Norwich had about 5 injured defenders out that day.
Aston Villa v Leicester City Match Thread
- Thread starter The Fear
- Start date
Maybe but no one was quick enough to see what evans was up to.
On MOTD it showed the Leicester midfield diamond and how they outnumbered us through the centre of midfield. Smith never reacted to this. Sheffield u will create similar problems for us.
If we get 40 something we will be ok! This lot are more like the lambert and mcleish level...only more expensive and more foreign.
And strikers who actually score will be like gold dust in January.
Will cheer himself up with that fat contract he's been given.
CDX_EIRE
Vital Football Legend
The problem isnt that Wesley doesnt score its that he contributes little if anything so a striker with some grit, determination and work rate would theoretically mean we're not playing with 10 and a passenger anymore.
gmvillan
The Shackles Are Off!
We've played a midfield-three of Marvelous, Luiz and McGinn in two games this season. Wolves away and Leicester home. In both matches we have been completely overrun in midfield.
We slate Hourihane for being ineffective but he's clearly not the problem. Might be time to look at going back to McGinn/Grealish in front of one holding player. My understanding was that Nakamba and Luiz were the two players bought for the defensive midfield/pivot role to replace Jedinak and Whelan, so I don't see why they're playing at the same time....
We slate Hourihane for being ineffective but he's clearly not the problem. Might be time to look at going back to McGinn/Grealish in front of one holding player. My understanding was that Nakamba and Luiz were the two players bought for the defensive midfield/pivot role to replace Jedinak and Whelan, so I don't see why they're playing at the same time....
BodyButter
Vital Football Legend
I'm not seeing what some others on here see in Doug. He looks flustered to me.
Assuming everyone is fit, I'd go with;
Wesley
Jack McGinn El Ghazi
Marv Hourihane
Targett Mings Engels Gilbert
Heaton
I'd have El Ghazi pushed right up on Wesley and tell the supers to get in at goal as much as possible. Since we can't keep a clean sheet to save our lives, we'll need to outscore them.
Assuming everyone is fit, I'd go with;
Wesley
Jack McGinn El Ghazi
Marv Hourihane
Targett Mings Engels Gilbert
Heaton
I'd have El Ghazi pushed right up on Wesley and tell the supers to get in at goal as much as possible. Since we can't keep a clean sheet to save our lives, we'll need to outscore them.
BodyButter
Vital Football Legend
What did Luiz do against Leicester?
tarzansbrother
Vital Football Hero
Luiz from the bench seems more effective. Certainly give him license to get forward and have a few pot shots if we need a goal. Back 5 against Sheffield? Konsa, Engels, Hause, Guilbert, Taylor?
Melon Donkey
I am a little bit perplexed
We were proper shit yesterday. My summer concerns remain . I have been positive thus far, I'm like that, but I'm very worried.
BodyButter
Vital Football Legend
We'll be fine. We aren't great but we aren't shit either. We can score goals in this league. The last 3 games against teams at our level (Newcastle, Brighton and Norwich) were 3 wins with an aggregate score of 9-2.
LewChatterley'sLover
Vital 1st Team Regular
We'll beat those below us and we lose to those in the top half. It's clear where we fit at the moment - in the third quartile
starchild65
Vital Squad Member
January we need some defensive reinforcements for certain and another striker. We can score goals but we concede too many. Having to go into games knowing we have to get at least 2 goals to win is putting too much pressure on our forward play. Wesley is not scoring and for whatever reason now Kodjia is fit and on the bench Smith doesn't use him. A lone striker is always going to struggle against top defenders, maybe we need to go to a 4 4 2 for a spell and see if it reaps rewards. We need to be able to mix it up tactically to catch opponents out. We've got winnable games coming up and we need to put alot of points on the board to get well clear of the bottom 3.
MollyCruyff
Erod Pred League Champion 22/23
I did - defending in our box
No I have tried to see the good in him but its getting harder.
There were occasions yesterday when the ball was played into his feet and he could turn and go and lay it off and thought maybe we are playing him wrong, and he needs someone alongside him.
But it is becoming increasingly obvious that he is not a player you can knock long balls to and he will hold up. And for a big guy his heading ability and shielding of the ball is poor.
He is not a natural leader of the line in the accepted center forward position, and that is what I thought we were getting.
crimsondonkey
Vital 1st Team Regular
I'm absolutely loving the 'if only we had...' revisionism that's starting to creep in as the doom mongers get some personal validation from our crap performance yesterday, fans leaving early, and our league position.
'If only we had played two different defenders from the start...'
'If only we hadn't signed Wesley...'
'If only we had signed better players in the summer...'
'If only we had signed a better manager than Smith...'
Problem is - we are where we are. Its what we do from here that matters most. Sorry guys but there's no 'do-over' for the decisions of the past now, so going on and on about them is neither constructive or helpful.
There is plenty we can agree on though -
* We concede way to many goals to win matches - this needs sorting
* Many of the players brought in are young/ inconsistent/ not good enough yet (or might not make it)
* We are tragically light and toothless upfront, and this is two fold, Wesley hasn't performed/ is a dud; we haven't got ready replacements in the squad
* Deano isn't performing well in terms of team selection/ subs/ tactics and changing the game
We have a run of games now which we have to see a much better points return from -
- Sheff Utd away
- S'oton home
- Norwich home
- Watford away
- Burnley away
Really we need 9 pts from those 5 games to steer us away from the relegation trapdoor
And so its what we do with what we've got now is important. But its increasingly obvious that doing the same thing every week and expecting a different result is very likely not going to cut it.
These are the things I'm hoping to see from the players and coaching staff in the next month - we can't bring any new players in during this period, so its down to this group alone to sort it.
1. More flexibility from Deano
He's either got to drop Wesley or change the formation and overall approach to get more from him, either by playing someone off him, or getting other forwards close to him - no pumping the ball up as its clear he can't handle those kind of balls.
Maybe 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 (not 442 as I just don't think we have the players to dominate the middle). I think its now time for Dean to try something different.
2. Tighten things at the back
We can't keep giving away easy goals, especially from set pieces, and expect to get results from games. This team is not good enough up front to outscore the opposition toe to toe. I think our players are good enough but they are not organised and protected as a complete unit
3. Get the real John McGinn back
Its noticeable that when we play well, SJM is bringing loads of energy and running to the play, and this allows Jack to stay further forward where he's most effective. I don't know whether its instructions, fatigue or injury but we need the SJM we know to be affecting games, as its very noticeable that when SJM doesn't turn up that the team looks flat.
It goes without saying that in January - and the beginning not the end, we need top class proven reinforcements up front. Its time for our rich owners to go spend whatever it takes to keep us in this division. If we don't then I'm afraid that the pessimists will be proven right and we will take another drop to the Championship and have missed a terrific opportunity to establish the club in the top flight.
'If only we had played two different defenders from the start...'
'If only we hadn't signed Wesley...'
'If only we had signed better players in the summer...'
'If only we had signed a better manager than Smith...'
Problem is - we are where we are. Its what we do from here that matters most. Sorry guys but there's no 'do-over' for the decisions of the past now, so going on and on about them is neither constructive or helpful.
There is plenty we can agree on though -
* We concede way to many goals to win matches - this needs sorting
* Many of the players brought in are young/ inconsistent/ not good enough yet (or might not make it)
* We are tragically light and toothless upfront, and this is two fold, Wesley hasn't performed/ is a dud; we haven't got ready replacements in the squad
* Deano isn't performing well in terms of team selection/ subs/ tactics and changing the game
We have a run of games now which we have to see a much better points return from -
- Sheff Utd away
- S'oton home
- Norwich home
- Watford away
- Burnley away
Really we need 9 pts from those 5 games to steer us away from the relegation trapdoor
And so its what we do with what we've got now is important. But its increasingly obvious that doing the same thing every week and expecting a different result is very likely not going to cut it.
These are the things I'm hoping to see from the players and coaching staff in the next month - we can't bring any new players in during this period, so its down to this group alone to sort it.
1. More flexibility from Deano
He's either got to drop Wesley or change the formation and overall approach to get more from him, either by playing someone off him, or getting other forwards close to him - no pumping the ball up as its clear he can't handle those kind of balls.
Maybe 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 (not 442 as I just don't think we have the players to dominate the middle). I think its now time for Dean to try something different.
2. Tighten things at the back
We can't keep giving away easy goals, especially from set pieces, and expect to get results from games. This team is not good enough up front to outscore the opposition toe to toe. I think our players are good enough but they are not organised and protected as a complete unit
3. Get the real John McGinn back
Its noticeable that when we play well, SJM is bringing loads of energy and running to the play, and this allows Jack to stay further forward where he's most effective. I don't know whether its instructions, fatigue or injury but we need the SJM we know to be affecting games, as its very noticeable that when SJM doesn't turn up that the team looks flat.
It goes without saying that in January - and the beginning not the end, we need top class proven reinforcements up front. Its time for our rich owners to go spend whatever it takes to keep us in this division. If we don't then I'm afraid that the pessimists will be proven right and we will take another drop to the Championship and have missed a terrific opportunity to establish the club in the top flight.
