Well, it’s not very often any side comes back from 2-0 down against Man Utd, let alone the Villa, but that’s exactly what we did and it was enough to change me from another Man U game of despair to being somewhat disappointed that we didn’t get the third goal to go on and win it.
It’s a bit difficult to aim the sights at players when we’ve just demonstrated great fighting for the cause, but I think we have too many issues to just gloss over things.
Let’s concentrate on the first half, where we were scandalously poor.
Martinez’s mishandle from a straightforward shot from a free kick was incredibly sloppy and normally would get a goalkeeper absolute pelters. The trouble is, he’s been so good for us that even miserable old me thinks he deserves a break. I’ll let him off then.
But the fact is that error after just a few minutes led to us being on the back foot and not being at all at the races.
We were making too many mistakes, giving the ball away too much and we just had too many players that were totally ineffective or worse still, just plain invisible. Our continued poor passing, even over just a few yards is beyond words.
Ramsey may have got the man of the match award, but he was one of the biggest culprits in being invisible.
But just as has been far too often the case, he wasn’t alone.
Luiz was in my opinion very poor and Ings was just totally non-existant.
I said it in the previous comments, but I feel Ings just does not do enough and it’s almost like we’re playing with a man down. I know he can add things occasionally, but for me, it’s just not enough.
When you have a midfield that’s just being overrun (again), I just feel you’d be way better going with just Watkins up top and bolstering the midfield with a fifth man. At least until we have another grafter who can be the counter to our creative sort of players.
Things did get better in the first half, but it still wasn’t good enough.
We came out much better in the second half, but then a hideous backpass from Sanson, who’d until then had a very decent game gave them another chance for an easy goal.
I thought it was pretty much all over at that point, because it didn’t seem our day again, but Coutinho came on and we were looking too good for Man U.
Buendia, who was head and shoulders my man of the match (although I can see why Ramsey gets the plaudits) was the driving force behind much of our game and his vision and passing can be a delight to watch. That does leave plenty of things to go wrong, but I think he’s a fantastic player and he’s only getting better.
Digne made a very promising start, adding some decent attacking width on our left and the truth be told, a lot more than Matt Targett offers. I have to be honest and say I never really considered how he did from a defensive point of view, although I do remember one Man U effort where Digne was near enough on our goal line.
After me slating Ramsey for his non-existent first half, he had an earlier chance that didn’t net. And then he received a ball from Coutinho after good work from Chukwuemeka and shot into their net to send the ground up to volume 11. Scoring against Man U is such a fantastic feeling.
And then Ramsey returned the favour and fed Coutinho who scored in his Villa debut. 2-2 it was and we were all dreaming of a 94th minute win, just for a pleasant change.
But it wasn’t to be.
Our defence worries me.
Man U were gifted 2 goals. Martinez’s howler was out of character, but I do wonder if he’s now lacking confidence in our back four and it’s rubbed off on him? He’s made a couple of mistakes recently, but he’s still an excellent goalie. I suppose we just have to hope he gets through it, which I’m sure he will.
Konsa seems to have hurt his hip and that would now seem to make our search for a centre back even more important.
We need a box to box midfielder who’s going to show when the rest are lacking and this is the area where we ought to push the boat out.
Bissouma is supposedly the answer and if so, we ought to get in there and just get him. There was a time when we wouldn’t have considered a player who has been accused of sexual offences, but I’d guess we’re a lot more forgiving nowadays and the good news is that I’ve noticed that while his friend in his forties has been bailed and has to go back to the police, Bissouma himself has been released while investigations are carried out and he has no restrictions wrt his travel. In other words, there’s a good chance he’s totally innocent and will be freed from any charges.
Back to the game and normally we’d be very happy with this result.
To some, I can understand that it seems like a victory after being two down.
But to me, it feels like a loss.
When oh, when will we do the double over those Red Devils?
Maybe next time eh?
Onwards and upwards!
Argghhh, Frustration!!!!
Would be nice just to beat them at VP.
Fair and decent summation Badger and an honest appraisal by Gerrard in his post match interview. What I particularly liked was his refusal to blame players for a mistake – if they’re trying to do what’s been asked of them.
All the headlines will go to Coutinho and he was instrumental in the first goal and scored the second but I think that will be a little unfair on players like Buendia (best game so far), Digne and Ramsey.
Digne looked no worse than Targett defensively but looked a real upgrade going forward in and around the penalty area.
Hopefully Konsa’s knock won’t be too serious otherwise we are down to bare bones.
I’m not going to criticise Martinez; he’s pulled off enough saves for us this season and last before that howler – and since – and it ‘s just the case that if a keeper makes a mistake everyone has a huge laugh and i’tll be shown again 100’s of times, whereas any outfield player drops one and it’s almost instantly forgotten.
We were generally sloppy in the first half: giving the ball away far too often, and (yet again) I noticed many of our lot kept slipping on the grass and then losing the ball (what do they use for foootball boots nowadays – ballet pumps?).
Second half we were 200% better. Buendia is a superb player & getting better with every match; now with Digne & Coutinho there he may actually have people around him who understand what he’s doing and will be ready to take advantage of it. Ramsey was excellent in the 2nd half, and so IMO was Mings – really the one who kept trying to push play forward and having a few decent runs as well.
However, yet again, we can see that Ings and Watkins together doesn’t work. I think it’s time to scrap that idea; either one of them is more effective on his own, and in general I’d prefer that one to be Ollie.
All in all, considering that we were missing McGinn’s fire and strength, it was a good game that we never near-deserved to lose, and if Coutinho’s performance was an indicator of things to come, Everton should be crapping themselves before next week’s game!
Ooh, don’t get me started on the boots! lol
I’ve been moaning about players slipping for years.
Yes, it’s not rocket science is it?
Except it must be, because we can all see how Watkins and Ings just isn’t working, yet that’s two managers who have persisted.
I wonder if it’s more about we can’t show how we wasted that money on Ings?
A serious question (& related to the issue of boots…) can anyone please tell me why modern pitches (which I understand are semi-synthetic blends of reall grass and plastic fibres) are soaked with water for hours before a game, and then again the sprinklers are put on at half-time?
Given that this watering goes-on at every game, why are players wearing footwear that gives them about as much grip as a pair of roller skates on an ice rink?
It’s apparently to make the ball move faster.
I’ve never understood that one, myself, but no doubt it’s all about the “product”.
Sounds like they need to get VP on a meter, Ardent. Go back back to the bone dry sandy pitches of the early nineties – do I recall they even sprayed it green at one point? Seriously though, it’s an awful lot of wasted water that people in other parts of the world would literally kill for.
What really gets me is that if the modern pitches are really semi-synthetic (as I understand them to be) then they certainly don’t need that much water unless it’s mid-summer and 30+degrees C!
And as I keep seeing, players just seem to lose their traction on these pitches far more often than they used to.
I can understand Badger’s point about making the game ‘faster’ – but is this something the clubs themselves decide to do, or is it directed by the PL, the TV companies or who?
I think you’re right about Ings – too much loss of face to admit that he was a panic-buy when we lost Grealish.
The other way of looking at him is that he’s a decent goalscorer, but it only works when he’s playing and Ollie isn’t.
Just before the 1st goal I was saying stop fouling and giving corners away. It seemed that Mondays game and our feeling of injustice went against us whereas Man Utd must have got a rollicking and were miles better…….I too was all over Buendia as MOTM and some of the stuff he does is unbelievable. I loved Targett but the new lad does look better and certainly more confident.
Gerrard’s post match interviews are superb. Says it absolutely exactly as it it. No BS. Spot on.
I see a lot of negativity on here towards Ings.
In my opinion Watkins is the problem, has anybody else noticed how be barely passes to Ings?
Watkins looks like he is sulking, and hes not being a team player.
Truth be told I’m not sure about either of them now.
I’ve previously had a bit of a love thing for Watkins, but he’s been poor for a while and I can’t think of a single thing he did well today.
You’re not alone in thinking it’s a Watkins problem, but even if I thought Ings is the better striker, he just doesn’t get involved enough for me. I just can’t recall a game where I think he’s played well overall. There probably has been one or two, but again, it’s not enough for me.
Watkins might be poor, but at least he actually gets on the ball a few times.
Watkins hold up play was very good today, was good at receiving passes. Was a key part in keeping the ball and the good performance, in my humble opinion.
Agreed. I saw nothing much wrong with his play – other than my usual complaint that he doesn’t get into the box often enough to draw a penalty!
It’s not that I believe Ings is a bad player either – it’s just that the two of them obviously (now) simply aren’t going to work in the same team,
Ah, I forgot.
How annoying that Ramsey was penalised on Monday for a bodycheck.
How come when it happened to him in the “D” he wasn’t given it?
The double standards are a disgrace to the game.
But we’ve known that for years and still put up with it 🙁
Yes, I noticed that too.
In the 1st half every time a Utd player lost the ball, the ref game them a free kick; we were being clobbered all over the pitch in the 2nd half and it took him ages to find the first yellow card for a Utd player.
I totally agree Badger on your assessment of Ramsey, Luiz ,ings, have to say Ramsey redeemed himself second half, but Luiz and ings are far from the players we want. As for the game yesterday again we was the better team, it was said that Man Utd played their best game this season ,the two new players have got off to a fine start and can only add their skills to our club.I’m full of excitement that Villa are back and better days to come.
When I was at the ground and we got the equaliser, I was literally jumping on the people in front of me, but looking back it annoys me we didn’t get the third goal. However still great character to come back from behind like we did, unusual from the Villa, to be honest. Disagree with the opinion on Martinez, I don’t think he’s going through a bad patch at all it was just one mistake. Sanson’s mistake, which in fairs he did apologise for on Instagram as well as another incident where he kicked a bottle into the crowd when he got subbed off. To be honest Grandad I am shocked you wasn’t the first to comment on Mings’ defending when Sanson lost the ball, to be honest. Nowhere near good enough, but I am not in his shoes so I would not know what he was trying to do, whether it was good or bad.
One last question, though…
Has Buendia got out of your ‘anonymous’ category now :’)
Hmm. I think I’ve ranted about how poor Mings is for long enough and I’m doing my best to give him a break! My complaint about him now is that he needs to concentrate on moving the ball forward and not back.
As for Buendia, I’ve been consistent in saying that I could see what he is capable of. He just wasn’t doing it.
You may well remember when I said a Norwich fan told me he has the lot in his locker?
Whatever, I think he’s the dog’s danglies. But he’s only recently started showing it.
He actually excites me more than Coutinho at this particular stage and I can see him really pulling the strings for us.
The good thing is you got to see a very decent game overall and enjoyed the VP atmosphere at it’s best again. Maybe you’ll get to see Ronaldo next year 🙂
”It’ll blow your mind how good he is, but he will take time to settle in”
I have a very good memory 🙂
And with the last bit, he’d have got a last minute penalty tonight and they’d have won 3-2 so that part’s okay, but maybe next year would be nice to see such a player. But we can say, United have not beaten us in the Premier League this season. We’d have been happy with only a 1-0 loss to them in the cup providing we’d got the youngsters on just a few years ago, and now I’m disappointed that we only got the draw and not the win, shows how far we’ve come.
🙂 Atmosphere was incredible, Philippe turned us into a new team and turned our fans into a new bunch, got to the game early, spoke to John McGinn and was about 3ft from Christian Purslow at one point. Did take Ward Prowse, Cancelo, De Bruyne & Coutinho out my FPL last minute, though but good day – hahaha 🙂
On the Ings / Watkins debate.
Once Coutinho and Bailey are fully up to speed we’ll play with one or the other not both.
Frankly I think Gerrard’s playing both at the moment because he’s short on options and you play the best (most experienced) team you can.
And why woukd you play Ings over Watkins. Watch him – he’s too slow for the type of fast paced game Gerrard wants to play. I know I said we needed an old fashioned centre forward – which Ings is – but that was playing under Smith with Grealish holding up the ball and slowing the game down.
New era – Ings to be sold or go out on loan in the summer?
I think you’re right about the future selection; IMO every team should have more than one ‘formula’ for playing (otherwise the opposition will always know what to expect from you) and while I think we’ll be back to a lone striker (probably Watkins) most of the time when everyone is available, keeping Ings would do no harm for ‘Plan B’.
The only question in my mind is whether Ings would choose to stay beyond this summer if he knew that he was only going to start a few games each season as ‘Plan B’ ?
Get Brad Young back….old fashioned CF and quick and strong…..
As far as I’m aware he has been recalled from his loan VAD3 along with a number of other academy players who where part of the Youth Cup winning team. I assume Gerrard wants a close look at them.
I’m convinced Kessler-Hayden (recalled from Swindon after a number of stand out performances) will stay as back up to Cash.
Exciting times
Personally I’d like to see Guilbert back as back-up to Cash.
Still don’t understand why DS shipped him out on loan so quickly when I don’t remember him doing much wrong when he did play.
I think Gerrard summed it up well really. A shocker for the first 30 minutes with us getting back into the game before half time and starting the second half well before they scored their second against the run of play. The introduction of our substitutes made the difference and in the end it was disappointing we didn’t get the winner. My verdict of the players was:-
Martinez if you take away his rare blunder was excellent.
Cash for the first 30 minutes was getting roasted but improved as the game progressed. If only he could improve his passing and crossing!
Digne had a promising debut with glimpses of what he offers offensively but a rash foul and yellow card showed he might struggle defensively.
Konsa like all the team was not at it first half and hopefully will not be out for next game after suffering an injury.
Mings was his usual self. He should have taken out ball and Fred before their second goal then his great run led to our first goal.
Luiz has incredible energy but his wayward passing puts us in jeopardy too many times.
Ramsey was invisible for 30 minutes but one of our best players for the remaining 60.
Sanson was one of our better players in the first 30 minutes and I won’t criticise him too much for a poor back pass that Mings could have cleared. I also don’t mind his reaction after being substituted. He was angry with himself which shows passion.
Watkins had a quiet game by his standards but as always never stopped pressing.
Ings for me doesn’t suit our system. There’s no doubting he is a great finisher but he can’t press like Watkins. Too many times the game passes him by.
Buendia was the MOTM and continues to improve and presses well too. He has incredibly quick feet and an eye for a pass.
Hause came on and put in a great shift considering he lacked game time.
Coutinho couldn’t have hoped for a better start. Instrumental for the first goal and scoring the equaliser. Let’s hope there’s more to come.
Chukwuemeka didn’t get the credit he deserved for his part in changing the game. He must be close to getting a start. Good to hear Gerrard compliment his performance.
With McGinn back next game and hopefully with a Bissouma type player added, we will have the makings of a very good squad. I’m especially looking forward to seeing Coutinho, Buendia and Watkins getting a better understanding as they get more time on the pitch.
Exciting times hopefully. UTV!
Agree with most of that!
I rate Luiz, but he does have that very costly habit of trying to pass too quickly and giving the ball away far too often. His feet may be quicker than his brain.
Said last night that I thought Buendia was superb yesterday: all he needs is some end-product; I almost wish he was a bit more selfish at times and actually tried to score himself, instead of looking for an extra pass to someone else to do it. A confidence thing, perhaps>
Benitez sacked – hope that doesn’t back fire on us as it usually does!
If they just put Duncan Ferguson in charge then it may not make much difference. My concern would be seeing Rooney in their dug-out next week.
Whoever writes the confirmation notices at Everton has no grace whatsoever.
The Digne and Benitez statements are disgusting, imo.
No appreciation, no thanks, nothing.
You’d think they would have had enough practice over the last 6-7 years!
Indeed.
They’re in disarray, I’m afraid.
They remind me of where we were not so long back.
Yes, the tail-end of the Lerner era. And we all know how that ended.
Everton haven’t been out of the top division in what – 80 something years? – maybe they’re over-due a taste of the 2nd Division.
Ardent – Everton have never, ever been relegated!
But presumably they didn’t just arrive in the top division from nowhere?
They were founded in 1878 and original members of the football league in 1885. The games between Villa and Everton are the oldest (and most) in the top league.
Whatever one thinks never having been relegated is pretty impressive.
Hitch, I knew about the Villa – Everton history; it’s only our relegations that haven’t extended that history even further!
But I didn’t realise that they’d NEVER been out of the top division themselves!
No wonder they’re panicking…
Everton were relegated in 1930-31 for one season and 1950-51 for three seasons. Still impressive though. Typical that Benitez has been sacked before our game. Goodson Park will be a totally different atmosphere now 😕
Holte, I was thinking of the 1930’s when I said “80- years” – a vague memory of reading something along those lines long ago ; must admit that I wasn’t aware of them being in D2 in the 1950’s though!
Didn’t know that Holte. I always understood they were the only club not to have been relegated. Still you learn something new every day.
Perhaps ‘since the war’ was in small type like in insurance policies 🙂
Is it Arsenal that haven’t been relegated ?
Didn’t join unit 1893 and reached the first division in 1904. Relegated once in 1914.
They don’t count but, then, they never did 🙂
Arsenal have always been cheats and somehow got promoted to the first division in the first season after WW1 despite finishing 5th in the second division in the last season before WW1. It says on Wikipedia that it was highly controversial. Probably a few back handers I wonder. The most recent joke was their attempt to get into the Super league even though they were anything but Champions league standard. Have any of those clubs been penalised yet?
Right, I’m contacting Sue Grey, this needs investigation. I bet Villa holds the record for being in the 3 division and being relegated the most times. The times are changing ,I’ll give you 2 seasons and Villa will be on top of the Premiere league. With Villa signing youngsters from other academies things are looking good.
I’m reading Man utd after John Mcginn, Villa put a price of £40 million and not for sale.. some of their fans have laugh at the price tweeting too much. My answer get stuffed not for sale ..
Having paid £73m for Jadon Sancho 🙂
Burnley now asked for the Watford game to be postponed tomorrow night.
It seems madness to continue with the ‘winter break’ when there has been 22 games postponed so far. At least some of these could be played over that two week period.
When you think Villa and United met twice in two days in 1954 (might have been ‘55) when Villa last did the double and the players were paid no more than an ordinary man’s working wage without complaint. Now all we get is moaning and complaining from a load of overpaid prima donnas – probably can include a number of managers in that group!
I’ve noticed that few of the recent requests for postponements even mention anyone specifically self-isolating because of Covid.
They go on about the usual injuries, and apparently the ‘fit ‘players being over-tired from playing too many games since the start of December (covering for those who had Covid before); and all these clubs have a first-team squad of 25+ players, as well as their U23’s to choose from…
It seems that due to ‘privacy laws or patient confidentiality’ players with covid can’t be named unless they specifically agree to it.
What’s that saying about lunatics running the asylum 🙂
Surely it’s always been the case that you can’t talk about those sorts of health issues?
I think covid’s different to an isolated player being diagnosed with a serious illness.
If a player goes down with a cold, stomach bug, flu do they cloud it in secrecy?
What’s the issue here; there are plenty of sports people / politicians / celebrities being openly reported in the news as being positive? Do they all give their permission – I don’t think so.
We have Arteta calling off a game through covid and injuries and the next day sending a first team squad member out on loan.
It’s just symptomatic of a game which doesn’t treat fans all that well.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
Rant over 🙂
The rumour is that Digne is on £150k a week.
We’re now very close to playing with the big boys.