Aston Villa v Hull City Post Match Thread

[Ads]

I thought today demonstrated the absence of Axel as much as anything. How Hull were able to contain us first half with Chester so poor at playing it out.

Second half where we hemmed them in for the majority of it showed where Grealish taking runners and having that majestic quality and guile was missed.

[Villa75]

What's that, 1 win in 9, and almost at the end of our 'easy run'?

The answer, apparently being, yet another mass clear out and a season of two 'rebuilding ' in the 2nd division.

When will this shit ever end?

[john e]

Take a poor field with poor soil that has been neglected for years and no matter what quick fix chemicals or nutrients you put into the soil no crops will really flourish.  The field will take a few years of good management with the right nutrients and compost before any decent crops will grow. That is where Aston Villa is at today.

and yet Beilsa takes on even longer neglected ground (Leeds didn’t even make the play offs last season)
and within 5 minutes they sit top of the pile

I know ads thinks they will blow up but this time they might have managed to find a manager that knows what he’s doing (and spying)

My belief is you can turn football clubs round quite quickly if you get the set up right
and that starts with having the right manager

I was convinced Smith was that man a few weeks ago but my faith has been shaken just lately

[Nev]

Before the game I feared for Smith, but that Chester goal is nagging me as a turning point, no idea why but sometimes you're close to utter disaster then something turns.  I really think that we may look back at this as a bullet dodged.
No evidence, nothing more than a feeling.

Jesus, I hope I'm right.

[Tayls_7]

Before the game I feared for Smith, but that Chester goal is nagging me as a turning point, no idea why but sometimes you're close to utter disaster then something turns.  I really think that we may look back at this as a bullet dodged.
No evidence, nothing more than a feeling.

Jesus, I hope I'm right.

Christ almighty. Are we really myopic and impatient?

[sirlordbaltimore]

At half time I was up for lynching the lot of them. Feckless fuckers.

Second half we at least competed (the bare minimum you'd expect) and regained some pride but bloody hell we look so poor compared to the team we were just a month or so ago

Kalanic 5 nowhere near what i expected him to be so far
Hutton 4 utter fucking mince
Chester 4 please bring back the real James Chester
Elphick 5 not the answer, but LOVED that sliding tackle second half

McGinn 7 absolutely LOVE the bloke, basically he's our entire midfield right now
Hourihane 4 nah, fucking useless again
Bjarnason 3 that fucking header ... that fucking header. useless all over

Bolasie 3 can we not send him back ?
Abraham 6 put in a shift as usual but got buckley's to work with
Adomah 4 another that can move on ASAP

Kodjia 4 nah, chose wrong option too often as always
Fugazi 4 barely noticed he was on
Green 5 wasn't blown away by him but he showed some effort. i'd much rather see him doing that and getting minutes under his belt than keep playing Bolasie/Adomah


After the Swansea cup massacre we heard how the players had bounced back in training the week after and were up for Wigan

After the Wigan massacre we heard how the players had bounced back in training the week after and were up for Hull

Dean, they're either taking the piss out of you and your coaching staff in the week mate or they've all got no fucking backbone when playing in front of a crowd. Fuck off the shirkers NOW. The play offs are unlikely, so just blood some of the younger lads now and see what they can do between now and the summer makeover.

Because this current playing staff needs a HUGE clear out that's for certain.

[Loxton01]

Just back in from the game again two points dropped. From what I witnessed Hull certainly weren’t nothing special and relied on counter attacks against our excuse for a defence. We again gave a team a two goal start when will they learn. 

Kalinic - 3- looks like zero improvement poor for their first goal came for one cross and completely missed then was stuck to his line gives no confidence to our back four. Our best keeper this season has been steer and he has only played two games he deserves a run

Hutton -5 - always tries and battled away second half exposed terribly for their second goal but personally don’t see the powder puff bree as an answer

Chester -4- got better as game went on but again caught under the ball for the first goal. His passing is woeful

Elphick -5 - average looks shaky playing out but at least stuck at it second half

Taylor - 4 - where was he when Bowen scored the first goal. Tbf was prob one of his better displays

Hourihane -1- that is for his assist after that he literally offered nothing to the game he can’t tackle he can barely cover the ground he gets caught time and time again he has to be dropped. He passes sideways and backwards and won’t take a risk because he is not up to it.You can’t pick a player just because he may do a decent delivery 1 in 10 attempts. He is stealing a living at our great club

BB - 4 - first half very poor too deep and ineffective improved second half was criminal he was took off instead of hourihane

McGinn -7- tried so hard if only they all did

Adomah -3- terrible ineffective lazy half arsed display. He needs a rocket up his arse shaking and being told to get a grip

Bolasie - 3 - another ineffective infuriating display should be tearing up this league lack of desire means he isn’t

Tammy -8- did everything he could to carry the team through defending running back

Elghazi -6 - bright but looks better as a su

Green -5 - some good but his tracking back needs improving I fear he doesn’t have much awareness

Kodj -4- greedy and not a team player

If I was smith I’d give Tammy and McGinn the day off the rest I’d have them in for hours and work on defensive shape over and over again.

Aston Villa is a soft and an average players dreamland until it changes we are going nowhere

Whelan jedinak hourihane Lansbury Hogan Richards Taylor bjarnsson bree Elmo are simply not good enough

Bolasie Adomah are not hungry enough

Kodija is simply too greedy

It don’t leave many of them left

[mike]

Automatic gone & play offs gone, here for another season

Im wondering have we settled for that at management and board level already?

The two signings already made this month certainly dont seem the types to come straight into a team.

Elphick, Steer and Green all back from loans and a bunch of players in the last few months of their contracts still involved in the first team.

Has an end of days feel to it.

Grealish's injury was obviously a huge below but Ive been distinctly unimpressed by Smith since then.

We have completely fallen apart.

Seems it was agreed at London summit that will be massive squad overhaul in summer (ties in with DS comments about getting average age of squad down) and then DS will be under massive scrutiny from day 1 of next season.

Let's hope he gets it all right as I imagine he's already feeling pressure he simply hasn't had at his previous two clubs.

Sounds horribly like the Lambert brief.

[ChicagoLion]

Take a poor field with poor soil that has been neglected for years and no matter what quick fix chemicals or nutrients you put into the soil no crops will really flourish.  The field will take a few years of good management with the right nutrients and compost before any decent crops will grow. That is where Aston Villa is at today.

and yet Beilsa takes on even longer neglected ground (Leeds didn’t even make the play offs last season)
and within 5 minutes they sit top of the pile

I know ads thinks they will blow up but this time they might have managed to find a manager that knows what he’s doing (and spying)

My belief is you can turn football clubs round quite quickly if you get the set up right
and that starts with having the right manager

I was convinced Smith was that man a few weeks ago but my faith has been shaken just lately

I think any turnaround in any business depends on the legacy that has been left behind.
Because he has not had the opportunity to clear out and rebuild I can’t draw a conclusion yet
Somebody was needed to do this, particularly when you look at the squad.
The question for me is he the right person to do it and we won’t know until next season.

[CT]

Dean can't do much when some of those players are blatantly not even trying.

I feel like hugging John McGinn, giving everything whilst playing alongside that chocolate fireguard Hourihane, a totally disinterested BB and a fucking woeful Bolasie.

I would send him back to Everton, now. That passage of play where Tammy ran from one side to the other, pressing, while he stood there with his thumb up his arse. Then failed to move again when we won the ball back. I've seen enough of him.

Hull have themselves to blame, they were time wasting over every dead ball from the first minute. They probably could have put us to the sword if they'd gone for it.

Another pathetic referee who let the keeper take an age over every goal kick. Week in, week out, it's a joke.

That first 40 minutes was utterly depressing, considering this was supposed to be our big response to exactly the same performance at Wigan, and exactly the same performance against Swansea. We've totally lost our way, time to ship out some loans and give our own a proper run. For me, the play offs are gone and we need to start prepraring now.

[Damo70]

I wouldn't blame our keeper for Hull's second goal. He is anticipating the volley but wasn't to know it would be driven into the ground and get a wicked bounce off the turf.

[Three Spires Villa]

I wouldn't blame our keeper for Hull's second goal. He is anticipating the volley but wasn't to know it would be driven into the ground and get a wicked bounce off the turf.

Ok fair point, but he was at fault for the first, and the first & third v Swansea in the cup. I wasn’t at Wigan so can’t comment, but he don’t look good

[rougegorge]

After witnessing last week's debacle, I thought it couldn't get worse, but that first half today was a mere continuation.

Smith said he had 'a word' at half time, and after the break it was better, though not brilliant. However, did he not have a word before the game or during the week?

Playing two wide just doesn't work without Grealish and the wingers themselves are proving inadequate so I'm underwhelmed with the tactics.
Also, if Hourihane plays, he must be further forward.

The defence including the keepers, all throw in dreadful mistakes with regularity. They are collectively worse now than under Bruce which seems ridiculous given that defending is what Smith and Terry should know most about.

Also, I don't buy the weak excuse that Smith rolls out in every game we fail to win: the opposition taking too long to take a throw in or a free kick.

I hope he's got some ideas about players he wants as January will soon be over.

[PeterWithe]

My thoughts.

Early days but the keeper looks as bad as the previous ones.

We lack mobility in midfield and at full back, Taylor did some good things but he’s as weak as piss in a challeng

Both the starting wingers were appalling.

Barney got himself in some good positions but he lacks any kind of quality, Connar was terrible

We look more likely to be involved in th relegation battle than th play offs, and I didn’t expect to be saying that after deans first games

[Clampy]

Before the game I feared for Smith, but that Chester goal is nagging me as a turning point, no idea why but sometimes you're close to utter disaster then something turns.  I really think that we may look back at this as a bullet dodged.
No evidence, nothing more than a feeling.

Jesus, I hope I'm right.

Christ almighty. Are we really myopic and impatient?

I said more or less the same just after we scored. We looked on our arse until that went in and goals like that can give you the lift you need and it worked today. If we'd have won that from two down, it could have changed our season. I presume that's what Nev meant.