Aston Villa 2-1 Fulham Post match thread

[mr underhill]

they played exactly as they did at VP last season,  only this time they scored.

[Brend'Watkins]

Strong boy. He did well to grab and wrestle Kodjia to the ground for a stick on penalty.

It should never have got to that as the ball should have been flicked to Snodgrass who was positioned well for a shot. I like Kodja but he needs to think and think more as a team player.

[Tugby Villain]

Just got back in after being at the game earlier and have to say I enjoyed that game today.  Fulham took some massive risks at time playing out from the back, but they were a threat going forward, so that was a good win really.  It's put us in the play off spots now, so hopefully we can kick on from here.

As for us, not massively different from many of the other home games this season really.  Still look more comfortable attacking on the break rather than building through the phases and again had to endure a nervy last ten minutes due to dropping a bit too deep.  Thought the defence was pretty solid today and Hutton did well playing out of position at left back.  I thought Hourihane, Adomah and Onomah had good games, whereas Whelan and Snodgrass were a bit off the pace.  Kodjia looked a bit sharper today, but still looks like he's got a bit of a way to go.

Just a quick note, but I still can't quite understand why Bruce brings everyone back to defend set pieces.  When we clear the ball, it just comes straight back because there is no one up there to challenge for it.  It ends up putting us under pressure, particularly towards the end of games.

It's been explained dozens of times on here but here goes again - the basic idea behind it is to deny space in the box.

It doesn't though because you have players outside the box, on the post etc.  Also, by having at least one player up, it means that at least two of their players need to stay back.  When Davis plays or if there is a big striker in a side, I can understand bringing them back as they can offer a presence, but there isn't really a need to bring every single player back (Adomah for example could stay up).  The bloke who sits next to me goes mad about it and I could see his point today.  When we were clearing the ball, it was just going straight back to them and allowing them to attack again and not allowing us to push out.

It does if everyone's in the box. And the attacking team leaves players back even when the defending team bring everyone back.

You only leave one player back if all the opposition players go back to defend a set piece.  In terms of what happens in the box, well it depends on what marking system is employed, as players will have different jobs depending on which system is used.  Not all of them will be in the box though.

It doesn't really bother me that much (unlike the bloke who sits next to me!) but I do think it can invite pressure and sometimes doesn't let the defensive team push up.   Like a number of games, we had a bit of a nervy ending to the game as we couldn't really get out.

You don't sit in L7 do you Tom?

[Brend'Watkins]

Good game overall and pleased that we hung on to the lead having scored so early in the 2nd half. Never in a million years did I think the game would finish 2-1 such was Fulham's ability to carve us open on both sides. Fulham play very good football to a point, the main point.

[Clampy]

A good win and the perfect response after last week. I thought Onomah and Hourihane were great but I can't say I was too impressed with the idea of taking off of all three forwards near the end, it was too nervy to watch.

[auntiesledd]

I thought the Kodjia of last season would have buried that chance just before Albert scored - who was outstanding today.

Hopefully it's a case of him taking time to get back to the force he was before his injury. It does concern me that he still doesn't appear to be at the races, mind - especially with Davis dipping & Hogan still attempting to make an impact.

On a brighter tip, SB certainly got a tune out of the team yesterday & it sounded like he got his tic-tacs right against a very handy Fulham outfit. I was sceptical after last weekend's debacle, but it's great to see that we showed the bounce-back-ability that'll be vital to get us out of this division. It sets us up nicely for the rapidly approaching showdown with the Sty-Dwellers, so let's hope us finally moving into the Play Off places bodes well for a dominant display next weekend. UTV 

[Nastylee]

I thought Kodj looked a lot more himself today. Lacked a goal but had some good movement and was a thorn in their side.

For those claiming Fulham looked good, take a listen to this. Their fans reckon they were crap and deserved nothing.

https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2017/10/21/16513130/cottage-talk-podcast-aston-villa-vs-fulham-post-match-show

[SoccerHQ]

Onamah allowed Whelan to have his best game for us. Whelan was being asked to do too much and Onamah in a 4-5-1 allows Whelan to be the clean up man as opposed to creator and clean up which he just doesn’t have the legs for.

Big problem is a few poor results and everyone will be demanding 4-4-2 again, it's always the same when we play 4-5-1 and are too negative playing it (maybe next week).

I agree Whelan needs more legs around him. Onomah is a class act and should be starting in any case so I'd probably take Snodgrass out of the 11.

[Olof's Beard]

Bruce said the squad got together at the start of the season to discuss the factors that they needed to change to improve our chances of promotion. Away form was one of them, and there are signs of improvement there even if we still have a long way to go.

But the biggest and most significant so far is our new found ability to get goals from different areas of the pitch. Last year, we had Kodjia on 19 goals and then Grealish was the only other player to make 5 goals for the season, something he achieved on the final day.

Now we already have Hourihane and Adomah on that mark, with Davis, Onomah, Snodgrass and the centre halves all capable of chipping in. If we assume that Kodjia will start scoring at some point, we should have stay in the top 6 and push for the top 2 given the improved defensive resilience.

[Comrade Blitz]

Need to be winning matches like that by more than 1 goal.

[mr underhill]

agree we need more up front and I would be looking to move Hogan on in January. That sounds harsh I know, but I genuinely think it's not going to work out for him here.

[Clampy]

Need to be winning matches like that by more than 1 goal.

I'd like to have seen us get a third but 2-1 gets us the three points so i'm not complaining.

[Pat McMahon]

I generally enjoyed yesterday's game, and thought most of the team had a decent game against good oposition. Fulham are very easy on the eye and their confidence on the ball even in defence was incredible considering their keeper had a poor right foot.

Top marks to Adomah for the goal and general work rate. Defence was solid all through, backed by an in form Johnston, with that excellent 2nd half save . I thought the much maligned Whelan was decent , though once the opposition get behind him he is never going to catch them.

Points to improve: Kodjia really needs to learn to pass when other players are in better positions; Snodgrass was below par, and my biggest bugbear, our brainlessness in the last few minutes when each of the midfielders had the chance to play a measured ball out of defence for Keinan to chase but just wildly hoofed it upfield. We just invited pressure on to ourselves.

Outside the game I bumped into 2 French women. We started a conversation and they were there to meet Kodjia as they are Ivoirian friends from Paris and it is his birthday weekend. I asked why they weren't in the VIP area and they said they had been offered the full treatment but had gone shopping instead! What was impressive was that they had come from Paris to meet a millionaire footballer but had raided Primark in Brum....

[VillaAlways]

Need to be winning matches like that by more than 1 goal.

So weve gone from wins against the lower teams not being proper wins to wins by only one goal not being proper wins

It was an excellent win against a good side. Be happy

[Pat McMahon]

One final point. I was in the North Stand for the first time in ages ( great to see Aftab again) and the Holte seemed very quiet.