Well I gladly settled for a point. I only saw the 2nd half but we were totally outplayed and overrun in midfield. 70% v 30% possession. Good result despite having led 2 nil.
I agree, would have definately have settled for a point yesterday....Win at home, draw away... Lets hope no-one below us does any better
If we can replicate the first half all game every game then we will be fine. It shows an improvement even before players have had a chance to gel. Bit unsure of the Ephraim substitution though.
Well Kerry, my heart has not stopped pounding yet. I think we used all of our nine lives tonight. We were deffo due a bit of luck though. We have been the better team several times this year only to drop points. On the balance of the sason we deserved something. Villa looked really good. Their movement off the ball was amazing nd the two Irish lads Ireland and Keane really were impressive. But thats 4 pts out of six. IF we can get 3pts on Saturday then we will be on a bit of a roll. I think it's worth mentioning that we were down to the bones tonight and we also had 3 new players. Onouha nd Cisse put in good shifts but am a bit worried about Taiwo. I asked earlier in the week could he defend and nobody was able to give me a straight answer. It's only his first match but i already think he might be another Traore, ok defending but better going forward. Great result.
Yes NUTS, when you see Hulse and Ephraim we sure are down to the bones. Should be a different team when Traore, Taarabt, Zamora, Diakite, Helguson, Buz are all available.
I think everyone was expecting this to be struggle with such a makeshift side, to get a point is excellent although being 2 up it feels like we let it slip but I think we were very lucky to hang on. We're now 3 points clear of the drop zone and the Wolves match is gonna be massive now...
Did you see the film of Taiwo playing LB against Bayern in the CL, Norway put on here. Robben went off in tears just about,. He can defend! he picked up as it went on tonight too.
Dunno about you Kerry or the rest of you Rs on here but my head's definitely spinning after that one! Saw it all tonight didn't we? Win, lose and draw! Couldn't take me eyes off the clock after they scored their second. Was watching a good stream too - until the ****er started playing up in the last 15 minutes and freezing the action at the most desperate moments! Villa were certainly on fire. Much better than they were at our place and the tempo was hectic wasn't it? A bit like watching another version of that old Keannu Reaves film, Speed - or doing it! All in all a predictable 2-2 draw (if you know what I mean Roller!) and a much needed point.
Midfield is a major problem,at the moment it doesnt exist.MH must bring in one or two midfielders on loan or this will happen every week.
This is how I feel, our midfield gave the ball away far too often and lacked creativity - we're missing Ale, so Diakate can't come soon enough. SWP and Barton must start matching their off-field wages with performances on the pitch, they've have been sacked from any ordinary job
We got a draw, we should of won after going 2-0 up, so felt like a loss. Second - half performance was woeful. Passing practice needed, and lots of it.
No two ways about it - I am seriously disappointed. Not so much about the result which we would have all taken before the start but about surrendering a two goal lead when we have just invested heavily in two new defenders. Clearly it was not just the back line that had problems and the possession and shots stats tell their own sorry story: we were just not competing in midfield and the old problem of not being able to complete more than 1 pass were on show. But the space that was available deep inside the box for Villa's equalizer and the amounty of time available for the cross set alarm bells ringing. We will have a good sign of MHs coaching credentials come Saturday.
Possession stats are usually driven by a strong midfield - winning the ball, holding on to it and distributing it effectively. We did that for the first half hour - but after that our midfield disintegrated! Just glad that we were able to use that first half hour to get two goals on the board. Because after that we had just the one Mackie chance! I believe the defence will be solid and our two forwards will have opposition scared - but if teams put in a 5 man midfield against us, we won't have a prayer - because we won't have the ball!
Me too Col. I saw Hulse and then Smith working back there last night, and Cisse became pretty alone up top. Think we maybe forced into playing 4 5 1. with one of the 2 front guys working back a lot -don't know how good Zamora is at that?
God everyone moaned about Warnocks formation and now people are questioning Hughes 4-4-2? Cant win! If Mackie could kick the ball properly we would have been 3-1 up! But we did get lucky overall. A draw away to Villa is a good result for us. Lets judge things more against Wolves on Sat - that is the must win!
