say it is, aside from Digne in on current form only.

[TRO]

2 hours ago, Leeroy said:

Look I’m sorry if my posts have offended you, I get very emotional about the Villa and this is a really important period while we try to clinch 4th place, I’m a rational guy but match day is different, if you don’t like it you don’t have to read. I was being silly about Martinez, I don’t think he faked illness, but it’s very very frustrating to have your best goalkeeper by a mile pull out just before kickoff when we’ve already got a load of players out as it is and it just seemed a bit off to say he was ‘ill’ given he was in the team initially. I also don’t think anything I’ve said about performances have been inaccurate, other than Forest and Man Utd at home and Sheffield Utd away, we’ve generally been recording lower XGs against our opponents and playing much worse than we did in the first half of the season. Even wolves who had kids in their starting 11 were the better side against us. We don’t look a top 4 side any more and injuries don’t help but don’t tell the whole story.

 

I never expected to win last night but to put out that team really hurt as I basically had no hope after that and I’ve now seen us get battered 4 times this season (Newcastle 5-1, Liverpool 3-0, Spurs 4-0, Man City 4-1). For context last season under Emery we didn’t lose a game by more than 2 goals. It has become a common thing for us to be torn apart by teams when things aren’t going for us and that soft underbelly is something I want eradicated next season.

 

As I said all will be forgotten about yesterday if we finish the season well. He clearly rested players yesterday so we could play them to win the more winnable games. He now has to follow through on that by winning the winnable games or his strategy has failed. We basically need to win 4 of our last 7 games to get 4th and Saturday is one of those games. 

I see that as an Honest post.

While I accept, the deleted squad for what it is.....if we look deeper, its clear we need some better quality in players who can wrestle the ball off opponents in a duel......I see a squad, laden with attack minded players, and few with defensive bias.

Our press, seems more like a semi press, with marginal conviction......considering Man City, chose to rest their big hitters, I thought we could do better, in terms of nuisance value......Foden was lauded, but who picked him up, he had the freedom of the park.

When we have to keep resorting to playing  Douglas as a 6, when he is clearly an 8.....we will keep conceding free kicks around the box, his challenges are not commensurate with a top no 6....his challenges are often clumsy and desperate, as opposed to dominating and conclusive.

To be honest....with the squad balance as it is, quite apart from the injuries, I think Unai has a huge task.

You only have to look at how Arsenal "went after" Man City in their recent game, to our passive affair, to know we have much work to do...Having said that, to improve, we have to buy the right players, we cannot keep buying wingers, and lighweights, we need some substance.

Only when we was gifted by swathes of space, did we show an ability to threat..... ironically, some young players, showed promise.....but their ( man city) quick feet, quick brains and an insatiable appetite to run without the ball was simply too much for us.

No one really felt we would win that game....but if we don't see, elements of that game where we can improve.....then I don't see the future, we are hoping for.

The sad thing for me is.....some of the shortfalls we have, I see it in the teams, with the regulars in, so I am not blaming the second tier players, with the exception of the inexcusable absence of duty by Zaniolo in the wall.

[VillanousOne]

as many have said we'll see if that result comes back to harm us, only the power of hindsight will tell us.

my opinion is we didn't need to throw the game away before kick off, but there you go, each to their own.
 

 

[TRO]

1 hour ago, duke313 said:

Would it make you feel better if we started Pau, Youri and Bailey and had lost 2-1 instead of 4-1?

and I think that is what would have happened.....as it is now, Unai has protected the first team from defeat, psychological prudence....quite canny, imo.

We simply haven't got the squad.......yet ( made worse by injuries) to be mixing it with the top 3.

 

 

Edited April 4 by TRO

[VillanousOne]

1 hour ago, Pinebro said:

Ok.

We can always follow MON's strategy and play our strongest eleven every game and burn out

I'll take short term pain for long term gain thank you.

Isn't it a reverse MON, as MON played a weakened team in Europe in order to push for Champion's League.

MON also had players available just tended not to bother playing them.

and you're very welcome

[VillanousOne]

1 hour ago, Wainy316 said:

Right decision I think and I'd rather go for it against Brentford and Lille than Arsenal.

I guess it does raise the pressure to win a bit in the games we save the players for though.

yeah if we lose to Brentford or Lille people will be waving their pants in the air.

I guess it depends on who is coming back from injury and when. I would have thought resting Doug might have made more sense, seeing as he has played more games than anyone and is nearing a suspension for cards earned.
 

I trust in the Sultan of Unai, but getting turned over by those plastic financial cheats never feels good, especially when we beat them already and they look so shaky at the back.

Edited April 4 by VillanousOne

[fightoffyour]

2 hours ago, Leeroy said:

I don’t agree but ok.

I can't believe this needs saying, but the wall is there to protect one side of the goal because it's too big of a target for one person to be able to cover.

If the free kick goes far side, which the keeper stands closer to, they should save it. If the free kick goes near side and either under, through, or over the wall and on a postage stamp then the keeper has basically no chance depending on the power of the shot. And that's any keeper in the world, including Martinez.

[sheepyvillian]

Lets not forget the fact that the wall wouldn't have been an issue if Luiz hadn't reverted to his petulant antics.

How many times has he been guilty of that?

[sheepyvillian]

20 minutes ago, fightoffyour said:

This isn't far off being our best 11. In fact, Konsa in for Cash and Luiz in for Ramsey or Buendia and I'd say it is, aside from Digne in on current form only.

You need a right footed centre half paired with a left footed centre - half if you want balance at the back.

 

[tinker]

I don't think it's about protecting them from the emotional stress of defeat its about minimising the chances of injuries being aggravated and physical exhaustion. City rested their best players and won, we haven't got that depth because we play by the rules.

We're all emotional about the villa but Emery isn't, he wants to win the war not the battle and he's giving us the best chance of doing that and anyone that can't see that is wrong. Even if we lose to Brentford we will have given ourselves a better chance by resting our better players, it really is that simple.

As for judging our teams performance over a season from last night's performance, I think that's just ridiculous, it shows we have a squad that's not capable of competing for the premier league title, that's all, nothing else.

Tim, Olsen , Rogers , Diaby, Duran all did well, under the circumstances,  Zaniolo let himself down with a lack of concentration for 1 second, that changed the game.

[sheepyvillian]

26 minutes ago, TRO said:

we have to keep resorting to playing  Douglas as a 6, when he is clearly an 8.....we will keep conceding free kicks around the box, his challenges are not commensurate with a top no 6.

I can't think of anything more frustrating than seeing him do time and time again what occurred last night.

It was the same at West Ham, only there he was saved by VAR.

Edited April 4 by sheepyvillian

[duke313]

1 hour ago, striker said:

Arsenal demonstrated how to nullify City in the previous game so much so that a much lauded Foden looked ordinary.

All Arsenal did is park the bus with their £600m squad, what a genius pepinho Arteta is.  If only Emery had the vision of Arteta to take one of the most expensively assembled squads in world football and conjure up a performance that resulted in 2 shots the entire game.

[striker]

6 minutes ago, duke313 said:

All Arsenal did is park the bus with their £600m squad, what a genius pepinho Arteta is.  If only Emery had the vision of Arteta to take one of the most expensively assembled squads in world football and conjure up a performance that resulted in 2 shots the entire game.

They got the draw while Villa conceded 4. If you are happy with that then good luck.

[tinker]

40 minutes ago, striker said:

They got the draw while Villa conceded 4. If you are happy with that then good luck.

Their competing with man City for the title, we're competing against Spurs and Manure for top 5. 

[fightoffyour]

1 hour ago, sheepyvillian said:

You need a right footed centre half paired with a left footed centre - half if you want balance at the back.

 

I think I'd go with the best players over which feet. Mings give some much more in aerial ability and leadership, as well as other defensive attributes, I don't see how he doesn't start if he's back to 90% of his best.