Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on October 23, 2018, 09:35:23 PM
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Give our new manager time. He will sort it out.
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Not great luck tonight with 2 quick injuries followed by a goal from a corner that they shouldn’t have had. I think that was hard to come back from.
Smith has had no real time with them yet and won’t do for a while! We keep only getting one real day between games!
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Least it's not long till the next game!
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Injuries killed us. Problems if Abraham is out for Friday which probably looks likely.
Reality is Norwich are better than us atm with the form they're in and their manager has been there 18 months.
I expect 4 points from QPR-Bolton though to keep us in touch.
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Massive rebuilding job to be done here.
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Well now he knows the situation we are in and the pathetic squad of so called players we have.
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The curse of the first half vs second half strikes again.
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Was a very nasty match thread. We are not good... but... but...
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Missed McGinn, then missed Tammy...we still have quite a few duds in the squad who need to shoot off...I include Taylor, ok!
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Disappointing display 2nd half, poor substitutions, Jack Grealish looks increasingly like Stephen Ireland mk II and we’ve a liability in goal. Pretty shit really.
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Can’t see any improvement at all. Woeful performances from Taylor, Hourihane, El Ghazi, Hogan to name the most obvious ones.
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The two forced subs and some dismal keeping did for us tonight, we were poor after that.
Still, onwards and upwards - was still a million times better than anything under fucking Bruce.
Thought Axel was immense tonight, on the flipsde, I thought Jack was no more than average, again.
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Because my friend it’s avout time these cnuts who get more a week than I get in a year get called out for the weak links that they are.
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Fine for an hour but Hogan and El Ghazi have just turned in two of the worst cameos I have ever seen, we were playing with 9 men and it showed.
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Some very poor performance tonight.
Hourihane gave the ball away all night.
Taylor can’t seem to be able to kick a moving ball.
Hogan pointless
Elmo did nothing
Nyland at fault for a goal
Hutton all over the place and his starting position cost the winner
Albert was again ineffective.
El Ghazi rhymes with Khazi they did actually stop passing to him, utter shit.
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Some fucking woeful performances tonight.
Nolan’s, Hutton, Taylor, Hogan all shit.
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Ok first half, awful second.
Reality is though that with players away on international duty and yesterday won't have been full on training, so we've probably only had 1 proper training session with everyone. Going to take a lot more than that to wipe out the shite Bruce's coaches were teaching them.
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Fucking Bruce. How many of these teams have managers that have been in charge less than two seasons, spent fuck all, and we still get dicked.
Thank god he's gone.
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Poor second half. Injuries and the keeper mistake didn't help. Though that goal may have gone in anyway
Tuanzebe was very very good. Hutton, Whelan, Taylor and Elmo good too
Jack poor again. Delivery and set pieces awful
Hourihane was ok but faded
Hogan was utterly anonymous as is his wont
El ghazi was initially even worse but in the end actually started to do some things
Some very sloppy passing a clear need to work on attacking patterns of play
Disappointing. But this will take time
Abraham being out would be a blow. If he is, its got to be Kodjia surely
Fitness also clearly a problem
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Shocking.
Grealish terrible, Whealan a joke, shit full backs and a complete travesty playing at number nine. Everyone else bar Axel was shite.
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Tired badly.Physically bossed again.Tuanzebe and Taylor our best players.Hutton at fault for their first.
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Let’s not underestimate the size of the job in front of Smith. Second half was Bruceesque in its lack of quality.
Hourihane is just not the midfielder we want/need him to be.
Axel was our MoTM by a country mile.
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Well now he knows the situation we are in and the pathetic squad of so called players we have.
It's not a terrible squad. However we have lost that grit and resiluence at the back we had in many away games last season that we won 1-0. Now they're draws and defeats and it shows in the league table.
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I know it sounds daft but you need games like this so that Smith and his coaches can see just how shit some of our players are.
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1st half ok, 2nd very poor.
Bruce out !
He may have left the building but his influence on the team remains (for now)
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Dean has got a 50 percent win ratio.
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Goal keeper, center half and left back a priority in January. Although fair play to Tuanzebe he looking better.
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That second half was fucking terrible, really really poor.
Axel was our best player by a fucking mile. Hutton, Hourihane and Whelan were awful and Jack was once again poor, he really needs to start doing something.
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Are we going to be able to spend much in January? We haven't got time to fanny about trying to rehabilitate shit players.
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Some very poor performance tonight.
Hourihane gave the ball away all night.
Taylor can’t seem to be able to kick a moving ball.
Hogan pointless
Elmo did nothing
Nyland at fault for a goal
Hutton all over the place and his starting position cost the winner
Albert was again ineffective.
El Ghazi rhymes with Khazi they did actually stop passing to him, utter shit.
All lessons I’m sure Mr Smith will have noted. Rome was not built ........
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Never recovered from the two quick subs we had to make. Missed Tammy when he went off, Alberts rate work. Smith will learn a lot from tonight. Axel was superb.
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It was classic hourihane wasn't it?
Generally very pedestrian and slow / one footed. But another assist with a great ball in
Ultimately I don't think he can play the sort of crisp passing game that Smith wants
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I know it sounds daft but you need games like this so that Smith and his coaches can see just how shit some of our players are.
Doesn't sound daft, good point.
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Another Bruce performance. If we get out of this fucking league this year, I'll be amazed. Early days for the new management but the squad is so poor in key areas and by January, we could be well out it. Passes always side to side or backwards and often given away.
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We looked as disjointed as we ver did under Bruce second half. Yeah, couple of injuries didn't help, but our crossing and shooting is criminally bad and yet again we get bullied by small town clubs with average players.
The bad:
Hogan - Shit.
El Ghazi - worse (they looked like they stopped passing to him after his first couple of touches which is deeply concerning)
Hourahane - pedestrian
The better:
Tuanzebe's best game. Grealish tried to make things happen, but always looks like he's waiting to be clattered rather than making something happen. He needs to sort that out quickly.
Smith will get to grips with it I'm sure, but that was truly poor after the first 10 minutes.
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Grealish needs to take more responsibility. On around 85 minutes he beat two men to the left of the box, which was great, and then laid the ball off to Taylor when he was still in plenty of space himself. No good can come of that. If you're the team's best player you shouldn't be delegating final balls into the box to Neil effing Taylor, who, to be fair, as I understand it, was a dedicated and exemplary milk monitor.
Alternatively, we could try to sign some other players who aren't allergic to footballs.
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Still only 3 points off top 6 remarkably which is one positive to desperately cling onto...
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Player for player it compares to any squad in the league. Our first choice back four should be adequate, the keeper Im not so sure. The rest though should be capable of creating chances and scoring goals. In Deano we trust.
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Let’s not underestimate the size of the job in front of Smith. Second half was Bruceesque in its lack of quality.
Hourihane is just not the midfielder we want/need him to be.
Axel was our MoTM by a country mile.
Agree with that. You just look it and think that squad has been assembled with little thought or planning. The number of times we gave the ball away tonight was unacceptable really.
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Poor second half. Injuries and the keeper mistake didn't help. Though that goal may have gone in anyway
Tuanzebe was very very good. Hutton, Whelan, Taylor and Elmo good too
Jack poor again. Delivery and set pieces awful
Hourihane was ok but faded
Hogan was utterly anonymous as is his wont
El ghazi was initially even worse but in the end actually started to do some things
Some very sloppy passing a clear need to work on attacking patterns of play
Disappointing. But this will take time
Abraham being out would be a blow. If he is, its got to be Kodjia surely
Fitness also clearly a problem
Perfect summary, agree with all of that.
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Grealish doesn't ever seem to go forward anymore.
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Nyland at fault for the first goal, he didn't bother with the second. Hutton and Taylor are poor full backs and need replacing. Taylor was only less shit than usual tonight. Chester making stupid errors. Tuanzebe was good, covered a lot of ground. Hourihane, if he doesn't score, offers very little. Whelan is over the hill, grealish is trying but it's just not coming off for him at the moment. Thats said, some poor decision making tonight, particularly from set pieces. Elmo and Albert were average at best. El Ghazi was pants, as was Hogan. Try harder you pair of pansies. Abraham going off hurt us in both boxes.
All in all, a very poor performance and I'm sure smith will say as much. He needs a couple of windows to put this right as there are so many players who are not capable of playing the tippy tappy football he will want to play. This season needs to be used to sort the squad out, rather than thinking we can really push for automatic promotion.
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If dean is the man we think he is he will use this to start getting his message across
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It was classic hourihane wasn't it?
Generally very pedestrian and slow / one footed. But another assist with a great ball in
Ultimately I don't think he can play the sort of crisp passing game that Smith wants
When he got robbed facing his own goal because he wanted too much time on the ball and ended up on all fours watching the Norwich player run away from him, sums up too many of his performances.
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Disappointing but not panicking yet.
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Missed McGinn big time, then when Tammy and Albert went off we looked very poor. Think Deano got the substitution for Tammy wrong - should have brought Kodjia on rather than Hogan. El GHazi was shit compared to Albert but all in all we were pretty poor across the whole pitch in the second half, with the possible exception of Axel. It isn't going to change overnight - and I think tonight showed Smith the magnitude of the task in hand.
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QPR are in a bit of form too....be another bitch of match if we play like we did tonight.
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I guess Smith has a better idea of what he’s inherited now. If we’re not cut adrift by Xmas, we’ll be ‘there or thereabouts’ 😗
Positives
- Axel
- Tammy pre-injury
Negatives
- The rest of em
- Poor subs by Smith - Should have taken Jack off instead of Hourihane (at least he would have been a goal threat), and brought on Kodjia for Tammy instead of Hogan. If he’s a goal scorer, i’m Brad Pitt!
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They're just not used to passing the ball with good movement. Indo think we've got the squad to do it though. But certain players just aren't going to fit in eventually.
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Second half was every bit as good as a Bruce performance
I think there was only Grealish out there out of the whole team who could actually pass the ball
Norwich were far more comfortable on the ball in every area of the pitch
Taylor, Elmo, Ghazi, Hogan, Whelan the ball might as well have been a canon ball they are pish and will never be good enough to play the style Smith wants
wonder who signed that box of bollocks
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That was abject in every single department.
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We looked as disjointed as we ver did under Bruce second half. Yeah, couple of injuries didn't help, but our crossing and shooting is criminally bad and yet again we get bullied by small town clubs with average players.
The bad:
Hogan - Shit.
El Ghazi - worse (they looked like they stopped passing to him after his first couple of touches which is deeply concerning)
Hourahane - pedestrian
The better:
Tuanzebe's best game. Grealish tried to make things happen, but always looks like he's waiting to be clattered rather than making something happen. He needs to sort that out quickly.
Smith will get to grips with it I'm sure, but that was truly poor after the first 10 minutes.
On grealish, I agree he was poor but there was one point, on about the hour, where he had the ball near the edge of their box and he turned backwards and forwards about 4-5 times and literally no one moved to make a pass for him, Taylor, El Ghazi and Hogan all hid behind defenders, i think he eventually played it a few yards in front of Hourihane to get him to move. After that he started playing for free kicks.
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
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Second half was every bit as good as a Bruce performance
I think there was only Grealish out there out of the whole team who could actually pass the ball
Norwich were far more comfortable on the ball in every area of the pitch
Taylor, Elmo, Ghazi, Hogan, Whelan the ball might as well have been a canon ball they are pish and will never be good enough to play the style Smith wants
wonder who signed that box of bollocks
There lies the rub...
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I wanted Bruce gone too, albeit later than most. However I didn't see any more attacking intent tonight. Had he still been in charge he would have blamed for that shite performance.
Maybe our players are just rubbish.
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Smith was always going to give Hogan a chance, i think he had one touch in 40 minutes.
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It was classic hourihane wasn't it?
Generally very pedestrian and slow / one footed. But another assist with a great ball in
Ultimately I don't think he can play the sort of crisp passing game that Smith wants
When he got robbed facing his own goal because he wanted too much time on the ball and ended up on all fours watching the Norwich player run away from him, sums up too many of his performances.
God that was bad. Just took a touch, looked up and before he looked down again the ball was gone
Mcginn is twice the player he is. Just needs to deliver the ball better
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
I really don’t understand these comments, he’s the only player we have that is capable of playing the way Dean wants us to play
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Smith was always going to give Hogan a chance, i think he had one touch in 40 minutes.
Did he? I think I missed it!
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Kodja and BB as the subs may have got us a result.
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
I really don’t understand these comments, he’s the only player we have that is capable of playing the way Dean wants us to play
He might well be, but he wasn’t that player tonight. I don’t dispute he’s potentially very good, hence my disappointment, but he wasn’t good enough tonight.
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Good 1st half and started well the 2nd, until the double substitution, then it was downhill all the way. Good news SJM will be back on Friday, but it'll be another tough game, QPR won 3 nil tonight.
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That was just fucking cack again. Still at least I won't have to listen to Bruce insult my intelligence.
I'm still amazed with the defense that we've entered the season with, that goalkeeper is atrocious.
Fair to say McGinn and Bjarnasson are head and shoulders above Hourihane and Whelan.
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Grealish was still one of our better players for my money, despite playing on his own for periods.
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Some of our players are just generally abysmal.
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Its going to take time, Im certain that we will have two new enegetic fullbacks come january. Taylor was so poor again and offers nothing getting forward.
Big big job turning round the mindset of the players that he intends to keep, also our energy levels are appauling. Come 60 minutes we were fucked while Norwich were chasing down every ball.
Norwich are in a rebuildimg process very similar to ours snd it showed that they are further down the line than we are, I can see a few more of these types of performances this season were by we start well and then fade, I'm convinced we've got the right set up and men in charge going forward though.
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At least Grealish was playing in his correct position.
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How many set pieces did we have in that second half and how many were a quality ball in?
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A few people saying it was "the wrong type of game" for Hogan to come on in.
I'm certainly beginning to think football is definitely not Scott's type of game.
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Grealish was still one of our better players for my money, despite playing on his own for periods.
Flatters to deceive
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How many set pieces did we have in that second half and how many were a quality ball in?
Yes and the set piece deliveries were miles better than open play!
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It was classic hourihane wasn't it?
Generally very pedestrian and slow / one footed. But another assist with a great ball in
Ultimately I don't think he can play the sort of crisp passing game that Smith wants
When he got robbed facing his own goal because he wanted too much time on the ball and ended up on all fours watching the Norwich player run away from him, sums up too many of his performances.
Finally lots more people agreeing with me. Said he was a show pony last season, his workrate is poor but his "tracking" is bordering on pathetic
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Deflated after watching that, Norwich were good but the enforced substitutions made us a lot poorer.
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Grealish was still one of our better players for my money, despite playing on his own for periods.
Agreed.
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
I really don’t understand these comments, he’s the only player we have that is capable of playing the way Dean wants us to play
I agree, Jack constantly showed for the ball, tried to carry the ball, passed to a team mate and had absolutely no help from any one.
And was getting fouled relentlessly with no protection from the ref.
Imagine how bad that performance would have been without Jack.
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Got to give it time but I've seen enough in 2 games to know we have the right manager.
New goalie and full backs the absolute priority.
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That was crap.
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
I really don’t understand these comments, he’s the only player we have that is capable of playing the way Dean wants us to play
I agree, Jack constantly showed for the ball, tried to carry the ball, passed to a team mate and had absolutely no help from any one.
And was getting fouled relentlessly with no protection from the ref.
Imagine how bad that performance would have been without Jack.
I wouldnt have noticed if he didn’t play. Not incisive enough.
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One thing we lack is leaders. We just don't seem to have one.
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Hutton has run out of steam and needs replacing but that is/was just one of a number of problems.
A lot wrong tonight
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Grealish was still one of our better players for my money, despite playing on his own for periods.
What you got? Old pound notes!?
We're relying on him way too much, and he's not delivering.
Time to try something different.
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The following need to be despatched
Neil Taylor
Conor Hourihane
Alan Hutton
Every goalkeeper at the club
Scott Hogan
El Ghazi
Note to Jack Grealish - get fucking over it mate you play for Aston Villa on a fat contract
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Having one of the oldest squads in the division (at the moment) is going to make Smiths job very difficult.
Norwich we running rings round us from midway in the second half and most of our lot were blowing out of their arses.
Infact, I’d say Norwich played how we hope to be playing.
It’s going to take time to get this team to playing at that high tempo and for a full 90 minutes. Hopefully there are some kids ready to break through?
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Mcginn and Bjarnason were both hugely missed tonight. Tammy and Albert going off within minutes of each other ruined our shape.
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I’m not disputing Jack is potentially is an excellent player, but he needs to take ownership and drive this team on.
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
I really don’t understand these comments, he’s the only player we have that is capable of playing the way Dean wants us to play
I agree, Jack constantly showed for the ball, tried to carry the ball, passed to a team mate and had absolutely no help from any one.
And was getting fouled relentlessly with no protection from the ref.
Imagine how bad that performance would have been without Jack.
I wouldnt have noticed if he didn’t play. Not incisive enough.
You mean like Elmo, Hourihane and Whelan ?
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Look on the bright side we've got an 8 point buffer to the bottom 3.
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My take on it...better passing in general play, but no cutting edge/final ball to do any kind of damage. I don’t think we troubled their keeper one bit in the second half, and the crossing was at best frustrating - Taylor is a shocking player, and El Ghazi is either nowhere near fit or simply cannot be arsed. For me, Axel was our best player tonight - looked composed and dealt with most that came his way from what I saw. Deano has a lot to do but I have no doubt that in time he will...I think we are in for a up and down season that’s for sure.
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I’m not disputing Jack is potentially is an excellent player, but he needs to take ownership and drive this team on.
I thought that’s exactly what he tried to do tonight.
Infact, I think think the rest of the team left him with that responsibility as well because after Albert and Tammy went off, Jack had no real support from anyone.
The kid can’t do it all on his own.
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Whilst I agree with Smith in his post match interview about the poor defending on crosses, I'm not sure that I agree that we didn't deserve to lose. Krul could have put out the deckchair in the second half.
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The following need to be despatched
Neil Taylor
Conor Hourihane
Alan Hutton
Every goalkeeper at the club
Scott Hogan
El Ghazi
Note to Jack Grealish - get fucking over it mate you play for Aston Villa on a fat contract
Absolutely agree with your list of those to be fucked off! All of them totally crap.
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Whilst I agree with Smith in his post match interview about the poor defending on crosses, I'm not sure that I agree that we didn't deserve to lose. Krul could have put out the deckchair in the second half.
I don't recall Norwich testing Nyland either though mate, apart from the crosses in to the box. They had more possession and looked more dangerous than we did, although didn't do a great deal with it. I disagree with him that we deserved a draw though.
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The following need to be despatched:
The team.
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To be fair, we lost to the in form team in the league, we suffered due to injuries, our new manager hasn't had much time on the training pitch with the squad. Tonight shows our squad is bloated and poor in areas, but we all new that anyway. Jack looked good with Tammy up front and a little lost when he went off. We'll win on Friday and put this one down to experience.
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I know all goals are preventable in general but firstly again Nyland showed how fucking poor he is physically on corners. Total liability. Secondly I'm sick of how easy it is for the opposition to get crosses in, we don't put enough pressure on the crosser to cut the ball out, Hutton at fault again for me tonight he just didn't work hard enough to block the cross for the second, he put in one of those half hearted semi jump towards the direction of the ball efforts.
This defense is pish. We are going to concede bucket loads this season.
Anyone know what Bolasie was up to? Another injured player taken a punt on?
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Disappointing display 2nd half, poor substitutions, Jack Grealish looks increasingly like Stephen Ireland mk II and we’ve a liability in goal. Pretty shit really.
Was going to post the exact same pal. Overplaying the ball in areas of the pitch that don't matter, weak as piss in the tackle, all fart no shit.... just like Stephen Ireland.
Grealish and Chester have been awful this season. Two best players in their positions in the division last season but their lack of leadership has been exposed this season.
Two games in, no discernible improvement. Team selections and substitutions that Bruce would have been cabbaged for. Until Smith brings his own players in then I can't seeing us improving under him.
Some fundamental issues in that squad. Goalkeeper, full backs, lack of balance in midfield, lack of a dominant centre half, host of players unsuited to Smith's style of play, core of players long past their best. We are at nothing.
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I’m not disputing Jack is potentially is an excellent player, but he needs to take ownership and drive this team on.
I thought that’s exactly what he tried to do tonight.
Infact, I think think the rest of the team left him with that responsibility as well because after Albert and Tammy went off, Jack had no real support from anyone.
The kid can’t do it all on his own.
But ownership doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. It just means you need to make the right decisions to drive the team on. Jack is obviously not alone tonight, several players were really poor, but Jack is the player who we expect the most from.
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The following need to be despatched
Neil Taylor
Conor Hourihane
Alan Hutton
Every goalkeeper at the club
Scott Hogan
El Ghazi
Note to Jack Grealish - get fucking over it mate you play for Aston Villa on a fat contract
I'd give el Ghazi a bit more time but i agreecon the rest. First change should be Bree for Hutton, his defending was piss poor for both goals tonight because his positioning is shit.
The narrower front 3 we tried to play at times won't workcwith current fullbacks.
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I'd rather have our u23 keeper between the sticks than Nyland.... and I haven't ever watched him play. How many goals already could arguably be put down to him?
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Disappointed but won't let it affect the taste of my breakfast in the morning. My poached eggs on toast will be supplemented by numerous pickled onions so that when I get to work the smug nose who will have arrived early and be sat there ready to gloat can get the full smell as I walk past and let rip.
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I thought our problems were ones that at least superficially, should be easy to solve. We weren’t agressive enough without the ball, when we had it we didn’t move the ball quickly enough and took too many touches in the attacking areas.
El Ghazi looks like he’ll need a few weeks in the gym before being ready for games and Hogan looked like Hogan, a bit self indulgent from Deano I thought.
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Blues are now 2nd in the ‘finish above the villa’ league table.
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Abraham, Grealish, Tuanzebe, Chester, McGinn and BB. I only include Chester because he can be a very good player but hasn't impressed me so far this season yet. Build a team around these players.
The rest of the squad can be replaced with others. Nyland is a liability, Hutton lacks concentration, Taylor is just shit, Hourihane believes in his own hype, Lansbury can't be bothered, Whelan and Jedinak are over the hill, although I think Jedinak just isn't a Smith type player, Hogan is a complete lightweight, he needs to be a whole lot braver than he's being. Lots of them aren't capable of changing too much, despite Smith saying that they are coachable. We need a younger, more energetic squad.
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Tuanzebe was very good tonight, encouraging. I can't see why O'Hare is ignored - surely he'd add a bit more flair to the midfield?
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Sky 'highlights' (https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/championship/11533762/norwich-2-1-aston-villa)
Sky interview (https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/championship/11533841/smith-disappointed-by-defending)
OS interview https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1054842526618796032
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I subscribe to the Clough-Taylor feeling on goalkeepers - the right one gets you ten points a season. We don't have the right one.
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Hutton has run out of steam and needs replacing but that is/was just one of a number of problems.
A lot wrong tonight
Right back is the one position we have options though.
Elmo - the solid option and decent defensively and in the air.
Bree - promise going forward and on the ball, crap defensively though, particularly in the air.
Hutton was our best full back last season but its a season too far, also see Jedinak, Whelan and Kodjia.
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I would start to ease Bree into the team. Yeah, not great defensively, but our crossing is lacking and goals make any side look more than the sum of its parts.
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All doom and gloom but until the injuries came we were on top, Hogan and El Ghazi were shocking and that told the story of the game our shape went because those two didn't or couldn't tackle ,chase or cover.
Hogan is a one dimensional player anywhere outside the penalty box he gives nothing, El Ghazi just looked lost.
We have some poor players Taylor didn't do a lot wrong but never looks comfortable on the ball, Hutton has had his day and Bree should be given his chance, as others have mentioned tonight will have shown Smith more than if we had scraped a win.
I think we will see a lot of players moved on in January.
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Can anyone explain to me how Scott Hogan is still a professional footballer. Honest to god, the kid does absolutely nothing. Can't come back and get the ball to build up, can't run on to a ball, can't shoot from distance, can't receive a pass. What the hell has he done to get ahead of Kodjia? I don't care if it's his first action of the year, it's been consistently poor form for as long as I can remember. I hope that smith doesn't think he can still get something out of him.
El Ghazi.. is.. terrible. Just a truly terrible player. He dresses and walks the part, but when it comes to actually beating a defender off the dribble, being quick in possession or playing a ball a cross he just can't do it. Not in this league, and definitely not in the PL. He takes the most laboring, slow steps when he approaches a defender. He looks painfully slow for someone who is supposed to be a tricky, skilled winger. No need for him, send him back to France.
Whelan needs to just be bombsquaded. He's the dCM that it supposed to sure things up when your up 1-0 and I feel like instead he invites pressure and we inevitably fail miserably. He's old, he's slow, he's past it. He doesn't advance the ball. We don't need a shield for the back four when we're playing 5 midfielders. He brings nothing to the game. He'll break up play maybe two times a game.. and quite frankly after the missed pen he's not the type of player I want on the pitch.. ever.
Nyland is soft. I'm sorry, the second goal might've been a tough save but damn I'm sure Johnstone would've at least gotten down for it. I just don't like him, he doesn't inspire confidence.
I'm not mad at Hourihane, I just think he's an average player that is always trying hard to show that flash in the pan.
And lastly, Jack Fucking Grealish. What do you do jack? What exactly does jack do? Well, Jack does jack. Instead of CONSTANTLY initiating contact can you just get beyond a defender. Can ya shoot the damn ball? Can you slot in a pass to a slashing forward. He should be galloping through this league. Instead, he's rolling around in the grass with no ACTUAL urgency to get a goal.
Norwich might be in decent form atm, but that team is trash. It's almost comical that our squad cannot get results against some of these championship clubs. We should be running over teams.. Bruce, Smith whoever is in the box.
I have faith in Dean, but my god our players have to have some gumption to go out and do a freakin job.
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The problem with moving players on is the lack of realistic buyers
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I agree with that point about Norwich being in good form. I've literally only heard of Jordan Rhodes in that side - the core of a side which made the play-off final last season should be pissing all over them.
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The problem with moving players on is the lack of realistic buyers
True. And the fact that so many of them are on very decent money and won't want to take the hit. At least Jedinak, Whelan and Hutton are out of contract in the summer.
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And Micah.
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And Micah.
Very true!! Plenty of FFP dosh right there.
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Tuanzebe was very good tonight, encouraging. I can't see why O'Hare is ignored - surely he'd add a bit more flair to the midfield?
I dont see Smith ignoring the likes of O'Hare and Doyle-Hayes for much longer.
There are big changes imminent in our squad I expect.
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Those younger players will be blooded and no mistake. If the first team can't play the way Smith wants then a younger, more malleable footballer will become a better option.
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Given the injuries there must be a chance for O'Hare to come into the squad on Friday
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Those younger players will be blooded and no mistake. If the first team can't play the way Smith wants then a younger, more malleable footballer will become a better option.
100%
Can't wait for it honestly.
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Those younger players will be blooded and no mistake. If the first team can't play the way Smith wants then a younger, more malleable footballer will become a better option.
100%
Can't wait for it honestly.
Same here. In fact I’d take another season in this shit league
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I agree with that point about Norwich being in good form. I've literally only heard of Jordan Rhodes in that side - the core of a side which made the play-off final last season should be pissing all over them.
except they pissed all over us just before we made the play offs last season. 3-1 I think?
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Another season in this league? I think you're gonna get that anyway the_ads.
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Second half from hell tonight. That defence and keeper will prevent us going up.
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Second half from hell tonight. That defence and keeper will prevent us going up.
We ain't going up this season. We just need to sort ourselves out.
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Jack wasn’t any good, he was incredibly ponderous. When he did pass it generally was too slow and put players in trouble. Obviously not alone in being poor but I expect so much more from him.
His last couple of efforts we're really frustrating. A free kick straight into the wall and with our final chance a corner that never went above waist height and was easily cleared. Might help if his shorts weren't tight enough to strangle his bollox. Having said that he was messi esque compared to some of our players tonight.
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Second half from hell tonight. That defence and keeper will prevent us going up.
We ain't going up this season. We just need to sort ourselves out.
I agree but galling when you see that it's going to be a poor standard this year. big error holding on to Bruce in the summer
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We can finish 6th. Still 32 games to go.
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Second half from hell tonight. That defence and keeper will prevent us going up.
We ain't going up this season. We just need to sort ourselves out.
I agree but galling when you see that it's going to be a poor standard this year. big error holding on to Bruce in the summer
Considering we've only won 4 games I'd say it's a minor miracle we're only 8 points off the top 2. We won't be troubling them but does show the difference in standard to last season when Wolves were really on another level and Fulham also morphed into a bottom half prem team after xmas.
Teams nowhere near that standard this time.
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Norwich have a good team, a team that their managed has shaped over 18 months to get to where they where ,not long ago he was under pressure of the sack.We don't have a team we have a bunch of players picked out by Bruce with little thought of how to put them together as a team beyond trial and error !
Let's consider that we feel behind and got worse after Adomah went off , Adomah who was close to leaving after we brought in 2 more Wingers yet he is still our best option there .Elmo the same , generally his crossing his decent but his delivery tonight was shocking and when his delivery is letting him down it becomes more noticeable that as a winger he doesn't have the greatest ability to beat a full back with pace or skill .
Houriane continues to be an engima ..he gets goals , he gets assists but in general play his is a left footed Whelan he can't run with ball, he doesn't pick out any forward pass's and keeps it simple passing ...when not being out muscled or being done for pace which happens alot !WIth his set plays and goals you feel like he should be playing but then he general play is so non existent especially compared to McGinn I can't make a case to starting him.
You see teams who just fail to go up struggle the following season ,that's what we are seeing especially in Jack and Chester who both don't seem at 100% .In terms of Jack I felt he got more into the game as it went along but at times you just want him to shoot or be more direct his natural talent has got him this far but he needs so decent coaching at this stage of his career.
Overall you can see we are trying to pass it more and press the ball but we have a lack of pace and mobility in the side which is hampering this. At the back we have a keeper who looks suspect with balls into the area ( we have conceded 10 goals from set pieces ) and full backs who are limited.Midfield ( without McGinn) lacks any dynamism and whilst Tammy was miles better than Hogan he still wasn't holding the ball up well enough for my liking
Tuanzebe was the big positive tonight.When you see him play like that at CB it's baffling to have had Jedinek over him there let alone playing him at RB !!
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Second half from hell tonight. That defence and keeper will prevent us going up.
We ain't going up this season. We just need to sort ourselves out.
I agree but galling when you see that it's going to be a poor standard this year. big error holding on to Bruce in the summer
Looking back we didn't have much choice but to keep Bruce. After the play off,s things unravelled quite quickly and we were lucky to get saved in the end. The new owners needed time to look at things and quite quickly they saw the light. We just need time now for that light to become a beacon.
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Smith has been left with a duff hand by Bruce in defence and keeper, and we all have to make the best of it until January. The players are having to re-learn playing proper football. I guess we will continue to find it difficult against in-form sides like Norwich until Smith's methods start to take hold and he gets to know his resources better. Hopefully he can do it fairly quickly.
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The trouble is, there comes a point where your form is so bad that every other side is comparatively 'in-form'.
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Early days. Can't polish a turd in 2 games
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Second half from hell tonight. That defence and keeper will prevent us going up.
We ain't going up this season. We just need to sort ourselves out.
I agree but galling when you see that it's going to be a poor standard this year. big error holding on to Bruce in the summer
Looking back we didn't have much choice but to keep Bruce. After the play off,s things unravelled quite quickly and we were lucky to get saved in the end. The new owners needed time to look at things and quite quickly they saw the light. We just need time now for that light to become a beacon.
Agreed, if we’d potted Bruce after the play off final with what then transpired financially we’d have Mick McCarthy in charge now. My only criticism of the owners is i’d Have got shot of Bruce a few weeks earlier.
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Disappointing display 2nd half, poor substitutions, Jack Grealish looks increasingly like Stephen Ireland mk II and we’ve a liability in goal. Pretty shit really.
Was going to post the exact same pal. Overplaying the ball in areas of the pitch that don't matter, weak as piss in the tackle, all fart no shit.... just like Stephen Ireland.
Grealish and Chester have been awful this season. Two best players in their positions in the division last season but their lack of leadership has been exposed this season.
Two games in, no discernible improvement. Team selections and substitutions that Bruce would have been cabbaged for. Until Smith brings his own players in then I can't seeing us improving under him.
Some fundamental issues in that squad. Goalkeeper, full backs, lack of balance in midfield, lack of a dominant centre half, host of players unsuited to Smith's style of play, core of players long past their best. We are at nothing.
Bad substitutions.....he had no choice.
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Rome wasn’t built in a day.
But, Hogan was the wrong sub.
Taylor isn’t very good.
Over to you Mr Smith. Any Mr Terry sort the defence.
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Not read the thread yet. Been out tonight and just finished watching as live.
Bloody hell. Shows the new coaches haven't had enough time yet. There were some promising signs of trying to play a passing game, just a shame they are starting from the back with players who haven’t the confidence.
Nyland. FFS
Hutton. Erm
Tuanzebe. Looking good.
Chester. Too many mistakes at the moment.
Taylor. Not helped much but just can't control or pass a football right now.
Whelan.
Hourihane. Tries to hard.
Albert. Average.
Elmo. Crossing not good enough.
Grealish. Won plenty of free kicks.
Abraham. Looks good to me,
Hogan. Wrong system for him. Or he's wrong for the system.
ElGhazi. Erm. Tries hard but he plays like me; his body can't do what his brain tells it to.
Kodjia. Not enough time.
Shame we've only 2 days until QPR, another day of training lost and we need it.
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Nyland 5 : failure in commanding area at set pieces. Was rarely tested .
Wasteful in long range kicking out and pass backs when ever kicking long.
Tuanzebe 7.5 : made tackles , clearances and interceptions and was best of the defence. 90 % passing rate. Struggled again with some high balls and aerial duels but has good recovery pace.
Chester 6: scored goal made decent clearances but was slow to block the ball for the Norwich winning goal.
Hutton 5 : poor position play and defending in conceding goals
Did few Sprint runs and working a tandem with elmohamedys but tired and offered little in moving ball forward though did some good moves with and without ball in Norwich half in first 40 mins
Taylor 4: giving away fouls and being booked
Being dispossessed on ball.
1 threatening cross and failure to deliver anything else attacking wise accurately.
Gave away ball most with attempts at long balls . Played most long balls and not many reacted a villa player.
Whelan 7: passing accuracy at 90% good in what he did . Lacked agression but did do occasional press.
Was the better of the 2 Irish midfield.
2nd most touches on the ball in villa shirt . Need someone more dynamic in play but does a job away from home.
Hourihane 5.5:
Assisting goal with good contribution in corner delivery
Played some most accurate crosses 3/5.
Yet over hit set pieces and lacked accuracy in shooting off target with 2 efforts .
Lack of energy in pressing and attempts at playing forward passing.
Losing possession
Having too many bad touches and unforced errors when on the ball.
Attempted 1 forward thru ball which failed.
Grealish 6: winning free kicks around the box and drawing fouls but losing possession and some poor passing.
Adomah 6 : 4 crosses only 1 accurate
22 touches, passes ball 7 times, 2 shots both off target. Was getting more into thing before injury
Elmohamedys 5.5 : Started well pressed forward and delivered a decent cross but faded a lot second half and was lacking in crossing and lost ball both when in possession and often when he tired to play passes .
1 accurate cross from 7 .
Abrahams 6: giving ball away with continued worst passing rate at 63%
Pressed but struggle to be totally immerse in play.
Hit post with a chance
Injured being kicked in head.
Hogan 3: had 4 touches in 40 minutes
Kodjia 4.5: 6 touches 1 foul
El Ghazhi5: 1 blocked shot , 1 great delivery which could have result in a goal had Kodija or Abrahams been where hogan was.
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Dean has had hardly a week to sort the ingrained shit basket left in his lap.
Chill. UTV
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Still only 3 points off top 6 remarkably which is one positive to desperately cling onto...
Yes that's quite right ..
Though after other matches on Wednesday evening could be 4 or 5.bristol and forest to play their matches...
See how goes but the play off places are certainly attainable. Good to remain positive
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Just got back.
I cannot fathom what Chester was doing for the goal.
Thought it was a tight and poor quality game. Full backs poor, midfield not the legs or drive and two injuries in quick succession to our best performers ruined cohesion.
Onto Friday!
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A total shambles - we are a banana republic of a side and I wouldn't miss one single player from the senior squad that actually belongs to us. Fuck knows what Dean does in January as the squad is already bloated beyond a month old road kill badger. I suspect he's going to limit expenditure to the absolute essentials simply to keep us in the league. OPR will beat us comfortably on last night's performance, and the thought of Small Heath loitering just outside the top six makes it even worse. Hats off to all those with better belief and optimism, but any talk of a play off place is bollocks in my humble opinion. I don't usually like conspiracy theories but I'm beginning to think Bruce's recruitment policy was a very deliberate act of sabotage.
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I think some people are going way overboard on how bad that was
Our keeper hardly had a save to make. He still conceded two because he's not very good
We could easily have been two up and we lost two attackers in a minute against the in form team in the league
Various problems and lots to work on. But lots to work with too
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Brentford have a very good goalkeeper in Daniel Bentley and a very good centre half in Chris Mepham. Just sayin'.
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Yes we could have been two goals up, but we were not. We need to take our chances.
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Scrappy game but I though until the injuries we were slightly the better side. Having 2 go off in quick succession disrupted us and, as Smith said, if Abraham had been on the pitch for the corner for their equaliser he would be on the front post and likely headed it away.
I doubt that the manager has had time yet to properly assess the full squad but after Friday the schedule is a bit less hectic which will hopefully give him more opportunity.
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People really do go over the top on here when we lose. Yes some performances weren’t great but we all know where we are short (left back, centre half and keeper is poor). Norwich are on a roll so was always going to be a tough game. Injuries changed the game and we could have easily drew. Axel was superb and is going to be done player. Jack needs a rest though.
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Axle WAS good, but he still ducks under the ball and did so for their first goal. Elmo and Hutton badly exposed for their winner but Chester, what were you doing? If we could sign Axel, I'd bring in another centre back and he'd be the longer term replacement for Chester. Injuries did us last night unfortunately and Smith needs coaching time with them all.
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I agree. There's some right over the top bollocks on here,good lord.
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Yep, early days, what’s good is Smith haven’t no 3 games in 6 days is learning about some of this lot and what they can or can’t do. McGinn and Barney back on Friday.
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People really do go over the top on here when we lose. Yes some performances weren’t great but we all know where we are short (left back, centre half and keeper is poor). Norwich are on a roll so was always going to be a tough game. Injuries changed the game and we could have easily drew. Axel was superb and is going to be done player. Jack needs a rest though.
Did either keeper make a save? We were marginally better first half, them second half when Albert and Tammy went off.
Losing Tammy's height from the corner didn't help and Chester ought to be staked out for letting Rhodes get in front of him, utterly woeful from him.
We lost cohesion with the two injuries. Hogan didn't have the same awkward presence and didn't work anywhere near as hard.
El Ghazi played his first minutes since 1st September in a new league, yet he's awful according to the same few drama llamas. Jesus Christ.
Midfield was a problem for me; Thor and McGinn give us energy to drive the game on. Hourihane and Whelan do neither, even if Whelan can move the ball a bit quicker.
Plenty to work on, but for me it was a pretty poor game. You could hear a pin drop throughout most, which tells it's own story.
First time I'd seen Norwich and no idea who any of them are,but you could see they've got that confidence.
Chester does his job, we'd still be there now and neither keeper would have their gloves dirty.
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The biggest issue Fistface left us with was at keeper. From the get-go, we could see that we'd traded a decent keeper (Steer) for 2 duds. It's from the keeper that defenders either reinforce their confidence or get the jitters.
Priority above all else is to sort that position out.
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A bit harsh on Chester, it was a sublime bit of movement and finishing from Rhodes who is proven at this level.
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A bit harsh on Chester, it was a sublime bit of movement and finishing from Rhodes who is proven at this level.
It was excellent from Rhodes we would be raving about that finish if it was one of ours. BUT it was a woeful effort from Chester to let it happen.
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No it was awful defending.
He knows there's only one run Rhodes can make, he looks at him and just doesn't react to the cross.
There is no way Chester shouldn't be first to that ball. Utterly woeful defending and he knew it too.
People round me were shouting at Nyland. What games some people watch I have no idea.
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Had time to sleep on it now. You can't underestimate just how unfortunate we were to lose Tammy & Albert in such quick succession. You just can't plan for that. As has been said we're crying out for fullbacks on both side. Hutton has finally passed his sell by date & Taylor just isn't good enough. The keeper is weak on crosses and that will cost us dearly in the long run. So those positions are priority number one to get sorted. A fit Jedinak would of been invaluable last night. Elmo is only consistent in his inconsistency. Going forward we need bring in Mcginn, Barney and Bolassie to replace Hourihane,Whelan and Elmo. Hogan seems totally lost so he should join the other misfits. We're stuck with the fullback and keeper situation till January. Last nights game come at us too quick especially with the form Norwich are showing. Even our normally boisterous following seemed bolloxed. So I guess we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
As ppl have said numerous times on here Rome wasn't built in a day. I fully expect that in a years time we'll be blowing away niggly ittle clubs like Norwich. UTV
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A game that demonstrates just how much work needs to be done on the training ground and in the January window.
Nylund was dreadful for their first, Chester woeful for their second.
Tuanzebe had an excellent game.
Jack hasn't been at his best but I think some of the criticism is unfair due to the fact that our movement off the ball is generally none existent apart from overlapping full backs which he finds regularly.
I'm confident we have the right management set up to take us forward.
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we've been saying we will be blowing away little clubs for years. And we never so. Plus that's a bit insulting to Norwich.
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SJM and THor back for Friday and Id bring
Bree in for RB . Taylor looks so nervous and lost but unless Hutton replaces him there is no one . Not sure how Adomah starts but with Yannick
playing PS4 and El Ronaldo looking poor maybe thats why , no idea why we have them and loan Green out.
Axel T was good. Id like to see O'hare on the bench.
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First half we seemed to be playing to Smiths plan. Closing opponents down when we didn't have the ball and covering any spaces that were opening up as they attacked, making sure there was always someone available for a pass when we did have the ball and trying to keep moving. We were worthy of the lead. Second half, they scored and it all went to pot. The plan seemed to go out of the window.
The other point that sprung out to me was the fact that 5 of those players that started will not be good enough to play his system effectively so that we get the best out of it. Hutton, Taylor, Hourahane, Whelan and Adomah are either not quick enough, don't have the speed of thought or just don't have the technique to play it. The jury is out for me on Nyland and Tuenzebe. The others were ok that started.
Putting Elmo at right back and Bolasie right wing might help. Playing the 2 in the middle that started Saturday should help and playing Kodjia left instead of Adomah might be better. We have no other option at left back though.
Hogan looked poor but he has done it before for Smith so I wouldn't right him off. El Khazi on the other hand found his best position last Saturday. The most half hearted looking fucker we've had since Carlton Cole and we've certainly had plenty in between. Fucking awful player.
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we've been saying we will be blowing away little clubs for years. And we never so. Plus that's a bit insulting to Norwich.
Well we now have a structure in place that genuinely gives us a chance of doing that. Did you see all the arms flapping every time the ref gave us a decision? Did you hear all the yelling and booing at Tammy & Albert just because both stayed down injured? Abraham had a kick in his head ffs. Small club syndrome. So no I couldn't give a flying fuck about insulting them.
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Like it's been said elsewhere, we looked fine until we were forced to make the two changes. We seemed to lose our momentum and game plan. I thought he messed up bringing on Hogan instead of Kodja and McGinn was missed but sitting out a game hopefully will have done him good.
Overall, disappointed but not gutted.
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No it was awful defending.
He knows there's only one run Rhodes can make, he looks at him and just doesn't react to the cross.
There is no way Chester shouldn't be first to that ball. Utterly woeful defending and he knew it too.
People round me were shouting at Nyland. What games some people watch I have no idea.
People shouting at Nyland because he is shit I suspect. He was at fault for the first but can't be blamed for the second. Though it's another notch against him.
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I wasn't allowed to watch the game but was supposed to go to a fado show in Lisbon. However, thanks to Mark Kelly, who kindly offered to meet up with us in a great little wine bar, for drinks before the depressing warbling began, SWMBO had such a good time tasting the delights of Douro that she decided to deaf the fado and we ended up having spatchcock churrasco chicken* in a restaurant instead. Result!**
* My arse is regretting it after I slathered on the piri-piri sauce.
** Not the Villa, obviously.
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Overall looking at things was a tight affair and not much in it.
Norwich were given more time and opportunity in second half as villa dropped off energy wise but were never overawed .
What was disappointing the attacking threat or lack of it .
Midfield:
The main difference being the midfield 2 of Leitner and Trybull knew how to play their position, get challenges in and play ball effectively.
Striker:
The other big difference was Jordan Rhodes was given opportunity and scored 2 goals .
Hogan had 4 touches of the ball
Away form?
It was noted that Dean Smiths Brentford hadn't won away this season .
It's been noted his subs at Brentford have been largely ineffective.
Subs?
The subs made Hogan, Elghazi and Kodjia created little impact and the in game tactics didn't work.
A chance again against QPR.
Summary
A good encouraging first half where best opportunity fell to villa and some incisive attacking play was shown at times.
The injuries, subs and lack of quality in movement and passing ball forward saw little major attacking threat after going behind however there are some positive signs as players adapt and both teams didn't make the keepers work and was a fairly balanced match.
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Whilst I'm not saying that the injuries didn't cause a wobble, they certainly shouldn't have de-railed our game plan to a huge extent, Adomah had been gash and nearly all the attacks where he was on the ball broke down and Tammy was largely chasing shadows (not his fault). Bringing Kodjia on for Tammy and El Khazi (or just playing 10 men) for Adomah shouldn't have changed things too dramatically.
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You can't deny it, Norwich were (Paul Lambert) excellent & deserved the win.
Smith, Terry and everyone should now realise the enormity of the task at hand, there's still way too much dead wood and drifters in this team, I'm looking at you Taylor, Hourihane, Hutton, Hogan and as for our goalkeeper, fucking hell, where do you start?
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by sending him back to the land of the trolls asap.
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Whilst I'm not saying that the injuries didn't cause a wobble, they certainly shouldn't have de-railed our game plan to a huge extent, Adomah had been gash and nearly all the attacks where he was on the ball broke down and Tammy was largely chasing shadows (not his fault). Bringing Kodjia on for Tammy and El Khazi (or just playing 10 men) for Adomah shouldn't have changed things too dramatically.
Kodjia could have scored or created something . He is a presence up front and on the ball despite his enigamatic ways can deliver a moment of quality or magic from absolute ability where hogan and many others could not .
He also could challenge their defenders effectively in the air and on the ground running at them , getting free kicks and trobling the players on bookings .
Hogan had 4 touches.
JK has a great leap and superb in the air also may have been able to clear ball at near post heading away for equaliser
And also score if he was central striker from El ghazi sumptuous ball in which small gut hogan could only look at.
I fear he's not a Smith man and his lack of closing down would be a big factor.
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Also Adomah was coming into the match and that's why he got injured because he uses footy skillz and beat some players he was actually getting more involved.
Whereas granted Abraham chases and press but what was Tammy Abraham fault is his constantly giving ball away to Norwich with his loose passing. He's the worst player by far in not finding team mates
Clearly there is work on developing his game as a striker he's a decent goal scorer at this level but as proved at Swansea in premier league he wasn't up to much in all round abilities and why chelsea dont have him fact he's still championship level .
In some ways he fits Bruce style but I think if he can find his team mates alot more then our attacking play can be more effective.
This is something can work on and being a striker includes general play he has the goal scoring ability just needs to add his link up and passing as it's below par by some way
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As much as I like Abraham, I see no point whatsoever in signing him when have Kodjia, our own player, who scored (was it?) 20 odd goals in his first season and started this one with a couple or three. Especially when the defence needed so many reinforcements. But that's one for Bruce to explain.
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In terms of the subs, yes they turned the game but I can see what Smith was trying to do.
I can understand why he went for Hogan when Tammy went off. Our press was working quite well and he probably thought Hogan would be better suited for that and with potential to nick one. Obviously they scored with the next kick, Hogan was anonymous so it turned out to be a mistake.
Given our bench, El Ghazi seemed an obvious choice to replace Albert. Again he was awful and in hindsight Kodjia would probably have been a better option.
Overall I thought Norwich were pretty neat and tidy, pressed well and moved the ball much better than us. They didn't have many chances but were the better team.
When we had the ball we always looked under pressure and were never really comfortable in possession. Taylor looked lost. Hutton at least overlapped well and got in a few decent crosses one of which led to Tammy hitting the post. His positioning on the first goal was awful and it wasn't the only time Rhodes was left unmarked from corners.
In the final analysis whilst Norwich were tidier there wasn't a great deal of difference in chances created. We both scored from a corner. Rhodes finished his chance and Tammy hit the post from his. But we look miles from a promotion team and I only hope Smith can work his magic quickly.
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The other point that sprung out to me was the fact that 5 of those players that started will not be good enough to play his system effectively so that we get the best out of it. Hutton, Taylor, Hourahane, Whelan and Adomah are either not quick enough, don't have the speed of thought or just don't have the technique to play it. The jury is out for me on Nyland and Tuenzebe. The others were ok that started.
I agree with this and think we are looking at a total rebuild to be honest. It is clear that Dean Smith wants to play a high tempo game both with and without the ball and the players you mention above just aren't suited to that kind of game.
We need a big clear out and Smith and his staff need to be given time to implement their ideas.
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Smith will learn loads from this defeat - maybe confirming stuff he already knew.
His ability to do much in the short term is limited, but I would expect January - May to be exciting and different; and successful.
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as in racing from the drop zone?
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It crossed my mind that he's trying them out at the moment to have a look at them for himself within his system. I would have thought El Ghazi could be eliminated from his future selections based on that alone, and he will have seen that some of the other cloggers are going to struggle to fit his needs as well.
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Not only did Bruce leave an unbalanced squad he left players that are no where near match fitness because of lack of activity and or conditioning.
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In terms of the subs, yes they turned the game but I can see what Smith was trying to do.
I can understand why he went for Hogan when Tammy went off. Our press was working quite well and he probably thought Hogan would be better suited for that and with potential to nick one. Obviously they scored with the next kick, Hogan was anonymous so it turned out to be a mistake.
Given our bench, El Ghazi seemed an obvious choice to replace Albert. Again he was awful and in hindsight Kodjia would probably have been a better option.
Overall I thought Norwich were pretty neat and tidy, pressed well and moved the ball much better than us. They didn't have many chances but were the better team.
When we had the ball we always looked under pressure and were never really comfortable in possession. Taylor looked lost. Hutton at least overlapped well and got in a few decent crosses one of which led to Tammy hitting the post. His positioning on the first goal was awful and it wasn't the only time Rhodes was left unmarked from corners.
In the final analysis whilst Norwich were tidier there wasn't a great deal of difference in chances created. We both scored from a corner. Rhodes finished his chance and Tammy hit the post from his. But we look miles from a promotion team and I only hope Smith can work his magic quickly.
Norwich won 2-1 it was close .
Maybe look again at analysis as villa outpassed Norwich and made more successful passes
10 Shots 8
2 Shots on target1
78% Pass Success 81%
46% Aerial Duel Success 54%
5 Dribbles won 4
18 Tackles 18
7 Corners 7
15 Fouls 13
Passes
482 Total 522
23 Crosses 28
0 Through Balls 1
67 Long Balls 68
392 Short Passes 425
Of our 8 shots villa had 4 from open play and 4 from set plays
50% shots came from inside the box
50% outside the box
A 12% conversion rate scored 1 goal.
45 % of match was in the middle of pitch
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As I said in the match thread I don't buy the line that Nyland was at fault for the first. Rhodes had a free header on the edge of the 6 yard box, that's down to the marker not the keeper. Nyland should've stayed on his line or come out and clattered Rhodes so his decision making was poor but the goal is on Hutton for falling asleep.
I blame Hutton for the 2nd as well, left the winger with acres to receive the ball in and then was a bit half-arsed in trying to get over and stop the cross, from there Chester needed to do better but it was far too easy to get round us and get the cross in and you're always at risk if you let teams do that.
Nyland isn't great but it's not fair to blame him when the errors are happening in front of him. Both of our fullbacks are a liability right now and replacing them should be the priority for the first of January (or before if we're willing to give Bree and/or the kids a go).
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Hutton’s position for the second was criminal.
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As I said in the match thread I don't buy the line that Nyland was at fault for the first. Rhodes had a free header on the edge of the 6 yard box, that's down to the marker not the keeper. Nyland should've stayed on his line or come out and clattered Rhodes so his decision making was poor but the goal is on Hutton for falling asleep.
I blame Hutton for the 2nd as well, left the winger with acres to receive the ball in and then was a bit half-arsed in trying to get over and stop the cross, from there Chester needed to do better but it was far too easy to get round us and get the cross in and you're always at risk if you let teams do that.
Nyland isn't great but it's not fair to blame him when the errors are happening in front of him. Both of our fullbacks are a liability right now and replacing them should be the priority for the first of January (or before if we're willing to give Bree and/or the kids a go).
Agreed.Hutton as well as being bereft of football talent,must have personally cost us more goals than any other player.
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I've always liked Hutton and Adomah but it is now time to say farewell, they won't cut it under Smith.
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Nyland had plenty of time to go for that cross. The fact he went for it too slowly and in the wrong place is absolutely down to him. Regardless of how poor anyone else was, as a keeper you just need to deal with it.
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I thought first half our work without the ball was excellent and you could see the pattern emerging of the 2 and 3 lines in midfield quickly turned into a 5. Nice to see both teams looking to play football rather than looking for dead balls to start their attacks.
1-0 at half time I feel was justified and but for a goal post could have been 2-0
The injuries, substitutions and equaliser all in the space of 5 mins was without doubt a pivotal point and we never really recovered.
Hutton - for all his grit and fan loyalty etc - is an awful defender - time and again he leaves acres of space
Nyland - thought he had done ok up to first goal and typically weak as piss in his attempt for the ball
Grealish - spends all his time trying to draw the foul rather than keeping a move going - starting to get on my tits
Hourihane - no goals = no impact. Apart from the corner his involvement was non existent
Whelan - average but did his job - just too slowly
Taylor - looks terrified whenever ball comes to him - he also looks knackered from the start
Chester - piss poor for the 2nd
Tuanzabe - I thought was excellent
I think the reason for keeping Elmo and Albert in there is their work without the ball - it was evident on Saturday that with Kodjia and Bolasi they just do not have the awareness or discipline (yet) to do this work so it would leave our midfield and full backs very exposed
Early days but I still like what I am seeing - if not being able to have the personnel to play to it yet
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Hutton was the wrong side of Rhodes end of.
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Hogan touched the ball the grand total of four times. Absolutely hopeless.
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Hogan touched the ball the grand total of four times. Absolutely hopeless.
I take it he won’t be getting your vote for player of the season. :)
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Hogan touched the ball the grand total of four times. Absolutely hopeless.
Apparently Gerd Muller only used to touch the ball a couple of times during a match....resulting in goals😊
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Hogan touched the ball the grand total of four times. Absolutely hopeless.
Yes, but it's the quality of those touches that you have to consider. I'm quite sure the Norwich defenders thought they were up against the championship version of Mbappe for those fleeting seconds.
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Well let’s not worry about the actual result. We were not good enough for anything better from this match. More concern is players Smith and Co have to choose from till January. I am hoping till then we can stay in touch with play off places because that’s the best we will do after where Bruce left us.
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Hutton was the wrong side of Rhodes end of.
Yep, Nyland could, and should, have done better but letting you man get 2ft clear in front of you in that position isn't good enough.
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Annoyed about the usual meltdown second half but some positive signs. After Fridays game they've got a whole week to prepare for Bolton so I would expect to see a bit more progress there. Get McGinn back with Thor for Friday and don't bother with Hogan. If Bolasie has recovered from his verbals then stick him on the bench.
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Hutton’s position for the second was criminal.
Tuanzebe went walkabout too. No idea where but he should have been where Chester eventually ended up.
Chester takes the majority of the blame though, he got himself in a good position at the front post and inexplicably missed the ball. Fluke from Rhodes to be honest.
For the first, Hutton takes majority of blame I'd argue over Nyland, 60/40 maybe. Header was probably going in even if Nyland stayed on line. Huttons positioning was dreadful.
It's amazing, four of our back five took a share of the blame for both goals last night and the odd man out is the dreadful Neil Taylor.
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Hutton’s position for the second was criminal.
Tuanzebe went walkabout too. No idea where but he should have been where Chester eventually ended up.
Chester takes the majority of the blame though, he got himself in a good position at the front post and inexplicably missed the ball. Fluke from Rhodes to be honest.
For the first, Hutton takes majority of blame I'd argue over Nyland, 60/40 maybe. Header was probably going in even if Nyland stayed on line. Huttons positioning was dreadful.
It's amazing, four of our back five took a share of the blame for both goals last night and the odd man out is the dreadful Neil Taylor.
Taylor was fine in defence, it was his inability t kick a moving ball that was his problem.
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OK so I've moved on now to Friday and this is probably not the right thread for this but.......not been QPR for a few years, where will Villa fans be drinking near the ground - not central london as driving down M40 then tube to White City.
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OK so I've moved on now to Friday and this is probably not the right thread for this but.......not been QPR for a few years, where will Villa fans be drinking near the ground - not central london as driving down M40 then tube to White City.
Went last time and drank in pub near shepherds bush tube. Come out of station and turn right. Can't remember the name but it was full of villa.
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Hutton’s position for the second was criminal.
Tuanzebe went walkabout too. No idea where but he should have been where Chester eventually ended up.
Chester takes the majority of the blame though, he got himself in a good position at the front post and inexplicably missed the ball. Fluke from Rhodes to be honest.
For the first, Hutton takes majority of blame I'd argue over Nyland, 60/40 maybe. Header was probably going in even if Nyland stayed on line. Huttons positioning was dreadful.
It's amazing, four of our back five took a share of the blame for both goals last night and the odd man out is the dreadful Neil Taylor.
Even if Hutton wasn't in his way would Nyland have been strong enough to win a straightforward challenge with Rhodes? I seriously doubt it. He did an identical thing at Ipswich. He lacks the physical presence for the championship imo.
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You are right about Nyland TE. Like somebody on here once said about Ivanhoe. Body of a heavyweight champion, heart of a peanut.
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Hutton’s position for the second was criminal.
Tuanzebe went walkabout too. No idea where but he should have been where Chester eventually ended up.
Chester takes the majority of the blame though, he got himself in a good position at the front post and inexplicably missed the ball. Fluke from Rhodes to be honest.
For the first, Hutton takes majority of blame I'd argue over Nyland, 60/40 maybe. Header was probably going in even if Nyland stayed on line. Huttons positioning was dreadful.
It's amazing, four of our back five took a share of the blame for both goals last night and the odd man out is the dreadful Neil Taylor.
Even if Hutton wasn't in his way would Nyland have been strong enough to win a straightforward challenge with Rhodes? I seriously doubt it. He did an identical thing at Ipswich. He lacks the physical presence for the championship imo.
Agreed, reminds me of Gollini. Same flaws.
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Nyland looks like Guzan did from May 2015. Mentally shot, misjudging crosses all the time and lets in plenty of saveable shots.
Clear downgrade on last season.
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I think in Gollini, Bunn, Moreira and Nyland if you took the very best of their individual abilities and made one goalkeeper with them it would make Kevin Poole. To pick up one deeply flawed new goalkeeper is incompetent to pick up four in a row is like winning Dickhead of The Year.
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I’m still of the view Nyland could be decent, and I’ve got no idea about Moreira.
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Not only did Bruce leave an unbalanced squad he left players that are no where near match fitness because of lack of activity and or conditioning.
Yep. Norwich were definitely quicker to the ball in the last 20mins.
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Best looking Keeper.
Though I believe David James was at Villa
And he's certainly no Brad Friedel ability wise!
I’m still of the view Nyland could be decent, and I’ve got no idea about Moreira.
Both good looking keepers of the David James variety !
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Shame he's not as quick off his line as Jame-o was!