Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on November 02, 2018, 09:39:35 PM
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Plenty to work on but that will do nicely.
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Get in.
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A clean sheet with the liability that is Nyland in between the sticks.
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Job done. Hate the way Bolton play so would have liked a laid-back easy win. Too much like hard work tonight.
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Yep.
Need more pace, a bit more ruthless perhaps and we should build the team around Axel, McGinn and Jack.
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Some good stuff, some dodgy stuff. Chester, Jack and Axel very good. Albert, Nyland and Kod, not so much. 3 points, promotion is ours for the taking.
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Kodj had a 'mare, but I guess he's saved more than he's cost us since he's been here.
I was just so happy to see us keep attacking after we scored both goals.
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Some playing without intent.
Hourihane Albert Kodija, you can not have half arsed performances and expect to get out of this division.
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Job done. Hate the way Bolton play so would have liked a laid-back easy win. Too much like hard work tonight.
Early days. Just grateful for the win
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Yep, needed that. Movement was poor tonight but a clean sheet. Dean has work to do. Abraham’s ball control is not great, JK was frustrating, McGinn and Jack was great. Bolasie needs better decision making, great runs but no end product.
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Good solid win. Onwards and upwards well played jack Chester and axel
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Alan Hutton, the enigma, 9 out of 10, Tuanzabe almost faultless, The rest 8 or above, Taylor included, UTV!!
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Alan Hutton, the enigma, 9 out of 10, Tuanzabe almost faultless, The rest 8 or above, Taylor included, UTV!!
Nyland 6
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I was hoping for better but Rome and all that. Still I would expect the likes of Kodj to be better than this. Jack is just too good for us
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Decent all round performance. Grealish played very well indeed.
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Some good stuff, some dodgy stuff. Chester, Jack and Axel very good. Albert, Nyland and Kod, not so much. 3 points, promotion is ours for the taking.
Agreed All three were very poor. Bolasie has got to start over Albert. Keeper looks a complete liability. On the plus side, they already look so much more cohesive under Smith.
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A clean sheet with Chester and Axel looking like they can forge a partnership, thought Chester was excellent tonight.
Comfortable win and how we needed it with some tough games coming up.
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Whisper it quietly, but Taylor was really rather good tonight
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Whisper it quietly, but Taylor was really rather good tonight
BURN HIM!!!!!!
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Bruce took us as far as he could and it probably overlapped this at times. But the potential is great and likely to be fulfilled. Well done Deano
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Comfortable viewing, very little stress. Onwards we go to Derby.
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I think Kodjia would make a better CB than Jedinak. He was much better in our penalty box than theirs. Hourihane was very poor otherwise a good all round performance.
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I was tres relieved to see that second goal go in tonight. Obviously there's plenty to work on still, but I'm happy snaffling the points & keeping a clean sheet. Hopefully it'll give us a boost in confidence as we go into some potentially tricky fixtures. UTV
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Whisper it quietly, but Taylor was really rather good tonight
BURN HIM!!!!!!
Lol- I’ve already gone into hiding !
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Interesting that Dean Smith showed Jack 3 clips at half time of him dropping too deep. Not rocket science, but I very much doubt it would be something that Bruce would have done.
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Bolton are very poor. We did what we need to do. Precisely what we were not doing under Bruce. You can see the change taking place before our eyes with players adapting at varying rates. Not all will survive but we have the makings of decent team. It’s probably 4 or 5 short of what Smith would like based on how he wants to play.
Special mention for Axel. Excellent again at the back. Thumbs down for Kodjia who I have no idea what he’s trying to do out there and maybe the issue neither does he. Sloppy and indecisive won’t cut it.
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Hearing Smith talk post game is so refreshing. I don't remember us having a manager in my lifetime that talks as well as he does.
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all i ever wanted was for us to go out to win a game with atacking intent
that’s what we did tonight, loads to improve on but we are defo on the right track now
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Super Jack! We have a baby due in December, he's in serious danger of being christened Jack!
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Alan Hutton, the enigma, 9 out of 10, Tuanzabe almost faultless, The rest 8 or above, Taylor included, UTV!!
Nyland 6
quite like his distribution.....if only he could do what goalkeepers do
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Once we got the second goal, it was comfortable.
Thought I suspect that says more of Bolton's limitations that how good we were.
Before that, Bolton were the better side for long spells, each of our centre halves stopped certain goals, Nyland made one top save, our second goal was offside too.
Badly needed win but another poor performance, reminded me of the win v Rotherham earlier in the season, though Rotherham were better than Bolton
Nyland 3 - thought he showed promise v QPR, right back to square one tonight, one very good save but Jan cant come quick enough
Hutton 6 - battled hard but defensively as always lets runners off the back of him, its happened all this career and continued tonight
Tuanzebe 7 - his pace stopped one certain goal and bailed us out a few other times, not dominant enough in air though
Chester 8 - saved certain goal, very solid defensively all night and much improved after costing us points of late
Taylor 6 - defended alright tonight but we simply have to get someone better in Jan
Hourihane 6 - passed reasonably well and took some good set pieces, defensive shield he isnt though and a playmaker as one sided as him is easily nullified
McGinn 6 - very quiet first half bar one burst, bit more lively in second without any telling contribution
Grealish 8 - outstanding first half, quieter after half time but has been much improved of late
Adomah 6 - tried hard but that stat that popped up at one stage of 1 assist in 22 games (or similar) says it all about his form and confidence
Kodjia 5 - few decent moments but we cant carry this guy for much longer, left winger he aint, every second touch is the wrong option
Abraham 3 - assist aside was abysmal, first touch is dreadful, someone like Lewis Grabban would have had a field day against these
Bolasie 5 - some good runs early on which ultimately amounted to little, ran out of puff it seemed, compared to Snodgrass though he really has delivered precious little
Whelan and Hogan - not on long enough, dont think Hogan actually got a kick
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Or Jacqueline...
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all i ever wanted was for us to go out to win a game with atacking intent
that’s what we did tonight, loads to improve on but we are defo on the right track now
Totally agree, a game that we should win without any silly excuses and we did.
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Abraham needs to put his foot through it in the box Bolaise played for himself and Kodja is not as good as he thinks he is. Jack was superb and McGinn is a terrier we will struggle to hold on to them.
Axel impresses me but there is no calming influence at the back, we desperately need a competent keeper. While we were far the better side they still troubled our defence it worries me when we face stiffer competition.
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Jack, SJM, Axel all good and Chester MOM, if he finds last season's form it'll be a massive bonus for us. Apparently we've gotta goalkeeping coach coming in, let's hope he's world class coach, he needs to be.
UP THE VILLA
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Alan Hutton, the enigma, 9 out of 10, Tuanzabe almost faultless, The rest 8 or above, Taylor included, UTV!!
Nyland 6
quite like his distribution.....if only he could do what goalkeepers do
Yep, catching like his gloves aren't covered in vaseline would be a big plus.
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Hearing Smith talk post game is so refreshing. I don't remember us having a manager in my lifetime that talks as well as he does.
Honesty and a plan. Just hope he keeps this up
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You can definitely see a marked improvement in the football that they're at least trying to play. Little triangles of passing, movement off the ball and far fewer aimless hoofs.
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Alan Hutton, the enigma, 9 out of 10, Tuanzabe almost faultless, The rest 8 or above, Taylor included, UTV!!
Nyland 6
quite like his distribution.....if only he could do what goalkeepers do
'Electric hands' are not a good look for an international goalkeeper.
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Fcukin Hell Jason Donovan in goal looks dreadful.
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Fcukin Hell Jason Donovan in goal looks dreadful.
There will be too many fucking broken hearts if he chucks one in against the rags, fo' sho'.
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Hearing Smith talk post game is so refreshing. I don't remember us having a manager in my lifetime that talks as well as he does.
Honesty and a plan. Just hope he keeps this up
He was very clear to highlight good and bad. But the bad wasn't about the player in terms of skill or effort, it was about how they played to the plan. E.g. The wide men kept coming inside, taking Jack's space. Love it!
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He’s got to play Bunn against them lot.
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Fcukin Hell Jason Donovan in goal looks dreadful.
There will be too many fucking broken hearts if he chucks one in against the rags, fo' sho'.
I hope he keeps a clean sheet, especially for you.
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Perfectly summed up by this conversation between two blokes leaving the North Stand after the game:
"Pretty comfortable"
"Sloppy though ain't it"
Grealish and McGinn aside, I thought there were some pretty average performances and we didn't really play with any tempo or movement for pretty long periods.
That said, I'll take the win though.
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Comfortable enough win in the end. Really we should've scored more when you look at some of the positions we got into.
Aswell as a new keeper in January we also could do with some new fullbacks as the amount of times Hutton got in a good area and then shanked a cross...
McGinn was superb. Going to be a key player under Smith I think. Our version of Woods.
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Great result, very happy. On a side note if anyone is reading this who backed me up when some of “our” idiots started singing f#%k the pope on the Lichfield train just, thank you. As a Catholic, not a very good one, but as a Catholic I won’t listen to that shite & I won’t be bullied, so again thanks. UTV
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Well done lads, we (and I) needed that result.
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Super Jack! We have a baby due in December, he's in serious danger of being christened Jack!
Don't call him Nyland or you'll keep dropping him on the floor
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Why would anyone be singing about the Pope? Doubt any have ever been to Bolton.
Hourihane is a passenger, the two Scottish lads play at 100 mph all the time, McGinn at least has talent, just needs to be more composed. Kodjia is a nightmare to watch and Nyland is still not inspiring much confidence.
Seeing who we have in our next six games, if we're still only four points off the play-offs we'll be doing OK given what we have and the time Dean has had.
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Plenty of positives tonight. Axel was very good. Bolasie was exciting when he came on.
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I have no idea why they would sing it, maybe they think it’s ok because Poppy Day & remeberance sunday? Which is just ridiculous. But they did and I had to say something. Only young 18 or so, but just really stupid & insulting
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Hourihane played o.k for me (other than attempting to shoot from 20 yards which he was hopeless at). At least he moves the ball quickly which would be the main problem if we went back to playing Jedinak or Whelan.
McGinn-Hourihane/Bjarni is probably our best bet up to January although not sure how well defensively it will hold up against the better teams.
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Our main problem is that we are nowhere near clinical enough. We get into so many good situations that never end up with a shot on target due to sloppiness. How many saves do the opposition keepers make.
Couple this with our difficulties dealing with crosses & that's mainly why we are where we are.
The standard of football is already way better that what proceeded under Bruce. I trust the new management team to get these issues sorted over the next couple of months.
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Great result, very happy. On a side note if anyone is reading this who backed me up when some of “our” idiots started singing f#%k the pope on the Lichfield train just, thank you. As a Catholic, not a very good one, but as a Catholic I won’t listen to that shite & I won’t be bullied, so again thanks. UTV
Fucking wankers. I heard there was a mob singing ‘oh Tommy, Tommy’ (you know the rest) at Millwall.
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A comfortable win in the end. I thought Tuanzebe was excellent and MotM tonight. Shame he is not our player. We are a bit of nothing team at the moment and still prone to long periods of mediocrity. Smith will sort this in time.
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Great result, very happy. On a side note if anyone is reading this who backed me up when some of “our” idiots started singing f#%k the pope on the Lichfield train just, thank you. As a Catholic, not a very good one, but as a Catholic I won’t listen to that shite & I won’t be bullied, so again thanks. UTV
Fucking wankers. I heard there was a mob singing ‘oh Tommy, Tommy’ (you know the rest) at Millwall.
Yes they are. I really don’t understand it. I’m no snowflake, I’m 47, thought we had left this bollocks behind. Idiots, I don’t think they know what they were singing & the offence it can cause. They probably think they are proper footy lads or some shit. Just took some of the pleasure away from tonight, ah well Up the Villa
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2-0 win.
Could have had a few more.
Clean sheet.
No bookings.
Work in progress continues.
Good start to the weekend.
Onwards and upwards.
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Super Jack! We have a baby due in December, he's in serious danger of being christened Jack!
Don't call him Nyland or you'll keep dropping him on the floor
I think Jack needs to take him up to Warwickshire GAA - The man needs to learn how to field a high ball!
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Well done Villa boys and Deano. A very welcome 3 points. Onwards and upwards hopefully. UTV!
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I watched it in a pub with the TV on mute - I saw Dean was interviewed at length on the pitch at the end and they showed clips of Nyland including his ball-drop. What did Dean say about him?
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Bolton were a bit like Rotherham earlier this season, lacking a consistent
threat, although they had a couple of very good chances, so it was difficult to read much into the game and as to whether we are improving yet.
Chester deserved the MOTM; the clearance alone was remarkable and atoned somewhat for some soft penalties he's conceded this season.
Grealish did well and McGinn is getting used to lasting the full 90 now.
Bolasie show-boated once he came on and Hogan had one cross in 15 minutes of playing time but no other touches I think.
People have spoken about missing Johnstone, JT and Snodgrass and rightly so, but I think Grabban is also a significant loss. He'd have had the chance that Abraham missed tonight and the one at QPR.
Elsewhere, Tuanzebe is doing ok on the floor but a centre back needs to win some aerial challenges and he gets beaten nearly every time.
I can only assume that the standard of Norwegian goalkeepers cannot be high if Nyland has played nearly 30 times for the national team.
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Comfortable enough win in the end. Really we should've scored more when you look at some of the positions we got into.
Aswell as a new keeper in January we also could do with some new fullbacks as the amount of times Hutton got in a good area and then shanked a cross...
McGinn was superb. Going to be a key player under Smith I think. Our version of Woods.
Once!
Don't bother with all the positive things he did tonight!
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Thought it was very comfortable all told. Bolton had one tactic in attack of hitting the long diagonal and we coped pretty well.
Dominated for most of the game, interjected with some sloppy recycling of possession.
How anybody Can have watched the game and thought Bolton were the better side for large parts is beyond me. What utter bollocks.
The negatives:
The keeper. He's so lacking in confidence in commanding the area and dealing with the high ball.
The full backs. They're part of the reason why we recycled it too easily at times. Both aren't up to the standard needed.
Hourihane. Abysmal. The worst Villa player out there. He was no use in covering the back four, lacked physical presence and was so easy to slip by.
Wasted chances. We got into good positions a number of times and spurned some gifts.
The positives
You can see what Smith is trying to do and there are some real moments of clarity where movement meets tempo and we look a good side.
Grealish. Excellent movement and finish for his goal. An assist too and was a big handful as usual.
McGinn. Excellent again. He really adds a lot to the midfield with the way he works so hard off it and has legs to drive us on.
Chester. A game without a mistake, with a superb clearance, a goal and better passing.
Axel. He's the better centre half.
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I have no idea why they would sing it, maybe they think it’s ok because Poppy Day & remeberance sunday? Which is just ridiculous. But they did and I had to say something. Only young 18 or so, but just really stupid & insulting
I was telling my mate about the mad lurch to the far-right down the Villa and he said it’s exactly the same down the b-lose.
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As we start to take shape under Smith, you can see the players who will hold us back and who will need replacing. I thought we were comfortable without putting them to the sword. Bolton are a niggly bag of shit and Parkinson will be gone on Monday. Axel, Jack, SJM and Chester were very good. Lovely goal from Jack.
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Whisper it quietly, but Taylor was really rather good tonight
BURN HIM!!!!!!
Taylor hasn't been the same since that tackle while playing for Wales and isn't good enough for Villa. Smith should give Bree a decent run to prove himself.
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Just in. Another strange game and performance. Much work to be done, but I think we can all see that there is a difference in the way we are set up and expected to play. Doing it well for 90 mins is going to take time. Still a much needed win and a clean sheet. With Nyland in goal I just can't see many of those through the season.
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Comfortable enough win in the end. Really we should've scored more when you look at some of the positions we got into.
Aswell as a new keeper in January we also could do with some new fullbacks as the amount of times Hutton got in a good area and then shanked a cross...
McGinn was superb. Going to be a key player under Smith I think. Our version of Woods.
Once!
Don't bother with all the positive things he did tonight!
I had given up on Hutton this season but he was possibly our best player tonight.
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Best games so far this season for Axel, Chester,Grealish, Kodja and Bolasie.
Another poor performance from Nyland.
The one thing I will take out from this game was the fact we dominated both halves.
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Best games so far this season for Axel, Chester,Grealish, Kodja and Bolasie.
Another poor performance from Nyland.
The one thing I will take out from this game was the fact we dominated both halves.
Kodjia?! He was absolutely bloody terrible. I don't know what was worse, his decision making, his finishing or his general attitude. Missed a couple of great chances (no idea why he went for a stupid volley from Hutton's cross in the first half), his passing was woeful (awful lay off to Abraham at the beginning of the second half), I can't think of anything he did that was good.
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That was probably our worst performance of the past three games, yet we come out with 3 points and a clean sheet.
We are not clinical enough up front, making poor decisions such as holding on to the ball too much or passing when a shot is on.
At the back and midfield, we are starting to create some triangles but we gave Bolton a few chances with wayward first touch passes at times.
Chester had his best game in ages, Tuanzebe is beginning to look good. Grealish is beginning to look dangerous because he is getting the ball in the right areas of the pitch and McGinn continues to look like a great signing.
On the other hand, Kodjia is frustrating and Abraham cannot seem to control the ball or get a first touch shot away. Nyland needs to improve fast.
Still much to do.
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I think we can already see that Dean Smith comes from a different universe to Steve Bruce. We seem to have a plan and have introduced tactics and coaching. It's just the start of the journey but I feel it will ultimately be a successful journey.
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Was half watching on my phone but from what I saw it looked a decent game. Seemed like we could have got more but could easily have conceded as well. An important win given our run of fixtures up to Christmas.
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Just listened to Smiths post match interview and the difference between him and Bruce emphasises what a dinosaur Bruce was. The players were clearly given a plan of what was expected of them collectively and individually and were given feedback and direction on that at half time. For me that back 5 still needs a lot of attention but I feel even more confident that Smith will get everything in front of that flowing. Can't expect Terry to polish a turf though and I would expect recruitment in defence come January
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Refreshing to hear Dean Smith post match. I thought we were well in control but still made hard work of it. Kodjia and Adomah didn't do much. I thought Abraham did ok with very little service and the midfield trio was good but Jack needs to tackle a bit more like he did last season. Fullbacks did ok but their crossing was mixed, centre backs very good and the goalkeeper needs to improve in certain areas but actual shot stopping he seems good at.
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Back four were excellent. Axel is growing into the role, Hutton and Taylor both played well, and Chester was back to his dependable best.
Midfield - Jack and McGinn were excellent, but thought Hourihane struggled a little - Too lightweight for that role. Needs to get a foot in every now and then.
Don't get the Kodjia hate on this thread - Thought his workrate was excellent last night. End product not so much, but that will come if he continues to put the effort in.
Tammy - Looks like he's enjoying playing in the role. Happy enough with him up top, but needs to work on his ball control. Lost count the amount of times the ball just bounced off him.
Weak 3 for me last night - Nyland, Hourihane and Adomah, but not putting a negative spin on what was a pretty good team performance.
Starting to see the training paying dividends - Amazed at the constant rotation of players in the final third, especially during the 1st half!
We'll get there, but it's gonna take time.
UTV
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I thought it was a fairly comfortable win. Tuanzebe is looking a very good player in his proper role and I thought Abraham deserved a goal for the hard work he did off the ball. Three points was the main thing though.
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I thought it was a fairly comfortable win. Tuanzebe is looking a very good player in his proper role and I thought Abraham deserved a goal for the hard work he did off the ball. Three points was the main thing though.
This.
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Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?
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Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?
There you go, mate.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1058481522808893440
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I agree that Abraham was a bit sloppy in front of goal and that's what he's there for. But he's a real team man, works his nuts off and more than once made clearing headers in our own box. Love his attitude.
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Played well enough for most of the game but we are carrying passengers in Hourihane and Adomah. I was furious with Adomah for that needless foul he gave away in the first half that led to Bolton having a dominant 5 minutes. He isn’t anywhere near the player of last season.
I love Bolasie’s pace and trickery. He will be a big asset against the better teams.
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So first view of the new Smiths Villa and was pleasantly surprised. There were flashes of what is being built with some sloppy play at times. We are much more open at times than previously defensively but I’m comfortable with that as it means we have more up the other end. Our midfield was good last night though Hourihane struggled the longer the game went on. Up front was sloppy, Adomah was not overly effective, Kodjia was OK without really offering a threat and you get the impression Tammy is going to start hitting the onion bag soon though at times when he did hold the ball up there was no one playing near him. One thing I did notice was Bolton played with a ridiculous defensive high line and we didn’t turn their back 4 enough with pace and movement up front. All in all quite encouraging and something to build on.
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Just in. Another strange game and performance. Much work to be done, but I think we can all see that there is a difference in the way we are set up and expected to play. Doing it well for 90 mins is going to take time. Still a much needed win and a clean sheet. With Nyland in goal I just can't see many of those through the season.
Was sitting at the game last night thinking that the stage is set perfectly for Nyland to drop a real clanger on the 25th against the Blues. Any teams scouting us will surely look to put balls into the box at every chance and put pressure on him.
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I didn't post last night as some of the comments on here make me cross. I didn't think anyone was particularly terrible as some have said. Nyland - makes the great saves look basic, makes the basics look hard. Hopefully, he can find his feet (or should that be hands?) as he is the one that we all worry about.
Yes there's some players such as CH and JK that are being asked to play a role in the team and they are getting used to it. Remember, JK will have probably never been given a job to do in his career. Former managers and his African coaches will probably just say do your own stuff. Now he is being asked to be more disciplined. We all know he has the ability to pull a rabbit out of the bag so let's give him and the others time to adapt to the manager's ideas.
We can all see signs of improvement. Trying to win the ball back, players running into advanced positions, etc. Yes, we can be sloppy in possession at times but it's not going to be perfect after one full week of training. We need to stick with them, try and get ourselves back into the promotion picture and I think that post-January could see us playing with more consistency and mount a challenge. The critical bit is between now and Christmas and that will no doubt dictate our season. Do well and we will be in the top 6, mess it up and it's a long way back.
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Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?
There you go, mate.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1058481522808893440
Thanks for that. Refreshingly honest - what a change from Bruce
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Thought it was very comfortable all told. Bolton had one tactic in attack of hitting the long diagonal and we coped pretty well.
Dominated for most of the game, interjected with some sloppy recycling of possession.
How anybody Can have watched the game and thought Bolton were the better side for large parts is beyond me. What utter bollocks.
The negatives:
The keeper. He's so lacking in confidence in commanding the area and dealing with the high ball.
The full backs. They're part of the reason why we recycled it too easily at times. Both aren't up to the standard needed.
Hourihane. Abysmal. The worst Villa player out there. He was no use in covering the back four, lacked physical presence and was so easy to slip by.
Wasted chances. We got into good positions a number of times and spurned some gifts.
The positives
You can see what Smith is trying to do and there are some real moments of clarity where movement meets tempo and we look a good side.
Grealish. Excellent movement and finish for his goal. An assist too and was a big handful as usual.
McGinn. Excellent again. He really adds a lot to the midfield with the way he works so hard off it and has legs to drive us on.
Chester. A game without a mistake, with a superb clearance, a goal and better passing.
Axel. He's the better centre half.
Fair summing up of the match and generally as I saw it.
Looking at both Axel and Chester, they looked as though they had good games but when you look at the chaos every time the ball comes into the box, you would have to question whether they did. I think a choice is going to have to be made on keeping one in the side but teaming them with a strong central defender.
I thought Taylor had a good game and Hutton did well between the half way line and their penalty area but again, you have to look at the back four together and say they are not good enough as a unit. At times, we are blinded by good play but ignore the contribution towards the team. Possibly the reason why we look like a team of individuals.
I think the team needs freshening up as a there looks to be too much complacency generally. I wouldn't mind seeing Kodjia and Hourihane moved on if we can get reasonable money for them. I don't think Kodjia and Abraham are the right combination up front but Abraham offers more. This is frustrating as he is only on loan. Bruce has left us in a right mess going forward with his short term loans and use of older players. Smith has his work cut out but he has a clear strategy. Given time and some help in restructuring the squad, he will get it right.
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Just watched the interview and it's refreshing that Smith saw it similarly to many of the fan comments and my own views - a bit under par, lack of pressing, not enough movement, sloppy on the ball at times and giving too many chances away. You can still see signs of improvement and in spells we played some decent football.
We really could do with a commanding CB who is good in the air, the current two are both decent on the floor but neither are that tall and the rest of the team aren't that big either.
Individually I though Abraham was well intentioned but had the touch of a trampoline and is never going to retain possession until he improves in that area.
Nyland was more morris dancer than viking tonight again which is another factor in our struggle to defend crosses.
Grealish started to show what he is capable of, McGinn is a great player to have in your team and I enjoyed Bolasie's cameo - a proper injection of pace running at the opposition, and he's got some skill as well.
We seem to be very dangerous at attacking set pieces these days, which is great to see.
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Good win. Was excited to see Bolasie come on and actually look the part. He’s gonna be a big asset as the season progresses.
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Bolassie looked like he was enjoying a game of panna.Great stuff.
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Tuanzebe does indeed look the dogs.
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Tuanzebe does indeed look the dogs.
Yes, get better with each game and hopefully he and Chester can build a good relationship.
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Comfortable enough win in the end. Really we should've scored more when you look at some of the positions we got into.
Aswell as a new keeper in January we also could do with some new fullbacks as the amount of times Hutton got in a good area and then shanked a cross...
McGinn was superb. Going to be a key player under Smith I think. Our version of Woods.
Once!
Don't bother with all the positive things he did tonight!
He was solid defensively as was Taylor but Bolton were of limited threat. With how Smith will set us up we need better at FB once we cross the halfway line. AEM is probably better bet in this style until Xmas.
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BTW what was that tackle in the first half all about? Bolton player seemed to lunge into McGinn and go right through him. Don't think the ref even gave us a free kick! Did TV replays show it look as bad as first time in the ground?
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To be fair the guy he only had eyes on the ball and slipped into him.
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Not literally you understand.
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As others have said here, was a good win last night though there's room for improvement. It struck me that they all appeared a lot fitter last night than they have been in the past.
Onwards and upwards. Would be great to be in the top 6 before the New Year, wouldn't it?
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Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?
There you go, mate.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1058481522808893440
What a load of bollocks. Not a single mention of putting our pants on or polishing our boots.
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No mention of spring flowering bulbs or rolling ones sleeves up either.
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Listening to Deano it makes you realize if you didn’t already, what an absolute useless wanker Bruce was.
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I watched it in a pub with the TV on mute - I saw Dean was interviewed at length on the pitch at the end and they showed clips of Nyland including his ball-drop. What did Dean say about him?
He didn't look best pleased at that incident. When the pundits tried to even it out by saying he was a good shot stopper, Smith said well I expect that because that's his job.
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One thing I will say as well is our throw-ins have improved dramatically, we actually look as if we know what we are doing at last!
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The most refreshing thing about that interview was that for a change you get the distinct impression that the manager/head coach actually watched the same game as we did.
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Fcukin Hell Jason Donovan in goal looks dreadful.
There will be too many fucking broken hearts if he chucks one in against the rags, fo' sho'.
I hope he keeps a clean sheet, especially for you.
I think I have already got 'Ten Good Reasons' for him to leave here.
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Fcukin Hell Jason Donovan in goal looks dreadful.
There will be too many fucking broken hearts if he chucks one in against the rags, fo' sho'.
I hope he keeps a clean sheet, especially for you.
I think I have already got 'Ten Good Reasons' for him to leave here.
People here evidently would like one of our "Neighbours" to have him.
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[...] and the goalkeeper needs to improve in certain areas [...]
Such as goalkeeping.
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The most refreshing thing about that interview was that for a change you get the distinct impression that the manager/head coach actually watched the same game as we did.
Totally agree
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So very refreshing to have a man in charge who talks about tactics and giving Grealish a live example at half time. Talking about first and second phase defending is such a long way from 'going again' or 'rolling up your sleeves, putting on your boots'. I don't want to wish my life away but I'm looking forward to the January transfer window to see what he does to improve the side.
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Signs John McGinn's brother for starters I hope.
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And regarding that transfer window I want to see him shop where he is comfortable shopping versus having to shop at a more “glamorous” level just because we are Aston Villa. There are players out there like John McGinn who have the ability and attitude to improve us without spending a fortune. Every other team seems to find these nuggets. We need to find more of them.
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The younger McGinn is one such IMO.
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We have the younger McGinn. His two brothers are older.
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According to this both his brothers are older and both play for St Mirren. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McGinn
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Sorry PWS the Sky commentator referred to Paul as John's younger brother. I thought it was Paul, John then Stephen in age. If Paul is substantially older it makes him less desirable but he is a bloody good player nonetheless.
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We know from Little and Rioch that Brian and Bruce’s brothers were not as talented as them two and John is probably the best of McGinn’s?
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Agree Aftab but sometimes the "lesser" brother despite being outshone by a sibling has a great deal to give a club. Jack Charlton and Mel Charles are two that spring to mind.
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Neville Neville's young blondie lad too.
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The most refreshing thing about that interview was that for a change you get the distinct impression that the manager/head coach actually watched the same game as we did.
Totally agree
Bruce would have rolled out a series of cliches then fucked off home via the chippy as fast as he could.
The thing I like about Smith is the fact he quite clearly actually talks to the team about tactics and tells them where and how he wants them to play. I never got that impression from Bruce, not once.
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I quite liked Neil Rioch
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I was lucky enough to meet him once.
A lovely bloke.