Aston Villa v Tottenham Match Thread - Sun 21 March @ 19:30 - Sky

[McParlandTheGreat]

Think that's overstating it. There was no great gulf between ourselves and Spurs. The difference when it came to it was that firstly Emi made a mistake which Spurs rapidly capitalised upon (that is where they are really good) and secondly Cash went to ground which gave Kane the opportunity to get a penalty (don't admire Kane for that but again he's good at it). Otherwise, it looked to me like two top half teams both of whom were below par; we had a good opening 30 minutes which shook their defence at times, they had a more confident second half.

I'm not too worried that we will do a Sheffield U. They had journeyman players who performed beyond their capabilities then regressed to what they were. We have a young team of better players who will improve, given time.

As to DS, did Fergie ever veer from the style he'd chosen. Nope. Does Mourinho? Nope. Good managers stick to their guns even when it gets tough, because that's the way to develop their team. Doesn't always work; I think Eddie Howe is a good manager but eventually it failed for him. But when people say why doesn't DS do this or that, remember he's probably got a reason and a well thought out one.

 

[mike_field]

Possibly, but it's still bloody frustrating.

 

[robbali]

how can a manager watch his side play 45 minutes and not have a single shot at goal and send the same players out in the second half playing the same system that never worked for the first 45
why cant he change it about now and then .iv seen top managers make player changes and system changes after 15 minutes of a game because they can see thats whats needed but smith only has one way of playing and without jack it dont work and thats the price you pay when you build a team around a single player

He then brings on Barkley and immediately we are down to 10 men

 

[Thomas Holte]

He then brings on Barkley and immediately we are down to 10 men

After first seeing the starting 11 several people on here thought that by starting with both Traore and Trezeguet we were more or less starting with 9 men

 

[Wicked Messenger]

After first seeing the starting 11 several people on here thought that by starting with both Traore and Trezeguet we were more or less starting with 9 men

10 men. Each counts as a half. But I would never start a game with any two from Trez, Bert and Anwar. Just one please and my choice is in this order Bert, then Anwar and lastly Trez. Team selection is one of my concerns about Dean.

 

[davewal1]

10 men. Each counts as a half. But I would never start a game with any two from Trez, Bert and Anwar. Just one please and my choice is in this order Bert, then Anwar and lastly Trez. Team selection is one of my concerns about Dean.

berts the worst player we have he has one or two good touches in a game and then gives the ball away non of the 3 have any real quality and its saddens me to think that since we came up we have spent almost quarter of a billion and still look as poor as we do without grealish in the team i think we are still 4 players short but if we keep bringing young players from lower leauge foreign sides with no prem experience what should we expect

 

[Silhillvilla]

Agree Traore needs moving on this summer he's a liability, if he's a Lange signing then it's a bit worrying about the guys judgment.

 

[Wicked Messenger]

berts the worst player we have he has one or two good touches in a game and then gives the ball away non of the 3 have any real quality and its saddens me to think that since we came up we have spent almost quarter of a billion and still look as poor as we do without grealish in the team i think we are still 4 players short but if we keep bringing young players from lower leauge foreign sides with no prem experience what should we expect

I agree with most of what you say but don’t know how you can judge him worse than Trez when he’s scored 6 goals to Trez’s zero. But the real issue, as you say, is the quality we’re buying in the first place.

 

[McParlandTheGreat]

Trez kept us up last year. Just saying.

 

[garygaryshaw]

Agree Traore needs moving on this summer he's a liability, if he's a Lange signing then it's a bit worrying about the guys judgment.

He's only been here a few months. Some need time to settle and get used to new surroundings and way of playing. Everyone was singing his praises back in December/January. As soon as our form picks up his will too - I'd much rather move Trezeguet on.

 

[sirdennis]

Yes , you only have to see the improvement made by most of last seasons signings to commit the folly of writing players off too soon.

 

[davewal1]

I agree with most of what you say but don’t know how you can judge him worse than Trez when he’s scored 6 goals to Trez’s zero. But the real issue, as you say, is the quality we’re buying in the first place.

difference being bert cost us close on £20 million and to me he isnt good value for money trez cost £8 million

 

[Wicked Messenger]

difference being bert cost us close on £20 million and to me he isnt good value for money trez cost £8 million

Worse buy than Trez then or worse player?

 

[McParlandTheGreat]

Quote from Sherwood in the Birmingham Mail:
"They are probably where I expected them to be this season,” Sherwood told broadcaster Optus Sport. “Probably a little bit higher by one or two positions.

“It was such a great start by Dean, but I always felt that the wheels would come off and they have started to come off.

"But hopefully, they don’t completely fly off. It’s a good time to play Villa without Grealish.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sp...s/aston-villa-jack-grealish-sherwood-20241853

Think Tim's spot on here. Even when we were flying I had a feeling that we couldn't keep it up once the inevitable injuries bit. Jack and Cash both being out is a big hit.

 

[Silhillvilla]

Worse buy than Trez then or worse player?

At least Trez works hard, Traore is lazy . Both are technically quite poor .

 

[sirdennis]

Traore is technically very good, he does frustrate me loads because he has a bucketload of talent but doesn't show it enough at the moment. He can do some brilliant things then the next minute he is tripping over the ball.

I am hoping he is another one who will be better next season for this years experience.

 

[danvilla2]

Traore is technically very good, he does frustrate me loads because he has a bucketload of talent but doesn't show it enough at the moment. He can do some brilliant things then the next minute he is tripping over the ball.

I am hoping he is another one who will be better next season for this years experience.

He does however need to get used to physicality of the league pretty quickly, backing out of 50/50’s and getting brushed off the ball so easily will get him no where except injured.

Every good winger in the modern game is used to running with a player on their shoulder, the body strength of players like Messia, Salah, Mane etc is incredible for smaller players.

He can have all the technical skills in the world, and we’ve had similar players strong technically such as Gil and Jota, but far too weak for the majority of games.

 

[Platypus]

Trez is statistically the worst finisher in the league. Traore is literally leagues above him in quality.

Judging these players on just the last run of games is as daft as judging them on just the first run of games

 

[Villan57]

100%. By any reasonable metric Kane fouled Cashy.

yes, just the same as penaltez when he jumped into Konsa that time cheating bar stools both of them but the "professionals on VAR are so thick they can't see it, whilst we amateurs at home know just what is going on.

 

[davewal1]

Worse buy than Trez then or worse player?

worst value for money .untill ross barkley signs that is lol
traore to me never looks 100 % interested and for large parts of games may aswell be sat watching .yes he does have a nice touch every now and then but not as oftern as i would want im reading smith too is getting annoyed with him too