Unai Emery - our manager

[Risso]

Yep it wasn't poor play like say, Fulham away last year, and if Cash had scored as he should have, who knows. But Kamara was an absolute disgrace and I'd drop him for Everton at home, to give him a kick up the arse. Talented player but it's not the first time he's put in a display like that and it has to stop. I'd go Philogene-Luiz-Tielemans-McGinn against Everton.

[LeeB]

That's what made it more shocking for me, we were well equipped to have won that game quite comfortably had we done the basics properly, we weren't under any constant pressure or subject to bewildering play from our opponents.

[Brend'Watkins]

From another decent manager…an opinion about the team he watched at the weekend that impressed him the most.

https://x.com/theavfcfaithful/status/1691252238105088000?s=46

is he on a wind-up our just losing his marbles?!

I’m always wary whenever Ferguson starts praising us.

They must have sent him out on a tapping up mission again. 

We weren’t as bad as people are making out. Poor finishing and some key players under performing was our undoing.

[Bobby Boy]

From another decent manager…an opinion about the team he watched at the weekend that impressed him the most.

https://x.com/theavfcfaithful/status/1691252238105088000?s=46

is he on a wind-up our just losing his marbles?!

I’m always wary whenever Ferguson starts praising us.

They must have sent him out on a tapping up mission again. 

We weren’t as bad as people are making out. Poor finishing and some key players under performing was our undoing.

This is true to an extent but there was some chronic lack of effort and application towards the end too which is the greatest crime of all.

[AV84]

Several of the season preview things I watched or read had people who were out in the US for the matches say they saw Villa train and play and that we were a very impressive outfit. Well drilled, everyone knew their roles, everyone's up for it, slick, fast, very impressive on every level.
It's not surprising to me that people who know football would still think that even after the weekend. I mentioned it in the match threads, but it was the kind of bad that feels like a one off. I didn't look at us and think it's going to be a long season of this nonsense.

[Toronto Villa]

I was talking to a friend of mine about the game and sent him this clip. He’s a Rangers fan FWIW, so no bias either way. And he said that he agreed mostly with what Ferguson said. It was a pretty even game at 2-1 and the next goal could have gone to either side. It happened to go to them, coupled with the Mings injury and the roof fell in. But when you watch it back, we do play lovely stuff. But there was some poor play for their goals and our heads dropped. I think you’ll see a very different, determined Villa this weekend.

[OCD]

Sky put a stat up a little before the third goal saying we had 65% possession. 65% away to a team that qualified for the Champions League and is a tough place to go. 

Konsa messed up for the third and then the heads dropped. I think we just have to write it off as the players being affected by Mings' injury.

Mauling's seem to happen a bit more often, even to some of the better sides. Liverpool putting 7 past Man Utd and even us putting 7 past Liverpool during Covid.

[AV84]

Sky put a stat up a little before the third goal saying we had 65% possession. 65% away to a team that qualified for the Champions League and is a tough place to go. 

Konsa messed up for the third and then the heads dropped. I think we just have to write it off as the players being affected by Mings' injury.

They scored a 3rd and a few minutes later we took our captain off, already missing Mings, and everything went to shit. Emery said it immediately after the match, the last half hour we didn't control it. You only have to switch off for a minute at that level to be punished for it, so everyone going blank for half an hour was asking for it. We probably did well to not concede more, if we want to look for positives.

I agree we need to write it off, it was just an amalgamation of bad things happening all at once to everyone on the pitch. Another day one player has a bad day and everyone else makes up for it, or a goal we missed goes in and we go from dominating to annihilating.

[brontebilly]

From another decent manager…an opinion about the team he watched at the weekend that impressed him the most.

https://x.com/theavfcfaithful/status/1691252238105088000?s=46

is he on a wind-up our just losing his marbles?!

I’m always wary whenever Ferguson starts praising us.

They must have sent him out on a tapping up mission again. 

We weren’t as bad as people are making out. Poor finishing and some key players under performing was our undoing.

We conceded some amount of chances on the day (and obviously goals). Reminded me of when we first came up under Smith when we had McGinn and Grealish ("the 2 x 8s") in the middle and teams ran through us at will. I don't recall us being that loose out of possession even under Gerrard.

[passport1]

During the period after Mings injury up to half time we had four good goal scoring chances. Luiz was running midfield at that point .Eddie Howe was screaming at his players to try and get possession and just pass it around. I am pretty sure that is what Ferguson was talking about .

[ExclDawg]

Konsa messed up for the third and then the heads dropped. I think we just have to write it off as the players being affected by Mings' injury.

I think that was exactly it.  Remember that Buendia had just suffered the same injury less than 2 days previously, I'm sure everyone was in a state of disbelief.

[Hookeysmith]

We are going to be ok - if we spank Everton (i know i know) but it is possible to rack up a 4-0 then that wipes out the negative goal difference as well and the game on Saturday is consigned to history (Mings injury apart)

I am actually more gutted by that than if they won 7-0

[PaulWinch again]

I’d assume most are, the Mings injury is the material long-term result from Saturday.

[ChicagoLion]

I’d assume most are, the Mings injury is the material long-term result from Saturday.

We hope so.

[jwarry]

No excuses from the maestro

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12942850/unai-emery-interview-tyrone-mings-injury-tactics-and-psychology-after-newcastle-and-why-he-is-still-aiming-high