Aston Villa vs Manchester City Post-Keeping the Score Down Thread

[SaddVillan]

Since taking over in 2016 Guardiola has spent  £832m  on 36 players.

That might help explain the gulf between the 2 sides.

[TonyD]

Not embarrassing to lose to the quality they have by only one goal.

We have a good defence.

We are not a million miles away being competitive at the top table.

Need a few upgrades in the middle and the wing.

And of course Jack back.

I’m positive. Dean actually brought Davis on.

[andyh]

on the beach ........

Since January though.

[brontebilly]

I thought we had a decent chance of getting something out of the game at the start of the second half, then Cash got sent off.

City are a bloody good team to be honest and Foden was a threat all night.

That's the way I saw it. 11 v 11 and 10 v 10, we were thoroughly outclassed. I didn't see any lack of effort just a lack of quality. Their keeper is better on the ball than any of our midfielders. We had a chance 11 v 10 until Cash intervened. A reminder if one was needed that we urgently need quality added in the summer

Martinez 6 - some great saves but made a poor decision for second goal
Cash 3 - killed any chance of us getting back in the game. Has been rubbish for weeks and destroyed all game by Foden
Konsa 8 - very good as per usual
Mings 9 - I'm not a big fan but fair play to him tonight, outstanding
Targett 5 - tough enough night, expected more from him with the ball
Nakamba 3 - didn't track Foden for first goal and simply miles out of his depth for the second game in a row
Luiz 5 - terrible first half but improved after break. Not helped by a poor midfield set up
McGinn 7 - excellent goal but naturally faded after break. Breathing out his ass last 15 mins, fitness has to improve
Traore 3 - standard performance as of late, useless
Watkins 5 - great assist but a struggle afterwards
Ramsey 4 - the easy call to take him off over a couple of others but struggled it's fair to say..habit of turning his back defending a shot needs changing
Davis 4 - not his fault really but didn't get a kick. Barks 4 - kept ball ok but this experiment should have ended weeks ago
AEG 5 - game was over as a contest by his introduction

[Rudy Can't Fail]

leeds beat this lot with 10 men because they compete.  i hate leeds but they always compete, we certainly didn’t

Leeds under Bielsa are much more likely to kick on next season than we are under Smith. I hope I am wrong but I am really disappointed with the way things have fizzled out.

That’s a good comparison. I agree with you

Ha! I'm sure even Dean would piss himself laughing being compared to Bielsa. Bielsa is on another planet and has been for decades.

[ChicagoLion]

It’s not today’s performance that will impact on Smiths position it’s months of aimless football and crap decision making.
Bielsa is on a different planet in footballing terms.

[Ads]

With £351m wage bill.

He's spent £400m on defenders, including a quarter of a billion on full backs.

[RamboandBruno]

All I see when I look up Cash's stats is a whole bunch of yellow cards for mostly stupid challenges and not a lot else.

I'm going to pray everyday that City take Luiz off our hands in a few months time for £30m. He is fucking shit.

We can buy Yves Bissouma with that and still have a little change left.

I love that your quoting yourself!! Nothing like confidence in your own opinion when slating players.

Could of been anything first half, stones sending off gave us a chance and Smith taking a gamble with the early sub. But cash losing his head put an end to all that. They just passed us to death after that, all very dull in second half.
Difficult to judge individual performances against the best team in the league, with sendings off thrown in, but I thought as a positive Mings and Konsa were very good tonight, otherwise hmmm.

[nick harper]

I think we were happy to take the 2-1 in the last 30 minutes. We work nowhere near hard enough to close down. City are a great team but it’s just been a theme for the last 4 months - pedestrian in possession and can’t put more than 3 passes together unless they’re in our own half, and no energy without it.

[steamer]

not sure we learnt anything new tonight.
There is a chasm between us in individual skills, and their coaching, the ability to keep possession, run into space and play the ball.
But they did not appear overnight, a truly great local product in Foden playing alongside some of the best players in the world. And coached by one of the most innovative, inspiring managers.
We have the great local product, a good back 4 a honest local manager and a good developing talent in Watkins, to move on (or even stand still) we need some good midfield /attacking alternatives in the summer.
But that is not news to anyone on here and I hope not at VP either
Can we just let Barkley go home now, he is stealing a place on the bench from a youngster

[eamonn]

With £351m wage bill.

He's spent £400m on defenders, including a quarter of a billion on full backs.

Like a souped-up Martin O'Neill replacing our backline from one season to the next!

[andyh]

What’s happened to Nakamba?
He looks like he has put on a couple of stone and lost all his zip and nippiness.

Our midfield needs a serious upgrade for next season, starting with Bissouma from Brighton.

[Rudy65]

leeds beat this lot with 10 men because they compete.  i hate leeds but they always compete, we certainly didn’t

Leeds under Bielsa are much more likely to kick on next season than we are under Smith. I hope I am wrong but I am really disappointed with the way things have fizzled out.

That’s a good comparison. I agree with you

Ha! I'm sure even Dean would piss himself laughing being compared to Bielsa. Bielsa is on another planet and has been for decades.

Bielsa’s track record is a bit of a myth. It’s not great. But he has done a great job at Leeds. No way did they look like there were on the beach on Monday night against Liverpool

[Rudy Can't Fail]

They're about two points ahead of us having scarcely had a player miss five minutes all season. We have a player better than any in the league that don't play for Man City and he's missed months. Even talking into account that our form was already in decline, we would be at least ten points clear of Leeds if Grealish had stayed fit.

Our decline started with Jack in the team. Our problem is we only know how to play one way and that's with wingers, oh and we don't have a winger.

[Pete3206]

Cack

If I were a Tesco carrier bag, I'd be confident of taking all the points on Sunday.