Brighton 0-0 Aston Villa post match thread

[TonyD]

McGinn and Doug haven’t been tight for about the last 7 games.
Barkley on his return apart from his fab head winning goal - let’s be honest has been dreadful.  Love to see his pass completion record.
We have the defending and keeper to thank for.   
Jack who I think is the best thing since sliced bread - hasn’t been nowhere near his best  - for a long time.

DS and CS need to get their thinking caps on. 

Because - I believe we still have the talent and drive to get into Europe. 

Just need to adapt quicker than the other teams in the last 16 games.

[PeterWithe]

Tough one, I think we need to be a bit braver and sacrifice Jack a bit, keep him very high and wide left and get players closer to him to switch the ball to take advantage of gaps elsewhere. We need to be a bit braver in pushing players up, we didn’t do that tonight, they set the tempo.

[The Edge]

Another thing from tonight that bugged me was the amount of times Byrne who plays in defence on the left of a three got forward and became a threat to us. For me that's a result of playing with a lone striker. We need to get on the training ground and sort a few things out. I still believe in the team and the management. It's been a brilliant season so far and I can't wait to get in the ground and cheer em on.

[rougegorge]

I think our 'Expected Goals' tonight could be one of the lowest ever figures recorded..

The midfield players lacked any energy or urgency and we constantly gave the ball away unnecessarily when under no pressure.

Martínez was excellent and I thought Mings and Targett did well, but mostly it was like watching a performance from last season.

Barkley may have scored the winner at Southampton but he's been way off it since he came back, and McGinn and Luiz are well below par too.

Grealish was anonymous tonight, but I'm tiring of Smith's tactic of playing him wide left. We were more effective in December when Barkley was out and we played two inverted wingers.

[Nev]

In the context of the season I'm delighted with a point. The performance wasn't good but sometimes that's what happens.

Keep enjoying the ride, there will be better, there will be worse, but there won't be a struggle and that in itself is a triumph.

[Ian.]

Grealish was anonymous tonight, but I'm tiring of Smith's tactic of playing him wide left. We were more effective in December when Barkley was out and we played two inverted wingers.

The midfield is really struggling and we haven’t looked fluid for a while. Maybe since that first half against Burnley. You do make a great point, we did look far more balanced in December.

[The Edge]

I think our 'Expected Goals' tonight could be one of the lowest ever figures recorded..

The midfield players lacked any energy or urgency and we constantly gave the ball away unnecessarily when under no pressure.

Martínez was excellent and I thought Mings and Targett did well, but mostly it was like watching a performance from last season.

Barkley may have scored the winner at Southampton but he's been way off it since he came back, and McGinn and Luiz are well below par too.

Grealish was anonymous tonight, but I'm tiring of Smith's tactic of playing him wide left. We were more effective in December when Barkley was out and we played two inverted wingers.

I agree with your point about Jack. He seemed to be walking quite a bit tonight and at times didn't look like he was too happy with the role he's playing.

[brontebilly]

I think the turning point was West Ham at home. They came with a game plan to close out our midfield threat and take away the threat posed by Jack. They doubled up on him and niggled the life out of him and wore him down. Against Arsenal they didn't use such a plan as they rely on their own ability rather than concentrating on stopping their opponents but they weren't good enough on the day.So that's where we're at now. Top teams play us their own way lesser clubs like Brighton and West Ham plan to stop us and then pick us off. It's now over to our coaching staff to find ways to out manoeuvre our respective opponents.

Last 15-20 mins that game, Jack moved inside and caused a lot of problems. We need him playing a lot closer to Watkins. Leicesters two full backs today were average at best with Ricardo out of position on the left. Wouldn't be surprised to see Rodgers switch to a back three against us if Fofana is back to try and keep Jack quiet again.

[PeterWithe]

I think Jack starting from the left is best for the team, we do seem slow to change things when it’s not working though, maybe because the bench isn’t strong enough

[aj2k77]

We've been pretty poor since the Burnley first half for me, 4 and a half games where we haven't looked cohesive at all moving forwards. Mcginn, Luiz and Barkley aren't working at the moment, something has to give. Credit for keeping shape defensively and toughing out a point but overall poor again.

[rougegorge]

I think Jack starting from the left is best for the team, we do seem slow to change things when it’s not working though, maybe because the bench isn’t strong enough

That's one criticism of Smith. He very rarely changes the formation or changes tactics. A substitution is usually made on a like-for-like basis.

[Drummond]

They are the form team (other than ManCity) and we nullified each other. They were better but rarely threatened.

It's another point.

Rarely threatened  ? They had 26 shots with 9 on target. I'd hate to see us play a team that did threaten.

I honestly never felt like they would score.

We looked far less likely of course. Perhaps Martinez has given me that much confidence.

Barkley tried all sorts and nothing came off. McGinn has been trying a lot of fancy passes that haven't worked too. That combination needs to change.

[The Edge]

I think Smith's teams are well known for hitting a sticky patch mid season. If this is ours then I'm so be it. We're still picking up points without hitting the heights we've become accustomed to. Looking forward to them getting back on track and a season finale to remember. I haven't felt so optimistic in many years so a couple of under par performances aren't going to spoil all the good work that's been done up to now.

[aj2k77]

Maybe Sansom and Grealish moved in to the middle and Trezeguet out wide.


McGinn   Sansom

      Grealish

Traore          Trez

         Watkins

I haven't been impressed with Luiz for much of this season and Barkley has gone massively off the boil since his return from injury. Trez, if over his covid was offering us massive work rate when we looked a better team earlier in the season.

[Risso]

A point from playing badly is an improvement of sorts I suppose, and it's another clean sheet thanks to the brilliant Martinez.  Another game though following West Ham, where we had no answer whatsoever to Jack being marked out of the game.  Barkley continues to do absolutely nothing of note.  Not alone there of course, but he won't having his move made permanent at this rate, he's been below par for weeks now, and the excuses are wearing thin.