Spurs v Villa Post-Match Thread

[Tony Daleys Shorts]

It's depressing to see us comfortably beaten by Spurs reserves. Our attack has the sharpness of a huge bell end.

FA Cup 3rd round day; once the most exciting day of the season, now an apathetic sideshow smeared across a whole weekend of disinterest and empty seats.

[chrisw1]

Thought we looked solid first half, Chester immense, Sam looks the real deal, Tish had a reasonable game and hopefully means the end of the Chuckle brothers. If the answer is Gabby got help us this month, the same for fat Ross. Amavi, I would sell for 2.5 never mind 25 mill, can't defend and offers nothing going forward.
Jack has one trick trying to place himself across the ball and blocking the opposition, but has not the upper body strength to carry it off, to one paced both in thought and movement, caught numerous times with the ball, impact player of the bench and I honestly think the player we hoped he would be, is not there.
Some shrewd business needs to be done this month, we are far from a certainty for play offs and we need to be.

Such an over reaction.  He's been one of our better players this season and will probably develop into a really good full back.  If we sold him for £2.5m I'm sure you, alongside everyone else, would be fucking furious and wondering how we would get anywhere near replacing him for less than 3 or 4 times that price.

[Clampy]

The game went pretty much like I thought it would. I didn't think we'd get thrashed but I couldn't see us winning either. The new goalie looked solid  and whilst Gabby probably is past his best, I don't think McCormack would have been much better on is own up front. It was also good to see the likes of Green and Davis get a run out. Overall, disappointed but not too gutted about it.

[cheltenhamlion]

Danny Murphy is an absolute thundercunt.

[oldhill_avfc]

I saw Grealish at half time having a laugh and a chat with Pele Alli or whatever that hyped fellas name is that the commentators were spaffing their undercrackers over. He may act like he's one of the big boys but today he looked like what he is, and that's a player who's struggling to standout in the second tier. He's a long, long way off being what he was being hyped as after the Liverpool semi-final. He's regressed and I think that's 110% down to taking his foot off the pedal. He's not the first. He's not the last, but he's got to pull his finger out now. I'd rather put a carthorse in his place who's going to work their bollocks off. You can't carry someone like Grealish if they're not delivering what they should regularly enough, and he's not.
Today showed he's not fit to the lace the boots of a Tottenham reserve.

I thought not taking Baker off when it was clear he was having one of his bi-monthly bodily shutdowns was an error on Bruce's part. The triple substitution was desperate and made is completely imbalanced.

Mostly I was disappointed the way we approached the game. I know, as it's all too painfully clear, that Spurs are eons ahead of us, but we came out looking like an Evo Stick Premier League division side on a plum tie in the cup, not like a side that was not too long ago on a level playing field with Spurs. Actually I take that back, because an non-league side might have thought "fuck it" and had a go. I even heard Bruce yelling "Park the bus!" at one point. Pathetic.
Yes be disciplined. But at least attempt to win the game. It's a one off tie. Everything is about the day. No points...just go for it.

Dear me.

Do you go to any of the games or even watch on the telly before spouting such absolute bollocks?

[Villa Lew]

60 years now since we won the cup and only 1 cup win since 1920. For a club that is suppose to have a good cup pedigree that is a mega embarrassing double stat. Saw us on the tele win the cup in 57, but at the age of 66 the chances of me seeing a Villa captain lift the cup again are becoming more and more remote.

Johnstone had a very good debut, the CBs, Tish and Bacuna also ok. Bacuna, never a Premier league player, but seems to have found his level in the Championship and deserves a starting place in the big derby on Saturday. With Lansbury, possibly signing in time for the Wolves match, let's hope that's the last time we see Westwood and Gardner in the starting line up again this season.

[Nev]

How anyone thought that the game would pan out any different than it did when the draw was made is beyond me.

The fury that many, including me, had when Houlier waved the white flag at Man City was totally different. Then the FA Cup was the only thing on the table, now, in the Championship, promotion has to take precedence. I, like every other Villa fan, see the Cup as the holy grail but if Bruce was to sacrifice promotion to try and win it there would be uproar, not least I would imagine from the owner.
If we did win it then I'm sure we would be delighted but it is such a long shot it's highly unlikely.

Sometimes it feels that after 5 years of sound and fury that we can't react to a defeat any other way. Yesterday was a world away from the routine league surrender of recent times where the next game is approached with further doom. I'm looking forward to the Wolves game, I think we might give it a go you know?

[aj2k77]

Thought we looked solid first half, Chester immense, Sam looks the real deal, Tish had a reasonable game and hopefully means the end of the Chuckle brothers. If the answer is Gabby got help us this month, the same for fat Ross. Amavi, I would sell for 2.5 never mind 25 mill, can't defend and offers nothing going forward.
Jack has one trick trying to place himself across the ball and blocking the opposition, but has not the upper body strength to carry it off, to one paced both in thought and movement, caught numerous times with the ball, impact player of the bench and I honestly think the player we hoped he would be, is not there.
Some shrewd business needs to be done this month, we are far from a certainty for play offs and we need to be.

Such an over reaction.  He's been one of our better players this season and will probably develop into a really good full back.  If we sold him for £2.5m I'm sure you, alongside everyone else, would be fucking furious and wondering how we would get anywhere near replacing him for less than 3 or 4 times that price.

Amavi would take £10m to replace? He looks decent in this division, nothing more and I'm pretty sure the average cost of a left back in this crap league isn't anywhere near £10m quid.

[chrisw1]

Thought we looked solid first half, Chester immense, Sam looks the real deal, Tish had a reasonable game and hopefully means the end of the Chuckle brothers. If the answer is Gabby got help us this month, the same for fat Ross. Amavi, I would sell for 2.5 never mind 25 mill, can't defend and offers nothing going forward.
Jack has one trick trying to place himself across the ball and blocking the opposition, but has not the upper body strength to carry it off, to one paced both in thought and movement, caught numerous times with the ball, impact player of the bench and I honestly think the player we hoped he would be, is not there.
Some shrewd business needs to be done this month, we are far from a certainty for play offs and we need to be.

Such an over reaction.  He's been one of our better players this season and will probably develop into a really good full back.  If we sold him for £2.5m I'm sure you, alongside everyone else, would be fucking furious and wondering how we would get anywhere near replacing him for less than 3 or 4 times that price.

Amavi would take £10m to replace? He looks decent in this division, nothing more and I'm pretty sure the average cost of a left back in this crap league isn't anywhere near £10m quid.

You don't see any potential in him?  I think he has the makings of a a very decent PL leftback, so yes £7.5-£10m is about the mark.  Selling him for £2.5 would be nuts - which was the point of the comment.

[oldhill_avfc]

How anyone thought that the game would pan out any different than it did when the draw was made is beyond me.

The fury that many, including me, had when Houlier waved the white flag at Man City was totally different. Then the FA Cup was the only thing on the table, now, in the Championship, promotion has to take precedence. I, like every other Villa fan, see the Cup as the holy grail but if Bruce was to sacrifice promotion to try and win it there would be uproar, not least I would imagine from the owner.
If we did win it then I'm sure we would be delighted but it is such a long shot it's highly unlikely.

Sometimes it feels that after 5 years of sound and fury that we can't react to a defeat any other way. Yesterday was a world away from the routine league surrender of recent times where the next game is approached with further doom. I'm looking forward to the Wolves game, I think we might give it a go you know?

I'm probably in a minority but I thought the tactics and the performance were both very good.  What would have been the point of going toe-to-toe with them and getting a thumping?

I felt we did try and win the game, perhaps in a somewhat negative style in some people's eyes, but in realistically the only way we could - by stopping them playing, defending deep and trying to get something on the break or from a set piece. 

If we've have sneaked a goal and held on it would have been heralded as a great performance.  We didn't and in the end it was a routine win for them - so fair enough - but it doesn't mean we waved the white flag in a way, as you rightly suggest, has been done in the past.

[Ads]

Spurs Reserves is a bit disingenuous. They're one of the best sides in the league, as horrible as it is to admit and they have a squad which merits that position.

Reading went and played their game at Man United and got smashed up.

Kane was out, but so was Kodjia. I'm not sure what people expected.

[eamonn]

Plus, in fairness they only scored once Alli came on and made the space necessary in the move that led to the opener.

[Bottom Right 89]

As it was our last visit thought I'd make the effort, took the old man who last visited WHL when Jimmy Greaves was up front. That has to be the quietest home crowd we've ever experienced they were awful like a 30k mannequin challenge. Good noise from our lot as usual. Didn't go downstairs at half time but maybe someone can shed some light on why lads were emerging for the second half looking like they'd come off the log flume?

Regarding the match I thought our defence was decent once again I sincerely hope we keep hold of Chester as captain he just oozes "McGrath" like calm and the new keeper looks sound. Jack fluffed his lines and obviously we are weak without JK leading our attack. Was all going to be up hill once Alli came on and that chance Gabby had just before they scored it could've turned out differently. Now we get back down to business and go again against Mr We go Again on Saturday.

[paul_e]

I like what Grealish does, I just wish he would do it quicker. He has the great ability to beat a man or create space out of nothing, he  just needs to do it quicker and pass to a team mate faster. That would be enough I think to take him from "decent" to "good" in the Championship.

The thing is, as I said in the match thread, he was picking the ball up 10 yards outside our box, looking up and seeing 6-7 spurs players and gabby in the distance, how can he do anything creative in that situation?  I can understand being defensive in that game but ayew/kodjia/grealish picking it up deep in their own half with no pass forward available has been a consistent problem for the last 2 months.

You mention he can 'create space out of nothing' but who is he creating space for other than himself and if he's the only person who can benefit from it then he's really got no choice but to hold onto the ball.

The problems you describe exist at the team level and Grealish is a circumstance of that as much as anything else.  This isn't me attempting to white knight for him or ignore his part in it, I'm just pointing out that right now under Bruce we'd be better off playing long ball in a 442 with a big target man and a quick fucker running off him because players like Grealish just aren't going to work if we play so deep.

[ktvillan]

I'm another who would have preferred us to have been a bit more adventurous.  We may have shipped 4 or 5 but I doubt it given that Spurs were nowhere near full strength and their defence didn't look all that.   We had little to lose really by giving it more of a go.  Our away following is good and loud but some of the repertoire is on the embarrassing side.  Rather hear them getting behind the team than slagging off the home crowd/attendance, it just sounds childish.  Grealish continues to underwhelm just like the Moores, Del Founso, and many other promising youngsters before him.  Reminds me of Del Founso in that he has a good touch but looks as if he's half asleep when playing.  Needs a rocket up his arse if he's ever going to make it.