What was that performance all about?
We can speak of defensive errors, but for me, the main tragedy has been watching the opposition too often slicing through as though our midfield doesn't exist. Nakamba and Luiz are not a good pairing, in my opinion, but we don't seem to have an alternative. Would Lansbury be any worse?
Well, Dean Smith thought that Nakamba was 'good' against Leicester, and I certainly don't think he's a bad player - just a tad too light and slow in my view. But a lot of the Villa team looked like that, I have to admit.
Where to next? McGinn will surely replace Luiz at the first opportunity and McGinn will certainly bring some sorely missed enterprise into the middle of the park. But one player cannot do it all. Jack's contribution has reduced a lot in the last few games - is he dwelling on Man U? On the other hand, the ball has not been getting to him very much.
The Villa showed in the two legs of the League Cup semi-final versus Leicester that they had the spirit and capability to overcome them, yet in the two league matches they have failed in their task quite badly. The lure of a trophy was clearly a great stimulus in their efforts to win - but the desire should be no less to move away from the perilous position they are in in the League.
This situation takes me back to 1959, when the Villa were dangling near the bottom of the League and yet had a very good run in the FA Cup. Villa lost, rather unluckily, in the semi-final and they lost their spirit in the following few league games. They were ultimately relegated, but not until after a late fight. I think last night was a similar situation - the psychological impact of losing in a Final having its effect: their concentration was not as it should have been. After a promising opening 10 minutes, they did not get near the Leicester goal to speak of.
Well, we only have Chelsea, Newcastle, Wolves, Liverpool and Man U as our next games! Even with three of those games being at home, it's a mighty 'ask' to expect much. If we were to get 7 points from those 5 matches I'd think we'd be doing extremely well after last night's lack of performance.
Well, c'est la vie: this is the typical life of the Villa fan, is it not?
UTV!
We can speak of defensive errors, but for me, the main tragedy has been watching the opposition too often slicing through as though our midfield doesn't exist. Nakamba and Luiz are not a good pairing, in my opinion, but we don't seem to have an alternative. Would Lansbury be any worse?
Well, Dean Smith thought that Nakamba was 'good' against Leicester, and I certainly don't think he's a bad player - just a tad too light and slow in my view. But a lot of the Villa team looked like that, I have to admit.
Where to next? McGinn will surely replace Luiz at the first opportunity and McGinn will certainly bring some sorely missed enterprise into the middle of the park. But one player cannot do it all. Jack's contribution has reduced a lot in the last few games - is he dwelling on Man U? On the other hand, the ball has not been getting to him very much.
The Villa showed in the two legs of the League Cup semi-final versus Leicester that they had the spirit and capability to overcome them, yet in the two league matches they have failed in their task quite badly. The lure of a trophy was clearly a great stimulus in their efforts to win - but the desire should be no less to move away from the perilous position they are in in the League.
This situation takes me back to 1959, when the Villa were dangling near the bottom of the League and yet had a very good run in the FA Cup. Villa lost, rather unluckily, in the semi-final and they lost their spirit in the following few league games. They were ultimately relegated, but not until after a late fight. I think last night was a similar situation - the psychological impact of losing in a Final having its effect: their concentration was not as it should have been. After a promising opening 10 minutes, they did not get near the Leicester goal to speak of.
Well, we only have Chelsea, Newcastle, Wolves, Liverpool and Man U as our next games! Even with three of those games being at home, it's a mighty 'ask' to expect much. If we were to get 7 points from those 5 matches I'd think we'd be doing extremely well after last night's lack of performance.
Well, c'est la vie: this is the typical life of the Villa fan, is it not?
UTV!
1 comment:
It is the typical lot of the Villa fan. True, John.
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