Aston Villa - 1 Southampton - 0 Post match thread

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Mings was outstanding.
McGinn was a beguiling balance of brilliant/awful.
Bailey incredibly frustrating.
Ings' effort embarrassing!

SG's selection and "system", diabolical.
 

[Gareth]

Sounds like I am going against the grain here but I enjoyed that & thought we played some very nice stuff in patches….had we been backs to the wall I’d be worried but it was a comfortable defensive display with both centre backs and goalkeeper excellent.  We need to create chances for definite but where we were 3/4 weeks ago it’s chalk and cheese in terms of effort and intensity.  A base to work on and next couple of games we need to see those efforts on goal.

McGinn’s best game this season for sure, he wasn’t as frantic as he has been, seems to benefit from refs letting a bit more go…Ramsey was taken off at right time to avoid the ref delivering a 2nd yellow.

Good to see Coutinho more involved, Bailey disappointing

Yet again watching Soton play I see absolutely nothing in open play in Ward-Prowse, he literally offers nothing but set pieces….admittedly he is good at those, fortunately tonight they were magnetic to Mings head (expert defending) most of the time.

[Risso]

A win's a win but that was a hard watch tonight. McGinn is just a really, really shit footballer. Why Gerrard sticks with him I don't know, he can't pass to save himself. The defence played well though, and I thought Mings and Digne both had very good games. Watkins had another stinker, another player who isn't anywhere near the required standard, but then neither is his potental replacement Ings. The least said about Dendoncker's cameo the better. Still, a clean sheet and 3 points. We move on.

[oldhill_avfc]

Well we needed that win but we should have wrapped this up before half time. We hugged and puffed against a very poor team. Coutinho was a class above everyone on the pitch but we are so lacklustre in our movement and positional play.

McGinn worked extremely hard off the ball but he really slows the game down and gives it away to easily.

Thought Mings was excellent at the back.

Is that the same Coutinho who didn’t create a chance, didn’t last 90 minutes, didn’t score ?

He’s a busted flush.  We’ll never improve by starting with him.

Don't talk daft. Coutinho is a magician.

What’s the evidence for that?

[Brazilian Villain]

Thought it was a decent ball in from him for the header that led to the goal.

[cdbearsfan]

When he brings the ball down with the best first touch of any Villa player ever, when he plays an inch perfect pass for Bailey with the outside of his boot, when he completely takes a Southampton player out of the game with a drop of the shoulder before smashing a forty yard drive just over, off the top of my head for this week. He won man of the match, I'm told. When he twats one in off the bar against possibly the best team on Earth (it's not his fault the linesman was a cheat) during his last cameo appearance.

I've said before, some Villa fans just hate skillful players.

[ozzjim]

A win's a win but that was a hard watch tonight. McGinn is just a really, really shit footballer. Why Gerrard sticks with him I don't know, he can't pass to save himself. The defence played well though, and I thought Mings and Digne both had very good games. Watkins had another stinker, another player who isn't anywhere near the required standard, but then neither is his potental replacement Ings. The least said about Dendoncker's cameo the better. Still, a clean sheet and 3 points. We move on.

Replace McGinn, Watkins and Bailey with better footballers we might stand a chance. All 3 for me epitomise why we struggle. A midfielder that can't pass for shit but works like a dog so is lauded, a forward who can't finish his dinner but works like a dog so is lauded, and a winger come forward who can finish but appears to offer literally nothing else at all, but lives off 2-3 nice finishes. All 3 offer so little to our actual function as a football team in an attacking sense. Agree though, Ings is even worse so utterly pointless. I would flog all 4 and get our scouting team to go and find better. It should not be hard. Coutinho might be a busted flush, but he's 20 times the footballer that lot are. People think Mings is a problem. He's a bloody godsend, actually does his job much of the time.

Rant over sorry.

[Clampy]

I thought McGinn had a decent game to be honest. Mings was very good too.

[oldhill_avfc]

40 yard drive?

Best touch ever?

A goal when everybody had stopped playing?

As you said, “ so you were told”

Nobody hates skilful players that produce.

Players with Nonpace, no end product, making the team less effective overall - that’s what I don’t like

[ozzjim]

I thought McGinn had a decent game to be honest. Mings was very good too.

73% passing accuracy and dispossed 14-15 times in the game (at 65 minutes ish when the stat came up) is not good enough. He looked OK because he won it back a few times, largely because Southampton managed to be worse.

[Clampy]

I thought McGinn had a decent game to be honest. Mings was very good too.

73% passing accuracy and dispossed 14-15 times in the game (at 65 minutes ish when the stat came up) is not good enough. He looked OK because he won it back a few times, largely because Southampton managed to be worse.

I still think he had a decent game personally.

[Drummond]

Happy with the win as drab as it was . It was comfortable because Southampton were so awful. I'd like to see us test the opposition keeper a bit more, we don't do that anywhere  near enough under Gerrard

19th in attempted shots.

[Drummond]

A win's a win but that was a hard watch tonight. McGinn is just a really, really shit footballer. Why Gerrard sticks with him I don't know, he can't pass to save himself. The defence played well though, and I thought Mings and Digne both had very good games. Watkins had another stinker, another player who isn't anywhere near the required standard, but then neither is his potental replacement Ings. The least said about Dendoncker's cameo the better. Still, a clean sheet and 3 points. We move on.

Watkins was the first line of defence. (that's the best that can be offered)
Bailey tries.
McGinn (according to the manager) is just trying to hard.

Glowing endorsement from me. I don't think they are all shit, I think the manager is.

[Axl Rose]

Woke up at 4, turned it on, fell asleep, woke up at 6. Game had finished.

A win's a win of course, but also woke up to a lot of angry text messages about the quality of the football and particularly a lack of quality in certain players.

[cdbearsfan]

40 yard drive?

Best touch ever?

A goal when everybody had stopped playing?

As you said, “ so you were told”

Nobody hates skilful players that produce.

Players with Nonpace, no end product, making the team less effective overall - that’s what I don’t like

There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.

Spoiler for Hiden: