Everton v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[ciggiesnbeer]

If anyone wants to insult me, that's ok. I really am the most massive tosser.

I've been trying to think of something, but I can't.

It's like when I'm paintballing and I've got a clear shot at an unsuspecting enemy's back, yet every single time I miss.

I think it's because subconsciously I'm a nice person.

Interesting. Clear back shots are the only time in paintball I do hit the target. My post execution taunts of "Glory to the revolution! Such is the fate of all enemies of the people." doesnt get as many laughs as you might imagine though.

[pauliewalnuts]

The problem we have is that, we can say "we need to win five or six matches to stay up", but if you then look back at our results, and count back, say, six league wins, you find yourself at the Wolves away match in January 2012.

So, we're needing to win, in the space of not many games, as many games as we've won in the last 13 months.

It's good getting a point today, it's good we can score goals, but draws aren't going to be enough, we've got to win games which, on paper, we should be winning.

I suspect those home defeats against Wigan and Southampton are going to look awfully expensive come the end of the season.

[Chris Smith]

If anyone wants to insult me, that's ok. I really am the most massive tosser.

Oh hark at you. You can't just be an everyday, run of the mill tosser can you? No, Mr Damon Green is "the most massive tosser".

[Rip Van We Go Again]

If anyone wants to insult me, that's ok. I really am the most massive tosser.

Ta for the offer Damon, but it would be like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel.

[Legion]

The mass debater?

[PeterWithesShin]

I suspect those home defeats against Wigan and Southampton are going to look awfully expensive come the end of the season.

I think we'll look back even more at the dropped points. 2 up against Manure 0 points, 2 up at Albion 1 point, 3-1 up today 1 point, 2-1 up at Swansea as we got to the 90th minute, 1 point. Winning just 2 of those would have us in a completely different mindset.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

It (the site) has been a bit tedious lately though, he's right about that.

Losing does that to it though Perce.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

We need to stick together and stop insulting one another in these troubled times. You bunch of fair weather fickle part time ignorant whinging whining impersonations of football supporters. 

[SamTheMouse]

Would I be right in thinking that if games ended on 90 minutes with no injury time, we'd be out of the relegation zone?

Lambert really needs to brush up on those time-wasting lessons.

[PeterWithesShin]

We need to stick together and stop insulting one another in these troubled times. Your bunch of fair weather fickle part time ignorant whinging whining impersonations of football supporters. 

Did you mean you or you're ya knobber? 

[Pat McMahon]

The defence will be the reason we go down- 7 scored in the last 3 away games and not one win.

And not one loss or you want to ignore that?

Aftab, fair point, there have been some positives in our attack in the last three away games in the league ( I am trying to forget Bradford and Millwall away). Like you, I am trying to get some positivity from our horrendous run - we have been shit for 6 weeks now and yet are not completely adrift.

The trouble is our home form is so shit that drawing away games just sees us drop further adrift of the teams around us. We need to capitalise when we are ahead going into injury time, or when we get a two goal lead.

Please don't take the following as a dig at you and your comment above as we need to believe right now. But a really big issue for me this season has been how we have justified poor results. For example, at W Ham on the opening day I heard "at least we kept possession better than last season", and " playing a promoted team early on is never easy", the latter amazingly being trotted out for the Southampton debacle. The collapses against Man City, Chelsea, Man U and Spurs were because we were playing Champs League teams. Losing 2 goal leads against Albion, Swansea and Everton were "results we would have accepted before kick off". The latter would normally be true, if - a big IF - we were winning games against Saints, Wigan, Norwich and Newcastle at home. Failure to win these games means we have to protect winning positions in difficult games.

One of my biggest worries this season is our lack of character. QPR, who have been poor, have sorted their defence out since Harry arrived. Luckily they haven't started scoring yet. Southampton have worked out how to score and gather points in difficult games. Reading have decided that being 2 goals down against anybody is the time to show a big pair of grizzly bear cojones. Wigan just think this is a normal season and are probably nonchalant about life.

I am trying hard to believe, to hope that our attack shall keep us up, but usually the team with the worst defence in the league goes down. I hope we can break that particular habit.

One final point: if we can maintain the attacking flair from our recent away games and somehow find a way to replicate it at Villa Park we will definitely be in with a chance of staying up. All we need is a few 5 goal leads to defend in the mast 10 minutes....!

[Chris Smith]

I'm pleased with the point overall but obviously disappointed (and could predict) when the third goal of theirs went in. I think the lads did well to be 3-1 up but it must be how we are set up tactically that we can't defend a lead. That i'm afraid is down to the coaches so they really need to pull their finger out this week.

For the last 20 minutes all they seemed to do was launch long high balls into our box and we started to drop deeper. That's not down to coaching or tactics but confidence and I don't think you can coach that.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

I'm pleased with the point overall but obviously disappointed (and could predict) when the third goal of theirs went in. I think the lads did well to be 3-1 up but it must be how we are set up tactically that we can't defend a lead. That i'm afraid is down to the coaches so they really need to pull their finger out this week.

For the last 20 minutes all they seemed to do was launch long high balls into our box and we started to drop deeper. That's not down to coaching or tactics but confidence and I don't think you can coach that.

Good old Chris.
Often imitated, never bettered.

[DeKuip]

I made the mistake of looking at all the scores at about 4.25 and saying if it stays like we'll have gained two points on all of the bottom half of the league. Me and my mouth!
Still I'd have taken a draw before kick-off, and the results at Wigan and QPR were what we needed.
These late goals are getting painful though, that's the last seven away games we've conceded late goals in.

[pauliewalnuts]

I'm pleased with the point overall but obviously disappointed (and could predict) when the third goal of theirs went in. I think the lads did well to be 3-1 up but it must be how we are set up tactically that we can't defend a lead. That i'm afraid is down to the coaches so they really need to pull their finger out this week.

For the last 20 minutes all they seemed to do was launch long high balls into our box and we started to drop deeper. That's not down to coaching or tactics but confidence and I don't think you can coach that.

Good old Chris.
Often imitated, never bettered.

Thing is, I suspect he's probably right. I didn't see our game today, but I do think confidence has a huge, huge role in our concession of late goals, and equalisers when we shouldn't be conceding.

Another reason we needed to buy a leader, I reckon.