A poor result in all fairness. Villa are a really poor side but a failure to convert some golden opportunities to kill the game off and some real sloppy play on our part cost us. Atleast other teams have been dragged back into the mix. Cornetto looks far too light weight. GD needs to learn to pass more.
No issue with the time as we'd made a sub in stoppage time and time wasted our way through the game. Terrifying signs of defensive chaos returning. As HB1 says, it always happens to us. Could never imagine our centre half sticking one in the top corner from 20 yards with the last kick of the game. Pereyra can **** off. People moan about Gray but for all his technical shortcomings, he actually gives a ****. Pereyra does not and hasn't for a long time. Got the feeling this will be a very important result at the end of the season.
I dont think there was a lack of fight, I just think that Villa threw everything at us and we panicked, plus we just lost our bottle early on when we realised we weren't getting it or own way. I still think we battled and tackled, but we weren't good enough all over.
It's written in all honesty Smudge. This won't be the last decision one of these assholes doesn't give us this season. I think we're now into double figures on points lost due VAR decisions which were judged wrongly. One table I saw the other day had us firmly in the top 10. Just don't understand why he didn't even check the monitor which they've been told to do now right? 1-0 up with them having 10 men makes a huge difference.
1 point out of 6 very gettable and available points. Isn't that 5 dropped? If we ignore Spurs isn't that still 2 dropped?
I’m stood on the platform of Witton Station to head back into New Street after watching that.... Where to start? We should have been out of sight come the 60 minute mark. They were there for the taking but we looked largely ponderous in the final third. Too many players chose the wrong ball when required - Deulofeu and Doucoure easily the biggest culprits. Masina and Dawson imperious in those 60 minutes and Grealish cutting an ever frustrated figure. But then Deeney missed a chance where it looked easier to score. And Villa got their backs up...and Watford heads dropped. TO A MAN. Pereyra was awful all night. He may have assisted the goal but Jesus, for a player of such ability, he doesn’t half cut a figure who can’t be bothered most of the time. Deulofeu decided to choose every worst option available and the CM just went missing. Pearson has done a class job. But he has to take responsibility for tonight as well. Rough with the smooth. He changed shape and tactics and it cost us. Chalobah should never have come off and you could see from the players reactions they were confused and didn’t know what they were being asked to do in terms of reshuffling. Pussetto held his own but didn’t look natural where he went and chased the ball. Those criticising Gray come across as just pursuing a vendetta beyond tonight’s game - he had very little chance to affect proceedings and there are others to call out well before you get round to him. Is he good enough? No, and it’s obvious - but that’s for a wider debate. This is a thread for tonight’s game so call out those more worthy of criticism. One over hit pass but he chased every ball he could - that’s far more than can be said for Deulofeu and Pereyra tonight. The biggest lesson I’m taking away from tonight - not enough strength in depth to maintain a good shape. The subs weren’t ‘like for like’ in formation. Grealish killed us and we weren’t ruthless in dealing with it. Seems strange to say - but Pereyra for Sarr weakens is massively. And we still lack an enforcer who just does the horrible stuff and breaks up play. Whether that be a CB or CM. Whack a horrible ‘b*stard’ in either of those positions tonight and Villa don’t take a point, let alone three. Simple as that.
This is was always going to happen, we were never going to skip off into the sunset and win every game. I don’t think this result was a bad thing at all, it’s a reality check. If we’d won there could’ve been a real risk that we suddenly thought he job was done and we could put our feet up. This proves we are still very much in the **** and have to fight tooth and nail for every point. That said it should’ve been a draw, the four minutes was long up before Reina launches the ball forward, it’s not like it was a corner or a direct feee kick, the whistle should’ve gone the moment Reina launched it forward.
That’s hard to take. Psychologically, emotionally, energy wise, it will need a strong group think recovery. Hopefully Pearson, Shakespeare, Deeney etc can lift the mood after that and get back the hunger and belief.
Come on buddy, that's a enormous red herring. No one's blaming him for the defeat, as well you know, they're just reacting to the fact that he proved how demonstrably appalling he is once again, at the next available opportunity.
If Mings was sent off when he should have been, we probably win that, let alone draw it I know we didn't 'deserve' to win, but neither do the likes of Newcastle and Burnley at the moment, yet they are stealing the points all the same Draw was the absolute minimum tonight, and after going 1 up, should have been easy to hold onto. Absolutely devastating result, no other way to describe it
The difference between this loss and city is this is a game we could and should have won. V city and Liverpool the only thing you can do is grudgingly admire them as they tear you a new one over and over.
Only 10mm has stopped us from TWO last minute defeats on a trot. The bad run has now started. We cannot afford another bad run for the entire season. It's going to be very tough to stay up now. It seems that 40 points will probably not be enough and I cannot see us beating that total. Tonight is an absolute disaster. It's changed everything.
Shouldn't need VAR in all honesty. I wouldn't be so mad if he missed the handball altogether - its more the fact he's seen it, given a free kick and bottled the second yellow which needs explaining.
They are law unto themselves. They think they are gods. Every other league the officials go to the monitors to check. This ***** needs a good going over by Pearson in the press and the FA need to ask the ***** why he is not following their advice. As mentioned before it eon't be a surprise if there are no English referees at the World Cup in 2022 as in 2018. An absolute shower all of them. Cannot get anything right when it comes to the crunch. Unable to implement VAR correctly and some are so unfit it's amazing how they can even referee. But of course their old chum is in charge which explains a lot. OBN and all that. Referees to be monitored by an independent panel and this ***** should not be allowed to referee again in the PL for at least five matches. This winker has turned the game around with that one decision. At 1-0 up and a man up there is only likely result.
To lose like that feels a disaster. Suddenly the light has disappeared again. Hope players use this as a positive because I feel on the floor after that
The only explanation is Atkinson didn’t agree it stopped a promising attack. That’s the criteria for a booking for handball these days - the fact it’s deliberate no longer means an automatic yellow. I think he called it wrong as Deulofeu more than has the pace to streak clear from the halfway line.
I don’t blame Atkinson for us not holding onto our lead. But it was absolutely clear he bottled it then. If Mike Dean was refereeing there is no doubt Mings would have been off.
EMBARRASSING!!!! I was 100% confident we thrash them, fully believed it would be the easiest game of our season and we bottled it. Villa are CRAP! Thankfully they will be relegated and back to where they belong. We will get out of it. 42 points left to play for. Our boys need to realize it’s now or never! Either grow a pair of balls, or get off the bus. Pussetto needs to start against Everton if Sarr is out. Pedro needs to come on instead of Gray hopefully he has joined Leeds by then anyway. Our next three games are winnable. Horrendous result but maybe a blessing in disguise as a real wake up call to the players. I hope we see some fight against Everton and they feel our wrath.
Not good enough against Aston Villa? We looked like relegation fodder tonight. Perhaps the recent games are the highlights of the season. Extremely disappointing performance and terrible result. We needed to avoid defeat tonight, that was all. We couldn't even do that against a poor Villa side. Relegation is back on if we continue to play like that. Christ! That was a **** result .
What are you expecting in a 10 minute cameo from a player who has had very little game time and who is understandably rusty and therefore low in confidence.? And I have noticed you are one of the first ones to jump on his back and have a go so little surprise that you are replying in the way that you are.
We never get these decisions go for us, so why is anyone surprised. Had it been the other way around we'd have been down to 10-men, like we always are.
To be quite honest, I had a bit of a fall out with the guy in front of me about Pereyra’s lack of interest. He defended him by saying he made the assist so I just went with that as I didn’t know who made it!
None of the bottom 6 are currently on course for 40 points so why will 40 points not be enough to finish above 3 of them?
