Aston Villa v Southampton Post Match Thread

[West Derby Villan]

We've an attacking coach without attackers that are good enough in this league. That's the issue.

Yeah spot on

[qwerty]

Look at Sheffield United: chasing down defenders, chasing lost causes, block after block, defenders doing proper defending throwing themselves in front of the ball. players challenging hard for headers, marking their men, and taking their chances, that is why they will stay up comfortably.
Look at Aston Villa: players constantly falling to the floor at the slightest challenge and holding their faces, whingening at the referee, defenders who seem to have no communication with each other, no marking from set pieces, a midfield you can drive a truck through, a centre forward who misses vital chances and cannot hold up the ball, wide players who do not get crosses into the box, overplaying in the wrong areas, a reliance on one player, not a team, serious injuiries to our most aggressive players.
After yesterday I saw Engels disintegrate from a player I thought showed promise into a jibbering wreck of a defender, Hause likewise, Guilkbert had one of the poorest performances I've ever seen, ditto El Ghazzi, Jack tried but he can't do it all, the only player who really looked like he was up for a fight was Luiz.
Smith stood and watched, where is the young tactical manager that was at Brentford? He seems to have assembled a squad of players with no backbone, who cannot comprehend that you can't play unless you win the ball, and if you change it we haven't the type of players re. Sheffield United.
This manager assembled this squad, which we all know is weak, and unless something changes we are going down, with a whimper.
Shane Long FFS terrorised our defence!
I think players like Hutton and even Chester woukld have given him a whack or two, but he and Ings had the freedom of our defence, we conceded on average 25 shots per game...how the frig are we going to win a game like that!!!!
For FFS Smith tighten up our team somehow (ie three at the back, play for some clean sheets to build confidence) or we are doomed to relegation.
Rant over

Oscar Arce,

You do yourself a disservice. That was not a rant, it was a very fair assessment of Villa’s players and manager.

Dean Smith is currently a rabbit in the headlights. There is no plan A, let alone a plan B.

He should be removed pronto and not allowed anywhere near a January transfer kitty, bearing in mind the quality of his previous purchases. Only Mings and Heaton have been above average.

It is very unlikely that Rafa Benitez is going to come to Villa, so in his absence I would go for an experienced Premiership manager like Chris Hughton before he gets snapped up elsewhere.