Even though we got the three points today, I'm still quite mad about our performance and also Potter.
I'll deal with Potter first - we started the game in a 3-5-2 with the 5 including wingbacks. This pleased me because Potter has been strawberry floating around in recent matches with other formations despite our performances being excellent with this setup. However, Lallana is subbed at half-time, unsure why, I assume an injury because it's Lallana. Veltman is sent on in the defence so that Ben White can move into the midfield, and this was the first rage-inducing moment of the match for me, the first of many. Ben White is a very promising centre half, he is not by any stretch a midfielder or even a defensive midfielder. He is not used to playing in the middle, or receiving passes in that position. From that point on we never controlled the game, because that isn't something he is used to doing. We had Alzate on the bench who is excellent with the ball at his feet and gelled wonderfully with Bissouma at the start of the season but for some unknown reason has fallen out of favour.
Moving onto the players, the next thing that pissed me off was the marking for Villa's goal - or the lack of marking to be more precise. I've watched the replay a few times and I cannot figure out who is supposed to be marking the goalscorer. We have to be the absolutely worst in the league when it comes to set-pieces - we cannot defend them for gooseberry fool, it never changes and under Potter we barely ever score from them. It's our kryptonite.
Next annoying thing - for no reason, within about three minutes of each other, Veltman and March gave away corners for no reason. In March's case, it was a cross which he headed out, but there wasn't a Villa player within 10ft of him. Veltman actually let the ball run out for a corner, believing the last touch had come from a Villa player. Now considering how poor we are at defending set pieces, I was so, so angry at these two instances of what I have termed Stupid Things™, where Brighton defenders periodically have brain-farts and do something utterly moronic.
Not wanting to be left out, next was the turn of Webster. A cross came in which he met on the 18 yard line. Instead of simply heading it out, like basically any normal person would, he decides to strawberry floating chest it up and attempts to volley it away; only for him to lose his footing and present Douglas Luiz with a free shot from around 20 yards. Mercifully, Luiz blasted it over to such a degree that the ball may have left the stadium.
Now back to Potter - Danny Welbeck was clearly gassed and was down with cramp. Instead of subbing Welbeck, he brings off the tireless workhorse that is Neil Maupay and Dan Burn takes his place. Because of this and replacing Lallana with a defender instead of a midfielder , we now have no less than SEVEN defenders on the pitch (Veltman, Dunk, White, Lamptey, March, Burn and Webster). Discounting those players, we have Mat Ryan in goal, Pascal Gross who is clearly spent, and Danny Welbeck who is struggling with cramp and probably not still at full fitness. strawberry floating Bravo, Potter.
Onto Oliver, he got both the big decisions wrong, IMO. The two tackles that he booked Lamptey for, neither were yellows and there was nothing in the second one at all, Grealish comes across him and wins the foul. Not worthy of a second yellow. With the penalty... all I can say is that if I was a Villa fan I'd be really unhappy right now. We had a similar one against Man Utd where the penalty was given after Pogba bundled over Connolly from behind. Connolly was looking for it on that occasion, but a foul is a foul. The Villa player was looking for it here, and whilst March did get a touch on the ball, it's more of an inadvertent touch, as opposed to the tackle that he was going for. The Villa's player's reaction probably hasn't helped him in this regard but it shouldn't matter.
One thing I think we did well was keeping Grealish (reasonably) quiet.
Was also kind of stunned that there was no comeback on the Villa player for elbowing Veltman in the face.
I felt a draw was a fair result personally. Fun game though, would be interested to hear what Jenny, Lotus and the other Villa fans thought.
Check out my YouTube channel! One man should not have this much power in this game. Luckily I'm not an ordinary man.
Tomous wrote:Ah, baffled and frustrated by Graham Potter's substitutions Drumstick? I remember that feeling too well.
Don't get me wrong he has done so much positive... But some decisions just make no sense.
You sound like me circa 2017/18
That is what made it even more infuriating, because he was getting so much right elsewhere but his game mgmt and substitution decisions came up short so many times.
Drumstick wrote:Even though we got the three points today, I'm still quite mad about our performance and also Potter.
I'll deal with Potter first - we started the game in a 3-5-2 with the 5 including wingbacks. This pleased me because Potter has been strawberry floating around in recent matches with other formations despite our performances being excellent with this setup. However, Lallana is subbed at half-time, unsure why, I assume an injury because it's Lallana. Veltman is sent on in the defence so that Ben White can move into the midfield, and this was the first rage-inducing moment of the match for me, the first of many. Ben White is a very promising centre half, he is not by any stretch a midfielder or even a defensive midfielder. He is not used to playing in the middle, or receiving passes in that position. From that point on we never controlled the game, because that isn't something he is used to doing. We had Alzate on the bench who is excellent with the ball at his feet and gelled wonderfully with Bissouma at the start of the season but for some unknown reason has fallen out of favour.
Moving onto the players, the next thing that pissed me off was the marking for Villa's goal - or the lack of marking to be more precise. I've watched the replay a few times and I cannot figure out who is supposed to be marking the goalscorer. We have to be the absolutely worst in the league when it comes to set-pieces - we cannot defend them for gooseberry fool, it never changes and under Potter we barely ever score from them. It's our kryptonite.
Next annoying thing - for no reason, within about three minutes of each other, Veltman and March gave away corners for no reason. In March's case, it was a cross which he headed out, but there wasn't a Villa player within 10ft of him. Veltman actually let the ball run out for a corner, believing the last touch had come from a Villa player. Now considering how poor we are at defending set pieces, I was so, so angry at these two instances of what I have termed Stupid Things™, where Brighton defenders periodically have brain-farts and do something utterly moronic.
Not wanting to be left out, next was the turn of Webster. A cross came in which he met on the 18 yard line. Instead of simply heading it out, like basically any normal person would, he decides to strawberry floating chest it up and attempts to volley it away; only for him to lose his footing and present Douglas Luiz with a free shot from around 20 yards. Mercifully, Luiz blasted it over to such a degree that the ball may have left the stadium.
Now back to Potter - Danny Welbeck was clearly gassed and was down with cramp. Instead of subbing Welbeck, he brings off the tireless workhorse that is Neil Maupay and Dan Burn takes his place. Because of this and replacing Lallana with a defender instead of a midfielder , we now have no less than SEVEN defenders on the pitch (Veltman, Dunk, White, Lamptey, March, Burn and Webster). Discounting those players, we have Mat Ryan in goal, Pascal Gross who is clearly spent, and Danny Welbeck who is struggling with cramp and probably not still at full fitness. strawberry floating Bravo, Potter.
Onto Oliver, he got both the big decisions wrong, IMO. The two tackles that he booked Lamptey for, neither were yellows and there was nothing in the second one at all, Grealish comes across him and wins the foul. Not worthy of a second yellow. With the penalty... all I can say is that if I was a Villa fan I'd be really unhappy right now. We had a similar one against Man Utd where the penalty was given after Pogba bundled over Connolly from behind. Connolly was looking for it on that occasion, but a foul is a foul. The Villa player was looking for it here, and whilst March did get a touch on the ball, it's more of an inadvertent touch, as opposed to the tackle that he was going for. The Villa's player's reaction probably hasn't helped him in this regard but it shouldn't matter.
One thing I think we did well was keeping Grealish (reasonably) quiet.
Was also kind of stunned that there was no comeback on the Villa player for elbowing Veltman in the face.
I felt a draw was a fair result personally. Fun game though, would be interested to hear what Jenny, Lotus and the other Villa fans thought.
I’m mad about your performance as well because I had Villa on my coupon and it was all that stood between me and £250.
