PL: Everton a Ratings and Reactions 2009/10/31

[Demitri_C]

good point for us, cuellar wasnt a second yellow for me. he will miss west ham game so luke young will surely get a game now which is good as could arguably offer more at rb. but is he match fit?

thrilled that carew scored. only 2 defeats this season that is good considering how many liverpool have lost.

[Hanky]

Sidwell and Petrov can NOT play together. Yet again today what the **** does Sidwell actually do?! He's piss poor.

The undefeated record with Sidwell in the side this season does not back that up.

O'Neill has got us playing some of the worst football i've seen down the Villa, boring as **** and play for set pieces.

You think this is bad? We're not playing as good football as we did in the 07/08 season. But it isn't as bad as it is made out IMO, we will never be an Arsenal or anything so I wouldn't put you're expectations too high there.

[jonno_2004]

4 or 5 of their best players out??? rubbish!

Arteta and Jagielka that's all they weren't far off full strength and were terrible 2nd half

Exactly. Who else? Phil Neville.. come on. Everton get far too much respect imo

[sting]

Everton were there for the taking today with an under strength side, yet we still couldn't capitalize. We are so poor going forward and our ball retention is nothing short of being pathetic! We lack quality in midfield and it is without doubt one of the worst offensive Villa sides in recent memory!

I had forcast a draw before the game and had stated that a point would be the best we could hope for depending upon who, and what formation our manager played. He alas, didn't disappoint!

[It's_your_round]

Neither of Cuellar's bookings were actually bookings. The first one Baines (who spent all game falling over) knocked the ball past him, brushes past him, Cuellar stands there with his hands up basically saying i can't get out the way and he gets booked for that? The second one was a joke, the ball wouldn't have gone out of play if he hadn't touched it, referees have no common sense or understanding of the game.

[villa4europe]

We are so poor going forward and our ball retention is nothing short of being pathetic! We lack quality in midfield and it is without doubt one of the worst offensive Villa sides in recent memory!

whilst i do agree im not going that far, if results go our way this week we are 4th come wednesday night

we arent playing that well but getting some decent results, without their injuries id have taken a draw up there, and if we are still there or there abouts come jan then IMO we are only a van der vaart on loan away

and IMO whoever said big brad should of saved it is being well harsh, the ball was stuck in a crowd and then hit across him it would of beat most keepers

[tinker]

Collins was clearly obstructed for Evertons goal, the ref was shocking. On Everton fans, even though its annoying for the away team, their waying and screaming does influence the ref, so why would they stop? Wish we would start it to pressurize the refs at Villa park TBH.

At the start of the season i would have accepted this result, bit disappointed now though as Everton are in their invertible slow start mode, reckon they will be there with us at the end of the season though, top 8.

Carlos getting sent off was all his own fault, he dived across their player and may, just may have got the slightest of touches on the ball (thats from replays).

[terrytini]

We are so poor going forward and our ball retention is nothing short of being pathetic! We lack quality in midfield and it is without doubt one of the worst offensive Villa sides in recent memory!

Well that says a lot for the quality in the Prem then as we have only lost 1 match since Wigan, are in touching distance of the top 4 with a game in hand, in the quarter finals of the Carling Cup, and 4 of our 'worst offensive side' players could all be in the England World Cup squad !!

[slowandlow]

another very average performance

[limpid]

Carlos getting sent off was all his own fault, he dived across their player and may, just may have got the slightest of touches on the ball (thats from replays).

Even Lineker said it obviously wasn't a foul and he's hardly a friend of ours.

[paulanddonya]

Although I was not enamoured with our play, the substitution (even though we scored) or really the result giving Everton are poor I think we will have to wait until Thursday to see if this was a point gained, or two lost.

Three away games - 9 points on offer.

2 points - very poor return

3 points - Could be a lot better but worse

5 points - great return.

We'll see.

We have got to sort out the midfield, no creativity and luckily we caught them cold 2nd half, but 90 mins and hardly ever troubled a make shift back 4 has really got to be sorted.

Personally, until Jan, I'd go 4-5-1, then you either hope Downing is the new Barry, or go and put a bid in to cash strapped, in turmoil Liverpool for Benayouin.

It's OK saying "We are 1 point off 4th" but we are also only 3 points off Burnley. We didn't go for it last year, we paid the price, we have to this year.

[ED]

you can't appeal against a second yellow can you? Maybe its a blessing in disguise, Young and Warnock as full backs leaves me nursing a semi.

[sting]

We are so poor going forward and our ball retention is nothing short of being pathetic! We lack quality in midfield and it is without doubt one of the worst offensive Villa sides in recent memory!

Well that says a lot for the quality in the Prem then as we have only lost 1 match since Wigan, are in touching distance of the top 4 with a game in hand, in the quarter finals of the Carling Cup, and 4 of our 'worst offensive side' players could all be in the England World Cup squad !!

The overal quality of the Premiership is poor at the moment with the probable exception of Arsenal, who are playing some great football. Even Man U are playing poorly, but still winning and if you ask any Man U fans, they will tell you that.

The Carling Cup is notable for the top teams resting many of their better players and thankfully, this year, we have been lucky with the draw and in our game against Sunderland, no one can say we were the better team?

We had Brad to thank for getting us through and our standard of open play in the Sunderland game was again poor!

As for our offensive players being in the England World Cup squad, that at the moment is a very big if! In fact are any of our offensive players guaranteed World Cup squad members on present form?

We are offensively, a very poor team with little, or no creativity, but Downing might improve us? We will have to wait and see on that one, as he will probably not be up to full speed until January, by which time, i hope O'Neill will have signed the creative central midfielder we need, with Downing on the left and Ash through the middle and indeed, the quality striker, we must sign, if we are to be successful this season!

[Big_John_10]

The overal quality of the Premiership is poor at the moment with the probable exception of Arsenal, who are playing some great football. Even Man U are playing poorly

So most teams are playing poorly and even one of the best teams in the world yet we should demand that villa play brilliant every single game.

[Rocafella]

Summary

It was a game where we never looked like losing, or winning for that matter. We are steady and solid, our back four work well together and our goalkeeper is on good form (unlike last season where I think he was woeful at times). However, watchin our games this season has been tormenting compared to two years ago and last season. Quick, counter-attacking, free-scoring Villa have become solid, dependable, glorified Bolton. The results are coming, we have won against Chelsea and Liverpool, and depsite losing to measly Blackburn and Wigan we have to be happy in terms of points - which is all that matters when you summarize after a season.

The game against Everton was all the same. We are an expensive team, we have lots of 10M signings and our squad is purchased for around 120M give or take a few quid. So playing away to Everton and not conceeding many chances can be regarded as luxury for many sides in the Premier League. However, we risk nothing this creating virtually nothing. I can remember one chances other than the goal which was a Warnock volley from the left side after a header by Cuellar after a poor clearance. Against Wigan we created nothing and against Wolves we did less than that except one goal after an exceptional touch by Ashley Young (that created the goal). I notice that when we get a corner I get that warm feeling inside knowing it's our only decent shot at getting a goal as we won't get any in open play. It's very strange indeed, because a few years ago we were able to do so. Ashley Young is not involved the same way he used to be, Milner is never involved in attack, Petrov doesn't cross the half-way line and Sidwell is alway two steps behind. Our backline is solid and we seldom look out of balance, and we didn't let them create much. And their goal was a fluke given that Yakubu's touch was never meant for Biliyatdinov.

However; here is how things stand for the top teams after 10-11 games:

Chelsea: 28 goals scored (their team has played together lots)

Man Utd: 23 goals (without Ronaldo, with new players like Valencia)

Arsenal: 32 goals (finally without lots of injuries)

Man City: 18 goals (which is little, but their team is virtually new)

Tottenham: 21 goals

Liverpool: 25 goals

Aston Villa: 14 goals

Sunderland: 20 goals

So what on earth is happening with our team this season? We have made four changes to the team. Warnock, Dunne, Collins and Sidwell. Don't count Cuellar as Young will return and take his place.

Our problems are there to see. I expect much from such an expensive team. We are not the unit we were when McCann, Ridgewell and Davis played every week. I didn't know the loss of Gareth Barry would carry such a loss for our side in terms of playing attacking football, given he is not an attacking midfielder. However, we have lost the only source of passing from the middle as Petrov doesn't contribute going forward and Sidwell does not possess the ability. There are numerous questions to be answered but I am a little bit worried. 1) Where will Downing fit in and how good is he really? He has never set the world alight with his attacking drive has he? 2) Will our results stay the same with the dire attacking approach or will the results turn into what happened last season when we didn't win for 15 games or so?

Ratings

Martin O'Neill - 4

When Biliyaletdinov was red-carded, the clock was ticking and Petrov was out of the pitch, unable to tell if he was seriously hurt or not, unable to tell if he was going to be have to subbed - MON SHOULD have stepped up and just subbed him with an attacking player. I will never forgive him for that huge error. We have the momentum, we have one more player on the pitch and we let 30-60 seconds go before Petrov returns to the pitch. What the **** is Petrov supposed to do there anyway? So instead of tossing on let's say Delph or Reo-Coker, Petrov returns - Cuellar gets red-carded immediately and Petrov is injured and we have to sub him anyway. Every amateur in the world would have understood that the best thing would to sub Petrov regardless of his condition. There was no time to loose, but we lost it, then a player, then Petrov.

Friedel - 7

Decent

Warnock - 8

Very good display and exactly how I pictured him to be for us. Excellent.

Dunne - 7

Very good

Collins - 7

Steady and solid

Cuellar - 5

I think he always looks like a moose running across the freeway. Clumsy on the ball and clumsy when challenging, struggling with tricky wingers etc. Although solid in his positioning and the fact that he is not a right back, I look forward to Young returning to his best. The red card? Fair enough if you ask me. Swiping the ball briefly does not mean the tackle is legit, and last but not least, it does not hide the stupidity of challenging from the side/behind, in speed, when you are already on a yellow card and we have just gone to 11 vs 10 men.

Young - 6

Somewhat better than the last games but does see too little of the ball. Why? Because we lay so much lower as a team, he gets too much responsebility, too much attention from the opposition etc.

Sidwell - 5

A game where he offers nothing for the team other than being solid in his running and fighting. As usual, he gets away with it because the team lays low and plays to HIS strengths instead of playing more freely. Again he loses the ball without any pressure in the middle and gift them chances. Never have I been more interested in changing a player from our team.

Petrov - 6

Read what I wrote against all of the other teams we play. He is solid and he stays behind when we attack. Thus making us a solid defensive unit, and a very boring attacking unit.

Milner - 5

Offers nothing going forward, like every other game this season. Then injured. He is awesome at running and fighting for the team, but in key moments he really struggles to make an impact and he often makes stupid choices and woeful passes.

Heskey - 4

Offered nothing and seldom saw the ball

Agbonlahor - 6

Less active compared to other games this season.

Subs:

Carew - 6

Good goal

Reo-Coker - 5

Not involved

It might be because I am offensively minded in terms of football, but a points tally does not hide the fact for me that we struggle immensely going forward.

[sting]

The overal quality of the Premiership is poor at the moment with the probable exception of Arsenal, who are playing some great football. Even Man U are playing poorly

So most teams are playing poorly and even one of the best teams in the world yet we should demand that villa play brilliant every single game.

I don't see where i have stated that Villa should play well in every game :shock: .

I guess it's your way of trying to start another argument 'Big_John_10' so i'll just let you talk on and make even more of a fool of yourself than you normally do!

[Santa_Rosa]

I don't see where i have stated that Villa should play well in every game .

Don't want to get involved in you two's regular post-off but, while you haven't actually stated that we should play well in every game, you don't half get your knickers in a twist and go overboard with the criticism whenever we don't.

[Big_John_10]

The overal quality of the Premiership is poor at the moment with the probable exception of Arsenal, who are playing some great football. Even Man U are playing poorly

So most teams are playing poorly and even one of the best teams in the world yet we should demand that villa play brilliant every single game.

I don't see where i have stated that Villa should play well in every game :shock: .

I guess it's your way of trying to start another argument 'Big_John_10' so i'll just let you talk on and make even more of a fool of yourself than you normally do!

You think you can manage a premiership team and i'm the fool? You want people to debate so i'm asking, you've pointed out that a lot of teams are playing poorly including one of the best teams in the world so why do you expect villa to perform brilliant so much? The premier league is a hard league and there are many competitive teams in the league who on their day can cause any other teams problems, this isn't a league where you can win and play well week in week out.

[sting]

The overal quality of the Premiership is poor at the moment with the probable exception of Arsenal, who are playing some great football. Even Man U are playing poorly

So most teams are playing poorly and even one of the best teams in the world yet we should demand that villa play brilliant every single game.

I don't see where i have stated that Villa should play well in every game :shock: .

I guess it's your way of trying to start another argument 'Big_John_10' so i'll just let you talk on and make even more of a fool of yourself than you normally do!

You think you can manage a premiership team and i'm the fool? You want people to debate so i'm asking, you've pointed out that a lot of teams are playing poorly including one of the best teams in the world so why do you expect villa to perform brilliant so much? The premier league is a hard league and there are many competitive teams in the league who on their day can cause any other teams problems, this isn't a league where you can win and play well week in week out.

Where have i said that i could manage a Premiership side?

Again i state, i do not expect us to play brilliantly every game. Where have i said that we should? I do expect however for us to be able to string a series of passes together once and a while and try to play attractve football. We haven't been able to do either since the second half of last season and beyond!

We simply don't have the players to play attractive football because O'Neill has built a squad of grafters and spent millions of Randy's money doing it.

However, if you feel that our performances have been full of free flowing attacking football, creating many chances from open play and not over reliant on set pieces for our goals, then i wish you the best of luck with your old movies!

[Jon]

Martin O'Neill - 4

When Biliyaletdinov was red-carded, the clock was ticking and Petrov was out of the pitch, unable to tell if he was seriously hurt or not, unable to tell if he was going to be have to subbed - MON SHOULD have stepped up and just subbed him with an attacking player. I will never forgive him for that huge error.

Bwahahahahaha!

i'm afraid that's it for you MON. You didn't make an immediate sub with 3 minutes to go, and for that, you can NEVER be forgiven.

It's tough being a football manager, ain't it?