I have seen so many relegations that I should be able to accept it quite graciously - but this, since the restart, is just embarrassing - unacceptable!
It’s not been good, no excuses, FA Cup match aside. I think the players never looked like they believe they could have stayed up, which is sad really because we could have easily got 4 wins and 2 draws to stay up with the fixtures we had. Unfortunately, I think COVID-19 has triply screwed us: finances are now shaky, when they should have been really comfortable plus we were in decent nick just before lockdown plus no crowds ruined our home advantage when we had all our best home fixtures in the closing run
Villa wouldn’t be able to spend spend spend of they got relegated as ffp wouldn’t allow them to. If they hadn’t stayed up this year they could have landed themselves in a world of pain! Such a shame they avoided relegation.
I’d normally agree, but I think COVID (screwing us a fourth way) will mean clubs get a temporary reprieve on finances
I agree with this 100%. before the break, they were playing some good stuff, if not always getting the points. Makes you wonder why they need the crowd to get them going but all our opponents don't Need to hire a new psychologist in the summer
I think we need to get a new defense together by start of new season. Worst in PL this season and amongst the worst last season in Championship. We can't just ignore the facts. Hopefully this issue will be addressed
Played 10 Lost 10 Scored 1 Conceded 22 We were nowhere near as bad as that before Corona hit . Most games were lost by a single goal and we blew winning positions without so much as a point . I enjoyed the Newcastle Man City Everton Bournemouth and Leicester wins but good memories were few and far between. We are financially stable for a few years which is all that matters really . 21 points and -49 goal difference. Letting in 22 and scoring 1 in 10 straight defeats is unacceptable no matter what level you are playing at . One of the worst seasons I can remember
We're certainly not PL quality, but we do have a good Championship squad. We have improved the defence with Sitti, who will give Lewis strong competition, something he hasn't had since Byram's injury. Sørensen will also improve us defensively. Hopefully Sinani and Placheta will also strengthen our attack. As for the rest of the window, we'll just have to wait and see.
David Silva's last game as well, perhap Bournemouth should sue for that disallowed goal Villa conceded Vs the Blades that was a year into the net
Several things I disagree with here. Firstly, I don't think we missed Buendia much at all. IMO the team we put out had exactly the right balance. If Buendia had played, who would you have left out? Secondly, while I agree that McLean had a poor game, I think to say that Stiepermann and Rupp were also poor is way off the mark. They both played well (and for what it's worth, the whoscored.com ratings agree with me). I really hope that wasn't the last time we see Stiepermann in a City shirt; when he plays, we play better. Among the mistakes DF has made this season, one of the biggest was not persevering with Marco. As at Carrow Road, DF had no alternative but to defend deep in numbers and try to score on the counter. But whereas at CR we scored when the opportunities presented themselves, this time we couldn't do it. Despite the scoreline, we actually looked like a team and played with determination and spirit. Haven't been able to say that very often since the re-start.
GIven how this is a recurrent theme, it's clearly not simply down to bad luck. The explanation on many occasions is the one I suggested some time ago, it's simply down to being out-numbered. In other situations, as happened today leading to goals, it isn't that the ball falls them but not us; it's that the opposition react more quickly and make the ball theirs while we faff about. I guess it's another indication of the gap in quality (and experience).
I think we'll have to disagree on Marco Robbie. He can be a good player on his day, but there have been precious few of those this season compared to last. For me, he was slow to react to opposition players and he was at fault for de Bruyne's goal. You're right about the difference between this game and our win over Citeh, when we scored 3 goals from 3 shots on target. Two of those were created by Buendia's assists, the second after he stole the ball from the defender. Rupp has good skills, but, like McLean, he failed to make an impact today in the way that Hernandez and Cantwell did and I don'think he's a DM. His WhoScored rating today was 6.17 and Marco's was 6.18, neither of which are much cause for praise, IMO, and both are close to their season ratings. By comparison, Emi is our highest rated player on 7.08. He has skills that could have challenged the Citeh players (again). I agree with you that we "played with determination and spirit" throughout, but our highest rated player could have made a difference if he had played instead of Marco.
You say that Rick, but only because Marco happened to be the Norwich player who found himself facing de Bruyne at that point. You tell me who among our other players would have done any better? We have conceded several goals from those sorts of situations. If fault there is, it lies with the coaching, not the player.
Sorry, I don't buy that Robbie. Marco overcommitted to the right and de Bruyne wrong footed him to move past and shoot. Marco is 29 and has had enough coaching in his career to avoid that mistake. I like Marco and think he can be an important player for us next season, but I'm just not convinced that he is up to PL quality. That can also be said of many of our players, in some cases because of their youth. The one closest to PL quality, IMO, is Buendia, which is why he's our player most likely to leave.
