Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on April 12, 2026, 03:54:16 PM
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Should have won, could have lost. Not great, not a disaster.
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Two points dropped given some gilt-edged chances missed.
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A good point in the end that may do us well at the end of the season.
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Quite a few were taking the draw in pre-match. A load others have lost their house as well I believe betting on Woods to score.
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Some shocking misses, Rogers and Watkins.
Should have taken all 3 points.
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Might be a decent point, depending on how Chelsea game goes.
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An exercise in redefining the idea of frustration.
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Only know if this is really poor after the Citeh match.
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Very disappointed in that second half. They were there for the taking. Desperately need an upgrade on Watkins if we are to move on up
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Should have been a Sunday stroll, we had the chances. But hey, it's a tricky place to go, especially for us. Let's hope Citeh get the job done later and we pull another point clear of Chelsea.
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Massive opportunity wasted through shit finishing. Can’t be happy with a point from that.
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I predicted a draw. However, based on the chances we should have won that.
All in all I am happy with the draw, as long as Chelsea do not beat Man City. It will be another game closer to top 5.
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Big shout out to Lindelof, another solid as a rock performance, grear centre back. SJM superb.
Two hopeless misses but that was always going to be a hard away game
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So frustrating. Should have won that.
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The directors should go into the dressing room and ask who wants to play here next year and those that don’t can go. Those who want to, will have to put 100% more effort in in future.
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If you can't win don't lose.
You'll go a long way to see a more gormless passage of play that lead to their goal.
Until Rogers tried to top his own handywork with that miss second half.
Still, we might be seven points clear of Chelsea if Citeh do the business.
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Disappointing not to get the win but one point better than none
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A good point. Chelsea will not catch us,
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Too many individual errors.
Too many individuals seem to be fighting inner demons for some inexplicable reason - Watkins, Rogers, Barkley and Digne were particularly shite.
Mcginn was a colossus.
Lindy was excellent - absolutely excellent.
Onana was decent.
The ONLY positive from that game is it puts another point between Spurs and Forest.
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First time we have avoided defeat there since they came up
Edit, that's wrong. We drew in 22-23
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Might be a decent point, depending on now Chelsea game goes.
Where I'm at.
Big shout out to Lindelof, another solid as a rock performance, grear centre back. SJM superb.
Two hopeless misses but that was always going to be a hard away game
There's zero drop off with Lindelof. You could argue he's more rounded than any of them.
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It was a tough ask before KO so I'll take a point. Given the chances it's frustrating but at least we created them.
I don't feel that it's halted our momentum, rather kept us ticking along. As said elsewhere, could be an important point.
Home for two big games now and thoroughly looking forward to them. You can't say that every week.
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First time we have avoided defeat there since they came up
Nah we drew 1-1 there just before Emery joined.
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First time we have avoided defeat there since they came up
Nah we drew 1-1 there just before Emery joined.
Yeah you beat me to my own edit!
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Ashley Young scored
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Quite a few were taking the draw in pre-match. A load others have lost their house as well I believe betting on Woods to score.
Bailiffs just knocked the door. It was that Brummie off Can’t Pay We’ll Take it Away
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Whilst we looked under pressure at times the goal wasn’t in much danger. With more clinical finishing we’ve have won comfortably.
Rogers is either burnt out or believing his own hype. Unbelievable one minute, awful the next.
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Spurs lost which has brought some cheer. Now come on Citeh and Dirty Leeds.
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Ashley Young scored
Christ, is he still going? Hope Julian Joachim's record of playing as a pro at 47 aint in danger.
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The directors should go into the dressing room and ask who wants to play here next year and those that don’t can go. Those who want to, will have to put 100% more effort in in future.
Not sure that's happened since Bendall tried it in '78 and was told to stay the fvck out!
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Decent point. Played well and controlled most of the game. Guilt edge chances beautifully created but missed cost us the two extra points. Level of play was good though and we looked a threat throughout.
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So frustrating that two proffessional footballers earning millions cannot keep the ball from flying over the bar with the goal at their mercy. They were shit.
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Ashley Young scored
Who for?!
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He's talking about the 1-1 under Gerrard.
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It would be nice to win away before the end of the season in the league. Luckily, it's our newly happy-hunting ground next, Fulham FC.
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I think that’s a poor result. Got to be beating teams as poor as that. Missed a huge chance to go third. We created more than enough to win the match, despite playing crap. Annoyed.
McGinn was class. Rogers and Watkins share a big part of the blame.
Wouldn’t mind having them over two legs in Europe. If we turn up.
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Ahhhh, now it makes sense. Thank you!
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Ahhhh, now it makes sense. Thank you!
Yeah, I thought he meant today, too!
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Poor.
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How did they beat us in xG? Game's gone...
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SJM was brilliant today , Rogers had the chance to make up for his lazy lay offs to let them back in and even messed that up. Ollie I thought was going to have a great end of season and get to the world cup but was back to missing easy chances and its his job to score and get 3 pts , we need someone more clinical next season up front .
Id have liked the some changes more earlier, not sure why we bought Tammy back to be honest.
Bizot made a great save so he did ok today to be fair , we seemed to overdo it instead of shooting at times , Id have taken a point before but on the evidence of the game 2 points dropped so Its over to the corrupt mancs to win.
Lindelof was the best signing of the summer and spurzzzz lost so cheered me up.
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I’d fancy us to beat them over 2 legs - possibly, probably, maybe
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Point gained, although we should have won it with the chances we missed.
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A big opportunity to put some distance between ourselves and those around us even though I’d have taken the draw beforehand. We really do want to complicate things don’t we? I thought Barkley did mostly okay and Bizot stood in well for Martinez. Pau and Lindeloff were very good and a good job too as we were sloppy all over the place.
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In afterthought I m ok with a point especially if Chelsea loose as predicted. We fielded a strong team, that was a bit less strong after Martinez missed out, played with our usual strength and usual vulnerabilities (like setting up a lot of good attacks trough our strong midfield, miss a lot of sitters, loosing ball in midfield and getting counterattack against and also sometimes conceding (silly) goals against when being the better team and might also add being set under pressure in our RB area that get you nervous). They did fight for survival; typical difficult away game in PL.
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The directors should go into the dressing room and ask who wants to play here next year and those that don’t can go. Those who want to, will have to put 100% more effort in in future.
FFS...get a grip.
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I’d fancy us to beat them over 2 legs - possibly, probably, maybe
Probably, it is my conclusion too, by the look of it.
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This is Forests biggest league game of the season and they were up for it.
Thought we played well, more like our old selves and created enough chances to win. Will be happy with a point if Chelsea don't win.
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Disappointed that Nass hasn't rage sacked anyone after that.
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Seen some well OTT reaction from Villa fans on social media, one suggesting we were lucky to draw. Did he watch the same second half i did?
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On another day, we could have had 4 or 5. Some of the finishing was abysmal. Reasonable enough performance though.
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Ashley Young scored
His wife wake up in the mood today?
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I’d fancy us to beat them over 2 legs - possibly, probably, maybe
Definitely
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Could be a crucial point, come the end of the season. But we should have won comfortably, given the quality of the chances we had.
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Thought Upson summed the 2nd half up quite well on co comms, they had a lot of the pressure but we had the chances. Should of won, will take the point. ‘If’ Chelsea lose today, i think they will find it hard to catch us with Man Utd, Brighton & Liverpool their next three.
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Definitely a case of two points dropped but a very strong performance again for me. Particularly with Martinez pulling out in the warm up. My main moan is with Emery as I thought he left those subs at least 10 mins too late. Buendia in particular looked razor sharp when he came on. Don't really recall any of the Forest danger men doing much.
Bizot 7 - understandably shaky start but was fine afterwards.
Cash 6 - very slow start but much better after half time.
Lindelof 8 - surprise selection perhaps but our best defender yet again. Don't recall a poor game for us yet.
Torres 7 - untroubled really and used the ball well.
Digne 5 - defensively ok I guess but so conservative in possession
Onana 8 - very good, won the ball back countless time and gave it to our better footballers.
Tielemans 6 - a bit meh, nothing bad but maybe half a yard off the pace
McGinn 9 - outstanding from the first whistle to the last, some battle with Williams
Rogers 6 - first half was best from him in ages, made the goal and very unlucky not to score. But very poor after half time and a diabolical miss.
Barkley 6 - not sure about him at 10 anymore. Some nice touches and passes, similar to Tielemans but a bit meh overall.
Watkins 7 - two big chances missed, one at end had to go in. Just smashed it. But nothing wrong with his hold up play and movement today.
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We had the two best chances in the second half and should have nicked it, could be a point further ahead of Chelsea at the end of the day.
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I enjoyed the game, thought we played quite well at times. Should have scored more today, but a good point.
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The directors should go into the dressing room and ask who wants to play here next year and those that don’t can go. Those who want to, will have to put 100% more effort in in future.
Only fourth in the league and through to the quarter-finals in Europe. The players should probably be tarred and feathered, the bastards.
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The directors should go into the dressing room and ask who wants to play here next year and those that don’t can go. Those who want to, will have to put 100% more effort in in future.
Only fourth in the league and through to the quarter-finals in Europe. The players should probably be tarred and feathered, the bastards.
Had a few Fred? We’ve all been there.
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Definitely a case of two points dropped but a very strong performance again for me. Particularly with Martinez pulling out in the warm up. My main moan is with Emery as I thought he left those subs at least 10 mins too late. Buendia in particular looked razor sharp when he came on. Don't really recall any of the Forest danger men doing much.
Bizot 7 - understandably shaky start but was fine afterwards.
Cash 6 - very slow start but much better after half time.
Lindelof 8 - surprise selection perhaps but our best defender yet again. Don't recall a poor game for us yet.
Torres 7 - untroubled really and used the ball well.
Digne 5 - defensively ok I guess but so conservative in possession
Onana 8 - very good, won the ball back countless time and gave it to our better footballers.
Tielemans 6 - a bit meh, nothing bad but maybe half a yard off the pace
McGinn 9 - outstanding from the first whistle to the last, some battle with Williams
Rogers 6 - first half was best from him in ages, made the goal and very unlucky not to score. But very poor after half time and a diabolical miss.
Barkley 6 - not sure about him at 10 anymore. Some nice touches and passes, similar to Tielemans but a bit meh overall.
Watkins 7 - two big chances missed, one at end had to go in. Just smashed it. But nothing wrong with his hold up play and movement today.
I think all those scores are fair
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Definitely a case of two points dropped but a very strong performance again for me. Particularly with Martinez pulling out in the warm up. My main moan is with Emery as I thought he left those subs at least 10 mins too late. Buendia in particular looked razor sharp when he came on. Don't really recall any of the Forest danger men doing much.
Bizot 7 - understandably shaky start but was fine afterwards.
Cash 6 - very slow start but much better after half time.
Lindelof 8 - surprise selection perhaps but our best defender yet again. Don't recall a poor game for us yet.
Torres 7 - untroubled really and used the ball well.
Digne 5 - defensively ok I guess but so conservative in possession
Onana 8 - very good, won the ball back countless time and gave it to our better footballers.
Tielemans 6 - a bit meh, nothing bad but maybe half a yard off the pace
McGinn 9 - outstanding from the first whistle to the last, some battle with Williams
Rogers 6 - first half was best from him in ages, made the goal and very unlucky not to score. But very poor after half time and a diabolical miss.
Barkley 6 - not sure about him at 10 anymore. Some nice touches and passes, similar to Tielemans but a bit meh overall.
Watkins 7 - two big chances missed, one at end had to go in. Just smashed it. But nothing wrong with his hold up play and movement today.
I'd actually agree with those scores pretty much, with the possible exception of Rogers, where I think a 6 is a bit generous.I don't know what's wrong with the lad these days, he seems to be struggling with the basics at times.
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We should have won, but under their new manager they are a difficult team.
Ollie and Morgan should have put those chances away.
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https://www.skysports.com/premier-league-highlights/video/36504/13530988/nottingham-forest-1-1-aston-villa-premier-league-highlights
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Barkley was more than decent I thought.
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We played more than well enough to win. Our issue all season has been giving the ball away needlessly which cost us today, and not being clinical in front of goal which cost us today. Yet despite both things being true we are still 4th with 6 games left. We have a big game again on Thursday so we need to turn our focus to that. But today wasn’t a disaster against a side that are fighting to stay up, at a ground that hasn’t brought us a lot of joy. So all in all, an ok result.
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Barkley was more than decent I thought.
He was ok but didn’t do enough, has to have more impact from that position.
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prefer Barkley in the double pivot then the No 10 . we just need to be able to retain possession , thats Rogers biggest faults.
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We need to be more savvy and employ the rotational fouling that the likes of 115 do. It would've stopped a few Forest breaks today.I don’t like it but while they get away with it we should try. Now, we'll probably get picked up on it but that might bring into focus enough for it to be outlawed.
Win/win.
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Not great, but didn’t lose at least.
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Id have liked the some changes more earlier, not sure why we bought Tammy back to be honest.
What is the point of bringing on a striker with 4 minutes to go + added time? There's more chance of him getting injured that actually scoring in such little time. Completely pointless sub.
Maatsen proved he should be starting every match over Digne who does nothing but pass back - Maatsen actually has pace and is dangerous on the press.
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Definitely a case of two points dropped but a very strong performance again for me. Particularly with Martinez pulling out in the warm up. My main moan is with Emery as I thought he left those subs at least 10 mins too late. Buendia in particular looked razor sharp when he came on. Don't really recall any of the Forest danger men doing much.
Bizot 7 - understandably shaky start but was fine afterwards.
Cash 6 - very slow start but much better after half time.
Lindelof 8 - surprise selection perhaps but our best defender yet again. Don't recall a poor game for us yet.
Torres 7 - untroubled really and used the ball well.
Digne 5 - defensively ok I guess but so conservative in possession
Onana 8 - very good, won the ball back countless time and gave it to our better footballers.
Tielemans 6 - a bit meh, nothing bad but maybe half a yard off the pace
McGinn 9 - outstanding from the first whistle to the last, some battle with Williams
Rogers 6 - first half was best from him in ages, made the goal and very unlucky not to score. But very poor after half time and a diabolical miss.
Barkley 6 - not sure about him at 10 anymore. Some nice touches and passes, similar to Tielemans but a bit meh overall.
Watkins 7 - two big chances missed, one at end had to go in. Just smashed it. But nothing wrong with his hold up play and movement today.
I'd actually agree with those scores pretty much, with the possible exception of Rogers, where I think a 6 is a bit generous.I don't know what's wrong with the lad these days, he seems to be struggling with the basics at times.
Laid on that one for Watkins in first half too. First half was miles better than his performance in Bologna. Regressed badly at half time for sure.
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Id have liked the some changes more earlier, not sure why we bought Tammy back to be honest.
Maatsen proved he should be starting every match over Digne who does nothing but pass back - Maatsen actually has pace and is dangerous on the press.
Not sure that's right.
Up to Jan/Feb Digne had the most assists for a defender in the topflight this season.
He's still in the top 4 now.
He's also a regular for one of the best international sides in world football.
Maatsen is prob the future, aye. But Digne def brings summat to the party.
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We could have lost that, though we should have won. Fair and decent point though - man for man, their first XI is pretty decent, despite the lowly league position. Silver lining is the confirmation that we look like our old selves, identity wise.
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They don’t win many at home, but they don’t lose many either. It’s not a disaster. Need to beat Sunderland next week though.
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Barkley was more than decent I thought.
He was ok but didn’t do enough, has to have more impact from that position.
Good shot in build up to Rogers miss to be fair.
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Everybody gets a 5 or a 6 with the exception of SJM (9), Lindelof (7.5), Torres, Youri and Bizot (6.5). Too many couldn't make a simple pass or control the ball. Fortunately as fluid as Forest were they consistently failed with the final ball. They were well up for it, we were looking for somebody else to unlock them. Blowing the chances we did create obviously didn't help. Clinical we're not.
Overall a really tough game to have immediately after a Thursday night away game. Forest are fighting for their lives and it showed. We have to stop giving the ball away so cheaply. McGinn's pass completion was 90%. I'd be interested to see the stats for the rest of the team.
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A point is looking a better outcome after seeing the current Chelsea v Man City score.
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A point is looking a better outcome after seeing the current Chelsea v Man City score.
I think Chelsea will get a maximum of 12-13 points from here, so 2 wins and a draw will probably do it.
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7 points clear with 6 games to go now. Chelsea have Man Utd, Brentford have Fulham and we have Sunderland. Win and the worst we can be is 8 clear with 5 to play.
Brentford still have Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool to play.
Chelsea still have Man Utd and Liverpool
Liverpool still have Brentford, Chelsea, Us and Everton and Man Utd
Man Utd still have Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool
We should have won today but the point gives us an additional buffer. 2 wins and a draw will put us there I reckon.
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Win our 3 home games.
That would give us 64 (we're on 55 now).
Meaning Chelsea would need 16pts out of a possible 18.
ManU H
Brighton A
Forest H
Liverpool A
Spurs H
Sunderland A
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60 points will probably do it.
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Just alluded to it in the CL thread, but to hammer it home, massive point in hindsight. We are now three games clear rather than two, which with six games remaining is a huge shift. Celebrate it my brothers and sisters.
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Barkley was more than decent I thought.
He was my man of the match for us.
We looked jaded today. He may have impressed because he was fresh. Thought Bizot did ok overall but disappointed he was beaten at his near post!
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Somebody need to buy that lot a map. Every season they give it Yam-Yam and they're not being ironic about it wither, they're just thick.
Missed 3 sitters second half, McGinn bullied them. Perhaps a little jaded in the finer details because of Thursday, it was biblical rain again. Two domestic away days on the spin its waited to hammer it down en route.
All in all another point gained- but we dropped 2.
If we do play them.in the semi-final, then there is absolutely no excuse. They're dire.
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Barkley was more than decent I thought.
I thought he was sound as well.
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Lacked a bit of mobility in that advanced position, I felt, but nonetheless played very well.
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I’d have taken the point beforehand but no denying we created enough chances to take all three. I wouldn’t say we’ve fully turned the corner yet but we’re looking better than that horrid new year run now and that’s encouraging for the run in.
Another round of fixtures checked off and we’ve got the seven point gap intact. Keep calm, carry on.
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Somebody need to buy that lot a map. Every season they give it Yam-Yam and they're not being ironic about it wither, they're just thick.
Missed 3 sitters second half, McGinn bullied them. Perhaps a little jaded in the finer details because of Thursday, it was biblical rain again. Two domestic away days on the spin its waited to hammer it down en route.
All in all another point gained- but we dropped 2.
If we do play them.in the semi-final, then there is absolutely no excuse. They're dire.
I think it was a decent point in terms of a result, but it was a frustrating game really given the position three points would have put us in. Rogers and Watkins missed three very good chances between them, which had one of them been taken, would have probably been.enough to get us a win.
I just find our players a strange bunch at times, particularly away from home. Today, I just didn't see a group of players desperately fighting for a Champions League spot. Same at Wolves last month. Same at Old Trafford last season when there was a Champions League spot well and truly on the line. Same at Wembley when there was a place in the FA Cup final up for grabs. I see Unai Emery going through it on the sidelines, but just don't see it on tje pitch at times.
I'm not as confident about facing them in Europe after seeing that today. I don't think they are a great side at all, but they cranked up the physicality in the second half and we struggled. Could see the away leg of a potential semi-final against them being exactly the sort of game I wouldn't fancy our lot in to be honest.
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I thought we bullied them and won second ball after second ball. Anderson struggled massively.
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I thought we bullied them and won second ball after second ball. Anderson struggled massively.
I just thought as it wore on, they just dragged us into the horrible niggly sort of game we just struggle with really.
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More time to think about the game, conditions were difficult the ball was skidding through. Some of our lead up play at times was brilliant, again it was the lack of clinical finishing that lost us the extra points. A gree with previous poster, Emery left the changes too late, some of our players were struggling.
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I thought we bullied them and won second ball after second ball. Anderson struggled massively.
If you watched the game with no context it would be Ross nailed on for a starting England midfield spot not Anderson.
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A frustrating match, but for different reasons then those I've had for similar results this year.
xG stat completely underselling us as per. On another day it's a mirror of the home fixture, perhaps a goal or two more. The fact we created so much whilst players like Cash, Tielemans, Watkins and Rogers where off it is cause for a certain amount of optimism, I suppose.
Thought Cash in particular had his worst game of the season, probably not helped by the early card. Lindeloff as good as he's been all season for us. Just a brilliant bit of business that.
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A frustrating match, but for different reasons then those I've had for similar results this year.
xG stat completely underselling us as per. On another day it's a mirror of the home fixture, perhaps a goal or two more. The fact we created so much whilst players like Cash, Tielemans, Watkins and Rogers where off it is cause for a certain amount of optimism, I suppose.
Thought Cash in particular had his worst game of the season, probably not helped by the early card. Lindeloff as good as he's been all season for us. Just a brilliant bit of business that.
Fully agree, as annoying as it was not to get all the points the underlying feeling was that we're playing much, much more like ourselves and should we continue to do so we will be absolutely fine going forward.
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I thought we bullied them and won second ball after second ball. Anderson struggled massively.
Think calling him 'unremarkable' yesterday would be a compliment. Watched a fair bit of Forest this season and can't remember him looking quite that complacent, both on and off the ball. He looked absolutely knackered. Their whole midfield was giving us acres of space.
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Thought Cash in particular had his worst game of the season, probably not helped by the early card.
Maybe it's the result of the recent injury, but you're right to say he wasn't on it yesterday, and hasn't been for a few matches - in fact, the last two games, he's been given the runaround. The goal came down his side once again.
At the same time, it's important to recognise the context of his outstanding form earlier in the year which, alongside Konsa, was a major factor in dragging us out of our late summer slumber.
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I thought Dougie brought some composure to the team when he came on.
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Thought Cash in particular had his worst game of the season, probably not helped by the early card.
Maybe it's the result of the recent injury, but you're right to say he wasn't on it yesterday, and hasn't been for a few matches - in fact, the last two games, he's been given the runaround. The goal came down his side once again.
At the same time, it's important to recognise the context of his outstanding form earlier in the year which, alongside Konsa, was a major factor in dragging us out of our late summer slumber.
Of course. Didn't mean to sound as though I was chucking him under the bus. Love the lad and he's had a fantastic season all things considered, but it would be a rotten time for him to start having a wobble...
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Their goal was soft, they didn't have to work too hard for it.
McGinn, who was pretty majestic throughout, did leave Williams spare. And it was a good shot but Bizot will still be annoyed about conceding at his near post.
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Whilst it was preventable in a few places, NF have clearly worked on that, McGinn has to be close to Cash to stop CHO blasting past him but that leaves Williams the space to shoot from distance, we probably gamble that the latter has less chance of scoring.
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It's a percentage play I've noticed us use a lot this season. Don't close the player down and leave gaps, play the stats of a miss or a body getting in the way.
As much as I think the metric is a load of bull at times, those chances are low xG for a reason.
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I thought we bullied them and won second ball after second ball. Anderson struggled massively.
If you watched the game with no context it would be Ross nailed on for a starting England midfield spot not Anderson.
Barkley didn't play in midfield? Anderson, MGW, Jesus, CHO all poor, Hutchinson died out of it in second half .Wood no impact off bench either. Fortunate point for them.
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A word for Onana who I thought was excellent yesterday, won the battle vs Anderson and Sangare quite easily, his progressive passing was also good which was needed, given Youri didn't have his best game. He's a cheat code defensively - makes so many interceptions, tackles and covers ground so well.
It's gone under the radar a bit but he's been a lock in the team since Kamara got injured, playing with a few different partners too, and this run in the side looks to have been the making of him in Emery's system. Clearly trusts him now.
Mouthwatering prospect to pair him back with Bouba next season. Whatever happens with transfers our central midfield will remain one of the best in Europe. And we get to sing the fun song.
Given we lost the last 2 games at the City ground, a point looks good. And the fact we DID create clear-cut chances is encouraging and shows we're playing with much more confidence and form than we were 5-6 weeks ago.
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^^ Agreed, I thought he stood out amongst the centre-mids yesterday.
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Anderson and Gibbs White had very little influence on the game when compared to Rogers, who seems to be getting all sorts of stick.
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Anderson and Gibbs White had very little influence on the game when compared to Rogers, who seems to be getting all sorts of stick.
Rogers seems to be getting blame for some here for their goal. He certainly was sloppy retaining possession on a couple of occasions in the lead up to their goal, didn't help but unfair to blame him for goal being conceded on other side a few plays later. If anything McGinn didn't cover himself in glory trying to block that shot. First half, Rogers delivered a lot of quality with three cracking plays. That's levels above what he has shown for weeks. Second half was poor though and that miss was incredible.
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Completely forgot MGW was on the pitch.Anonymous.
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Onana was good but I thought McGinn was the difference. That nous and physicality, perfect against their big lads.
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Onana wasn't great during the bad run, but since SJM returned he's played really well. Having to carry the midfield alone is too much for him but alongside SJM and the likes of Kamara, he's great.
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A word for Onana who I thought was excellent yesterday, won the battle vs Anderson and Sangare quite easily, his progressive passing was also good which was needed, given Youri didn't have his best game. He's a cheat code defensively - makes so many interceptions, tackles and covers ground so well.
Agreed, he was everywhere yesterday.
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Onana wasn't great during the bad run, but since SJM returned he's played really well. Having to carry the midfield alone is too much for him but alongside SJM and the likes of Kamara, he's great.
Agreed - I thought he went missing a bit during the Great Midfield Injury Crisis but has been much better the few game
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Rogers seems to be getting blame for some here for their goal. He certainly was sloppy retaining possession on a couple of occasions in the lead up to their goal, didn't help but unfair to blame him for goal being conceded on other side a few plays later. If anything McGinn didn't cover himself in glory trying to block that shot. First half, Rogers delivered a lot of quality with three cracking plays. That's levels above what he has shown for weeks. Second half was poor though and that miss was incredible.
Agree with that wrt their goal. tThere was a long gap after Rogers losing possession as it went across the pitch, and McGinn could have been much closer to him. I thought Watkins late miss was far worse than Morgan's, as the latter had a defender sliding across to try and block it as he shot, whereas Ollie was straight through on goal.
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Anderson and Gibbs White had very little influence on the game when compared to Rogers, who seems to be getting all sorts of stick.
Rogers seems to be getting blame for some here for their goal. He certainly was sloppy retaining possession on a couple of occasions in the lead up to their goal, didn't help but unfair to blame him for goal being conceded on other side a few plays later. If anything McGinn didn't cover himself in glory trying to block that shot. First half, Rogers delivered a lot of quality with three cracking plays. That's levels above what he has shown for weeks. Second half was poor though and that miss was incredible.
I don’t think it’s unfair, losing possession on the edge of the area inevitably means players are out of position as they have moved to receive the ball. Once you might get away with it but twice in quick succession is just asking for trouble. It’s why Unai seems to value ball retention above everything.
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Somebody need to buy that lot a map. Every season they give it Yam-Yam and they're not being ironic about it wither, they're just thick.
Missed 3 sitters second half, McGinn bullied them. Perhaps a little jaded in the finer details because of Thursday, it was biblical rain again. Two domestic away days on the spin its waited to hammer it down en route.
All in all another point gained- but we dropped 2.
If we do play them.in the semi-final, then there is absolutely no excuse. They're dire.
I think it was a decent point in terms of a result, but it was a frustrating game really given the position three points would have put us in. Rogers and Watkins missed three very good chances between them, which had one of them been taken, would have probably been.enough to get us a win.
I just find our players a strange bunch at times, particularly away from home. Today, I just didn't see a group of players desperately fighting for a Champions League spot. Same at Wolves last month. Same at Old Trafford last season when there was a Champions League spot well and truly on the line. Same at Wembley when there was a place in the FA Cup final up for grabs. I see Unai Emery going through it on the sidelines, but just don't see it on tje pitch at times.
I'm not as confident about facing them in Europe after seeing that today. I don't think they are a great side at all, but they cranked up the physicality in the second half and we struggled. Could see the away leg of a potential semi-final against them being exactly the sort of game I wouldn't fancy our lot in to be honest.
I don’t think you can compare yesterday to the Wolves game or the Man U game last season. Its quite selective picking games when we’ve ‘failed’. You can argue we chocked against Palace in the cup and at Man U and that would be a reasonable comment, but I really don’t see how that’s related to yesterdays match.
Also what about all the games when we’ve succeeded relatively, qualifying for the champions league two seasons ago as an example.
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Onana wasn't great during the bad run, but since SJM returned he's played really well. Having to carry the midfield alone is too much for him but alongside SJM and the likes of Kamara, he's great.
Yeah I just think with his partner changing week by week during that period it was always going to be tricky to show his best form. Looks really settled and confident in his role now though and with Tielemans back alongside him it allows him to focus on what he is good at.
Also liked seeing him show some leadership and ordering players around at set pieces... when Mings isn't in the side we lack vocal leaders sometimes... he definitely is one
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Onana wasn't great during the bad run, but since SJM returned he's played really well. Having to carry the midfield alone is too much for him but alongside SJM and the likes of Kamara, he's great.
Yeah I just think with his partner changing week by week during that period it was always going to be tricky to show his best form. Looks really settled and confident in his role now though and with Tielemans back alongside him it allows him to focus on what he is good at.
Also liked seeing him show some leadership and ordering players around at set pieces... when Mings isn't in the side we lack vocal leaders sometimes... he definitely is one
It's not always obvious as he doesn't win every ball but just having him in the side seems to vastly negate the effect shithouse mobs like those we faced yetserday have at set pieces against us.