Man City are a very good team, regardless of who they put out on the pitch.
That’s the bleeding obvious out of the way and I suppose we should expect another spanking, similar to what should have happened against Leicester.
Fortunately, I called that game totally wrong, I suspect along with the vast majority of us and football did what it always has done, in saying no result is guaranteed.
Which is the total beauty of the game that sets it apart for me.
So while it would be fair to say we should be beaten fairly easily, I think if we set up right we can frustrate Citeh, just as we did Leicester.
Straight into squad news and little has changed.
Davis is still a couple of weeks away and all our long term injuries are just that; out for ages.
The interesting one is Jonathan Kodjia, who apparently hasn’t trained because of whatever illness (probably manflu) affected him on Wednesday.
I personally think that’s total rubbish and my money says he’s off, which is a massive indication of what Dean Smith thinks of him. Even if Smith doesn’t rate him, it says it all that he’d rather play without a striker than play Kodjia, particularly in our current position.
I suppose of course that Kodjia might genuinely be ill and there is a lot of it about, where I’ve personally seen very hardened grafters taking time off over the last couple of weeks.
As some of you know, I love a conspiracy theory and it just seems all too convenient to be ill right now.
As for Citeh, Kevin De Bruyne is fit after coming off against Utd midweek.
Aymeric Laporte is close, but not ready, same as Leroy Sane.
Will Drinkwater start?
I’d definitely think so as he has the ability to offer more than Hourihane and certainly Lansbury, in his overall game.
What does Pep think?
“It’s a historic club with a fantastic stadium. They changed their set-up, with five at the back rather than four at the back.
“Unfortunately, they had a big injury in the last week. We’ll try to maintain the dynamic we have.”
Not much about the game itself, then.
But the five at the back comment pleased me, as it backs up what I keep saying, in that we don’t play 3.
No doubt I’m just being pedantic, as we all saw how we played midweek, but it just bugs me.
And if we stick with the five, I suspect we might be able to get something out of the game.
Going gung-ho is definitely not the way to go, against a side like Man City, who will punish you on the counter.
I’m cautiously going for a 1-1.
Given that this should be a shoe-in on paper for Citeh, I’d definitely take that.
If we can nick one and hold them off, I’d be ecstatic.
But I think that’s pushing it.
UTV!
And that’s 6.
What chance have we got when we give the ball away like that?
I really despair.
When you play teams like Citeh, you need all your players to be 8 out of 10. Today, I wouldn’t give any of them above 3/10.
Holte I share your enthusiasm,we are shite, we are shite, Ole ole ole,
Lansbury has managed a tackle so he is one up on Drinkwater.
Trezeguet also done more in 10 minutes than Hourihane
6-1 after Trez gets a blatent pen.
El Ghazi nets.
I thought the comeback was on but forgot it was the 90th minute. Still last goal the winner? Anyone?
Awful embarrassing performance regardless of how good City are. Dean and the players out of their depth and the confidence will be rock bottom again.
The one positive is that surely we have to act now in the transfer market – having said that if Drinkwater is Smith and the board’s idea of a solution we are already down.
For all the talk about Purslow and the new owners / board being a step in the right direction, the failure to have addressed the striking solution in the first half of the window is an absolute disgrace.
We need to be working on new signings tonight!!
Unrealistic expectations and I’ll keep saying it.
We got promoted a year too soon
We came up with an old, over paid squad that needed completely rebuilding
Smith has been dealt a shit hand with injuries – I defy any side in the EPL to NOT be affected by losing three key players to long term injuries.
Through injuries and ‘illness’ we have no striker.
We are trying to deal in the January transfer market where other teams with more pulling power are doing the same.
We don’t have unlimited funds and therefore loans are inevitable
We are desperately trying to add experience – this is the one area where the strategy of our owners in the summer can be questioned.
Smith can’t be on the pitch – have the players let him down today?
I’d say that, realistically, we aren’t doing too bad. We’re not out of touch and IF we can strengthen in key areas then all is not lost.
Yes, we’re going to have shit days against the best days but it’s about trying not to beat the teams around us not winning one off games against the top six and losing all the rest.
Sacking Smith achieves what exactly?
Sad but not downhearted.
Sad but not defeatist.
Now is the time for all fans to get behind, the team, the manager and the club.
UTV
*shit days against the best teams but it’s about trying to beat the teams around us – apologies for the cr*p typing skills 🙂
Not sure i agree with you there Hitchens, shocker i know.
We can all bemoan the injuries but the players on the pitch today should have not only put up more of a fight, but at the very least, played to some sort of tactics or game plan, i couldn’t for the life of me work out what it was we were actually trying to do.
If you want to see an example of how a team with an inferior bunch of players can beat City, then look at Norwich and how they did it.
That was as worse a performance than i can remember, it was truly embarrassing, and the buck stops with Smith on this, he’s looking way out of his depth.
As for trying to beat the teams around us, well we were absolutely humiliated by both Southampton and Watford, so it’s pretty clear we aren’t capable of that, unless there is a minor miracle, we are going down.
Southampton and Watford were in a false position as subsequent results have shown, Southampton having just beaten Leicester 2-1 at home.
We may go down but we’re not down yet.
Smith mayvbe out of his depth or he may be trying to find a way to deal with the squad problems we have. Frankly, he’s damned if he does and he’s damned if he doesn’t.
I turned the game off after Mahrez first goal as it was starkly evident that we weren’t a match for City so I can’t comment on individual performances but from comments on here it seems that many of the players played poorly.
I may be in a minority of one but I don’t think sacking Smith at this point will achieve anything. We sacked several managers in 2016 – fat lot of good that did us!
Leicester are either on a very bad run or have now been found out, i do not necessarily agree with the ‘false position’ narrative, we almost beat them the other night.
But at least they can string a pass together, had you have actually watched the full game you would have seen just how shambolic that was, tactically awful, if you could call it tactics, and although we have sacked several managers since 2016 we are at the point of stick or twist i think, i just can’t see how it’s going to get any better.
Guest same here , how was he trying to play this game, it don’t make sense, if we had a striker that wouldn’t have made any different. The goalkeeper kicking balls to nobody, our players standing still watching balls going bact and sides not challenging. Not one could work out where to close gaps. All in all bad bad understandings from our players.today we needed Mcginn who runs his socks off .we had only one player trying that was Jack.
Bill that was truly shocking mate, we played better at their place earlier in the season, this looked like a team resigned to relegation, and all off the back of two really good results against Burnley and Leicester, something is not right, City didn’t even play particularly well.
I had such high hopes for this season but we ruined it before it even began with bad business in the transfer market and then continued it with no real identity or tactical nouse, I can’t see anything but relegation again which is really sad.
Smith has many shortcomings and I do feel he is far out of his depth, however right now I’m more concerned about the board and Suso. The summer signings from our so called sporting director haven’t been good enough… Nakamba is a trainwreck, Luiz error ridden, where was the backup option to Wesley?
I just dont trust Suso or the board to rectify it… we need 2 strikers and a winger desperately who are ready to hit the ground running. That is a tall order to say the least and with a man who has had a poor record so far of signings I fear the worst.
Southampton’s good run was kick started by the hammering at home to Leicester!
I hope after that dire performance hard decisions are made and home truths are said. The least the fans should expect is 100% effort. When the first goal went in, heads began to drop which is totally unacceptable. Tough shit if it looks like you’re in for a bad day but at least roll your sleeves up and fight for the shirt.
Too many poor players were signed in the summer and when we were linked with Drinkwater, I thought it was a joke started by the bluenoses but today seems like the jokes on us. Someone who has played once in two years! I’m sorry but we can’t afford to take risks in bringing him up to speed. Numerous managers haven’t played him. Possibly because he isn’t good enough. He couldn’t get ahead of Westwood at Burnley for f**ks sake! At Leicester it was probably Kante that made him look better than he was.
I’m sick of signing shit past it players. Will our club never learn. As much as I liked Benteke, I hope we don’t sign him. He doesn’t make the Palace team because he’s not good enough, so let’s not take the risk. I don’t know whether it’s because of FFP but I feel we haven’t got the clout that maybe we think we have. Players like Lansbury are on too high a wage to move on, so we need to sign players who won’t have an affect on the club come relegation to the championship.
And there I said it! I think we are going down alongside Norwich and either Bournemouth or Burnley.
I don’t think there is any point in getting rid of Smith halfway through the transfer window. I’m almost resigned to stability, continuity and galvanise for a promotion push with someone who is experienced in the championship. If we do stay up then I will call it an amazing surprise. 🤐
We have had some bad luck with injuries but we have failed to deal with this, where other teams have had to contend with the same and still competed. i really don’t believe the players are as bad as some are saying. When you think that maybe look at the players who have left and performed well in other/better teams.
I mentioned Watford before. They were looking like we do at the moment until pearson was brought in. Within two games they were organised, fighting for every ball and second ball. Ultimately, a team will be what the manager and coaches make of them. I don’t think the set up at villa will deliver the best that this group of players is capable of.
The striker problems could be spotted a mile off. Kodjia was disillusioned and uninterested. That must have been apparent to the management team at the beginning of the season. Davis hasn’t been fit enough, or proven his ability at this level. Wesley was totally untested at this level, It was apparent to everyone that we were going into this season woefully short in one of the most important areas. Sorting it this window will be difficult, but it will prove to be the difference between staying up and relegation. A decent striker will keep us in this division, probably even under the current manager. Benitez and a decent striker it’s nailed on.
It’s an absolutely crucial point, with rich owners who have the power to sort this. i will be shocked if we don’t address the striker situation properly (not just some journeyman, past it player not getting game time at his current club). If we don’t do that and continue on current management we are destined for the Championship. I know it, you all know it and I think everyone at the club looks like they know it too. I actually think we will stay up because I think we will deal with it this month.
As for Drinkwater, he will probably be OK once match fit and with 2 or 3 additions to the team.
If there is one thing I have noticed about this forum since I started looking at it a couple of years ago,it’s the ‘knee-jerk’ reaction of many to “sack the manager” as soon as things start turning sour. This will achieve what exactly ?
Whilst I think that Smith and his coaching staff are struggling to come to grips with the higher level of football that none of them are used to,including Terry as coching is totally diffdrent to playing, what disappoints me the most is that we are seriously lacking in two main things that only really the players have total control over. First,and most importantly, putting in 100% for a full 90 minutes. Man City chased everything down, supported each other,rescued lost causes from the word ‘go’. You only have to look at Mahrez’s second goal where Elmohamady foolishly tries to run the ball out and Aguero keeps it alive,Drinkwater dawdles and it’s 2-0. When they break,City have several players ‘busting a gut’ to get forward.We had one occasion when the ball broke to El Ghazi in the middle and there was nobody in claret and blue anyshere near him.
I know the game was already lost at this stage but this was the case all game.No effort,no fight. Secondly, we are surely the team that has given the ball away more than anyone else.Douglas Luiz and Nakamba are the worst culprits for that. Surely Smith and his staff can see this so what the hell are they doing about it ?
Here’s a thought. How about the whole Villa team against Man.City donating their entire wages for the week to charity,Acorns Hospice for example.
Surely none of them think they have earned it.