Manchester City v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[old man villa fan]

Disappointed with the result but not the performance.  There has been an almost unbelievable turnaround in the way we play, particularly in the last three games.  Confidence has a big part to play but I believe it is no coincidence that the more intelligent (football-wise) players are starting to form the first XI.  Grealish has been a big part of this with his desire to not stand still.  He is always going looking for the ball and making himself available for the pass.

Lambert was very loyal to the 'triers' and I think that this was one of his major weaknesses.  To some extent, fans are the same but to be successful these days in football, there is no room for sentiment.  I think it will be easier for Sherwood to take a colder look at the squad at the end of the season and move on some of the players that have been around for the last few years.  Guzan is a great shot stopper and has improved tremendously with the high ball but his composure with ball at his feet and his actual distribution is terrible.  He looks as though he is panicking whenever he has the ball and when he kicks from the ground his balance looks all wrong.  A good coach needs to work with him through the summer to improve this part of his game or, I am sorry, we need to look for better.  The goalkeeper in modern football is like another defender and distribution is so important.

I did not think Mike Dean did us any favours yesterday and was very lenient with some of the Man City fouls which deserved yellow cards.  I have read comments about the Bacuna pull back on Aguero should have been a penalty.  Was this because it was so clear to see it.  We see players being pulled back all of the time from corners but nothing given, even when the ball is going straight to the player.  With the Bacuna incident the ball was played 5 yards behind Aguero, so should it have been a penalty.  Bacuna should never have given the referee an opportunity to give a penalty.  This is not the first time he has done this and must get out of the habit, even though most of the time it is not interfering with play.  To the opposite end of the pitch and Benteke was clearly onside.  Again comments saying that we got away with one last week but last week defenders and goalkeeper stopped well before Balotelli put the ball in the net.

I think Sherwood has hit on a system with just Benteke up front and two players playing just behind him.  It seems to suit N'Zogbia and Grealish perfectly.  Starting with four across the middle was not working and Westwood never got into the game.  The change opened up the game for us.  I am not sure that Gabby can play this type of role.

Richardson took a lot of stick, as has Bacuna for their defending.  Neither of them are defenders and they are playing because of necessity.  The difference to the team would be tremendous, if we had two 'proper' good attacking fullbacks.

I just hope the recent good performances can be sustained for the next four games.

[KRS]

One thing that was noticeable yesterday is that TS has got Jack doing Bentekes running for him...closing down defenders, pressurising the keeper, chasing down dead balls...this keeps the big man fresh and full of energy in the areas that we need him at his most effective. TS has alluded to this in his interviews but you can actually see it now being enforced on the pitch...the players are working for each other and we are seeing the benefits in better performances and the results will hopefully start to become more consistent.

[ktvillan]

Unlucky and deserved better. I love the way we play under Sherwood, but it's results that count, and we need to defend a whole lot better.  He does seem to be a bit Keegan-esque in his approach but I suppose that is no bad thing, especiallly if he can make us as exciting as Keegan made the Jawdees in the 90s.   It's bummer that Hull and Leicester both won and Sunderland drew so we are right back in the mix.  I know we have three home games left but Sherwood's home record in the league hasn't been great so far.  We need a win next week. 

[KRS]

As soon as we scored the equaliser I turned to my brother and said "we just need to hold out for 5 minutes"...famous last words being a Villa fan. TS needs to get them to close out games in the last few minutes and take the points on the table especially in our current predicament. In 9 games, we've dropped 3 points in the last 5 minutes by conceding late goals turning draws into defeats (Stoke, Swansea and Man City)...I hope our failure to see out those games doesn't bite us on the arse come the end of the season.

[Matt Collins]

The demotion of weimann and the promotion of grealish is the perfect microcosm of the difference between the managers

I was a late convert to the lambert out camp and I was just wrong.

[silhillvilla]

Keep conceding soft goals like those 3 yesterday and there's a very good chance we are down ,

[Toronto Villa]

Keep conceding soft goals like those 3 yesterday and there's a very good chance we are down ,

But then the two games before that we didn't concede soft goals and only one against two sides that cost over £200m to put together. Yesterday was bad but hardly something common for us. There is no reason to think we will keep doing that.

[silhillvilla]

True but the last 4 goals we conceded since Clark has been out have been calamitous

[Toronto Villa]

True but the last 4 goals we conceded since Clark has been out have been calamitous

3 of those 4 can be attributed to bad goalkeeping and defensive communication. Having Clark for sure offered us greater balance but I don't see what difference having him for two of those goals yesterday or maybe even the winner would have made.

[SW9-VILLA]

Another encouraging performance. I'm sure we'll be alright but the uncertainty is killing me! Shouldn't have had offside given against Benteke but then again Ballotelli was onside on Sunday so swings and roundabouts. I knew we were going to concede that third however, it was just gutting after the fight-back. I thought once we went 2 down we were finished.

[Pete3206]

Keep conceding soft goals like those 3 yesterday and there's a very good chance we are down ,

That's the spirit.

[Marton]

Felt like we dominated Man City and deserved to at least get a point. Gutted we didnt

This is the worst I seen Guzan play for us...in like ...ever.  Looked like he had put money on City.
Even with the first goal apart, he looked like a débutante every time he came off the line and failed to save the few times they hit the target.

[Legion]

Bad day at the office. I hope he is given the opportunity to put things right against Everton.

[VillaAlways]

Keep conceding soft goals like those 3 yesterday and there's a very good chance we are down ,

No chance

[olaftab]

Keep scoring great goals like the two at eastlands yesterday and we comfortably stay up and win the cup.