What to say about this one?
I can probably sum it up in while I thought we were worth a draw, we were probably the cause of our own undoing.
The first half for me, was pretty poor and I have to confess to being a little bored.
We lacked the tenacity and tempo we showed in the Arsenal game, which is not surprising given we’ve had three difficult games inside a week.
But what disappointed me most was our incredible knack of giving the ball away far too easily, even when players weren’t under that much pressure.
That, combined with the fact that we gave Liverpool way too much respect and stood back too much for my liking. Yes, Pool have a decent attack, but they’re really not that good overall and the goal apart, I’m finding it difficult to recall any other chances they created, a ballooned shot over the bar apart.
So we were one down at half time and I was thinking “what do we do here?”
The obvious thing was to up the pace of the game and that’s pretty much what we did.
And it was much more like what I’d been expecting.
We started to get at them and started creating our own chances, where we could easily have had a couple of goals.
Gabby’s pace definitely worried them and Benteke was doing his usual winning nearly every ball in the air trick. Weimann had a decent shot, as did Gabby and Benteke had a storming shot well saved by Mignolet.
Part of me feels we were robbed though, as I think it was Benteke who seemed to be blatantly shoved in the back when a ball came in. It looked a definite penalty to me, but Mark Clattenburg wasn’t having any of it.
The second half was way better though and Delph stood out for me. He stopped them playing many a time and was involved in a lot of our creative play. I thought Bacuna did ok, but he was one of the worst offenders in giving the ball away early on, so him getting the MOTM award surprised me a little.
El Ahmedi looked very cool on the ball and his composure in the middle was like a breath of fresh air for me. Very accomplished.
On the definite plus side, I think Okore looks very solid. Even Vlaar wasn’t bad and I thought he marshalled the defence pretty well overall.
I just came away from the game feeling a little deflated, as I’m sure that if we’d have played the first half the same as we played the second, we’d have taken all the points.
Ah well, that’s our first three games out of the way. Many of us wouldn’t have been surprised if we were sat on one or even zero points today, so it’s not all bad.
If we keep taking it to teams, we will get results, no danger.
i always thought this was a game to far we took arsenal by surprise , Chelsea were to arrogant to believe we were a threat but Brenden Rogers would have studied these two high profile games and come up with a plan
Im pretty sure it was Mignolet that made the save!! He made 2 great stops from Benteke!
Whoever gave Bacuna MOTM is nuts, he gave the ball away more than anyone.
No doubt we were tired today, but our lack of ability to break teams down when we are not counter-attacking was very obvious today. We need a creative player in there supplying our front 3.
On a postive note, our defence looks 100% better than last year. Think that could become a great back 4 with Guzan in behind them.
Mignolet yes, corrected. That’s down to my grandson constantly rattling on about two Brads in the squads lol.
Yep, we lack that something in the middle, no doubt about it.
Billys boots, I didn’t want to bring a downer on things, but felt Lambert cost us that game.
We won’t do any good trying to sit back at VP, imo and indeed I don’t want to see it.
If we’re going to get beat, I’d much rather be going for it, as at least I won’t be bored.
Not too gung ho, of course, but I don’t think we’ve got the nous required to play a more canny game just yet.
Thought we were poor in the first half & lambert dropped a clanger giving bacuna his debut in a tough game like that , the kid looked way out of his depth at times !
Then there was the 2nd half , can’t help thinking that if we had a creative number ten of say coutinho’s calibre in the side then we would of at least taken a point . Hope they can bring 1 in befor the window closes .
Disappointing but still we have 3 points more than I expected from this week.
Overall, the key thing that came out of that game was the lack of creativity (as well as the lack of any real corner or free kick taker). We’re going to struggle at VP again this season, at times this counter attack style reminded me of no Plan B under MON.
As for Bacuna MOTM, what was all that about? It was a shocking debut, clearly he isn’t ready yet, neither is Tonev who seems a bit too greedy.
The message is clear though- we have to buy a creative midfielder before window shuts if we want to break teams down at VP. We should go back in for Kiyotake IMO.
Hi all in New York and watched earlier in a pub full if pool and west ham fans. What can I say Vlaar yet again responsible for their goal he could easily have cut that ball out to Sturridge but stood and watched it go past him. As per normal we struggle to play 2 halves of football we never looked like scoring and Liverpool cut out our long ball to benteke and we had no other plan. Mourunho more or less did rogers team talk for him. We still need another ch and creative midfielder. All to easy for them they went 1 up and that was that. We are definitely no better than last year defence is still shit and only have a plan A. The only big bright spot for me was Okore who just got better and better and will be off with benteke next year. Also Delph had another good performance. After that I’m struggling. I’m amazed how many people on here fancied us to beat them. It was never going to happen.
Oohahh.. that is complete rubbish.. last season we conceded 12 goals from those three game this season it was four.. we look way better defensively.. Liverpool had one shot on target and Chelsea hardly cut us open..
Sometimes i think do u just say something for the sake of it…..
Most teams don’t concede 8 goals to Chelsea’s. the first place ffs
Oohah ffs join the army over there, your in new York and you don’t buy st for your club, but slag Vlaar every time, I’ve had enough of your disbelieve in one player,, give us a break don’t come back, leave my team alone, you know fuck all but slag and slag, I was at the match you was not, Vlaar played well so did all off them lads, lay off your constant vendetta of Vlaar, ..
Yup, Kiyotake would be great. He would also answer the free-kick/corner problem….which really stuck out today. That’s the kind of player we desperately need.
Wondered from the off why Bacuna was playing instead of KEA, and i still dont understand why! Bacuna imo was awful today, looked out of depth. Delph again looked quality, and i cant help thinking he would be a good attacking midfielder! hes got that touch and enthusiasm to knock it past someone!
I just thought today that Liverpool came and did the job and sussed us out! they scored the goal and then sat back!
On another day, with more things going are way i believe we could of got some points!
What to take from three hard games:
We may have some organisation and enthusiasm in our team now
We can attack well ….. Away
The midfield are working well
We are harder to break down
The defence seem more cohesive
And we also have some ability on the bench
If hindsight if everything went are way this week, we could had atleast 7 points! looking promising!
UTV
Exactly, the team had been applauded by the way they had played in the previous matches, why change it….??? KEA has been solid , why swap him out for Bacuna?? I thought Bacuna looks ok but a bit nervous, I thought toned looked good when he came on, but if we stick with a front 3, I don’t see when he’s going to get a game other than the last 20 mins of a game….!!
Tonev
3 points from 3 games, happy with that.Overall preformance of the 3 games was good except the first half today.
the thing is we can only play to our strengths and sitting back is not one of them. as an aside thought we defended much better today except for right back and right midfield not taking responsibility for cover of each other
I thought the goal was bloody superb and it wasn’t Vlaar’s fault for failing to cut it out because he was defending against the ball being played towards him and not across him (does that make sense? I’ve had a few drinks…). We sat back too much in the first half and should have gone at them hard. Bacuna was not a good choice, KEA or Sylla would have been better options. The left side looks good, Gabby was definitely MOTM although Delph was close, and Luna is working well with the two of them. The right side is a bit of a worry, Wiemann was looking frustrated and wasn’t getting decent supply, I suspect this was down to Bacuna not linking up with him and Lowton. The long ball to Benteke every time was just boring, it wasn’t working in the first half and it would be much better to see us working the ball up the field rather than aiming for Benteke and hoping. Too many wasted passes and not enough bite in the first half. The second half was great, why couldn’t we start off like that? I hope Lambert won’t be trying those tactics again. Okore and Vlaar looked good despite the goal, but it was a bloody good goal. Third game in a week against teams that will likely be finishing above us, three points and zero goal difference. Not bad really. Out of the new boys stick with Okore, Luna definite but Bacuna and Tonev still need to prove themselves. Oh yeah, Helenius nearly had an assist, I think he’s going to do well for us. One idea for everyone asking for a creative no. 10, could Wiemann (our current no. 10) work between Delph/Westwood and Benteke, with Tonev/Bacuna/Helenius on the right?
I think if u look at replay vlaar let it run past him. Okore is different class though he’s got the lot and will surely end up at sky four. Tonev and bacuna very average. Delph was motm IMO with Okore a close second then gabby. Disappointed in weimann I’m a big fan of his but just seems a bit of the pace. Thought attack wise pool had us sussed and doubled up on our long ball to benteke
This will upset a lot of villa fans but weimann has pissed me off big time so far this season great work rate but not a lot else he has missed a couple of sitters already this season and seems to miss a lot of chances
didn’t see the game live due to bloody work 🙁
getting some perspective on the whole thing, 3 games in 7 days, 3 points and zero goal difference, the same fixtures last season would have seen us 3 games, zero points and GD of -10! so on the whole we aint doing so bad, the GD alone shows the defence is playing better, glad to see Okore get a start, like ooah I believe hes going to be a great player from what ive seen already.
other fans were very impressed we went to stmford bridge with a 4-3-3 line up and deserved at least a point.
as Billys Boots said arsenal and Chelsea underestimated us but Liverpool and Rodgers did not, no doubt we need a different approach at home, we put in some shockingly bad performances at VP last season I don’t really want to see that again this year, the long ball up to benteke while effective will be well sussed very quickly, you’ve got to be able to chop and change it a bit.
on the whole though id have taken 3 points before these 3 games all things considered n I reckon we’ll do Newcastle no probs 🙂
oh and I believe we’ve been totally stiched up re the schedual, 3 games in week 1 is ridiculous, that did not help us.
Agree but we are still a one half team. Arsenal underestimated us but we could of been 3 down before we scored Chelsea are more defensive anyway under mourunho and are not going to hammer any teams and Rogers was tactically light years ahead of lambert. Also arsenal had shed loads of injuries. Bottom line is we are still a one half team that will never keep a clean sheet in a million years with a plan A and that’s it. Posters on here are wanking just because we didn’t lose 8.0 at Chelsea Ffs. Hull only list 2.0. Pathetic
I have been waiting to have a good look at Bacuna following a good pre-season by him.
I thought he wasn’t playing in an attacking pos and that’s where I thought he looked good in pre-season. He was scoring and creating in pre-season so I am baffled as to why he was playing a deeper role when he seems to be best suited to playing off the striker. Bacuna himself stated he sees himself as an attacking player and wanted to be Villas Lampard. So again, playing him in a deep midfield role was questionable.
The whole 3 games in a week is too much is an excuse.
We were shit in the 1st half and if we had a ‘Paul Merson’ in midfield for the 2nd half, we would of romped home.
We lack that cutting edge to create chances. Its something PL must be able to see and I think all the talk of us in a top 10 finish might be too much.
Okora looked a beast. He is a must start for me from now on.
Play him with Baker and Vlaar is anything but concrete.
So why hasn’t lambert signed a Merson type midfielder it’s not like we are short of money. Lerner just settling for bottom six again pathetic no wonder benteke wants to fuck of playing in in a talentless unambitious team
Well that’s the first 3 out the way and over all we have done great, I would say that if we had not played in midweek we would not of looked so poor in the first half, all in all we are doing fine and we will pick up more points this year and concede less, if you look back at these three games last year 0 points and 13 conceded and I think 2 scored in my memory serves me right. UTV.
Tell you what anyone who has said they would like shawcross take a look at his errors yesterday on motd shocking no better than vlaar at all. Also tonev looks quick with power and will come good with better decision making and game time. Bacuna needs to play more forward but also needs more time to settle and get used to the prem. No point slating them already after one game. Lowton needs to wake up nearly all our goals conceded have been from his side. Weimann should be subbed for helenius next game imo he has looked tired and sloppy. All in all 3 points we would all have took before the season started.
yeah he looked(shawcross)like he had a bit of a mare which is uncharacteristic tbf, got to admit Vlarr has looked much better these opening games as has the whole defence, lowtons side is proving a worry defensively.
think we’ve made some good signings in Okore especially but I believe tonev and baccuna will come good, they look promising from what ive seen so far
It’s really only oohahpaulmcgrath who gets excited and orgasmic about Shawcross. Everytime his name is mentioned he goes missing for a while, probably giving himself a 5 knuckle shuffle over him. It’s right though he is no better than what we have. Shocking game for Stoke yesterday.
Can’t understand why lambert didn’t put helenius on earlier he created bentekes chance which he should have shot across the keeper. We are too predictable especially at home and teams will double up on benteke. Like mon lambert only has a plan A and is tactically inept
he done it again mark calterpraf stirke again iv notioce when he refs our game we never get a pen but always gives the team were playing against one what problem does he have with us
also mingolet made some great saves, we were unlucky not to get a point overall, disappointed but not despondent.
Thought it was a bit harsh to drop El Ahmadi for Bacuna when he’d played well in the first two games. The Sturridge goal was quality and Liverpool didn’t create many chances other than that, so that’s a big positive for me! We were just a bit sloppy in possession and lacked a bit of killer instinct. On another day we might have stuck a couple of our chances away and it could have been a different story. Still think we got a bit carried away after the Arsenal game, but the early signs are definitely far more encouraging than last season.
I agree about KEA. He looked miles better in the first two matches than he did last season.
On reflection, 3 points out of those 3 games is OK and aside from the 1st half yesterday, performances have been good.
Still think we’re a mid table side, lacking the midfield creativity and concentration at the back required to get into the top half, but strong going forward. Weimann looks a little off form to me, think he needs a confidence boost in front of goal ASAP.
Overall, I think we’ll pick up more points again on the road this season than at home due to the style of play.
Definitely going in the right direction. defence is improving, Okore looks the real deal, Luna looks good, lowton surprisingly less so in these first three. but what is Guzan doing goofing it long to Benteke all the time, ffs play football from the back! Weiman looking a little off the pace, but Benteke and Gabby are red hot. And why change the midfield when it was playing so well? Disappointed with the result, I really thought we were playing well enough to take them. now for the international break – fuck it. at least it’s giving Oohah the chance to visit thegay bars in NY. 😉
Liverpool came up with spot on tactics, quite simply they always had gerrard and lucas sitting infront of their defence, packed midfield so we couldn’t get the service 2 our front 3 and they also kept the ball well, second half we pressed further up, like the first 2 games and was really unlucky not 2 snatch a point, it was 1 game 2 far but we shouldn’t be 2 hard on ourselves we were more than a match for 2 top 4 sides last year and pool upthevilla
Yes, I totally agree, the long balls to Benteke on the wide left were really annoying me.
It was obviously instructed by Lambert, as it was happening so consistently and while Benteke won a majority of them, it wasn’t working and definitely made us look very one dimensional.
I’m very loathe to slate Wiemann, as I love the kid, but he definitely seems out of form at the moment. The point about the right hand side not quite clicking is a good one and it begs the question of was it a case of Lambert not having much confidence with us down the right or the fact that we seemed to play on the left so much, which never really got Lowton and Wiemann into the game?
One thing I’m pretty sure of though, is that Wiemann will get plenty of time to play through this bad run of his, as I think Lambert rates him highly.
I certainly hope so anyway.
Although there may be a case for “resting” him, I don’t think it’d be good for his confidence.
I think the left side was more to do with Luna, Delph and Gabby working so well together. Lowton and Wiemann just weren’t really linking with Bacuna. Wiemann does do a lot of running around so might not have come out of the two other games this week so well. He did have a couple of good shots on goal though, and he’ll start scoring soon. I suggested this earlier, and last season too, what about Wiemann playing behind Benteke as AM? He already has the number 10 shirt, might Lambert be considering it already?
That might be a decent shout Foxy.
I’m really not sure why, but Wiemann reminds me of a young Mr Yorke. Still a bit raw, but with all the makings.