Aston Villa v Brighton Post-Match Thread

[Skipper_The_Eyechild]

Just skimmed the highlights and it was a clear penalty before the corner that we scored from anyway. Will retract my "referee was good" comments.

Mental that nowadays a ball can brush your hand from a shot three inches away but a two handed push is waved play on and VAR ignores it.

I didn't need to see one of our new old players miss a pen. +1 to the ref.

[Somniloquism]

It looked like it was hitting the underside of the bar and could have bounced down over the line or hit him and gone in (which has happened before), especially as Emi pushed it square onto the bar for it to bounce out to the edge of the area

[Skipper_The_Eyechild]

I thought the shot was going in off the bar as well.

[Somniloquism]

Just skimmed the highlights and it was a clear penalty before the corner that we scored from anyway. Will retract my "referee was good" comments.

Mental that nowadays a ball can brush your hand from a shot three inches away and it's an instant penalty but a two handed push is waved play on and VAR ignores it.

I don't think VAR is ignoring it. It is ref's stating "I saw the push but don't think there was enough force for the player to have gone down". VAR can't then overrule for clear and obvious with a subjective call like that. IF the ref had said he hadn't seen any push, then they might have gotten involved. I am not sure why the refs have adopted a "forceful" push only attitude though.

Actually I also need to adend "and it wasn't on a Chelsea player." to the refs quote above.

[cdbearsfan]

A tiny amount of force can be enough to push a player over if he is off balance (say, halfway through a shot) or running at speed. Neither was the case here, but still, force seems a weird criterion to apply. I've always worked on the assumption that arbitrarily choosing to push someone over in the penalty area is a foul and therefore a foolish idea.

[PeterWithe]

For the 3rd home game in a row I thought the opposition's tactics were very good and well implemented. We struggled to get out from their press and Rogers was very well marshalled, even when we did break they smothered us quickly. There were times we should have moved the ball on quicker but credit due, they were aggressive in winning the second ball. It was never going to be a classic and we just needed to find a way, make a chance and take it. And we did.

Onward.

[dorsetvillian]

If you look at the team that finished the game how many of those would be be treated as staters if all fit.  Maybe Martine, Konsa and Mattsen.So important to grind out those 3 points knowing the pain caused to those watching on from Chelsea and Utd.

[adrenachrome]

Don't we have a specialist coach who is supposed to be making those calls.

Buenida said that Nanny Mac had told him to go to "post number one" instead of "post number two" before Ty had a word in his shell-like.

[Skipper_The_Eyechild]

Yep. Not sure why we "deserved to lose" when Brighton probably had the one chance on target that needed a brilliant save.

Even that shot would have hit the bar.

Just seen it again on MOTD, that shot is definitely going in.

[eamonn]

Don't we have a specialist coach who is supposed to be making those calls.

Buenida said that Nanny Mac had told him to go to "post number one" instead of "post number two" before Ty had a word in his shell-like.

You mean Bailey?

[eamonn]

Crucial three points but absolute blose, deserved to lose. Can see us being outside the top five by the time Tielemans and McGinn are back in April. Rudderless without them.

Deserved  to lose ...NO. Can see us outside the top 5 by the time T and M return....NO.

I just have high standards with Unai. Felt like I was watching a Lambert game from 12 year ago, flashbacks were horrid. All our possession between goalie and defenders. No clear chances from open play. Shite atmos.

[Brend'Watkins]

Dreadful game. But as I surmised with a mate beforehand who thought an entertaining 3-2 would be the outcome I reckoned it would be a scruffy victory. It was that and fortunate too.
We weren’t terrible really but equally we weren’t great. We’re a team without our beat 3 players out to injury and it really shows.

Unless UE can weave some magic I think we’ll struggle.

[adrenachrome]

Don't we have a specialist coach who is supposed to be making those calls.

Buenida said that Nanny Mac had told him to go to "post number one" instead of "post number two" before Ty had a word in his shell-like.

You mean Bailey?

Sorry, yes. 

[Rory]

A tiny amount of force can be enough to push a player over if he is off balance (say, halfway through a shot) or running at speed. Neither was the case here, but still, force seems a weird criterion to apply. I've always worked on the assumption that arbitrarily choosing to push someone over in the penalty area is a foul and therefore a foolish idea.

Such things have, for a while, made me question whether most professional referees have ever actually played football.

I know it's a multi-billion pound industry and even the tiniest of advantages can be significant, but I can honestly say that I have never pushed an opponent while playing football, or pulled a shirt.

Yet players who slightly mistime a tackle, missing the ball (not jumping in two-footed or any dangerous play) but not catching the player get automatic yellows as long as the other bloke goes down and rolls about.

The second is an attempt to play the game. The former is plain cheating.

[Garyth]

The absence of Cash is just a reminder of how valuable he's been this season.

This is true, but Bogarde was very good tonight.

He did a good job defensively, but offers nothing going forward. That’s not a criticism as such, as he’s filling in. But Cash brings so much more to the team.

Yeah, this is what I originally meant. We look pretty static when we dont have Tielemans passing, or Cash providing alternative movement.

Bogarde is fine as a defensive fullback when he's given a task to do or person to mark - it makes sense that Emery gives him a limited role... I imagine the hardest part of fullback under Emery is the judgement of when it's ok to join the attak/push forward, and when it's best to retain posession. It's not a surprise that Bogarde takes the less risky choices more often.