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Ratings and reactions: Villa 1-3 Everton


limpid

Who was your man of the match?  

103 members have voted

  1. 1. Who was your man of the match?

    • Given
      1
    • Vlaar
      14
    • Clark
      1
    • Baker
      13
    • Lowton
      0
    • El Ahmadi
      61
    • N'Zogbia
      1
    • Bannan
      0
    • Herd
      2
    • Bent
      1
    • Delfouneso
      1
    • Holman (for Delfouneso 46)
      4
    • Lichaj (for Herd 56)
      3
    • Weimann (for Bannan 67)
      1


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Extremely poor, dispiriting, no real sign of any system or plan, and too many long balls to Bent, who was isolated.

On the bright side KEA did well, (but needs an 'enforcer'), Vlaar did well, and Baker was as excellent at Centre Back as he was poor at Left Back.

Whilst everyone says we need players, what I think we need even more is a way of playing. Very suprised after watching all the pre-seasons that we seem to have abandoned the style he tried for a fairly unfathomable mix.

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just seen the highlights.

not that worried really. Everton are an excellent side who are well settled and have been developing over the years, ours are inexperienced and still learning - in this respect not a surprise. The red card was a bit harsh. The youngsters will learn KEA and Wiemann are good signs. Guzan needs to get a run in goal though I think and we need a left back but, we have players who are going to have learn on the job quickly. All this relegation chat is a bit nonsense.

Not to say Im happy to lose, obviously not, but honestly I think people are being prematurely downcast by our prospects. Get in a couple of players and see how the team is doing after a couple of months and I think there's enough there to say we'll pick up significantly as the season goes by. Will be tough and obviously a lot of work to do, but what did people expect this early?

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Don't understand why Baker has been playing lb....he didn't go there all pre season and clearly isn't a left back...he offers nothing going forward and wingers can brush past him...however, when he went to cb he looked far more comfortable as did the entire team as lichaj added width and attacking impetus.

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I saw player performances quite a bit differently than most. Everton, clearly prepared by watching West Ham, set out to stop us playing possession. The way they did it was to first, cut out the simple, easy pass by marking the target. Then put pressure on the possession. Then move to double team the player in possession. Villa players were clearly confused with no solution. Bannon showed well, worked hard. Even saw him challenge Fallaini for several head balls. Even won one. But when he got the ball, he had nowhere to go. Why? the rest of the team was stagnant, not moving or showing, and Everton was marking them out as easy options.

I thought Zog looked the best he's looked in a villa shirt. Admittedly he got caught in possession and went into cul de sacs, but he was taking on players and working hard. But as above, when he beat the first defender, he had no outlets, so he got stuck and dispossessed by the second and third defender in. Taking on and beating the first defender is one strategy to beat the kind of pressure Everton was applying. But your teammates must move to create new angles.

IMO the only reason we looked better with El Ahmadi moving into Bannan's role was that Everton had backed of and yielded more play. It preserved their lead and set up the possibilities on a break.

All three goals against were due to horrible errors by Clark and or Given rather than a failure of the team or the system.

Learning possession play is challenging enough. Learning plan b when the opponent specifically sets out to stop possession play is the next level. More time and a few experienced heads, will do us a world of good.

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I saw a couple of things differently as well. This game was well and truly on Lambert, as we were set up completely wrong.

First of all, going into the match I always expected Everton to have good spells and create some chances, they are a strong squad. I thought the first 30 minutes saw a bit of a back and forth, with each team having some time on the front and back foot. Goals change games, and their first opened some things up.

Our problem was we only had 1 attacking, no CF player in Nzog. As much as I like Herd's effort and tenacity, playing him with KEA and Bannan means we have three midfielders deep. Playing Baker at left back (I still don't understand this) means Nzog is totally isolated. There is no overlap, no midfielders coming into the box, and just Bent as any option. Delf doesn't make any real runs, so he doesn't create any outlet either. Thus endeth our attack.

Having Ireland/Holman in the team at least brings players into the attacking third and gives us some outlets. Having a left back that overlaps at least on occasion would help. The right side of the midfield had exactly the opposite problem, no attacking player but a fullback that wants to get forward. Totally unbalanced. Also, Wiemann makes good runs and takes up good positions, why he doesn't start over Delf is another question.

We really had no real chance today with the way we were set out. Not sure why we had this approach, but this with the combination of a couple of individual mistakes really did us in.

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The core of this team is just not good enough — we know that after watching them for the last two years. Bannon flatters to deceive but rarely causes any problems with through balls and almost never finds Bent. Herd works hard but is not a top 6 player. Ireland is all too often a wste opf space and he hardly ever plays a killer ball or gets beyond the centre backs — what he's there for in that case confuses me. Holman and Vlaa — not looking good so far :-(

Major surgery and investment needed.

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We faced a very organised, extremely confident Everton side on form. We're still a work in progress and we do need to make some vital additions to the side but there were positives.

I was surprised by the starting eleven and I agree with the majority (Which includes Paul Lambert) that obviously it wasn't the best choice.

N'Zogbia was again disappointing, I can think of one run he made in the first half that ended with him falling over and Everton regaining possession when it seemed getting a corner at least was an obvious outcome.

I remember Reo-Coker making at least one run like that every game. The difference being Reo-Coker is a defensive midfielder, N'Zogbia is supposed to be our attacking creator (Or one of them).

In the second half he trickled a ball across Evertons six yard box that was cleared and he had a strop. From his body language immediately after it seemed like a few fans in the lower North reminded him that the one decent ball he played in to the box is not cause for a strop. (There is no cause for a strop at all, for any player or any fan)

Bannan had a tough game to put it mildly but it was encouraging to see him going head to waist with Fellani when he needed to.

My personal opinion is with Bannan, that we're still missing an experienced player of a similar style to him, to learn from. We get him and Bannan still doesn't improve, then I'll lose faith in him. For me, he's still (Like a few others) a young player thrown in to the deep end without guidance, that has promise.

Baker at left back was a puzzling one, not sure why he was picked before a few others. I do think Baker is a good player but so is Bent, but you wouldn't put him at let back. Once Baker was put in the central defence I thought he really excelled.

Given is clearly low on confidence. I'm unsure whether he should be dropped, if that'd destroy his confidence completely or if we should give him a chance to redeem himself. He's an experienced player and I believe he could pull it back. But we need to be cut throat and instill a competitive cutting edge. It's just a case of doing things at the right time.

Weimann looked great. A lot more dangerous than Delefouneso, he nearly scored and nearly got a penalty. But I know we've had too many nearlys. Weimann is another one that needs a player in the squad of similar ilk but more experienced to learn from.

We need a Pienaar, Fellani and a Jelavic, their types are the ones we are missing, so three of them please Messrs Lambert & Lerner (Easier said than done I know :) )

Because the area of the pitch that those three operate in is the one we desperately need reinforcements. Three players to link the midfield from the attack, to connect the play and share the responsibility with Bent.

El Ahmadi looked brilliant, so did Vlaar. All of Lambert's' signings plus Holman look very useful, if all still easing themselves in to playing in the Premiership, with varying degrees of impact so far.

They've joined a team that's starting afresh under a considerable amount of pressure due to what has happened before they arrived.

And, like a few have already pointed out, no matter if Everton eased off, we won the second half :) and if Weimann's' shot hadn't hit the post and gone in we would've been a lot happier.

Although it's the old mantra of if my aunty had a penis she'd be my uncle.

We need to have patience with an almost completely new regime under a pressure they didn't create but I'm not saying that pressure is unjustified.

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