Sheff Utd v Aston Villa Match Thread - Wed 3 March @ 6pm - BT

[stennyvilla]

1 0 down for ages. Tippy tappy passy backy tippy tappy, finished with a garbage cross. Arguable a case for that, certainly if we were a goal up. But as the game wore on, where was the positive momentum, a real injection of pace into the game. And, starting from the back, most basic of all, if there is empty space in front of it why not just sprint into it. So frustrating.

 

[Wicked Messenger]

He's not a CF in my eyes No point in crossing ball into him he ain't gonna win em when it matters

He's not a CF in my eyes No point in crossing ball into him he ain't gonna win em when it matters

The crosses were shite all night long. Easy to hit from deep and easy for defenders all night long.

 

[AMS78]

It’s already well known if you stop Grealish, you stop Villa. When Grealish is out it’s even worse.

There is not one ounce of creativity. Tippy tappy side passes from our midfield and crossing was woeful. I’m not sure who does our scouting but if that’s the plan they need sacking.

Only Villa could play half an hour against the bottom side with 10 men and still lose.

 

[stennyvilla]

Jack would have had a field day with all that possession. Barkley came on and played safety first, just what we needed. A bit better later, but too little too late, from everybody really.

 

[Villahoo]

Didn’t feel comfortable with the same side being picked. Sheff Utd tried & looked decent against the scousers and no different tonight but our team overplayed and lacked quality from midfield. Elmo got the ball on numerous occasions then passed backwards or sideways & switched off for their goal ( because he has no pace ) but we loan out a decent fullback? Samson should of started, Ramsey poor but that’s the first time.Ollie looks like he’s treading water.. rest the poor lad & try something new smith

 

[JuanPabloAngel]

The crosses were shite all night long.

We could have had prime Shearer and Batistuta playing upfront for us and we still wouldn't have scored this evening.

 

[Tom Cat]

No Jack was the reason we didn't win that, no Cash was the reason we lost it.

There was just zero creativity tonight. After Leeds I was really thinking we'd turned a corner and Jack would have seen that we can be the better team without him playing, giving him more reason to stay. Tonight threw that idea away.

 

[The Fear]

Davis did have a couple of nice touches when he come on should have come on loads earlier than he did all our crosses straight to keeper shooting from outside the box straight at sheff player most of them waste of time and the passing back too easy for them by the time we attack they are all back defending

I think as a battering ram, he could do well and set up Ollie a fair bit It was screaming for something different at half time really.

 

[mike_field]

Was not expecting that when I returned.

 

[zaijianforth]

I rate Ollie, but he really does have a bit to learn at this level. He'll get better.
Probably Targett's worst game tonight. He is missing his link up and overlap play with SJG.

 

[david-avfc]

When Davis came on they couldn't get out. 30 minutes of that and we would've scored. The sub was made too late unfortunately. Should've kept Traore on too but it was all revolving around getting Barkley in the game.

I said as soon as he came on that’s game over no chance will we score with him on the pitch if all we’re gunna do is lump it into the box to him. Even a shit championship defender will deal with crosses like that all day long so not much hope in the premier league even if they’re bottom

 

[JuanPabloAngel]

Was not expecting that when I returned.

It's your fault! FIELD OUT!!!

 

[Villasince63]

We need a couple of quality midfielders in the summer. Hard to make a case for any of the others to go with Jack at the moment.

 

[danvilla2]

He's not a CF in my eyes No point in crossing ball into him he ain't gonna win em when it matters

I get you. Ollie is best when he starts in the CF position where he can drift to the flank to get the ball and link the play up, taking a player with him and opening up the space. It’s why against lower teams, we need the wingers and one of the central midfielders getting up alongside him to advance into the space.

Floating 35 yard balls into him against two centre halves and a keeper who had a lot of practice of picking balls out of the air, wasn’t working on 65 mins, let alone 85.

Someone made a good point about fullbacks which might have been you 57. The full backs started very deep, and only towards the end of the 2nd half did Targett really get and stay forward. The two centre halves are marking one striker and the deep lieing central midfielder can cover laterally if they were to counter, but sheff utd didn’t even seem bothered about the counter so we should’ve played a higher line allowing the full backs to be almost further forward that the wide men in El Ghazi and Bert.

It’s terribly poor tactics and to me, it’s obvious we don’t work on our tactics or know what to do against ten men. I’d expect professional footballers and professional managers to work on this, because it looked very much to me like Sheff Utd have done those exercises from how they set up and how well drilled they looked even though it looked shite as a spectacle, it worked tactically.

 

[stennyvilla]

Won 4, drawn 1 lost 6 this year in PL. We can't put two performances together. On the plus side we've transformed from a team that can't put two passes together to a team that can't put three passes together.

 

[Gillette]

I rate Ollie, but he really does have a bit to learn at this level. He'll get better.
Probably Targett's worst game tonight. He is missing his link up and overlap play with SJG.

Not one low diagonal ball from Targett, Ollie falls over alot....there I said it. And he has no pace (he gets the ball down but then can't beat a man) AND he can't cross so I wouldn't put him on the wing.

He scores by running onto a ball crossed usually low. But we don't play him like that.

 

[JP Healy]

We could have had prime Shearer and Batistuta playing upfront for us and we still wouldn't have scored this evening.

We would.

 

[AMS78]

Resorting to the likes of El Ghazi is what costs us. Every now and again he might do something quite good but the majority of the time he’s a poor PL player. A decent championship level player at best. Summed him up in the last 10 mins when he hits the 1st defender every time with crosses.

Elmo is ok for a one off game for a few mins etc but relying on him for multiple games in a row at 34 having barely played all season is stupidity.

 

[CDX_EIRE]

He's not a CF in my eyes No point in crossing ball into him he ain't gonna win em when it matters

Getting the ball out wide to el ghazi to float the ball in didn't work in the first half... or early second half.... so why keep persisting trying to float balls in?
When bert missed that chance, the writing was on the wall that we weren't scoring

We wouldn't have lost that with Jack and cash playing.

It's a strange one because our gameplan since we lost Tammy has been low and hard-driven balls across the box. For whatever reason today we never did that or get to the byline.

I think we may have had more joy putting AEG and Traore on their stronger foot and getting them to the byline. If they can't do that at least you might get Targett and Elmo to swing one in closer to the 18-yard line.

 

[Bikini Inspector]

I rate Ollie, but he really does have a bit to learn at this level. He'll get better.
Probably Targett's worst game tonight. He is missing his link up and overlap play with SJG.

I just think he is being asked to do the same thing week in week out. The opposition will of course study his game and that is showing. He has been incredible for his first season at this level but he can't do it all every week like he's being asked to. He hit the wood work again tonight and had a couple of shots on target so again he did his bit as an individual.