Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Bad English on April 22, 2023, 04:58:24 PM
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Draw. Fair play.
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Dissatisfied
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It's an OK result.
We could have nicked it there at the end though.
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Take the point after a shit performance and the inevitable drag of Olsen.
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I'll take that. Our worst performance for a while but still managed not to lose. That's definitely a point gained rather than two lost.
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So for the benefit of those who missed it - what was wrong with Emi?
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The unbeaten run continues.
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I'll take that..
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Win Tues and its it's a good return
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Looked a bit leggy, lost the midfield, poor decisions when in attack.
Grateful for the point.
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If you don't win, don't lose.
Need three points against Fulham.
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Just for perspective an away draw at a top half team where we usually get fuck all. And we had our worst ever keeper playing for half the match. Absolutely fine result, a win Tuesday would be great though to start the next winning run :-)
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We’re not going to play superbly every week. But despite being well below par, we found a way to get a point at a place we don’t do well at. So a point is massive today. We will regroup now and batter Fulham.
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Game we probably would have lost earlier in the season, progress?
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Big improvement with all the subs. We lacked an edge for an hour then got into our stride. Good fight back when we could have quite easily lost it.
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I'm both very pleased we got a point out of that as we were second best for a lot of it, but also frustrating as we showed what we are more capable of the last 10 mins. Still, 9 unbeaten, n-n-n-n-n-nineteen consectuve league games we've scored in.
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Didn’t play well but found a way not to lose.
Good sign that
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Daylight robbery we got a point there. We were good first 10 minutes and last 10 and abysmal inbetween.
Don't think it's a bad thing we get a performance like that as shows what can happen if we're off our game yet still claim a point so that's important for the run in.
Hopefully this will be like the West Ham draw and we'll win our next four games...
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Please don't let Martinez be too badly injured, Olsen is honest to god the worst keeper I've ever seen in a Villa shirt. Absolutely stealing a living.
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We were the better side by the end and should have won it. I don’t blame Ollie at all for going for that header given his form. But Emi scores that if Ollie leaves it.
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I'll take that. Our worst performance for a while but still managed not to lose. That's definitely a point gained rather than two lost.
This with bells on
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Pleased with a point considering we struggled for 65-70 minutes. They switched the play very well thru the air, credit to them - Brentford were better today. We hold our place in the table and hope that Kamara and Martinez return quickly.
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We were the better side after the changes and could have won in the end, Watkins was well held but JJ had a good game.
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I'll take that. Our worst performance for a while but still managed not to lose. That's definitely a point gained rather than two lost.
Yep, this knack we have of scoring in every game, not being beat as soon as we go behind, and also getting points on an off day is not to be sniffed at.
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Would have taken that Scoreline at the start, we never win there. Decent point after a lacklustre performance
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Honestly got away with that, the worst half hour or so I can remember us playing. The subs helped so well done Unai on that one, but otherwise Frank had them doing to us something like what we did to Newcastle last week - disrupting our flow, denying the forwards space, all that jazz.
One thing - it's amazing how much we rely on Martinez, not just as a keeper but as a sweeper. His distribution gets us going and his anticipation lets us play higher up the pitch. With the best will in the world, Olsen's lack of both was amazingly apparent.
We powered back, could've won in the end which is honestly a near-miracle, but we should be grateful for the point because, my God, we were weak as fuck for a good spell there.
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We'll score in every game Emery ever manages for us. Amazing to think, innit?! He'll be here for 4 years and there'll always something positive to take from a game :)
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Stopped looking with after they scored, it feels like a win
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Did well to get a point in the end, kept our record up of scoring in every game under Emery.
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So for the benefit of those who missed it - what was wrong with Emi?
Illness apparently. Felt unwell before the game and worse at HT so came off.
Should be OK for Tuesday.
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Aston Villa captain John McGinn: "A good last 10 minutes for us. It's a tough place to come. They make you fight. When you go 1-0 behind it's a really good point."
On what Unai Emery said at half-time: "Stay calm and things will happen. We've been in this position before. After the goal we reacted well and could have nicked it at the end.
"We were pushing. We wanted to win. We have a big game on Tuesday to give ourselves the best chance of Europe."
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Late rally good to see, but we deserved to lose that in fairness
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Emery's not had a single 0-0 in all his time at both Arsenal and Villa.
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A decent point away and even more so when we’ve not played that well. We aren’t going to win every game and we’ll lose before the seasons out. The resilience in this squad now is a massive plus point.
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A point is probably the best we could have hoped. Really showed how threadbare the squad is, don't think any one played particular well. The first half an hour of the second half we were awful.
I think the Emi for Olsen at half time caused an issue - as we looked lost after that - not sure if it was all a bit mixed at half time.
We lost the midfield for the first time in ages, and we seemed to panic a bit - lacked the composer. Need to make sure we bounce back on Tuesday.
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They've got an amazing record when scoring first and have a good record at home, so it's a good point especially considering how shit we were for large parts.
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Grateful for the point and just worried about Emi…probably sums up what everyone is thinking
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A point is probably the best we could have hoped. Really showed how threadbare the squad is, don't think any one played particular well. The first half an hour of the second half we were awful.
I think the Emi for Olsen at half time caused an issue - as we looked lost after that - not sure if it was all a bit mixed at half time.
We lost the midfield for the first time in ages, and we seemed to panic a bit - lacked the composer. Need to make sure we bounce back on Tuesday.
defenders players perhaps not having much confidence in Olsen
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Found a way not to lose the game when having an off day - that's what good teams do.
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Some of our first touches were so bad I thought Agbonlahor was back playing.
Subs made a big difference and helped get us back in the game. Perhaps we could have made the changes earlier.
All Brentford had was the ball over the top, surprised we didn't drop our defensive line 10 yds deeper to neutralise it. Still a point isn't bad given the ineptitude of the performance and the unbeaten streak continues.
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Brentford are a very tough team to play, a bit like Stoke all those years back as they deal with high balls and crosses with ease and can switch play across the park very well.
I think the good news here is if they play with same intensity they can certainly take points off Spurs and perhaps Liverpool, already got 4 points from playing those two at home.
We remain 6th and will have a chance of going 5th if we win on Tuesday and Spurs lose tomorrow so that's the important context.
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A point is probably the best we could have hoped. Really showed how threadbare the squad is, don't think any one played particular well. The first half an hour of the second half we were awful.
I think the Emi for Olsen at half time caused an issue - as we looked lost after that - not sure if it was all a bit mixed at half time.
We lost the midfield for the first time in ages, and we seemed to panic a bit - lacked the composer. Need to make sure we bounce back on Tuesday.
defenders players perhaps not having much confidence in Olsen
Yeah it totally alters the way we play too - Olsens lack of command, anticipation, and fact he just kicks it long messed up our flow I think. I have no idea why we bought him, I feel sorry for him, everytime a goal goes in he seems to lie on the floor in an "oh no, its happening again" kind of way.
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A point is probably the best we could have hoped. Really showed how threadbare the squad is, don't think any one played particular well. The first half an hour of the second half we were awful.
I think the Emi for Olsen at half time caused an issue - as we looked lost after that - not sure if it was all a bit mixed at half time.
We lost the midfield for the first time in ages, and we seemed to panic a bit - lacked the composer. Need to make sure we bounce back on Tuesday.
defenders players perhaps not having much confidence in Olsen
Yeah it totally alters the way we play too - Olsens lack of command, anticipation, and fact he just kicks it long messed up our flow I think. I have no idea why we bought him, I feel sorry for him, everytime a goal comes in he seems to lie on the floor in an "oh no, its happening again" kind of way.
Yeah, me too.
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Found a way not to lose the game when having an off day - that's what good teams do.
This.
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We were lucky that Brentford were mostly profligate in front of Olsen as it could have easily been 3-1 to them.
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So for the benefit of those who missed it - what was wrong with Emi?
Illness apparently. Felt unwell before the game and worse at HT so came off.
Should be OK for Tuesday.
Must have seen Olsen in training that make would anyone feel sick
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Bit jammy to get a point really, they missed some good chances.
Slightly weird how leggy we looked at times, but I guess you have to credit Frank for setting his team up well and nullifying our midfield. They shackled Watkins very well, too.
Still, played crap and still didn't lose. That's fair enough.
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Emery's not had a single 0-0 in all his time at both Arsenal and Villa.
Also today is his first match to gain a point from losing position, I think?
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Emery's not had a single 0-0 in all his time at both Arsenal and Villa.
Also today is his first match to gain a point from losing position, I think?
Wolves at home, Brighton away
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A point is probably the best we could have hoped. Really showed how threadbare the squad is, don't think any one played particular well. The first half an hour of the second half we were awful.
I think the Emi for Olsen at half time caused an issue - as we looked lost after that - not sure if it was all a bit mixed at half time.
We lost the midfield for the first time in ages, and we seemed to panic a bit - lacked the composer. Need to make sure we bounce back on Tuesday.
defenders players perhaps not having much confidence in Olsen
Yeah it totally alters the way we play too - Olsens lack of command, anticipation, and fact he just kicks it long messed up our flow I think. I have no idea why we bought him, I feel sorry for him, everytime a goal goes in he seems to lie on the floor in an "oh no, its happening again" kind of way.
I did that when the second half kicked off
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A difficult game against a physical side who pressed our midfield and condensed the play when we had the ball. The triple change allowed us to keep the ball better and find a way around the midfield press to push Brentford back. I would have taken a draw last week so four points from the last two games isn't a bad return as long as we put in a better performance to win against Fulham on Tuesday. The would imagine the referee today has had better games particularly when he let the game go on despite it being obvious straightaway that Lucas Digne had a head injury.
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Subs really helped, Bit more composure and we could easily have nicked it. Would have taken a point from the moment I saw Olsen warming up, never mind when looking down the barrel in the 87th minute.
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All of us when we saw Olsen coming on
(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/PinkLimpGoat-max-1mb.gif)
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Quite happy with that. It's a tough place to go, especially with losing Emi M (at which point I was expecting a defeat).
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That's the type of game we normally go on to lose 2 or 3-0.
We showed today the sort of mentality that you see from the top sides. Go 1 down, make changes and then be on top for a lot of the remaining time. Force an equaliser and then not be content with that, try to win it. The players looked utterly pissed off that they didn't win it.
Loving seeing the players getting on eachother's backs and being more demanding of eachother too. Great to see little Emi being able to last a full game now, while still being all over the place and having a good game (aside for the 20 minutes of the second half that the whole side struggled in).
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Take that. It’s a point gained given the performance.
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I'll take that. Our worst performance for a while but still managed not to lose. That's definitely a point gained rather than two lost.
Too true.
Emi would’ve saved their goal.
Fulham are going to get thrashed.
Onwards.
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Point gained.
A shame Forest couldn't hold on.
Wonder who we'll bring in as second choice keeper next season.
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Point gained.
A shame Forest couldn't hold on.
Wonder who we'll bring in as second choice keeper next season.
Jake Finlay
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Get well soon Emi.
We can't go into Tuesday with that clown shoes in goal.
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He deservedly gets stick, but fair play to Digne. Positive in his play from when he came on. That was a nasty boot to the face that could have rattled him given his, er, at times, physical shirking but he was great. GOt into good positions on the left and his quick cross caused the confusion in the box which led to our equaliser.
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He deservedly gets stick, but fair play to Digne. Positive in his play from when he came on. That was a nasty boot to the face that could have rattled him given his, er, at times, physical shirking but he was great. GOt into good positions on the left and his quick cross caused the confusion in the box which led to our equaliser.
Yeah, credit where it's due
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If we hadn't have got Unai in when we did we could now be in Evertons shoes. Thank you Mr. Emery. Thank you.
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He deservedly gets stick, but fair play to Digne. Positive in his play from when he came on. That was a nasty boot to the face that could have rattled him given his, er, at times, physical shirking but he was great. GOt into good positions on the left and his quick cross caused the confusion in the box which led to our equaliser.
How did we not get a free-kick for that?!
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Losing our best player at half time didn't help. They'd never have scored with Emi in goal. Overall a poor performance where we looked leggy and not up for a fight, no more demonstrated with almost every single 50/50 ball won by Brentford. They had our number for most of the game, pretty much controlled the midfield, starved Watkins of any real chances, put Moreno in his shell and always looked a threat on the break.
Happy with the point, the chance of taking all three in the dying minutes is something I'm trying to forget about. Thought the ref was poor, the booking for Young was a joke compared to what he let go. Still, a Saudi win against Spurs and the table won't look to bad. 6th to 8th is where we're at. Hopefully Tuesday we're back firing but we really could do with a bigger (healthy) squad right now.
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Honestly got away with that, the worst half hour or so I can remember us playing. The subs helped so well done Unai on that one, but otherwise Frank had them doing to us something like what we did to Newcastle last week - disrupting our flow, denying the forwards space, all that jazz.
One thing - it's amazing how much we rely on Martinez, not just as a keeper but as a sweeper. His distribution gets us going and his anticipation lets us play higher up the pitch. With the best will in the world, Olsen's lack of both was amazingly apparent.
We powered back, could've won in the end which is honestly a near-miracle, but we should be grateful for the point because, my God, we were weak as fuck for a good spell there.
Im not sure I agree it was miraculous. It was a scrappy, poor but even 1st half, they never looked like scoring, nor did we.
Second half they upped the tempo and we looked a bit shell shocked that Martinez was off and Olsens distribution was so poor, we just kept giving it back to them. But the three subs completely changed the flow of the game in our favour and its just a shame we couldn’t get them on as planned, before their goal. They battered us for 20 mins at the start of the second half, but i thought we largely controlled the last 20.
A draw was a fair point.
If we want Europe beating Fulham is a must and we now probably need to get some kind of result against Man United or Liverpool away.
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With Martinez we get a brilliant shot stopper, somebody who commands his area, distributes the ball well and acts as a sweeper. With Olsen we get a keeper who can't do a single aspect of goalkeeping to an even reasonably competent level. He's horrific, I'd rather one of the youth lads play for the expereince.
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(https://i.ibb.co/dLCnzwF/IMG-7150.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dLCnzwF)
Not a foul apparently
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With Martinez we get a brilliant shot stopper, somebody who commands his area, distributes the ball well and acts as a sweeper. With Olsen we get a keeper who can't do a single aspect of goalkeeping to an even reasonably competent level. He's horrific, I'd rather one of the youth lads play for the expereince.
I noticed our defence passed it back to him once in the second half, that tells its own story
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No way Martinez concedes from that shot.
Olsen is truly awful and I thought his awfulness rippled out and freaked out the rest of the team.
Still, play badly, still get points. That’s the name of the game.
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Said during the match I don't think another club has a disparity in quality at any position as large as we do between first team keeper and back up.
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Re. Martinez, sounds like he has a stomach bug. I hope it doesn’t spread to rest of the camp with the week ahead
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With Martinez we get a brilliant shot stopper, somebody who commands his area, distributes the ball well and acts as a sweeper. With Olsen we get a keeper who can't do a single aspect of goalkeeping to an even reasonably competent level. He's horrific, I'd rather one of the youth lads play for the expereince.
I think this is exactly it, he cant do anything - he has no redeemable features.
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First half we were poor on the ball but thought the back five all played well. That changed when Olsen came on. Ash and Moreno went to pieces. The first half of the second half was really bad, couldn’t get hold of the ball and the whole side jittery because of Olsen, who again was awful. I feel for the guy and hope to god he doesn’t come on websites like this! After the goal and subs I thought we were miles better, with Buendia, Doug and Ramsey running directly at the defence. We caused them some problems. Chambers did well. Overall a fortunate point. I’ll take it!
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That's the problem with Olsen: he's not just a safe pair of hands unimaginative veteran, he's negatively impactful on how we set up and perform.
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As an indication of how far we've come under Emery; one only has to see that when the ball was crossed in for the Villa's goal, there were five Villa players in the box.
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Re. Martinez, sounds like he has a stomach bug. I hope it doesn’t spread to rest of the camp with the week ahead
Not convinced it was a bug. I watched him closely with my trained eye, and concluded that it was a King Prawn Vindaloo reaction.
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https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/12863553/brentford-1-1-aston-villa-premier-league-highlights
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First half we were poor on the ball but thought the back five all played well. That changed when Olsen came on. Ash and Moreno went to pieces. The first half of the second half was really bad, couldn’t get hold of the ball and the whole side jittery because of Olsen, who again was awful. I feel for the guy and hope to god he doesn’t come on websites like this! After the goal and subs I thought we were miles better, with Buendia, Doug and Ramsey running directly at the defence. We caused them some problems. Chambers did well. Overall a fortunate point. I’ll take it!
I think Ash and Moreno found it more difficult - Mings and Konsa played with Nyland, which is probably the best possible preparation for playing with Olsen.
I do feel sorry for him, he always looks like he doesn't want to be there. Like when you forced some kid making up the numbers to be the goalie and they just don't want to get hurt
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Resilient. Good to come away with that point
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Fair dues to Brentford, they did their homework, worked hard and gave us a lot of problems. Fair dues to Villa, we never gave up. Almost feels like a bonus point.
Beat Fulham and we are looking good for at least top 8.
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No way Martinez concedes from that shot.
Olsen is truly awful and I thought his awfulness rippled out and freaked out the rest of the team
You are correct, but the team should not be as fragile as that. The manager should beat it out of them.
Their job is to not let the ball get as far as the keeper.
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All things considered, a very good point. As soon as I saw Olsen start the second half I would have settled for a point. The guy is an absolute car crash. Played poorly and Brentford nullified us, particularly with Dougie in our build up. And we had no Kamara to balance it out. Lack of options is beginning to become a problem. But a very good result if not performance.
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Just on Olsen and the Brentford goal; how on earth can a goalkeeper dive while keeping his arms next to his side. Truly ridiculous.
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No way Martinez concedes from that shot.
Olsen is truly awful and I thought his awfulness rippled out and freaked out the rest of the team
You are correct, but the team should not be as fragile as that. The manager should beat it out of them.
Their job is to not let the ball get as far as the keeper.
Modern 'keepers are essentially part of the defence though. If Mings and Konsa are confident that when they push up, their goalie is going to be on his toes ready to come out and sweep up anything played beyond them, it allows us to push up and press higher.
When Olsen's playing, they get caught in two minds because they just don't have that confidence.
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Absolute clanger for the Scharner (?) miss. Inspires no confidence at all.
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Emery's not had a single 0-0 in all his time at both Arsenal and Villa.
Also today is his first match to gain a point from losing position, I think?
Wolves at home, Brighton away
OK thanks. Forgot those amongst loads of wins we have had.
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Just on Olsen and the Brentford goal; how on earth can a goalkeeper dive while keeping his arms next to his side. Truly ridiculous.
He is trying to avoid the T shirt handball😳
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As an indication of how far we've come under Emery; one only has to see that when the ball was crossed in for the Villa's goal, there were five Villa players in the box.
Yes that’s how we should attack. Similarly was really surprised at their goal because when their player on wide right shaped up to cross we had a very good back formation with all players in position so I wasn’t worried about it. It’s a shame Ash got disjointed but it was a good strike from Toney.
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Absolute clanger for the Scharner (?) miss. Inspires no confidence at all.
The Brentford lad really helped us out there.
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No way Martinez concedes from that shot.
Olsen is truly awful and I thought his awfulness rippled out and freaked out the rest of the team
You are correct, but the team should not be as fragile as that. The manager should beat it out of them.
Their job is to not let the ball get as far as the keeper.
Modern 'keepers are essentially part of the defence though. If Mings and Konsa are confident that when they push up, their goalie is going to be on his toes ready to come out and sweep up anything played beyond them, it allows us to push up and press higher.
When Olsen's playing, they get caught in two minds because they just don't have that confidence.
That’s fair enough, I just think they should be more confident in their own abilities.
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Felt the first half was pretty even. We struggled all game to get Brentford defenders facing their own goal as they competed physically well and managed to avoid being turned by Watkins.
Felt we managed to find space behind their press a number of times, but the final ball was lacking. Not many chances and no real control.
Emi going off changed the game. We really struggled to keep the ball, as he couldn't pass short and confidence appeared to evaporate in him. Knocking it long was frustrating, as it just kept coming back.
Brentford are a pretty horrible side to play; overly physical, big, lots of long balls, disrupting the flow of the game with feigned injuries (the lad pretending in the 2nd half was embarrassing), taking an eternity with set pieces. They really represent their manager who is a horrible little mouthy goblin.
The subs were much needed, as the goal when it came had been on the cards all half. Maybe Olsen does better, but we're too loose on the cross and Young was very poor. To find the 1 man in the box when there's so many defending is poor. They missed a sitter thereafter, but the extra height and defensive bulk helped us get back in the game.
Ramsey had a great chance, regardless of what that crank Frank's thinks. Felt there was an inevitability about our goal as they started to get exceptionally deep.
Great to come back and get a point at a place where we have an awful record and could have won it with the free header at the end. Would have been easy to be bullied. If Emi stays on, does the 1st goal happen as the momentum built with our poor distribution. The keeper knocks it long into the channel. If we are building phases through the back, it's unlikely Brentford would have had the territorial dominance they did at the start of the 2nd half, to allow their keeper to hoof it down the line from such an advanced position.
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I think an away point is always good.
Against a team that have lost twice at home all season, very good.
Disappointed though, after last week I was desperate for the juggernaut to continue.
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Just on Olsen and the Brentford goal; how on earth can a goalkeeper dive while keeping his arms next to his side. Truly ridiculous.
Are people really blaming him with the goal, it was too close range to save. He should've been a bit louder shouting to Young that Toney was right behind him as Ash had no idea whatsoever and just let the cross run past him.
What sums Olsen up though is when their lad missed the open goal luckily. Was in no mans land and that weak header just squirms out of his grasp.
Add in the general nervousness from our backline trying to play out when he's in goal and hopefully Emi has a good recovery tomorrow and is 100% on Monday morning. Shows how good he is that I'd never have guessed he was feeling unwell watching him in the first half, his handling and kicking were spot on.
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Said during the match I don't think another club has a disparity in quality at any position as large as we do between first team keeper and back up.
Fair.
But we do face a bit of a dilemma as to who we go for as back up. We can't realistically sell the possibility of breaking into the first team (unless we get a mental offer for Martinez). So a keeper in his absolute prime is prob out.
Then you're looking at either a 'project' young keeper like Bazunu or similar; a player who might accept plenty of bench time but is a risk in the short term if you need him to step up for important games. Or a veteran like Reina or Claudio Bravo etc. Well past their best, but not a total liability if called upon.
Reina with one hand is better than Olsen with two.
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A good point in the circumstances, we'd have been sick if the goals had gone in the other way round. It was unlikely that we were going to keep winning away from home indefinitely and at least we didn't lose. Just win the next 3 away games and all will be forgiven.
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As soon as Martinez went off I'd have snapped anyone's hand off for a point.
We were poor. Could have been a worse result.
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Said during the match I don't think another club has a disparity in quality at any position as large as we do between first team keeper and back up.
Fair.
But we do face a bit of a dilemma as to who we go for as back up. We can't realistically sell the possibility of breaking into the first team (unless we get a mental offer for Martinez). So a keeper in his absolute prime is prob out.
Then you're looking at either a 'project' young keeper like Bazunu or similar; a player who might accept plenty of bench time but is a risk in the short term if you need him to step up for important games. Or a veteran like Reina or Claudio Bravo etc. Well past their best, but not a total liability if called upon.
Reina with one hand is better than Olsen with two.
I reckon there will be plenty of good keepers across Europe who can play in the style Emery wants, who will want to be back up to Emi Martinez at PL Aston Villa. And especially if we get into Europe. Doesn't need to be that experienced either. Just competent and safe will do. A healthy Jed Steer like keeper would more than suffice
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Surely the right guy to go for would be an older keeper, definitely good with his feet, who can be a positive thing in the dressing room.
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Surely the right guy to go for would be an older keeper, definitely good with his feet, who can be a positive thing in the dressing room.
Villa legend Pepe Reina's Villareal contract expires in June. 40 is the new 30 as they say
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Villa legend Pepe Reina's Villareal contract expires in June. 40 is the new 30 as they say
Maybe, but 50 is also the new 30 as I say.
*I'm sure you'll agree.
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Villa legend Pepe Reina's Villareal contract expires in June. 40 is the new 30 as they say
Maybe, but 50 is also the new 30 as I say.
*I'm sure you'll agree.
haha mate I'm trying my hardest to prove it. My back has other ideas
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Spurs lose tomorrow, then it’s a good weekend.
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Not ideal, but, I was talking to my mate about the Arsenal game before our KO & he said to me said to my that good sides fight to the end & usually score late goals even if playing poorly. Lo & behold, we fought to the end & scored a late goal in a game where it could be argued that we were pretty poor in spells & they were pretty good in spells. Credit to both sides is due I think.
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Spurs lose tomorrow, then it’s a good weekend.
We giving up on 4th then?
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The thing about today was that even when we were behind and playing shite I always knew we would get back into the game.
It’s been a very long time since that.
You just know that we will battle to the end.
Football is all about managers and Frank is a very good manager. He did a job on us today.
Anyhow. The future is still bright. Very very bright.
Only 7 pages - where is everyone?
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Maybe, but 50 is also the new 30 as I say.
*I'm sure you'll agree.
haha mate I'm trying my hardest to prove it. My back has other ideas
Don't want to be hearing excuses like that if we catch up in Philly.:)
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It can’t be perfect every week and today it certainly wasn’t but we’ve still taken something from the game and could have won it at the end. The hallmark of good sides - even when it isn’t your day, they still find a way. I’ll take that.
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A good point. Under Gerrard we’d have lost that without trying. Positive point.
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Just on Olsen and the Brentford goal; how on earth can a goalkeeper dive while keeping his arms next to his side. Truly ridiculous.
Are people really blaming him with the goal, it was too close range to save. He should've been a bit louder shouting to Young that Toney was right behind him as Ash had no idea whatsoever and just let the cross run past him.
What sums Olsen up though is when their lad missed the open goal luckily. Was in no mans land and that weak header just squirms out of his grasp.
Add in the general nervousness from our backline trying to play out when he's in goal and hopefully Emi has a good recovery tomorrow and is 100% on Monday morning. Shows how good he is that I'd never have guessed he was feeling unwell watching him in the first half, his handling and kicking were spot on.
No, it’s Young going to sleep for me. But Olsen is not giving himself a chance making himself a human torpedo. Apart from his c*ck up in the missed open goal, it’s what his presence does to our team as you allude to. His distribution is awful, he inspires no confidence in his fellow defenders and quite frankly, he looks like he wants to be anywhere else than on the pitch.
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Bad defending by Young no doubt
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Olsen on the pitch just causes utter chaos. He’s so out of his depth I’d genuinely play Sinisalo.
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Olsen on the pitch just causes utter chaos. He’s so out of his depth I’d genuinely play Sinisalo.
Same. Or the other one. Zych?
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I think they targeted tying up our left side to nullify our attacking threat because with Young we don’t attack up the right. The. They pushed it out to their left winger to get at Young. Emery’s change to beef up the right side with Magic Bert and Chambers meant they had to spread their defence a bit more which meant we could get at them.
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Tough place to go and always is for us. Poor performance but we got a point.
Olsen needs to be replaced he isn't even good enough for 3rd choice I'm afraid.
On to Fulham which if we want a conference spot is a MUST WIN
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Watch the replay and you see Ash trying to put the ball behind for a corner to them and completely misses the ball. Plaudits to the subs, thought Digne played well but for most of the game their wingers had a day out.
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Tough place to go and always is for us. Poor performance but we got a point.
Olsen needs to be replaced he isn't even good enough for 3rd choice I'm afraid.
On to Fulham which if we want a conference spot is a MUST WIN
Hello. How have you been?
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We were bound to get a game like that at some point and even though we wasn't at our best, we could have won. Feels harsh to pick a player out but Ramsey needs to work on his finishing.
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A point gained as we didn’t play at all well with little rhythm.
Fair play to them, they never let us have a second on the ball and managed Watkins and the supply to him very well. I didn’t think we looked like scoring at all so a welcome point.
The biggest negative was that we really seemed to lack width and pace with Moreno kept quiet and them easily coping with our out ball to McGinn.
Great to get a point when we were so off colour.
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Olsen on the pitch just causes utter chaos. He’s so out of his depth I’d genuinely play Sinisalo.
Agreed. Or let us play with 11 outfield players and adopt the "changes" rule. Or pick somebody from the crowd.
They were dominant from 45-70ish minutes and it was down to the keeper. He couldn't play out short, with Emi usually forming part of the base of a triangle with centre half and full back to get us going. He kept knocking it long and they're such a big and physical side, that we lost possession and territory. I said before, but there's no way we're that deep during several phases of play to allow their keeper 40 or 50 yards from goal to lump the ball wide with Emi playing, that leads to their goal. No distribution skills and no ability to command.
Half of Konsa and Mings time will have been taken up by consciously trying to avoid playing how we normally would. Nervey and distracted. That's how we looked and their goal was inevitable and they should have had a second from his woeful error.
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It would have almost been worth bringing on a defender to play in goal.
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It certainly sounds like we need a better second choice keeper but how easy is it to get one of a suitable standard? I always used to think keeper was one of the easier positions to replace because they're basically doing the same job and unless they chucked it in the net then you shouldn't see much of a drop off. The fact that keepers are expected to pass the ball now seems to have scuppered that theory.
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It would have almost been worth bringing on a defender to play in goal.
I genuinely thought to myself last night that if Kamara is fit, I'd put the Donk in goal on Tuesday. I've no idea what he's like with his hands but it can't be any worse than that chump and at least he can pass.
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The Donk is at least big as well, could make a few saves by accident.
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A few players were noticeably off it yesterday, namely Moreno and Young. Watkins also was back to running the channels as we were just not getting any decent balls to him. I think overall Frank outthought Emery a bit and they imposed their style on us, rather than the other way found as has been the case lately in our other games.
Still, all part of the development. It was a good point in the end and we move on to hopefully smash Fulham.
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Crucially did we outperform our xG ?
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A few players were noticeably off it yesterday, namely Moreno and Young. Watkins also was back to running the channels as we were just not getting any decent balls to him. I think overall Frank outthought Emery a bit and they imposed their style on us, rather than the other way found as has been the case lately in our other games.
Still, all part of the development. It was a good point in the end and we move on to hopefully smash Fulham.
I agree with this. Quite possibly for the first time since he's been here Unai didn't surprise his opposite number enough - they anticipated us and we didn't respond until much later on.
I do think their spell of dominance was a mix of this and the loss of Emi, though.
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The Donk is at least big as well, could make a few saves by accident.
Six foot plus youngsters who are going through an apprenticeship at any club should all practice goalkeeping skills. They might prefer an outfield position but it would keep all options open. In modern football it is abundantly clear, a goalies feet are nearly as important as their hands.
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Had big Emi been eating at the Villa Chippy before the game?
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Watch the replay and you see Ash trying to put the ball behind for a corner to them and completely misses the ball. Plaudits to the subs, thought Digne played well but for most of the game their wingers had a day out.
Yep, not sure where all the "Ash was caught napping" or "he made a bad decision" stuff comes from. He tried to put the ball out for a corner, like defenders often do at the far post when under pressure and facing their own goal, but he just missed the ball completely. He puts that out 99 times out of a 100, so it was a poor goal to concede.
A good point considering the open goal they missed and being one-down with so little time left. There is no way Ollie doesn't try that header at the end, but little Emi behind him would have had a free header without stretching, and I'm sure he would have scored.
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I wonder if part of Olsen's problem is that he knows he's no.2 to one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that has brought it's own pressure on him? Just a thought.
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Watch the replay and you see Ash trying to put the ball behind for a corner to them and completely misses the ball. Plaudits to the subs, thought Digne played well but for most of the game their wingers had a day out.
Yep, not sure where all the "Ash was caught napping" or "he made a bad decision" stuff comes from. He tried to put the ball out for a corner, like defenders often do at the far post when under pressure and facing their own goal, but he just missed the ball completely. He puts that out 99 times out of a 100, so it was a poor goal to concede.
A good point considering the open goal they missed and being one-down with so little time left. There is no way Ollie doesn't try that header at the end, but little Emi behind him would have had a free header without stretching, and I'm sure he would have scored.
If little Emi had made the call, maybe (just maybe) Ollie would have left it for him and attacked the goal, in anticipation of Emi's header possibly being saved.
Small margins but big decisions, and would not be surprised if this is not discussed during the after match briefing.
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I wonder if part of Olsen's problem is that he knows he's no.2 to one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that has brought it's own pressure on him? Just a thought.
He was piss poor at Sheffield United as well though, and they were delighted to see the back of him.
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I wonder if part of Olsen's problem is that he knows he's no.2 to one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that has brought it's own pressure on him? Just a thought.
He was a bit shit and made a number of errors for Sheff Utd last season and they were glad to bin him off to us.
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I wonder if part of Olsen's problem is that he knows he's no.2 to one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that has brought it's own pressure on him? Just a thought.
I know it’s reductive but I honestly think he just not very good. I was at the Man United league cup game not long after Emery took over and it is honestly one of, if not the worst goalkeeping performance i have ever seen. We can talk about his poor distribution, which completely undermines the way Emery wants to play, but he is also immobile, doesn’t command his area, doesn’t come for crosses, is static. How did he drop that soft header to give Brentford’s forward a open goal yesterday? It was routine, but not a one of fumble from Olsen.
I think it was Rory who posted in another thread, that its not Olsens fault we bought him and that is 100% correct and I don’t want to see the supporters turn on him, but I honestly don’t think he should play for us ever again.
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Rather have Sinisalo in goal than Olsen
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Rather have a lampstand in goal than Olsen
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Olsen just doesn't inspire confidence in anyone. I'd rather have Steer when he's fit. Or perhaps Sinisalo. I suspect that's what will happen come the summer.
Our options from the bench were limited, we're missing Coutinho and Bailey to provide options, and Kamara for strengrh too. Which means we need reinforcements to cope next season. Of Ramsey A and Archer join, perhaps that would be enough but to really push on we need a bit more.
Our form is still Top 4 under this manager, with these players.
They did well yesterday and I think they showed that we need another option as an attacking outlet on the right.
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Watch the replay and you see Ash trying to put the ball behind for a corner to them and completely misses the ball. Plaudits to the subs, thought Digne played well but for most of the game their wingers had a day out.
Yep, not sure where all the "Ash was caught napping" or "he made a bad decision" stuff comes from. He tried to put the ball out for a corner, like defenders often do at the far post when under pressure and facing their own goal, but he just missed the ball completely. He puts that out 99 times out of a 100, so it was a poor goal to concede.
A good point considering the open goal they missed and being one-down with so little time left. There is no way Ollie doesn't try that header at the end, but little Emi behind him would have had a free header without stretching, and I'm sure he would have scored.
If little Emi had made the call, maybe (just maybe) Ollie would have left it for him and attacked the goal, in anticipation of Emi's header possibly being saved.
Small margins but big decisions, and would not be surprised if this is not discussed during the after match briefing.
I think he had called, you could here him going batshit at Ollie afterwards
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Rather have a lampstand in goal than Olsen
Bet there is a Swedish or Danish keeper called Lampstand somewhere!
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isnt he the chelsea manager?
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In The Times today they describe Olsen as “radiating uncertainty” which sums him up quite nicely.
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I wonder if Tom Heaton would be tempted to warm our bench next season instead of at Man U.
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Sam Johnstone could be good back up....knows the club and where we are headed better than sitting on a Palace bench
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I wonder if part of Olsen's problem is that he knows he's no.2 to one of the best goalkeepers in the world and that has brought it's own pressure on him? Just a thought.
He was shit at FCK as well. Just less noticeable there due to the generally shite standard of the Supaliga.
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Watch the replay and you see Ash trying to put the ball behind for a corner to them and completely misses the ball. Plaudits to the subs, thought Digne played well but for most of the game their wingers had a day out.
Yep, not sure where all the "Ash was caught napping" or "he made a bad decision" stuff comes from. He tried to put the ball out for a corner, like defenders often do at the far post when under pressure and facing their own goal, but he just missed the ball completely. He puts that out 99 times out of a 100, so it was a poor goal to concede.
A good point considering the open goal they missed and being one-down with so little time left. There is no way Ollie doesn't try that header at the end, but little Emi behind him would have had a free header without stretching, and I'm sure he would have scored.
If little Emi had made the call, maybe (just maybe) Ollie would have left it for him and attacked the goal, in anticipation of Emi's header possibly being saved.
Small margins but big decisions, and would not be surprised if this is not discussed during the after match briefing.
I think he had called, you could here him going batshit at Ollie afterwards
Yeah he went apeshit, booted the post as well I think.
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A few players were noticeably off it yesterday, namely Moreno and Young. Watkins also was back to running the channels as we were just not getting any decent balls to him. I think overall Frank outthought Emery a bit and they imposed their style on us, rather than the other way found as has been the case lately in our other games.
Still, all part of the development. It was a good point in the end and we move on to hopefully smash Fulham.
I agree with this. Quite possibly for the first time since he's been here Unai didn't surprise his opposite number enough - they anticipated us and we didn't respond until much later on.
I do think their spell of dominance was a mix of this and the loss of Emi, though.
Agree with both comments but all I would add is that Emery didn’t have much on the bench that he could use to change things up. Traore and that was pretty much it.
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Sam Johnstone could be good back up....knows the club and where we are headed better than sitting on a Palace bench
Good shout.
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I liked how McGinn cut the celebrating short and got them back to our half to get the game restarted.
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Sam Johnstone could be good back up....knows the club and where we are headed better than sitting on a Palace bench
Good shout.
Do we have any idea who competent he would be at receiving the ball under pressure and playing it out calmly to one of our players? That's going to be a prerequisite under Emery.
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Olsen is easily one of the worst keepers ive seen play for Villa in 30 years
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The thing is, Olsen surely practices the same passing routines in training as Martínez. So why can't he be semi-competent at it?
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We saw the Arsenal keeper give away a goal last Friday by trying to play it out from the back right down the middle of the penalty area. All players should be told this is a definite no no. Play to the sides if needs must but not to the middle of the penalty area.
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We saw the Arsenal keeper give away a goal last Friday by trying to play it out from the back right down the middle of the penalty area. All players should be told this is a definite no no. Play to the sides if needs must but not to the middle of the penalty area.
We'll let Mikel Arteta know.
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The thing is, Olsen surely practices the same passing routines in training as Martínez. So why can't he be semi-competent at it?
It's not just that, he's shit at absolutely everything. That header he spilled was as tame as you're ever going to get.
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In his defence, he spilled it because his starting position was awful and he has the footwork of an ent.
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When he let that ball go on the ground his reaction time was akin to a sloth after a night on the rum punch. Awful.
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Watching match of the day with my missus on Saturday night, she wasn't aware Martinez had gone off. When he spilled that weak header that led to the miss she said:
"I thought he's supposed to be the best in the world?"
"No bab, he had to go off at half time, that's his replacement"
"Oh God, where did they find him?
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Only saw highlights of game but that was a great chance Ramsey missed. Not sure how he managed it put it over from that close. Two excellent passes from Luiz and Buendia in the build up. Fine equaliser too, kind of football Jack Charlton or Graham Taylor would have relished, just penned them into their box until the inevitable equaliser. Olsen at his usual party tricks when he came on. Take the point and move on.
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Ramsey was being sandwiched by two defenders for that shot, it was a difficult one to execute.
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Watched the highlights again and it really was piss poor defending from both full backs for their goal. Moreno was nowhere near the winger and didn't stop the cross, and Toney didn't have to do much after Young's swing and a miss trying to clear it.
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They worked us out and used a system that stopped us playing the type of flowing football we executed so well a week ago. I think Emery is good enough to make adjustments that will put us back on track against Fulham. Getting injured players back will also help.
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Ashley swung with the wrong foot, he didn't trust his left. Which is a bit shit at 38.
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Ashley swung with the wrong foot, he didn't trust his left. Which is a bit shit at 38.
How old is his other foot?
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When he let that ball go on the ground his reaction time was akin to a sloth after a night on the rum punch. Awful.
I'm possibly being harsh on him even though he is shit but I thought he was slow getting across to his near post leaving the gap for them to score.