Re: Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest match thread

[Wriggle]

I hope Jedi is back soon as Whelan was awful today

[DelboyVilla]

Another win. Brilliant!

Not so great was the performance over 90 minutes? First half we were comfortable but that was because Forest were so bad! Passing sideways and backwards Forest looked like us with Westwood in the team? Murphy had 9 touches in the first 45 minutes!

Then Forest came out and passed positively and scored, Murphy was getting on the end of every ball into the box even when it was him v 5 of our players. They pushed nearly went in the lead and then a moment of brilliance from Hourihane!

The stats Sky showed is that we concede most of our goals in the 45-60 minutes period right after half time. What does Bruce do? Put valium in the half time sports drinks?

Still a very poor performance but a win!

[VillaBill]

Almost every championship team I've seen at Villa Park (except Villa) are neat & tidy, keep the ball well, but a lot of them lack any quality up top.
Possession doesn't win games, quality does, and we are beginning to show some individual quality that is getting us results.
Kodja is obviously not fit yet , Snodgrass the same, we should get better.

[AstonThriller]

Alright lads!!..well I think that was what you'd call a "scrappy win", wasn't it? I just think that we need to be a little more patient when it comes to the overall performances guys. Yes, with the quality we have we should expect to see much better football. BUT, we also have to acknowledge that some players are still finding their feet in the team, whilst also are searching to find full fitness. All this whilst playing in a totally new system over the last two games. So with that in mind these are three crucial points in a time when we have not hit our full stride yet all at.

Johnstone= As calm as ever. Never really had a chance with their goal as it was a class finish.

Elmo= Done alright. They attacked often down his side but he kept his head and made some decent tackles every now and then. Also got forward when he could.

Terry= Thought he was class again. Him and Chester look like they could be a revelation for us, they really do. Don't blame him for the goal tbh.

Chester= Perhaps the better of the two centre-backs? Some of his blocks and interceptions were first class. Maybe he could have brought Murphy down before he scrambled through to score?

Taylor= Again he was as steady as ever. Noticed that he's starting to get forward more and more now. Never really had much drama down his side of the pitch which is a good sign.

Adomah= Getting better and better is Albert. Took his goal brilliantly and he was a big threat down that left-hand side in the first half. Again the left-wing is a position he's played in for a year so hopefully, he'll only get better as the games go on. Four goals this term is a great return thus far.

Whelan= He was patchy for me. Does the simple things very well and gets some very good interceptions and blocks in. But then he has a habit of losing control for a spell and just making terrible errors. One could argue he was at fault for the goal but in all honesty, if he'd kicked the ball a little harder that probably rolls into Johnstone's arms. I'm willing to give him time as we all saw with Jedi that things can change when a lad gets comfortable. But I'd say out of all of the side Glenn position is the most uncertain right now.

Hourihane= do do dodo dodo!!..CONER HOURIHANE!!!..what a strike from Conor. He's really stepping up this season and that goal could be huge for us. We've needed a midfielder who could score goals for so long, so it's an absolute blessing that Hourihane may just be the man. Five goals already so just keep it up son. Also how long ago was it that we'd scored from a free-kick before this? Benteke vs QPR maybe?

Snodgrass= Was hit and miss tbh. But you can tell he has class and I think the more he plays the bigger his influence will be. I honestly think by the end of this season his contribution will be massive. You can tell he's already gelled with the lads and having not played for a while at West Ham I hope by the time we play Wolves he will be right up for it.

Davis= Once again his hold up play was immense. Ran the channels well and created the odd chance. Tired towards the end but he can be proud of his effort here.

Kodjia= Well what can you say? When he's on the ball you can see that his talent belongs in the premiership. The skill he has to create space and go past players is just stunning at times. And it was him who pretty much created both of the goals from his individual brilliance. What is interesting is he's dropped deep in the last two games and caused all sorts of problems but running at the opposition defence. Whereas last season he was more running into the channels and playing off the last man. Can't wait to see him score again.

Onomah= Wasn't the best was he? Poor lad was all over the place but he's young so I'll let him off. Hope he can get his head down and challenge for that spot next to Hourihane.

Hogan= Done ok. I dunno why but I just get the feeling he's gonna score a scrappy goal soon and it could be a massive moment for both him and our season. Because in a 442 system I just think he could flourish in time.

Hutton= Done alright

All in all, it was a scrappy win that every side challenging at the top of the league will need over the course of the season. Brighton last season nicked late win after late win in their promotion charge. Another positive we can take from this is our reaction when we concede a goal. Last season we often fell to pieces, this year against Norwich, Bristol and Forest we've responded almost immediately. So that really does bode well moving forward. Yes, we're not exactly playing like Brazil, but you don't have to in this league, do you? It's all about those three points lads, and that's what we got here. Seeing out the last half-an-hour is also another positive.

[Guest]

Two things bothers me.

1) How much confidence means to this team.

Before 1-0 we looked awful. We couldn't keep possession, we fell to shit everytime we went into their half. We had heads down. Looked cluleless in general. Then we got a goal and suddenly we were a completely different side. And while confidence is nothing new in sports, I'm bothered by the fact that if the players look like this before they get a goal, I can't for my life understand what the coaches are telling them. It's like we have no plan.

2) How deep we are playing. We are constantly even at Villa Park giving the other teams time on the ball IN OUR OWN HALF. There's no pressure. No aggression. It helped slightly after 1-0, but we still had 10 men behind the ball inviting them on.
This is 100% on Bruce's tactics and why we will never win this league with him in charge. We are not trying to be a top team. We are just trying to avoid losing.

[Trotters]

I signed up to AVTV in order to be able to view the entire game. But as it wasn't starting until 2:30am my time, I figured the kids and I will watch over brekkie.

No such luck. The full match (or even highlights) wasn't on offer. So we wait and watch; 9am..10am..midday...2pm...

It's now 7pm and I'm guessing it won't be available until someone crawls into work on Monday.

The app doesn't even seem like it has the ability to cast to a tv, for fuck's sake!

That's piss poor. AVTV is catering to people who can't get to the game either due to cost, other commitments or geography but who really want to see the match and are willing to pay.

In 1985 it was quite hard to get the scores. In 2017 it's fucking near impossible to avoid finding out (especially when the video eventually appears will have the score highlighted). So the "Almost like being there" excitement factor is now zero.

Whoever is running the official site and AVTV needs taking out, shooting, dragged back to their desk where CPR is administered, shown again what shit work they do, then taken out the back to be shot again.

Useless. I paid for a month but I won't be renewing. And I cannot imagine I'm the only person in this boat. It's like Lerner never left.

[Guest]

You could send some feedback on email though Trott.

[Trotters]

You know, I probably will. Probably need to remove any reference to fucks and shootings.

[DelboyVilla]

@Trotters all I will say is be careful what you wish/pay for!

[achilles]

Well that was interesting yesterday.

Firstly the positives:

Another 3 points
Kodjia getting fitter, up to about 70% now I reckon and his presence makes such a difference.
Snodgrass getting fitter, up to about 85% now I reckon.
Davis again showing how useful he could be if we actually played to his strengths with his hold-up play.
Hourihane showing that he has now settled into the side and will be an important player for us this season.
Adomah has been a revelation since getting back into the side.
Terry, class personified (except for the goal but on the whole I blame Whelan for that as Whelan just got in the way).
Winning on Sky again.
Lovely day out.

Now the negatives;

Why don’t we impose ourselves on the opposition, we had by far the best individual players but we huffed and puffed ourselves to a win brought about by a couple of brilliant individual moments with unsurprisingly Kodjia involved in both?
Have absolutely no tempo in our game?
Have wingers with nobody apart from Davis in the box to cross too?
It is obvious that we are going to be set up defensively and allow the opposition to control the game and possession; this won’t work against the better sides.
Forest are a very average side, pleasing on the eye with absolutely no cutting edge, it would have been a travesty if we hadn’t beaten them but it could easily have happened.
Forest’s goal, terrible between Terry, Whelan and Chester, with nobody taking control of the situation and just clearing the danger.
Whelan, good first half, appalling second half.
Onomah, oh dear that is the worst I have seen him play, gave the ball away constantly, don’t think he had a clue of where to play. I would play him instead of Whelan but it isn’t going to happen.


We are more than capable of winning the next two games, but we have to go out with the right positive attitude of doing just that!

[VillaBill]

Whelan was a little sloppy yesterday but their goal was bad luck, that's his job , to get his foot in.
I can't understand all the Whelan negativity, he is a better player than I thought?
By riverting to 442 we are always going to concede possession but I'd rather play with two up top any day of the week.

[achilles]

We didn't really play with two up top as Kodjia drops off and plays behind Davis, so we don't have anybody except Adomah (who is basically a winger) who is going to get beyond Davis or even up with him!

[Wookster]

are we losing the toss now? the last 2 games on Sky we have attacked the Holte 1st half not second as we traditionally do

[achilles]

are we losing the toss now? the last 2 games on Sky we have attacked the Holte 1st half not second as we traditionally do

We definitely did on Saturday, perhaps it is a lucky omen?

[LVBrit]

I signed up to AVTV in order to be able to view the entire game. But as it wasn't starting until 2:30am my time, I figured the kids and I will watch over brekkie.

No such luck. The full match (or even highlights) wasn't on offer. So we wait and watch; 9am..10am..midday...2pm...

It's now 7pm and I'm guessing it won't be available until someone crawls into work on Monday.

The app doesn't even seem like it has the ability to cast to a tv, for fuck's sake!

That's piss poor. AVTV is catering to people who can't get to the game either due to cost, other commitments or geography but who really want to see the match and are willing to pay.

In 1985 it was quite hard to get the scores. In 2017 it's fucking near impossible to avoid finding out (especially when the video eventually appears will have the score highlighted). So the "Almost like being there" excitement factor is now zero.

Whoever is running the official site and AVTV needs taking out, shooting, dragged back to their desk where CPR is administered, shown again what shit work they do, then taken out the back to be shot again.

Useless. I paid for a month but I won't be renewing. And I cannot imagine I'm the only person in this boat. It's like Lerner never left.

You can cast to tv via google chromecast if that helps.

[Trotters]

I will do that. But you have to mirror the screen rather than properly casting it.

The game still isn't on.

[LVBrit]

I will do that. But you have to mirror the screen rather than properly casting it.

The game still isn't on.

I usually pull it up on the pc and and use cast desktop to the tv has been working fine. if you need anymore info just let me know.

[Wriggle]

Glad you posted about AVTV Trotters as i was thinking of getting it myself to watch the catch up on a sunday morning as the middle of the night games don't always work with a young family. Don't think i'll bother now if there is no replays and i'll stick to watching what i can on my firestick.

in regards to Whelan, he was the only one to blame for their goal IMO, he tried to tackle with his right foot, when he should have used his left, missed the ball and it hit his left leg and placed it perfectly through to their man to score.

[Trotters]

I will do that. But you have to mirror the screen rather than properly casting it.

The game still isn't on.

I usually pull it up on the pc and and use cast desktop to the tv has been working fine. if you need anymore info just let me know.

Cheers LV. My surround sound amp of 20 years blew it's digital inputs a few weeks back so I've had to totally rewire everything to cater to analogue inputs. FML. Casting is still working though via the chromecast dongle.

[Trotters]

Glad you posted about AVTV Trotters as i was thinking of getting it myself to watch the catch up on a sunday morning as the middle of the night games don't always work with a young family. Don't think i'll bother now if there is no replays and i'll stick to watching what i can on my firestick.

I can't imagine that fixing this would require a quantum leap in either technology or thought. They really should be simple fixes. If Game Of Thrones is available twenty minutes after the show has been broadcast, surely rebroadcasting your own football stream within 24hrs should be a piece of piss??

[De Kuip]

Hi Trotters, I still haven't got round to replying to Luke Organ at VP about some things we were discussing via LinkedIn about commercial stuff at VP. If you like I'll cut and paste the non sweary parts of your post and include it in my final response to him.

[Guest]

Saw a statistic while watching the match and apparantly 60% of the goals we let in come around the 10-15 minute mark in the second half. Might not mean a whole lot, but interesting nonetheless.

[Trotters]

Hi Trotters, I still haven't got round to replying to Luke Organ at VP about some things we were discussing via LinkedIn about commercial stuff at VP. If you like I'll cut and paste the non sweary parts of your post and include it in my final response to him.

Yes please, mate! A notification was pushed to my phone a couple of hours ago to say the match was now available...along with the score! So even if I had managed to avoid finding out the result, that would have ruined it.

For games that KO at 3pm, I'll probably try and stay awake to watch live. Anything later than that and there's no chance. It'd be nice to have the full match re-run available within a few hours without the score being added to the title.

Cheers!

[DelboyVilla]

Saw a statistic while watching the match and apparantly 60% of the goals we let in come around the 10-15 minute mark in the second half. Might not mean a whole lot, but interesting nonetheless.

That is correct @Joppe84 we have conceded 10 goals so far this season 6 of which have been in the 45-60 minutes time slot straight after half time? Maybe it's the lard butties and 2 woodbines Potato Head suggested they all consume during the break?

[Fpuppys]

@Trotters I don't think the game was available on AVTV as it was live on Sky, try out the Burton game tomorrow night.

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