Abject Villa v Chelsea post match thread.

[john2710]

We got away with things in the first game, especially in the first half. Every time they came forward they had 3 vs 2 in the wide areas. When we went wide it was our 2 against 3, so we turned back into midfield. All 3 of the midfield lost their battles or gave the ball away cheaply.

Like last Wednesday, Emery should have changed it at half time. Ramsey on for Tielemans would have made a difference.

[RamboandBruno]

Right, get Emery on, let's get the excuses out of the way.

Thats shit talk. It was utter garbage tonight but Emery has never made excuses.

Well he did tonight. “We competed well.” Did we fuck.

Im as pissed off as you, but your opening comment sounded like we’ve got a manager who wheels out excuses. However bad tonight and newcastle were, he has far more credit in the bank than that surely.

[Skerra]

Has anyone else spotted how, if a team presses us high up, and we play out slowly, we cannot seem to get going. Chelsea, like Newcastle pressed high up, made quick passes and, we had no answer. Emery is the best manager we’ve had in years but, not having a different style of play when other teams don’t give us the time to mess around at the back, he needs to be able to come up with an alternative.
I didn’t like the way we played in the second half against Sheffield as, sometimes you get stuck in the groove you ended the last match ie.slow, slow and even slower. OK when you’re winning 5-0 against a crap side but not when you play against a team that has something about them.

[SamTheMouse]

Too many players have put in shite performances recently for it to be a problem with individuals.

There's something about the system that isn't working, but one thing is clear: we're not defending the same way. It's passive now, backing off instead of pushing up. I can't work out whether it's by design, or something the players are doing off their own bat. But our previously disciplined high line suddenly looks a shambles.

[Paul.S]

The slowness really fucks me off. We buy a load of pacy forwards and spend most of our possession thinking of ever more creative ways to keep the ball from reaching them.

It’s not the same as it was. When Emery came we played it slow and then bang, we were moving forward at speed. We don’t do that now for some reason and I just can’t work out why.
Maybe it’s because other teams are stopping us but we did have quite a few chances to ply it forward tonight and came back inside.

[Brazilian Villain]

Speaking of Sunday, can Toronto Villa please start the pre-match and match threads? Seemed to work the last time we played that lot at home. 🙏🏻

[ChicagoLion]

The cause was that the defence was all over the place, no shape, no leadership no idea. If the back 4 is out to lunch then everything ahead of them suffers and it did tonight.
Cash Diego and Lenglet are not top end PL level players and they dragged the rest down to their level. Moreno who is decent having a shit game compounded matters.
Manure will rip us a new one. Losing Konsa Digne and Torres is just too much for our squad to cope with.
Mid table beckons.

[Gareth]

Too many players have put in shite performances recently for it to be a problem with individuals.

There's something about the system that isn't working, but one thing is clear: we're not defending the same way. It's passive now, backing off instead of pushing up. I can't work out whether it's by design, or something the players are doing off their own bat. But our previously disciplined high line suddenly looks a shambles.

Missing three defenders who were fundamental to our form until Christmas is key to that…Carlos, Lenglet are not in the same class as Konsa & Torres….Moreno for all his good attacking is a poor defender.  We lack pace there to play that line well

[VillaTim]

Emery is a victim of his own success in his short time with us. He's massively overachieved and now expectations have gotten ahead of themselves . We are more realistically a top 6-8 side and I suspect that's where we will finish . The injuries to key players haven't helped but that's par for the course really in this league nowadays .

[Nii Lamptey]

Whole midfield was lethargic - Slow in the press, abysmal control, and even worse passing.
Can’t believe we go to Stamford Bridge, go to all that effort to grind out a replay, smash Sheffield Utd at the weekend, then put in a turgid performance like that. I’m angry as hell!

Also amazed that Diego Carlos stayed on the pitch for the full 90. He was a ticking time bomb tonight! That would have been the final nail in the coffin with zero recognised RCBs available with Konsa out too.

Can’t believe that Unai didn’t call that performance out for what it was - Shite all round.

Sunday is not going to be fun. Need Digne, Torres and Konsa back to full fitness asap, and Doug Luis to turn celibate and stop streaming COD until the early hours!

Crowd was shite too.

Really want that FA Cup win. Fucking angry..

Night all.

UTV

[papa lazarou]

When was the last time we played the offside trap?

We would do that umpteen times in a match but we cant do that anymore with tonight's back 4. This causes us to give teams more space to play in and then we cant press like we used too.

I'm afraid until Konsa, Torres and Digne are back we are going to really struggle.

Just got back so haven't read through all of the thread but this is a major point. We normally get several offsides per game, I can't remember one tonight. Torres and/or Konsa manage the defence accordingly and I don't think anyone else is capable of adequately taking responsibility to take control.

[Paul.S]

Emery is a victim of his own success in his short time with us. He's massively overachieved and now expectations have gotten ahead of themselves . We are more realistically a top 6-8 side and I suspect that's where we will finish . The injuries to key players haven't helped but that's par for the course really in this league nowadays .

Can’t disagree with this. If we get players back over the next 3/4 weeks we can still finish strongly and then who knows.

[Des Little]

The high back line is a thing of the past, well until we get Pau and Konsa back in tandem - this lot at the back don’t seem to be up to it mentally or physically. As for our distribution from the back, this is best viewed through your fingers…I really cannot see three of this current back four here next season, because as good as he is, Emery cannot get a tune out of the current back four, they’re mediocre at best.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Started well but it didn’t last long. Chelsea had time all over the pitch and we made Fernandez look like a £100m player and Madueke had an absolute field day.

I thought McGinn started ok and then went to absolute shite when he played that poor corner and Chelsea broke 3 on 1 against us, Doug was poor and how Kamara managed to stop on till the 86th minute is beyond me.

Only positives were both Diaby and Ramsey showed a few good signs and the return of Prize Where It Lies, although austerity has continued by not offering a free season ticket for a ‘bullseye’.

[astonvilla82]

I for one won't be calling out the manager,I will be patience until that geezer at Aberdeen is free in the summer