Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 2 Post Match Heart Massage.

[ez]

We've played four games while spurs have been having a rest so I'll cut them some slack.
I'm still peed off with the ref not giving that foul straight away. Even the spurs and chelsea loving Glen Hoddle called him out.

[PeterWithe]

Not read the thread so this has probably been said but I was happy with a point despite being two up, never really felt we were in control of the game apart from the period right after our second when their heads went down dramatically.

Thought too many big players were well off it for us to have that control we needed to hang on to the lead, very little attacking threat but we did have some big breakaway chances to extend a little deserved lead, Ollies being the major one, I dont think they showed that on MOTD?

As I said to my companions, I feel a little for Olson, he had a fine game, he did nothing at all wrong, but the entire mood of the team seems to change when Emi isn't there.

I was impressed by Chelsea, they held the ball very well in our third, won it back aggressively and pulled us around all over the field, a very Emery like performance by them, that said, on replay their disallowed goal was clear, cant mind the ref missed it in real time, a proper shove.

All in all a bad day at the office we got a point from.

[eye digress]

As others have said, a valuable point, though not one we deserved particularly: we improved our position slightly, even though we didn’t achieve the 9-point gap we dreamed of.
Iroegbunem is lacking at this level (not blaming him for the result, just an observation).
Importantly, Chelsea showed they have something left to play for (pride, Europe). That works in our favour in the overall scheme of things.
Let’s hope the in-game injuries (which did disrupt us) are not serious.

Chelsea are something like our doppelgänger: a strong squad underperforming roughly to the degree we are overperforming man for man (due to skilled coaching, good strategy, etc.). Failing to qualify for Europe for a second season could look like a trend, and given their FFP tightrope, it also looks likely to impair their progress in the coming seasons. Can they keep their best players? Who will want to sign for them?

[Astnor]

Reason we fell so apart may be part due to injury to Tielemans and the substitution with Diaby. then we didnt have Tielemans serving the attackers with passes and we didnt have Mcginn up there to hold on to the ball and being aggresive. Diaby not holding on to the ball, getting passes or being particulary playable and our counterattacking strategy fell apart. Might be said before this, havent read all the thread (yet).

[caster troy]

I thought Duran should have come on sooner to try to hold the ball up, how many times did we chip the ball in to Watkins/Diaby and lose possession immediately? When Olsen is in goal we aren't so confident playing it out so it makes sense to go more direct but we did not have the players to do that.

As my Dad texted me after the game, it's not a bad thing for Chelsea to have played well as they have Spurs in midweek. What worries me is they will revert to type and be poor in that game.

[AV84]

Awful performance from us but I was more worried after the Brentford draw. To get the point after that second half could be massive, and if Arsenal don't screw it up today we could be 7 points clear of Spurs and them only having 2 games in hand, which, bad at maths as I am, still gives us the advantage?

It's annoying that several times now we could maybe have been out of sight of them, 4th place guaranteed, and give full concentration to the European games, but this is where we are and it's a million times better than where we were for a long time, so I'm just ignoring yesterday and looking cautiously forward to Thursday.

[VillaTim]

Really really poor to throw away another 2 goal lead and i fear this will come back to haunt us . Tielemans looked finished for the season the way he wen off. I think Martinez was precautionary . I think we've handed Spurs hope . Just need to rely on Arsenal and Chelsea this week now .

[rob_bridge]

I thought Duran should have come on sooner to try to hold the ball up, how many times did we chip the ball in to Watkins/Diaby and lose possession immediately? When Olsen is in goal we aren't so confident playing it out so it makes sense to go more direct but we did not have the players to do that.

As my Dad texted me after the game, it's not a bad thing for Chelsea to have played well as they have Spurs in midweek. What worries me is they will revert to type and be poor in that game.

Good point - surprised not to see him on for Bailey.

Ho hum - I suspect we will look back and say 4 points v them was generous based on performance and chances.

[PeterWithe]

Having now read the thread, yes Chelsea aren't having a great season but they also aren't getting relegated. They have one of the best paid managers in the world who has taken an unfancied team to the Champions League final. I learned a few minutes ago, that Manduke, who had a fine game and I thought had come through their youth system, was a player with a fee so high he would be our second biggest transfer ever. They seemed to understand our weaknesses very well and how to exploit them with runners from deep.

A draw against them when we are below par is a steady result, and its no bad thing that they may be coming into a little form.

Also TimI, it seems churlish to even think of criticising the manager but, if I were to, it would be that he hasn't given him enough game time when he could have. A difficult game to come on in and he was patchy, did well a few times, looked like an inexperienced kid a few times. We could have done with him being more up to speed that he is, and for that he needs game time.

[Gareth]

Not read anything since the game but thought we were v lucky to get a point….much like the Spurs game we struggled with a team who committed 5/6 to the press at all times when we held the ball at the back….most games we find a way through consistently but I thought the best player by a mile on the pitch Thiago Silva had Ollie in his pocket so little ball was sticking.

Personally I thought we were poor first half slack on the ball a lot of the time, apparently I was watching a different game and we were brilliant according to those around me….the scoreboard at that point was great but the signs were there.

Thought Iroegbunam was a very good sub, got stuck in and caused chaos in the middle, would start him in Thursday or Sunday.

Good point by the end….over to Spurs now

[eye digress]

Also TimI, it seems churlish to even think of criticising the manager but, if I were to, it would be that he hasn't given him enough game time when he could have.

Emery gave Iroegbunam his roadmap in the run-up to (I think) the Luton away game:

It’s his moment. He has to be demanding and he has to do it… quick. He has to be ready and say, ‘It’s my time, now I am here!’

I can’t recall any games since then where his performance has expressed that sentiment. He seems like a good lad, but lacks the (perhaps selfish) edge required to make the step up.

[Risso]

Really really poor to throw away another 2 goal lead and i fear this will come back to haunt us . Tielemans looked finished for the season the way he wen off. I think Martinez was precautionary . I think we've handed Spurs hope . Just need to rely on Arsenal and Chelsea this week now .

Tielemans walked off on the Doug Ellis side, then walked all round the pitch. Hopefully not too bad.

[AV84]

I've not seen enough of the lad to have an opinion but it always amazes me how there's people on here in the match buildup threads calling for him to start big games, over players like Diaby or Tielemans. And then there's others who reckon he's nowhere near the standard required either through lack of game time or just lack of ability. I suspect the correct appraisal is somewhere in the middle.

[Ads]

I was watching, Pochettino, and I appealed immediately from the Upper Holte for a really obvious shove on Carlos. The real "disgrace" is how the referee didn't see it.

Felt we struggled massively with their shape 2nd half. Side Show Bob created a constant overload in our midfield and we couldn't hold onto the ball. It was 45 minutes of panic, not aided by Tielemans being off the pitch, but also McGinn and Luiz both being really poor. McGinn seemed to miss tackle after tackle and Luiz was at fault for the first and generally really inaccurate in everything he did. Watkins didn't hold a thing up and Bailey seemed to shrink, with Diaby offering nothing. Slap in Rogers persistent giving away of the ball and you ought to have a recipe for a hammering.

I think on that basis, and maybe helped by their goal being disallowed, I feel quite pleased with the point, as it felt we would inevitability get beat the way we struggled.

For me, Duran ought to have come on earlier as 2 up top is a useful way to counter 3 at the back, to stop the spare man tucking into midfield, but we don't have many options. There is a difference when you have spent £1bn and cheated the system assigning hotels with management contracts to having injuries and the volume we have. But we're 19 points clear of them so chew on that when you're sacked in the summer Pochettino.

Our highest place finish since 1996! With 4 games to spare. When you think of the inherent advantages cheats like Chelsea have or oil based Newcastle or Man United, that's just incredible. To let us finish above them at a canter is a "disgrace".

Hopefully Chelsea will take confidence from that, as written with gritted teeth aside, they had a plan, executed it well and looked... pretty good. As much as we contributed to it, there was nothing of the spineless quality they showed the other day. So good luck against Spurs, who hopefully get hammered by Arsenal today.

[Demitri_C]

It was also be wonderful if we could start coming back and winning goals from two down as opposed to always three times giving up 2 goal leads. Hopefully we will see this much less come next season as unai learning about this group

I fixed it for you. Three times. And we did come back from two down against Bournemouth away. Didn't win it but then neither did Chelsea or Brentford. We also came back from 1 goal down multiple times as well to win matches.

Ok if you have fixed the post can you tell me when the last time we came back from 2 down to win a game this year? When we tend to go 2 down we lose the game or dont win.

The point im making is we need to show resilience at 2 goals up in a lot of games. That 2nd half was almost a exavt replica of what happened at OT. You cant be doing that twice in a season if you want to be  a top side