villa v nantes

30 minutes gone - depressingly familar

I hope those who rate veretout are watching...barley touched the ball - anonymous..

Bloody hell that was utter crap!

Yeah it was boring tbh but from an analytical point of view you can kind of see what RDM is trying to do.

1. The lads are passing the ball out from the back and are looking to keep possession.

2. They press the ball high up and also when defending get in two banks of four

3. Defensively they've look Ok thus far

What is extremely obvious though is there was no bite in the attack. Gestede i isolated, Bacuna is garbage on the right and no-one is making late runs into the box from midfield. Westwood again was the invisible man, Veretout has been mainly missing but did come into the game late on in the half while for me Gana has been the pick of the midfield.

Hope to see some attacking changes now and hopefully we'll test Nantes much more.

The worry for me is that nothing has changed but perhaps that is because it is the same players.

That midfield does not work, full stop!

We can't waste Ayew on the wing.

If we're able to play it on the ground and keep it then he has to be the main striker.
If we can't and have to clear it long a lot then he needs to play alongside a Kozak/Rudy/(Benteke

All in all I'd say it was poor and encouraging in different ways. We have to remember that 90% is made up of the same individuals who embarrassed us last season. So should we really be expecting wonders from them? Yet What I saw was a team at least trying to adopt their own style by playing football on the floor, getting down the wings and sometimes also playing on the break whilst being defensively very solid...so they mixed it up at different times of the game.

Some ratings

Gollini= I know it's early days but I must say the lad looks the part. Made a very decent stop with his leg early on, comes for crosses confidently, passes the ball out from the back nicely and is a very good kicker too. Have high hopes for the lad.

Hutton= Got up and down ok but still lacks quality in the oppositions half. Defensively he done alright I guess.

Cissokho= Was the better of the two full-back imo and got up and down very well. If we have both him and Amavi competing for that left-back spot come the start of the season we should be happy.

Elphick= He organises the defence well and makes some very good blocks and interceptions but with us passing the ball out from the back now he did lose it in some dangerous areas so I hope he cuts that out by the time the season starts.

Baker= Very solid and you can see he's grown a little from his spell at Bristol. The key now is seeing if he can be consistent through a number of games and not revert back to being a chuckle brother like Clark.

Gana= Same old Idressa. Put himself about, got up and down and provided a lot of energy in the middle of the park. Made a lot of interceptions as usual too.

Westwood= Not impressive tbh. He does do the odd decent pass but the game passed him by from what I saw.

Veretout= For me he was always on the edge of the game. He'd make the odd good pass here and there but nothing to get you off your seat. Just before half-time he was in a great position but his cross to Gestede wasn't good enough...I'm just waiting to see the Veretout who got seven goals in a season and six assists!!..whether that happens remains to be seen.

Bacuna= Had a lot of energy and made a few good runs. Also helped out Hutton defensively but he's not good enough going forward and that was extremely evident in the first half.

Ayew= Was always in the game and worked his socks off. Had one shot over the bar in the first half and one great run down the left when he took on two or three players. Needs more support though and more creativity around him.

Gestede= He was isolated for large spells, especially in the first half. Second half he started winning the ball in the air more and getting more involved. Took his goal well.

Subs:

Grealish= Showed flashes of his class and showed intelligence by slowing the game down and winning fouls at the end. Got very frustrated by the ref though as he was getting kicked a fair few times. Want to see him start pulling the strings more in the next few friendlies though.

Tishbola= Like keeper I think this lad is a gooden. Lost the ball in the first minute he was on the pitch but grow into it as the minutes passed by and he's a real presence in the middle of the park. Big, strong, quick, can pass and tackle etc!!..think he'll be key for us this season.

Green= I think he was very impressive. Still raw and makes the odd mistake but he was causing their left-back a fair few problems and also made intelligent runs across their backline.

Bennett= Wasn't on for very long

In closing we have to remember that the likes there were a few players who would command a first team birth missing today and with the prospect of us signing more players I'd say all in all it was encouraging to see us so solid and take our chance when we had it.

It's worrying that we are only 2 weeks away from the season and we haven't bought a single attacking player. Ayew is the only one worth his salt, and he plays left mid whi h is worrying. RDM likes 4231 so Ayew will be stuck out there a lot

We still need 4/5 players and that's even with Amavi, Ayew and Gana staying

Right back, couple of strikers and a couple of wingers needed. Fast ones, we have no pace

We need to change up the squad quite badly. It's not that Westwood, Hutton, etc. are bad players, but it doesn't seem we have players with chemistry. At least this is RDM's job to sort out and not really a matter of lacking investment

I'm hoping the manager watched last season's games, had replacements identified and lined up but has given the team he inherited a chance to get fit and change their attitude and is now assessing them with a very critical eye with a view to giving them.the nod or getting them replaced in the next 7-10 days.

I think we have a half decent starting XI (I wouldn't say they're league winners though) but there's no depth in quality at all.

It seems clear to me that Lescott and Richards need replacing, Veretout is off the boil so needs to go, Bacuna can fuck off and we need a prolific striker.

If we start the season with what we have now, 2 injuries will end us. So less hope the Nantes game was a last chance saloon for a lot of those players.

Well if RDM wants to keep playing 4231 then we really need a main striker, RB, holding DM.

Hutton isn't premier league quality but IMO he'll easily be good enough at this level. His back up though needs to be fucked off sharpish

Oh Hutton is ok for this level. I just want better

Trotters wrote:Hutton isn't premier league quality but IMO he'll easily be good enough at this level. His back up though needs to be fucked off sharpish

dont know if you talking about richards or bacuna

Looked like the same old inept & clueless team going forwards. A bit more grit defensively but where oh where is any creativity?!

Joppe84 wrote:Well if RDM wants to keep playing 4231 then we really need a main striker, RB,  holding DM.

Holding DM? Haven't we already got Gana and Tish?

Also Trotter I wouldn't judge Veretout too harshly in pre-season tbh...He put in some quality performances last season and with a run of games in the championship I'm sure he could grow into a quality player.

Frustratingly familiar but can't really make a judgement until the transfer window eventually closes at the end of August.

Clearly we are not going to be ready by the start of the season but hopefully we can catch up gradually and be somewhere near the top six come March/April.

AstonThriller wrote:

Joppe84 wrote:Well if RDM wants to keep playing 4231 then we really need a main striker, RB,  holding DM.

Holding DM? Haven't we already got Gana and Tish?

Also Trotter I wouldn't judge Veretout too harshly in pre-season tbh...He put in some quality performances last season and with a run of games in the championship I'm sure he could grow into a quality player.

We all see things differently, but I see both of those as box2box players. Gana might be a decent ballwinner, but his play style is way too aggressive to be holding/anchor. Personally I see Gana/Tsibola/Gardner fighting for the same spot. We need someone else to be the anchor. Might be why we're linked with Bridgecutt

I really hope we can keep and use Green this season.

I definitely think Gana is a holding midfielder, as he has boundless energy, tackles well and keeps it simple but he can't shoot for love or money so I wouldn't want him forward too much!

Impressed with Green's cameo yesterday as he seemed prepared to take players on and did his defensive duties well.
Grealish livened things up, not all in a good way, and if he plays like that in the championship he will get a few red cards! Just cut out the dramatics and concentrate on your football, it really is simple!
Thought that Gestede, if provided with the right service in the box will score goals but was totally isolated in the first half and if we play that way (heaven forbid) we definitely need a more mobile striker.

Poor game but I feel more positive with our defending and work rate. I would like to see more creativity and more of a goal threat and please work on the passing part of our game some real poor touches which gave away the ball, we have taken a step forward but need to take a few more…

AstonThriller wrote:

Joppe84 wrote:Well if RDM wants to keep playing 4231 then we really need a main striker, RB,  holding DM.

Holding DM? Haven't we already got Gana and Tish?

Also Trotter I wouldn't judge Veretout too harshly in pre-season tbh...He put in some quality performances last season and with a run of games in the championship I'm sure he could grow into a quality player.

I was a big fan of Veretout who has seemed to develop the opposite way to what players from the continent tend to do; he started off well and has degenerated in quality since.

Maybe he's contracted don'tgiveashititis and if that's the case it's time to go.

Joppe84 wrote:

AstonThriller wrote:

Joppe84 wrote:Well if RDM wants to keep playing 4231 then we really need a main striker, RB,  holding DM.

Holding DM? Haven't we already got Gana and Tish?

Also Trotter I wouldn't judge Veretout too harshly in pre-season tbh...He put in some quality performances last season and with a run of games in the championship I'm sure he could grow into a quality player.

We all see things differently, but I see both of those as box2box players. Gana might be a decent ballwinner, but his play style is way too aggressive to be holding/anchor. Personally I see Gana/Tsibola/Gardner fighting for the same spot. We need someone else to be the anchor. Might be why we're linked with Bridgecutt

Yeah I have to say I disagree, Tishbola and Gana both started off as pure defensive midfielders and then evolved into being more progressive going forward. The days of having a "Makalele" type who rarely contributes anything in the final third are over imo. We need people in midfield who can both defend and set-up/score the odd goal otherwise the same problems with scoring will occur. Any two of Gardner, Tish or Gana should be more than enough to protect the back four.

Trotters wrote:

I was a big fan of Veretout who has seemed to develop the opposite way to what players from the continent tend to do; he started off well and has degenerated in quality since.

Maybe he's contracted don'tgiveashititis and if that's the case it's time to go.

He may end up going back to France on loan but if he doesn't it certainly wouldn't surprise me if he has a big season with us.

AstonThriller wrote:

Joppe84 wrote:

AstonThriller wrote:

Joppe84 wrote:Well if RDM wants to keep playing 4231 then we really need a main striker, RB,  holding DM.

Holding DM? Haven't we already got Gana and Tish?

Also Trotter I wouldn't judge Veretout too harshly in pre-season tbh...He put in some quality performances last season and with a run of games in the championship I'm sure he could grow into a quality player.

We all see things differently, but I see both of those as box2box players. Gana might be a decent ballwinner, but his play style is way too aggressive to be holding/anchor. Personally I see Gana/Tsibola/Gardner fighting for the same spot. We need someone else to be the anchor. Might be why we're linked with Bridgecutt

The days of having a "Makalele" type who rarely contributes anything in the final third are over imo.

Just no. Firstly with a 4231 tactic you need an anchor for balance. Secondly just look at Leicester with Drinkwater and Kante. Kante was everything.