Good to start with a win, particularly given the opposition. I think it's a case of lots of things showing promise and areas of positivity but, there's definitely a lot of work to do. Mostly, we desperately need Coady back. Defensive issues were very, very evident. Yes, I am moaning about Vestergaard again!
A couple of moments of real quality from Paet and KDH got us the win but it could so easily have gone the other way. I did get tired of Vestergaard and Winks passing backward and forward at times. Vesterguaard is a liability and will cost us. Yes he can pass the ball when static but he cant move. The style of play was not dissimilar to last season and just does not suit Vardy so Iheanacho could be a better option. Mavadidi did well although a little predictable and McAteer did nothing really wrong. A bit of a negative post from a win but Im hoping we can be so much better.
The win is the most important thing at the end of the day, but Coventry should have been out of sight before we scored. The gap between our 2 central defenders was pure schoolboy. Never mind getting a horse and coach through the gap between Faes and Vestergaard, you could have got 4 or 5 at times. Vestergaard is so slow and looks totally uninterested. At 0-1 he was still content to knock the ball side to side or backwards with no urgency. He will cost us dear if we don't get him out. Obviously they have been working on movement and looking for space and some of the passing was very good if a little slow, but there has to be an end product. And yesterday there really wasn't. Do we have to play like that against a team like Coventry? As well as playing by numbers the players need to be able to think for themselves and adapt their game according to the way the opposition play. Cute little passes into space might look nice, but it's goals that win games. You get nothing for looking pretty. Vardy was never going to profit from that kind of play, and I don't think Daka would have either. I thought the new lads handled themselves well enough. But is Doyle better than Justin or Castagne? He didn't offer much going forward but his defensive game was good. Mavididi got no change out of his full back in the first half, but he didn't hide and eventually came good. He'll benefit from a few games with a good supporting full back behind him. Ndidi did okay, but he's no creative midfielder. We would have been better using him as a holding midfielder to try and block that gaping hole in front of our central pair, or even as an alternative for Vestergaard and playing Praet from the start. At the moment I think we have some square pegs in round holes and it will be interesting to see what team gets put out on Wednesday, even though it is 'only' Burton. Albion. I'm sure the manager will want to see what some of those who didn't play yesterday have to offer.
If we continue to play with a back three, I wonder if Justin would be better suited to the RCB role than Vestergaard with Faes in the middle? Vestergaard looked ok but - apart from Doyle - we just looked a bit slow out there and Justin did a great job when he played there pre injury.
Did we really play with a back 3 on Sunday? What I saw was a back 4 of Ricardo, Faes, Vestergaard and Doyle, 5 across the middle and 1 up front. Maybe I was mistaken. But whatever formation we play at the back I don't want to see Vestergaard in it. I think JJ has a lot to offer when he plays wide and is able to get forward and link up with a winger. I think he and Mavididi could establish a good partnership.
Great to see JJ come out publicly in support of the club and state his intention to stay and fight for a spot. He is great on either the left or right but if we arent successful in getting a creative CM Id be happy if he played on the right and we pushed Ricky P into midfield in place of Ndidi who isnt an attacking option.
Much sharper and crisper performance last night, and much more energy throughout the team. The addition of JJ vastly improved the look of the defence. I thought Choudhury linked up well to keep possession and open up spaces. I owe Wilf an apology. He looked very comfortable in a more advanced position yet still showed the desire to get back and cut out some promising Burton attacks. Took his goal really well. The two concerns I have is that the playing out from the back can be very predictable and better teams will get wise as to where the ball is going next. Hopefully players will realise when they have to hoof it to safety. The second is that we need to convert possession into more goals to give us a cushion if things do go wrong at the back. But two wins from two is just the start we were hoping for.
yes 6 points from 6, have to be happy. And half the squad haven't kicked a ball yet. The next three weeks are going to be very interesting seeing who is going to go and who stays. Im thinking the ones on the way out must be Castagne, Soumare and Kristensen plus at least one of Iverson and Ward. Still worried about Vestergaard but didnt look too troubled today
Enzo did say post match that just because players weren't in the match day squad today didn't mean they weren't in his plans, it was tactical. So it's anyone's guess who might go. Or that was a tactical response! Vestergaard and Ward are still top of my get rid list.
That was a slender win by a very fortuitous goal against a poor team. And again the opposition had chances to punish us. We need to find a way to score goals before we come up against more clinical opposition. We tried 2 different international strikers again, and again neither could score. How many clear cut chances did we create, besides Denis Praet's awful attempt?
We're 'winning ugly' currently... but that's not necessarily a bad thing ... it's still early days for this group of players and the familiarisation and combinations will only improve ... very much need to move on those that are obviously not now part of the plans, Castagne, Soumare, Kristiansen, Ward etc.. and bring in a couple of missing puzzle pieces ...
Good to see the Villa fans appreciated Youri Tielemans' efforts after his dream move: Number 8 Player name Tielemans Average rating 3.85
Allegedly, we're about there with the Casadei loan deal...Chelsea have been too busy buying to deal with it!
IMO We should have got rid of him beginning of last season! he wanted away and his heart was elsewhere! should differently not have played the last ten games, seen donkeys on Blackpool beach do more running.
Ironically the only lower rated player was the guy Tielemans replaced at half time. The words 'frying pan' and 'fire' spring to mind.
One week in the window to go. Who will go and who will arrive? Kristiansen looks to be gone and hopefully Castagne as well. 5 is too many goalkeeers so ward and Iverson may go. Hoping Nacho stays and it looks like a Turkish winger on the way in. Dont recall his name but the Man City U21 captain is said to be available, would love us to go there.
Unbelievable that the Tranmere goalie was the same lad who played in the 2000 final against us. Glad we didn't crack Matty Elliott out too.
