Olympiacos v Villa Pre-match Thread

[LeeS]

Feel like it'll be like that League Cup Semi against Bolton, where we get a late goal, but not enough to see us to extra time.

First leg reminded me of that match, got it back to 2-2 only to chuck it away

Is Gavin McCann going to get sent off again?

[Somniloquism]

Just to mention for those who thought the same ref was doing our second leg, we find out the refs today but the other semi is playing a day early and they have been given a different reffing team.

[Baldy]

Fatigue - my arse. Just an excuse and Unai doesn't accept excuses.

Top athletes are playing a game for 90 minutes every 3 days or so. Mollycoddled beyond belief. Snooker table pitches, elite travel, top hotels, curtailed training, staff galore (kit washers, bag carriers etc), top physios, top facilities and all the rest. They are kicking a ball not doing the Tour de France!! FFS

As for mental fatigue - my arse.

If I got up every morning and saw a bottom line of GBP 4,672,885 in my Bank account any stress would soon dissipate. Make up your own figure but it is not going to be low.

Injuries aside, pick our best eleven for all the remaining matches.

Rest - my arse. 

[Monty]

Fatigue - my arse. Just an excuse and Unai doesn't accept excuses.

Top athletes are playing a game for 90 minutes every 3 days or so. Mollycoddled beyond belief. Snooker table pitches, elite travel, top hotels, curtailed training, staff galore (kit washers, bag carriers etc), top physios, top facilities and all the rest. They are kicking a ball not doing the Tour de France!! FFS

As for mental fatigue - my arse.

If I got up every morning and saw a bottom line of GBP 4,672,885 in my Bank account any stress would soon dissipate. Make up your own figure but it is not going to be low.

Injuries aside, pick our best eleven for all the remaining matches.

Rest - my arse. 

'They are kicking a ball', I don't know, seems like a simplification. I wonder if they're, like, running around as well.

[VillaTim]

Fatigue - my arse. Just an excuse and Unai doesn't accept excuses.

Top athletes are playing a game for 90 minutes every 3 days or so. Mollycoddled beyond belief. Snooker table pitches, elite travel, top hotels, curtailed training, staff galore (kit washers, bag carriers etc), top physios, top facilities and all the rest. They are kicking a ball not doing the Tour de France!! FFS

As for mental fatigue - my arse.

If I got up every morning and saw a bottom line of GBP 4,672,885 in my Bank account any stress would soon dissipate. Make up your own figure but it is not going to be low.

Injuries aside, pick our best eleven for all the remaining matches.

Rest - my arse.

Whilst I agree , did you see the Brighton game, they are blowing out their arses . Physically and mentally they are gone .

[Baldy]

Fatigue - my arse. Just an excuse and Unai doesn't accept excuses.

Top athletes are playing a game for 90 minutes every 3 days or so. Mollycoddled beyond belief. Snooker table pitches, elite travel, top hotels, curtailed training, staff galore (kit washers, bag carriers etc), top physios, top facilities and all the rest. They are kicking a ball not doing the Tour de France!! FFS

As for mental fatigue - my arse.

If I got up every morning and saw a bottom line of GBP 4,672,885 in my Bank account any stress would soon dissipate. Make up your own figure but it is not going to be low.

Injuries aside, pick our best eleven for all the remaining matches.

Rest - my arse.

Whilst I agree , did you see the Brighton game, they are blowing out their arses . Physically and mentally they are gone .

Sorry Tim, against Brighton we had too many players out of their normal position. Some didn't know what they were meant to be doing and were running around like headless chickens. When Rogers went off, Unai over complicated matters. Rarely he makes a mistake, but this time he did. Why not replace Rogers with Moreno (fairly familiar with that role) instead of putting Cash on (out of position) and shifting Diaby, Bailey and Watkins about. They were not blowing out their arses, they were confused!!

[Monty]

Cash has played right midfield all throughout his career. Moreno has never played right midfield. Everyone else - everyone - was playing in a position they're very familiar with, in a system they've been drilled in every day for a year and a half.

Mate, I'm sorry, but you're just wrong. Even the opposition manager went so far as to say 'this was not Villa' due to the fatigue issue. You have no idea what it's like to play top-level football, the concentration involved, the long-term toll it takes on the legs. Yes, it's a better living than virtually anything else on earth, but the idea that therefore tiredness does not exist is just a weird error.

[Somniloquism]

German refs.

Olymbiakós SFP (GRE) - Aston Villa FC (ENG)
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Lupp GER
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller GER
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR
UEFA Delegate: Fernand Meese BEL

[coreyfeldman]

Fatigue - my arse. Just an excuse and Unai doesn't accept excuses.

Top athletes are playing a game for 90 minutes every 3 days or so. Mollycoddled beyond belief. Snooker table pitches, elite travel, top hotels, curtailed training, staff galore (kit washers, bag carriers etc), top physios, top facilities and all the rest. They are kicking a ball not doing the Tour de France!! FFS

As for mental fatigue - my arse.

If I got up every morning and saw a bottom line of GBP 4,672,885 in my Bank account any stress would soon dissipate. Make up your own figure but it is not going to be low.

Injuries aside, pick our best eleven for all the remaining matches.

Rest - my arse.

Fatigue doesn't exist and getting paid lots of money means you become inhuman.

V clever and useful insight here

[Somniloquism]

Sounds like John Gregory is alive and well 25 years later.

[Ben1505p]

German refs.

Olymbiakós SFP (GRE) - Aston Villa FC (ENG)
Referee: Felix Zwayer GER
Assistant Referee 1: Stefan Lupp GER
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Achmüller GER
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Tiago Martins POR
UEFA Referee Observer: Rune Pedersen NOR
UEFA Delegate: Fernand Meese BEL

Wasn't he done for match fixing?

[Baldy]

Cash has played right midfield all throughout his career. Moreno has never played right midfield. Everyone else - everyone - was playing in a position they're very familiar with, in a system they've been drilled in every day for a year and a half.

Mate, I'm sorry, but you're just wrong. Even the opposition manager went so far as to say 'this was not Villa' due to the fatigue issue. You have no idea what it's like to play top-level football, the concentration involved, the long-term toll it takes on the legs. Yes, it's a better living than virtually anything else on earth, but the idea that therefore tiredness does not exist is just a weird error.

Hi Monty, why not do a straight swap (left sided Moreno for left sided Rogers) and not shift anyone around. For us, Cash looks like a fish out of water when he plays in midfield and his involvement caused others to have to shift around. IMHO, an unnecessary over complication.

I did play at a decent level (semi-professional) in the late 70,s which was very demanding. For training had to run down the hard shoulder until I got sick!! But the fact I was playing a game I love was enough to pull me through.

[Demitri_C]

At least its a different ref the first leg one was awful. Not that i expect we will get any decisions over there

[Monty]

Cash has played right midfield all throughout his career. Moreno has never played right midfield. Everyone else - everyone - was playing in a position they're very familiar with, in a system they've been drilled in every day for a year and a half.

Mate, I'm sorry, but you're just wrong. Even the opposition manager went so far as to say 'this was not Villa' due to the fatigue issue. You have no idea what it's like to play top-level football, the concentration involved, the long-term toll it takes on the legs. Yes, it's a better living than virtually anything else on earth, but the idea that therefore tiredness does not exist is just a weird error.

Hi Monty, why not do a straight swap (left sided Moreno for left sided Rogers) and not shift anyone around. For us, Cash looks like a fish out of water when he plays in midfield and his involvement caused others to have to shift around. IMHO, an unnecessary over complication.

I did play at a decent level (semi-professional) in the late 70,s which was very demanding. For training had to run down the hard shoulder until I got sick!! But the fact I was playing a game I love was enough to pull me through.

I'd say that, with all the respect due to you (clearly played to higher standard I did!), the difference between semipro in the late 70s and today's Premier League is a vast and probably uncrossable canyon.

Cash came on because Adingra was murdering us. He (Adingra) did stop getting in so much down the outside-left, but our weakness in central midfield meant he just drifted infield and hurt us from there. I thought Cash was one of our better performers on the day - far more baffling, to my mind, was the Duran substitution.

[mrfuse]

Fatigue - my arse. Just an excuse and Unai doesn't accept excuses.

Top athletes are playing a game for 90 minutes every 3 days or so. Mollycoddled beyond belief. Snooker table pitches, elite travel, top hotels, curtailed training, staff galore (kit washers, bag carriers etc), top physios, top facilities and all the rest. They are kicking a ball not doing the Tour de France!! FFS

As for mental fatigue - my arse.

If I got up every morning and saw a bottom line of GBP 4,672,885 in my Bank account any stress would soon dissipate. Make up your own figure but it is not going to be low.

Injuries aside, pick our best eleven for all the remaining matches.

Rest - my arse. 

What a strange comment. I appologise if it's a tongue in cheek comment as I might have missed the humour.