Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on April 03, 2024, 10:13:57 PM
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Good first 45 mins, shame the half lasted 49.
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For one,brief shining moment.Not too disheartened,we'll learn from this.
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We had no chance as soon as that team was revealed. We made a decent fist of it for 40 odd minutes, but no way were we not getting battered with that line up. God knows what that Frankenteam was by the end.
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Spurs goal difference 1 more than us now. :'(
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I was beginning to warm to Zaniolo, but after tonight he can fcuk back to Italy.
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Never a 4-1.
That wank wall and Chambers trying to dribble out of defence were the difference between a narrow defeat and what will look like a tonking to the casual observer.
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Ultimately resulted in the usual hiding we get up there. I hope the illness rumours are true otherwise it’s a pretty poor showing in the end. We can’t be shipping 4 odd goals to the teams in and around us.
Onwards and upwards and need a response and win at the weekend.
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Really didn’t think we were that bad. Looked good on the ball and dangerous when broke. The issue was we made 3 individual errors that were all punished and we lacked a bit of quality to stem the tide at times
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In context, given the team we put out a pretty standard result. Some good stuff but overwhelmed by a club that spent much more than us and cheated in doing so.
Which makes December's result all the more impressive.
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Never a 4-1.
That wank wall and Chambers trying to dribble out of defence were the difference between a narrow defeat and what will look like a tonking to the casual observer.
Not sure about that. Olsen made 3 or 4 very good saves as well, and they missed another couple of easy chances.
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I really wish that the commentators wouldn't gush over Man City as if they don't have 115 charges against them.
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Egh, we'll never win there. Did OK in spurts. Curious to hear about the team selection from Unai afterwards.
Onto Brentford. Win that, I'll forget about this.
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Whilst it's hard to keep the concentration levels at the tempo all the time, there were just too many mistakes in dangerous areas. 2nd and 4th were from blatant errors and even the 3rd came from a weak tackle on Rodri.
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Disappointing because their 2nd was Zaniolo ducking out of the way of a pretty poor free kick by Foden and 4th was Chambers fucking about on the ball. Deserved to lose but some silly mistakes made it look worse than it was. Some good performances (and some poor ones).
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Saturday will be very different. Good night all.
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The statistic that Brentford have gone 8 games without a win worries me…
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We held our own up to the Zaniolo gift and Luiz probably should have equilized in the second-half. Moreno could also have scored. Not too bad given the number of players missing. I do wonder why Unai didn't start Tielemans and Bailey and what happened to Pau ?
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Only our 3rd away defeat in the league for 7 months, which is pretty impressive.
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Is this a good moment to ask the Premier League and FA
When does MancC get 6 x 115 points deducted?
I’ve gone for the minimum (6 points)
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Pretty much expected with that line up, but wasn’t too bad in terms of perf. Just got to make Sat count with some of the players back.
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What Unai has done with this villa squad is a miracle, so I am not in the slightest bit upset with tonight. Sure, there are things to slag off but this season, wherever we end up, has surpassed our wildest expectations. There are several Villa players who will be replaced over the next two years or so, as Unai builds this club up. 4th, 5th or 6th, is a fantastic effort with this squad of players.
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All in allYou're just a chink in the wall
And after allYou're just a crumbling wall
It's the Wall Street shuffle
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I'm guessing that Pau, Bailey and Tielemans were ones affected by the illness going around. All 3 would surely have started otherwise.
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Good experience for the kids, thought Tim and Morgan did really well
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Unai could of played this B team in the tin pot against Ajax home & away and won. Maybe we would have had our big weapons fresh for this one.
We played well first half, second half at 2-1 we had a couple of lightening breakaways with Diarby and Zaniola which both broke down on the edge of the city area. Then they got the 3rd and it was game over.
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Played some good stuff in that game. Duran was dangerous in the early part, Diaby looked good early on as well. Zaniola did some great stuff, but but the free kick dodge looked a shocker. Killed the game for us. The difference was Foden. Huge games coming up for us. The younger lads have gotten good experience from this.
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I really wish that the commentators wouldn't gush over Man City as if they don't have 115 charges against them.
They ramble on about everything and anything except the one major subject and that is the 115 charges.
I wonder why that is?
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Our title chances probably all but gone now. Roll on Saturday.
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Game of two halves. Solid 1st awful 2nd.
We were never winning with that team tonight but they did their best for 45 mins.
Hopefully we move on quickly and beat brentford
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As positive as one can be after a 4-1 defeat. Roll on Saturday.
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What Unai has done with this villa squad is a miracle, so I am not in the slightest bit upset with tonight. Sure, there are things to slag off but this season, wherever we end up, has surpassed our wildest expectations. There are several Villa players who will be replaced over the next two years or so, as Unai builds this club up. 4th, 5th or 6th, is a fantastic effort with this squad of players.
Well said. We have consistently been in the top 4-5 teams since the day he walked in.
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Move on, at our best with a full squad we are not getting beat 4 1 tonight. One positive is a few players getting minutes who will be needed if the euro run continues.
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Agree with the sentiment of that, but our last two performances against top 5 sides have been poor and we’ve ended up on the end of heavy defeats. We can’t have it both ways and say we need to get rid of an inferiority complex to compete at the top, and then when we get tonked basically say that’s ok.
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I am not to upset considering the line up but disappointed with Zaniolo and to a lesser extent Diaby.
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McGinn back on Saturday is a massive plus as was Rogers tonight.
The result was expected, not because they are that much better than us but because we have a massive injury list and a bug running through the squad.
They can jump up and down and the press can massage their ego’s but we have come on so much.Tonights team contained 2 young lads with hardly any PL experience and they didn’t let us down.
UTV
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Maybe some kind ratings
Olsen 7, Konsa 6, Carlos 7, Lenglet 6, Digne 6, Luiz 6, Iroegbunam 5, Zaniolo 5, Diaby 5, Rogers 6, Duran 6. Lots of subs came on but game was done but we really didn't need Chambers running with that ball across our box. We never really had a prayer when the team lineup was announced.
Free kick before half time was a criminal goal to concede. Luiz missed the big chance to equalise after half time but after that it was a question of how many really. Didn't defend space in front of box all night, all their goals came from there.
Refocus for Brentford...McGinn back at least but we need a lot more.
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A lot of our fringe players got minutes under their belt tonight, crucial with the business end of the season coming up.
A loss is never good but we can take positives from this game.
Spuds still have to face Man City*, Arse, Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea away so I reckon top 4 still beckons.
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Emi Martinez
Cash
Mings
Kamara
Ramsey
Buendia
Watkins
All unavailable due to injury/illness
McGinn - suspended
Difficult to see what Unai could have done selectionwise.
The only question I guess is why didn't Torres start. Apart from that, he was shuffling a very weak deck.
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I hate Manchester
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I’d like to know why Bailey, Torres and Tielemans didn’t start.
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I really wish that the commentators wouldn't gush over Man City as if they don't have 115 charges against them.
Me too it really boils my piss the way they talk about their "achievements" as if it's been totally earned. I turned the sound off after an hour. 'Er indoors walked in and asked why I was sitting in silence. I said that I couldn't listen to two blokes having multiple orgasms over a bunch of cheating bastards. She looked very perplexed and went to bed.
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Positives - Duran and Rogers showed more signs that they’re going to be very good for us, Olsen did pretty well all things considered despite the score.
Otherwise, another loss there but as long as they bounce back with a win on Saturday and next Thursday all is good.
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Saw that line up and feared a result like this. However at 1-1 we looked like we could get something.
Iroegbunam, Rogers, Kellyman and Duran all gained valuable experience and all looked OK.
The squad players, Olsen included, did not do badly. Diaby looked good at times too. We had chances to go 2-2 and the final result was harsh.
Beaten by food poisoning and a bunch of cheating tosspots. Onwards and upwards. We will beat Brentford. Our season will be defined by how we play in Europe, and how many point see pick up against teams below us. Win the next two games and we are on track for top 4 and a trophy.
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Emi Martinez
Cash
Mings
Kamara
Ramsey
Buendia
Watkins
All unavailable due to injury/illness
McGinn - suspended
Difficult to see what Unai could have done selectionwise.
The only question I guess is why didn't Torres start. Apart from that, he was shuffling a very weak deck.
You're forgetting Bailey and Tielemans also didn't start. I think all 3 would surely have started which leads to believe the rumours of a sickness bug was true
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We have two massive games next up. Beat Brentford and we pretty much guarantee Europa football at the very least. Then comes the quarter final against Lille. Unai did the right thing by putting Pau, Tielemans and Bailey on the bench. Along with McGinn, they will all be back in the team on Saturday and for next Thursday. Rogers is a bit fitter and better for the experience too.
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Zaniolo can fuck right off. gutless cowardly bellend frightened of a fucking football >:(
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Unai could of played this B team in the tin pot against Ajax home & away and won. Maybe we would have had our big weapons fresh for this one.
We played well first half, second half at 2-1 we had a couple of lightening breakaways with Diarby and Zaniola which both broke down on the edge of the city area. Then they got the 3rd and it was game over.
Why call it the tin pot, when we have a chance of winning something for the first time in 28 years?
Also Kamara got injured against Man Utd, Ramsey aggravated his injury against Luton, McGinn got sent off against Spurs, Watkins injured against Wolves. Martinez goes down with a bug tonight, for all we know Torres, Bailey and Tielemans the same. None of it had anything to do with the Ajax game.
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Whats disappointed me this 2nd half of the season we have shat the bed against the better sides compared to 1st half of season when we were competing with these teams and actually beating some of them
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I really wish that the commentators wouldn't gush over Man City as if they don't have 115 charges against them.
Me too it really boils my piss the way they talk about their "achievements" as if it's been totally earned. I turned the sound off after an hour. 'Er indoors walked in and asked why I was sitting in silence. I said that I couldn't listen to two blokes having multiple organisations over a bunch of cheating bastards. She looked very perplexed and went to bed.
Best league in the world my big fat arse. When they inevitably win it again this year it’ll be 6 out of 7, all bought (apart from Foden anyway) and probably whilst breaking rules in the process. What a load of old wank, the only good thing is it’s not Man Utd, an even bigger bunch of ******.
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Well done Olsen. Didn't really put a foot wrong and didn't deserve to be exposed by the Zaniolo Secondary School defending of the set piece.
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I’m hanging on to hear Unai’s comments but this coverage is absolutely nauseating.
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Clearly Unai sacrificed this match however this type of pick and choose normally didn’t work in sport. I will now judge him after the game on Saturday. Win that and it’s all good, draw or a loss and you have fucked up Unai.
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Zaniolo can fuck right off. gutless cowardly bellend frightened of a fucking football >:(
He didn't jump out of its way, he was moving before it was stuck. I would need to check with other walls but I'm guessing our end players jump out to try to protect against the whip around the wall, and Foden knew they did and gambled on it.
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Remember the old days when there always a mid week fixture at the start of the season? So you'd get 3 games the first week of the season?
They should bring that back as it is more of an even field in August. By April weeks like this will always favour scum clubs who have cheated through financial doping and have squads that can cope.
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We have two massive games next up. Beat Brentford and we pretty much guarantee Europa football at the very least. Then comes the quarter final against Lille. Unai did the right thing by putting Pau, Tielemans and Bailey on the bench. Along with McGinn, they will all be back in the team on Saturday and for next Thursday. Rogers is a bit fitter and better for the experience too.
Torres and Bailey have played one game after a two week break. Not playing them was chucking the game, basically.
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Clearly Unai sacrificed this match however this type of pick and choose normally didn’t work in sport. I will now judge him after the game on Saturday. Win that and it’s all good, draw or a loss and you have fucked up Unai.
Do people seriously think Emery would "sacrifice" a league game at this point in the season by just not playing the best players? A win tonight would have put us more than 3 points clear of Spurs, cancelling out their game in hand. Even a draw would have put us back to 3 points clear, and maintained our superior goal difference, which would also have taken away their potential advantage slightly.
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We have two massive games next up. Beat Brentford and we pretty much guarantee Europa football at the very least. Then comes the quarter final against Lille. Unai did the right thing by putting Pau, Tielemans and Bailey on the bench. Along with McGinn, they will all be back in the team on Saturday and for next Thursday. Rogers is a bit fitter and better for the experience too.
Torres and Bailey have played one game after a two week break. Not playing them was chucking the game, basically.
Suspect they were ill.
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Well done Olsen. Didn't really put a foot wrong and didn't deserve to be exposed by the Zaniolo Secondary School defending of the set piece.
Yeah, he was fine. I was going to joke about what the fuck he was doing for Fodens 2nd and 3rd but not really in a jokey mood.
He’s getting better finally, and more than a bit.
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Unai could of played this B team in the tin pot against Ajax home & away and won. Maybe we would have had our big weapons fresh for this one.
We played well first half, second half at 2-1 we had a couple of lightening breakaways with Diarby and Zaniola which both broke down on the edge of the city area. Then they got the 3rd and it was game over.
I’ll be very happy with the tin pot as you call it.
I don’t think anyone missed a game as a result of the Ajax games and I could just imagine the reaction if Emery had done that and we’d have gone out.
He’s managed the squad superbly this season and is a world class coach so I’ll back his judgement.
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We have two massive games next up. Beat Brentford and we pretty much guarantee Europa football at the very least. Then comes the quarter final against Lille. Unai did the right thing by putting Pau, Tielemans and Bailey on the bench. Along with McGinn, they will all be back in the team on Saturday and for next Thursday. Rogers is a bit fitter and better for the experience too.
Torres and Bailey have played one game after a two week break. Not playing them was chucking the game, basically.
Suspect they were ill.
Bailey who came on played. Right.
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As ever, it's just not worth getting upset about this fixture.
We were up against it missing McGinn, let alone then losing Ollie, Emi and others.
Emery did the right thing playing the side he did, and they did pretty well all things considered.
When Foden plays like that, he's going to score goals against anyone.
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I thought we played ok overall really. Could have had another couple of goals ourselves but it was too much with the players we had out.
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Have you run when you have had an illness Risso? IF there was a bug and if he was also affected, I'm guessing Emery thought he would have the strength for 30 mins or so but not for 60 or 90.
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I hate Manchester
A cheating club
A plastic club
The Gallaghers
Rain
Salford
Bernard Manning
Chesney off Corrie
Newton & Ridley
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If Yanited fail to beat Chelsea and we beat Brentford, then we'll have forgotten all about tonight and will be looking forward to Lille.
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Massive shout out to olsen thought he was motm
Did excellent to keep us in it 1st half.
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I was in London for work and got the match on the train on laptop at 2.1. We missed 2 chances then it went 4.1. Sounds like apart from Foden we did ok???
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
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And just think, if there wasn't the two penalties in the match.......
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This TNT coverage is vomit-inducing. Brain donor Ferdinand listing the 5 players Man City were missing. Try Martinez, Torres, Cash, Mings, Buendia, McGinn, Watkins, Kamara...
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We gifted them a second goal on half time, missed a couple of chances in the first 10 mins of the second half & then gave away another soft goal to seal it.
Even with our best team, you've got to cut out the gifts & take whatever chances you get.
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Yep, accusing Unai of chucking the game is just nonsense.
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Have you run when you have had an illness Risso? IF there was a bug and if he was also affected, I'm guessing Emery thought he would have the strength for 30 mins or so but not for 60 or 90.
Some could have been affected more than others as well.
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Have you run when you have had an illness Risso? IF there was a bug and if he was also affected, I'm guessing Emery thought he would have the strength for 30 mins or so but not for 60 or 90.
Is there ANY proof he or Torres were ill? Any at all? Or was he just 'saving' them? The team that finished the game was like something Lambert put out against Bradford.
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The only thing we have dodged so far this season is a plague of locusts!!
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We have two massive games next up. Beat Brentford and we pretty much guarantee Europa football at the very least. Then comes the quarter final against Lille. Unai did the right thing by putting Pau, Tielemans and Bailey on the bench. Along with McGinn, they will all be back in the team on Saturday and for next Thursday. Rogers is a bit fitter and better for the experience too.
Torres and Bailey have played one game after a two week break. Not playing them was chucking the game, basically.
It’s protecting his players, for more important games ahead.
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This TNT coverage is vomit-inducing. Brain donor Ferdinand listing the 5 players Man City were missing. Try Martinez, Torres, Cash, Mings, Buendia, McGinn, Watkins, Kamara...
Exactly this….had me shouting the same at the tv
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I don’t believe he chucked it, and Citeh are obviously an exception, but we do have a bit of a soft centre against decent sides. We tend to concede a lot of goals and that needs to stop.
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I'm going on Emi pulling out pre-match and what others have stated on here. If there wasn't then there wasn't.
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Emery's not mentioned illness, just said 'we have to try and save some players' with the rush of games coming. I guess fuck him, what does he know.
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Considering we only had 4 players from the 11 we started back in December, and that doesn't even include Mings, Buendia, or Ramsey, the result is about what you'd expect. I thought outside a couple of mistakes that cost us dearly, we looked alright. Unfortunate, but if we win Saturday, everyone will feel a lot better.
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The only thing we have dodged so far this season is a plague of locusts!!
There’s still time!
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As ever, it's just not worth getting upset about this fixture.
We were up against it missing McGinn, let alone then losing Ollie, Emi and others.
Emery did the right thing playing the side he did, and they did pretty well all things considered.
When Foden plays like that, he's going to score goals against anyone.
Exactly.
2nd string attack and 3rd string midfield (in my opinion) did fine.
Neutrals in pub also thought so.
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When the 3rd went in that was enough for me , took the dog a walk. We allowed them too much possession, nobody dealt with Rodri all game and therefore the end result was inevitable. Win Saturday and all is forgiven.
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I really wish that the commentators wouldn't gush over Man City as if they don't have 115 charges against them.
They ramble on about everything and anything except the one major subject and that is the 115 charges.
I wonder why that is?
They’re not allowed to. Ian Wright bucked the trend on Monday Night Football a few weeks back, bless him, and the other two looked like they were shitting their pants as he spoke.
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Yep, accusing Unai of chucking the game is just nonsense.
It’s absolute bolloc*s.
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Injuries is one thing, illness though, when did that manifest itself? And, what illness is it, have they all been open water swimming in our sewage infested rivers?
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For what it’s worth even if we’d played our best available team I reckon they would have beaten us…. I actually thought Fiden was quiet…. Apart from his goals obviously
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We had Cash, Mcginn, Kamara, Martinez, Ramsey and Watkins out tonight (alongside long term absentees) but yeah, it was like the line up Lambert finished with against Bradford years ago.
Fucking hell.
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I really don't know what Chambers was playing at trying to be clever on the edge of our box. I know our tactic is not to hoof when in our defensive third and under pressure but he completely over-did it. I presume it'll be his last meaningful bit of play for us. He'll probably join some team in the Swiss league like Fulham or Servette.
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Rubbish and to be expected.
They're massive ****** and everyone wanks about them.
Saturday will probably be alot more bearable.
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edit
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Yep, accusing Unai of chucking the game is just nonsense.
It’s absolute bolloc*s.
I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
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I really wish that the commentators wouldn't gush over Man City as if they don't have 115 charges against them.
They ramble on about everything and anything except the one major subject and that is the 115 charges.
I wonder why that is?
They’re not allowed to. Ian Wright bucked the trend on Monday Night Football a few weeks back, bless him, and the other two looked like they were shitting their pants as he spoke.
Fair play to him then. It’s becoming the Elephant in the room as far as TV and Radio are concerned. The eulogising over the cheating fuckers is nauseating.
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Injuries is one thing, illness though, when did that manifest itself? And, what illness is it, have they all been open water swimming in our sewage infested rivers?
Not saying anything but apparently a few of them have been humming UB40 tunes for a couple of days….mmmm
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I wish we never had to play this fixture ever again.
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We had Cash, Mcginn, Kamara, Martinez, Ramsey and Watkins out tonight (alongside long term absentees) but yeah, it was like the line up Lambert finished with against Bradford years ago.
Fucking hell.
In terms of no discernible formation and random players in random positions. You really do make Flinstone look intelligent by comparison.
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Injuries is one thing, illness though, when did that manifest itself? And, what illness is it, have they all been open water swimming in our sewage infested rivers?
I remember us having a sick bug go through the squad v Arsenal at home under Lambert.
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Could understand the team selection given that Saturday and Thursday night are the priority games really. The frustrating thing is that even with the team we put out, we gifted them that win. Zaniolo's 'effort' in the wall for the second, Diaby's 'effort' to stop Rodri for the third and Chambers getting caught on the ball for the fourth were all really poor and made the scoreline.worse than it could have been.
One thing about playing quality opposition is that it exposes where the weaknesses are. With Kamara out long-term, we've simply got to get another quality defensive midfielder in during the summer to give us a bit of bite in there. We need to address the 'Ramsey' role on the left if he is going to be out as well, as whoever plays there in Ramsey's absence causes us problems defensively.
All in all though, I can see why he went with the team he did tonight and I think we've just got to write that one off (even though it pains me to.say that) and look forward to Saturday and Thursday. Looking at the fixtures, I wonder if he might do similar at Arsenal and target the return leg in Lille and the Sunday game at home to Bournemouth. We don't then play until the next weekend at home to Chelsea.
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As soon as the third goes in, it becomes about keeping the goal difference respectable. I don't go too overboard about what the press would term a 'thrashing' because it wasn't, Foden's hat-trick is about as meaningful as if he was playing in a pre-season friendly, and we'll be awarded the match 5-4 once Petrostate FC get relegated to the Stockport Area Third Division North.
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I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
How did it work out for O'Neill after Moscow when he did the exactly the same thing? Not only did we get battered tonight, we've also fallen behind Spurs in terms of goal difference. How does that help us?
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From the team that beat City in December, only Konsa, Digne, Carlos and Luiz started!
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Injuries is one thing, illness though, when did that manifest itself? And, what illness is it, have they all been open water swimming in our sewage infested rivers?
Shit(s) happen Bren, literally
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First trip to the Etihad for a few years and I won’t be hurrying back, I’ve never heard so many ****** around you as at that place.
Anyway the team selection was errr interesting and we gave a half decent account of ourselves in the first half. Usual issues apparent at the start of the second half and we’re 4-1 down. I’m not going to do scores on the doors as there’s no point, there were few highlights and we didn’t really impose ourselves in any meaningful way. What’s noticeable is the drop off in quality when we are forced into changes.
Onwards to Saturday.
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I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
How did it work out for O'Neill after Moscow when he did the exactly the same thing? Not only did we get battered tonight, we've also fallen behind Spurs in terms of goal difference. How does that help us?
MON *never* changed the team, *never* showed any faith in anyone outside of the first XI, and the one time he does rotate was that. This isn't really comparable. I also daresay Emery is drowning himself in all kinds of fitness data and the like.
I also notice that our opponents tonight didn't play their two best players, for similar reasons given. I guess two of the world's most successful coaches for over a decade could be wrong on the same day in exactly the same way. Who knows.
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Ultimately we were way too open. Losing heavily like this is always upsetting and now it's all about a reaction Saturday . I hope we put up a better fight at Arsenal away.
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The goal difference to Spuds is in their favour by one. It's not as if we're looking at a thirty goal swing.
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The contention seems to be that he started Lenglet, Zaniolo and Diaby. Even if we ignore any potential illness/fitness issues with anyone else, they are 3 full internationals that have started more than 40 league games this season between them for us, and more than 60 league appearances when you add in subs, it's not like we chucked in a load of untried youth players.
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I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
How did it work out for O'Neill after Moscow when he did the exactly the same thing? Not only did we get battered tonight, we've also fallen behind Spurs in terms of goal difference. How does that help us?
Probs best to wait to see what the Brentford and Lille games bring before making the judgement on this one, if indeed the benched players were just rested and not ill.
‘If’ we get a result against Brentford, 4th place is still just about in our own hands. Lille are a decent team and if we want to win something for first time in a generation, we’re going to have to be on it.
Course if we lose them both, seasons looking fooked….but we wont…
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Man City are a despicable club.
It's always the same up there: defeat.
McGinn has a lot to answer for in terms of suspension, so he can first be in part blamed as he was absence in the midfield spaces where goals were conceded.
Diaby tackle with Rordi and losing out then goal scored we would have seen McGinn making that tackle
Olsen:
I believe Emi Martinez would have had a quicker reaction than Olsen and pushed over Rodri's shot for the first goal.
Olsen doesn't have the shot stopping ability world class ability and their first would have been prevented by Emi
Martinez would also ensure that the wall did not collapse in front of him, as Olsen lacked the leadership abilities of Martinez.
Douglas Luiz:
I was disappointed that Douglas committed fouls on the edge of the area. Doing one awful thing and then repeating it not only resulted in a dangerous attacking free kick but also his 9th yellow card and the second goal.
Zaniolo
Zaniolo should have prevented the goal, but he acted cowardly.
Equaliser by Duran
Duran's goal was fantastic, as Zanizi, Rogers, and Duran played beautiful football and for me we scored the best team goal of the night
Bailey did not start the game, which disappointed me, but I'm glad Iroegbunam gave a decent account of himself.
No penalty
Somewhat surprising Ezri Konza did not receive a penalty given Darren England's record.
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The only thing we have dodged so far this season is a plague of locusts!!
There’s still time!
They should all be gone by the time we play our pre-season friendly on July 27th. https://www.rte.ie/news/us/2024/0403/1441410-cicadas/
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I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
How did it work out for O'Neill after Moscow when he did the exactly the same thing? Not only did we get battered tonight, we've also fallen behind Spurs in terms of goal difference. How does that help us?
You're just pulling one, notorious example out of the hat there, though, and it is notorious because it didn't work.
Managers have to make decisions like these week in, week out, yet they don't even get remembered if they pan out OK.
We lost at Man City and shipped -3 goals off the GD. Yeah, I'd rather win, but I'd definitely rather take the GD damage tonight and have a better chance of getting what we need at the weekend.
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A frustrating night. It didn’t feel like a 4-1 performance , although no issue in that the better team won.
I understand the changes. I hope it’s not his MON Stoke moment, but with two big home games coming up , I get it ( that’s assuming it was a choice, not illness )
Similarly bringing Luiz off before a second yellow, we need to concentrate more on games that are winnable with our best 11 we can muster. We probably lose that game tonight even with what’s left of our full strength.
By my reckoning only 4 who beat City in December started ? That’s insane really.
But week coming up. Two wins hugely needed.
In Emery we trust.
Rest a couple , and go and win Saturday.
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I also notice that our opponents tonight didn't play their two best players, for similar reasons given. I guess two of the world's most successful coaches for over a decade could be wrong on the same day in exactly the same way. Who knows.
Errrr...NO. It wasn't the same. One Coach in this story has immense resource to select any XI from about 25 and not weaken his team's competitiveness. The other took a chance to forgo this match for the sake of a game where he thinks he has a better chance of winning.
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
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I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
How did it work out for O'Neill after Moscow when he did the exactly the same thing? Not only did we get battered tonight, we've also fallen behind Spurs in terms of goal difference. How does that help us?
When has 4th ever gone down to goal difference? How many times have you seen a full strength side battered there?
The Moscow comparison doesn't apply here.
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I also notice that our opponents tonight didn't play their two best players, for similar reasons given. I guess two of the world's most successful coaches for over a decade could be wrong on the same day in exactly the same way. Who knows.
Wow.
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I also notice that our opponents tonight didn't play their two best players, for similar reasons given. I guess two of the world's most successful coaches for over a decade could be wrong on the same day in exactly the same way. Who knows.
Wow.
Arteta did the same mate.
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I don't even think it would be noticed by the wider sporting world if the 'decision' to prioritise the Brentford game backfired. I haven't seen any takes blaming the loss on Villa fielding a weakened side, only the brilliance of Foden besting a top four side.
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I also notice that our opponents tonight didn't play their two best players, for similar reasons given. I guess two of the world's most successful coaches for over a decade could be wrong on the same day in exactly the same way. Who knows.
Wow.
Arteta did the same mate.
Double wow.
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Amusing that posters were getting criticised in the prem match thread for declaring the game is a "free hit" which was Emery's mindset all along.
Still I was pretty happy with what I saw in the first half. We were reslilient and considering the extreme quality they were up against some of our fringe players did very well.
All ruined by Zaniolo chickening out of attempting to block a ball. Foden doesn't even strike it with much power so why he's already moving out is beyond me.
Very very disappointing as going in at 1-1 would've been interesting.
Still beat Brentford and all this doesn't matter one bit. Duran showing first half that perhaps Ollie missing games here and there next season in the league won't quite be the disaster it will be portrayed.
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I also notice that our opponents tonight didn't play their two best players, for similar reasons given. I guess two of the world's most successful coaches for over a decade could be wrong on the same day in exactly the same way. Who knows.
Wow.
Arteta did the same mate.
Double wow.
Edit: Nah. Too tiring. I just think your POV on this lacks a fair bit of perspective.
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I agree. I thought it looked a bit that way at the start, but it's not that simple, having reflected on it.
He has to make a series of measured judgements across the full season about how to best use our squad to get the best result come the end of game 38 (plus whatever in Europe).
We can't just play our best XI week in, week out. Some games are more important than others, some games carry a much higher chance of winning than others, some are way more impactful in terms of where we are in the league.
You can't just look at this sort of thing and say "well, Bailey (random chosen player) hasn't played for a week, so he can't be tired". That's a 'micro' approach to things, Emery has to zoom out a bit and look at the wider picture and juggle all the parts.
If we'd gone all-out, playing players who are not totally fit, or who are ill, or who are just tired or out of form, tonight, in a 'let's throw everything at it' mindset, and went down heroically 3-4, then as a result looked jaded and knackered against Brentford, a real must and can win match at the weekend, then people would slaughter him. Then we've got the Conference League coming back.
He's got to balance things looking at the wider picture.
How did it work out for O'Neill after Moscow when he did the exactly the same thing? Not only did we get battered tonight, we've also fallen behind Spurs in terms of goal difference. How does that help us?
When has 4th ever gone down to goal difference? How many times have you seen a full strength side battered there?
The Moscow comparison doesn't apply here.
Exactly.
How can you compare a complete season on one that has several games to go?
Surely a discussion at the end of the season?
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Again, it was 3 full internationals that started tonight, that have started plenty of other games, and we have no idea if was tactical or fitness based. To state as a fact he threw the game isn't based in any fact at all. And even if it was tactical to keep players fresh, by the time Zaniolo limped off it was 9 first teamers not on the pitch through injury/suspension, not through choice. And also, it's not 1980/81 any more.
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I think what aggravates me about games like tonight is not so much the loss, given it's the most bankable bet in league football, but that 4-1 is the kind of scoreline I still expect in these away games. A free hit it may be, but make it a one inch punch at least.
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I was beginning to warm to Zaniolo, but after tonight he can fcuk back to Italy.
He always seems to work best as an impact substitute. The question is whether we can afford that kind of luxury
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The contention seems to be that he started Lenglet, Zaniolo and Diaby. Even if we ignore any potential illness/fitness issues with anyone else, they are 3 full internationals that have started more than 40 league games this season between them for us, and more than 60 league appearances when you add in subs, it's not like we chucked in a load of untried youth players.
It was needs must, but playing Diaby, Zaniolo, Rogers and Duran in the same side is asking for trouble. It worked to some extent when things were OK, but as soon as it got a bit tougher it crumbled. None of them could keep the ball and their defensive efforts left a lot to be desired. You can maybe get away with having one player like that in a game like that, but not four or five.
Saying that, I thought Rogers did OK on the whole though and looked better in a more advanced position.
They said on the WM coverage after the game that it was our first away loss in 2024, which I hadn't realised.
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Again, it was 3 full internationals that started tonight, that have started plenty of other games, and we have no idea if was tactical or fitness based. To state as a fact he threw the game isn't based in any fact at all. And even if it was tactical to keep players fresh, by the time Zaniolo limped off it was 9 first teamers not on the pitch through injury/suspension, not through choice. And also, it's not 1980/81 any more.
It was dropping our best two players this season in Torres and Bailey. Torres who is absolutely crucial to how we play and head and shoulders our best defender.
What happened to "It's not a free hit at all. We're not a non league club about to play Man City in the FA Cup 3rd round. We've aready twatted them once and are only 1 place below them. We need to stop being so small time. They won't be looking forward to playing us, and that's as it should be."
They won't have an easier game for the rest of the season.
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Win Saturday and everything about tonight becomes irrelevant and a moot point.
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edit
I really want to know what you said there!!!! Ha!
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We were doing just fine until Zaniolo jumped out of the way of the free kick.
We’ve been there so many times and just submitted behind the ball, don’t think we did that tonight…we gave them the opportunity to play by trying to play ourselves…unfortunately they (mainly Rodri & Foden) chose tonight to spark.
As for selection, was obv with Saturday in mind but it wasn’t like we had 7/8 kids playing….Torres was clearly only on the bench for emergencies…hopefully for Sat we have McGinn / Martinez / Torres/ Bailey & Watkins back in the starting line up & would be a real bonus to see Ramsey back on the bench. Do we start Dougie or bench him in hope of not needing him to try dodge that 10th booking before the reset?
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Not that it would have made any difference but shout out to the ref who was a complete 'homer'.
Also Jim Beglin can go **** himself. "Konsa felt the touch there and went over."
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Again, it was 3 full internationals that started tonight, that have started plenty of other games, and we have no idea if was tactical or fitness based. To state as a fact he threw the game isn't based in any fact at all. And even if it was tactical to keep players fresh, by the time Zaniolo limped off it was 9 first teamers not on the pitch through injury/suspension, not through choice. And also, it's not 1980/81 any more.
It was dropping our best two players this season in Torres and Bailey. Torres who is absolutely crucial to how we play and head and shoulders our best defender.
What happened to "It's not a free hit at all. We're not a non league club about to play Man City in the FA Cup 3rd round. We've aready twatted them once and are only 1 place below them. We need to stop being so small time. They won't be looking forward to playing us, and that's as it should be."
They won't have an easier game for the rest of the season.
If we'd played a bunch of kids instead of internationals that often start i'd say something, but we didn't. We gave it a good go. I don't think we threw it away so i'm not going to say it am I. And unless you've changed job and now work at Bodymoor Heath you've no idea why he made those changes.
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We were doing just fine until Zaniolo jumped out of the way of the free kick.
We’ve been there so many times and just submitted behind the ball, don’t think we did that tonight…we gave them the opportunity to play by trying to play ourselves…unfortunately they (mainly Rodri & Foden) chose tonight to spark.
As for selection, was obv with Saturday in mind but it wasn’t like we had 7/8 kids playing….Torres was clearly only on the bench for emergencies…hopefully for Sat we have McGinn / Martinez / Torres/ Bailey & Watkins back in the starting line up & would be a real bonus to see Ramsey back on the bench. Do we start Dougie or bench him in hope of not needing him to try dodge that 10th booking before the reset?
Think Luiz has to play Saturday. It's a big game now.
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There’s a lot we don’t know about the players and their fitness levels. I’d say he’s looking after Torres as he’s broken down twice this season already. Losing him for the rest of the season would be a disaster. With the paper thin squad we’ve got left things like this have to be taken into consideration, especially with the amount of games we’ve got coming up.
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We were doing just fine until Zaniolo jumped out of the way of the free kick.
Also we were doing fine until Luiz couldn’t help but put his arms all over a player, lucky not to get a second yellow. Things don’t happen in a vacuum.
Although, I think the referee realised how soft the first yellow and, indeed, the first free kick was.
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We were doing just fine until Zaniolo jumped out of the way of the free kick.
Also we were doing fine until Luiz couldn’t help but put his arms all over a player, lucky not to get a second yellow. Things don’t happen in a vacuum.
Although, I think the referee realised how soft the first yellow and, indeed, the first free kick was.
Indeed…the ref could easily have given the 2nd yellow
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If people can't enjoy these times and trust Unai Emery then I don't think they will ever be happy. We have endured some right shit - we are now 4th in April with a European quarter final on the horizon.
I trust Emery all the way. He will have had reasons for his selection tonight - fitness, illness, managing his squad - whatever.
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I seem to remember us conceding from a free kick a while back when doug turned his back/moved out of the way, and it went straight through the wall. Am I making this up or going mad?
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Well that was a pisser.
Annoying but the team gavea good account of themselves I thought. Gave silly goals away again but it's incredibly hard to have total concentration against this lot.
Special mention to the thick ManC fans next to the away, some proper idiots in there.
So many day trippers, half and half scarfs too.
The whole experience is one giant advert for Abu Dhabi. Huge flag on the pitch before KO was an advert, their im house TV stuff was just adverts and prizes to go to Abu Dhabi with interviews about how lovely it is.
Football sanitised and dull
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If people can't enjoy these times and trust Unai Emery then I don't think they will ever be happy. We have endured some right shit - we are now 4th in April with a European quarter final on the horizon.
I trust Emery all the way. He will have had reasons for his selection tonight - fitness, illness, managing his squad - whatever.
It also has to be remembered that he's not even 18 months into the job yet as well.
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If people can't enjoy these times and trust Unai Emery then I don't think they will ever be happy. We have endured some right shit - we are now 4th in April with a European quarter final on the horizon.
I trust Emery all the way. He will have had reasons for his selection tonight - fitness, illness, managing his squad - whatever.
Absolutely spot on.
UTV
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Not a profound observation ,but I suspect that if we had drawn both games against them most people would have been happy to take two points. We have got three.
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I seem to remember us conceding from a free kick a while back when doug turned his back/moved out of the way, and it went straight through the wall. Am I making this up or going mad?
No, I remember that as well.
Also, if the wall is going to jump, it is current practice to have someone lying down behind them. In our case, this is usually John Mcginn. And he'd be saying don't turn your back ya radge fuckers.
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Thought we competed well for about an hour. Had some really good moments on the break. Diaby played really well, Zaniolo was good (other than being a pussy in the wall) and Duran was decent in patches. But it was a makeshift team and it showed.
Need to make sure the rest was worth it in the next couple of games.
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If people can't enjoy these times and trust Unai Emery then I don't think they will ever be happy. We have endured some right shit - we are now 4th in April with a European quarter final on the horizon.
I trust Emery all the way. He will have had reasons for his selection tonight - fitness, illness, managing his squad - whatever.
You've nailed it there!
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
Tielemans strength in defensive midfield? He can't run or tackle
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
Tielemans strength in defensive midfield? He can't run or tackle
Yeah, I've agreed with most of what Monty has said about the game but I was a bit confused by that comment. Of all of Emery's decisions today, I was glad Tim started.
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I commented ‘we’ve thrown this game’ in the match thread. I only thought that because of the subs after their third goal though. I’m right behind Emery trusting the squad, they need to see that if we’re to rely on them at all. IMO, It was a calculated gamble to rest certain players in the hope that it pays off over the next two games. And it would also have been a gamble to go as strong as we could in this game and maybe risk more players missing at the weekend and on Thursday. Just swings and roundabouts really.
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I think it is quite possible to both love what Unai has done and is doing at the club, but also not take a great deal of joy from the fact we competed for a half against Citeh. It was said, by some, that we need to change our mentality a bit before the game and that’s probably right. Our last couple of games against the teams we’re directly competing against we’ve been thumped, conceding 4 on both occasions. It’s great that we’re where we are, but we need to be better, particularly defensively, in these games.
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4-1 feels a touch harsh on us and not entirely telling the story of the game but under no illusions we were soundly beaten. As has been covered, we were right in the game for 45 minutes but that goal in stoppage time is a killer and in the second half it’s pure squad preservation from Emery - Chambers for Luiz isn’t a change that happens in any normal circumstance.
Emery has taken a calculated gamble tonight based on the personnel already out, the need to keep fringe players involved and the prioritization of what is to come. Big few weeks ahead.
Feel for Olsen, probably his best game for us and he still shipped four.
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Our 90th goal of the season tonight. And a beauty.
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Unai pulled out and you don't need to be a fly on the wall at Villa Park/BMH to realise that. And its incredolous that Martinez was good to go at 7 but not capable 20 minutes later. That's usually is a warm up knock not an illness issue.
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Only knew the result on the way back from work this morning - hopefully we get back to winnings ways on Saturday
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What Unai has done with this villa squad is a miracle, so I am not in the slightest bit upset with tonight. Sure, there are things to slag off but this season, wherever we end up, has surpassed our wildest expectations. There are several Villa players who will be replaced over the next two years or so, as Unai builds this club up. 4th, 5th or 6th, is a fantastic effort with this squad of players.
This, 100%. The way this bloke and his staff have improved some players too is beyond belief. They'll do the same to Rogers, Duran and Diaby over summer too.
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We had Cash, Mcginn, Kamara, Martinez, Ramsey and Watkins out tonight (alongside long term absentees) but yeah, it was like the line up Lambert finished with against Bradford years ago.
Fucking hell.
In terms of no discernible formation and random players in random positions. You really do make Flinstone look intelligent by comparison.
Like I said, we had a shit load of players out Christ, you'll be comparing last night with Moscow next.
Oops, sorry you've already done that.
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Even with the shitload of players out we likely would have lost. They didnt even need haaland or KVB and still thumped us 4-1.
It would have no doubt been a closer game though if we had a majority of our squad back.
This is a big gamble by unai. If we dont win saturday the gamble backfires. I dont want to be too harsh on unai as we have a lot of games coming up so some players would need rotation
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I don't think it was a gamble. We were going to lose anyway, right?
Yeah, he's got the rest of the season's games to manage and besides, we're not privvy to who's carrying knocks, not fully fit etc. He did what he thought was right.
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We didn't play Spurs last night, it was a team who last lost when we beat them, who have a vastly superior squad to chose from when they rest players, and who assembled that by seemingly nefarious means. It is not anywhere near a level playing field and had we had a couple of players back, perhaps we would've lost by the odd goal in that case.
Everyone has been in agreement that we have looked jaded in games but when the Manager changes things up we still moan. I would rather go with our strongest side in every game, but I'm a luddite and would always bow to the Managers experience over mine, particularly in light of what he has achieved in his time with us.
If anyone thinks, given the current rules, that we will challenge Stockport 115 anytime soon is not paying much attention. A harsh way to look at it but that's the reality.
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Emery needs to have a word with Doug about conceding stupid free kicks in dangerous positions. He does this at least once (and twice against the brilliantly named Stockport 115, nice one mate) every game. It has to stop. Zaniolo was great for 30 mins but he is a milksop and needs to trust his own jockstrap.
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Noticed Luiz got booked.
I know he was one away from a ban, but I read that if he was to avoid being booked for a couple of games he’d avoid the ban.
Can’t remember how many games ago I read it, so don’t know if he passed the threshold.
Edit
Just found answer on ‘Discipline’ thread.
Wonder if it might be worth resting him for Brentford given he’s that close?
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Noticed Luiz got booked.
I know he was one away from a ban, but I read that if he was to avoid being booked for a couple of games he’d avoid the ban.
Can’t remember how many games ago I read it, so don’t know if he passed the threshold.
Think it’s after Saturdays game
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Noticed Luiz got booked.
I know he was one away from a ban, but I read that if he was to avoid being booked for a couple of games he’d avoid the ban.
Can’t remember how many games ago I read it, so don’t know if he passed the threshold.
Think it’s after Saturdays game
Cheers, bud, it is.
Of all places I found answer on ‘Discipline’ thread 😂
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
Tielemans strength in defensive midfield? He can't run or tackle
Two recovery sprints and tackles against West Ham and Wolves that I didn't think he was capable of. Its not his strength, but its also wrong to think he's as old as us, he's only 26 and can do it.
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Given how I felt when I initially saw the starting XI I was pleasantly surprised by the general quality of our performance. We gave them some problems and deserved more than the one goal to show for our efforts.
If Watkins is unavailable again on Saturday I suggest Duran puts some studs in his boots before running out to play. I lost count of the number of times he slipped over last night. It was a lot.
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
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Lots of scars from our history I feel. After we got hammered by Spurs, there were comments on how that could be Emery’s Stoke moment, but we go away and draw with West Ham and beat Wolves comfortably. Im pretty convinced this isn’t Emery’s Moscow moment either. He and this team have proved over and over, they take a punch they come back swinging.
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Moscow does not work. Moscow was throwing a cup tournament effectively. Losing at Man City, as we absolutely almost universally do away, and have with 2 exceptions in the league in over 30 years of watching us, is not the same.
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
Martinez pulled out after the team was announced.
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It's one of those where I don't think we gave ourselves the best opportunity to win with the team selection but two massive home games in the next week to put it behind us.
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I'd rather a weekend in Blackpool than one in Abu Dhabi depsite all their sportswashed marketing crap. Bring on the 115 judgment day .
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
Martinez pulled out after the team was announced.
And he didn't "drop" our two best players. He may have decided they needed rest but they may have caught the same bug as Emi. Who knows? Emery does and he makes the necessary calls. Calls which have us in our best league position in donkeys years and we're in the QF of a European competition. All these inferences and snide comments that Emery intentionally threw the game are really starting to irritate me.
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
Martinez pulled out after the team was announced.
And he didn't "drop" our two best players. He may have decided they needed rest but they may have caught the same bug as Emi. Who knows? Emery does and he makes the necessary calls. Calls which have us in our best league position in donkeys years and we're in the QF of a European competition. All these inferences and snide comments that Emery intentionally threw the game are really starting to irritate me.
Snide? That’s unfair and I’d ask you to wind your neck in a bit. Emery is a genius and I love the guy. But it *felt* to me like he threw it a bit. If that irritates you so be it.
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
Martinez pulled out after the team was announced.
That does make a bit of a difference.
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If there is a bug going through the squad, there may be players who are just starting to come down with it and are broadly OK but still not feeling brilliant. I've actually been like that myself the last couple of days. Maybe Emery figured that although they could have played, they'd be below par and it would be better not to risk them picking up an injury - which I gather is more likely if you're under the weather generally. Especially given that at this stage of the season, everyone's a bit fragile anyway.
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If there is a bug going through the squad, there may be players who are just starting to come down with it and are broadly OK but still not feeling brilliant. I've actually been like that myself the last couple of days. Maybe Emery figured that although they could have played, they'd be below par and it would be better not to risk them picking up an injury - which I gather is more likely if you're under the weather generally. Especially given that at this stage of the season, everyone's a bit fragile anyway.
Yeah, if that was the case then it would explain it.
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
Tielemans strength in defensive midfield? He can't run or tackle
Yeah, I've agreed with most of what Monty has said about the game but I was a bit confused by that comment. Of all of Emery's decisions today, I was glad Tim started.
I can't speak for Monty, but I think a couple of irony alerts have been missed here.
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If there is a bug going through the squad, there may be players who are just starting to come down with it and are broadly OK but still not feeling brilliant. I've actually been like that myself the last couple of days. Maybe Emery figured that although they could have played, they'd be below par and it would be better not to risk them picking up an injury - which I gather is more likely if you're under the weather generally. Especially given that at this stage of the season, everyone's a bit fragile anyway.
Yep, I've been laid up in bed with 'stomach issues' since Monday lunchtime, only feeling right this morning. There's no way I could've been away from the bathroom for 45 minutes at a time, let alone actually, you know, running around and that.
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Unfortunately when you have rodri and foden in that kind of form most teams will struggle
If that foden and rodri played like that vs arsenal they would have won that game easily. As much as i dislike citeh they are a fantastic side. But we all know how they got there
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I can't stand Citeh but for me Rodri is the best player in the world right now.
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I can't stand Citeh but for me Rodri is the best player in the world right now.
Agree and fodens got potential to be another.
As much as i dislike citeh with foden they bought him as a youngster. Thats one player they didnt cheat on
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I can't stand Citeh but for me Rodri is the best player in the world right now.
He is he is Luiz and Kamara rolled into one. Strong in the tackle but a sublime passer as well, and can run for 90 mins.
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I'm comfortable with the team selection, I don't think Iroegbunam for Tielemans is that controversial given their styles and Bailey looked tired against Wolves I thought. The questionable one was Pau being out, but given his absences lately it does make sense to protect him for the next couple of games where we will hopefully have more of the ball.
It was disappointing to lose but I don't think the goal difference aspect is really a factor, Spurs have three very easy games left where you'd expect them to improve theirs quite a lot.
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
Do you honestly believe that?
Argue all you want about the merits of the decision and how it may have been for the best etc, but suggesting that was not a weakened team is what is ludicrous.
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
Martinez pulled out after the team was announced.
And he didn't "drop" our two best players. He may have decided they needed rest but they may have caught the same bug as Emi. Who knows? Emery does and he makes the necessary calls. Calls which have us in our best league position in donkeys years and we're in the QF of a European competition. All these inferences and snide comments that Emery intentionally threw the game are really starting to irritate me.
Snide? That’s unfair and I’d ask you to wind your neck in a bit. Emery is a genius and I love the guy. But it *felt* to me like he threw it a bit. If that irritates you so be it.
Wind my neck in? Lol. This is a comment's section where we agree and disagree on all things villa. And don't take it personal. When I said snide comment's read back on this thread. There's plenty of people saying he "threw the game" which is total bullshit. In my humble opinion.
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I can't stand Citeh but for me Rodri is the best player in the world right now.
He was certainly a better use of £63 million than buying 3/4 of Antony.
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Zaniolo can fuck right off. gutless cowardly bellend frightened of a fucking football >:(
He didn't jump out of its way, he was moving before it was stuck. I would need to check with other walls but I'm guessing our end players jump out to try to protect against the whip around the wall, and Foden knew they did and gambled on it.
It wasn’t the jump it was the turning away from the ball as he did it that left the gap. Unforgivable for a professional footballer.
We have a lot of important games coming up and the squad is already looking stretched with injuries and suspensions so to me it makes sense for the manager to ‘manage’ resources at his disposal.
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edit
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In the interview on the OS, Unai refers twice to needing to use more players to cope with the run of matches in the next few weeks. I think that’s pretty much why we saw what we did last night in terms of line up.
We all say we understand the need to use the squad but then when it comes to actually doing it, it seems a different story.
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Zaniolo can fuck right off. gutless cowardly bellend frightened of a fucking football >:(
He didn't jump out of its way, he was moving before it was stuck. I would need to check with other walls but I'm guessing our end players jump out to try to protect against the whip around the wall, and Foden knew they did and gambled on it.
It wasn’t the jump it was the turning away from the ball as he did it that left the gap. Unforgivable for a professional footballer.
We have a lot of important games coming up and the squad is already looking stretched with injuries and suspensions so to me it makes sense for the manager to ‘manage’ resources at his disposal.
His jump seemed to be outwards, not upwards, and the turn might be because of the shit handball rules nowadays so he had to tuck them in against the body, hence spinning. Others in the wall also turned in a similar way with their jumps and that was just going up.
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
Do you honestly believe that?
Argue all you want about the merits of the decision and how it may have been for the best etc, but suggesting that was not a weakened team is what is ludicrous.
It's not ludicrous and I did not say it wasn't a weakened team. I'm saying he makes the calls depending on the circumstances. He decided to rest player's in the long term interests of the squad not to throw a game as plenty on here have suggested.
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I can't stand Citeh but for me Rodri is the best player in the world right now.
Yes, there is only Bellingham to compare with him in the world. However both are not quite Denis Mortimer level but adequate deputies😊
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
Do you honestly believe that?
Argue all you want about the merits of the decision and how it may have been for the best etc, but suggesting that was not a weakened team is what is ludicrous.
It's not ludicrous and I did not say it wasn't a weakened team. I'm saying he makes the calls depending on the circumstances. He decided to rest player's in the long term interests of the squad not to throw a game as plenty on here have suggested.
I'm sorry but that's not what you said at all. I highlighted what you said and to me, that is ludicrous.
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Zaniolo can fuck right off. gutless cowardly bellend frightened of a fucking football >:(
Wow….I bet you were itching to insert word Italian in there?
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Zaniolo can fuck right off. gutless cowardly bellend frightened of a fucking football >:(
Wow….I bet you were itching to insert word Italian in there?
No it was greasy and wop apparently.
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
Do you honestly believe that?
Argue all you want about the merits of the decision and how it may have been for the best etc, but suggesting that was not a weakened team is what is ludicrous.
It's not ludicrous and I did not say it wasn't a weakened team. I'm saying he makes the calls depending on the circumstances. He decided to rest player's in the long term interests of the squad not to throw a game as plenty on here have suggested.
I'm sorry but that's not what you said at all. I highlighted what you said and to me, that is ludicrous.
Surely that depends entirely on what the "was able to" part means, though?
"I don't feel able to play Tielemans because he's looking jaded in training (after playing for Belgium last week, too), I don't feel able to play Pau as he's not feeling 100%, I don't feel able to play Bailey because it's more urgent to limit his time here as he'll be crucial in the way I want to approach Brentford and Lille"
"Able" doesn't just mean able in terms of putting him on the pitch, it means able in terms of doing that given the remainder of the season and upcoming matches.
A bit like, I am "able" to go out and spend a shit ton of money on a new car at the moment, but I am certainly not "able" to do so if I want to manage my ongoing finances for the longer term.
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
Do you honestly believe that?
Argue all you want about the merits of the decision and how it may have been for the best etc, but suggesting that was not a weakened team is what is ludicrous.
It's not ludicrous and I did not say it wasn't a weakened team. I'm saying he makes the calls depending on the circumstances. He decided to rest player's in the long term interests of the squad not to throw a game as plenty on here have suggested.
I'm sorry but that's not what you said at all. I highlighted what you said and to me, that is ludicrous.
He will have put out the strongest team he was able to. What's hard to understand about that? It WAS a weakened team and it was his choice to rest a couple of players in the long term interests of the squad.
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I don’t know. Dropping our two best (fit) players was odd. He made that call knowing Martinez was out and obviously Watkins and McGinn. So it does feel like he kind of threw the game. The team didn’t play too badly, at least the first half and we do always, always lose there, so it’ll only be a decision that will be remembered if we don’t beat Brentford.
He’s got plenty in the bank of course, but I did find it a weird thing to do.
Martinez pulled out after the team was announced.
And he didn't "drop" our two best players. He may have decided they needed rest but they may have caught the same bug as Emi. Who knows? Emery does and he makes the necessary calls. Calls which have us in our best league position in donkeys years and we're in the QF of a European competition. All these inferences and snide comments that Emery intentionally threw the game are really starting to irritate me.
Snide? That’s unfair and I’d ask you to wind your neck in a bit. Emery is a genius and I love the guy. But it *felt* to me like he threw it a bit. If that irritates you so be it.
Wind my neck in? Lol. This is a comment's section where we agree and disagree on all things villa. And don't take it personal. When I said snide comment's read back on this thread. There's plenty of people saying he "threw the game" which is total bullshit. In my humble opinion.
Calling others who are also just commenting ‘snide’ is making it personal, no? Was that team the strongest Emery could’ve played last night? Nope. Is Emery a genius who we’d be nowhere near 4th without, yep. The two things are true. So let’s call it ‘season management’ or something and hope we get a strong performance and result on the weekend (my bet is that we will)!
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Diaby has started more league games this season than Bailey has, he was hardly chucking in an untried youth player. Maybe there has been illness issues, maybe Emery just though they were the better options for the team we had available/were facing. Talk of him chucking the game is absolute bonkers and based on nothing but frustration.
Absolutely. He will have put out the strongest team he was able to against that state funded sham of a football club. There's absolutely no way he would be thinking about surrendering a game when we're within touching distance of a top four finish with Spuds breathing right down our necks. Managing at this level sometimes means making difficult choices but a coach of Emery's standing will always be thinking about taking whatever is possible from every game. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.
Do you honestly believe that?
Argue all you want about the merits of the decision and how it may have been for the best etc, but suggesting that was not a weakened team is what is ludicrous.
It's not ludicrous and I did not say it wasn't a weakened team. I'm saying he makes the calls depending on the circumstances. He decided to rest player's in the long term interests of the squad not to throw a game as plenty on here have suggested.
I'm sorry but that's not what you said at all. I highlighted what you said and to me, that is ludicrous.
Surely that depends entirely on what the "was able to" part means, though?
"I don't feel able to play Tielemans because he's looking jaded in training (after playing for Belgium last week, too), I don't feel able to play Pau as he's not feeling 100%, I don't feel able to play Bailey because it's more urgent to limit his time here as he'll be crucial in the way I want to approach Brentford and Lille"
"Able" doesn't just mean able in terms of putting him on the pitch, it means able in terms of doing that given the remainder of the season and upcoming matches.
A bit like, I am "able" to go out and spend a shit ton of money on a new car at the moment, but I am certainly not "able" to do so if I want to manage my ongoing finances for the longer term.
Thank you.
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Leaving Bailey, Teilemans and Torres on the bench is not putting out the strongest team you are able to. As I said, you can discuss the merits of resting players etc in the context of the season, but the post in question said it was ludicrous to suggest that wasn't the strongest team we were able to field. That's clearly a daft statement. Do you honestly think he would have put that team out if we were playing Brentford last night?
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That line-up last night could beat Brentford.
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Leaving Bailey, Teilemans and Torres on the bench is not putting out the strongest team you are able to. As I said, you can discuss the merits of resting players etc in the context of the season, but the post in question said it was ludicrous to suggest that wasn't the strongest team we were able to field. That's clearly a daft statement. Do you honestly think he would have put that team out if we were playing Brentford last night?
For what it’s worth, I agree. No point in pretending last night wasn’t deemed as winnable as the next game (now even more so) is.
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That line-up last night could beat Brentford.
Could, but not convinced would. Brentford showed against Manure they can bring plenty.
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Calling others who are also just commenting ‘snide’ is making it personal, no? Was that team the strongest Emery could’ve played last night? Nope. Is Emery a genius who we’d be nowhere near 4th without, yep. The two things are true. So let’s call it ‘season management’ or something and hope we get a strong performance and result on the weekend (my bet is that we will)!
Exactly. He 'could' have picked a stronger team, but chose not to. If we see the benefit of that against Brentford, then great. I don't think we'll see "internationals" like Olsen, Lenglet and Zaniolo starting against the Bees.
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Leaving Bailey, Teilemans and Torres on the bench is not putting out the strongest team you are able to. As I said, you can discuss the merits of resting players etc in the context of the season, but the post in question said it was ludicrous to suggest that wasn't the strongest team we were able to field. That's clearly a daft statement. Do you honestly think he would have put that team out if we were playing Brentford last night?
You are still missing the "able to" point. It was a weakened team and I think we all agree. Able to from Emery's perspective is different from able to in terms of ability. He's in the hot seat making tough decisions that he hopes we will reap the rewards from. He's done a pretty good job so far.
Absolutely nobody's denied he's done a very good job indeed. I just don't think dropping Pau and Bailey after one match following a two week break was the right thing to do. He was 'able' to play them, he chose not to.
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Calling others who are also just commenting ‘snide’ is making it personal, no? Was that team the strongest Emery could’ve played last night? Nope. Is Emery a genius who we’d be nowhere near 4th without, yep. The two things are true. So let’s call it ‘season management’ or something and hope we get a strong performance and result on the weekend (my bet is that we will)!
Exactly. He 'could' have picked a stronger team, but chose not to. If we see the benefit of that against Brentford, then great. I don't think we'll see "internationals" like Olsen, Lenglet and Zaniolo starting against the Bees.
Pau in for Lenglet will likely be the only change at the back. After last night I finally have a bit of confidence in Olsen so if Emi doesn't make it I'm ok with that.
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If SJM, Ollie and Matty had been available, I could understand leaving out Pau, Leon and Youri, but playing Morgan who prior to the match had 2 league starts, Jhon with 1 and Tim his first start, seemed a big gamble, nevertheless we did ok, until they got their second. The second half was virtually all Man City, thanks to Olsen it wasn't more than 4. Still it was valuable experience for the youngsters and full credit to Olsen, probably MOTM.
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Wasn't quite even up to the 3rd? We had our only other two shots on target during that period, either one of which would have made it interesting again for the match overall. Then they scored the 3rd and the substitutions were made which took us out as an attacking force anymore.
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It’s not totally beyond the realms of possibility that Pau and Bailey have minor issues that need managing. I remember being surprised when Bailey went off against Man United and I think Pau managed 45 minutes when we played Forest at home.
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It’s not totally beyond the realms of possibility that Pau and Bailey have minor issues that need managing. I remember being surprised when Bailey went off against Man United and I think Pau managed 45 minutes when we played Forest at home.
Exactly, plus if there is a sickness bug going around they may have been suffering the effects of that too, on the bench for 'ready if needed' but ideally not.
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The Forest game was 6 weeks ago, and since then Torres has played four full games with no ill effects, and had a two week break. Emery said that he was saving players in his post match comments, so I'm not sure why people are inventing reasons for leaving him out.
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Move on!
Although that wall for the free kick >:(
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Yep, on to the next game now, for me anyway. Last night is done.
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(https://i.ibb.co/t36Y60g/FB-IMG-1712216701146.jpg) (https://ibb.co/t36Y60g)
Also Ramsey.
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(https://i.ibb.co/t36Y60g/FB-IMG-1712216701146.jpg) (https://ibb.co/t36Y60g)
Also Ramsey.
I saw this earlier and it does a good job of visualising just how many players either weren't available last night (most of them) or were rested. It's mad. That we looked remotely like the normal Villa team is kind of amazing really.
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Mental. I doubt Sky Sports will be doing our PR for us regarding having 9 players missing like they did for Spurs...
Good to see Duran score. A more controlled & composed finish too. Which is great.
Iroegbunam, Kellyman & Rogers got some good minutes.
You can see that Emery really trusts Kellyman & Rogers.
Thats about all the positives I can muster...
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Thought Olsen did well.
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The Forest game was 6 weeks ago, and since then Torres has played four full games with no ill effects, and had a two week break. Emery said that he was saving players in his post match comments, so I'm not sure why people are inventing reasons for leaving him out.
Saving players can mean because some of them have been sick recently, some of them have had injuries this season, some of them were feeling jaded. It can mean lots of things. It could also mean he didn't want certain players fatigued for the game Saturday given that it took us a while to recover from our previous win against Man City.
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I have no issues with last night. I thought we'd get beat anyway. If this is the way Emery thinks is best so be it. Good opportunity to beat Brentford and maybe with the home leg first he wants us to demolish Lille by 3 or 4 to rest for the 2nd leg too.
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I have no issues with last night. I thought we'd get beat anyway. If this is the way Emery thinks is best so be it. Good opportunity to beat Brentford and maybe with the home leg first he wants us to demolish Lille by 3 or 4 to rest for the 2nd leg too.
It does put a little extra pressure on the Brentford result & I cant help but think about that fucking Stoke game that I still wake up in the middle of the night sweating & screaming about to this day...
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
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Thought Olsen did well.
He did, despite the scoreline.
From our starting line-up that was dominant in the win over them in December, only Konsa, Carlos, Digne and Luiz started last night.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
That's a fair point actually, hadn't thought of that.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Could’ve got the shits on the coach. Imagine and only one bog on Den Caney.
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Piss in a bottle like we had to.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Could’ve got the shits on the coach. Imagine and only one bog on Den Caney.
Den Caney:-) :-) getting school bus vibes there
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Not necessarily, Emi was in the team until a few minutes before kick off .
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Not necessarily, Emi was in the team until a few minutes before kick off .
The only thing we know is that they told us Emi was taken ill in the warm up. Could of been just a temperature could of been stomach cramps who knows but the medics wouldn't risk it obviously. As someone with stomach issues of my own I know only too well how rapidly it can come on out of nowhere.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Not necessarily, Emi was in the team until a few minutes before kick off .
I know. I was referring to the idea that other players may have been ill, but put on the bench anyway. It wouldn't happen.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Not necessarily, Emi was in the team until a few minutes before kick off .
I know. I was referring to the idea that other players may have been ill, but put on the bench anyway. It wouldn't happen.
Doesn't need to be that they've turned up with soiled kegs, they may be over it by a couple of days but still a bit weakened by it.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Not necessarily, Emi was in the team until a few minutes before kick off .
I know. I was referring to the idea that other players may have been ill, but put on the bench anyway. It wouldn't happen.
Doesn't need to be that they've turned up with soiled kegs, they may be over it by a couple of days but still a bit weakened by it.
And that Ladies and Gentlemen concludes the post match debate. Thanks for taking part.
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If anybody had any previously declared sickness or diarrhoea bug, they'd have been told to stay at home in no uncertain terms. Stuff like that is incredibly contagious and you wouldn't risk it spreading to anybody else.
Not necessarily, Emi was in the team until a few minutes before kick off .
The only thing we know is that they told us Emi was taken ill in the warm up. Could of been just a temperature could of been stomach cramps who knows but the medics wouldn't risk it obviously. As someone with stomach issues of my own I know only too well how rapidly it can come on out of nowhere.
The more likely explanation is Emi said "fuck this, I'm not playing behind this team against these twats"
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The final score was/is irritating given it impacts our GD and because it gives give licence to those that didn't watch the game the chance to spout nonsense about how easily we were beaten - which is not how I saw it.
There were some promising signs and further evidence of known issues - like the fact that if Iroegbunam develops as yesterday's start suggested he is capable of, then we might have a back-up to Kamara without spending a fortune. And Rogers looked bright again.
Of the known issues - Chambers is a real liability at DCM.
Trying to put it into perspective - if everyone was fit, only three of the startiing line-up yesterday evening would be in our first XI, and even then Konsa would (arguably) be a RCD and not RB, and until recently many questioned whether Diaby should be starting for us. UTV.
p.s. I think we should have had a penalty late on when Konsa was barged off the ball. More irritating than it not being given was that it hardly mentioned by the commentators and must have been instantly dismissed by the VAR official. If one of our defenders had nudged Foden, Grealish, or Silva it would have been very different. >:(
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
Tielemans strength in defensive midfield? He can't run or tackle
Yeah, I've agreed with most of what Monty has said about the game but I was a bit confused by that comment. Of all of Emery's decisions today, I was glad Tim started.
I can't speak for Monty, but I think a couple of irony alerts have been missed here.
Ah balls. I hate being willfully dense.
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I do think we missed Tielemans' strength in defensive midfield.
Tielemans strength in defensive midfield? He can't run or tackle
Yeah, I've agreed with most of what Monty has said about the game but I was a bit confused by that comment. Of all of Emery's decisions today, I was glad Tim started.
I can't speak for Monty, but I think a couple of irony alerts have been missed here.
Ah balls. I hate being willfully dense.
Yeah I was responding to a team selection post and forgot to quote!
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
What if we need points from those games?
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
What if we need points from those games?
Yeah, I think the Man City game was a one-off, prompted by the absences of Watkins and McGinn (and the fact it was Man City away). I can't see him picking another line-up like that.
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
What if we need points from those games?
Then he'd have to change his mind. Depends how things go.
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
Not sure we'll get much at Arsenal, but no reason we can't beat Liverpool at home (which would be nice if it denied them the title).
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
Not sure we'll get much at Arsenal, but no reason we can't beat Liverpool at home (which would be nice if it denied them the title).
Would be pretty sweet if it guaranteed 4th spot and denied them the title at the same time.
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I rather Liverpool or Arsenal win the title than Manchester City
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I rather Liverpool or Arsenal win the title than Manchester City
And that's what makes you amazing.
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I'm expecting similar resting of players against Liverpool and Arsenal. Emery has earmarked which games we are going to get our remaining points from.
Not sure we'll get much at Arsenal, but no reason we can't beat Liverpool at home (which would be nice if it denied them the title).
With the squad so thin now he is not going to have too many choices.
The team will almost pick itself subject to availability.