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.
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.