BFTG - Aston Villa (A)

[VOR]

No, what is happening is that a fluky last minute penalty has completely changed people’s view of the game. Win or lose or draw I look at it as a performance and I would have said by and large the exact same things had the game finished 1-0.

LUX and tidus did you even go?

Just from watching the highlights it looks like we could have won 3:1 - two guilt edge chances than we some how conspired to miss.

'Guilt' edged chances? Maybe because we didn't deserve the draw... Early days, I know, so the table can be a bit misleading but let's not forget 4 of the 5 teams we have played so far are currently in the top 6.

[CountryRoyal]

No, what is happening is that a fluky last minute penalty has completely changed people’s view of the game. Win or lose or draw I look at it as a performance and I would have said by and large the exact same things had the game finished 1-0.

LUX and tidus did you even go?

Just from watching the highlights it looks like we could have won 3:1 - two guilt edge chances than we some how conspired to miss.

'Guilt' edged chances? Maybe because we didn't deserve the draw... Early days, I know, so the table can be a bit misleading but let's not forget 4 of the 5 teams we have played so far are currently in the top 6.

Partly because they've played us.

[Denver Royal]

Just from watching the highlights it looks like we could have won 3:1 - two guilt edge chances than we some how conspired to miss.

'Guilt' edged chances? Maybe because we didn't deserve the draw... Early days, I know, so the table can be a bit misleading but let's not forget 4 of the 5 teams we have played so far are currently in the top 6.

Partly because they've played us.

Yep, early days, VOR. Prior to the Villa game the table showed we had only played one of the top 8 teams (Bolton)

[Woodcote Royal]

Great result, hope it turns a corner.

Dismayed, but not surprised, by the moaning on here.

Most expected us to be dominated by Villa and would take a point before the match, that very scenario happens and people moan.

I'm used to Reading fans by now.

Couldn't agree more

[Snowball]

and a definite proportion of posters thought we would lose at Blackburn AND Villa

[Snowball]

No, what is happening is that a fluky last minute penalty has completely changed people’s view of the game. Win or lose or draw I look at it as a performance and I would have said by and large the exact same things had the game finished 1-0.

LUX and tidus did you even go?

Just from watching the highlights it looks like we could have won 3:1 - two guilt edge chances than we some how conspired to miss.

'Guilt' edged chances? Maybe because we didn't deserve the draw... Early days, I know, so the table can be a bit misleading but let's not forget 4 of the 5 teams we have played so far are currently in the top 6.

and the other spent a fortune in the summer and is undefeated in the league

[10539.4 Miles Away]

Watched the game on ifollow and didn't feel that we had a good game and were very lucky to get the result we did. Having watched the extended highlights again we were unlucky not to get all 3 points. Our defending was very poor for their goal but we had the better chances. I guess I must have felt their possession and movement was better watching it live but that's all for nothing if you don't create chances. Feeling much better about the season now tbh.

[windermereROYAL]

One thing that seriously needs to be addressed is why we don`t appear to turn up after the break, it`s a common occurrence this season so far, Last 3 games we have conceded within 10 minutes of the restart and the general performances are down a notch from the first 45, we havent conceded a first half goal this season yet.

[CountryRoyal]

One thing that seriously needs to be addressed is why we don`t appear to turn up after the break, it`s a common occurrence this season so far, Last 3 games we have conceded within 10 minutes of the restart and the general performances are down a notch from the first 45, we havent conceded a first half goal this season yet.

We actually started the second half brightly, much better than we did the first.

The goal kind of came against the run of play and then our play fell apart.

[NewCorkSeth]

One thing that seriously needs to be addressed is why we don`t appear to turn up after the break, it`s a common occurrence this season so far, Last 3 games we have conceded within 10 minutes of the restart and the general performances are down a notch from the first 45, we havent conceded a first half goal this season yet.

Haven't we conceded 20 league goals just in second halves under Clement so far? Scoring 4 (I think) it's pretty clear we can't play 2 halves of football..

[Brum Royal]

Bel8d back from the game from me. I thought this was a significant upgrade on the performance at Villa Park from Clement's second(?) game in charge at the back end of last season. In that game we had zero attacking threat, tried to simply defend and got battered 4-0. On Saturday, we created some excellent opportunities, and based on clear cut opportunities (3 a piece by my reckoning) came out with a deserved point. First half performance was encouraging, showing signs that this team is beginning to gel and get to grips with how Clement wants them to play, second half (after the substitution of a poor Grealish) Villa stepped it up and looked the better side for large chunks, but in choosing to shoot early from the edge/outside of the box only served to up their shot count without actually really troubling Mannone. Slightly concerning was the massive pace advantage Villa had on us, especially when countering on us second half.

So the 3 decent chances by my count were:
Villa
Bundled back pass from Moore/Blackett (I forget which) in the opening 10 minutes
Hitting the bar
The goal
v
Reading
Nearly bundling in a corner
The outrageous keeper double save
The penalty

Mannone - solid, no chance with the goal, mopped up all the fairly tame shots, one minor spill but gathered quickly.

Yiadom - Poorest game for him so far, but up against good quality wingers from Villa.
Blackett - Ok for the most part, Aluko continues to leave him hugely over exposed though.
Moore/Illori - Looks a far more solid pairing than either alongside McShane. Marshalled Villa's forwards very well, Kodjia was anonymous.

Aluko - Not hugely effective going forwards, looks better this season than last though at least.
Barrow - Not 100% fit, right decision to come off at half time. Certainly not terrible, just not up to speed.
Meyler - I really liked the look of him against Derby, hopefully will look better when paired with a more regular central partner, the continual chopping and changing of centre mids is doing nobody any favours currently.
Bacuna - did a good job in the centre mid, kept play ticking over, won a few tackles.

Bod - lots of energy and worked hard, had a tough afternoon up against Chester and Jedinak, the high balls up to him generally were won more by the centre backs than him, but he won't come up against many taller centre back pairings I wouldn't have thought.
Baldock - still trying to build the understanding with Bod, but certainly that looks to be improving. Certainly enjoyed his goal and hopefully this will kick him on.

Meite - looks a completely new player to last two seasons and could be a real impact player.
Sims - linked quite well down the right with Yiadom towards the end.

Fans - generally pretty supportive throughout, need to stop with the "we've got the ball/we've lost the ball" nonsense now though, this isn't Stamball any more.

Overall, fairly confident that things are improving, and that the first win is not far away now. There are some very winnable games in September, and I think once we get our first on the board, we'll begin to put a run together and start looking up rather than down again.

[Maneki Neko]

As I don't go to many away games these days, I thought I would indulge myself in a BFTG post. Maybe my expectations are lower than most but I am surprised to see so much criticism of the performance. We've won, what, 3-4 games in 2018, are clearly in a rut and are playing probably one of the most difficult games of the season. Yet, if we deserved to lose, it was very marginal, we had the best chance of the game that wasn't taken, 9 corners, lots of free kicks in and around the box and for a couple of stages looked the dominant side.

For the first time in a year or so, I don't think we are far from turning the corner and putting together a decent run of results, we just need more confidence and self belief which a comfortable win would bring.

Mannone - Have some reservations but he's adequate

Yiadom - Looks a good buy, been solid albeit he had his first bad game yesterday
Moore - One of the best centre halves in the division
Ilori - Has looked confident this season, very comfortable on the ball
Blackett - Been excellent, shown great character to come back from some apocalyptic performances last season

Barrow, Aluko, Sims are decent wide options

Centre Mid is a bit of a concern as Kelly has gone backwards but Bacuna is a decent player if he gets his head together, Swift is class, jury out on Meylor

Up front, Bodvarsson is a bit limited but gives everything, Baldock has barely played any first team football for a year and Macnulty is coming up two divisions, they both show nice touches but it may take 10-15 games to be up to speed. Both seem to have a great attitude and desire though, I'm confident they will come good in time

Finally Meite - he is a different player from last year, winning most headers, bullying experienced defenders, he is a real handful. These players go for big money if they can produce it consistently. He is like a major new signing.

All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised and hope we will be climbing the table soon as players settle in and we build a bit of confidence. The club has been on a low for 14 months, it won't change overnight but I think the signs are finally looking better

Oh and "we've got the ball/we've lost the ball" that is just dreadful

100% agreed

to me there is finally some hope of being able to cast off the stink of last year. the signs are there, I just hope we can keep moving forwards.

[Nameless]

Brummroyal

I’m confused.
The bit about Aluko continuing to leave Blackett exposed.
Blackett is our left back, Aluko plays on the right wing ?
I’m sure it’s me missing a tactical switch ! Have we put Aluko on the left ?

[Zip]

Brum Royal. Good review. Just one thing though. James Chester is one of the smallest centre backs around at about 5 feet 10. Perhaps Bod should have done better in the air against him.

[Brum Royal]

Brummroyal

I’m confused.
The bit about Aluko continuing to leave Blackett exposed.
Blackett is our left back, Aluko plays on the right wing ?
I’m sure it’s me missing a tactical switch ! Have we put Aluko on the left ?

Aluko played for parts of the first half on the left wing in front of us. The two wingers seemed to be swapping sides for chunks of the first half.

[stealthpapes]

After the Blackburn game (watched, no sound), another away point should be welcomed. While there were ropey moments and spells, the last spell from Baldock's miss to the penalty had enough guts in it, and the basics done right, to suggest that maybe we'll be mediocre and avoid a relegation fight.

But let's be honest. The difference in pace between us and Villa is telling. We're good for a clusterlol most games. Our strikers are the embodiment of effort over skill.

On a more trivial point, and one that may be as fleeting as sunshine in September, it felt that the corner had been turned in terms of the fans-players relations. The new players who were instrumental for the goal came over to celebrate with the fans, and Baldock, in particular, LOVED it. I'm resigned to average this season, so can we at least pretend we care and have moments where we briefly piss off the 'bigger' clubs. The glory will come from these sparse shoots.

Good to see Schards, and a nice chat with the guy in front. Vila park is a grand old stadium. Good day out.

[BonBoh]

Brummroyal

I’m confused.
The bit about Aluko continuing to leave Blackett exposed.
Blackett is our left back, Aluko plays on the right wing ?
I’m sure it’s me missing a tactical switch ! Have we put Aluko on the left ?

Aluko played for parts of the first half on the left wing in front of us. The two wingers seemed to be swapping sides for chunks of the first half.

haha, I think you meant to say that Aluko wandered in-field so much that he drifted over to the left wing, leaving his opposite winger no choice but to switch to the right...