Aston Villa 1-1 Leeds Post match grumble

[Proposition Joe]

I thought we started well, killed the game, kept the crowd quiet and ... Ah.

I'd love us to start games more on the front foot, but I accept it's not Unai's way. Not usually, anyway.

I'd definitely start Barkley and Sancho in the next game.

Hoping for a new manager bounce at Forest tomorrow, and for an Everton favour on Monday. We may well escape this disappointment relatively unscathed.

[Sexual Ealing]

Wrong team. Subs too late..Bailey and Buendia should not have played. The Onana/Dougie combo isn't working. Is Tammy the new Malen. Thought Torres would have helped in his passing. Lucky to get a point. The Chelsea result helps but the general level of play is so poor at the moment. Need McGinn back..

The selection I found most surprising was Mings for Torres, together with the reticence to bring Torres on as an attacking substitution – especially in that second half where we were on the ball for 70% of the time. Can only assume there is some lingering injury problem there. Maybe it was with one eye on Calvert-Lewin?

Great admirer of Mings, of course. But his passing is relatively blunt compared to Pau.

Stating the bleedin' obvious but we were very poor today, and got what we deserved.

]But trust in Unai to make us competitive again when it matters.

It matters now!

[SamTheMouse]

I think Sancho has been showing great attitude lately. Night and day difference with Bailey who's only any good when things are going well, but whose head - and willingness to work for the team -drop frighteningly quickly when the going gets even slightly tough. Far too weak mentally for this level.

I'd definitely be starting Sancho next game. He looks like he's playing for his next contract, so we might as well make the most of that.

[Demitri_C]

Desperate  stuff. 1 point from leeds, 10 man brentford and Everton.  Dire home results
We were lucky vs Brighton  too.

The performances have returned to the start of the season where we struggled to score and create anything
We got lucky today.

Too many poor performances. Buendia and bailey in particular  were shocking.  Mings overhit long passing was very frustrating  as well.

God bless Burnley  though

[LeonW]

Wrong team. Subs too late..Bailey and Buendia should not have played. The Onana/Dougie combo isn't working. Is Tammy the new Malen. Thought Torres would have helped in his passing. Lucky to get a point. The Chelsea result helps but the general level of play is so poor at the moment. Need McGinn back..

The selection I found most surprising was Mings for Torres, together with the reticence to bring Torres on as an attacking substitution – especially in that second half where we were on the ball for 70% of the time. Can only assume there is some lingering injury problem there. Maybe it was with one eye on Calvert-Lewin?

Great admirer of Mings, of course. But his passing is relatively blunt compared to Pau.

Stating the bleedin' obvious but we were very poor today, and got what we deserved.

]But trust in Unai to make us competitive again when it matters.

It matters now!

Yes. We need champions league for next season and got ourselves into pole position for it to happen. Yet it’s starting to look like it’s going to slip through our fingers. Emery’s team selections have been wrong for the past 4 home games now.

[KevinGage]

I thought we started well, killed the game, kept the crowd quiet and ... Ah.

I'd love us to start games more on the front foot, but I accept it's not Unai's way. Not usually, anyway.

True.

Would be nice to shake it up a bit, mind.

[PaulWinch again]

Play like we did in the second half from the off I fancy we'd have a nice 3 points in the bag.

Yep and that’s a massive issue - we are starting games in such a meek fashion at the moment. It’s absolutely killing any momentum from the off.

[Goldenballs]

Luiz is such a nothing player now, drifts through the game like a hologram.

Pretty much everything else has already been said, fucking shit. I dispair with Watkins, it looks like he's forgtton how to kick a football. Tammy absolutely has to start against Wolves.

This squad needs an overhaul and a serious injection of quality. If we bottle top 5 we're fucked trying to do it on a shoestring.

[rougegorge]

Play like we did in the second half from the off I fancy we'd have a nice 3 points in the bag.

Yep and that’s a massive issue - we are starting games in such a meek fashion at the moment. It’s absolutely killing any momentum from the off.

I agree.

It happens too often,  and although we've gained more points than anyone else from a losing position, we shouldn't keep on putting ourselves in such a position.

We don't have our best midfielders who are good at playing out from the back, but we compounded it today by slowing it all down in the first half. I do like Mings, but as already noted, he doesn't pick a pass quickly and slows it all down and Konsa then slips into the same ways.

 

[Halfway to Moseley]

Just got back from a pretty subdued VP, although it  livened up towards the end thankfully. Barkley and Sancho coming on changed the game, they were both excellent. Martinez saved us more than once with a couple of excellent saves. Haven’t seen their goal back so not sure if he could have done better, but it seemed to fly in like a rocket. Great to see Cash back - he was solid and combined well with Sancho in the second half.

Watkins has plenty of credit in the bank but today might be the day I’ve finally lost patience with him. Fluffed the one on one, and the amounts of crosses/pull backs into dangerous areas where he was nowhere to be seen was ridiculous. Seems to have lost all strikers instinct. Bailey’s body language just before he was subbed off was pathetic - lost the ball easily, gave up trying to win it back, then basically subbed himself off, he couldn’t get off the pitch quick enough. I thought Dougie was poor and Onana not much better.

[JJ-AV]

Not great, and I’m worried about the next 4 but think we should have enough to get over the line in 5th when the boys are back

Our frontline has been below par all season tbh, we can’t create many chances and relying on something special to happen too frequently. Set pieces helping us currently.

Just need to get through now. Minimal spend and getting in CL in the current context would be great

[Demitri_C]

Luiz is such a nothing player now, drifts through the game like a hologram.

Pretty much everything else has already been said, fucking shit. I dispair with Watkins, it looks like he's forgtton how to kick a football. Tammy absolutely has to start against Wolves.

This squad needs an overhaul and a serious injection of quality. If we bottle top 5 we're fucked trying to do it on a shoestring.

Got to remember  dougies played so little football and has been thrown in. He wasnt great but he did wipe in some good balls yet no one was close to it.

What was up with that freekick 1st half? Luiz whipped a great balm in but three of our players ran out the box towards dougie

Was one of the worst set plays gone wrong i have ever seen

[olaftab]

Desperate  stuff. 1 point from leeds, 10 man brentford and Everton.  Dire home results
We were lucky vs Brighton  too.

How about 4 points from last two league games which is not so desperate and we at least deserved a point today?

[Demitri_C]

Desperate  stuff. 1 point from leeds, 10 man brentford and Everton.  Dire home results
We were lucky vs Brighton  too.

How about 4 points from last two league games which is not so desperate and we at least deserved a point today?

Did we play well vs Brighton? Or were we fortunate?

All four home performances  were poor. We got out of jail vs brighton lets not sugar coat it.

[Villan82]

I thought we started well, killed the game, kept the crowd quiet and ... Ah.

I'd love us to start games more on the front foot, but I accept it's not Unai's way. Not usually, anyway.

I'd definitely start Barkley and Sancho in the next game.

Hoping for a new manager bounce at Forest tomorrow, and for an Everton favour on Monday. We may well escape this disappointment relatively unscathed.

See, this is the thing I don't get. For the first 18 months of Unai this was our way. We regularly blew teams away in the first half an hour and killed games. it was absolutely fantastic!

Last season we changed it up looking to get to half time in the game and then win it second half. It doesn't suit us as well.