Aston Villa Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours/Champions League Thread 2024/25

Esse85

Our right hand side will be a disaster, Elmo won't get much help defending and won't overlap, Traore cuts in everytime so we won't have any width that side.
El Gahzi will be cutting in from the left too. Tight and compact seems to be the message that lineup sends.

CSF

Traore instead of Trez seems insane considering Elmo plays.

CucaFace

Esse85 wrote: »

Our right hand side will be a disaster, Elmo won't get much help defending and won't overlap, Traore cuts in everytime so we won't have any width that side.
El Gahzi will be cutting in from the left too. Tight and compact seems to be the message that lineup sends.

I agree and add Barkley in the center constantly giving the ball away and this could be bad for us.

Panrich

Let's hope we don't have an injury at CB. Elmo would have to move in there and Kessler off the bench doesn't look the most secure against Vardy and co.

sc86

CSF wrote: »

Traore instead of Trez seems insane considering Elmo plays.

Youd expect they know this and have a plan.
Looks risky all the same

CSF

sc86 wrote: »

Youd expect they know this and have a plan.
Looks risky all the same

We did kamikaze things like this quite frequently last season and were punished for it, needless to say I’m hoping that Deano has learned his lesson and has a master plan to stop Maddison and Barnes but at first glance that lineup terrifies me.

Patser

CucaFace wrote: »

I agree and add Barkley in the center constantly giving the ball away and this could be bad for us.

Yes,definitely would have started Nakamba ahead of Barkley, allow McGinn and Luiz a bit (only a little bit) more licence to get forward, but mostly try and control the midfield.

Barkley plays pretty much as a false striker, rarely helps in the middle

Patser

Also be very curious to see how we play. That line up might not be too bad if we decide to sit back and counter - but will be disastrous if we try play Smiths normal play out from back and try to impose game route

Esse85

CSF wrote: »

We did kamikaze things like this quite frequently last season and were punished for it, needless to say I’m hoping that Deano has learned his lesson and has a master plan to stop Maddison and Barnes but at first glance that lineup terrifies me.

I would of liked to see Nakamba in to stop Maddison, he will have more of the ball now with Jack out and is in great form lately.

Tielemans and Ndidi are very effective in the middle, unlike our lot.

artanevilla

Well looks like it's inevitable.

Patser

Real feeling already that Leicester smell blood in the water, pushed right up on us

Esse85

Men vs boys so far.

Patser

Is Barkley sitting deeper and letting McGinn roam? He seems to be last few minutes anyway

rebelomar

It's gonna be a long 90 mins

sc86

Going to be a long 90 mins

Esse85

Barkley has given the ball away cheaply several times already.

The floodgates have opened.....

rebelomar

This is becoming a joke....

I'm not sure what our manager is seeing in our midfield the last few games.

Patser

1 - 0 down, no cover in front of back line. Too much time for Leicester to play it around.

Still a great finish

CucaFace

McGinn and Barkely as usual not good enough.

Neither are good enough on the ball.

Both have given the ball away too easily, McGinn did in the run up to that goal. Had a simple lay off back and tried a blind forward pass and they scored from it.

2 of the most overrated players in the PL.

Im getting really sick of Smith and his inability to see the obvious.

artanevilla

Could be a massacre. And its nothing to do with Grealish being out, though that will be the easy excuse.

JPA

Esse85 wrote: »

Barkley has given the ball away cheaply several times already.

The floodgates have opened.....

Barkley is further back but he has no defensive mindset. Everything is an attempt to start an attack, nothing is ever just to keep possession.

2 now, game over surely.

Patser

Oh jesus

rebelomar

Our season has been coming apart the last few weeks but we were scrapping results through resilience.

It could never continue and this was ALWAYS coming on the back of those performances.

Smith needs to take responsibility. Our system hasn't worked lately and nothing changes.

Esse85

Zero protection in front of the two CBs.

Lads on their heels.

Dreadful shape.

How many times have we to watch Smith get decisions so blatantly wrong?

Bounty Hunter

Great defence so far this season but this could get really bad today.

Patser

Really is poor.

Little energy about team, Leicester or just tearing us apart in that space in front of back line. Mings and Konsa unsure wether to push out and fill that space or hold them off.

Elmo and Targett unable to push up as El Ghazi and Traore offer no cover, so Leicester full backs able to push right up. If El Ghazi does get ball he runs headless chicken wise right at them...... It's all so poor.

Only person doing anything right is Watkins, making runs into the space their fullbacks are leaving - but he's all alone then

Panrich

We always struggle with teams that press us high up. Think Leeds, Southampton and Leicester as good examples. We don't retain possession well enough in midfield to get a base in these games.

Bounty Hunter

Panrich wrote: »

We always struggle with teams that press us high up. Think Leeds, Southampton and Leicester as good examples. We don't retain possession well enough in midfield to get a base in these games.

I think Nakamba becomes a better player in my head every game he does not play. Villa desperately need more defensively minded players in the center.

artanevilla

Honestly the teams should just shake hands at half time and take the afternoon off.

CucaFace

Panrich wrote: »

We always struggle with teams that press us high up. Think Leeds, Southampton and Leicester as good examples. We don't retain possession well enough in midfield to get a base in these games.

Yes because we don't have a CM that has the technical ability to take a ball in dangerous positions under pressure and start moves. We lack a center mid playmaker badly.

JPA

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

I think Nakamba becomes a better player in my head every game he does not play. Villa desperately need more defensively minded players in the center.

Nakamba is not fighting the urge to get forward, like Barkley and McGinn. I would play him 50 % of games.

Esse85

Just goes to show what a poor side we are without the captain.
It's been as bad as we anticipated.

Bounty Hunter

JPA wrote: »

Nakamba is not fighting the urge to get forward, like Barkley and McGinn. I would play him 50 % of games.

Definitely feel the team would be so much better balanced with him in the starting lineup filling the DM position beside Luiz who could be allowed focus more on the before mentioned move starter role with Samsom / McGinn / Barkely fighting it out to be the more advanced midfielder.

We often feel like one of those pick the best 11 players that people do where they don't care about balance however and just go for the players with the most ability.


unconnected but I really like Watkins

rebelomar

There you go....last 4 games we are bottom of the PL in XG.

Yet Smith thinks it will miraculously turn around....and without for best player too today.

We've done so well this season but the last few games we have been dire.

artanevilla

Esse85 wrote: »

Just goes to show what a poor side we are without the captain.
It's been as bad as we anticipated.

We've been poor a few weeks now even with him.

CSF

artanevilla wrote: »

We've been poor a few weeks now even with him.

This. This wasn’t hard to predict. Jack will be at home thinking how bad we are without him but we’ve been just as bad with him for a while now.

Panrich

rebelomar wrote: »

There you go....last 4 games we are bottom of the PL in XG.

Yet Smith thinks it will miraculously turn around....and without for best player too today.

We've done so well this season but the last few games we have been dire.

The last time we really played excellent football was against Crystal Palace on St Stephen's day. There was a decent show against Utd, a passable display against a woeful Newcastle and a good half an hour against Burnley but outside of that we have been as bad as a lot of last season except with a better goalkeeper and right back.

JPA

Esse85 wrote: »

Just goes to show what a poor side we are without the captain.
It's been as bad as we anticipated.

I'm not sure how different it would be with Jack. We would have more possession but the problems in midfield are the same as they have been.

Patser

It's not just Jack though.

He would have offered a lot more than El Ghazi to be sure, and given us more of a threat - but Grealish playing would have had no impact on the goals we gave away, that was entirely or midfield being unbalanced with no protection for defence outside the box.

I'm figuring we're missing Cash more, as Elmo can't get forward at all, he hasn't the energy the chase forward and back all match. It's allowig Leicester to stream forward on their left. El Ghazi presnts same problem on left but at least Targett is trying

Patser

Big problem is, is there really anyone on the bench that can change it the game for us now?

Nakamba for Barkley might give us more stability but Nakamba is not going to win a game for you.

Trez again will help defend more, but win a game?

Davis????

Sanson?????

CucaFace

JPA wrote: »

I'm not sure how different it would be with Jack. We would have more possession but the problems in midfield are the same as they have been.

Yes i have to agree.



All the issues with this side are coming from the CM area.



Mainly the 2 more advanced CM's. They are not suited to playing there.

JPA

Patser wrote: »

Big problem is, is there really anyone on the bench that can change it the game for us now?

Nakamba for Barkley might give us more stability but Nakamba is not going to win a game for you.

Trez again will help defend more, but win a game?

Davis????

Sanson?????

If we had control of the game then the attacking players have more chances.

kilburn

Has Sanson had a single minute since he joined yet?

JPA

kilburn wrote: »

Has Sanson had a single minute since he joined yet?

24 minutes.

Patser

kilburn wrote: »

Has Sanson had a single minute since he joined yet?

Had about 10 minutes last game

rebelomar

Well done Matty Target.

His improvement continues. Fair play to the man

JPA

Get in.

WTF is wrong with Kasper?

Patser

Ohhhh!!!

Traore gives us hope!

1-2

Bounty Hunter

Well that's put a different complexion on the game. Let's just hope Dean really got into them at half time and they approach this very differently now cos despite everything it's just 1 goal now

rebelomar

Barkley off for Sanson before he costs us another goal