Everton 2 -1 Villa; Poor tactics


All Goals – Everton 2-1 Aston Villa – 01-02… by beingoal1

I’d got this one down as a draw, a 2-2, not that it matters much.
My thinking was that we’d play a similar game as we did against the Baggies and Liverpool, where our energy and tenacity would get us something.

But while we huffed and puffed, we actually achieved nothing today.
When you consider Tim Howard actually only touched the ball once prior to our goal (and that was a backpass), you begin to realise how toothless we were.

So around the half hour mark when we were one up, I’d already got the headline in my head, which would have been “Never mind the quality, feel the result”.
The 30% first half possession statistic would probably have backed me up, but either way, I was thinking that I struggled to recall watching such a boring half of footy.
The point is, even with a 1-0 lead, I still thought we were poor value and incredibly boring to watch.

It was a decent goal mind, with some gritty play by Delph that started the move.
It wasn’t a foul by him, but the ball ended up with Benteke, who laid it onto Bacuna, who shot instead of playing square or cutting it back.
Whatever his thoughts were, he ‘megged Howard and it was in.
Perhaps Howard was feeling the cold a bit, due to his inactivity, but it looked a well worked goal.
deserved? Not really. But that’s what we do.

The commentator kept rattling on about how disciplined we were at the back, but I didn’t swallow it for one minute.
Everton looked a big threat every time they came down our right and a decent side playing on form would have murdered us in that area.
Fortunately, Everton didn’t seem to have it about them to really take advantage.

And then came the second half, where you could see that things were going to change.
They piled on the pressure and you just knew things weren’t going to stay as they were.

I was thinking that we needed to take it to Everton much more or they were going to score.
We’d taken the totally ineffective Holt off at half time and rightly so, in my opinion.
Why play two ball winners up front, when you’re playing three (or more correctly five) at the back?
In fairness, the setup was a lot more fluid than a three or five at the back, with the aim seeming to be to just outcrowd the opposition. Which was sort of working.
It was just that we seemed so narrow at times and you couldn’t see how we were going to create chances.
How we’re missing Gabby.

But I don’t profess to be a tactician or coach.

So someone had best explain to me why you take off your main central defender to replace him with a winger.
This one left me totally bamboozled.
I can understand it if the opposition don’t look a threat, but they were all over us and I’ll never understand that one as long as I live.
And El-Ahmedi has to be one of the worst to bring on as a sub, in my eyes, but what do I know?

I just think we could have got at least a point and maybe more today, if we’d played it correctly.
Everton weren’t the side they have been in the earlier part of the season and I just feel disappointed.

59 Comments

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  1. Badger123
    Badger123 February 1, 2014 at 10:42 pm . Reply

    Nath, apologies if my reply came across as too sharp.
    I’m in the middle of dealing with a total fool poster and got caught at cross purposes mate.

    1. nath
      nath February 1, 2014 at 10:46 pm . Reply

      no worries

      football is about opinions rite or wrong

      i think we agree we were bad with the ball / reasons unkown, cos i belief this lot can play i seen um against pool ~

      1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
        OohAhPaulMcGrath February 1, 2014 at 11:07 pm . Reply

        Anyone else watching the motd wank fest over Mata gets on my pip

        1. nath
          nath February 1, 2014 at 11:23 pm . Reply

          rambo first blood ~ i am banned from motd

  2. Keith Reilly
    Keith Reilly February 1, 2014 at 11:14 pm . Reply

    I was at work for the Albion match and listened to WM…..Nigel Spink and Sneekers (?) were doing the summing up and both agreed that how they turned it around ) and how most teams do) is the players themselves work out what’s going wrong and alter things to change tactics as they go along.
    I thought they had done this when we scored but no it was just the same for the rest of the match….what the hell do the coaching crew do apart from seating on their a**** all afternoon.

  3. Keith Reilly
    Keith Reilly February 1, 2014 at 11:17 pm . Reply

    Luckily I missed the Stoke match …but I do recall that in the morning press the Law, Best and Charlton stand ins were in for united …just as well as it might have been 2-0.

  4. #HELENIUS
    #HELENIUS February 1, 2014 at 11:22 pm . Reply

    Even Norwich played football today!!!! Not a hoofball in sight

    1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
      OohAhPaulMcGrath February 2, 2014 at 12:05 am . Reply

      Still lost though

  5. cb
    cb February 1, 2014 at 11:31 pm . Reply

    I have been on here in the past saying we will be relegated etc…i have thrown away my season ticket but the truth is we are what we are a mid table side no chance of winning anything and a slim chance of going down. If we are all happy with that then its all good but those on here who tell red bull to fuck off without someone like that then all we are ever going to be is a mid table side who one day will go down. Modern football is shit without a big owner we are nothing

    1. Dave Lee Roth and Lennie Kaye
      Dave Lee Roth and Lennie Kaye February 1, 2014 at 11:38 pm . Reply

      Aye. Another twenty years when most on this site have donned the wooden suit, you’ll have empty stadiums all acrosshthe country apart from the Sky Six.
      Sell your soul, colours, name and stadium for the chance of any silverware. I’d rather follow cricket.

  6. Naughtius Maximus
    Naughtius Maximus February 2, 2014 at 12:29 am . Reply

    some harsh summing up on the whole on here guys and while I share the frustrations if you’d have given me 4 pts from the last 3 games id have taken it.
    bigger problems ahead, the reason vlarr went of was hamstring, he may be out again and that worries me, never before have I seen a team so wholey reliant on the presence of one player as we go to pieces with out him, I guess its down to the age and experience.
    fact is we’ve got a squad of players who are punching well above their weight, not so long ago many of our 1st team regs were plying their trade in dutch n Belgium leagues, French 2nd div along with league one and two in this country all that considered they are doing ok and some will become decent/better players with time.
    but there’s the problem there has to be some balance and that means some serious investment to the squad and that just doesn’t look likely because no doubt come the summer we’ll get bullshitted about who we’re in for and promises, promises and then just do the same next season.
    a couple of decent additions would seriously bolster this squad and the future of the whole ‘project’ under lambert.
    everyone and his dog can see it, surely randy must, if nothng else he needs to sell season tickets in the summer n it aint gonna happen if we carry on the way we are.

    1. nath
      nath February 2, 2014 at 11:10 am . Reply

      no ur rite maximus
      day after ~ we av 4pts from a difficult 3 games. i only had a problem with how we surrendered possession. or lacked suitable tactics with the ball, without we was awesome

      i also feel this team can play and don’t understand why they don’t do more ~ against pool we actually played top stuff ~ i had mates saying so

      i guess most were gutted

  7. little8
    little8 February 2, 2014 at 1:18 am . Reply

    SHITE.

  8. billys boots
    billys boots February 2, 2014 at 2:14 am . Reply

    reports on vital villa via the sun Lerner has put the villa on the market for £200mil

    1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
      OohAhPaulMcGrath February 2, 2014 at 2:42 am . Reply

      The Sun ffs can’t be true. Problem is if true will we get a tan or a shiek mansour? My money’s in the former 🙁

  9. GIDDYVILLAN
    GIDDYVILLAN February 2, 2014 at 7:08 am . Reply

    My moneys on hugh heffner.

  10. GIDDYVILLAN
    GIDDYVILLAN February 2, 2014 at 8:24 am . Reply

    Is my fucking hearing going?ive just heard lambert on motd mumble the words ‘we didn’t deserve to lose’ what fucking planet is that twat on he’s fucking out there.ffs

  11. DSVilla
    DSVilla February 2, 2014 at 12:42 pm . Reply

    I was pleased with the last few performances but expected us to lose at Everton. It’s not as simple as flicking a switch and the many awful performances disappear. we clearly still have those performances in us. If I was trying to be charitable I think Lambert was out to ensure we didn’t lose the game from the start. Totally the wrong tactic IMO. You would hope that Lambert would learn from this but he does seem to live in a permanent state of denial.
    Probably plenty more crap performances to come this season punctuated by the odd good one.

  12. Keith Reilly
    Keith Reilly February 3, 2014 at 11:38 pm . Reply

    Just saw the goals again on MOTD 2 and as the free kick went in they were all looking at each other and maybe thinking “why do we bother” and “here we go again”…….I cant believe the coaching from all week was to just punt it forward so its their own fault they had that look on their faces…….THINK ABOUT IT DONKEYS….

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