Aston Villa v Southampton Post Match Thread

[SoccerHQ]

We said last week we need a response from Leeds. Hugely disappointed with how we played first half even if Southampton were ultra clinical in their set pieces.

Think team needs to be mixed up a little bit. We have some good footballers in midfield now but the balance never seems to be right in these type of games so hopefully the manager remembers that for future games as we don't half struggle against manic pressing teams.

[stubbsyandy]

What the hell has happened to the much improved defence?  Terrible.
[/quote
I think we are lacking authority in midfield

[Villa Lew]

Another 10 minutes we could have won the match, but the first half was as bad as anything I can remember from last season. Anyway a lot of positives, which is something I wasn't expecting to say at half time.

[LukeJames]

A man on the line for the 2 free kicks and we get something from that game. Massive lesson.

[Stinkin_Thinkin]

How can you stop those precision free kicks? Put a man on the post? assign the paul parker role of charger to someone?
We were poor first half but the stats show the direct freekicks were the difference today. Both went in the same top corner. dissapointing.

[PaulWinch again]

If I were Conor I’d be feeling pretty aggrieved at my lack of involvement in the last two games.

[ktvillan]

Yay won the second half 3-1 and could have had more.  Too little too late but at least we played some decent stuff and salvaged some of our goal difference.

But first half was dreadful.  Our self-destructive defending,  dreadful decision making (McGinn marking a giant at a set piece?  Really?), individual errors, playing to the oppositions' strengths and practically inviting them to score was akin to the pre-covid part of last season.  As was the midfield going AWOL again.

Dropping down the table to a more realistic level I feel, but if we are to avoid dropping too far we need to get back to being hard to beat, pronto. 

[Loxton01]

Such a strange and frustrating game to watch. First half we were so naive and got punished for stupid errors. To give one free kick away was stupid to give two away criminal. Also how can you defend McGinn marking vestergaard. I see when mings scored he beat vestergaard to the ball. We didn’t fold but you wonder had Southampton taken foot off the gas by then.

McGinn and Barkley need to be much much better at the defensive side they were far too soft.

We need to learn and fast as this has been three points thrown away

[PaulWinch again]

Smart captaincy from Jack to give Ollie the pen. He needed that goal, but more generally he needs better support in and around him.

[steamer]

I said to my son for the second free kick, is there a new rule that you can not have a man on the line ?
Have someone on that left post and it takes it down as an option
Instead they fucking score there !!

[villa for life]

I’d like to see this

             Martinez

Cash konsa Mings Engels targett

      Barkley luiz Mcginn


          Grealish
     
           Watkins

[WilliamStanding]

Score 7 against the champions doesn’t make us top 6, conceding 7 against two very good teams BTW doesn’t make us bottom 6.

We all would have accepted mid table and that’s where we will likely to finish.

Relax.

[SoccerHQ]

I said to my son for the second free kick, is there a new rule that you can not have a man on the line ?
Have someone on that left post and it takes it down as an option
Instead they fucking score there !!

Guess it's up to what Martinez wants. Player on the line brings opposition players into his eyeline infront of him but yeah it likely would've stopped at least one of the goals.

Next time v Southampton we just have to let them run on in occasions rather than taking them down on edge of the box as we saw today what is more likely to lead to goals conceded against them.

[AlexAlexCropley]

Score 7 against the champions doesn’t make us til 6, conceding 7 against two very good teams BTW doesn’t make us bottom 6.

We all would have accepted mid table and that’s where we will likely to finish.

Relax.

Up the Gers.Right up 'em.

[ktvillan]

How can you stop those precision free kicks? Put a man on the post? assign the paul parker role of charger to someone?

The first one was a perfect position for someone as good as Ward-Prowse and was from a stupid challenge by (I think) Luiz who had got the wrong side.   The second one should have been too difficult to get up and over a decent wall as it was so close - If Mings had jumped it would probably have hit him smack in the chops, or at least deflected upwards.  God knows why he stood rooted to the floor, it went right over him and in.  Another self-inflicted, avoidable error.