Southampton 1- 0 Villa:

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.

75 Comments

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  1. Holte66
    Holte66 February 24, 2020 at 6:50 pm . Reply

    Swansea 5 Bradford 0 in 2013 was the biggest victory in league cup history, until….. Bradford of course humiliated us to get there.
    Other potential records that could be broken (because it’s Villa) are most shots on goal, most shots on target, most corners, quickest goal, highest possession, most passes, most……suggestions welcome.

    1. DSVilla
      DSVilla February 24, 2020 at 7:20 pm . Reply

      Maybe watch that rerun of Fury v Wilder again instead 😉

  2. Holte66
    Holte66 February 24, 2020 at 7:27 pm . Reply

    Not a bad idea DSVilla! I’m still hopeful that Fury will win next time I watch as long as I get the right stream. 🙄

  3. Bill Pearson
    Bill Pearson February 24, 2020 at 9:16 pm . Reply

    What’s going on ? West Ham are beating Liverpool 2-1 for fuck sake.

    1. DSVilla
      DSVilla February 24, 2020 at 9:20 pm . Reply

      Playing well too.

  4. Roy Bracy
    Roy Bracy February 24, 2020 at 9:42 pm . Reply

    Come on Liverpool what are you doing!!!!!😭😵😵😵 It’s written in the stars villa down.

    1. Bill Pearson
      Bill Pearson February 24, 2020 at 9:56 pm . Reply

      Liverpool 3-West ham 2..

  5. Originallondonlion
    Originallondonlion February 24, 2020 at 10:00 pm . Reply

    Scousers a lucky 3 Hammers 2. FT. A Fabianski nutmeg and a massively defected ball to an offside player. Moyes left with his usual Anfield feeling.

  6. Holte66
    Holte66 February 24, 2020 at 10:01 pm . Reply

    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.

  7. Roy Bracy
    Roy Bracy February 24, 2020 at 10:02 pm . Reply

    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

    1. Bill Pearson
      Bill Pearson February 27, 2020 at 2:24 pm . Reply

      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

  8. Originallondonlion
    Originallondonlion February 24, 2020 at 10:19 pm . Reply

    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.

  9. Fastjet81
    Fastjet81 February 24, 2020 at 10:25 pm . Reply

    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.

  10. Hitchens60
    Hitchens60 February 28, 2020 at 2:13 pm . Reply

    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.

    1. Hitchens60
      Hitchens60 February 28, 2020 at 2:14 pm . Reply

      £45.8m not £45 and a few pence 🙂 🙂

  11. Bum Bum
    Bum Bum February 28, 2020 at 11:39 pm . Reply

    £50m is chicken feed to these guys.

    Hey Badger! Where is the lead up article to the final this weekend???!!!!

    1. Hitchens60
      Hitchens60 February 29, 2020 at 8:45 am . Reply

      He’s been up to his eyes in work – up in the northern badlands!

  12. Bill Pearson
    Bill Pearson February 29, 2020 at 7:09 am . Reply

    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.😡.

    1. Hitchens60
      Hitchens60 February 29, 2020 at 8:44 am . Reply

      Hear, hear Bill.

      Have my rose coloured specs ready for Sunday 🙂

  13. Hitchens60
    Hitchens60 February 29, 2020 at 11:07 am . Reply

    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

  14. Bill Pearson
    Bill Pearson February 29, 2020 at 4:28 pm . Reply

    Back in the bottom 3 , West ham 3 – Southampton 1..

  15. Holte66
    Holte66 February 29, 2020 at 4:56 pm . Reply

    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.

  16. Bill Pearson
    Bill Pearson February 29, 2020 at 6:02 pm . Reply

    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.

  17. Holte66
    Holte66 February 29, 2020 at 6:51 pm . Reply

    2-0 to Watford.

  18. Bill Pearson
    Bill Pearson February 29, 2020 at 6:58 pm . Reply

    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.

  19. Bill Pearson
    Bill Pearson February 29, 2020 at 6:59 pm . Reply

    Thinking about it I’d check to who put money on who.

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