Brighton v Villa Match Thread

[tomd2103]

Mixed bag in that half.  We've had some really good moves and created some good situations, but some of the decision making has been poor and we've given the ball away easily far too often. 

All said though, would have definitely taken being level at the break after that start.

[Keeno]

If you ignore the first 50 seconds we’ve been decent I think. Both teams press well so there’s a lot of hectic play between the defence and central midfielders going on.

Reacted to going down really well, nice touches and work off the ball from Ings in particular. Made a few really good runs in behind as well.

Kamara - class act. McGinn’s looked better in the more nuisance-causing role - as long as he’s not asked to dictate the pace of a game, he can still be a really good option I think.

Hopefully Bailey is feeling ok, I feel like if he can manage 20-30 mins he could win this for us second half.

[brontebilly]

Nice move to create the penalty but we aren't protecting possession well enough. Really struggling to transition the ball into midfield, both Konsa and Mings particularly. Need to see more from Luiz and Kamara.

[SoccerHQ]

We need more players like Kamara in our side. They are out there for reasonable prices as we showed in finding him. And when you look at some of the players Leicester over the years or more recently Brentford or Brighton have picked up, we can do the same with the right philosophy from the club.

Very annoying we couldn't get Bentancur signed up in January before Spurs showed an interest. Him and Kamara as the double pivot infront of back 4, wow.

When you get a midfield like that then you can seriously talk about qualifying for europe.

[paul_e]

Poor start.
Only Ramsey and Buendia look sharp in midfield. There should have been a pen for handball before Ings’ pen. What is the faxing point of var! Ref and Lino’s poor especially the Lino on Digne’s side. Need to improve after h/t.

I think a pen for handball would've been pretty harsh, my bigger problem with the ref is the inconsistency of what constitutes a foul/booking. No yellow for Dunk for the pen and no yellows for March and Caicedo for similar professional fouls to the one he booked Mings for. I reckon you could show people who hadn't seen any of the game and say 1 of the fouls was given a booking and the Mings one would be 3rd or 4th in the list.

[Villa Lew]

Ings needs to stop going down the middle with his pens, he did it against Brentford and did the same today and was lucky the goalie didn't save it, but otherwise he's doing ok, linking up well with Emi.

[ChicagoLion]

Matt Holland saying that SJM was looking for it, he is running at full tilt and gets cleaned out.

[pauliewalnuts]

You can definitely see the beginnings of what will have to be a significant change in the way we've played until the last week or two.

Some of the players look like they might not have the ball-playing ability to adapt, but it's extremely early days - less than two weeks - and hopefully a month of work with the squad will bring us back after the WC much more schooled at doing what the manager wants them to do.

[SoccerHQ]

Poor start.
Only Ramsey and Buendia look sharp in midfield. There should have been a pen for handball before Ings’ pen. What is the faxing point of var! Ref and Lino’s poor especially the Lino on Digne’s side. Need to improve after h/t.

I think a pen for handball would've been pretty harsh, my bigger problem with the ref is the inconsistency of what constitutes a foul/booking. No yellow for Dunk for the pen and no yellows for March and Caicedo for similar professional fouls to the one he booked Mings for. I reckon you could show people who hadn't seen any of the game and say 1 of the fouls was given a booking and the Mings one would be 3rd or 4th in the list.

Mings got away with one five minutes before on halfway line when one of theirs turned him quickly so that was just a totting up yellow.

What's the actual rule with Dunk? Five years ago that would've been a penalty and red but think now it's only red if it's outside the box and a cynical foul.

I certainly wasn't calling for him to get a red but amazed he didn't get a yellow. Wolves had someone sent off last week v Brighton for a foul outside the box in a wide area so it''s another grey area interpretation of the rule.

[Toronto Villa]

Matt Holland saying that SJM was looking for it, he is running at full tilt and gets cleaned out.

Matt Holland is a complete bell end. How many times has he said that over the years about Kane or Sterling I wonder?

[Chris_Jephcott]

You can definitely see the beginnings of what will have to be a significant change in the way we've played until the last week or two.

Some of the players look like they might not have the ball-playing ability to adapt, but it's extremely early days - less than two weeks - and hopefully a month of work with the squad will bring us back after the WC much more schooled at doing what the manager wants them to do.

I agree with all of the above. Emery is bringing his style to the team even if it has only been 2 league games. With an effective pre-season during the World Cup, I think the second half of this season could prove to be very exciting - particularly with sensible investment and players who can actually play to this style.

[paul_e]

Matt Holland saying that SJM was looking for it, he is running at full tilt and gets cleaned out.

Even if he was, so what? If he tries to stay on his feet the ref doesn't give a penalty even if it's a foul so why wouldn't he wait for the contact and go over? This a refereeing problem and has been for years. If they're serious about stopping diving it starts with refs (and pundits, commentators and coaches) learning that you can be fouled without ending up on the floor.

[Toronto Villa]

We will need a couple of Emery style players in the window. But I’d rather long term see us commit to this kind of football than the shit Gerrard was trying to serve up.

[Scott Nielsen]

Matt Holland saying that SJM was looking for it, he is running at full tilt and gets cleaned out.

You are not accounting for the fact Matt Holland is an idiot.

[paul_e]

Poor start.
Only Ramsey and Buendia look sharp in midfield. There should have been a pen for handball before Ings’ pen. What is the faxing point of var! Ref and Lino’s poor especially the Lino on Digne’s side. Need to improve after h/t.

I think a pen for handball would've been pretty harsh, my bigger problem with the ref is the inconsistency of what constitutes a foul/booking. No yellow for Dunk for the pen and no yellows for March and Caicedo for similar professional fouls to the one he booked Mings for. I reckon you could show people who hadn't seen any of the game and say 1 of the fouls was given a booking and the Mings one would be 3rd or 4th in the list.

Mings got away with one five minutes before on halfway line when one of theirs turned him quickly so that was just a totting up yellow.

What's the actual rule with Dunk? Five years ago that would've been a penalty and red but think now it's only red if it's outside the box and a cynical foul.

I certainly wasn't calling for him to get a red but amazed he didn't get a yellow. Wolves had someone sent off last week v Brighton for a foul outside the box in a wide area so it''s another grey area interpretation of the rule.

Is 2 fouls really enough for a 'totting up' yellow card? Aside from that the ref normally sinals as much if they give one like that and he didn't today.