The opposition view: Aston Villa

  • by Staff Writer
  • Tuesday, 17th September 2019

There was a surprising lack of self-entitlement from the Villa fans following Monday night's goalless draw - perhaps that's what a couple of seasons in the Second Division does for you. Enjoy the post-match gossip from central Birmingham in the latest edition of the OV...


"We played well for the majority of the game and deserved the three points slightly more than West Ham. But a point against a team that finished 10th and spent £40million on a striker over the summer is never a bad result. The game was end-to-end throughout and we tired in the second half just as the red card came about. Pushing for the winner in the last 20 minutes unfortunately finished us off and we looked leggy for the last 10 minutes. Overall it was a disappointing night but once again we haven't embarrassed ourselves and have shown signs of what we can do."
- wilko154

"We really need to stop giving it away to other teams. West Ham are a decent team so a point isn't terrible, but it's just not good enough really."
- Mantis

"Not good enough to win and not bad enough to lose, so probably a fair result. I thought Wes worked very, very hard and with better wingers he will score, but he should have tucked Jack's cross away. I think the wingers need to be much bolder and forthright in their approach, but In truth perhaps they're not quite good enough. The front three certainly lack cohesion and understanding and their positional play is suspect. West Ham have a better team, so we probably done well really."
- TRO

"Some people post as if it's ok that we weren't very good in the final third because West Ham are good and because they will finish top 10. No. We weren't very good offensively, and we wouldn't have scored against Derby yesterday or Norwich yesterday. We need to address that issue quickly. It's two points lost, not one gained, and we really need to be picking these up quickly, especially considering we have had a relatively easy run in so far."
- Mic09

"We look like a team that has only played five games together. Who'd have thought? Credit to West Ham. They were the better side off the ball than they were on it - which is why it was no surprise that having only 10 men made little difference. Rice and Noble did an excellent job in midfield stopping the likes of McGinn and Grealish and closing down at every opportunity. Even so, I like what we are trying to do - we just aren't there yet."
- ozvillafan




"Good ref, for a change. The players played too within themselves, too scared. A shocker from the manager. He rarely ever changes a game for the better, always too late to change things anyway. Very negative against 10 men at home."
- kurtsimonw

"I gave the ref a 'Good' rating, but to be honest, I cant stand the prick. He did have a good control of the game, and did allow it to flow. Mr Dean has a penchant for attention, but I believe he gave both sides a fair game. I don't like him, but credit was due. He gets my 'Good'."
- AJ

"I’d have taken a point pre-game, but obviously it's always disappointing when they go down to 10. They went down too easy but the ref was fine - in fact, I’d say good overall and at least consistent."
- penguin

"Can't believe I'm the first to give the ref a very poor rating. He booked Mings for a nothing challenge and also Grealish for his first foul. Noble clearly dived looking for a penalty and should have been off for a second yellow there and then; doesnt matter that it was the first half. As for their sending off, we might feel we deserve the rub of the green - but two wrongs dont make a right, Elmo went down far too easily and it was barely a foul let alone a second yellow."
- Junxs

"Taking off the claret and blue specs... oh. I think a point was probably a fair result. We had the better chances, they looked more composed on the ball. Slightly disappointing we got worse with the man advantage, if anything it hindered our play with them sat back and hitting us on the counter."
- WakefieldVillan


"West Ham had done their homework on our players. There were lots of little moments where one of our players would do something with the ball and the West Ham player seemed to anticipate it. I think this caused a lot of our misplaced passes, as our players were forced into doing something they didn't really want to do. A good example was when Jota broke down the right and Wesley started making the same run he made for the Everton goal. The West Ham LCB suddenly realised what was happening and moved to shut it off. But I also thought El Ghazi had been completely worked out. This is the thing at this level. One dimensional players get found out. Jota, El Ghazi, Taylor, Wesley are all a bit too predictable, and a well drilled side will have done their homework, and will be ready for it."
- KentVillan

"I would have taken this before the game as West Ham are playing well. But, it's a big concern how toothless we are. It's highlighting exactly why we should have moved heaven and earth to sign Benrahma and another striker in the summer."
- jacketspuds

"A point at home to a mid-table team should never be a 'good point' especially when they played a quarter of the match with ten men. Have to face reality at some point, can't hide forever in the happy place of the euphoria of the play-off win. That's gone now, people are allowed to hope for a win, no matter who we're playing and feel disappointed if that win doesn't come about. There's no point in pretending everything is amazing, otherwise before you know it we'll be cut adrift in the place they call the relegation zone with no way of getting out."
- useless

"How on earth have we managed to get our hands on two strikers that can't score? Will we score 20 goals this season? I don't think so. A good result, but three points were up for grabs."
- AVTuco

"I thought our passing was shockingly bad today. Poor decisions and wrong weight far too often. Makes it too hard to break down defenses and create quality opportunities. It’s hard for me to call Wesley shite, I think he suffers from a lack of creativity from many of our other players. Overall our attack is very concerning. If we can’t start creating more for Wesley and capitalising on our (few) opportunities we are in big trouble. Overall it’s a point, which gets us out of the bottom three, but this one felt like a loss. We were thoroughly outworked after the red card and there is simply no excuse for that. We need to start seeing results soon."
- MNVillan

"I would've taken a point before the game kicked off. They have some brilliant attacking players in the likes of Anderson, Haller and Lanzini. Even 11v11 it never felt like our defence was under pressure. Strangest thing tonight which I'm hoping someone has the answer for, why did Declan Rice applaud the Holte end for a good 30 seconds? Im not confusing him for Snoddy as his came over later. Is Rice a Villa fan or something? Or just trying to get fans on his side to keep his England caps up? Weird."
- BennettVilla

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