Aston Villa vs Sheffield United Post-Match

[Smithy]

A decent night's sleep and I'm more annoyed today at the non-penalties than I am the disallowed goal.  But the reality is we didn't create enough really good chances in open play given our dominance for the first 70 minutes.  If we don't learn how to break down teams who park the bus, then every bottom half team is going to rock up to Villa Park and set up the same as Sheff Utd in the hope of a similar/better outcome.

VAR was always going to screw us at some point this season, it's happening to everyone.  And if the time it happens to us we still get a point, while not gifting points to a direct rival, then I guess that's not too bad.  If that game gets played 10 times, we win 8 of them.

One thing I quite liked is the classy way Unai dealt with the VAR issues post match. Not bitter, not complaining, saying he disagreed with their decisions but that VAR was good for the referees.  Let it be known he wasn't happy on the night, without becoming a bitter whinger like so many in the league when they feel aggrieved.  I suspect behind the scenes he might react slightly different.

A frustrating night, but the fact we're disappointed to have only gone joint top is such a brilliant indicator of our progress.  It's a great Christmas to be a Villa fan.

Let's hope Unai can use any sense of injustice to add that extra small bit of motivation ahead of Old Trafford.  A win there and December goes back to looking absolutely brilliant!

[Monty]

I don't know if anyone else has said this but 11 points from the last five games is a very good return, had the draws come against Man City and Arsenal I'm sure there would be fewer complaints but they'd both have an extra point. If we're going to have a bad day, better it's against Sheffield United than our direct rivals .

Counterintuitively this is true.

[Exeter 77]

Now I've seen them back all those VAR reviews gave really strange outcomes. If I was a conspiracy theorist it would seem there might be an agenda behind them but I know logically that they are far more likely to be the result of incompetence.

[Nunkin1965]

Unless its a "clean" goal I've kind of suppressed the celebrations a bit now as I know each one is going to be forensically checked.
It's a total flip of the coin from one game to the next.

[Exeter 77]

And on a different note a few of us were talking just night how far we gave come since being in the Championship relegation zone in the minutes before Bruce's first game in a 5:30 kick off against Wolves. It was also , jokingly, suggested that the three Championship years were the modern Villa fan's equivalent of Vietnam. Other fans, particularly those of the Sky 6, don't understand it because they weren't there.

[PeterWithe]

Amazing that I feel really deflated in not going top of the League, top of the best league in the world. How far Unai has brought us in such a short period of time.

As to the game, we are very hard to beat, we don’t know when we are beat, we get off the canvas and keep going.

I thought we did miss Kamara more than others do, with him filling the gaps so the full backs can push right on, that’s where we went wrong, we didn’t get wide overloads to avoid the very congested areas. Also maybe we need a new player of the kind we aren’t mentioning, a Coutinho, a Buendia to unlock a packed defence?

Thought so many players were off their feed, McGinn in particularly mishit pass after pass, Ramsey and Diaby ineffectual and Bailey didn’t get the ball early enough.

Thought there was an argument to push McGinn much further forward, go long to him and stop them getting so many players behind the ball so quickly to stretch the game, that we had so much possession but created so little hints at something being quite off.

For them, I’d never really seen in Archer what others did, I still haven’t, he looked like a Poundland Watkins offering few qualities the latter doesn’t possess. I can’t see us bringing him back.

Points dropped on paper but one gained on grass.

[Monty]

Now I've seen them back all those VAR reviews gave really strange outcomes. If I was a conspiracy theorist it would seem there might be an agenda behind them but I know logically that they are far more likely to be the result of incompetence.

My better half (not any sort of football fan but who, notably, has eyes) saw the two and just said 'but that's blatant corruption!'. But of course she is Italian so that is the understandable first reaction.

[john2710]

The Watkins push was a penalty or are 2 handed pushes allowed these days?  If it's the other way round it's a foul 100% of the time.

We were never going to get any decision go our way last night.

[Smithy]

Now I've seen them back all those VAR reviews gave really strange outcomes. If I was a conspiracy theorist it would seem there might be an agenda behind them but I know logically that they are far more likely to be the result of incompetence.

There's a name for it.  Hanlon's Razor: "Never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity"

[Exeter 77]

The Watkins push was a penalty or are 2 handed pushes allowed these days?

It was allowed at Wolves as well. Must just be pushes on Ollie.

[Neil Hawkes]

There was one tactical cock up tonight, Diaby and Bailey just ended up in the same place all the time.

I'd prefer to see Diaby & Bailey on left & right wing, interchangeable throughout the game to keep the defenders unbalanced.
Both of them on the same wing, with the fullbacks we have overlapping, seems just a waste.

[Rigadon]

The fouls/s on Watkins in the first half was a stonewall penalty.  I was confident it would be given when they looked at VAR and was amazed when they played on.  It was a clear penalty. 

But I also don’t want the club to go on about like Klopp and Arteta would undoubtably have been doing.  So more to love from Emery of that was possible. 

Look at the table.  It’s astounding where we are right now and I think we’re up there to stay too.  Fuck the doubters. 

[Neil Hawkes]

Obvious penalty in the first half on Watkins.  Clear and compelling.  That aside, great we didn’t lose the game.

Agreed, thought it was a blatant handball near end too from Baldock. They were fortunate to get away with those two decisions.

Ramsey did foul their keeper so dont think we should be whinging about that one. Thought Duran should have been sent off too, if their defender had jumped to the ground he would have been.

I think the contention for some was Sheffield had the ball and could have cleared it anyway for a couple of plays and 15 seconds after the foul. So how far back does VAR check for a goal and how many "phases". There has been fouls in previous goal buildups which VAR haven't checked because it was a different phase or it was too far back.

Man City and the offside goal a few years ago, one touch from Mings and the next phase of play had started - according to all the experts.

[TelfordVilla]

Talk of failure to beat a low block is OTT. with competent VAR usage we would have 2 penalties and the disallowed goal would have stood . With Zaniolos goal that would be 4-1and nobody would be talking about the low block. The 1st half penalty alone would have completely changed the game. A 1st half booking would have had an affect on their game plan too.

[Lastfootstamper]

I'd forgotten about the fouling. Never mind the first half, at least one of them should've gone in the book in the first ten minutes.