13 Jan 2023 23:09:50
Not a good performance but we won and that's important it shows the strength of character of a team if they can grind results out like this. In terms of the positives, Martinez was first class but for him we may well have lost. For 70 minutes Young was first rate but he ran out of legs late on. Kamara great in front of the back four, receiving the ball in the tightest of positions and linking up with the forward players. Bailey showed what he is capable of and we need to see much more of performances like that from him
On the downside the overall performance was poor. We gave the ball away to easily particularly in the middle of the park. I don't understand why we insist on trying to play out from the back even when the out ball is effectively being closed down by the opposition we nearly got caught out several times trying this. If we insist that this is the way we are going to play then I think we need 2 new centre backs as both Mings and Konsa look particularly uncomfortable with the ball at there feet when being closed down. I have always maintained at times you need to put the ball into row z but we seem reluctant to do that irrespective of the situation. I think the game also highlighted the need for a out and out goalscorer if we had one the ball that Bailey put across the six yard box would have been a tap in instead Watkins was back on his heels, and Ings when he came on was virtually anonymous.
The one thing that we should learn from Leeds is how to close an opposition down they were very good throughout the 90 minutes and if we are going to be a pressing team then they showed us the way you should do it.
Still a wins a win. UTV.
13 Jan 2023 23:58:56
Agreed with most of that mate apart from Bailey. If that's what he's capable of we should sell now. Him getting man of the match was ridiculous. Absolutely woeful for 89 minutes other than two shots.
I'll take the points and in the grand scheme of things it's nice to walk away from Villa Park having ground out a win - how many times do we bemoan a top 6 team walking away with three points when we think we've been the better team.
For me tonight was a great illustration of why we need much more quality in the final third. Our defensive players aren't perfect by any stretch but you need your offensive players to show for the ball and retain it, which we rarely did. You could put the two best centre backs in the world in that team and they'd still struggle at times.
Still, when you don't play well you need to fight and show some craft which we did and although it might not be pretty, the points are ticking over and we're slowly turning into a tough team to beat. That's phase one, the next phase will be to try and dominate opposition and create, which will take time. Suspect Emery will be a tad like Conte in his approach at first, which will mean some tense times ahead. Just got to trust the process.
Enjoy your weekend all!
14 Jan 2023 00:02:43
Did i miss something i thought we were outstanding tonite scored early weathered the storm played some tidy stuff and some superb individual performances tonite some of the work on the ball was at times world class kamara mainly. Wasnt perfectly shiny but what game is tbf. Very happy with the way things are going for us utv.
14 Jan 2023 00:09:29
You have to find the balance though lord, yes Leeds closed us down very well but left open several times, their keeper also lucky he didn’t see red cause they kept getting caught, I understand what your saying but I don’t think a team 2 points off relegation is something we should aspire to. Watkins speed was a big loss, ings just didn’t have the pace to affect the game, if we had another pacy winger on opposite flank to Bailey I think we win that game by 3 or 4 goals.
14 Jan 2023 00:53:19
I think 'outstanding' is a bit of a push mate. Battled well but other than a few players, Kamara and Young in particular, it was a game that most neutrals would say Leeds deserved something from.
Agree there are some positive signs though and happy with the overall direction, but plenty of work to do.
14 Jan 2023 06:40:27
I thought Leeds looked bright and pressed well but bar a 10 minute period at the end of the first half we never looked under immense pressure IMO. Thought we handled the game in a professional manner, yes we lost possession more than I'd like but Emery is trying to instill a philosophy and style of play and the reality is this doesn't happen overnight.
Kamara was exceptional (as always) and special mention to Young who did a fantastic job on Gnonto who (according to Sky) is the combination of prime Messi and Ronaldinho (the commentary was shocking).
14 Jan 2023 08:08:42
There are times especially in his own half where Bailey needs to release the ball even if there's not an easy pass on.
Other than that though he was excellent and was again one of the only ones regularly pushing us up the pitch.
We still drift left too much as a team leaving Bailey isolated.
I'm not sure what people expect him to do when he has 2 or 3 players around him and no support other than try get through them.
In every team the wide forward players lose possession more ppthan anyone else.
14 Jan 2023 10:47:45
100% agree RK, I thought Bailey was excellent last night. His role and style of play inevitably means he will lose the ball occasionally but he was very good last night. What last night demonstrated to me is how important Watkins is, we need a partner for him this window as sadly Ings is not the answer.