Aston Villa 0 Spuds 2 Post Match Thread

[algy]

Some of us really go from one extreme to the other.

We play well for a few weeks and we’re going to qualify for Europe. We go on a bad run of form and next season we will struggle and heading for relegation.

Maybe at the moment we’re a mid table squad having a bad run of form and have a world class player missing. We’re still re-building from a decade of dross. We’re going to invest again this summer and add quality and depth, we know that’s a given.

We’ve still only be paying small amounts per player when you compare it to the top half of the table. We’ve been hindered by FFP as well so that’s been a noose for the re-building.

Spot on

Yep.

Agree totally.

[Abbeyfealeavfc]

Great points, well made Ian.

[Clampy]

Well said Ian. A welcome bit of well thought through common sense I thought.

Yeah, it was disapointing again and very predictable. You could have named the subs before they were made for example. We just didn't look like scoring and without Jack., that's something Smith needs to address in the close season. Let's hope the break has come at the right time for us to regroup and hopefully go on a good run when we get back.

[Nii Lamptey]

I think a lot of the negative stuff on here is down to frustration with a manager that has no plan B.

Most of us WANT Dean Smith to succeed (in fact, ALL of us must surely?!), but those of us who criticise him get beaten with the 'When are you going to stop with the *Grealish got us promoted*' stick.

The fact is, would we even be in the Premier League now, had it not been for Jack's form in that run in? In the two seasons since, Dean Smith, despite spending the national debt of a small country on new players, STILL has no answer to fielding a competitive side that doesn't include Jack Grealish. The stats don't lie and the buck stops with him.

He persists with a totally out of form Douglas Luis, he's played John McGinn out of position most of the season and his form has majorly suffered as a result, he sticks with dysfunctional wingers who couldn't cross the road, thinking that replacing Jack with one of Trez, AEG or Traore will reap the same results?!

Its blatant that those tactics and formation do not suit this squad when Jack isn't playing. What is he waiting for.... Trez to be blessed with Jack's magic boots?!

Ollie will be next. The poor kid has run himself into the ground this season and needs help. 442 or 352 is the answer without Jack surely??

[Risso]

Some of us really go from one extreme to the other.

We play well for a few weeks and we’re going to qualify for Europe. We go on a bad run of form and next season we will struggle and heading for relegation.

Maybe at the moment we’re a mid table squad having a bad run of form and have a world class player missing. We’re still re-building from a decade of dross. We’re going to invest again this summer and add quality and depth, we know that’s a given.

We’ve still only be paying small amounts per player when you compare it to the top half of the table. We’ve been hindered by FFP as well so that’s been a noose for the re-building.

The team has gone from one extreme to the other so what do you expect? From battering Liverpool and Arsenal to losing to Sheffield United and drawing with Newcastle. The first half of the season was European qualification form, but more lately it's getting uncomfortably close to relegation form. Obviously we've got enough points that relegation isn't a concern, but given how much money we've spent, to not have a wide attacking player capable of more than 1 good game in 5 is a bit of a concern.

[JuanMartinez]

Brilliant post Ian. Bravo sir.

[mr underhill]

most of our midfield eeds replacing, especially our wide options in AEG and Trez. I would play Bert as a back up to Watkins and move Davis out on loan. Whatever happens next this season has been a great improvement on last - safe I would have thought with 11 to play. Onwards and upwards in the summer, but the rebuilding might mean Jack going.

[garyfouroaks]

We were promoted as the fifth best team in the Championaship.

We  were gifted a psychological break from an awful first season by the pandemic hiatus.

Dean Smith, an inexperienced manager, has done well  this season.

Staying up is sll that matters this time round.

Thie pandemic season is a a freak, expect more surprises next season

[ktvillan]

Our current form, over the last 8-10 games, including a few with Grealish playing, is relegation form.  Even the games we've won, Southampton, Arsenal  and Leeds, we've won by sneaking an early goal then managing to defend it.  We've drawn with relegation strugglers Brighton and Newcastle, and a misfiring Wolves, and lost to an awful Sheffield Utd, and the worst Spurs team I can remember in years.  They didn't win it last night, we handed it to them.  The last time I remember  us playing any convincing creative football was at Burnley and we still managed to chuck that away. 

5 goals in our last nine games against some of the worst teams in the league.  It's staggering how we've gone from a team creating chances for fun to one that can't manage a shot on target until well into the second half.   We're guilty of appalling decision making and lack of composure in the final third.  I've lost count of the number of times where someone will try to shoot through a crowd of defenders throwing themselves across the path to goal, where it is inevitably blocked, when a little dummy would take the defenders out of the game and leave a clear shot, or else there are teammates left wide open to whom a little side pass would see them have a free shot.  Last night Barkley did exactly that again - four Spurs defenders threw themselves in front of him to block, Watkins and another Villa player left wide open to Barkley's left, but instead of slipping a sideway pass he blasts it at the first defender.  Brainless.  The number of times we've hit crosses straight into the first defender is laughable. 

Teams have worked out that we're pretty good if allowed to run in behind a high defensive line, but if they sit deep we are fairly clueless trying to break down packed defences.  Smith needs to change things to deal with that.

[Ian.]

Some of us really go from one extreme to the other.

We play well for a few weeks and we’re going to qualify for Europe. We go on a bad run of form and next season we will struggle and heading for relegation.

Maybe at the moment we’re a mid table squad having a bad run of form and have a world class player missing. We’re still re-building from a decade of dross. We’re going to invest again this summer and add quality and depth, we know that’s a given.

We’ve still only be paying small amounts per player when you compare it to the top half of the table. We’ve been hindered by FFP as well so that’s been a noose for the re-building.

The team has gone from one extreme to the other so what do you expect? From battering Liverpool and Arsenal to losing to Sheffield United and drawing with Newcastle. The first half of the season was European qualification form, but more lately it's getting uncomfortably close to relegation form. Obviously we've got enough points that relegation isn't a concern, but given how much money we've spent, to not have a wide attacking player capable of more than 1 good game in 5 is a bit of a concern.

In the grand scheme of things many of the players we have bought have been for peanuts. They have served a purpose which was to try and get a foothold in this division but let’s face it players with a value of 15-20 million downwards are not normally Champion league players anymore. We’ve had to re-build an entire squad and it’s slowly getting there. Over a course of the season we are where we are and it’s in need of improvement to get to the next step. Hopefully the owners are on board with this progress back up the league.

[ktvillan]

The same players showed they were capable of playing some great stuff first half of the season, yet now they look clueless.  Some of that has to be down to the coaching and management.   Then again it can happen to the best of them, as Liverpool have been proving.

[ChicagoLion]

I think a lot of the negative stuff on here is down to frustration with a manager that has no plan B.

Most of us WANT Dean Smith to succeed (in fact, ALL of us must surely?!), but those of us who criticise him get beaten with the 'When are you going to stop with the *Grealish got us promoted*' stick.

The fact is, would we even be in the Premier League now, had it not been for Jack's form in that run in? In the two seasons since, Dean Smith, despite spending the national debt of a small country on new players, STILL has no answer to fielding a competitive side that doesn't include Jack Grealish. The stats don't lie and the buck stops with him.

He persists with a totally out of form Douglas Luis, he's played John McGinn out of position most of the season and his form has majorly suffered as a result, he sticks with dysfunctional wingers who couldn't cross the road, thinking that replacing Jack with one of Trez, AEG or Traore will reap the same results?!

Its blatant that those tactics and formation do not suit this squad when Jack isn't playing. What is he waiting for.... Trez to be blessed with Jack's magic boots?!

Ollie will be next. The poor kid has run himself into the ground this season and needs help. 442 or 352 is the answer without Jack surely??

Great points Nil.

[robbo1874]

I think a lot of the negative stuff on here is down to frustration with a manager that has no plan B.

Most of us WANT Dean Smith to succeed (in fact, ALL of us must surely?!), but those of us who criticise him get beaten with the 'When are you going to stop with the *Grealish got us promoted*' stick.

The fact is, would we even be in the Premier League now, had it not been for Jack's form in that run in? In the two seasons since, Dean Smith, despite spending the national debt of a small country on new players, STILL has no answer to fielding a competitive side that doesn't include Jack Grealish. The stats don't lie and the buck stops with him.

He persists with a totally out of form Douglas Luis, he's played John McGinn out of position most of the season and his form has majorly suffered as a result, he sticks with dysfunctional wingers who couldn't cross the road, thinking that replacing Jack with one of Trez, AEG or Traore will reap the same results?!

Its blatant that those tactics and formation do not suit this squad when Jack isn't playing. What is he waiting for.... Trez to be blessed with Jack's magic boots?!

Ollie will be next. The poor kid has run himself into the ground this season and needs help. 442 or 352 is the answer without Jack surely??

agree with most of this. The formation isn’t working. Watkins is a keen worker, but he can’t be expected to do it all on his own up front. I’ve thought for a while they need to change it up. I know Davis isn’t rated in here and you could probably understand why with his lack of goals ever. But he might be the support that Watkins needs to get himself scoring. The lad runs himself ragged for the team, but has just looked really isolated of late.

[kipeye]

I think now is a perfect time to build for next season. It would be nice to secure a Euro slot but I think we need another season anyway for that, not that I would miss the ropey league at all-it does attract players with ambition.
We should be blooding more youngsters and trying some different tactics ahead of the break.

[Allan C]

Some of us really go from one extreme to the other.

We play well for a few weeks and we’re going to qualify for Europe. We go on a bad run of form and next season we will struggle and heading for relegation.

Maybe at the moment we’re a mid table squad having a bad run of form and have a world class player missing. We’re still re-building from a decade of dross. We’re going to invest again this summer and add quality and depth, we know that’s a given.

We’ve still only be paying small amounts per player when you compare it to the top half of the table. We’ve been hindered by FFP as well so that’s been a noose for the re-building.

The team has gone from one extreme to the other so what do you expect? From battering Liverpool and Arsenal to losing to Sheffield United and drawing with Newcastle. The first half of the season was European qualification form, but more lately it's getting uncomfortably close to relegation form. Obviously we've got enough points that relegation isn't a concern, but given how much money we've spent, to not have a wide attacking player capable of more than 1 good game in 5 is a bit of a concern.

In the grand scheme of things many of the players we have bought have been for peanuts. They have served a purpose which was to try and get a foothold in this division but let’s face it players with a value of 15-20 million downwards are not normally Champion league players anymore. We’ve had to re-build an entire squad and it’s slowly getting there. Over a course of the season we are where we are and it’s in need of improvement to get to the next step. Hopefully the owners are on board with this progress back up the league.

Another spot on post, I’ve tried to post as much but you’ve done it perfectly