Credit to https://www.flickr.com/photos/graham_pride/albums/72157662420335941
A very happy new year!
It is for us Villa fans anyway.
How great was it for us to get three points today when practically everybody, myself included had written this one off a a “no chance”?
Maybe Dean Smith reads the Villa websites after all, but it wasn’t rocket science that made him go five at the back, was it?
Whatever, it worked and the defence in the first half particularly, looked much more confident.
Jack Grealish played more centrally and you can see the difference it makes.
He’s much more involved where the real action is and even managed to bring Wesley into it for a goal.
It’s taken the manager a while to realise this, but fair play, he made the changes and they worked.
That said and I’m not trying to detract from the performance, but Burnley looked a really poor side, especially in that same first half. We were beating them to all the second balls in midfield, which made a really pleasant change.
As for the goal that was ruled out for Wesley being offside, what an absolute joke.
Even BBC sport said the goal should have stood. I was reminded of Liverpool’s goal against us and it was almost identical. I said then that their goal should have been classed as good, so you can’t say it’s bias on my part.
VAR is supposed to be looking at obvious and clear errors.
That simply wasn’t one.
My hope is that they will sort this over time, but in the meantime my concern is that it’s decisions like this that can turn games and maybe even get a team relegated.
If it’s that close to call, just don’t bother with VAR, simple.
I’m tempted to brush over the second half, but basically we knew Burnley would come out all guns blazing and we looked a lot poorer, being sloppy, sitting back and nearly letting them back into the game.
The bad news is that both Wesley and Heaton have possibly suffered Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries, which can leave a player out for many months. As a worst case, we might not even see them again this season.
But I’m sure another player had the same injury not so long back and recovered a lot quicker. I just can’t think who it was.
Regardless, we have no choice now, but to get a decent striker in and hopefully we’ll have already been planning for it.
Kodjia, who I’ve often espoused should start for us, looked horrendous today. Some say it was a lack of interest, but the commentators I listened to said he looked leggy, even though he’d only been on a few minutes.
Which makes sense, given that you’d think he might want to put himself on display for a move. He definitely didn’t look in good shape.
Ultimately, it was a decent first half against a very poor Burnley which got us three points and got us out of the relegation places.
I’m not sure how long that will last, but I’m happy to say I got it wrong in my prediction.
Up the Villa and happy new year!
Not only lightweight but lazy, no pace, can’t/won’t tackle, can’t go past a player, runs up to players skips and stops won’t tackle.
Lazy, no pace, can’t/won’t tackle, can’t go past a player! TBH, that could be a number of our players. Whilst I agree that Hourihane is lightweight and can’t tackle, he can shoot and pass and he scores a good chunk of our goals. And goals means points/prizes. Like Grealish, there is little point in them backtracking when they are more influential in the final third. If we are 1-0 down and have a free kick 25 yards out, I would bring Hourihane from the subs bench just to take it. I stated previously that we need another CM to cover for McGinn. That would mean we could offload Lansbury who has produced nothing.
What about his skipping?
Runs up to a player skips and stops?
Perhaps he is wary they might pinch his rope! 😂
It seems like fans are mostly angry about Nakamba’s performances with a lot saying we should get rid. Personally I would like to see formation used at Burnley where for the first time we got Nakamba and Luiz playing well. It might have been a one off but who knows unless Smith tries it out again. Against Leicester, I think the 5 at the back will be vital to keep it tight for the 2nd leg at Villa Park.
i don’t think that playing 5 at back or 352 is the answer for all ills. playing Leicester will not suit 5 at the back because they will hit quick breaks and more players you got back their more chance vardy will beat the offside. also when you got three players marking one player, you will get three statues as they all will think the other will act and none will and vardy will nip in. three at the back against burnley were defending two good heading forwards both very physical. while Leicester are more pass and move and very nippy two different games
i was surprised we switched three at the back with little work on that formation. i don’t think the system actually worked defensively. first half burnley were dire and second half they improved. where the 352 worked for me was grealish played more as a second striker and got linked up with wesley who also had his best game, because he had somebody like grealish to link up with. trez also had a free attacking role and he had his best game, luiz also looked for better but all this could have been because burnley were so bad. they rarely play 90 minutes and not threaten the opposition. don’t think they had one attempt on target first half. also having mings back would have raised the other players levels.
No one actually can assess from this game, this 5 at the back, this is how Liverpool plays and it works, but you should have the players to understand the system and Villa don’t..again I’m loosing Faith in Smith’s ability in understanding football at this level. We lost, and as someone who played the game it should hurt to loose. But we have players that it don’t matter, you get the money then you should deliver. We have players that don’t die for the club. Get rid.
I struggle to understand why some fans cannot see how useless some of our players are, Nath sums it up , OLL sees it, i dont think some fans see the game, OK by the attendance of most clubs the FA has lost its appealing interest, but it annoying to see us ridiculed by useing the FA cup not for our youngsters but players that are known to be useless in the first team. If we are going to throw that cup match show us our young hopeful player of the future. Mind boggles, Badger, my grief is tomorrow I don’t know how I’ll be he was Villa from head to toe, with Villaa car plates on his i8.
I give up…. what have we got that we can call footballers. I say no football’s with no brains. Sake the fucking lot.
I’m really struggling with some of the very negative comments. OK we don’t have the best squad; OK we could get better players if we spent a few ‘trillion’. OK our owners may be able to afford it but FFP sort of puts a downer on that. And we are suffering the sort of long term injury crisis to key players that would basically stuff any team in the EPL.
We are trying to build a side for the future (having finished last season with a squad of ageing and loan players) and in so doing there will be mistakes made but, and I sometimes think this fact is too easily forgotten, it was only 12 months or so ago that Villa stood on the precipice of financial disaster since when our owners have pumped £millions into the club not only to finance transfers but to ensure the football club is liquid and financially sound.
Criticism is OK as long as it’s fair and balanced!
Before today’s game many were saying it’s not a priority and survival in the EPL is the main goal. No one likes losing but it’s hardly a surprise is it?
Not only did we put out a second string, which wouldn’t be first choice even in the Championship, we were playing in London. If anyone can remember the last time we won a game in London (against a London team) then perhaps they can remind me because I can’t remember one.
Minor rant over.
UTV
my paddy was mainly on kodija. if you watched him throughout the game and his movement. you would moan too lol trust me i seen more movement in a squashed hedgehog on the m6. the guy stands in a offside position and expects to be onside.
also if the idea was too lose this game, i would have played the full under 23’s hourihane almost injured himself turning a ankle.we learned nothing about this team. it was standard team but no firepower. el ghazi struggled to cross the ball jota started slow but got more into the game. but both wide boys kodija struggled to hurt fulham where it matters. who also changed at least 8 players from their last league game defeat.
also i would have used the semi finals in the micky mouse cup to play weaken sides and play a stronger side in the fa cup more money etc fulham were not great too in general play. they won the game basically by scoring to very good goals. both were not fitting for this game which was dull and contested by too ordinary sides well matched.
One look at the team sheet was enough to convince me we were “schooling in public”. A horse-racing term for deliberately setting out to lose in order to improve the chances of winning another race. We have one cup semi to play and really did not want any more cup matches while the injury list is long and reinforcements are not yet bought.
I realise that with this post,I am going to attract a lot of negative comments for my ‘old-fashioned’ attitude but I really am disappointed that most,if not all, Premier League clubs and some Championship ones treat the FA Cup with such negativity. It is the oldest cup competition in the world for god’s sake. It used to be the ‘Jewel in the crown’ of English football.It’s all well and good changing your squad beyond recognition in order to protect your first choice players for the rigours of the Premier League but,let’s face it, since the ‘mega-money’ people got involved in football, the thought of falling out of the top division is unthinkable. And so it is now a case of all the supporters of Bournemouth,Watford,Norwich and clubs who are always going to be in the bottom-half of the table,including us, have to look forward to is the remote possibility of at least competing against a Sky top 6 team every now and then but the real hope is that there are at least 3 worst teams than yours come the end of the season.The domestic cups take a back seat for the ‘golden egg’ of Premiership survival. Even Dean Smith said that the changes he made against Fulham showed where his priorities lie.So sad that a club that has won the famous trophy 7 times has relegated it to being an inconvenience.
I find it staggering that Liverpool were moaning about fixture congestion recently. They were having a go at the Football League because of the EFL cup fixture date.Surely the blame lies with UEFA and FIFA for creating the huge financially rewarding competitions like the Champions League and the World Club Cup. I find it ironic that there was no moaning about fixture pile-ups when it was just the League winners taking part in a two-legged knokout of the European Cup and the next six or seven teams doing the same in the UEFA Cup.Not forgetting the Cup Winners’ Cup.All this with 42 top flight games, both domestic cups and a small squad. Oh, the good old days of honest football,local players.
End of rant.
All good points Mark.
Tbf to Dean Smith I don’t believe he would have fielded that team if we didn’t have our two first choice GK’s, last seasons player of the season and our record signing and first choice CF all on the long term injury list. If he’d played Grealish and Mings or evening Hause and any of them had been injured what reaction then from the Villa fans?
In the past Smith has spoken of how important the cup competitions are and we are in the semi of the Carabao Cup – I fully expect him to play a strong team Wednesday evening.
We need to be realistic about what’s achievable this season.
i agree with the posts all being bemused by the team we fielded and surrendering of the once great fa cup. i can understand not wanting to field grealish mings. but smith could have fielded the team he did yesterday, but leave out the front three of el ghazi kodija jota. i would have loved smith say to his youngsters, here you go / show us what you can do. ramsey and the yank came on but 10 minutes left what could they do. when fulham were playing keep ball. we know kodija is in hibernation el ghazi and jota are not on form and lacking sumat. play the youngsters in the forward area. they might surprise you and fulham. at the bottom line they might show more movement and effort.
Again fair points Nath and when we had lost the game there would be some criticising Smith for not picking Kodjia, El Ghazi and Jota!
In some circumstances managers just can’t win.
kodija is the only fit striker we have. so why risk him for this game. ?? personally i would have picked a different front three the two kids which came on and another to help them with communication. fulham would not have known these players too and wouldn’t know how to handle them.
our fans would have accepted this defeat better had smith played the three youngsters up front. we know what kodija jota ghazi do and can not do. maybe one of the three youngsters could have stepped up and if we lose the game at least we tried something different. we just might as well refused to turn up and surrender
there was very little for our fans to watch or get excited about. if the mindset was to not pick up injuries and lose with dignity. i would have preferred to lose playing the kids and you might be surprised by them, i felt sorry for the two that were brought on,the game was over and fulham always take the pi ss playing keep ball at the end. so the youngsters had nothing to do but chase them around.
also do we really think we will beat the foxes in the micky mouse cup, i am positive we will lose and lose bad over two legs. so i would have thrown these two games and try to stay in the fa cup. if we win the micky mouse cup we will have to beat Leicester and one Manc club , highly unlikely
actually you are correct hitch. smith can not win in this situation. i just think the hard core fans would be more happy to lose, if we blood the kids in the cups. rather than play the players we know are well short of something.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results wasn’t nath who said this lol throw in the kids and who knows we might have discovered the next gem
See that it’s still being reported that Stoke will let a Hogan return from his loan spell. Rather him than Kodjia leading the line – can’t possibly be any worse and if we can’t get a new striker in quickly seems eminently sensible
Nath that was exactly my point, why didn’t he. Yes fans would like myself understand it. If you ask me he’s leaving himself wide open for fans to forget he’s Villa and turn on him.Grealish got into the first team by not being a choice from managers but fans . Why is it that Villa don’t nurture our youngsters? I tell you why because frightened, as we are always struggling.
Or perhaps Smith was making a point to Purslow and the owners 🙂
It won’t be if he don’t get the service Hitch. After seeing Kodja missing some good chances I suppose it could be. Who else hey.
It seems Villa are going to recall Hogan. Think that’s a good move.
Football management has become a no win situation. The older generations amongst us probably despise the sickening amount of money which dictates decisions clubs make in relation to what team is picked. The dawn of Sky and Premier league heralded greed and a distancing between players and fans. Our time in the championship to many rekindled a memory of what football was like before 1992. The obsession with being in the premier league and chasing top 4 for further greed has killed our domestic cups. Personally I hate the way modern football has become. I will always support Villa because it’s in my blood but I don’t enjoy football in the same way I used to. Unfortunately things aren’t going to change. The big six clubs call the shots and Sky caters for their needs.
As for Wednesday, I won’t be happy if Smith ‘throws’ this game as well by picking an under strength team. Leicester might be favourites but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it everything. A chance to get to Wembley should be taken seriously. It’s not like our fans have anything else to look forward to this season.
Agreed
I don’t agree with throwing loads of kids in because if they don’t perform, they’re branded as poor straightaway.
It’s ok saying we might have a gem, but the managers and coaches watch them day in, day out, so surely they’d know?
I fully understand why managers won’t do it.
I see Liverpool have just played a very young side and beat Everton, but we’re in a totally different position, where we need to give as many minutes as possible to squad players.
Yes, some of them are playing poorly, but is it the setup doesn’t suit, they’re simply out of form, or are they just plain crap?
Nakamba has been slated lately, but he has played well earlier in the season.
Does that mean he’s crap, full stop?
I don’t think so, personally.
Hourihane, on the other hand, I think I know all I need to about him.
He’s invisible in open play, but gets you goals through shots and set pieces.
And that’s the extent of his game for me.
They’re just examples, as I could easily look at Jota, Luiz and Trezeguet in a similar light.
Taylor should be gone, as soon as we can get a half decent LB in to replace Targett.
The point is that Dean Smith will be asking all these questions too.
And it takes more than a few months.
All that said, I didn’t do a review yesterday, although I watched the game.
It was utter tripe from start to finish.
A really poor attendance, with weakened sides played by clubs that don’t give a toss.
It’s a recipe for disaster and it just wasn’t worth my time watching or writing about it.
It won’t be long before the FA cup is devalued down to the League cup’s level, imo.
They really ought to reinstate the old position, where the winners qualify for European competition.
Then it’s instantly worth going for again.
I think there is general agreement that the Cups have been devalued particularly the FA Cup given its long and distinguished history.
The question is why do we need two cup competitions – more if you add cup competitions specifically for the lower leagues? With complaints about the number of games (already recognised by abolishing replays in the Carabao Cup and limited to one in the FA Cup and no extra time) why isn’t the Carabao Cup just scrapped? Oh well I suppose that would mean less money!
Frankly and objectively we don’t need two cup competitions particularly if, as Badger says, European qualification is out of the window.
Maybe reverting to one FA Cup competition might rekindle some of the old magic?
Badger, there are a number of factors that have devalued the FA Cup.
1) The introduction of the Premier league.
2) Sky sports.
3) Champions league.
4) Too many games at Wembley (especially semi-finals)
5) Europa league.
6) Too many foreign players / coaches! Please don’t go politically correct on me!
If I had my way the Champions league would be scrapped and returned to a cup knockout tournament for champions ONLY!
Scrap Europa league completely.
Finals only at Wembley.
I would try to implement a minimum of English players within a squad.
Obviously none of the above will ever happen because greed means more than the history of our game.
That Holte sums it up nicely, the FA cup was at one time a cup to play for, I can remember taking two coaches to see the first game for both clubs B Ham , Villa .We would meet in any working man clubs a have a good day out win or loose.Badger I’m not saying a full squad of youngster, we must have some that could give more than some we have, how many can we name that as made it into our first team ?, 1 and that Grealish, the rest have moved on and done better in other sides.
nobody said throw loads of kids in badger. there was no harm in giving the two kids who came on a full debut and maybe another, so the front three were all familiar with each other. they would have given fulham more to worry about than el ghazi jota and kodija gave them. fans would also appreciate losing knowing we tried blooding kids instead of playing the same old dross.
we apparently wanted to lose and go out. so where was the harm in playing three kids against a championship club. they had experienced players in midfield and defence to guide them. was hardly throwing them to the lions = everybody has to get wet sometimes when you swim.
next conundrum will be Wednesday. if smith wants to win or wants to try win by not risking his better players. i for one do not rate the league cup whatever its calling itself this season. i would not pick grealish or mings for any of the legs. winning this cup means nothing, where surviving means everything.
making no headway in recruiting new strikers. god help us if kodija leads the line on Wednesday and Saturday. Glenn Murray i see has been linked. loads showing their disapproval’s. but i would much rather have him than kodija. underwhelming signing granted, but what he lacks in flamboyancy he ticks the boxes on experience and knows how to score goals and important ones.
can not see us buying a top striker, so loaning one is the only option. but then why would teams like brighton want to help villa find a striker, when they are competing with villa to stay up.
we are in a tough situation, getting a forward in with premiership experience will be impossible. getting a forward from abroad will not come cheap and then will they want to come to a club, who look like being one of the three who drop out. they will demand massive wages to counter this negative and we can not afford a striker on big wages and long contract