Manchester Utd v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Aldridge Villa]

I felt a lot worse the morning after the Palace semi final. I’ll take some comfort in that.

[Ads]

The goal feels like the Zapruder film.

Absolutely awful performance, really timid and Martinez decision to do what he did maybe spoke of some sort of collective failure. As I can't fathom a bloke that's won everything internationally doing what he did. Especially given who the Man United player was.

Too many poor performances and we missed Tielemans badly for control. Knocking down balls Fat Head's throat all game with long balls. Having Maatsen on but never really having enough of the ball to utilise him in an overload. Watkins not doing enough to pull them out of position. Cash checking back to help check us out with that back pass. Just poor.

But goals change games. And we can all do the "38 game season/not good enough" as if you're pretending you're being interviewed for Match of the Day. But it came down to goal difference, I don't think it ever has before. Losing 2 less and winning 1 less against a side above us.

17 minutes from the end of a season we score a perfectly good goal. To wake us up? Get us nice and solid? Change the performance? Maybe catch them on the break again? Maybe break them with "we've actually played well and we're still losing?" Maybe get them thinking about how much they don't want a 12 flight after this? A goal to probably get us a win or a draw at least. 17 minutes, despite everything on the day, for the entire season.

Goals change games, that goal changed a season. For all the "if only we'd done X at Y" which ignores all the "we did A and B at C to even be there" 17 minutes from time, at Old Trafford, 1 nil up needing 1 point but actually having 3.

Maybe this will be a Fulham 2018 moment if we can break the hoodoo and win it in Istanbul.

[Tayls_7]

I felt a lot worse the morning after the Palace semi final. I’ll take some comfort in that.

Selfish pr#ck. I don't.

[lovejoy]

Is there any sort of man city points deduction we can pray for?

Well the verdict is due any day. Whether the punishment will be retrospective or not, who knows. It should be.

Would be a very appropriate outcome.

[AlexAlexCropley]

Just had a slow-mo look at our disallowed goal.The ref only starts to whistle as the ball leaves Morgan's boot. The United defenders were not affected by the whistle to affect the ball going into the net.
And the stream i was watching had the var screen then come up but was then obviously quickly cancelled .
I'm more fuming about this now than in real time.

[The Edge]

Just had a slow-mo look at our disallowed goal.The ref only starts to whistle as the ball leaves Morgan's boot. The United defenders were not affected by the whistle to affect the ball going into the net.
And the stream i was watching had the var screen then come up but was then obviously quickly cancelled .
I'm more fuming about this now than in real time.

Me too. The biggest factor for me is the referee's position. He's 30 yards from the incident and Roger's body is preventing him getting a proper view of it too. He simply had to let play carry on and let var sort it out. He guessed and that is unforgivable when he knows full well that there is technology in play that means referee's do not have to guess anything. Fuming doesn't even come close to how I feel this morning.

[Mister E]

The goal feels like the Zapruder film.
Absolutely awful performance, really timid and Martinez decision to do what he did maybe spoke of some sort of collective failure. As I can't fathom a bloke that's won everything internationally doing what he did. Especially given who the Man United player was.
Too many poor performances and we missed Tielemans badly for control. Knocking down balls Fat Head's throat all game with long balls. Having Maatsen on but never really having enough of the ball to utilise him in an overload. Watkins not doing enough to pull them out of position. Cash checking back to help check us out with that back pass. Just poor.
But goals change games. And we can all do the "38 game season/not good enough" as if you're pretending you're being interviewed for Match of the Day. But it came down to goal difference, I don't think it ever has before. Losing 2 less and winning 1 less against a side above us.
17 minutes from the end of a season we score a perfectly good goal. To wake us up? Get us nice and solid? Change the performance? Maybe catch them on the break again? Maybe break them with "we've actually played well and we're still losing?" Maybe get them thinking about how much they don't want a 12 flight after this? A goal to probably get us a win or a draw at least. 17 minutes, despite everything on the day, for the entire season.
Goals change games, that goal changed a season. For all the "if only we'd done X at Y" which ignores all the "we did A and B at C to even be there" 17 minutes from time, at Old Trafford, 1 nil up needing 1 point but actually having 3.
Maybe this will be a Fulham 2018 moment if we can break the hoodoo and win it in Istanbul.

Yes; you capture my thoughts well here.
Forget the referee's cock-up; ignore the confidence that flowed through the opponents as the game wore on ... we set up poorly for this game against a team that crumbles under a high press. We demonstrated zero appreciation of the need to score early. Some of our players were delinquent (Martinez being one).
But the game away at Citeh, the draws against Ipswich, the draws vs Wham, Brighton, Bournemouth and Manure at home ... these were the games that meant we were left with a shit-or-bust last game.

Movin' on ...

[TonyD]

That was a shocking performance. 
0/10 for all including Emery. 

[Rudy65]

I felt a lot worse the morning after the Palace semi final. I’ll take some comfort in that.

Selfish pr#ck. I don't.

Me neither. Today feels far worse.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been awake since 4am due to Villa. As a 60 year old I’ve normally more important things to keep me awake. But not today

[itbrvilla]

The goal feels like the Zapruder film.
Absolutely awful performance, really timid and Martinez decision to do what he did maybe spoke of some sort of collective failure. As I can't fathom a bloke that's won everything internationally doing what he did. Especially given who the Man United player was.
Too many poor performances and we missed Tielemans badly for control. Knocking down balls Fat Head's throat all game with long balls. Having Maatsen on but never really having enough of the ball to utilise him in an overload. Watkins not doing enough to pull them out of position. Cash checking back to help check us out with that back pass. Just poor.
But goals change games. And we can all do the "38 game season/not good enough" as if you're pretending you're being interviewed for Match of the Day. But it came down to goal difference, I don't think it ever has before. Losing 2 less and winning 1 less against a side above us.
17 minutes from the end of a season we score a perfectly good goal. To wake us up? Get us nice and solid? Change the performance? Maybe catch them on the break again? Maybe break them with "we've actually played well and we're still losing?" Maybe get them thinking about how much they don't want a 12 flight after this? A goal to probably get us a win or a draw at least. 17 minutes, despite everything on the day, for the entire season.
Goals change games, that goal changed a season. For all the "if only we'd done X at Y" which ignores all the "we did A and B at C to even be there" 17 minutes from time, at Old Trafford, 1 nil up needing 1 point but actually having 3.
Maybe this will be a Fulham 2018 moment if we can break the hoodoo and win it in Istanbul.

Yes; you capture my thoughts well here.
Forget the referee's cock-up; ignore the confidence that flowed through the opponents as the game wore on ... we set up poorly for this game against a team that crumbles under a high press. We demonstrated zero appreciation of the need to score early. Some of our players were delinquent (Martinez being one).
But the game away at Citeh, the draws against Ipswich, the draws vs Leicester, Brighton, Bournemouth and Manure at home ... these were the games that meant we were left with a shit-or-bust last game.

Movin' on ...

Uep and dropping 9 points from winning positions.

[VillaTim]

That was a shocking performance. 
0/10 for all including Emery.

Emery's villa record against ManUre is pretty shocking , he's been unable to lift the curse.

[Walmley_Villa]

3 massive games, Wembley, Citeh away and today where we haven’t been at the races. That is Unai plus the players. Slow, ponderous with no press or energy. Not playing Rogers in the middle or on the left has proved costly and not using Mings from a leadership perspective a mistake imo. Notwithstanding Emi’s headloss and the officials fuck up we finished with 2 points less than last season when competing in the Champions League is an achievement. I just hope the financial impact is manageable.

[LeeS]

I think it is interesting how we focus on a single mistake in the game as being the defining moment. The ref fucked up in that split second. But so did Cash in his split second. So did Emi in his. So did a host of United players when the ball was pinging around our box. The game was error strewn from start to finish. No single error (the refs) was more decisive than another.

[Stu]

They’re all a bunch of wankers.

[ChicagoLion]

Just as Glasner did a number on us, it looks like Amorin using a similar system did the same. We were unable to cope with their press. Add to that some absolutely awful performances fromtoo many players ( Cash Maatsen Watkins)We had no out ball, Watkins was dominated by Maguire and you can not afford to have Rogers and Asensio  together in a high energy game as neither provides any defensive cover.

I agree. It looks like Glasner has worked out a gameplan to totally nullify our game and Amorim followed the blueprint. It's what happens in the PL.
The surprising thing is that a coach as good as Unai Emery seems to have a blind spot to it and set up the team to walk straight into the same trap that Glasner has set against us three times now.

He has a few blind spots, Cash Torres first on the team sheet. Rogers as a right winger and inexhaustible . Not playing Mings trying to shoehorn Rogers and Asensio into the team. Not noticing when Maatsen is running around like he is being chased by a wasp and Watkins like a puppy chasing a balloon.