Poor performance all round. Clearly obvious by now BDR and Vinicious are not prem quality.
Not surprising we had no shots on target with those two up front at the end
Marco will need support in the transfer market. Two of our best players this season are 35 and 34. Not good long term prospects.
Always going to be hard even before we started. To loose both Harry and Willian,just multiplied the problem. Result could have been so much worse. Agree BDR and Vinicius have to be replaced next season without question.
Awful performance, no penetration. No idea why we replaced Solomon and kept James on who didn't provide much tonight. Solomon was pretty up for it but no one to pass to.
Not a bad result considering the performance. Obviously that's any chance of Europe over, but I'm content with the sweet security of mid table mediocrity.
Same old players get the blame for an awful performance by every player. Don't see why BDR gets any blame. He has proved he is a decent squad player at this level. Vin not so much. However I don't see any player that was so great tonight or any group of players that so outshone the rest.
We were poor in every department and never looked like worrying anybody. Awful performance and happy that the score flattered us.
Don't understand the stick BDR is recieving. He seemed most likely to make something happen today in my opinion.
Seeing some overreactions considering that by the 15th minute of the game we basically ended up in a position where we had our best ST, LW and RW not able to play which would weaken literally any team in the league other than Man City from an attacking perspective
The way villa started and the way we played I feared a cricket score,second half we improved just. Thought Tosin was very good apart from a few bad passes.
Awful. No energy & backwards / sideways passing. Really disappointing performance.
Cannot recall that we had a shot. Martinez was a spectator.
Makes the 4.5 hour traffic delayed journey from London & now getting back in the early hours of tomorrow really question my sanity.
Quote from: Woodlawn on April 25, 2023, 09:57:03 PMThe way villa started and the way we played I feared a cricket score,second half we improved just. Thought Tosin was very good apart from a few bad passes.
Tosin was by far our best player in the second half in my opinon. Was dreadful in first hovewer.
As good as Villa were in the first half and as poor as we were, they hardly created anything either.
Probably would have been a different game with Willian and Wilson on the pitch. Shows though the need of several quality players next season. I see we did win the fouls though 18 to 6, Vinicius helped the numbers along there.
Quote from: demeant0r on April 25, 2023, 09:50:22 PMAwful performance, no penetration. No idea why we replaced Solomon and kept James on who didn't provide much tonight. Solomon was pretty up for it but no one to pass to.
Solomon was poor - again - nothing against him, I hope we do keep him but he's offered very little in his past few performances, DJ although not achieving much tonight does offer a threat every time he is able to run straight at defences. But not our night, as others say, the absence of Willian and Wilson probably made a big difference.
Solomon and James are big weak links for me.
Neither seem to be able to play well in a team, both have their singular abilites, James has his speed, Solomon has his head down and run at defenders thing... But neither link up well with their team mates at all.
Well done Villa, and a poor performance by us all round other than for our defence.
In the end a 1-0 loss was an achievement!
We did not have the intelligence, mobility or speed to beat the Villa off side track.
Surprised Silva did not prepare the team tactically for this and have to praise the Villa manager.
Now onto two tough games we we may have even less possession.
At least we have got back to beating the teams below us, but we still cannot beat those above us (excepting Brighton).
However I would have taken our relatively mid table mediocrity at the start of the season 😊
Definitely a bit crap, but it's not realistic to expect an electrifying performance every match. We go again
Without Willian, Mitro and Wilson we are inevitably lacking up front. Solomon not at his best tonight. BDR tries hard but is probably not quite good enough. Kebano looked lively but not going to improve given his age. Difficult to see who had a decent game. We need cover for Mitro up front as he's bound to miss games through injury or suspension. Ditto JP. A better LB would help. Shame we missed out on Moreno.
Move on to the next game.
Only positives tonight were the travelling FFC fans & the late equaliser by Leicester at Leeds.
Our position in the league. Is it because we are good enough to be in that position. But seeing Villa and Fulham tonight. Is this seasons Prem just a very poor standard this year?
Other than Man City on their day. I can't think that this season has shown the Prem as a top quality league. Probably the most competitive but not the best.
Losing the two Ws must have had a psychological affect and put us on the back foot from the start. Attack wise we just weren't competitive which shows how we lack depth in that department. I know we have an abundance of wingers but, apart from Willian they all play in fits and starts - occasionally brilliant but not consistent. Biggest weakness is in not having players to replace Mitro in the scoring department. The two Ws are our best hopes for scoring and both we're missing. Think the defence did pretty well, especially Tosin. They handled everything Villa threw at them except for a very good goal which most teams would have conceded. James, BDR, and Solomon are all good enough as backups but the team can only afford to play one of them at a time or we lose any kind of cutting edge. It's been a good season but recruitment is needed if we are to repeat it next year.
Quote from: Mullers OG on April 25, 2023, 10:07:25 PMWithout Willian, Mitro and Wilson we are inevitably lacking up front. Solomon not at his best tonight. BDR tries hard but is probably not quite good enough. Kebano looked lively but not going to improve given his age. Difficult to see who had a decent game. We need cover for Mitro up front as he's bound to miss games through injury or suspension. Ditto JP. A better LB would help. Shame we missed out on Moreno.
that's the most factual comment, difficult to see who had a decent game.
Not to have a shot ,at least they can see we didn't miss the target.dread Sunday.
I have absolutely no idea what BDR has done wrong, he has been more than good enough this season when called upon.
Tonight though, that was a really bad night for everyone involved. Villa were almost as abject as we were and the whole thing had a tired feel about it.
Stil. Its nice to know that a bad performance isn't going to end up being the bad peformance that gets us relegated so as far as the season goes, its all good.
Tonight was not our finest hour, but these things happen when you play away in mid week against a very inform team who are extremely confident.
We lost Willian in the warm up and Wilson early in the first half.
So had to readjust and in doing so shipped a goal.
The only goal of the game as it
happens but enough to lose.
This is English Premier League Football, not Premiership, but Premier League.
That should have sunk in by now.
Even my Garden Gnome calls it Premier League.
Nevertheless back to the match.
We did not do ourselves justice, but that's football.
All ifs and buts and we live to fight another day.
Once BDR came on I knew we would lose. Really mystifies me what Marco sees in him? Hard tryer but headless chicken! Vinicius still has no fight - lightweight!
We played with no intent yesterday. We set ourselves up with no attacking threat and we got what we deserved.... Well, perhaps not, we deserved to be thrashed. Dan James is not a striker and offered absolutely nothing in that position.
We had limited options but the manager and initial selections are the reasons for this loss. I can't see that Brentford would have capitulated so meekly. We have had a few of those games this season and that is what concerns me.
The problem was not Vinicius or BDR, it was the setup, formation and intent from the off.
Despite all of the above looking like a rant, it really isn't. Just my thoughts on yesterday's performance or lack of one. We have had a great season and are being hampered by Mitro's absence.
If ever there was a game to demonstrate where we need to strengthen next season, this was it.
Quote from: Nick Bateman on April 25, 2023, 11:22:03 PMOnce BDR came on I knew we would lose. Really mystifies me what Marco sees in him? Hard tryer but headless chicken! Vinicius still has no fight - lightweight!
Vinicius does not punch his weight, he could not trap a bag of cement.
His positioning and lack of creating space for himself and others would put a sunday morning footballer to shame.
He trains during the week with hours of coaching and conditioning and his timing and first touch is still mediocre as is his work rate.
It was just a very flat performance. I wouldn't pick out any particular players for criticism. There was just not enough forward momentum from the middle of the park, so our attacking midgets were mainly chasing lost causes and being muscled off the ball - especially in the 1st half.
I wasn't all impressed with Villa - although you could argue they didn't have to do much to beat us, we were pushing them back a fair bit in the 2nd half. Both Liverpool and Brighton will finish above them I think.
Clearly, losing Willian and Wilson was a blow, as they are two of our most in form players at the moment. Hopefully both are back on Sunday and we will at least give Man City a game...
Solomon criticism doesn't make sense as he was our only player yesterday that looked like he could make something happen (I went) - so to identify him as a weak link is somewhat strange
Tosin, Ream and Palhinha had decent games and Cedric looked alright when he came on. Think it was just one of those days really - forget and move on
I think we should be pretty happy with how we drained Villa of ideas. They've been on a great run and Watkins has been very dangerous. They scored with a flick on from a corner, and didn't really have any other xG.
Obviously it was bad that we really didn't do much to build on the limited momentum we had in the 2nd half. Thoughts:
- Solomon didn't offer a lot. Feels like his decision making isn't quite there. Either cut onto the right and get the shot off or slide a pass, or head for the byline and cut back/chip to the back post. But make a choice!
- Same for James. A couple of times where you can see his pace, but wouldn't just take his man on.
Harrison Reed was probably our most dangerous player. Says a lot.
The problem sometimes is that if 3 or 4 players are not on their game it affects others and has a domino effect, and then the team as a whole gets dragged down.
I am not making excuses for Fulham but you see it at all levels.
Look at Spurs the other day and that 20 minute spell, they have real problems.
Look at Man U at Liverpool when they dropped their heads.
last night we only lost by one goal.
So we have to use that defeat as a strength to bounce back and make up for it in the next game, we have no need to fear anyone if we play without fear.
If an average player plays in a team of super stars, they will make him look good as he plays a part in their system.
If a super star player plays in a mediocre team, it will rub off on him and he can get dragged down and then is unable to play to his best.
It can work both ways hence the reason why it is important to have balance which restores consistency, and consistency is the key for Fulham to punch their weight in the Premier League.
Vinny comes on for the last few minutes and gets blamed, can anyone tell me a ball forward that he could have done anything with. We spent more time passing backwards, sideways, anyway but forwards. The whole team had no fight, we were more worried about what they could do instead of doing what we can do.
Quote from: alfie on April 26, 2023, 09:56:21 AMVinny comes on for the last few minutes and gets blamed, can anyone tell me a ball forward that he could have done anything with. We spent more time passing backwards, sideways, anyway but forwards. The whole team had no fight, we were more worried about what they could do instead of doing what we can do.
Yes, he was in the right side of the pitch in or close to the Villa side. A ground pass that was pretty good was made to him. The defender that was making just stood his ground and got the ball while vini bumped into him and didn't. If vini stood his ground he'd be able to get to the ball. He's absolutely clueless.
Quote from: LittleErn on April 25, 2023, 10:29:17 PMLosing the two Ws must have had a psychological affect and put us on the back foot from the start. Attack wise we just weren't competitive which shows how we lack depth in that department. I know we have an abundance of wingers but, apart from Willian they all play in fits and starts - occasionally brilliant but not consistent. Biggest weakness is in not having players to replace Mitro in the scoring department. The two Ws are our best hopes for scoring and both we're missing. Think the defence did pretty well, especially Tosin. They handled everything Villa threw at them except for a very good goal which most teams would have conceded. James, BDR, and Solomon are all good enough as backups but the team can only afford to play one of them at a time or we lose any kind of cutting edge. It's been a good season but recruitment is needed if we are to repeat it next year.
A good post but would just add that the old routine of having full backs on the goal line when defending corners would have prevented that goal.
Quote from: filham on April 26, 2023, 10:15:45 AMQuote from: LittleErn on April 25, 2023, 10:29:17 PMLosing the two Ws must have had a psychological affect and put us on the back foot from the start. Attack wise we just weren't competitive which shows how we lack depth in that department. I know we have an abundance of wingers but, apart from Willian they all play in fits and starts - occasionally brilliant but not consistent. Biggest weakness is in not having players to replace Mitro in the scoring department. The two Ws are our best hopes for scoring and both we're missing. Think the defence did pretty well, especially Tosin. They handled everything Villa threw at them except for a very good goal which most teams would have conceded. James, BDR, and Solomon are all good enough as backups but the team can only afford to play one of them at a time or we lose any kind of cutting edge. It's been a good season but recruitment is needed if we are to repeat it next year.
A good post but would just add that the old routine of having full backs on the goal line when defending corners would have prevented that goal.
It would also likely have presented opportunities for Villa to exploit elsewhere. I assume there is a thought behind not using players on the goal line, and not just an oversight.
I only managed to watch the last 25 minutes.
What disappointed me most was the amount of times our forwards
were running into great positions, desperate for a through ball
or one over the top.
Villa seemed to be playing quite 'high up' and with the pace we
had we missed several great attacking opportunities.
I hate to say this but one of the main culprits was Tim Ream.
He had several chances to 'lob one over the top' but instead
turned back and squared the ball. He wasn't the only one.
Several time the left sided attackers had their hands up, in plenty of space up and started very well timed runs.
BDR got better service and as someone said, he made a couple of things
happen. A couple of his 'traps' were almost Berbatovish, but not quite
Oh well.
Maybe I'm biased because of how much this forum likes Solomon, but thought he was really really poor yesterday. No one was very good, but Solomon's first touch looked really bad and whether it was rust or just poor I'll leave that up to Silva.
Losing to a really in form side 1-0 isn't all that bad, especially with how bad our team played. If Willian is out for the rest of the season and Wilson misses a couple games, we are going nowhere but down the table.
For me, we just didn't want to take any chances despite many good forward runs. We have James in those positions for a reason, why did we not use him? Instead we sent Reed on a run where he's offsides. Also, there was a point in time where Tete could have crossed the ball or sent in a through pass from the wing, but opted to recycle around for no reason.
Overall, we looked like an attacking team that wanted to walk the ball into the net. Even the likes of Solomon trying to connect with blind passes rather than take on a player 1v1 and shoot. With the amount of possession, we really should have come away with more than one shot.
Also, Vini wasted 3 of our 5 minutes of stoppage time. Absolutely pointless putting him on anymore where he's going to try to square up, in the most pathetic obvious fashion, to a defender and lose out in the battle. Not to mention when a ball is crossed into him he doesn't know the very basic movements of a forward who tries to get open. Promote a youth team player at this rate, or better yet, throw in Duffy to play target man.
Considering everyone in the Media is blowing smoke out of Vila's backside I thought that despite FFC being under strength throughout the match Villa were actually not that much better than us!!
Losing Willian and Wilson hurt our tactics that had been developed in training to deal with the opposition and the only player who in my mind deserves to be chastised is Vinicius, then again who else is there at the moment to replace our out and out striker??
We need good recruitment in the summer but I'm sure the club already realise that and I for one am glad we won't be in Europe as I've seen how Wet Spam have struggled in the Premier league with a far better squad than oursbdue to their European exploits COYW
We gave them too much respect in the first have and they got lucky goal, played much better football but created nothing. 2nd half we were much better but its hard to create chances against a well organized Villa who have only conceded 3 goals in the last 15 games if Im not mistaken. Willian and Wilson could have mad a difference last night. disappointed in Solomons performance. I thought he looked very lightweight. BDR didn't do much was decent in possession.Dont understand criticism of him,hes been excellent for us all season.
Piss easy next match to bounce back from the poor performance last night. Its not like City are playing for anything either.
Quote from: Black and White Town on April 25, 2023, 10:05:13 PMDefinitely a bit crap, but it's not realistic to expect an electrifying performance every match. We go again
For a top half table side, I'm sorry, no excuse or rationalization allowed for such a poor show. JMHO
Quote from: heylookitsjacob on April 26, 2023, 02:16:32 PMMaybe I'm biased because of how much this forum likes Solomon, but thought he was really really poor yesterday. No one was very good, but Solomon's first touch looked really bad and whether it was rust or just poor I'll leave that up to Silva. Losing to a really in form side 1-0 isn't all that bad, especially with how bad our team played. If Willian is out for the rest of the season and Wilson misses a couple games, we are going nowhere but down the table.
Have to agree re Solomon. I've really liked him since joining, but he was poor v Villa and actually last couple of outings.
Well, that's two hours in my life I'll never get back. Just a terrible show by FFC. Absolutely the worst game of the campaign so far. Even worse than the BHA smash and grab. Very disappointed.
What I don't understand is why MS gives way way way too much respect to Villa??? It's not like they're Man City. Right from start of game, no pressing, letting Villa build up from the back with no pressure whatsoever. Could tell early on this was not gonna be a good game for the boys. Even after conceding, FFC still played conservatively, not pressing too much laying back waiting for opportunities that really never came, or came rarely. Even playing so poorly, Villa only managed the single goal. I just thought our approach in this game was all wrong and we were giving them too much respect and should have taken the game to them more. Oh well, on to next game.....
Quote from: WindyCity on April 26, 2023, 04:05:10 PMWell, that's two hours in my life I'll never get back. Just a terrible show by FFC. Absolutely the worst game of the campaign so far. Even worse than the BHA smash and grab. Very disappointed.
What I don't understand is why MS gives way way way too much respect to Villa??? It's not like they're Man City. Right from start of game, no pressing, letting Villa build up from the back with no pressure whatsoever. Could tell early on this was not gonna be a good game for the boys. Even after conceding, FFC still played conservatively, not pressing too much laying back waiting for opportunities that really never came, or came rarely. Even playing so poorly, Villa only managed the single goal. I just thought our approach in this game was all wrong and we were giving them too much respect and should have taken the game to them more. Oh well, on to next game.....
It's almost like after 15 mins our best front 3 weren't on the pitch and that drastically altered literally everything on the night...
Could I draw attention to a comment which was made on BT Sport concerning our defending of corners.
Every time in the first half we had all eleven players in the penalty area. When the ball was booted away it came straight back because we had no player near the ball. Had we had even one player up field and I would suggest Dan James as the fastest it would have meant that Villa would have had to withdraw two or three defenders from their attacking positions to cover him.
Simple tactics really.
Quote from: WindyCity on April 26, 2023, 04:05:10 PMWell, that's two hours in my life I'll never get back. Just a terrible show by FFC. Absolutely the worst game of the campaign so far. Even worse than the BHA smash and grab. Very disappointed.
What I don't understand is why MS gives way way way too much respect to Villa??? It's not like they're Man City. Right from start of game, no pressing, letting Villa build up from the back with no pressure whatsoever. Could tell early on this was not gonna be a good game for the boys. Even after conceding, FFC still played conservatively, not pressing too much laying back waiting for opportunities that really never came, or came rarely. Even playing so poorly, Villa only managed the single goal. I just thought our approach in this game was all wrong and we were giving them too much respect and should have taken the game to them more. Oh well, on to next game.....
You have summed it up clearly and concisely.
