Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on February 27, 2026, 09:59:26 PM
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Awful. Players need to take a long look at themselves. As does Unai.
We can talk about the injuries but look at those 2 starting 11s and benches and there is no way we should be losing that.
Changes should have been made at HT, Bailey should not have been on, Tammy should have been on earlier. Wolves are utter shit and yet we looked barely competent against them.
Load of utter shit.
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Unacceptable.
Shit for weeks. Persisting with things that are clearly not working.
Absolutely falling to pieces. Manager seems to have no idea what to do. I would back pretty much anyone to beat us at the moment.
Kamara is a big loss but hey, maybe we could have spent some of the huge amounts of money we spaffed on players we seem not to rate, on ones who could help?
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Never in doubt. And uncannily like last year, chasing the game at 0-1 when Cunah countered and scores late on. Not a shred of footballing intelligence or courage between our lot tonight. Absolute rabble.
Commiserations if you have to live amongst wulfs for the next few days/weeks...
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I have no words.
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We really are absolute Blues at the moment
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Can't even say we were unlucky, we were just shit and getting fuck all is what we deserved.
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They won't have an easier game for the next two seasons.
I genuinely have no idea what we were trying to do tonight.
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Not brave enough, the manager with selections and players on the pitch
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Everton was bad, Leeds was worse, in its own way.
But this is a special level of ineptitude.
Can't be surrendering points to bilge like this and expect to do owt.
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It's predictable to us as fans so it's bloody obvious to every other manager. We need to change, we need to stop starting the same 11 and we need to be quicker.
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Poor in every single department. An embarrassing and potentially season changing defeat. It's on Emery too, picking players who never seem to want to battle and scrap for every ball in a local derby. So many players were poor, I honestly can't thin k of any player who deserves their wage this week. We never laid a glove on them.
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Ollie Watkins is finished. Please stop playing him. This result is totally unacceptable though. Totally shite from start to finish. Everyone was shite. We are Man Utd in reverse.
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We look totally lost, midfield is awful, start Barkley FFS. Why is Watkins playing? Buendia is just shit.
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Must beat Chelsea and United now. Need some results to go our way this weekend.
Really disappointed in the players tonight.
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They won't have an easier game for the next two seasons.
I genuinely have no idea what we were trying to do tonight.
Keep it tight until half time and hope to nick a goal in the second half.
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A complete shambles. Shameful.
I’m not sure how we recover from this, but Emery and the players have to find a way or the season completely slides away.
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Own that Emery.
You picked the team. You choose those tactics.
We have been stinking the place out for weeks.
This is bar far the worst result in a long time.
Appalling.
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Definition of madness. Repeating the same rubbish over and over and expecting a different outcome.
What an embarassment.
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Desperate stuff in the 2nd half.
Watkins, Rogers, Buendia terrible. Onana for all he was in the first half was appalling in the second.
It isn't over yet but fucking hell, it's going to be difficult.
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Absolutely disgraceful.
But you could see it coming and nothing was done about it.
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Weak mentality.
Tammy must start
Only way we'll get top 5 is if Chelsea collapse
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We look totally lost, midfield is awful, start Barkley FFS. Why is Watkins playing? Buendia is just shit.
We had less control when Barkley came on.
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Optically, if not purely statistically, we must be the worst team in the division at the moment form-wise.
The bottom team, apparently one of the worst ever to (dis)grace the division, were head and shoulders above us since the moment Dougie hit one straight at their keeper.
We're not even going to make the Conference League at this rate.
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All on Emery that one. Disgusting performance top to bottom.
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The problem wasn't the starting eleven, more the changes. Bailey was as shit as everyone knew he would be. At least change the shape, have a plan b.
There are too many experienced players in the team for there to be no leaders on the pitch.
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Very little you can say to that, this is a team that will be relegated and we are a team fighting for Champions League, I can't think of a single thing that allows a glimmer of hope that say's we can get there.
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I genuinely don’t know what to say.
This is mainly on the stubbornness of our manager tonight. But we are just not good enough.
This is this shite from the start of the season coming back to haunt us. And we did nothing about it.
I genuinely feel that with PSR, we’re fucked now.
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Alysson looked good again though!
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Onana has got to put that big chance in injury time away. Takes a 2nd touch and Sa is spread. seconds later its 2-0
absolute bottle jobs. unai did us no favours hooking sancho who was doing alright
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Predictable in so many ways and not a surprise.
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Weak mentality.
Tammy must start
Only way we'll get top 5 is if Chelsea collapse
All eyes on Chelsea now your quite right we need Chelsea to screw up big time
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Worst night of the Emery era but it has felt weirdly like people have been manifesting the shitness since January. Whole club threw the towel in when kamara got injured.
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There are no excuses for that. Absolutely fcukin shite. Embarrassing, disgusting, pathetic…every single one of them.
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Wolves treated it like a derby,we treated it like a training session.Totally on Unai for me.He's turned back to the risk averse football that just doesn't work .
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I don’t like going in on the players but that was a disgraceful performance.
Show some f*****g balls and stop hiding behind the injuries.
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They won't have an easier game for the next two seasons.
I genuinely have no idea what we were trying to do tonight.
Keep it tight until half time and hope to nick a goal in the second half.
It would have helped if someone had been capable of doing so!
Daz Hale is as happy as Larry!
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I don't mind the starting. The choices from HT were very poor from Unai. Starting with 0 changes.
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Must beat Chelsea and United now. Need some results to go our way this weekend.
Really disappointed in the players tonight.
How are we going to beat Chelsea and Man Utd? How?
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There can be no excuses for bringing Bailey on and starting with Watkins & Digne. Unai needs to sort this out very quickly or we risk doing a Forest and barely scraping in the Conference places. The team tonight should have been able to see off Wolves, but we looked desperate. We stopped attacking down our right at the end because all the players realised that Bailey would just Xuck it up again.
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Shit, absolute shit.
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I genuinely don’t know what to say.
This is mainly on the stubbornness of our manager tonight. But we are just not good enough.
This is this shite from the start of the season coming back to haunt us. And we did nothing about it.
I genuinely feel that with PSR, we’re fucked now.
Yeah, we wont get CL playing like this and can’t spend any money anyway.
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Really poor first half and yet no one could have believed how bad we would be in the 2nd.
We were one down and chasing the game from around the hour mark and between 60 & 90 minutes we had one shot on target against that shit.
I thought Sancho was poor, but Bailey was even worse when he came on.
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Alysson looked good again though!
Start the fucker. Why not? I know someone sensible is going to say you don't want to chuck him in when we're in a bit of a spiral but I don't want sensible.
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Makes a point against Leeds look like a brilliant result that. We are horrific to watch again currently.
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Absolutely disgraceful, you take plaudits when winning, you now take the shit when playing shit
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In 35 years supporting Villa I have never been more fucked off with a result. That made the Palace game look like we were peak Barca.
Absolute fucking shambles - and when we sell Roger’s in the summer it’ll be because of games like this.
That was the worst performance by any team all season.
The whole lot can fuck off
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Digne did one awful cross but he wasn't the reason we lost. Maatsen was rubbish too. I think the players are losing confidence in themselves. They need to own their share of this.
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Bringing Bailey on before Alyson was an awful decision. Leaving Watkins on just as bad. But the whole approach was just awful.
They wanted it, we obviously didn't. Might not be true but that's what it fucking well looked like to me
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Really stinky
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This is beginning to feel like a downturn that we aren't really going to emerge from.
Our season is fucked, and that could in turn fuck next season too.
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Terrible team selection, Watkins hopeless again. We are a very poor side at the moment with no leader. Why when we were useless all the first half did he wait until 60 minutes to make changes, and why bring Bailey on, ridiculous.
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Watkins simply cannot start the next game. Maatsen needs to come in for Digne.
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Konsa arguing with fan or fans.
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Must beat Chelsea and United now. Need some results to go our way this weekend.
Really disappointed in the players tonight.
We won’t get fuck all out of those. Injuries aside it’s no excuse. Sick of the nosebleeds we get at the top of the table and to
Lose to bottom of the league wolves is a fucking embarrassment.
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These players have given us so much but that was an absolute embarrassment.
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In 35 years supporting Villa I have never been more fucked off with a result. That made the Palace game look like we were peak Barca.
Absolute fucking shambles - and when we sell Roger’s in the summer it’ll be because of games like this.
That was the worst performance by any team all season.
The whole lot can fuck off
I agree. But Rogers was as shite as everyone else.
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Konsa arguing with fan or fans.
He can fuck off with that shit.
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Turns out it actually was unsustainable
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Not brave enough, the manager with selections and players on the pitch
Brave is not a word in this team's dictionary. 50/50 ball? You must be fucking joking!
Unai, you've done nothing but enhance Einstein's reputation tonight. It's not fucking working. Change it, ffs!
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Alysson looked good again though!
Start the fucker. Why not? I know someone sensible is going to say you don't want to chuck him in when we're in a bit of a spiral but I don't want sensible.
Correct and a better option then Sancho bailey or Buendia, play him from now on. Also, Ollie mate what are you doing.
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Konsa arguing with fan or fans.
Konsa is a terrible captain, utterly lost out there again.
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Weak as piss from everyone that was. Deserved nothing.
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In 35 years supporting Villa I have never been more fucked off with a result. That made the Palace game look like we were peak Barca.
Absolute fucking shambles - and when we sell Roger’s in the summer it’ll be because of games like this.
That was the worst performance by any team all season.
The whole lot can fuck off
Will anyone want him if he continues with performances like that? Seems he's bought into his own hype.
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I would not back us to beat anyone we are so poor. One of the worse things to happen is Bailey coming back off loan.
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Worst thing is...who didn't see that coming? Was gutted when I saw the XI. Didn't say anything as I've been mostly negative the last few weeks, but that team is obviously not working. The starting attack, barring Rogers and to an extent Sacho, is wank.
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I see Emery fucked off down the tunnel again.
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You could just see it coming. Unable to take our first half chances - dare I say dominance - & we’re way too pedestrian. They’re coached to do that, which is all on Unai.
We need the explosive, innovative team back but we’re missing our 3 players who give us that.
Luiz is the Luiz who lost interest before he left. Appalling.
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Not brave enough, the manager with selections and players on the pitch
For me, this is it.
We haven’t been brave enough for weeks. It cost us an FA cup run, it’s allowed 3 clubs to reel us in. But the worst part of it is that we have put ourselves under massive pressure and it’s all self inflicted.
I have never really understood why we are favourites for the EL, there is not a hope in hell of winning that with we are crumbling.
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Konsa arguing with fan or fans.
He can fuck off with that shit.
it's the fans fault, that we couldn't score (yes he can f off with that shit)
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It's been garbage for weeks sadly. Going to be a long march to the end of the season. Would be overjoyed with 62-65 points.
Personally, I'd put all our eggs into the Europa League now, beat Lille and hopefully have a fresh SJM and Tileman's back from there.
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Unai has to contain this, players arguing with each other arguing with fans. we are still third with it all to play for. Unai get this sorted.
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Looked good against Newcastle away.
But has rapidly declined to last season's form.
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Disgusting performance after first 15 mins or so. Wolves are mid table championship at best. No positives really. Think we have bigger issues, injuries aside, think our squad is in need of a serious overhaul. Financial restrictions have delayed it but some stalwarts look done.
Martinez 6 - can't recall a save or anything to do bar picking ball out of his net
Cash 6 - gassed completely late on but one of the few who played at the right tempo
Konsa 4 - awful for first goal, started ok but decision making went to pot. Not a captain
Torres 4 - Started ok but distribution very average and that's the reason he's in the team. Pathetic effort with header
Digne 2 - completely finished, that's on Emery for selecting him
Onana 1 - waste of space yet again, first man out the door in summer.
Luiz 6 - inexplicable decision to take him off early. Decent first half, beggared belief really
Sancho 2 - putting faith in this guy is always misplaced. Another fraud
Buendia 2 - hyped to the max from first whistle when we needed focus. Form has collapsed
Rogers 4 - bit better on left, again that's on Emery. Hasn't worked at 10 in weeks and bizarrely ended up back there late on
Watkins 3 - horrendous effort early on, touch horrible. He's done sadly
Subs Barkley can't play in a two, that selection was punished within minutes. Nice touches around their box where he should have been playing. Bailey was tragic, wtf was Emery thinking. Maatsen was a huge improvement, Alysson mixed bag but at least looked a footballer in comparison to Sancho & Bailey. Tammy struggled to get involved but brought on far too late.
Emery had a nightmare. Team selection with Rogers at 10 again, Watkins & Digne. That was poor. The subs and timing off them made no sense. Half time needed changes.
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Please Unai, do not give Sancho and Bailey another minute of playing time in our shirt, they are both beyond useless!!
Ollie can book his summer holidays now, because there is no way he is going to the World Cip!
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Got to hope this is the nadir, getting done by one of the worst teams ever in the league but I’ve been here and felt like this before with Villa. It deffo feels like the team just does not give a shit.
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We actually got worse as the game went on, why are we always pants at Wolves?
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The minute McGinn got injured against Everton, it was like the light went off at the club. No one has stepped up. The lads that came back to us have reverted to the worst version of themselves that we know, Bailey most certainly has, Luiz is not brilliant either. We didn't or couldn't strengthen in January when we were in a position of strength. Were are still in a good spot in league, but I worry that the heart has gone out of the team for now, and when we find it again we will be in a dash for sixth or seventh. We are dropping like a stone down this league if we continue as we are.
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Lee Hendrie highlighting Barkley for their first goal. Onana half hearted jog back also deserved mention.
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That was totally predictable.
Has Emery lost the plot?
Or is he obsessively wedded to his style of play and can't/won't/isn't able to change?
Has a system based on McGinn/Kamara and Tielemans. But without them it's obvious that we'll struggle.
But his job is to find a way with the players he's got at his disposal - adapt, evolve, change.
But he stubbornly sticks to his beliefs -trying to play a system that the players struggle with - why?
Failed to score early (Watkins and Torres), confidence ebbed away and they grew into the game.
Good luck trying to create sn atmosphere for future home games.
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I would not back us to beat anyone we are so poor. One of the worse things to happen is Bailey coming back off loan.
Worst was allowing Malen to leave. A simple "Not until the summer" would have been enough. Instead we have nothing up front. Nothing.
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Even losing 3 of our best midfielders pretty much all at once, recent performances have been awful. Yes, I expected a drop off but not be this bad. Emery is not helping himself with same players starting e.g. Watkins, Buendia and not showing any improvement, it’s getting worse if anything.
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Most angriest Ive been of any match this season and dont think I will calm down all week.
Emery fucked it up with his line up and subs , playing out of form players over and over again. Players out of position . I know he is elite but lately he is getting mugged by Edwards , Andrews and Farke , no Idea what he is playing at .
Allyson is a right winger but stick him on the left instead of Bailey on the right , leave Buendia on and take off Luis , he starta with Ollie instead of Tammy , Luca D is finished as a prem player , Onana a 50 million player again fake , Rogers looks a boro player again .
Europa Cup is going too be so hard as well.
He fights for Tammy and lets Malen go and gets hardly any minutes .
i will calm down in April Im sure .
Wolves can tell us all summer they stopped us getting champs league
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It's been garbage for weeks sadly. Going to be a long march to the end of the season. Would be overjoyed with 62-65 points.
Personally, I'd put all our eggs into the Europa League now, beat Lille and hopefully have a fresh SJM and Tileman's back from there.
I’d sack the Europa off if we had got more than one point against Brentford, Everton, Leeds and Wolves. I’ve no faith we’ll turn up against Lille and will get absolutely pumped.
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Martinez 0
Cash 4
Konsa 0
Torres 0
Digne 0
Onana 0
Luiz 0
Sancho 0
Buendia 0
Rogers 0
Watkins 0
Barkley 2
Bailey -10
Maatsen 3
Alysson 6
Tammy 2
Emery 0
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CL football? We don’t deserve conference. This is absolutely shit everywhere. If we’d have put in a performance I’d feel differently but there was nothing. It’s win the Europa or nothing again and my money is on nothing again.
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We actually got worse as the game went on, why are we always pants at Wolves?
Billy Big Bollocks attitude?
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Similar to that awful display at Wolves in January last year. A 2-0 defeat, when they scored their second goal in stoppage time. Interesting that Malen and Guessand are both scoring goals for their clubs.....! A stupid decision with that starting line-up.
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You have been too generous with those ratings PWS.
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I know Lindelof is not a game changer as such, but with such injuries as we have to key players, wouldn't you turn to this bloke's obvious quality and experience, especially when he has shown he's in excellent form? I just don't get why he has been totally ignored over recent weeks.
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That's the first time I think Emery's decisions have ever made me angry.
Luiz was arguably our best (well, least bad) player, yet he gets withdrawn and Buendia - already on a yellow card - stays on.
I think that single decision lost us the game.
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Playing with 10 men with Watkins was bad enough, but then to bring Bailey on beggars belief.
Emery has had time to get more from the players available but has somehow decided to press the self destruct button,
We look like a bottom of the league team and just got done by the bottom of the league team.
Pathetic.
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Lee Hendrie highlighting Barkley for their first goal. Onana half hearted jog back also deserved mention.
Barkley had just come on.
Unpopular opinion - we didn't deserve to lose that. Sure, we didn't deserve to win it either. A Villa win would have been an absolute travesty, infact.
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You have been too generous with those ratings PWS.
I didn't want to be too harsh.
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That's Wolves SECOND win of the season FFS.
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I know Lindelof is not a game changer as such, but with such injuries as we have to key players, wouldn't you turn to this bloke's obvious quality and experience, especially when he has shown he's in excellent form? I just don't get why he has been totally ignored over recent weeks.
I'd have him next to Konsa, been saying it for weeks. Torres was shite again tonight.
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That's the first time I think Emery's decisions have ever made me angry.
Luiz was arguably our best (well, least bad) player, yet he gets withdrawn and Buendia - already on a yellow card - stays on.
I think that single decision lost us the game.
I dunno. Leaving Watkins on for 70+ minutes.
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Similar to that awful display at Wolves in January last year. A 2-0 defeat, when they scored their second goal in stoppage time. Interesting that Malen and Guessand are both scoring goals for their clubs.....! A stupid decision with that starting line-up.
Another thing - our recruitment is largely rubbish, which doesn’t bode well given we need to replace some players in the next couple of seasons.
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It’s just the fact that after dougie missed that chance I knew we would lose that.
So many players look fucking stupid tonight. Onana - wants to go to one of the biggest club in world. And he bottles it trying to be the biggest club in the midlands.
Watkins looks shot - why he starts over Tammy fuck knows. Bailey could make any team worse in his current form.
Beundia - if his first 5 touches aren’t good he needs to be taken off cos he doesn’t turn it round.
Need four points from Chelsea and Utd otherwise we’ll do well to get europa
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We've won 3 league matches in 2026 and it's almost March. It's really only two convincing wins though because of the Brighton own goal 3 points.
If Emery starts Digne and Watkins on Wednesday expect another loss because we won't be scoring.
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Utter pants.
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Wolves were awful, yet the fact that they turned us over like that just shows how bad we were. I actually can't quite believe how bad we were in that game. There were some performances there that were simply unacceptable.
That debacle tonight brings to an end a run of 5 games which always looked season defining (Everton, Brentford, Leeds at home, Bournemouth and Wolves away). To get 5 points out of 15 from those fixtures could be really damaging.
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That's the first time I think Emery's decisions have ever made me angry.
Luiz was arguably our best (well, least bad) player, yet he gets withdrawn and Buendia - already on a yellow card - stays on.
I think that single decision lost us the game.
I dunno. Leaving Watkins on for 70+ minutes.
Putting Tammy on, leaving Ollie on and going two up top. I don't like it but ok. It finally got Rogers into the game on the left. But then take Ollie off a bit later to bring Alysson on and put Rogers back into the middle again. That's just bonkers stuff. Take Bailey off again
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I would not back us to beat anyone we are so poor. One of the worse things to happen is Bailey coming back off loan.
Worst was allowing Malen to leave. A simple "Not until the summer" would have been enough. Instead we have nothing up front. Nothing.
Tammy has shown what he can do in the brief glimpses he’s been on yet Watkins still starts. Although Malen was a great option.
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That's the first time I think Emery's decisions have ever made me angry.
Luiz was arguably our best (well, least bad) player, yet he gets withdrawn and Buendia - already on a yellow card - stays on.
I think that single decision lost us the game.
I love Lil' Emi. But he was hopeless tonight (more than the rest of them, even) and needed to be hooked.
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I had a bad feeling about this game. Every club has a bogey team and ours is the Wolfs at their place.
I was in the pub with a load of lads going to the game earlier and predicted a loss, but predicted a win against Chelsea.
My confidence is not so strong after that performance mind.
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I’m going to throw out a positive. I thought Alysson looked lively.
I’d call a few of our loanees back and give them a go. They must be able to play better than that shite.
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Got to hope this is the nadir, getting done by one of the worst teams ever in the league but I’ve been here and felt like this before with Villa. It deffo feels like the team just does not give a shit.
Either that or they're all shit scared of getting injured. Another cowardly performance from too many.
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Never want Barkley in our team again
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
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Absolutely pathetic - again. We have been playing like this for weeks and now the results are catching up with us.
Every game - no intent to attack, no apparent plan and just the same mistakes again and again. Injuries or not we are massively underperforming.
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If Onana had put that chance in he had at the end, I would have felt happier but not much. That was absolutely shocking. Where do you start?
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We've scored five goals in our last eight games. Our movement was awful, our desire was even worse. I know we can't replace them all at once but Torres, Digne, Buendia and Watkins all need to have a rest in the next two games as they offer nothing at the moment. Emery had a really bad day at the office but as others have said, if you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got. Ponderous, slow. Poor decisions from Emery.
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I would not back us to beat anyone we are so poor. One of the worse things to happen is Bailey coming back off loan.
Worst was allowing Malen to leave. A simple "Not until the summer" would have been enough. Instead we have nothing up front. Nothing.
Tammy has shown what he can do in the brief glimpses he’s been on yet Watkins still starts. Although Malen was a great option.
Seen highlights earlier of Malen driving into the penalty area and helping to create Rogers' first goal v Leedzzz away and Buendia's against Spurs in the cup.
As well as leadership in the middle of the park that's something we badly miss.
We're too one paced up top.
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That's the first time I think Emery's decisions have ever made me angry.
Luiz was arguably our best (well, least bad) player, yet he gets withdrawn and Buendia - already on a yellow card - stays on.
I think that single decision lost us the game.
I dunno. Leaving Watkins on for 70+ minutes.
Putting Tammy on, leaving Ollie on and going two up top. I don't like it but ok. It finally got Rogers into the game on the left. But then take Ollie off a bit later to bring Alysson on and put Rogers back into the middle again. That's just bonkers stuff. Take Bailey off again
Yes it shows Emery lost the plot and is struggling to cope with the missing players. There is no plan B, just hope and panic.
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
Saw worse in our relegation season.
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Worst performance under Unai by a mile. And unfortunately as for the last few games his selections were baffling.
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Yeah it was very bad but not the worst ever
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Humiliating. I hope they’re embarrassed of that performance.
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Pau missing that header, Onana missing that chance at the end, we created fuck all else as far as I can remember.
I didnt understand taking Luiz off before Beundia, but there was so much else wrong and this has been the pattern now since mid January.
Dreading Wednesday as it stands
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The worst thing about it was it was so crushingly predictable - this idea of “controlling the game” only works if you can then break the game. We can’t currently - we just invite pressure, concede and cannot do anything from open play,
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
Saw worse in our relegation season.
You're right. 0-6 home to Liverpool left me white with rage but that doesn't feel like much of a consolation right now!
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It goes to show the incredible job that Emery has done because there are a number of lazy frauds in this squad.
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I would not back us to beat anyone we are so poor. One of the worse things to happen is Bailey coming back off loan.
Worst was allowing Malen to leave. A simple "Not until the summer" would have been enough. Instead we have nothing up front. Nothing.
Tammy has shown what he can do in the brief glimpses he’s been on yet Watkins still starts. Although Malen was a great option.
Not seen enough of Tammy to judge him. What I do know is Malen was clinical, a very rare talent and one we sorely miss.
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Must beat Chelsea and United now. Need some results to go our way this weekend.
Really disappointed in the players tonight.
Has April fools come early? Beat those two.
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Along with Stevenage, tonight is a contender for worst under Unai. But nowhere near the worst we've served up in 30 years.
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I’d say they were abject but it would be awarding them too much praise. We stank from start to finish and as someone said on the match thread, got progressively worse. Truly dire.
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
Saw worse in our relegation season.
You're right. 0-6 home to Liverpool left me white with rage but that doesn't feel like much of a consolation right now!
Old Trafford was only 9 months ago
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
It's probably not even in the top 10. Not least because it wasn't a surprise.
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The worst team in Premier League history. Absolutely fucking shameful. There is nothing that comes close. 3rd in the league? You abject fucking cowards.
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The worst thing about it was it was so crushingly predictable - this idea of “controlling the game” only works if you can then break the game. We can’t currently - we just invite pressure, concede and cannot do anything from open play,
Controlling the game? If controlling the game is defined by slowing the game down at every possibility then passing it backwards then we are the absolute masters.
It is what we are doing every week at the minute and it is rotten.
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The worst thing about it was it was so crushingly predictable - this idea of “controlling the game” only works if you can then break the game. We can’t currently - we just invite pressure, concede and cannot do anything from open play,
Controlling the game? If controlling the game is defined by slowing the game down at every possibility then passing it backwards then we are the absolute masters.
It is what we are doing every week at the minute and it is rotten.
That’s kind of my point.
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I think up until about 25 mins we largely controlled the game and if we had scored then in that period, we probably would of won comfortably, but before half time we started slipping back into the familiar pattern of recent weeks. And then the second half….
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Poor in every single department. An embarrassing and potentially season changing defeat. It's on Emery too, picking players who never seem to want to battle and scrap for every ball in a local derby. So many players were poor, I honestly can't thin k of any player who deserves their wage this week. We never laid a glove on them.
I thought Alysson looked good in the short time he was on. He and Tammy should definitely start against Chelsea. The rest were gutless and inept to say the very least.
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We've helped them pass Derby, they'll quite possibly pass 2016 Villa as well.
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Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
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Maybe not the absolute worst.
But considering how bad the opposition are and how much we needed a win at this stage of the season (not just for this year but next) that has to make the Top 10 for all-time bad results.
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Pau missing that header, Onana missing that chance at the end, we created fuck all else as far as I can remember.
I didnt understand taking Luiz off before Beundia, but there was so much else wrong and this has been the pattern now since mid January.
Dreading Wednesday as it stands
I thought it was obvious subs were needed at half time. We lost focus against the worst team in the division in 15 mins or so before half time and it needed to be addressed. Maatsen for Digne, Tammy for Ollie and Barkley for Buendia. Get Rogers onto left. Emery like v Leeds left it stupidly run for another 15 mins. Then he lost his mind completely with the first two subs.
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Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
O’Leary used to do it.
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At no point did we look like we were dominant, there was no sustained pressure, it was containment football.
There was no energy or ambition, just trying to contain an absolutely abject Wolves team.
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Maybe not the absolute worst.
But considering how bad the opposition are and how much we needed a win at this stage of the season (not just for this year but next) that has to make the Top 10 for all-time bad results.
It’s up there, because of its importance as well. We are absolutely chucking in our chance at Champions League.
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The worst team in Premier League history. Absolutely fucking shameful. There is nothing that comes close. 3rd in the league? You abject fucking cowards.
They're not the worst team in Premier League history. They were in a death spiral under their previous manager but Edwards has improved their performances. Do you think our 2016 vintage would beat that Wolves team tonight?
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I am utterly disgusted. That was one of the most embarrassing performances in our history.
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Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
O’Leary used to do it.
Id erased him .
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Pau missing that header, Onana missing that chance at the end, we created fuck all else as far as I can remember.
I didnt understand taking Luiz off before Beundia, but there was so much else wrong and this has been the pattern now since mid January.
Dreading Wednesday as it stands
I thought it was obvious subs were needed at half time. We lost focus against the worst team in the division in 15 mins or so before half time and it needed to be addressed. Maatsen for Digne, Tammy for Ollie and Barkley for Buendia. Get Rogers onto left. Emery like v Leeds left it stupidly run for another 15 mins. Then he lost his mind completely with the first two subs.
Exactly, mind boggling
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Not a surprise as soon as they scored you knew it was game over. They are dreadful but showed some fight and wanted it more. We were weak and predictable. He absolutely cannot pick Watkins against Chelsea. Deserved fuck all.
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At no point did we look like we were dominant, there was no sustained pressure, it was containment football.
There was no energy or ambition, just trying to contain an absolutely abject Wolves team.
The shape and attacking patterns are so wrong st the moment, it looks exactly like the start of the season.
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I think the players had been drinking during the game as well.
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Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
From a bottle of water, yes. But that was an odd look. Mind you, the conditions looked bloody horrible.
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I wonder if Villa Park will start to get restless if we start badly against Chelsea next week? There'll be an atmosphere, but not one the club would have hoped for!
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Still cant believe he left Watkins and Buendia on with those first subs.
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Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
Shades of McLaren and his brolly.
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Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
From a bottle of water, yes. But that was an odd look. Mind you, the conditions looked bloody horrible.
Dont think Ive seen a manager having a drink while watching a game neither .
From a bottle of water, yes. But that was an odd look. Mind you, the conditions looked bloody horrible.
He can swig from a bottle of Crystal Champagne if we are 5 0 up for all I care but that performance needed a bit of rollocking from the touchline.
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At no point did we look like we were dominant, there was no sustained pressure, it was containment football.
There was no energy or ambition, just trying to contain an absolutely abject Wolves team.
Tbf we rarely put any team under sustained pressure, it’s difficult to do with our slow build up play.
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Disgusting performance. Absolutely disgusting. We are in big fucking trouble.
I turned off as soon as the whistle went, heard Konsa was getting at the fans?
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Losing our best 3 midfielders has been bad.
But leaving Lindelof out of the picture and keep playing Watkins &
Bailey has been very damaging.
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Let's be honest, we were fortunate to come away with three points in our home game against Wolves last November. They're not as bad under Edwards as the table suggests, while we've won quite a few games with worldies from outside the box. Our luck has dried up.
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Losing our best 3 midfielders has been bad.
But leaving Lindelof out of the picture and keep playing Watkins &
Bailey has been very damaging.
It’s much more fundamental than that. I know everyone has their individual players who grind their gears - but literally all of them are struggling. We’ve got ourselves into a hole performance wise.
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Is Harvey Elliot as bad as some of these . We are losing the chumps league money at this rate , might have been worth the risk .
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The worst thing about it was it was so crushingly predictable - this idea of “controlling the game” only works if you can then break the game. We can’t currently - we just invite pressure, concede and cannot do anything from open play,
I saw a stat earlier and it was something like out of 17 games where we have had over 65% of play we’ve only won 4 - we just can’t break down teams.
And all season that’s been the case Roger’s been good and Beundia has had moments but everyone else has been shit
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Awful performance, no need to elucidate
So disappointed that we are throwing the season away
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I wonder if the hierarchy at Real Madrid watched that game tonight........not sure they'll chase UE after that 'display'.....!
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Im lost for words i really am.
That was total humiliation. Im fucking angry upset and just totally at a loss at how shit we have become recently.
Maybe the writing has always been on the wall after we were winning games by wonder strikes and not playkng particularly well.
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Some of our away support fighting each other, it isn't a shit Villa away game without that.
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Awful performance, no need to elucidate
So disappointed that we are throwing the season away
Let's face it: it wouldn't be the first time over the years... :'(
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Some of our away support fighting each other, it isn't a shit Villa away game without that.
What happened? Nothing worse than our own fans fighting wach other ffs
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Disappointing night, looks like we'll have to beat Chelsea next week.
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Disappointing night, looks like we'll have to beat Chelsea next week.
I cant see in any reality us winning that if we play like we have since that Everton game. I can see villa park turning soon as fans are gettin fed up of this shite nost weeks
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Worst I've felt after a game since Enckelman night at The Sty.
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Only good thing is we wont have to go to fucking molieniux next season
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Important we look at the game tomorrow Man Utd v Palace, so Palace are no push over if Palace can get result, even a point, we stay 3rd, I always thought it would be a question of clinging on and so it could be, this ain't the end of the world.
Then we have to go to Chelsea, and its up to us, no excuses, meanwhile all eyes on Man Utd v Palace.
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Important we look at the game tomorrow Man Utd v Palace, so Palace are no push over if Palace can get result, even a point, we stay 3rd, I always thought it would be a question of clinging on and so it could be, this ain't the end of the world.
Then we have to go to Chelsea, and its up to us, no excuses, meanwhile all eyes on Man Utd v Palace.
We’re not going to cling onto this for unless we fundamentally change what we’re doing.
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Very strange that most of you think that you know better than a man who had bought us to where we are now….with all the restrictions we’re currently third……so much fucking entitlement in this fans base….
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Saw the first XI announcement and thought bit surprised to see Digne, Buendia and Watkins starting. This is going to be pathetically predictable.
Every single villa fan in the away end and from the armchair let out a collective groan when Bailey was subbed on.
No patterns of play. 3 around Rogers when he had the ball and no one thinks to take up space freed up.
Buendia time and again brushed off with ease on the ball.
You can rely on Watkins to fluff a big chance.
This is on you Emery. You should have threw them a curveball eg Alison starting, Lindelof in midfield, 3 at the back, Barclay behind Abrahams, get Sancho to the byline to cross every opportunity- change something damn it !!!!!
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Yes heaven forbid fans be annoyed at being third and losing to the worst team in the league. Funnily enough I think most people fully believing understand what Unai has done, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t get things wrong.
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I doubt anyone apart from Unai thought it was a good idea bring on Bailey. Even Bailey asked him if he was being serious.
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Emery is not immune to criticism. I'm not too sure why some people expect that. Most people fully understand how good he is and what he has done for the club, but that doesn't mean he shouldn’t get some stick when we are playing this shite.
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Yes heaven forbid fans be annoyed at being third and losing to the worst team in the league. Funnily enough I think most people fully believing understand what Unai has done, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t get things wrong.
Or realise he got it wrong and make a change. When the starting lineup was so ineffective changes should have been made much earlier.
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Is Harvey Elliot as bad as some of these . We are losing the chumps league money at this rate , might have been worth the risk .
This is what fucks me off.
We're struggling like fuck because our midfield is injured, but at the same time, we have all that time and money invested in Elliot, who we absolutely do not use.
Where is the joined-up thinking in that?
Weeks of Gerrard level performances, and shit like that going on, it's really not good.
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
Nah, there were bigger shockers under Lambert and Garde.
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I'd certainly be playing Harvey in Europe ahead of Bailey providing it's true that his appearances don't count in that competition.
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All the warning signs were there….and ignored. As soon as I saw the line up, that was clear.
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Important we look at the game tomorrow Man Utd v Palace, so Palace are no push over if Palace can get result, even a point, we stay 3rd, I always thought it would be a question of clinging on and so it could be, this ain't the end of the world.
Then we have to go to Chelsea, and its up to us, no excuses, meanwhile all eyes on Man Utd v Palace.
We’re at home. Wouldn’t want you to miss it.
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We always struggle against a team like wolves - it might well be why unai has struggled to replicate his amazing achievements at the biggest clubs.
It’s been the same since he’s been here - along with a bit of bottling it. But clearly he has worked miracles
Plenty of players with enough in the bank - a few like Onana who probably need to focus on being good enough for Villa before worrying about anything else.
There are recurring themes - bottling it, struggling against low blocks, poor / unsuitable recruitment - these need to be sorted assuming Unai is here long term (and I hope to god he is)
Bad night - the worst under Unai - but if anyone can put it right he can. Let’s just beat Chelsea and go from there.
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Important we look at the game tomorrow Man Utd v Palace, so Palace are no push over if Palace can get result, even a point, we stay 3rd, I always thought it would be a question of clinging on and so it could be, this ain't the end of the world.
Then we have to go to Chelsea, and its up to us, no excuses, meanwhile all eyes on Man Utd v Palace.
We’re at home. Wouldn’t want you to miss it.
Yeah, got it 👍thank you anyway, we are going to so hammer them, I'm not wrong????.
Oldie I know but sometime you have to go back to the future....
&list=RDbNqvdVJNqh0&index=2
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The worst team in Premier League history. Absolutely fucking shameful. There is nothing that comes close. 3rd in the league? You abject fucking cowards.
But you told us all we were pathetic for predicting this!
You’re like a WW1 Field Marshall.
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Only good thing is we wont have to go to fucking molieniux next season
Moulinex make things simple and that includes the price.
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I'm very disappointed that was bad.
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
Nah, there were bigger shockers under Lambert and Garde.
Yea come on. I’ll give you three. 2012. 0-8 0-4 0-3 in three consecutive games.
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Oh followed not long after by Bradford. Twice.
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Very strange that most of you think that you know better than a man who had bought us to where we are now….with all the restrictions we’re currently third……so much fucking entitlement in this fans base….
No entitlement at all just calling out another terrible performance
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We need the composure of Kamara, control of Tielemans and drive and determination of McGinn. Nobody else comes close in our squad.
We've lost all of those attributes and seemingly can't replace them not balance the team effectively.
Onana, Luiz and Bailey just aren't a patch on them.
I wouldn't have replaced Sancho, he's looking more effective but as a connector rather than a creator. Alysson for Buendia was a better call. And Abraham for Watkins made sense too. I'm sure Emery doubts the defensive pairing of Torres and Maatsen but that would have given us more of a threat.
The problem in a game like this is us countering the opposition rather than letting them worry about us.
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If we play like that on Wednesday and Chelsea turn us over, it's going to get incredibly toxic very quickly.
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Other than Martinez, who didn’t really do anything wrong, and Cash who is prepared to get stuck in, I thought we were abysmal.
We offloaded Bailey, Buendia and Luiz for a reason and two of them started tonight. Buendia was too weak in midfield and lost the ball on several occasions. He was also hyped up and was trying very hard to get a yellow. Luiz was so so but not spectacularly shit.
Or slow slow style of play is too predictable and easy to play against. Poor efforts from Watkins, Pau and another one showed a lack of self belief and allowed Wolves to get a foothold when their fans were getting angry. The game became more physical and you don’t want Buendia, Sancho and Bailey in a scrap. We became frustrated and played without intelligence. Shit as we were, the subs made us worse.
I have zero positives tonight. At some point I howled abuse at every one of our players but Emery needs to have some responsibility too for not having an alternative game plan for opponents like wolves.
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Predictable in so many ways and not a surprise.
Nail knocked on head.
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If we play like that on Wednesday and Chelsea turn us over, it's going to get incredibly toxic very quickly.
That’s just silly.
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I’m getting really fcuked off with the media not even considering us as title contenders.
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I’m getting really fcuked off with the media not even considering us as title contenders.
Have you been in a coma for the last 4 weeks.
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I think you've been whooshed, mate.
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Until the new lad came on Villa players especially Bailey refused to cross the ball rather pass the ball back to Cash. Buendia has scored a couple of great goals for us this season but this game he reverted to type. The longer the game went you just knew what the outcome was going to be.
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Buendia, Luiz, Bailey and Watkins should be nowhere near the team next game. We need something different.
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I took today off work, because it’s a big game and I didn’t want to stress trying to watch it on my phone.
It was pathetic and embarrassing, that’s all I can really muster from it.
Then to see on social media, Konsa calling the fans - dick heads at the end. To all you loyal fans that paid hard earned money to witness that, my apologies. I just used a days vacation, I could’ve taken with my kids.
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The only positive I can think of after that is that hopefully we are now at rock bottom and we can only improve from here.
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No changes at halftime, Wolves were always going to be happy with that, and that was our good half. We came out all guns blazing,no we didn’t we let a team devoid of confidence, grow and shut out the game, disappointing doesn’t begin to discribe it, even if we somehow beat Chelsea, I can’t help but think this result has sabotaged our season.
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Buendia, Luiz, Bailey and Watkins should be nowhere near the team next game. We need something different.
And play who? Tammy for Watkins, yes. Then you have Barkley for Buendia, who I want further forward but many people don't like him. Sancho for Bailey, many people don't like him. Bogarde for Luiz? Many people don't think he's good enough on the ball. I think people seem to think we're awash with top players. I can guarantee they'll be people saying the same as your post about the replaced players.
I didn't think Luiz was a problem today, anyway.
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Emery has to change the structure, Luiz and Onana are not a good fit. We have Cash, Konsa, Rogers who are worthy, Cash for all his detractors in the past is one player i would pick out for giving his all. I would rather see Burrows in the squad than Bailey. Allysson on the left and Burrows on the right at least it would get the crowd involved. Tammy surely has to start with Lindelof possibly in midfield. We have gone stale we need to freshen up.
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We need to adapt the way we play. I applaud the discipline of “our way” but we’ve lost a third of the enabling players.
Got to move on. Feels like we’re trying to cook exactly the same dish yet 75% of the vital ingredients are unavailable.
Unsurprisingly, as of now, it tastes like shite.
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Abject and embarrassing. Completely unacceptable and a lot of it down to the managers refusal to see that we need to apapt and change style of play when big players are out.
I'll be honest, I think we've been pretty crap all season but saved by individual brilliance. The slow build up play is terrible to watch, has been for over two years now, and is exactly why VP has no atmosphere presently. It could also point as to why Watkins has struggled so much.
When Wolves have you worked out, you know you're in trouble.
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Abject and embarrassing. Completely unacceptable and a lot of it down to the managers refusal to see that we need to apapt and change style of play when big players are out.
I'll be honest, I think we've been pretty crap all season but saved by individual brilliance. The slow build up play is terrible to watch, has been for over two years now, and is exactly why VP has no atmosphere presently. It could also point as to why Watkins has struggled so much.
When Wolves have you worked out, you know you're in trouble.
As utterly pissed off as I am at the last 4 or 5 weeks culminating in last night, its a bloody leap to suggest we’ve been crap all all season and the last two years haven’t been great. You either haven’t been going down for that long or you are suffering from memory loss. JFC.
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Abject and embarrassing. Completely unacceptable and a lot of it down to the managers refusal to see that we need to apapt and change style of play when big players are out.
I'll be honest, I think we've been pretty crap all season but saved by individual brilliance. The slow build up play is terrible to watch, has been for over two years now, and is exactly why VP has no atmosphere presently. It could also point as to why Watkins has struggled so much.
When Wolves have you worked out, you know you're in trouble.
Definitely not crap all season
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Buendia, Luiz, Bailey and Watkins should be nowhere near the team next game. We need something different.
And play who? Tammy for Watkins, yes. Then you have Barkley for Buendia, who I want further forward but many people don't like him. Sancho for Bailey, many people don't like him. Bogarde for Luiz? Many people don't think he's good enough on the ball. I think people seem to think we're awash with top players. I can guarantee they'll be people saying the same as your post about the replaced players.
I didn't think Luiz was a problem today, anyway.
Luiz is shite now. He's not the player who had that run during our first Champions League qualification. He couldn't get in to a team in the bottom 5 earlier in the season. There's a reason for that.
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Putting last nights debacle to one side, this seems to be a recurrence of the last few seasons where we seem to choke in the last few months, after having months of great results. Yes we have had injuries, which most certainly haven't helped, but to have our whole season disrupted because of the loss of a small number of key players is a worrying trend. A major rebuild of our ageing squad is needed to break the cycle I feel.
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Buendia, Luiz, Bailey and Watkins should be nowhere near the team next game. We need something different.
And play who? Tammy for Watkins, yes. Then you have Barkley for Buendia, who I want further forward but many people don't like him. Sancho for Bailey, many people don't like him. Bogarde for Luiz? Many people don't think he's good enough on the ball. I think people seem to think we're awash with top players. I can guarantee they'll be people saying the same as your post about the replaced players.
I didn't think Luiz was a problem today, anyway.
Luiz is shite now. He's not the player who had that run during our first Champions League qualification. He couldn't get in to a team in the bottom 5 earlier in the season. There's a reason for that.
We were even worse when luiz went off
Barkley and buendia were absolutely atrocious
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I not’s unfair to say that this side have not demonstrated yet that they don’t choke when the pressure is on.
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Putting last nights debacle to one side, this seems to be a recurrence of the last few seasons where we seem to choke in the last few months, after having months of great results. Yes we have had injuries, which most certainly haven't helped, but to have our whole season disrupted because of the loss of a small number of key players is a worrying trend. A major rebuild of our ageing squad is needed to break the cycle I feel.
The seasons don't follow the same pattern, we ended 22/23 and 24/25 very strongly. It seems to be a calendar year issue. Odd years good, even years bad. Or more prosaically, good when Kamara is fit.
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I not’s unfair to say that this side have not demonstrated yet that they don’t choke when the pressure is on.
It just seems like we sulk when we pick a injury. A prime example was rashford got injured in cup semi and we played like we did last night. Since the injuries the players have started feeling sorry for themselves and all the belief has gone.
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Putting last nights debacle to one side, this seems to be a recurrence of the last few seasons where we seem to choke in the last few months, after having months of great results. Yes we have had injuries, which most certainly haven't helped, but to have our whole season disrupted because of the loss of a small number of key players is a worrying trend. A major rebuild of our ageing squad is needed to break the cycle I feel.
The seasons don't follow the same pattern, we ended 22/23 and 24/25 very strongly. It seems to be a calendar year issue. Odd years good, even years bad. Or more prosaically, good when Kamara is fit.
22/23: no pressure on us and we got a conference league spot. 24/25, when the pressure arrived in the cup semi final and one game against a sh*te Man Utd side, what happened? And even 23/24, we didn’t perform compared to previous levels latter part of the season (albeit with a small and tired squad) but Spurs choking helped us massively.
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I not’s unfair to say that this side have not demonstrated yet that they don’t choke when the pressure is on.
It just seems like we sulk when we pick a injury. A prime example was rashford got injured in cup semi and we played like we did last night. Since the injuries the players have started feeling sorry for themselves and all the belief has gone.
We had more than enough to do better in the last 5 premier league fixtures against less well resourced sides, even accounting for the losses in midfield. It’s not been good enough.
If we were playing Arsenal, Man City, etc, in that period….but we weren’t. We’ve been playing dross.
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Putting last nights debacle to one side, this seems to be a recurrence of the last few seasons where we seem to choke in the last few months, after having months of great results. Yes we have had injuries, which most certainly haven't helped, but to have our whole season disrupted because of the loss of a small number of key players is a worrying trend. A major rebuild of our ageing squad is needed to break the cycle I feel.
The seasons don't follow the same pattern, we ended 22/23 and 24/25 very strongly. It seems to be a calendar year issue. Odd years good, even years bad. Or more prosaically, good when Kamara is fit.
22/23: no pressure on us and we got a conference league spot. 24/25, when the pressure arrived in the cup semi final and one game against a sh*te Man Utd side, what happened? And even 23/24, we didn’t perform compared to previous levels latter part of the season (albeit with a small and tired squad) but Spurs choking helped us massively.
We didn't choke "in the last few months" in 22/23 or 24/25. We choked in the big matches last season, but our overall form was great for the last three months of the season at least. The very broad pattern under Emery (with some nuance) is 2023 = good, 2024 = bad, 2025 = good, 2026 = well we all saw last night.
Realise this is a pointless discussion but just giving myself some hope for 2027.
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When needs must, you just have to play 'ugly' football and grind out a result with sweat, blood and tears. We have seen the top teams do it many times in the past.
We havn't got that in our locker and it will cost us.
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Buendia, Luiz, Bailey and Watkins should be nowhere near the team next game. We need something different.
And play who? Tammy for Watkins, yes. Then you have Barkley for Buendia, who I want further forward but many people don't like him. Sancho for Bailey, many people don't like him. Bogarde for Luiz? Many people don't think he's good enough on the ball. I think people seem to think we're awash with top players. I can guarantee they'll be people saying the same as your post about the replaced players.
I didn't think Luiz was a problem today, anyway.
Luiz is shite now. He's not the player who had that run during our first Champions League qualification. He couldn't get in to a team in the bottom 5 earlier in the season. There's a reason for that.
I'm aware he's not the player he once was and I wouldn't sign him at the end of the season. My point is, who are you playing instead? I guarantee people would just be saying the same about Bogarde and Barkley. Also, we got worse when Luiz went off.
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Having slept on last night, it feels as bad this morning however my gut feeling was that we weren't going to get anything. Bad run, bogey side and ground and some abject displays. The wrong subs were made absolutely but we have been at a low ebb before in this campaign and we will bounce back.
As for Emery, he was sitting down finishing his drink just after half time and was back on his feet prowling the touchline pretty quickly so to doubt his commitment is a bit much.
I think he was wrong not shaking the opposing managers hand but the biggest sore loser the PL ever saw is venerated and has a knighthood.
We'll beat Chelsea.
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
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Without McGinn and Tielemans we lack creativity. But we can still be robust and difficult to beat.
I think we will probably get a result on Wednesday when the impetus isn't on us as much.
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That’s the issue, we’re trying to be robust, calm and controlled, but without the energy and craft of these missing players bring we’re just a bit rubbish in the final third.
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When needs must, you just have to play 'ugly' football and grind out a result with sweat, blood and tears. We have seen the top teams do it many times in the past.
We havn't got that in our locker and it will cost us.
We were pretty ugly against Bournemouth second-half, Leeds first-half and ground out a point each. I thought we were absolutely awful against Brighton, not much better than last night, and somehow we won.
Onana scores that chance last night and 1-1 is a poor but probably fair result.
It's a complete collapse in effective attacking play that is costing us most of all.
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If we’re dissecting what is going wrong then your start point is the three injuries. However in a “no excuses culture” you then have to start putting it right and working out what you do next. That’s on the manager and the players to play with some purpose and find a system that works for the players available. We haven’t done that yet.
We’ve utterly lost our flow and fluidity, the passes we were making even 6 weeks ago just aren’t coming off or aren’t being attempted. Confidence has ebbed away and now you end up with a team where the Manager seems to be making some weird selections/substitutions and the players are arguing with each other on the pitch. I know for a fact Emery will sort it and I know the players were probably as pissed off afterwards as the rest of us but they need to hunker down and circle the wagons and come out punching on Wednesday.
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When needs must, you just have to play 'ugly' football and grind out a result with sweat, blood and tears. We have seen the top teams do it many times in the past.
We havn't got that in our locker and it will cost us.
We were pretty ugly against Bournemouth second-half, Leeds first-half and ground out a point each. I thought we were absolutely awful against Brighton, not much better than last night, and somehow we won.
Onana scores that chance last night and 1-1 is a poor but probably fair result.
It's a complete collapse in effective attacking play that is costing us most of all.
I dont think its a collapse, its not been there all season, hence the reliance on worldies
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Agree with Bronte here.
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I agreedougie wasnt that bad at all. Unlucky not to score. Buendia was terrible. Him and bailey need to be moved on in the summer.
Neither is good enough for this club
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Watkins, Digne and Buendia have fallen off a cliff and should not be starting
Bailey as first sub to change things is a joke
Barkley can’t play in a 2. If Doug can’t play 90 mins he needs to bring Lindelof on
Onana seems to be playing just to avoid getting injured
Rogers is frustrated and then trying to do too much. After Watkins messed up the early opportunity he seemed hesitant to pass to him.
We are slow, predictable and frustrating to watch.
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The worst Villa performance I have seen in 30 years. Absolutely disgraceful. Utterly shameful.
Nah, there were bigger shockers under Lambert and Garde.
Disagree, I’m with Ads given our position and there’s this was about as bad as I can remember under Lambert and Garde we were bloody awful but we were on the verge of relegation. We are Champions League contenders and they are a pub team. Thats why this is so awful
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Dougie must of been carrying a knock. There's no way Unai would of brought him off if it wasn't necessary.
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Dougie must of been carrying a knock. There's no way Unai would of brought him off if it wasn't necessary.
Someone on the radio who is probably trying to stir the shit said there was booing at half time against Leeds and they were booed off last night. I was at the Leeds game and I didn't hear anything. I watched it in the pub last night and didn't hear any booing but I might be wrong. Does anyone know if it's true? If it is whoever was doing it needs to give their head a fucking good wobble.
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Dougie must of been carrying a knock. There's no way Unai would of brought him off if it wasn't necessary.
Someone on the radio who is probably trying to stir the shit said there was booing at half time against Leeds and they were booed off last night. I was at the Leeds game and I didn't hear anything. I watched it in the pub last night and didn't hear any booing but I might be wrong. Does anyone know if it's true? If it is whoever was doing it needs to give their head a fucking good wobble.
I went down to the concourse to get a pint just before half time against Leeds, someone said to me there was a smattering of boo’s, definitely not wide scale. Not sure about last night, as soon as ot finished i went to the kitchen to comfort eat and drink
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Dougie must of been carrying a knock. There's no way Unai would of brought him off if it wasn't necessary.
Someone on the radio who is probably trying to stir the shit said there was booing at half time against Leeds and they were booed off last night. I was at the Leeds game and I didn't hear anything. I watched it in the pub last night and didn't hear any booing but I might be wrong. Does anyone know if it's true? If it is whoever was doing it needs to give their head a fucking good wobble.
I went down to the concourse to get a pint just before half time against Leeds, someone said to me there was a smattering of boo’s, definitely not wide scale. Not sure about last night, as soon as ot finished i went to the kitchen to comfort eat and drink
It was said on Sky about the Leeds game, I did not hear any booing at half time at all.
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Dougie must of been carrying a knock. There's no way Unai would of brought him off if it wasn't necessary.
Someone on the radio who is probably trying to stir the shit said there was booing at half time against Leeds and they were booed off last night. I was at the Leeds game and I didn't hear anything. I watched it in the pub last night and didn't hear any booing but I might be wrong. Does anyone know if it's true? If it is whoever was doing it needs to give their head a fucking good wobble.
I heard loud booing at half time on a podcast , not sure it was Villa or Wolves fans.
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I might be misremembering, but from where I was sat in the Trinity, the small amount of booing at half time v Leeds seemed to come from the away fans and was aimed at the ref. I didn’t hear any booing bang on the halftime whistle, more like 30 seconds later as the officials were walking into the tunnel.
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p.s It did remind me of a Remi Garde performance last night , no heart and desire from the players and this tortoise football is doing my head in , where is the Villa that used to go for the jugular from the first minute with drive , speed and intensity and get those early goals.
The subs was awful too and so late again.
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He compounded a poor selection by chronic substitutions
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Dougie isn’t shit, he’s been thrown into a situation without hardly any matches, into a very disjointed side completely out of form and low on confidence. We had a slump at the start of the season with many players who looked shit, but then picked up and had a brilliant season.
Luiz was miles better last night than v Leeds. He was by far the best of the front 6. Still nowhere near his best but Emery's decision to hook him early was insane. Our midfield collapsed immediately. Bailey on other side somehow making Sancho look reasonable. That was a disastrous double sub.
Dougie must of been carrying a knock. There's no way Unai would of brought him off if it wasn't necessary.
Someone on the radio who is probably trying to stir the shit said there was booing at half time against Leeds and they were booed off last night. I was at the Leeds game and I didn't hear anything. I watched it in the pub last night and didn't hear any booing but I might be wrong. Does anyone know if it's true? If it is whoever was doing it needs to give their head a fucking good wobble.
I heard loud booing at half time on a podcast , not sure it was Villa or Wolves fans.
It was probably ours wolves played well in both games against us. We have been pretty dire in both if we are honest with ourselves. I thought at worst a draw but 2-0 to this hopeless team?
Im still shocked. God knows what chelsea and united will do to us if we perform anywhere close to this level of shitness against them.
Hopefully and im sure we all are praying this that was the wake up call they needed because ill tell you what if they perform like that again vs chelsea the fans are going to turn and its going to become very toxic
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The best bit of the whole night was sacking off the first half after 30 minutes and grabbing a balti pie. If Wednesday is anything like that, we're going to get an absolute tonking.
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It doesnt matter If we actually play well against Manure , the red devil will be against us with a dodgy pen for them or an unbelievable VAR decision to chalk off our goal.
THe chavski game is the one we have to win.
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A desperately disappointing and gutless performance, the only players I can give credit to are Maatsen and Alysson.
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Last night was the perfect storm of how to get everything wrong.
It was truly astonishing.
Let’s hope Emery can see this and pick the right team for Wednesday.
Watkins needs to be dropped and Tammy starts.
Maatsen for Digne.
Onana needs to be dropped. His lack of effort and energy last night was disgraceful.
Buendia should be on the bench and used as a sub.
Lindelof, Bogarde , Luiz should start with Rogers on the left.
I would also be tempted to play Alysson on the right instead of Sancho. The kid just looks like he can play both sides. Him and Cash could rip teams apart on the right.
Bailey should never be named in another Villa squad again. He killed us when he came on.
It wouldn’t be flowing football down the middle of the park but we currently don’t have the players to do this.
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I had a dream that we lost pathetically to Wolves last night. So anyway, what time’s kickoff today? I’m sure we’ll do them.
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When needs must, you just have to play 'ugly' football and grind out a result with sweat, blood and tears. We have seen the top teams do it many times in the past.
We havn't got that in our locker and it will cost us.
At the start of this season the players were not playing as they should. Ramsey had been sold, Martinez was looking to go out, nobody knew who might be in goal, teams seemed to have worked out how to play against us, and referees had taken a line of letting physical challenges go on much to Konsa etc. disgust. They seemed to take their bat home as shown by the results in the first five matches. Eventually something/somehow changed and we went on the run that we know they are capable of doing. However along came a set of injuries, plus possible some decisions against us, and we showed we have no bottle, no guts to fight against this. What we need is somehow to find the guts, spirit, call it what you like, but show that matches can be won by hard endeavour and spirit. Perhaps this needs to be addressed in the next transfer window to find these types of players.
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When needs must, you just have to play 'ugly' football and grind out a result with sweat, blood and tears. We have seen the top teams do it many times in the past.
We havn't got that in our locker and it will cost us.
At the start of this season the players were not playing as they should. Ramsey had been sold, Martinez was looking to go out, nobody knew who might be in goal, teams seemed to have worked out how to play against us, and referees had taken a line of letting physical challenges go on much to Konsa etc. disgust. They seemed to take their bat home as shown by the results in the first five matches. Eventually something/somehow changed and we went on the run that we know they are capable of doing. However along came a set of injuries, plus possible some decisions against us, and we showed we have no bottle, no guts to fight against this. What we need is somehow to find the guts, spirit, call it what you like, but show that matches can be won by hard endeavour and spirit. Perhaps this needs to be addressed in the next transfer window to find these types of players.
It does feel a bit like that.
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The saving grace here is that the next two teams we play will come at us. I honestly believe that gives us a better chance of winning than playing someone shit who just sits back.
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The saving grace here is that the next two teams we play will come at us. I honestly believe that gives us a better chance of winning than playing someone shit who just sits back.
[/quote
It definitely does when we're at full strength but I'm not sure we have the personnel to take advantage of the space we will have. I hope I'm wrong.
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Last night was the perfect storm of how to get everything wrong.
It was truly astonishing.
Let’s hope Emery can see this and pick the right team for Wednesday.
Watkins needs to be dropped and Tammy starts.
Maatsen for Digne.
Onana needs to be dropped. His lack of effort and energy last night was disgraceful.
Buendia should be on the bench and used as a sub.
Lindelof, Bogarde , Luiz should start with Rogers on the left.
I would also be tempted to play Alysson on the right instead of Sancho. The kid just looks like he can play both sides. Him and Cash could rip teams apart on the right.
Bailey should never be named in another Villa squad again. He killed us when he came on.
It wouldn’t be flowing football down the middle of the park but we currently don’t have the players to do this.
Agree with all of this.
Alysson showed more daring and dash in 10 minutes than Sancho has all season. He should start for me.
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I do get a bit worried when we see Watkins looking so awful, constantly, but always starting.
Mind you, we were saying the same about Rogers earlier in the season.
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Rogers was awful for 6 games or so. Watkins has been largely awful the entire season.
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When needs must, you just have to play 'ugly' football and grind out a result with sweat, blood and tears. We have seen the top teams do it many times in the past.
We havn't got that in our locker and it will cost us.
We were pretty ugly against Bournemouth second-half, Leeds first-half and ground out a point each. I thought we were absolutely awful against Brighton, not much better than last night, and somehow we won.
Onana scores that chance last night and 1-1 is a poor but probably fair result.
It's a complete collapse in effective attacking play that is costing us most of all.
I dont think its a collapse, its not been there all season, hence the reliance on worldies
The injuries are unfortunate.
But agreeing to move on Malen (or playing him so little in his favoured position he requested a move) is a self inflicted blow.
It's not as if Ollie's form was so stellar in the early part of the campaign to warrant his guaranteed starter status.
Up to mid Jan we were a close knit squad who had just enough threat in the attacking third to cause sides problems. But we've messed with the delicate balance there and here we are.
FWIW I'd have kept Moore and Jimoh as options from the bench as well. They might have ended up running up blind allyways the way Bailey does and surrendering possession, true. But at a fraction of the cost.
And who knows, they might have been able to beat their marker occasionally.
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Spunking 30 million quid on Guessand to play ON THE RIGHT WING was a fucking brainless decision. I'd love to know who thought that was a good idea.
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Monchi thought it was a good idea. Like the Elliot clause and paying Sancho a quarter of a million a week.
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The saving grace here is that the next two teams we play will come at us. I honestly believe that gives us a better chance of winning than playing someone shit who just sits back.
Truthfully we were shit anyway
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I’ve decided that as I’m 56 we are never winning anything again in my lifetime. Once you square that thought the annoyance and dejection starts to dissipate.
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The thing is, last night was pretty similar to all of the games we’ve straggled to win. We miss a couple of early chances, the pace of the game slows to a walk and before you know it there’s a few minutes left of game we’re losing or drawing when we should be winning. We don’t currently have a goal scorer in the team. It’s actually like we have an inured midfield and an injured attack. He simply cannot keep playing Watkins anymore. Bring him on as a sub. But don’t start him.
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It’s really not as simple as swap Watkins out and all our ills are resolved. He’s struggling obviously, but we are producing hardly anything at all. Watkins might be done, he might come back to form, who knows - but we’re not addressing our attacking woes by swapping individual players. It’s the whole approach to the game, we’ve tried to cling on without McGinn and Tielemans and it’s not working. We need to be proactive and take risk.
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Last night was the perfect storm of how to get everything wrong.
It was truly astonishing.
Let’s hope Emery can see this and pick the right team for Wednesday.
Watkins needs to be dropped and Tammy starts.
Maatsen for Digne.
Onana needs to be dropped. His lack of effort and energy last night was disgraceful.
Buendia should be on the bench and used as a sub.
Lindelof, Bogarde , Luiz should start with Rogers on the left.
I would also be tempted to play Alysson on the right instead of Sancho. The kid just looks like he can play both sides. Him and Cash could rip teams apart on the right.
Bailey should never be named in another Villa squad again. He killed us when he came on.
It wouldn’t be flowing football down the middle of the park but we currently don’t have the players to do this.
My thoughts exactly Tony
that starting line up and subs was awful.
Buendia and Watkins staying on , why Bailey and not Alysson , Luca has been dire , so many questions.
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Any team that is defensively organised as Edward’s Wolves are will be capable of getting a result against this non performing lot. There are so many off it lately I’m just glad we have enough in the bank already. Emery can lose his shit all he likes but until he recognises that continuing with a slow build up and sticking to that system religiously will result in disaster if we don’t get in front early as it did last night, against Brentford, against Everton and against Leeds where we scraped a point. We don’t have the players to carry it out with the loss of our influential 3.
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It’s really not as simple as swap Watkins out and all our ills are resolved. He’s struggling obviously, but we are producing hardly anything at all. Watkins might be done, he might come back to form, who knows - but we’re not addressing our attacking woes by swapping individual players. It’s the whole approach to the game, we’ve tried to cling on without McGinn and Tielemans and it’s not working. We need to be proactive and take risk.
It’s not that simple I agree but my point was that we keep missing chances early on or at key moments in games that had we scored, it would’ve a totally different game. That Torres free header too. Fuck sake, hit the target at least! If you don’t score relatively easy chances, it makes things much much harder.
So no, it’s not simple. But I’d start with a different CF (the one we just bought) and tell our remaining midfielders to be much more aggressive.
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I’ve decided that as I’m 56 we are never winning anything again in my lifetime. Once you square that thought the annoyance and dejection starts to dissipate.
I was actually thinking this myself funny enough. I thought we would finish midtable when window closed in august so i do need to remember that we are exceeding expectations at the moment with this pretty average squad.
It would just feel like a massive kick in the balls if we missed out on CL now after being so clear in 3rd 🤕
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It’s really not as simple as swap Watkins out and all our ills are resolved. He’s struggling obviously, but we are producing hardly anything at all. Watkins might be done, he might come back to form, who knows - but we’re not addressing our attacking woes by swapping individual players. It’s the whole approach to the game, we’ve tried to cling on without McGinn and Tielemans and it’s not working. We need to be proactive and take risk.
If we drop Watkins, which shouldn’t be out of the question, and Tammy is the main man, its going to change the way we have to play given Tammy is more a fox in the box, not necessarily, a bad thing but not easy to do at this stage of the season.
The other radical option, is to play both of them and sacrifice a wide player.
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It’s really not as simple as swap Watkins out and all our ills are resolved. He’s struggling obviously, but we are producing hardly anything at all. Watkins might be done, he might come back to form, who knows - but we’re not addressing our attacking woes by swapping individual players. It’s the whole approach to the game, we’ve tried to cling on without McGinn and Tielemans and it’s not working. We need to be proactive and take risk.
If we drop Watkins, which shouldn’t be out of the question, and Tammy is the main man, its going to change the way we have to play given Tammy is more a fox in the box, not necessarily, a bad thing but not easy to do at this stage of the season.
The other radical option, is to play both of them and sacrifice a wide player.
I would try them both personally
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I smell an argument for 352 brewing. No wingers. Plenty in central defence. Have to play a 6 and an 8 regardless. Two perfect full backs for it. This will go down well.
No back up centre forwards though. Alysson and Rogers?
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Please, no.
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I agree with SE.
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Now we have no quality through the middle it's added to having no Striker and no threat from out wide which equals 5 goals in 8 games.
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No!
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It was the conference league loss that made me feel like we were doomed in my lifetime.
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3 5 2 FFS.
Will people never learn.
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Rather 4-4-2 than 3-5-2. That formation sucks
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I just bring it up for the reaction these days 👀
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I have spies on every thread waiting to alert me if anyone mentions the accursed formation.
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I'll start pebbledashing 352 into seperate threads to see how sharp they are.
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A proper 532 is what we need.
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Don't make me set the Four(attheback)dians of the Galaxy on you. (You'll probably be safe in The Cycling Thread and Word Association).
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I will get pilloried for this, but I have a soft spot for 3-5-2 with flying wing backs
Nostalgia as it’s what Sir Brian played when I first really started following us in 95/96 (I was 9)
We had the players to play it then though, especially as McGrath was a sweeper in that 3 man defence which no one will ever see again or close to it I’m sure.
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Should we try getting away with 5-4-3?
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I'll start pebbledashing 352 into seperate threads to see how sharp they are.
Wingbacks enslaved in a pebble-dash grave, it's the English disease.
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I'll start pebbledashing 352 into seperate threads to see how sharp they are.
Wingbacks enslaved in a pebble-dash grave, it's the English disease.
3-5-2 belongs to a world that's gone.
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So did Delap throws and set piece reliance.
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The thing is, last night was pretty similar to all of the games we’ve straggled to win. We miss a couple of early chances, the pace of the game slows to a walk and before you know it there’s a few minutes left of game we’re losing or drawing when we should be winning. We don’t currently have a goal scorer in the team. It’s actually like we have an inured midfield and an injured attack. He simply cannot keep playing Watkins anymore. Bring him on as a sub. But don’t start him.
It's the inability to keep.clean sheets that has killed us as well. We didn't play well against Brighton, but kept a clean sheet and ended up nicking a goal at the end. When you're struggling for form, keeping a cleaning sheet is massive, but we have let sloppy goals in on a regular basis for a number of seasons now.
When we've gone 1-0 in ganes recently we look done and the pressure gets too much.
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Should we try getting away with 5-4-3?
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It's got to be worth a try.
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Should we try getting away with 5-4-3?
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It's got to be worth a try.
If the extra player is Bailey or Watkins it would not make the slightest bit of difference.
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That's actually 2 extra - but you're still right
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That's actually 2 extra - but you're still right
Yes , then if it was both of them. :)