Aston ‘we almost caused a shock’ Villa v Peterborough Post Match Thread.

[adrenachrome]

Losing this game is unacceptable yet apologists feel the need to excuse it. If our players had any degree of professional pride they’d put a shift in whether they played Peterborough in the cup or Derby in the playoff final. It’s their job to commit fully to the club not put the handbrake on because they don’t fancy it.

Perhaps next year fans can just pay what they fancy at the gate rather than full price, if the club don’t want to offer 100% why should we?

I didn't want to go today, but my brother who has not been to a game this season because of work commitments wanted to attend and would not be convinced otherwise. I told him: ffs, Bruce is not interested, he will fuck it up; the wind is changing to a North Easterly and we will get our knackers frozen off; the ground will be half empty. All to no avail.

To mitigate against the impending disaster, I placed a very large bet on us to lose. When I saw the team selected I doubled it, and when I saw that Bree was playing as a central defender I effectively trebled the original bet.

I have no problem at all with Bruce making wholesale changes, and I could not give a rat's ass about the FA Cup any more, but I expect to see some cohesion and team spirit. To those that say this result is proof of a lack of squad depth, I would argue that that the U23 team would have won the game.

Fair play to Peterborough; they were the better side by far.

I bet my brother will get a bad dose of influenza. That will learn him.

[Nunkin1965]

Star Wars was good. As was that pint of Moretti we just had. I can read this site and not be bothered, while normally post defeat I am quite the grumpy goose.

It's just not relevant to a 2nd division team and deep down you know it. Magic of the cup? Where's the magic in a literal half full Villa Park?

Dave's right. Our captain got 90 minutes and got out unscathed. The performance was rank and there's a number of reason why, but I lack the interest to care. At home to.lower league opposition in the early rounds, the Cup is shite. Give me a win over Forest all today everyday. I know they don't have to be mutually exclusive, but it demonstrates a point.

So the fans that attended today were wasting their time then?
I've got to say that the thought that John Terry got through unscathed didn't really enter my head while we were being fucked over  by a league one side.

[Ads]

Yes we were wasting our time. In reality it's saved me some money and some time. We weren't going to win the cup so why play a rigged game?* pride? Pft.

*it's a can of worms about the Premier League there.

[Nunkin1965]

Until today I’d never been selective in my support for the team as I’ve turned up on countless occasions entering this very same scenario. But no more.

The sad reality is that we’ll be doing like Mark Hughes and resting players against the big 6 if we ever get back to the Premier League. Just so we can save ourselves for the big relegation clash the following week.

After 26 season ticket years this manager is beginning to test my loyalty in having one.

[saunders_heroes]

Until today I’d never been selective in my support for the team as I’ve turned up on countless occasions entering this very same scenario. But no more.

The sad reality is that we’ll be doing like Mark Hughes and resting players against the big 6 if we ever get back to the Premier League. Just so we can save ourselves for the big relegation clash the following week.

After 26 season ticket years this manager is beginning to test my loyalty in having one.

Oh please! We’ve just put up with one of the worst periods In our entire history ending in relegation to the Championship and only now do you think your loyalty should be tested? We’re actually on our way back, not on our way down! Where have you been since 2010??

[saunders_heroes]

To be honest I couldn’t give a shite about today. It’s all about promotion this season, and all other competitions are a distraction. We have to go up this year, nothing else matters.

[St AustellAVFC]

Always gutted when we lose no matter what but on the bright side my non refundable hotel and time off work I’ve booked for Fulham away is now all good. A weekend away in smoke with the Mrs at the best away day is now ON.

[olaftab]

To be honest I couldn’t give a shite about today. It’s all about promotion this season, and all other competitions are a distraction. We have to go up this year, nothing else matters.

That was the case last season and previous 5 seasons it was all about avoiding relegation and previous to that it was about champions league qualification ...and and and. Sorry but this has to stop. We need to play to win every game we compete in. Full stop.

[old man villa fan]

I do not understand some people's attitude in accepting quite easily what happened.  Perhaps I am old fashioned and certainly from a different era but I grew up with the game of teams wanting to compete and win every game.  There were probably  17,000 or 18,000 Villa fans that paid good money to attend. To then have the Club turn round to those fans and say we can't be bothered about this game is shocking. Also, for fans that accept this, IMO, shows a lack of respect for the fans that went down to see a competitive match. Perhaps some fans have enough money to be able to go to the match and not be bothered about getting a performance from the team. I wonder what the response from the Club would be come the next cup game and no one bothered to turn up.

I do not understand how managers expect to get a performance from the team by making so many changes. Changing, say, 5 players gives you some continuity. The team put out was something equivalent to pulling 11 guys from the pub together who had never met before and asking them to play as an effective team. Perhaps this is one of my biggest issues with Bruce in that he just expects 11 individuals to go on the pitch and perform. There just doesn't seem to be any recognisable plan.

We have a large squad but it is poorly balanced to the point that when we get to games like this, we end up playing players out of position. Even so, we should be able to cope with additional games that a cup run brings. I grew up with great cup wins against the odds that defined me as a Villa fan. Remembering the likes of Southampton in the FA Cup, Man Utd in the LC and Arsenal again in the FA Cup, makes it hard to accept the modern attitude to just throw games.

[brian green]

Agree.  Either play to win or don't play at all. Strategic team weakening gets you nowhere in the long run.  It is the negativity of not losing at all costs in a different suit of clothes.  Playing silly buggers with team selection and player positions in games of ANY kind destroys confidence and it destroys momentum.  That we took a fall against Peterborough will enhance our chances of smashing Forest is straight out of the If We Go Down We Are Going To Smash The Championship book of football myths.

[mr underhill]

you can colour this anyway you like - but yesterday was a disgrace, another ignominious fuck up in a long line of ignominious cup fuck ups and I would like to think that the fuckwad in charge of the team is gone in May, irrespective of where we finish.

[PROVERBS1966]

Anyone who thinks there is anything positive about both the performance and the defeat today are deluded in my opinion. The club seemed to have turned a corner after the last 2 league games, especially Bristol and now that has been wiped away in those 90 minutes today. Whether you like the FA Cup or not , to me its the Holy Grail, winning is a habit and to have made 10 changes and to effectively play a team who have never played together before has proven to be ridiculous. My weekend is ruined when we loose especially when its in this manner and in the beloved (for me) FA Cup which I have never seen us win.

[Ads]

We've not won it in 61 years. We've made two finals and been diabolical in both. We've not respected the cup in years. If people still remember who we've been knocked out by in two months time I'll be shocked.

It was a lamentable performance and if people want to get angry fair enough. All this garbage about not respecting fellow fans or questioning support seems a bit Mrs Lovejoy to me. We surrendered at Spurs last season. Do you remember it? Did you go? Who beat us the year before? No i dont remember either. The year before that, pity we didn't go out earlier.

[jwarry]

If there is any good to come out of this, it’s the realisation the squad is not good enough.  We might have loads of players but there is little quality in the right positions.  Problem is we are fucked by ffp and it will take years to address it, so we have to put up with days like yesterday

[Ads]

I don't know about whether the squad is good enough, it would have helped if we'd actually played a balanced side.

Elphick and Whelan or an equivalent defensive midfielder out to have played. Instead we had three full backs and a centre half who hadn't played since 4th November at the back and a midfield without a holding player.

Thor moved the ball far too slowly.
Onomah slows down the play in a more effort filled way.
O'Hare is a delightful player but wasted wide.
Hourihane was the only one who got that you need to press and move it with speed- he looked like he was in the first IX.
Green was as rusty as you'd expect a rookie who hadn't played since August to be.
Lansbury has a nice range of passing but lacks discipline and any defensive ability; sit he cannot.
Davis looked a yard off the pace the way he was reacting a second or two behind and seemingly unable to react.

It was a side scooped up and thrown on and a number let themselves down, but the system didn't help. It was a wretched performance.

Will it affect momentum? Who knows. I'm not sure Johnstone, Hutton, Chester, Elmo, Jedinak, Snoddy, Adomah or Hogan, who will all come back in, will feel that chastened by it all.