Bournemouth v Villa Post match thread

[London Villan]

Half-time subs are the stuff of losing 2-0 at home - not 1-0 to the relegation favourites. Just odd that it hasn't been mentioned much.

[Clark W Griswold]

I'd love it if we employed a manager with a good track record in a top league some time soon. It's been years and years since we made the effort to do so.

Big Ron was the last time?

I think MON and big Ron were the only 2 that you just knew would improve us and turn us into a good side (in the past 30 odd years). And they did, albeit MON fucked us over in the end. I know one or two others have done well also, but they were the ones that were as close to a guarantee that you're going to get that things were about to improve in a big way.

[ez]

I'd love it if we employed a manager with a good track record in a top league some time soon. It's been years and years since we made the effort to do so.

Big Ron was the last time?

Houllier.

[London Villan]

Hadn't Houllier sort of retired before he came to us.

[The Edge]

The tactic of wing backs bombing on and firing in crosses can work well but only if your team is set up to take advantage. Cash has a horrible habit of crossing the ball blindly without looking up or picking anyone out. Bournemouth are a big team and they are set up to cope with crosses so our game plan was just dumb. Wait till they play Man City or Liverpool and watch what happens. Those teams will play round and through them and Bounemouth will be tonked 4 or 5 nil. Gerrard has to learn how to adapt and change tactics on the hoof. Sticking with a game plan that clearly wasn't working is very worrying. And don't get me started on their second goal. The ball was running away from their player and he was allowed to reach it then turn and pick out an unmarked team mate with ease. Fucking awful defending.

[SamTheMouse]

I am struggling to comprehend how the manager of smallest team in the league thought it was a good idea to keep lobbing in crosses against the tallest team in the league, without an ounce of success.

What's the definition of insanity again?

Playing a left footed player at RCM and a right footed player at LCM?

If only. They actually play full back with only Kamara actually playing in midfield (and Coutinho because it’s the only way he can get on the ball).

This is the crux of it, I think. We play to get the ball wide, but when it gets there, it's stuck. We either take a minute or so working space for a cross, by which time the opposition defence is ready and waiting for it, or we shuffle it all the way back to the centre half. Our we lose it entirely.

We aren't able to switch the play at all, let alone at speed, because Ramsey and McGinn are taking up shit positions.

I don't like this system at all.

[PaulWinch again]

Half-time subs are the stuff of losing 2-0 at home - not 1-0 to the relegation favourites. Just odd that it hasn't been mentioned much.

Not sure that’s true. Gerrard regularly gets slated for not making changes early enough. Also I think the 5 subs thing will take some adapting too, and I suspect earlier changes becomes more of a norm when teams are losing - certainly in the short-term.

[Clark W Griswold]

Surely we have better players than Bournemouth. They just don't know what to do.

This is the crux of yesterday. I only saw the MOTD highlights so i don't claim to have any major knowledge of what went on but even with that in mind, as you say our players on paper are far better than Bournemouths so when looking for a reason for yesterday you can only look as far as the people coaching and managing them. Unless we have a team full of attitude problems like in 15-16 but i don't think we have for a moment.

It looked terrible enough on MOTD, limp and disorganised without the ball and pedestrian and ineffective with the ball. For anyone who went, was it as bad as that for 90 mins?

[PaulWinch again]

Watching the game back - I’d say we dominated it in the main, but let in two terrible goals and just looked disjointed up top. Need to get much sharper.

[London Villan]

Half-time subs are the stuff of losing 2-0 at home - not 1-0 to the relegation favourites. Just odd that it hasn't been mentioned much.

Not sure that’s true. Gerrard regularly gets slated for not making changes early enough. Also I think the 5 subs thing will take some adapting too, and I suspect earlier changes becomes more of a norm when teams are losing - certainly in the short-term.

The first 45 mins of a new season shouldn't see the manager having to make half-time subs. It looks terrible. The plan would have been worked on and going a goal down happens but you should have confidence in your plan.  To have to change so quickly because things are so bad is pretty damning.

[PaulWinch again]

I think that’s probably slightly overreacting to a half-time sub.

[Percy McCarthy]

in Fairness Coutinho was dreadful yesterday, for someone who is supposed to be comfortable on the ball with a delicate touch and ball skills he gave the ball away more often than he found his man

That’s not tactics that’s someone being a bit shit and out of form on the day
The tactics bit is to hook him off and put someone better on earlier

That’s not tactics that’s personnel. The tactics bit is the empty midfield every game because the midfielders are covering the full-backs.

[Baldy]

After 50 years plus of perpetual disappointment, I am coming to the conclusion that the best thing about supporting Aston Villa is following this message board. 

[Nunkin1965]

After 50 years plus of perpetual disappointment, I am coming to the conclusion that the best thing about supporting Aston Villa is following this message board. 

Seconded

[mrfuse]

I'm still seething about the the game, I cant remember feeling so disappointed and angry about a result as usually I try and find a balance.

The Bournemouth team and Manager talk about a plan and execution of it, what is ours?
There was no shape and no particular style to our play, no pressing, no urgency, no pace and no direction.

This against a Bournemouth team that was very poor but knew what the game plan was.

It seemed to disappear after a while but I remember at some point under Smith we used to press teams. Bournemouth were trying to play out from the back and we sort of just let them.

To top it all off Gerrard dropped Watkins and Mings and it backfired big time. I'd like to think they are both as angry as me and want to comeback fighting but if someone came in with an offer for them I could understand it if they went.

I would love to be in the next pre-match press conference, I'm sick and tired of every question being the same and massaging Gerrard's ego.
When is someone going to challenge him and make him really think about his answers. I was fully behind Gerrard's appointment and he has managed to attract good players but he doesn't seem to know what to do with them.

This might be an over reaction to one game and I can take loosing, but so many things looked wrong that I fear we cant put them right.