Rating and Reactions: Villa - Man City

[CI]

Teale now on TS

[briny_ear]

 

 

Man C were clearly not up for that and looked lackadaisical and sluggish from the word go - wonder if they've been for extra training in Dubai?

That was a fantastic oppirtunity to get an unexpected poiint or even three and we totally blew it. This is why I despair about our ability to get out if this mess.

Delph was my MOTM until he got booked and then tried to convert it to a red by arguing with the ref, silly boy. I think there was no MOTM. Maybe Guzan.

No, it really wasn't like that. 

Yes, it really was. We scrapped hard, created little but might have got 0-0 or even sneaked a win and blew the match through a stupid mistake. It's hard to see how anyone can come away from that match with a different analysis. 

 

As for saying it was OK because Delph stopped arguing it the ref when he threatened to send him off, well LOL, he was lucky he had a ref who was prepared to make the offer and not just pull out the red straight away. He's a stupid boy.

Hold on, you said this game was a fantastic opportunity to get a point or 3. Man City. The champions. And you still stand by that? Take it you weren't predicting a drubbing in the pre-match thread then?

I didn't say anything in the pre-match thread but here's what I said once the game was underway:

 

City look very slack in defence and generally not up for this game mentally. I'm starting to rhink we have a real chance of getting something from this.

Obviously I didn't really "rhink" that but I was doing it from an iphone so let me off.

 

As soon as I saw the way City were playing and their casual passing in defence, I thought we could get something from the match. I don't sign up to the idea that we can't beat the better teams - in a sense our game is better suited to mugging the teams who try to play skillful football. We need to take our points where we can and we failed here tonight through a stupid individual error.

Edited March 4, 2013 by briny_ear

[vandaq]

Honestly, it went better than I expected. Even if city didn`t really show up, that has been an excuse for the last couple of games. I will retract my statement if we lose against reading but honestly, I see us grabbing 6 points in the next two matches. Just furious that once again, a goal was made because of a individual mistake. So typical, but whatever. We should have had more shots today, we offered basically nothing against their goal. Other than that, I think things are looking good(yes I am serious)

We will see though, I have been let down a lot of times this season so nothing is certain. r chanves

Thing is, we need to take our chances when they arise. We could have got something from both the Arsenal and Man C games but we blew both chances and have come away with no points. It's extremely risky to rely on games against our relegation rivals to get the points we need to stay up. The matches against QPR and Reading will be real battles and I doubt our robustness even if we might have the edge in skill.

That is certainly true, again I am at fault for trying to look at it positive(not being sarcastic) But we will see, I still stand by it but they better deliver it when it comes. There is no excuse for a loss in the next match, even if reading shows up. At least we know that game is open and a win is much more in the air, I would be devastated if they fail. 

[CI]

Teale is not mincing his words on TS

[VillanousOne]

positives are we made City and Arsenal look fairly mediocre - neither team really dominated us.

 

negatives are defensive mistakes cost us again and in both matches we lacked composure in the final third, Holman looked ok when he came on.

 

does the Delph booking mean Lambert will play Sylla - nope he'll play KEA just you watch.

[darrenm]

 

 

 

Man C were clearly not up for that and looked lackadaisical and sluggish from the word go - wonder if they've been for extra training in Dubai?

That was a fantastic oppirtunity to get an unexpected poiint or even three and we totally blew it. This is why I despair about our ability to get out if this mess.

Delph was my MOTM until he got booked and then tried to convert it to a red by arguing with the ref, silly boy. I think there was no MOTM. Maybe Guzan.

No, it really wasn't like that. 

Yes, it really was. We scrapped hard, created little but might have got 0-0 or even sneaked a win and blew the match through a stupid mistake. It's hard to see how anyone can come away from that match with a different analysis. 

 

As for saying it was OK because Delph stopped arguing it the ref when he threatened to send him off, well LOL, he was lucky he had a ref who was prepared to make the offer and not just pull out the red straight away. He's a stupid boy.

Hold on, you said this game was a fantastic opportunity to get a point or 3. Man City. The champions. And you still stand by that? Take it you weren't predicting a drubbing in the pre-match thread then?

I didn't say anything in the pre-match thread but here's what I said once the game was underway:

 

> 

City look very slack in defence and generally not up for this game mentally. I'm starting to rhink we have a real chance of getting something from this.

Obviously I didn't really "rhink" that but I was doing it from an iphone so let me off.

 

As soon as I saw the way City were playing and their casual passing in defence, I thought we could get something from the match. I don't sign up to the idea that we can't beat the better teams - in a sense our game is better suited to mugging the teams who try to play skillful football. We need to take our points where we can and we failed here tonight through a stupid individual error.

 

I can let you off for anything apart from having an iPhone

[CI]

We have scored 11 times in 14 home games. We really do deserve to be relegated .

[Avflife]

Didn't expect anything from the game tonight, but think we should be got a point watching at a freezing VP tonight. Main talking points from the game, Clark should be dropped against Reading and QPR if Vlaar is fit, he is a Championship defender at best, haven't got a **** clue what he was trying to do against Dzeko why didn't he just huth the ball into City's half. Delph is a **** clown, why didn't he just keep his hand down, would of been better if he had keep yapping to Dean as he would of got sent him off and he would of only been banned for one game not two, can't wait to see PL to play Bannan against Reading next week  . I honestly will not be able to watch the game on Saturday, probably end up smashing my laptop 

Guzan, MOTM for me, some world class saves, the one from Zabaleta(?) comes to mind.

[Kiwivillan]

If Delph has become one of our best players we're in big **** trouble

[OutByEaster?]

I thought we deserved a point.

 

Guzan is as good as they come right now - he was excellent again. I thought the back four played well with the exception of Clark's idiot moment. Lowton I thought was really good in the second half.

 

In midfield, Westwood did his tidy but unspectacular and Delph was outstanding - the best player on the pitch from either side.

 

Gabby and Weimann worked and worked, N'Zogbia was a little off the pace, Benteke got a bit frustrated late on and went off the boil.

 

Of the subs, Dawkins doesn't look like he'll do anything, Holman was energetic but not creative or physical enough and I thought El Ahmadi did pretty well - I thought they were each the right thing to do at the right time as we stated to look very tired - it's just a shame we don't have more quality on the bench.

 

The crowd was excellent, noisy and positive, the ref seemed to have a reasonable game right up until he decided to book Delph for bugger all and overall I'd be very happy if we'd managed a clean sheet or a goal.

 

 

Oh, and I thought the "Sky stole the soul" banner was fantastic - fair play. I bet that didn't make it onto the telly.

[AvfcTheObsession]

Just got back.

 

We could play that game another ten times over and we wouldn't have got anything from it. our game plan and tactics creates sweet FA from open play when playing at home and being asked to open up the opposition.

 

The most depressing part of the night was catching injury time on the big screen just before leaving and seeing Delph pick up that yellow, looked harsh to me but it rules him out of our 2 biggest games of the season, games where we might actually be able to get something to give ourselves half a chance going into the run-in.

[OutByEaster?]

...and Zabaleta is some player. 

[Harry]

I actually thought we did OK tonight and on a good day bagged a point. You look at their line up and you shudder at the resources they have available but I felt we stuck to the task well and the side seems much more of a unit now. Clark was a total cock for conceding that goal from trying to showboat as was Delph for getting booked.

 

Our problem is the complete disconnect between the midfield and the strikers. If you drew a box on the pitch from the edge of the opposition penalty area to about half way to the halfway line and all across the pitch its that zone where all our attacks break down. Sides play us by packing that area and because we generally play so narrow defending is easy. The ball goes back and forth and is eventually conceded.

 

Oh and the 'Itchy scalp' song to Hart - priceless

Edited March 4, 2013 by Harry

[StefanAVFC]

If we go down by a point then Clark should be shot.

[CI]

If Delph has become one of our best players we're in big **** trouble

He has and we are

[roonst83]

city were poor, we weren't as poor as normal but still miles off where we need to be, 1 chance

should have been a pen, could have been a foul on clark but clark didnt deserve the luck, so many players that arent good enough, benteke quiet but the service was dire, gabby couldnt get the better of zabeleta, westwood looked out of his depth, delph good but a stupid yellow card, guzan the usual great stuff, nzogbia is long gone, absolutely robbing a living

Thats not the game I saw - well organised and worked very hard against much better team

I thought Westwood was neat, tidy and pretty decent

Agree

[roonst83]

Teale now on TS

Must admit he spoke a great deal of sense.

[andym]

Every manager who we've played recently says we won't go down...they are just trying to make their owns team performance look better. Any mug can see we are going down.

Hmm, a bit of that yes, but they know they've been in a game tonight.

 

But the thing is, we've almost got something out of perhaps the toughest game of our run-in. There's no reason we can't get something from any of the others. We're all seeing Reading and QPR as the opportunity, when in fact we could very well lose both but win 2 or 3 others and be OK.

we lost again. we are in the relegation zone. we have already conceded as many goals as we did last season. we have scored just 26 in 28 league games.

we keep saying if we play like we did against... we will be ok, the results will come etc. they havent, we remain as poor as ever.

the idea that we should just accept the loss because city have a more expensive team so there is nothing we can do is something i cannot understand. southampton actually went and got something out of their game against city. bradfords team cost £7500, they beat us.

with only ten games to go we need to stop talking about how we could have got or deserved to get points, and actually be putting them on the board

[roonst83]

Every manager who we've played recently says we won't go down...they are just trying to make their owns team performance look better. Any mug can see we are going down.

Hmm, a bit of that yes, but they know they've been in a game tonight.

But the thing is, we've almost got something out of perhaps the toughest game of our run-in. There's no reason we can't get something from any of the others. We're all seeing Reading and QPR as the opportunity, when in fact we could very well lose both but win 2 or 3 others and be OK.

we lost again. we are in the relegation zone. we have already conceded as many goals as we did last season. we have scored just 26 in 28 league games.

we keep saying if we play like we did against... we will be ok, the results will come etc. they havent, we remain as poor as ever.

the idea that we should just accept the loss because city have a more expensive team so there is nothing we can do is something i cannot understand. southampton actually went and got something out of their game against city. bradfords team cost £7500, they beat us.

with only ten games to go we need to stop talking about how we could have got or deserved to get points, and actually be putting them on the board

Good post

Every manager who we've played recently says we won't go down...they are just trying to make their owns team performance look better. Any mug can see we are going down.

Hmm, a bit of that yes, but they know they've been in a game tonight.

But the thing is, we've almost got something out of perhaps the toughest game of our run-in. There's no reason we can't get something from any of the others. We're all seeing Reading and QPR as the opportunity, when in fact we could very well lose both but win 2 or 3 others and be OK.

we lost again. we are in the relegation zone. we have already conceded as many goals as we did last season. we have scored just 26 in 28 league games.

we keep saying if we play like we did against... we will be ok, the results will come etc. they havent, we remain as poor as ever.

the idea that we should just accept the loss because city have a more expensive team so there is nothing we can do is something i cannot understand. southampton actually went and got something out of their game against city. bradfords team cost £7500, they beat us.

with only ten games to go we need to stop talking about how we could have got or deserved to get points, and actually be putting them on the board

Good post

Every manager who we've played recently says we won't go down...they are just trying to make their owns team performance look better. Any mug can see we are going down.

Hmm, a bit of that yes, but they know they've been in a game tonight.

But the thing is, we've almost got something out of perhaps the toughest game of our run-in. There's no reason we can't get something from any of the others. We're all seeing Reading and QPR as the opportunity, when in fact we could very well lose both but win 2 or 3 others and be OK.

we lost again. we are in the relegation zone. we have already conceded as many goals as we did last season. we have scored just 26 in 28 league games.

we keep saying if we play like we did against... we will be ok, the results will come etc. they havent, we remain as poor as ever.

the idea that we should just accept the loss because city have a more expensive team so there is nothing we can do is something i cannot understand. southampton actually went and got something out of their game against city. bradfords team cost £7500, they beat us.

with only ten games to go we need to stop talking about how we could have got or deserved to get points, and actually be putting them on the board

Good post

[chappy]

Delph MOTM by a long way (well, Guzan too) unlucky with the yellow card is an understatement. We will miss him.