Aston Villa v Everton. 1st March at 1945.

[froggyted]

In all seriousness, thought we were pretty average tonight.

Was working but had us on in the back ground.

We got that early goal and then sat back, but got the balance right to get the second (a great move). But, we did sit back too deep and if not for Joel we would have conceded. You could clearly see Martinez trying to push us up the field.

Second half is the first time we've come out strong after the interval in ages though. Obviously it was just a case of upping the tempo and it was another good goal but dreadful defending from them.

Then we sat back and then sat back too deep - changing to a back three didn't help as Garde through on Gestede (who tbh i thought would have started). Poor from Jags and Stones for their goal and then we had Robles to thank for a sharp save from Ayew.

Overall, a decent display and we ground out a win, though I do feel we could have easily got 5 or 6 had we ever got out of second gear.

Ratings

Robles - 8 - made some superb saves, commanded the area well. Couldn't do much for their goal.
Coleman - 6 good defensively and looked sharper going forward as well.
Jagielka - 6 - made some good blocks and last-ditch tackles.
Funes-Mori - 8 - really good performance from him. Chuffed he got a goal and put in a really good cross with his weak foot for Rom's goal.
Oviedo - 6 - another solid display at the back and hopefully the injury isn't a bad one.
McCarthy - 6 - sloppy in possession at times but overall decent.
Barry - 7 - another steady, impressive performance. Right place, right time, as always.
Lennon - 7 - really dangerous going forward and looks to be thriving down that side.
Barkley - 6 - pretty quiet but still made some great runs from midfield
Mirallas - 6 - great corner and a lovely ball for Lennon's goal. Unlucky not to score with that volley at the end.
Lukaku - 6 - another game, another goal. Not at his best but did the job when it mattered.

Baines - n/a - not much time to do anything really.
Stones - 6 - Partially at fault for their goal but a 5 would be harsh. Just isn't anywhere near as comfortable when playing as a right back/in a three-man defence. Then again first game in over a month so understandably not fully sharp.
Niasse - n/a - not much time so hard to judge

That's a great analysis, just about spot on.

 

[peteblue]

I hope Lescott enjoys Championship football......

 

[mmmmsnouts]

problem tonight was they played 3 at the back and the 2 full backs pushed into midfield. They outnumbered us there and forced us into errors and to lose possession. Barkley having an off day didn't help either.

Martinez tried to counter this by also going 3 at the back - but it seemed to disrupt us more...Once again his tactical flaws have been laid bare for all to see.

If you're going to try out a new tactic and you're not sure it will work, a 3-0 lead with 15 minutes left is a good time to do it. Didn't work, no real harm done.

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

If you're going to try out a new tactic and you're not sure it will work, a 3-0 lead with 15 minutes left is a good time to do it. Didn't work, no real harm done.

Agreed - but surely the team should be drilled and comfortable with alternative formations? We looked awful when we changed shape

 

[DualityNSNO]

In all seriousness, thought we were pretty average tonight.

Was working but had us on in the back ground.

We got that early goal and then sat back, but got the balance right to get the second (a great move). But, we did sit back too deep and if not for Joel we would have conceded. You could clearly see Martinez trying to push us up the field.

Second half is the first time we've come out strong after the interval in ages though. Obviously it was just a case of upping the tempo and it was another good goal but dreadful defending from them.

Then we sat back and then sat back too deep - changing to a back three didn't help as Garde through on Gestede (who tbh i thought would have started). Poor from Jags and Stones for their goal and then we had Robles to thank for a sharp save from Ayew.

Overall, a decent display and we ground out a win, though I do feel we could have easily got 5 or 6 had we ever got out of second gear.

Ratings

Robles - 8 - made some superb saves, commanded the area well. Couldn't do much for their goal.
Coleman - 6 good defensively and looked sharper going forward as well.
Jagielka - 6 - made some good blocks and last-ditch tackles.
Funes-Mori - 8 - really good performance from him. Chuffed he got a goal and put in a really good cross with his weak foot for Rom's goal.
Oviedo - 6 - another solid display at the back and hopefully the injury isn't a bad one.
McCarthy - 6 - sloppy in possession at times but overall decent.
Barry - 7 - another steady, impressive performance. Right place, right time, as always.
Lennon - 7 - really dangerous going forward and looks to be thriving down that side.
Barkley - 6 - pretty quiet but still made some great runs from midfield
Mirallas - 6 - great corner and a lovely ball for Lennon's goal. Unlucky not to score with that volley at the end.
Lukaku - 6 - another game, another goal. Not at his best but did the job when it mattered.

Baines - n/a - not much time to do anything really.
Stones - 6 - Partially at fault for their goal but a 5 would be harsh. Just isn't anywhere near as comfortable when playing as a right back/in a three-man defence. Then again first game in over a month so understandably not fully sharp.
Niasse - n/a - not much time so hard to judge

Spot on for everything other than Barry imo - invisible for periods and loads of wrong passes in the first half. Allowed an off-game obviously, but I'd say he was a 6, same critique as McCarthy's. He did have plenty of good touches as well, but this wasn't one of his better games.

 

[zirc]

Crap performance, but 3 points are all that matter I guess.

Will need to be at least 10 times better against West Ham this weekend though.

Nailed on Lukaku hat trick and Mume volleying Payet into row Z.

 

[rochdaleblue]

Did just enough, nothing more. Another 3 goals sees us joint second highest scorers in the league. 20 goals ahead of Stoke who the media have been full of this season. If only we could have defended better!!!

 

[BlueToff]

Spot on for everything other than Barry imo - invisible for periods and loads of wrong passes in the first half. Allowed an off-game obviously, but I'd say he was a 6, same critique as McCarthy's. He did have plenty of good touches as well, but this wasn't one of his better games.

fair enough mate.

As I said, I had it on mainly in the background so will probably be off on a few of them. Those ratings were more from the bits I saw in detail (first 15 of each half, basically), plus the bits and pieces of the rest.

By the sounds of it some accurate changes may be -

Barry - 6
Barks - 5
Mirallas - 6/7

 

[zirc]

5th in the goal difference league!

2nd most goals scored, 1st most from open play.

10th place.

Everton that.

 

[AsiaAsia82]

Yes 3 points, win ugly and all that s^*t, but we were poor tonight, we seemed disjointed as if the break had done more harm than good. Substitution and formation change caused more problems, we lost any momentum.
FunesMori and Robles were good value, but RM versus Hiddink worries me.
10th is underachieving
COYB

 

[jal123]

Any highlights online lads?

 

[DualityNSNO]

fair enough mate.

As I said, I had it on mainly in the background so will probably be off on a few of them. Those ratings were more from the bits I saw in detail (first 15 of each half, basically), plus the bits and pieces of the rest.

By the sounds of it some accurate changes may be -

Barry - 6
Barks - 5
Mirallas - 6/7

Yeah, I'd say that's fair really. Barkley just didn't have a good game at all, sadly, as you'd think that he'd smash these, like.


*OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE HE'S GAINED ALL THAT WEIGHT LADS INNIT

 

[BlueToff]

Yeah, I'd say that's fair really. Barkley just didn't have a good game at all, sadly, as you'd think that he'd smash these, like.


*OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE HE'S GAINED ALL THAT WEIGHT LADS INNIT

He still played a key part in our second goal, like. Just one of them but the important thing is we got the result with a decent enough display all-round.

 

[mmmmsnouts]

Agreed - but surely the team should be drilled and comfortable with alternative formations? We looked awful when we changed shape

When was the last time we tried 3 at the back? Don't remember if we were doing that the last time Stones had to move to right back, might have still been 4.

 

[andy4efc]

Walter smith would have this squad higher.

Nonsense.