We’ve seen this score line a little too frequently lately haven’t we, and lets be honest, we deserved nothing from this game. Our defence was relentless, but so was the Chelsea attacking and when the game is all going in one direction, something has to give and it just so happened to be at our expense.
The majority of the Chelsea team put in a man of the match performance, and did what they do best. Aston Villa sat back waiting for the counter attack and to be fair, lets give credit where it is due because we came out looking like a stronger side compared to the Arsenal performance and that is where most of our praise ends because it wasn’t a stronger performance, just the illusion of one.
Counter Attacking Team.
I hate the fact that we are a counter attacking team, I despise this kind of football. We sit back, absorb the bombardment and then spring our own when they are off guard but we can’t pull it off with the players we have and it is looking like Aston Villa is a one trick pony, that can’t even do it’s one trick. Let’s break it down.
Agbonlahor
Counter attacking relies heavily upon Gabby getting the ball and holding it up, but he is a very weak player in the air and this is where the majority of the balls are coming from. He won 20% of all ariels, yet the team continued to lob the ball towards him. I also touched upon this last week, but I would never put all my eggs into just Gabby alone as I don’t think he is a consistent goal scorer. He works better on the wing, putting players under pressure and delivering the ball into the box, but when the boots are switched and the team is relying on Gabby to score, we won’t get many. Sorry if people disagree. He didn’t have a single shot all game.
Baker
Baker struggled in the air today which lead to us conceding. He wasn’t abysmal, and I still think he played a decent game but this needs to be touched upon. I still have to wonder what the deal is with Okore at this stage of his recovery?
Set Pieces
This is a massive issue because all our set pieces were dreadful. Corners, free kicks and general crosses have to be completely spot on with the style of play we use but instead, everything was either over hit, or never made it past the first man. These are good opportunities that are being wasted by a team that isn’t having many chances as it is (7 shots, 1 on target). I can’t even begin to make an excuse, because there is no excuse, nor do we deserve one.
We need improvement going forward, and we need to see more confidence from players in the oppositions half because it isn’t good enough. Our strikers are not striking. There has been too much pressure put on the defence in the past two games with the idea that by keeping a clean sheet and stopping these big teams, we can get a single point. NO. Pressure needs to be applied onto our forwards to encourage more of what they are being paid to do.
Positives
- The midfield looked good on the ball, and played well amongst each other. Sadly this was let down by the lack of movement going forward, and the lack of creativity to make things happen.
- There could have been more goals, plenty more goals but our defence was mostly composed and as a unit, we stopped a blood bath from occurring. The cracks appeared, but we did not shatter and we should all bear this in mind.
- BENTEKE should be back next week, and never have we needed a striker so desperately (Bent saving us from relegation may be the argument).
Verdict
We have no attack and are currently failing on the counter because of this. We can’t rely on an individual to nick a goal and then defend the rest of the game. Chelsea was always going to be hard and today it was evident that it’s even harder because our system is failed. Defend, Defend, defend, try and counter. It was also a shame to not see Grealish this week, although I actually felt Richardson played a lot better, chasing the ball down and being better with his passing. Wiemann on the other hand, I actually felt like I barely seen him in the game which is evident by his 23 touches in 69 minutes. NOT GOOD ENOUGH FROM ANYBODY UP FRONT.
We lost but we wasn’t destroyed and nor are we defeated. We sit 5th in the league with Man City next on the schedule; this should be the return for Benteke. Our defeats have been against the top tier sides and we still have one more to play. I believe the true test in our ability is how we play against Everton and the matches there after.
UPDATE
Just read this article on Skysports. Here is a quote from Jose and it sums our past few performances completely.
The team was keeping the ball and because they were so passive they never tried to press the ball. Our victory was never in doubt. They didn’t have a reaction.
We’ll give lambert 153 million to spend then maybe we can match Chelsea I mean look at how much they have spent yet you expect us to win with our shit players just face it the league is not fair Chelsea had an advantage over us before even a ball is kick
I don’t expect us to win by any stretch. I expect us to fight and play to the abilities of the team.
i expected 3 nil and turned out 2 be spot on, before the game knowing the possible team and theirs, i just couldn’t see a way villa could hurt chelsea, not many teams will beat chelsea or give um a game, its just the strength and pace and then they av a guy who can finish off the good work in costalot.
we shouldn’t get carried away in this defeat, it more the state of the league man city and chelsea are miles ahead of the rest. if villa had gone 2 chelsea and tried to beat um it would av been 6 or more nil
Just seen an interview with Lambert, did we win 3-0?
10 points on the board is still better than most of us predicted at this stage and, let’s face it, before the season started nobody gave us a prayer over this stretch of games. The real measure will be how we do after the MC game which I fully expect us to lose (any other result would be a bonus).
Mr. Cheese you’re 100% right in your observations on counter attacking football, an approach also favoured by MON. On the other hand we just don’t have the quality of player to attack teams like Chelsea (and we aren’t and won’t be the last team to lose to them – they have to be odds on for the title).
We’ve played 6 games of which 3 have been against last seasons CL qualifying teams; let’s see a few more games with Benteke back before we draw any conclusions.
Cue OohAh!!!
Villa96 – of course its fair…its financial fair play!!
Good to see 50 or so of the Villa fans enjoying the best part of a trip to Chelsea. That is the wonderful White Horse pub at Parson’s Green about 10 mins from the Bridge.
Good to see a few thousand Villa in fine voice too, where I was sitting I only heard the Chlesea fans 3 times in the whole 90 minutes, each time they scored.
At £55 per ticket did the Villa give their fans value for money. The answer is an emphatic NO. The game was over inside 10 minutes when the first of Guzan’s gaffes left Oscar with a tap-in. At no point thereafter was there any danger of Chelsea dropping points. Villa showed no talent whatsoever for shooting hard and on target. Alan Hutton, bursting through in the second half and finding nobody in support, had Villa’s only on target shot.
As Mr Cheese writes the midfield effort was satisfactory, and that is an improvement on last season. Unfortunately there was never anyone in front of them who posed any threat to Chelsea’s goal. As for thr disgraceful Bent, he played for 18 minutes and touched the ball twice each time passing it 10 yards from the centre of the field towards his own goal.
The defence was OK facing frontal attacks but looked vulnerable to crosses. Costa scored an excellent goal with a real poachers instinct. Our poor keeper (I know I am biased but you will come round to my way of thinking) goofed completely for the third.
Can’t blame Guzan for the first goal, decent save from close range, ball can land anywhere, Chelsea were quickest to react, or it was poor marking
Richardson was very poor, how he is in the team is beyond me! He may have run back but as soon as he got to the edge of the box he switched off nearly every time and his passing was poor! Drop him
bent is only any good when the ball was whipped in from but when you play no wingers no point playing bent, why not give sanchez last 10 mins today,going to last comment about guzan,he doesnt command box his saves are all falling to other teams his passing is poor,and finally how poor are england options in midfield if delph is the answer
I was always lead to understand that the best way to defend was to attack, why did he not play a footballer that gets opposition in trouble trying to defend, it also gives a team chance look at a game and see where mistakes are, we are not learning anything week after week, I know we are better this season than last, I just cannot understand Keane or Lambert’s thinking. I feel sorry for our club not progressing by being just a mediocre club.
The problem is the front 3. The back 4 played well today and the midfield (bar set pieces as mentioned in the article) did retain the ball fairly well.
We cannot play with Richardson, Gabby and Weimann as a front 3. We desperately need Benteke or Kozak in this team. I would also start playing Grealish. We have to be able to create some chances. The amount of decent possession wasted by our front 3 was criminal today…just aimless crosses or poorly executed passes…which just put us straight back under pressure.
Good detailed analysis from Mr Cheese. I think our main problem is our attitude. We are too negative and don’t believe we can win games. If you don’t believe you can win, you’re right! Sure, you could say that we aren’t as good as the top teams, but do we really try to break teams down? Let’s at least have a go!
Agreed Bencey.
Lambert thinks we can’t win, so tries to contain the opposition. With the likes of Chelsea, that will rarely work
We will never get anywhere with that thinking and it’s why I don’t think he will ever be the right manager for us.
Then again, we do have a fairly decent record against top clubs, so what do I know?
Good analysis, Mr Cheese, that again gives me decent insight about a game that I didn’t see.
Defend and counter bores me witless too.
But at least when we did it under MON, it looked a lot more likely that it might succeed.
Now, sad to say, we just don’t have good enough players.
Still, on the plus side we’re 5th or 6th in the league, after 2 consecutive losses.
That has to be a positive.
As said, get City out of the way and we will begin to see more realistically what we’re about.
i think a few posts here are missing the point, man for man chelsea are miles better than the villa players, not talking slightly miles better. theres not one villa player i would av over the chelsea players, and collectively they are better as well, so how were we supposedly gonna hurt um, they were stronger in set pieces open play and countering villa, can’t anyone see this, if villa had like some say attacked or passed the ball more they would av been picked off more and ended up a criket score, the best teams in the world counter attack only they are better than us at it, plus best defense is attack wot nonsense, you wouldn’t go swinging at mike tyson in the 80’s, when he was eating heavyweights for breakfast in one rounds and two lmao
best 2 be critical when we av played ten games or when we can’t beat the lesser teams than the chelseas and man cities
Have to disagree, why shouldn’t we take the game to them? Teams can be rocked and beaten, but you won’t find out until you try.
you can disagree as much as u like, they could play this game a hundred times and u could adopt different tactics for them all and chelsea would av won all. villa only chance of beating chelsea is if chelsea themselves didn’t turn up. its my opinion and it was no different to my opinion before the game.
if we had benteke then we have sumat we could worry chelsea with, but without benteke aston villa are toothless. gabby tries but is not a lone striker. only occasionally holds the ball up, otherwise its coming back at yeahs
its no shame losing to um they will be there or thereabouts in premier and champions league our next opponents are just as good
Bang on Mr Cheese , some cannot see farther than claret and blue, mike Tyson ? anyone will hit the floor with the right tool, if you can keep them busy watching what your doing you have more of a chance than sitting back.
love to reply there bill but i aven’t a foggiest wot u said ~ ur not another lost soul thinking villa should av won or wot was it have a go. they had a go but once a countering side goes behind its very hard for them 2 dictate the game espically when ur up against world class players.
anyone answer this how many villa players that played in todays game would av made it in chelseas starting line up and then name him or them if ur drunk
“anyone answer this how many villa players that played in todays game would av made it in chelseas starting line up and then name him or them”
Nath, that’s easy.
Probably none.
So what does that mean?
That the underdog never wins?
How come the shit beat Arsenal in a LC final, not long back then?
Anything is possible in footy, as you well know.
My point is that if you don’t try hard enough, you have no hope.
i get ur point and i understand u all, but if you don’t have the tools 2 hurt ur opponents they will pick you off, land a hay maker. shocks happen of course, i watched in hope more than i was confident of winning
brum beating arsenal this was not the same chelsea are miles better than the arsenal team but man for man brums were shitter, but wot they lacked in quality they made upwith team spirit, set pieces they were strong and that also was gunners achilles heels
Some good debate here, I like it.
Nath, my opinion says Lambert is a container, thinking that we’ve lost before we start.
So why not try, if we’ve already lost??
Of course, we might end up with a caning, the likes of a couple of seasons back and that’s a risk.
But if we have truly progressed, goal difference shouldn’t matter any more, because we won’t be going down, will we?
Just a thought.
today lambert did try 2 contain chelsea first and foremost he hoped a point but only way i could see us getting anything from this game was at nil nil soon as we went behind its so hard then 2 get back in, espically when u consider the opponents individuals and how they counter just as good or better than we do.
i think aving a go as you all say we could av lost 5 6 7 nil thats the difference in gulf between the sides i also point out benteke missing from our team makes a massive difference when we play the best 2 in this league, other than gabby speed theres nothing chelsea worried about 2day
Yep, I can live with that thinking Nath.
Chelsea are too good, along with Citeh, in all honesty.
Bloody annoying, but these are the games where we all expect nothing and that’s what we tend to get, particularly at home.
I’d just like to see us actually go for a team for once.
You have to admit, the footy is shite to watch under this bloke and while I can live with losing, I also want to be entertained, with us contributing to the entertainment.
Agreed. Nobody mines the loss if the boys show up and go down fighting. I honestly think the tac tics need to be changed for the mc game.
4-4-2 maybe, or a wide 4-3-2-1.
Benteke
Weimann, gabby
Delph, Westwood, cleverly
Sissokho, vlaar, senders, hutton
If benteke is unavailable, then it would be good to push Weimann up front and grealish alongside gabby.
I want more attack!
i agree 🙂 also the team cheese posted, i think had that team been available to lamberts he would av been more expansive with his tactics. cos that team does offer more dangers, set pieces and open play but minus benteke and vlaar takes alot away from wot we can offer
I would also agree, but I wonder where this cavalier attitude was when Lambert was being ostracised for “going for it” and getting hammered last season or the season before.
as for the shite football, There was some really bad stuff last season but sorry nothing as bad as under mcleish,
we were really rubbish a times last season but no where near the consistency mcliesh. You could visibly see the disjointed hoofyness being deployed each game, With Lamberts teams. it was lack of confidence, or not being able to defend to save their lives eating away at the teams mindset.
I realise that we havn’t been the most attacking teams this year but the football is no where near as bad as those dark days.
The tactics were wrong. Against Liverpool who are a one dimensional side this season without Suarez the park the bus tactic brought success. Against Chelsea with Hazard and Oscar it never would, they are expert lock pickers. So our better tactic was to take the ball up against Chelsea’s weakest unit which is undoubtedly their back 4. Even with the players available to him today, Lambert could have started with Nzogbia and Grealish on in place of Richardson and either Weimann or Gabby. I am not saying we would have won, but Villa would have rewarded the fans with more entertainment than this supine effort.
Even in the Championship games on TV highlights goalkeepers facing identical shots to that Guzan faced for Chelsea’s first caught the ball. For the first and third goals Guzan opts to punch with both fists in front of him instead on catching the ball as it hits his chest.
The defence this season (ignoring the Arsenal game) has near enough shut the door to route 1 attacks on the Villa goal. That is a major improvement. Opponents have been allowed out wide to cross the ball or shoot from a narrow angle. This is where the keeper’s ability – to command the six yard box and catch efforts he can get both hands to – is put to the test. Guzan is failing it so the defensive improvement is wasted. We need a better keeper – only Green in the Premiership is obviously worse.
Nath sorry not got back to you on your last comment to me about not understanding my meaning its our accent you Man, me Warwickshire, 🙂 now its been said by Badger, Mr Cheese, and my good friend OLL, in London, we are playing to contain teams believing we might snatch a result on the break,not working, I want them to play talent in what the likes of Grealish has got, a player like him can worry opposition, they don’t do it, they frustrate fans by being negative, know what I mean? Sorry if I cannot explain better but its the way I see it Nath. Oohah would know? 🙂 🙂 🙂
no ur rite 2 stick with ur opinions after all the game of football is about divided opinions. my opinion is same before the game and as after, further still morning after i watched the motd repeat highlights.
the weakest department of the chelsea team maybe their defense. but this still was too strong for gabby and co. without benteke presence and threat we had not enough 2 trouble um, and while the 2 wingers suggested may av carried more of a threat it wouldn’t av changed the out come. chelsea this season carry more of a countering threat they also have a better build up play and are also massive in set pieces, in costa they av a strong forward that is more of a threat than torres ever was in summing up they are a impressive team and beating a team like this you need 2 defend well and counter well (which we did not) and make the most of ur set pieces (which again we did not) also i forgot to mention chelsea also press very well and high, they work as hard as any team i seen which means any ball u have you earned.
moving on to city 4 me the chelsea game has gone
Bill, I think many Villa fans want to see more of Grealish but away to Chelsea and without Benteke up front; I think not.
I’m keeping my powder dry until I see us playing a few games with Benteke (and Vlaar) back then I think we will have a better feel for how the season will develop.
Okore’s continuing absence is a worry though.
Hitchen60 the way Lambert and Keane are playing it, don’t pin your hopes, we have had many of times he should have played, if you think like they are at the moment and not play him because its Chelsea, Man utd, Arsenal, its not much of a learning experience for any young footballer, but not at Villa it seems, the football at the moment is not selling to fans and I’ve got to cheer my young 8 year old Villa grandson up tomorrow as to what’s going on.
Bill, I’m not defending the tactics overall but it seems to me that Grealish needs a really good ‘number 9’ to see him at his best. It almost seems to me that we got off to an unexpected flyer and now it’s about treading water waiting for Benteke. Not an excuse (OK it is 🙂 ) but losing both Benteke and Kozac to long term injuries has had a major impact particularly as we have no money to buy a short term replacement (which Bent is not).
So not holding my breathe but will hold good to my decision to judge after we’ve played a more representative selection of games with a quality number 9 in the side.
Hope your grandson will soon experience better times; I’m having trouble cheering up my 37 year old son LOL
Hitchen 60. I know what your saying but if this trend of tactics don’t alter soon Villa will suffer financial suicide, from what I’ve seen last week 13 boxes looked empty, as for Bent what’s the reason he’s gained weight and looking every much a has been, we just have to bemore positive on the day, as it just been said teams know how to approach us on the day.again I’m probably impatient and to critical .
Can’t argue with the points you are making. Tough one; on a consistent basis which is better – winning ugly or losing regularly but playing positive attacking football. Unfortunately I don’t know the answer as Villa manage neither 🙂
We need to find the middle ground which is a difficult thing to work out. Having said that, I am happy with the progression the club is making, I can’t complain as it is a tough run of games. Time will tell.
How come Okore was taken out of the match day squad again? He was on the bench last week but this week Clark had his place there..
Cause he’s shit.
Well thought through comment that will sink like your name.
🙂
On a serious note, there must be something going on with him if he can’t can’t in the team last week in front of Clark. I’m not buying this, not match fit explanation. Has he not being paying for the 21s and our reserves? He looked like the saviour before his injury and now he’s never seemingly considered for selection. Baffling.
Should’ve proof read my iPad typing there.
Thank you S.E.B
I agree, there is something mysterious going on and it would be good to get some official word on the matter.
Hang on, we’ve been beaten by several teams recently who, on paper, have had worse players than us. How did they beat us? Because we played very negative tactics and they believed they could get into us and nick a win.
Okore with one leg has got to be better than Clark!
Totally agree, but something’s obviously going on that we’re not party to. With our manager’s economy of the truth with the injuries (or none injuries) of players, we’re unlikely to find out any time soon.
What news on Vlaar? The man who can be out for three months with a paper cut?
That’s a bit harsh on Vlaar, Sir Earl.
Villa are reluctant to say anything to the media where there are personal player issues (Herd / Helenius ). On one hand that’s very commendable, on the other it does raise a lot of questions in fan’s minds – most of which tend to be negative and possibly unfair. That’s not a criticism of the fans but perhaps Villa need to rethink their communication strategy?
I told you cause he’s shit. Seems Mr Cheese can’t accept it but it’s a fact. A fact based on he can’t get a game ahead of the likes of Baker or Clarke. Both of whom are diabolical players and are by no stretch of the imagination premier league player. Championship level at best.
Like we’ve seen him play so many times we can draw a conclusion one way or another!
Well you may not of seen him play much but that doesn’t mean others from this site haven’t seen him play. It may not be the same opinion as yours but that’s the beauty of the site. It’d be pretty shit if we all thought the same Hitchens love.
Very true, it is a site of opinions and I must admit, I haven’t seen him play much but I would like that to change or have an official statement as to why he isn’t on the pitch/ bench.
It isn’t because the bench is brim full of talent. Seeing how negative the performance was in general my friend commentated on Bent’s arrival with 18 minutes to go, “Let’s see if we get thirty grand’s worth of football from him.” Ten minutes later ” Has he touched the ball yet?” He hadn’t. When Chelsea’s centre backs really dawdled on the ball Bent shuffled towards them slowing down and pleading with them to pass it before he had to get his yellow boots scuffed. He had exactly two touches passing the ball 10 yards backwards each time. It epitomised the piss-taking attitude of the bomb squad candidates. If there is a worse footballer in the Prem at the moment I can’t think of him.
But…Bent is keeping Okore off the bench. That really is something. Oscar Pistorius would get in my team before Bent, he runs faster and he shoots straight.
I was at Stamford Bridge to watch the game and I’m afraid we we’re pretty dreadful. Two players stood out for me who were trying to make things happen and they were Hutton and Delph. They were trying to cut a path through Chelsea and create chances. The problem was there was no support and I recall a few times that Hutton made some good runs only to have no one to pass to. You could see that there was an instruction for everyone to stay back and it kind of made the game a bit one sided from the off.
One good thing is that the Villa fans were in fine form at the Bridge and never stopped singing and chanting for the entire game.
Someone above mentioned Ron Vlaar. He was actually sitting in the seat in front of me in the Trinity for last weeks game with Arsenal. What he was doing sitting in with fans I do not know but it was pretty cool to have him there.
Hi Deferenz, did you by any chance take any photos during the Chelsea game?