Post-Match Thread - Aston Villa 1 - 3 Abominable Kit Stealers

[Small Rodent]

That’s the thing that I can’t understand
It’s almost as if something else was going on that we don’t know about

I’m not saying there was
We were so bad it just looked that way

Yeah, it happens in every walk of life.

[The Edge]

Once it was obvious they were doubling up on Jack (ie once the teams were announced) we should have ensured the rest of the team made the extra man elsewhere play, not keep on playing thru Jack. Or, shift Jack to a different position, say 10, and upset their plans. I don’t think any of the team played well and looked grouchy which doesn’t help.
Singling individuals out doesn’t help much but disappointed with Barkley and AEG was poor. Olly looks knackered which I think contributed to his poor touches, Konsa getting angry doesn’t sit right as he’s normally so unflappable.
Disappointing, not the end of the world but we must be better on Saturday...let’s at least make it hard for Arsenal to score and that means defending from front to back.

I made the point earlier about top managers being flexible and fluid in their game management. Surely they would of expected the doubling up on Jack and they should be working on a counter plan all week. I suppose it's quite flattering that teams are working on game plans to stifle our attacking threat but we never seem to do the same. We just seem to put out our team in our favoured formation and go for it which has worked on numerous occasions this season but not last night and we just weren't prepared for it. Whether we possess the players to make changes on the hoof is another matter. If Dean thinks we need players who are capable of doing that then he and the club must address that if we're to achieve our objectives.

[PeterWithe]

I think that if there were a criticism of Jack, God forbid, its that when he did get the ball and there were three around him, he didnt move the ball fast enough for others to take advantage of the overload possibilities elsewhere on the pitch.

[London Villan]

He takes crap corners too.

[Drummond]

We just weren't at the races. Nobody did brilliantly but they were a typical Moyes team. It's why they are where they are. That's 6 wins out of 7 isn't it? They are no mugs.

We just didn't have anyone grabbing it and taking us forward. Nothing came off apart form the goal, which was great.

AEG was awful, Barkley, Konsa wasn't on it, and McGinn and Luiz didn't click either. The disciplined shape we've played when having good results wasn't there. West Ham managed to disrupt our flow really well. Arsenal will play a different way and I've no doubt we'll look far better against them.

[brontebilly]

We just weren't at the races. Nobody did brilliantly but they were a typical Moyes team. It's why they are where they are. That's 6 wins out of 7 isn't it? They are no mugs.

We just didn't have anyone grabbing it and taking us forward. Nothing came off apart form the goal, which was great.

AEG was awful, Barkley, Konsa wasn't on it, and McGinn and Luiz didn't click either. The disciplined shape we've played when having good results wasn't there. West Ham managed to disrupt our flow really well. Arsenal will play a different way and I've no doubt we'll look far better against them.

Think Arsenal play somewhat similar wing back set up? I havent seen them play for a while, mind. They have a physical midfield duo but Xhaka in particular is very one paced. Also missing their keeper and Luiz at the weekend, maybe Luiz not much of a loss.

[darren woolley]

Disappointed with the performance but we move on to Arsenal and put the West Ham game behind us.

[Mister E]

Three things (may have been mentioned above):
- they all looked knackered.
- Barkley ain't the man to engage in a dog-fight kind of game: against a strong, doubled-up central midfield partnership of Soucek and Rice he looked lost; and his passing was piss-poor.
- we seem to adopt an unduly high line at home: this has caught us out against Leeds, Brighton and Wet Spam, and is highlighted when we are chasing the game. This seems less the case away from home.

[Lastfootstamper]

We need to stop being generous to sides that wear our colours. 1 point from games in which if we'd got the full 9 points, no-one would say they weren't deserved.

1 from 12, although the end bit isn't so accurate now.

[villa `cross the mersey]

Last night was a bit of a reality check for a few ….. we have much improved on last season obviously, but there is still a long way to go.
Talk of finishing above 10th and getting European football is a bit premature, bearing in mind where we were last season.
With Smith reluctant to change things around, for whatever reason (lack of quality?) the amount of games in a short period was bound to tell at some point..... but hey its the Villa ...… just when we look like we are turning a massive corner and high placed finish is in sight we get over confident and start to anticipate wins as if all we have to do is turn up i.e. those "winnable" games. Its always been that way
Lets celebrate hitting 40 points and look ahead to a summer spending spree 

[mr underhill]

defensively we're either  impregnable or play with the structural integrity of custard. Burnley, last night etc very much the latter.

[Ads]

The age of the side and us being the baby in the league is obvious sometimes.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

The age of the side and us being the baby in the league is obvious sometimes.

As is the size of our players; we seem to struggle against big, physical teams.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

defensively we're either  impregnable or play with the structural integrity of custard. Burnley, last night etc very much the latter.

Strange isn’t it? 10 clean sheets yet we’ve conceded 3 against Leeds, Burnley, West Ham and 4 against Southampton.

[SoccerHQ]

Smiths achiles heel showed up again. We were lucky to go in nil- nil at half time and all Smith did was a like for like substitution.
He has got to start reacting quicker to the game situation. Look what Burnley did to us second half so Dyche and Moyes have done a number on him.

I'm a big fan of Dean & Co but must admit you have a fair point here. Moyes done a tactical number on us in the first half where his gameplan worked a treat. Our midfield was being over run and there was just no room for us to get anything useful going. They managed to kill the space in midfield and tie Jack up in knots. I said in the match thread that it felt like they had more players on the pitch than us. We desperately needed a plan B. We didn't have one and a like for like substitution was the best we could come up with.  Dean is still learning as a top flight manager and this should serve as a warning that when you come up against a manager like Moyes with years of experience you need to be flexible and fluid in your game management. I'm sure big Sam will be licking his lips at the idea of out flanking us in our own back yard. I still have faith in Dean & Co to get it right. We're getting there.

If you watch Dean’s interview on the website he acknowledges where he thinks he got things wrong and the changes he tried to make. The truth is that if we collectively perform as poorly as we did last night then things like tactics and formation become secondary as to why we lost the game.

That’s the thing that I can’t understand
It’s almost as if something else was going on that we don’t know about

I’m not saying there was
We were so bad it just looked that way

I've never seen us play so slow, with so little drive this season. I'm putting it down to a bad day at the office but it was a strange performance

I thought it was a very similar performance to what we did at home to Southampton.

We just struggle a bit v these teams who can press and also got plenty of physical strength even if they don't look amazing on paper compared to a top 4 squad.