For those of you who never heard it, I have a statistic.
Today was the first time we’ve won eleven games in a season for 10 years.
Think about that for a minute.
That’s how long we’ve been a really poor side.
And a massive indicator of how far we’ve come this season.
So while I might seem a bit critical today, my comments should be put into context, where expectations are way higher this year.
So what am I going to complain about?
Not a lot really. I keep getting this nagging feeling though, that if we hadn’t got that second minute goal, that game would have made for very uncomfortable viewing.
It was a pretty good game for the neutrals I think and it certainly had me on the edge of my seat for long periods, such was Arsenal’s domination of possession around our box. It always worries me and I always get that feeling that a goal is coming imminently.
That’s what you get when you’re used to seeing us concede weakly, week in, week out.
Today though, our defence was outstanding, with Mings blocking everything that came his way.
I don’t hide the fact that I don’t rate him in the slightest, but I’d be perfectly happy to change my opinion and say I think he’s brilliant. Today, he went some way towards persuading me.
He wasn’t alone either, which is what I found so pleasing. Konsa was solid, Cash had a brilliant game defending and going forward and I couldn’t get my head around how Targett seems to have improved. He’s nothing like the wuss we all had him down as when he first joined us. He’s much more willing to put his body on the line and there was one incident where an Arsenal player ran full pelt into him and literally just bounced off him. It actually made me laugh.
So while Arsenal seemed the much more dominant side generally, they weren’t really effective. They had a few shots but not having looked at the stats and from memory, it didn’t seem like they had many on target.
When we attacked, I thought we actually looked a fair threat, but we lacked incisiveness too. It goes back to the beginning where I think I wouldn’t have been as pleased as I am if the score was 0-0.
Did we deserve the win? I’m not sure. Possibly a draw would have been a fair result, but it doesn’t matter. We got the goal and they didn’t.
So what do I think won us the game, if I think Arsenal dominated things?
It was the effort. Putting any debate about tiredness to one side, there was absolutely no sign of that today.
All the players ran their guts out and I particularly noticed Traore getting back to help out. I never really noticed him actually do anything in defence, but hey, one step at a time and he at least was in the right sort of area to offer an option for Cash, who was overloaded at times.
Barkley was much better today and worked very hard. I’m not convinced he was very effective in the middle, but he did link up with Grealish a few times and I think he did a lot of work in hustling the opposition. The midfielder wasn’t happy when he was substituted and in fact he looked livid, which led to him kicking a bottle of water in anger.
I think that’s a good thing to see. The last thing you want is a player who wants to come off.
McGinn’s workrate was improved too and he was full of energy.
Nakamba looked mostly comfortable and I feel, a big improvement on Luiz who’s been off for a good few weeks.
Traore was excellent too, being very inventive and today was definitely one of those up times for him.
Watkins’ workrate was even more astounding than ever and one time, where he must have ran back seventy yards to help out in defence demonstrated perfectly how hard the lads worked today.
It was great to see. But it made me ask myself why, if we were able to work so hard today, were we so lacklustre in the previous two games?
Complacency? While you’d hope not, it’s certainly a possibility.
But regardless, it seemed to me that Dean Smith had had a word with them.
And they responded. In spades.
I don’t think we could have asked any more of the lads today. Which I think might have changed my mind.
Did we deserve the win?
Too bloody right we did!
Well done lads and Up the Villa!
Very pleased with that.
We’ve got as many points as we got last season. That’s how well we’re going.
Yes with 17 more games to go . Brilliant is the word of the day for them boys they played their hearts out. It’s nice to sit and see a game of football. Nice to hear the pundits giving us good words and saying we have a chance for European games. If anyone’s interested Villa under 23s drew lastnigh 4-4 ..
Good points made Badger.
What really impressed me is this is the 11th out of 21 league matches where we have not conceded. If any of us had gone into Ladbrokes and placed a bet in this at the end of last season, they would have happily taken our money!
Martinez (except against West Ham) has been exceptional. Targett has transformed into a very reliable defender. Cash I really rate, as I now do Konsa, who will be playing for England in the next 18 months! And Mings is a better than average Premier defender. All in all this is a good defence, which has time on its hands to get even better.
Thinking 18 months ahead. Could Watkins be Harry Kane’s replacement. I think Keane is starting to succumb to injuries that will lesson his effectiveness. Watkins can do the lot. Score, provide, run the channels, hold the ball up, press and defend.
I do think we have the makings of a very good team
Yes, I forgot Emi, who was great again today.
He just exudes confidence and is such a safe pair of hands (well, except for the other night). That must help the defence generally, knowing that if they can’t stop it, the goalie probably will.
What impressed me most was the defence wasn’t like the other night where I thought it was all a mad panic. Today, it was organised.
I forgot about Konsa too, he’s class.
I probably forgot others but it’s only because I was pleased with them all.
Watkins for England?
I think if he keeps going he’ll definitely be up there. I’d love him to get a cap as his workrate, even when things aren’t going his way is fantastic.
if villa had not scored in 70 plus seconds they would have scored another. we had the game in our hands, we changed our game cause we scored we played arsenal on the counter which suited us. we still created more chances than them and we had the better chances. watkins had a couple traore almost finished off a decent move goalie saving last ditch. ramsey should have done better with only the keeper to beat. i am not gonna even try to recall the others. villa had many chances to secure the second. but wasn’t gonna over stretch trying to score it but had we needed to score i always felt we would score another
villa have equalled last season total with how many games spare.arsenal shouldnt have any complaints they should have opened up more first half to try to score. instead they left it too late, they were too scared to open up too soon in case they got countered again =by villa
i was one goal away from predicting the game so ramsey wont get a christmas card this year of me
“if villa had not scored in 70 plus seconds they would have scored another.”
Without wanting to get into another debate, I just can’t take that comment seriously.
If we could have scored at will, why didn’t we get a second, instead of making it hard?
Ridiculous statement, imo.
Don’t bother answering to me, because I won’t be replying.
This was Villa’s sixth game in 18 days but there was little sign of fatigue as they worked hard to return to winning ways after being picked apart by West Ham on Wednesday.
that was taken from bbc on the game
your statement
Not a lot really. I keep getting this nagging feeling though, that if we hadn’t got that second minute goal, that game would have made for very uncomfortable viewing.
you assume too much i just been reading arsenal comments and their manager . deluded comes to mind. villa wanted the lead and started fast and once we scored that settled us down to counter the rest. but arsenal we too scared to open up until second half. if we had not scored imo 70 we would have scored at other time. cause that is football we wanted the win and today we were not going to be denied. arsenal manager is under the same medication. if we did better in one on one or if the grass wasnt green we should have won and won easy. he needs to watch the game back and see his team didnt create anything first half and only really had two real efforts i can remember one freekick and the other martinez saved a shot deflected. easy comfortable win
saying we was dog tired
Ridiculous statement, imo. awww that sounds a very argumentative reply to my opinion. do you know badger i am really upset that you won’t reply. nothing but a big baby or grumpy old men. you opinion are the only opinions that matter so do bother to reply and i wont bother to comment on your 10 at very most web site. you made my day with that comment
9 now Nath,
Send me a mail in a couple of weeks if you want to come back on.
I’ve had enough of you, simple.
You don’t have to read or reply to my posts or comments.
Whereas I have no choice but to read yours.
And I’ve had enough of it. I just don’t need you calling me a baby when I’ve got plenty on my plate that you are unaware of.
Big effort today. It was sometimes hard to watch as they dominated possession and I felt if we conceded we would maybe go on to lose the game. I often feel scoring so early is a problem. It alters everyone’s mindset. We maybe sit back for a bit while they try to show a reaction. It’s easy to get into a pattern of play and sometimes hard to snap out of it.
In truth we made their goalkeeper work a bit more than ours, so a good team performance, a clean sheet and 3 points. I wish we could retain the ball a bit better and work forward as a team, and use the long ball to Watkins a bit more sparingly.
Hard to fault any of the players today which is nice
I am amazed how quickly we have progressed over the last two years. Massive credit to our owners, Smith and all the coaching team. We signed players with potential, some of whom last season we thought might not make it. But watching the likes of Targett improve dramatically shows how good the coaching is. Also the players transfer value have mostly gone up. The only thing that could jeopardise our season is bad luck with injuries. If we keep Grealish and Watkins in particular fit then we can push for European football. Whilst a number of teams around us have FA Cup and European football to contend with, we can focus on the premier league.
Brighton are up next and we owe them a beating after they got lucky at Villa Park.
Agreed ’66, we’ve done fantastically under Smith’s watch but we’ve also had the luck of owners with deep pockets. The American and the dude from China nearly killed us – they were a big part of our decline.
Now, we have money and we have a competent manager and top class player who are both Villa from birth. The motivation and drive is for all to see. This is our time again. We must make the most of it.
As regards the game, I thought we played very professionally. I would have liked to have seen another goal but the incisiveness and quick thinking among the players is a beauty to see.
Wow, what a great season!!
Bill, I think it’s more that our owners just having deep pockets – although it helps a hell of a lot 🙂
It’s also their structured approach to investment in the club as a whole. If I can use the analogy of successful teams building from a strong (defensive) base, our owners are not just throwing money at transfers but building a strong, sustainable infrastructure which is essential if we are to become a consistent top 6 (or 4?) side.
As an example, we’ve just brought in Frederick Leth who took over as Sporting Director from Lange at Copenhagen to reinforce the back room staff. His role is Head of Football Research (whatever that means) which is a position only Man City and Chelsea currently have.
I also like the way they moved quickly to get Sanson in, a player it’s reported we were interested in, in the summer but wouldn’t pay the reported £25m being asked – a rare ‘bargain’ in the January window at £14m (rising to £15.5m) which also clearly angered Villas- Boas.
Not only that, they’ve invested in the academy and, I think importantly, in our Women’s team – much ignored in the past. If you haven’t seen it have a look at recent signing Iwabuchi’s goal against Spurs. It’s available on the BBC sports app.
Much to look forward to after year’s of heartbreak
Badger 123. Spot on we definitely watched the same game I agree with every comment you’ve made VTID Warrior
I will come to Nath’s defence. What he meant by “if Villa did not score that goal they would have scored another” was Villa changed their tactics, as did Arsenal, once Villa went ahead early. If the score had remained longer at 0-0 Villa would have been more adventurous. Not “that Villa would have scored a second” which some replies assume.
In our defeats this season outside Manchester, Villa’s approach to the game exuded confidence that we could beat them easily. Leeds, Brighton, Saints, Burnley, Hammers. We were picked off when our defence was thin, in most cases when our full-backs had been raiding up-field or overloaded with a 2v1 that we had not countered.
I doubt we even had time to implement any tactics before the goal, let alone change them after we scored.
We changed our tactics?
After less than two minutes?
I don’t get that at all.
I don’t know, but I didn’t get the impression that we were trying to defend a lead in that sense.
If we were, that’s a risky tactic at the best of times, particularly against a team like Arsenal.
Maybe I saw things wrong.
But at least your reply is civil 🙂
In other news, It looks like we’ll lose a fortune in this financial year. How does that leave us wrt FFP, I wonder?
Talk of Barkley for £40 million. I don’t know if I’d want us to pay that, given the FFP thing.
And Jack being offered a £200K a week contract to make him “unsellable”.
Blimey, that would show some serious intent.
There was talk about easing FFP because of the financial impact of Covid but I can’t remember the details – probably didn’t understand them either!
Our owners are pretty savvy so, I assume (naively?), that they’re on top of any financial regulations.
As to changing our tactics after the early goal – not sure I get that.
Once we scored Arsenal had to come at us wanting an early equaliser and maybe that forced us into playing more on the break but I don’t see that as a deliberate change of tactics.
I’m not quite sure why we’re hypothesising on what might have happened had we not scored early when there were any number of ‘what ifs’ in the game as there are in any sporting event.
Badger, I tend to agree with OLL on Nath , yes he goes come over as offensive and I could see him digging his own hole on the way he was coming back at you . I think he caught you at the wrong time over your massive problem ,I been there Badger, Nath is someone you have to know personally to understand him ,he sounds like a young lad that let’s his mouth run away with his brain , I don’t mean that to be offensive to him just to say stop and think before you speak. Calling you names was out of order and needed a slap on the hand but a warning might have been the way to go. Badger its your site and I was ready to have come in to save it but held back when you and Dean stept in , I’ve not got the brain like you and Hitch have and happy with the way you both run it. Please understand where I’m coming from and Dont take offence with me as I’ve no other blog to look at.😆
Hitch,
there was talk of relaxing the FFP rules, but I think it was more a time thing as opposed to being allowed increased numbers. I can’t remember, tbh.
Ah, a quick search shows this;
“The break-even assessment of club finances for 2020 will be postponed, and looked at alongside the financial year 2021.”
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/uefa-ffp-rules-relaxed-covid-19
I’m not sure what that means exactly?
Bill,
name calling is where I draw the line. There’s just no need for it.
I can handle people disagreeing with me, I get it all the time 🙂
But we had loads of abuse being handed out before, remember and it led to me banning a few people to clean the site up.
I just think it needed nipping in the bud, quickly.
In Nath’s case, I think he’s normally a very valid poster, so he’s only suspended. I’ll probably relent in a few days and he can come back on if he wants too. I’ll announce it when I decide.
Look at it as a cooling down period.
I understand Badger, it’s your decision. .
Just a (slightly) negative thought. Ignoring the cup match against Liverpool we have managed 9 goals in the last 8 games. If we don’t improve that it pretty much means we need to keep a clean sheet to win. Fortunately we have done that a few times. I think we are capable of scoring more freely. We have some creative players in the final 3rd but for some reason it hasn’t quite clicked. I don’t think we make enough chances for Watkins with early crosses from advanced positions. Yes he misses a few but he will score plenty given the ammunition.
We scored 3 against Palace in the match before that run. It would be nice to get that kind of score against Brighton, but it isn’t easy as we all know.
Ooh, that’s a great point DS.
It’s as you say though, we do keep clean sheets.
Boring, boring Villa, with the 1-0s?
Fortunately, we’re anything but.
But point very seriously taken.
What happens if Watkins gets injured?
The thought of having to rely on Davis scares me. As much as I like him as an attacker, he will never be a goalscorer as long as I have a hole in my proverbial. It’s just not there and can’t be taught much.
Not messing around so much might help too. There’s only one thing worse than not shooting or passing it if you have a chance and that’s passing back to the goalie from the opposition’s half!
Boils my piss, that last point.
Passing back to our keeper has become more noticeable recently. Even my missus commented that we had a corner in the last game and the ball ended up being passed back to Martinez within seconds! I’m almost certain that Smith uses Citeh as a model for his style of play. They will happily go from front to back to retain possession. If we end up as successful as them I won’t complain.
Whilst I think we are making really good progress and described as the most improved premier league team, I still think we are punching above our weight a little bit. We have been far luckier than last season with regards to injuries. As Badger highlighted, we would be in the brown stuff if Watkins got injured. I predicted a while back that Leeds would finish above us and I still think that’s likely. They are getting stronger as the season goes on and I think they could break into the top 6. As for Villa, I think we are more or less where I would expect us to finish at the end of the season, assuming we steer clear of too many injuries.
It’s weird that we haven’t got a midweek game. The fact that Brighton have a cup game tomorrow while we can have a rest I hope works in our favour. I suppose it depends on how seriously Brighton take the cup game. It would mean that there are no excuses for fatigue in our players anyway.
I thought going from that corner to Martinez was embarrasing, tbh Holte.
I’m a massive believer in the spirit of the game and that’s nowhere near it for me.
I’ll be gutted if Leeds finish above us.
I’ve nothing against the club, but the fact that the media were and still are, all over them really annoys me.
Plus I predicted we’d finish higher than them and I want to get something right 🙂
Ramsey has signed a new contract for 4 1/2 year till 2025 .
John Terry having a interview tomorrow at Bournemouth, wish him the best.
It’ll be interesting to see how he does, if he gets it.
I see he’s up against David Wagner and Patrick Viera.
Tough competition.
JT has been excellent for Villa and I reckon we’ll miss him.
But fair play he’s looking to gain experience before moving into management.
I genuinely wish him luck but think Bournemouth may stick with promotion from within rather than going with the unproven big name – no disrespect to JT or anyone else on the shortlist.
If Bournemouth don’t go with JT then it’s to our gain!
He won’t get it Both, I reckon Lampard dismissal won’t help as having big name players was to draw crowds and even Lampard didn’t do well. Gerrard getting away with it being a Scottish league. It’ll go to an older head person.
Is JTs interview via Zoom?
I wonder if he’ll turn the kitten feature on by accident???!!!
Hi, JT here, i’m not a cat haha…. Good luck to him. Seems like he has Claret and Blue in his blood now, if he does go i’m glad he has been with us and part of the team that has seen us progress so rapidly. I also must agree on this passing back to Martinez all the time. I dont have a problem with it until we are in a position where we could cross the ball in to the box but instead pass it all the way back for there to be no movement off the ball and then Martinez has to lump it to Traore, Grealish or Watkins only more often than not that’s when we lose possession. I get that is the way the best teams play but those teams movement off the ball is world class as is their confidence in playing this way, its just pass, move, pass, move, pass, move and they’re in space and on the attack again. We haven’t mastered this yet. It winds me up, how often we have it in defence and i’m shouting saying MOVE in to space. when I played Sunday League my manager always said, we should never be standing still, give him an option. That basic skill we sadly lack at times (not all the time) but we dont do it all the time like the best teams i.e. City. If we start moving in to space more and allowing that quick 1 or 2 touch passing and the whole team are on board we wouldn’t need to lump it as much as we do and we could retain a lot more possession. I mainly notice it when Martinez, Targett, Mings or Cash have the ball. To be honest that is my only issues with us and considering where we were last season WOW so happy with us right now. Cant wait for Wesley to come back it will be like a new signing.