Abject Villa v Chelsea post match thread.

[Clampy]

Yes, the ref was a bit naff.

[taylorsworkrate]

Yes, the ref was a bit naff.

I suspect that every single post match thread where we have been defeated will have numerous posters saying the ref was awful. I genuinely don't think the ref was that bad last night. One decision but again without knowing the angle the ref was viewing it from its difficult to assess.

[Clampy]

It's nothing to do with how we played or the result, I just didn't think much of him.

[Nev]

He gave every marginal to them. Stopped us taking a FK from the incorrect place twice, but let them take one 20 yards from where it should've been taken. Let Palmer stop every FK with impunity, watched on as Chelsea held a touchline coaching session/break mid second half while they took an age over a sub. Booked their keeper for time wasting in response to the home crowd and added 4 mins in when it should've been 8/10.

He looked in thrall to them and dismissive of us. It didn't make a happ'orth of difference to the result but it doesn't make it right either.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

How many times did Caicedo foul a player without a talking to let alone a yellow card.

[eamonn]

Re the amount of injury time; I'm convinced that in games where it's one-sided, the referee (he still decides the number of minutes added-on, right?) opts not to apply the letter of the law when totting-up the true stoppages, instead suggesting a low amount to put the losing side out of their misery.

[Paul.S]

We were rubbish.
They were half decent.
The subs were made too late.
The ref was awful.

Was the ref awful though? I know football fans like to complain about referees but I don't think he did too much wrong to be honest. The free kick for the 3rd goal was incorrect but from the referees angle of view it may have looked different

He’s was as bad as they normally are. Refereeing in the richest league in the world is as bad as I’ve ever seen it. A mixture of VAR and rules changing like the wind doesn’t make it easier for them but let’s be honest the standards are very low.

[Brend'Watkins]

Our injury list is now costing us.  Too many key players out and their replacements nowhere near good enough.  Couple that with the midfield all having an off night and you get the result we had.  We have no option but to play Carlos but as someone mentioned earlier, Chambers might be better, he can't be that much worse and doesn't look like a yellow with every tackle.

[PaulWinch again]

Our injury list is now costing us.  Too many key players out and their replacements nowhere near good enough.  Couple that with the midfield all having an off night and you get the result we had.  We have no option but to play Carlos but as someone mentioned earlier, Chambers might be better, he can't be that much worse and doesn't look like a yellow with every tackle.

It’s the second consecutive “off night” at home, it’s tactical as well as personnel.

[The Edge]

Any side that has to start both their 4th and 5th choice CBs is going to see a drop off. Midfield needs to step up and last night they didn't, they were shit. Next 4 games are Man U (h), Fulham (a), Forest (h) and Luton (a). Plenty of points to be had there, it's up to the manger, coaches and players to get them.

Totally agree about the centre back situation. Lenglet and Carlos are only fit for back up imo. Our defence was woeful last night so much so that the world's best keeper couldn't save us from a demoralising defeat.The midfield went missing in action and Kamara had a kamikaze night to forget. And as if things couldn't get any worse I spent the half time chatting to a Sikh chap in the Trinity Rd who was visibly upset after being racially abused in the gents. Seems we still have a section of bigoted neanderthals in our midst. A thoroughly depressing evening all round although I did get to spend it with my lad who travelled back from uni for our first match together this season. I said to him that hopefully he'll get to see us lift the FA cup in his lifetime because I probably won't.

I hope the fella reported it to the club. They could potentially identify him from CCTV on the concourse. It's sad that such shit still goes these days.

He said he had spoken to a steward who asked him to stand opposite the toilet that the abuse took place at the half time interval to try and identify him. I don't think he did spot him so it's really difficult to identify him although he did give the steward a description. Hopefully it gets escalated because arseholes like that need kicking out.

[Nev]

We were rubbish.
They were half decent.
The subs were made too late.
The ref was awful.

Was the ref awful though? I know football fans like to complain about referees but I don't think he did too much wrong to be honest. The free kick for the 3rd goal was incorrect but from the referees angle of view it may have looked different

He’s was as bad as they normally are. Refereeing in the richest league in the world is as bad as I’ve ever seen it. A mixture of VAR and rules changing like the wind doesn’t make it easier for them but let’s be honest the standards are very low.

Let's face it if he makes a mistake that goes against a team like Chelsea it's all over the media, the other way 'round and it's more or less dismissed. Every bit of coverage was about the opposition in the build up to yesterdays game, Lee Dixon was cheerleading for Chelsea on TV sat alongside a Chelsea fan commentating. You can't tell me that ref's are immune to all this, there is an unconscious bias in the way they ref games for certain teams and it's been like this for decades.

[Risso]

The ref had bugger all to do with our inability to string two passes together, or for either of our full backs to actually mark somebody.

[Brazilian Villain]

The pre-match talk about Poch being 'under pressure' didn't help. If we'd got a goal in those early attacks they may have crumbled, but it was all set up for a Chelsea 'performance' to relieve the 'beleaguered boss' etc.

[Brazilian Villain]

The ref had bugger all to do with our inability to string two passes together, or for either of our full backs to actually mark somebody.

Yeah, our passing was a bad as I've seen it under Unai. No one seemed immune from it.

[eamonn]

For me our midfield aren’t as good or confident in front of these 2 centre halves as when it’s Torres and Konsa…Carlos in particular just makes me nervous…Konsa’s pace digs us out on the high line so often…these two feel way to slow to play it well.

We weren't undone by our high-line last night though. Chelsea played through us with ease in the middle because they were more aggressive with their pressing and accurate with their passing. They also had too much pace and power on the flanks for our weedy full-backs (Leon struggled helping out too).