Aston Villa vs Bolton Wanderers: Post-Match Thread

[Deano's Mullet]

Refreshing to hear Dean Smith post match. I thought we were well in control but still made hard work of it. Kodjia and Adomah didn't do much. I thought Abraham did ok with very little service and the midfield trio was good but Jack needs to tackle a bit more like he did last season. Fullbacks did ok but their crossing was mixed, centre backs very good and the goalkeeper needs to improve in certain areas but actual shot stopping he seems good at.

[Nii Lamptey]

Back four were excellent. Axel is growing into the role, Hutton and Taylor both played well, and Chester was back to his dependable best.

Midfield - Jack and McGinn were excellent, but thought Hourihane struggled a little - Too lightweight for that role. Needs to get a foot in every now and then.

Don't get the Kodjia hate on this thread - Thought his workrate was excellent last night. End product not so much, but that will come if he continues to put the effort in.
 
Tammy - Looks like he's enjoying playing in the role. Happy enough with him up top, but needs to work on his ball control. Lost count the amount of times the ball just bounced off him.

Weak 3 for me last night - Nyland, Hourihane and Adomah, but not putting a negative spin on what was a pretty good team performance.

Starting to see the training paying dividends - Amazed at the constant rotation of players in the final third, especially during the 1st half!
We'll get there, but it's gonna take time.

UTV

[Clampy]

I thought it was a fairly comfortable win. Tuanzebe is looking a very good player in his proper role and I thought Abraham deserved a goal for the hard work he did off the ball. Three points was the main thing though.

[Axl Rose]

I thought it was a fairly comfortable win. Tuanzebe is looking a very good player in his proper role and I thought Abraham deserved a goal for the hard work he did off the ball. Three points was the main thing though.

This.

[CJ]

Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?

[Axl Rose]

Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?

There you go, mate.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1058481522808893440

[martyn ellis]

I agree that Abraham was a bit sloppy in front of goal and that's what he's there for. But he's a real team man, works his nuts off and more than once made clearing headers in our own box. Love his attitude.

[Brend'Watkins]

Played well enough for most of the game but we are carrying passengers in Hourihane and Adomah. I was furious with Adomah for that needless foul he gave away in the first half that led to Bolton having a dominant 5 minutes. He isn’t anywhere near the player of last season.

I love Bolasie’s pace and trickery. He will be a big asset against the better teams.

[AV82EC]

So first view of the new Smiths Villa and was pleasantly surprised. There were flashes of what is being built with some sloppy play at times. We are much more open at times than previously defensively but I’m comfortable with that as it means we have more up the other end. Our midfield was good last night though Hourihane struggled the longer the game went on. Up front was sloppy, Adomah was not overly effective, Kodjia was OK without really offering a threat and you get the impression Tammy is going to start hitting the onion bag soon though at times when he did hold the ball up there was no one playing near him. One thing I did notice was Bolton played with a ridiculous defensive high line and we didn’t turn their back 4 enough with pace and movement up front. All in all quite encouraging and something to build on.

[tomd2103]

Just in. Another strange game and performance. Much work to be done, but I think we can all see that there is a difference in the way we are set up and expected to play. Doing it well for 90 mins is going to take time. Still a much needed win and a clean sheet. With Nyland in goal I just can't see many of those through the season.

Was sitting at the game last night thinking that the stage is set perfectly for Nyland to drop a real clanger on the 25th against the Blues.  Any teams scouting us will surely look to put balls into the box at every chance and put pressure on him. 

[Nastylee]

I didn't post last night as some of the comments on here make me cross. I didn't think anyone was particularly terrible as some have said. Nyland - makes the great saves look basic, makes the basics look hard. Hopefully, he can find his feet (or should that be hands?) as he is the one that we all worry about.

Yes there's some players such as CH and JK that are being asked to play a role in the team and they are getting used to it. Remember, JK will have probably never been given a job to do in his career. Former managers and his African coaches will probably just say do your own stuff. Now he is being asked to be more disciplined. We all know he has the ability to pull a rabbit out of the bag so let's give him and the others time to adapt to the manager's ideas.

We can all see signs of improvement. Trying to win the ball back, players running into advanced positions, etc. Yes, we can be sloppy in possession at times but it's not going to be perfect after one full week of training. We need to stick with them, try and get ourselves back into the promotion picture and I think that post-January could see us playing with more consistency and mount a challenge. The critical bit is between now and Christmas and that will no doubt dictate our season. Do well and we will be in the top 6, mess it up and it's a long way back.

[CJ]

Anyone got a link to Smith's post match interview/comments?

There you go, mate.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1058481522808893440

Thanks for that. Refreshingly honest - what a change from Bruce

[old man villa fan]

Thought it was very comfortable all told. Bolton had one tactic in attack of hitting the long diagonal and we coped pretty well.

Dominated for most of the game, interjected with some sloppy recycling of possession.

How anybody Can have watched the game and thought Bolton were the better side for large parts is beyond me. What utter bollocks.

The negatives:

The keeper. He's so lacking in confidence in commanding the area and dealing with the high ball.

The full backs. They're part of the reason why we recycled it too easily at times. Both aren't up to the standard needed.

Hourihane. Abysmal. The worst Villa player out there. He was no use in covering the back four, lacked physical presence and was so easy to slip by.

Wasted chances. We got into good positions a number of times and spurned some gifts.

The positives

You can see what Smith is trying to do and there are some real moments of clarity where movement meets tempo and we look a good side.

Grealish. Excellent movement and finish for his goal. An assist too and was a big handful as usual.

McGinn. Excellent again. He really adds a lot to the midfield with the way he works so hard off it and has legs to drive us on.

Chester. A game without a mistake, with a superb clearance, a goal and better passing.

Axel. He's the better centre half.

Fair summing up of the match and generally as I saw it.

Looking at both Axel and Chester, they looked as though they had good games but when you look at the chaos every time the ball comes into the box, you would have to question whether they did.  I think a choice is going to have to be made on keeping one in the side but teaming them with a strong central defender.

I thought Taylor had a good game and Hutton did well between the half way line and their penalty area but again, you have to look at the back four together and say they are not good enough as a unit.  At times, we are blinded by good play but ignore the contribution towards the team.  Possibly the reason why we look like a team of individuals.

I think the team needs freshening up as a there looks to be too much complacency generally.  I wouldn't mind seeing Kodjia and Hourihane moved on if we can get reasonable money for them.  I don't think Kodjia and Abraham are the right combination up front but Abraham offers more.  This is frustrating as he is only on loan.  Bruce has left us in a right mess going forward with his short term loans and use of older players.  Smith has his work cut out but he has a clear strategy.  Given time and some help in restructuring the squad, he will get it right.

[ktvillan]

Just watched the interview and it's refreshing that Smith saw it similarly to many of the fan comments and my own views - a bit under par, lack of pressing, not enough movement, sloppy on the ball at times and giving too many chances away.  You can still see signs of improvement and in spells we played some decent football. 

We really could do with a commanding CB who is good in the air, the current two are both decent on the floor but neither are that tall and the rest of the team aren't that big either. 

Individually I though Abraham was well intentioned but had the touch of a trampoline and is never going to retain possession until he improves in that area.

Nyland was more morris dancer than viking tonight again which is another factor in our struggle to defend crosses.

Grealish started to show what he is capable of, McGinn is a great player to have in your team and I enjoyed Bolasie's cameo - a proper injection of pace running at the opposition, and he's got some skill as well.

We seem to be very dangerous at attacking set pieces these days, which is great to see.

[saunders_heroes]

Good win. Was excited to see Bolasie come on and actually look the part. He’s gonna be a big asset as the season progresses.