I think I’m really glad I didn’t watch this game, as some of the comments I’ve been reading seem really toxic towards Dean Smith and the players.
You can understand why though when you concede around twenty eight shots against a team that’s struggled all season at home.
Good grief, that’s an effort every three minutes, yet apparently the vast majority were in the first half!
All I heard of the game was WM’s last ten minutes of their commentary and it sounded like the same sort of thing we’ve heard for months: we give the ball away far too easily and just can’t defend.
There was no mention of lack of effort, direction or tactics, but I’ve seen these very things often mentioned in the comments.
Apparently El Ghazi suffered a bit of a dig in the face and used it as an excuse to get off the pitch, only for Grealish and Mings to tell him to hurry up about going off?
I’m confused, but it doesn’t sound good either way.
There were also plenty of accusations that the players were treading carefully to avoid getting injured for the cup final. If so, that’s a disgrace when we’re in our position.
Then, someone apparently tweeted in the Beeb commentator’s name that there had been a punch-up in the tunnel between Dean Smith and John Terry, but the Beeb have said this is false news.
Add in that Dean Smith apparently looked like a broken man on the touchline, with him asking “what’s going on here?” and looking totally devoid of any way to sort things and well, none of it sounds good does it?
The trouble is, when you read comments you often get to see heat of the moment type stuff and frankly total bias, so you have to take it all with a large pinch of salt.
Yet Smith’s own comments are worrying;
“My feelings are one of embarrassment, I suppose. The performance was dreadful highlighted in the first 20 minutes. Players who last week you’d said put in good performances were poor today,”
“The thing that hurt me the most was a lack of fight, particularly in the first half. I thought Watford (away) was bad but today was on a par with that.”
“They were poor today. It’s not about me, it’s about them. They’ve let themselves down.”
He was obviously fuming and rightly so, by the sounds of it, but this seems a change of tack in the way he normally comments and he’s obviously feeling the massive pressure that Premier league survival fights bring.
Combine this with the fact that many fans are saying that our performances are overall going backwards, with little sign of the team learning and I really think it doesn’t bode well.
I suspect if we don’t pull off a decent result in the next two or three games, the clamour for Smith’s head will seriously grow.
Me, I strongly think our position is just down to the players not being good enough.
It seems Smith also said that some players have played themselves out of the Wembley game and I’d guess he might have been talking about El Ghazi.
If it’s more than just him, you have to wonder who could come in to replace them?
Lansbury, Hourihane et al?
I doubt it. which stems back to what I’m saying.
We’re playing very close to our best available eleven.
And still can’t cut it against Southampton.
For what it’s worth, I think without a massive turnaround we’re pretty much already relegated.
And I’m gutted.
Comments
75 responses to “Southampton 1- 0 Villa:”
West Ham unlucky not to get something. They are better than us for sure. We will need to look at Norwich, Watford and Bournemouth mostly as teams to finish above.
Thank god for that prayers do work but that’s close trouble is what will it do for West ham they could get a boost knowing almost beat Liverpool or be down like villa when they almost beat Liverpool.hope it’s the downer
Villa’s latest Companies House financial update
The Aston Villa company that acquired Villa Park last year for £56.7million has turned to an accounting loophole that will allow it to delay publishing financial accounts for another three months.
NSWE Stadium Limited had been due to publish financial accounts for the year ended 31 May 2019 by the end of the week.
But a filing to Companies House today (27/02) reveals NSWE Stadium has shortened its financial year by a single day – allowing it to delay publishing financial accounts for another three months
I have seen some comments on here blaming John Terry for the defensive shambles. I doubt it. JT played with two of the best full-backs in Europe in a 4 man back line. The idea to play no full backs – just 3 CD at the back when two of them Hause and Konsa cannot do one man’s job – cannot be his. It is the goals against tally that is the problem and we have brought in a striker. Akin to buying a bigger bucket to bail out a boat with a hole in the hull. Villa look more like Smith’s Brentford than Abramovich’s Chelsea.
So I am down to my last ray of hope. Come March last year Villa went on a winning streak, confirming their reputation as a fair-weather team. It needs to happen again. We bring in players from abroad who are used to plying in warmer climates, and I cannot recall many who have not looked numbed and miserable in English winter conditions.
Looking at remaining fixtures I wonder if it will help the fact that Liverpool may possibly have won the league by the time Villa visit Anfield on Easter Sunday. If they’re still in the Champions League and doing well in the FA cup we may have half a chance. Ever the optimist 🙂 Not sure the nerves could handle a final day shoot out at the London stadium.
Another glimmer of hope that I heard on the footy show on WM tonight.
In 2020 each club has played 7 games.
Villa have taken 7 points from 7 games.
Bournemouth have taken 6.
Newcastle have taken 6
West Ham have taken 5.
Norwich have taken 5.
I’d never have thought that.
Top of the relegation form table then …….
So 50% of Bournemouth’s points came against us. Since they don’t play us again they are doomed 😉
Yep, that’s the ticket!
Always look for that glimmer of hope 🙂
Until we finish 18th or lower, we ain’t down!
Villa’s results out to May 31st 2019 – loss of £69m (give or take a few quid 🙂 ) of which £45.8 was exceptional items related to promotion – £30m being a further payment to good old Randy on which Recon defaulted so was paid by our new owners (no doubt factored into the original deal).
The owners injected £105m all in capital so we are debt free – or so the article says (on OS).
Confirmed compliance with FFP in three year period to May 19 and also confirmed by the EPL who have reviewed the financial submissions.
No mention of the sale and leaseback of the ground – I wonder whether the report posted by Bill means this will now appear in the group accounts to May 2020.
If the worst happens and we are relegated, at least we appear to be in a good and sustainable financial position which clearly wasn’t the case three years ago.
£45.8m not £45 and a few pence 🙂 🙂
£50m is chicken feed to these guys.
Hey Badger! Where is the lead up article to the final this weekend???!!!!
He’s been up to his eyes in work – up in the northern badlands!
Think all of us are pissed off over last week’s resault Bum Bum, and to add to that all the talk about Grealish going, I wonder if some Villa player’s now understand that when you put a Villa shirt on its to win the game, I Blaim Management and player’s making up Grealish mind up to leave a team with no commitment to win, I’m still flying our flag with hope we can give City a game but fear the worse after them giving us a lesson in football, still I live in hope that 7 of them player’s pull their finger out and give us the pride we all have for Aston Villa club.😡.
Hear, hear Bill.
Have my rose coloured specs ready for Sunday 🙂
BBC sport website are celebrating Jack Grealish day if you fancy a read plus a nice piece about Dean Smith.
Villa getting more coverage than Citeh and quite right too. Class will always out! 🙂
UTV
Back in the bottom 3 , West ham 3 – Southampton 1..
With Norwich and West Ham winning and Bournemouth drawing, we are in the brown stuff big time. Extra salt in the wounds with Hogan scoring another 2 goals. Still, we have what’s his name from Swansea eh!
I’m dreading tomorrow’s game. I think we will be put to the sword and I wouldn’t be surprised by 5 or 6 in Citeh’s favour, followed by a dreadful finish to the end of the season ending up bottom! Pessimistic maybe but highly likely.
Watford are playing well against Liverpool, they have had more of a chance to score than the reds , the way things are going we could be second from bottom.
2-0 to Watford.
Don’t make sense to me, 18 games they have won and second from bottom wins. It seems theirs a death wish on Villa to do well.
Thinking about it I’d check to who put money on who.
It must be Lazarus’s anniversary, all the EPL’s sick men rising from the bed. In Ireland they even let a dead horse run in a race. Surely the weeked for Villa to beat City.
Admire your optimism – suspect rather the opposite – after all this is Villa we’re talking about!
My God. Is the BBC website reporting Watford beating Liverpool 3-0 playing a trick on us all???!!!!
I now think the footballing Gods have it in for us…
If you ask me it been fiddled, some dirty goings on .
Watford haven’t given Liverpool half a second on the ball. Rough em up tactics and a bit of time wasting when necessary. If only Villa weren’t too nice and took a leaf out their book, we might eventually beat a top six team. As it stands we are 19th and looking doomed.
The writing is on the wall sad to say. Let’s face it we can only blame ourselves given our shocking performances over the last four games.
I’m now resigned to a heavy defeat tomorrow (it’s highly likely that our current position on the EPL table will weigh on the players minds) and finishing bottom of the table.
Oh well onwards and downwards 🙂
Off to find the whisky bottle.
On a less emotional note – one has to ask the question as to why other teams can upset the top six but we can’t. And as previously noted we couldn’t win against the top teams in the Championship either.
There is a serious psychological problem at Villa – play a top six side or a London side and we lose – and it’s been going on for years – in both the EPL and the EFL.
So playing a top six side in a London tomorrow – guess what the result will be?
If the bookies are offering 8-1 on a Villa win (in a two horse race) you’d be better advised placing a bet on the number of goals scored by Citeh or Stirling or Aguero or the number of assists by De Bruyne …….
Happy Days ….
Big disappointment Hitch , the pain we went through almost going bust, the heart ache with us knowing he was too soft with player’s not pulling their weight, Big Big changes are required at Villa park the minute we are down.
Bill – us old school have gone through the euphoria of winning the European Cup but also mainly the years of disappointment as we failed to grasp the opportunities that presented themselves. It’s sad to say but Ellis must take responsibility for those failed opportunities.
‘If only’ might be the watchword we should adopt.
I remember my ‘uncle’ (an old title of respect for a young’un – not what you might think) with whom I spent many enjoyable hours watching the Villa (although he did blame me for every defeat 🙂 ) saying (and believing) that it was inevitable that success would ‘come around again‘. But of course, sadly, we know that just isn’t true anymore.
Still, I count myself lucky to be one of the Villa family. Blo*dy maudlin old sod that I am 🙂
UTV
True Hitch, we’ve seen the good times feel sad that its failure in today’s world, looking back teams that are the top 6-8 we lagged behind. Villa was slow in realising the fans count not who you was but being a top footballing side. I’ll not see it to old now ,every game counts for me ,what do we get loss after loss, still live in hope…
Hitch, my Villa blood came from my moms side when she lived in Kingstanding before meeting up with my ‘yam yam’ dad and dragged over to the Black Country. My moms uncle insisted she would be a Villain despite her other uncle being a bluenose. My dad didn’t really follow football so my older brother was a Villain and he made sure me and my sister were too. So whatever happens tomorrow or the rest of the season, I can be thankful my mom chose the right uncle. Perish the thought of what might have been! 🤢
As anyone received a new post ?. Only asking because badger on a post of his own. Must be all this work he’s doing.