A game of two halves

[Robbored]

Rubbish first 45. No Idea at all and Villa were deservedly ahead.

What LJ said at half time will remain unknown but whatever it was it worked.

City were a completely different outfit in the second half. More balanced, more aggressive, and decidedly more up for it. Tomlin became more involved as did GoN and Tomlin in particular was at his most tricky best and Villa could cope with him. He was my MoM for sure. 

Once City equalised the Villa heads dropped along with their body language. Chatted briefly with two Villa fans on the way back to the car and they said that's been the story of their season thus far and that DiMattel has a difficult job ahead of him. They were pretty dispondent. 

But who cares?     

 

 

[joe jordans teeth]

1 minute ago, Robbored said:

Rubbish first 45. No Idea at all and Villa were deservedly ahead.

What LJ said at half time will remain unknown but whatever it was it worked.

City were a completely different outfit in the second half. More balanced, more aggressive, and decidedly more up for it. Tomlin became more involved as did GoN and Tomlin in particular was at his most tricky best and Villa could cope with him. He was my MoM for sure. 

Once City equalised the Villa heads dropped along with their body language. Chatted briefly with two Villa fans on the way back to the car and they said that's been the story of their season thus far and that DiMattel has a difficult job ahead of him. They were pretty dispondent. 

But who cares?     

 

 

With the money they have spent on getting out of this division I would think the manager will be gone soon now they have a nut job owner

[Gakoe]

Who cares indeed Robbo. Great 3 points.

One question though, is DiMattel the Bristolian pronunciation? Like Asdal?

[Murraysrightplum]

He said "I may be the son of a weak and feeble conference manager, but I have the heart and stomach of a premier league manager"

inspirational stuff

[Clevedon Red]

The villa fans appeared to be giving their players some serious abuse when they went down the tunnel.

[Gakoe]

4 minutes ago, Murraysrightplum said:

He said "I may be the son of a weak and feeble conference manager, but I have the heart and stomach of a concrete elephant"

inspirational stuff

Couldn't resist!

[Loco Rojo]

Really was a game of two very different halves.  We were poor in the first but really turned it around in the second.  Congratulations to Lee for whatever he said at halftime.  Villa though are in real trouble.  You could see instantly how they changed after our first goal and when the second had gone in, all of their confidence was gone.  Their reaction mirrored some of the games i saw on MOTD last season.  They come up against anyone who is willing to run at them and they fall apart  I've absolutely no idea how they are going to turn it around.  Worrying times as a Villa fan.

[Bangkok Red]

31 minutes ago, Robbored said:

What LJ said at half time will remain unknown but whatever it was it worked.

No mystery Robbored  

LJ: "I said at half-time I don't care if you get beaten 5-0, just get on the ball and pass it." 
 

 

[Robbored]

23 minutes ago, Murraysrightplum said:

He said "I may be the son of a weak and feeble conference manager, but I have the heart and stomach of a premier league manager"

inspirational stuff

Indeed. 

If he did say that then I like him even more....

[NickJ]

26 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Rubbish first 45. No Idea at all and Villa were deservedly ahead.

What LJ said at half time will remain unknown but whatever it was it worked.

City were a completely different outfit in the second half. More balanced, more aggressive, and decidedly more up for it. Tomlin became more involved as did GoN and Tomlin in particular was at his most tricky best and Villa could cope with him. He was my MoM for sure. 

Once City equalised the Villa heads dropped along with their body language. Chatted briefly with two Villa fans on the way back to the car and they said that's been the story of their season thus far and that DiMattel has a difficult job ahead of him. They were pretty dispondent. 

But who cares?     

 

 

Agree with the analysis as indeed does LJ. Just listened to his interview, where he very honestly said we were outclassed first half.

When Villa started time wasting and play acting in the second half, they got exactly what they deserved.

You are wrong though that what LJ said half time will remain unknown. He said he told them he didn't care if we lost 5-0 - and emphasised to them he meant it - so long as they went out with spirit and charisma.

I really like that. I really liked a lot of his interview.

As for MoM, O'Neill bossed the midfield in the second half, sort of player whos been a unsung hero for a lot of his career.

[Guest]

Can those of us who wanted LJ for the get-go gloat yet? 

[Robbored]

I missed LJs post match interview. He obviously explained what he'd said at half time.

Did he mention Kodjia?

[Offside]

17 minutes ago, Loco Rojo said:

Really was a game of two very different halves.  We were poor in the first but really turned it around in the second.  Congratulations to Lee for whatever he said at halftime.  Villa though are in real trouble.  You could see instantly how they changed after our first goal and when the second had gone in, all of their confidence was gone.  Their reaction mirrored some of the games i saw on MOTD last season.  They come up against anyone who is willing to run at them and they fall apart  I've absolutely no idea how they are going to turn it around.  Worrying times as a Villa fan.

Yes, I thought that about Villa in the second half too. They seemed to give up very quickly (as did their fans). 

Great second half performance from City. 

[BRISTOL86]

Gave them way too much respect in the first half, like they were something special when they were actually a bunch of disinterested big time Charlie's. 

Men vs boys in the second half. Fair play to LJ for identifying what wasn't working and addressing it, under Cotterill we'd have come out for the second half doing the same thing and lost 3-0. 

Special mention for Jack Grealish who has clearly been pampered way, WAY too much in the PL. 

Hit he deck more than he hit the ball, petulant, arrogant and sulked off the pitch without shaking hands with anyone. Belter.

[Loco Rojo]

10 minutes ago, Offside said:

Yes, I thought that about Villa in the second half too. They seemed to give up very quickly (as did their fans). 

Great second half performance from City. 0

Not the best second half performance i've seen over the years (mainly because i felt sods law would let Villa undeservedly snatch something towards the end) but you're right. The one thing that was more important today was that fact that we responded and turned it around against a team labelled (incorrectly) as one of the leagues top teams tipped to go straight back up.

Showed how determined they were, the strength of character and just what it meant to them at the final whistle.  Enjoyed some of the show boating at the end between Tomlin and Wilbs - looks like they have a great understanding of each other.

[Crackers Corner]

Villa have a real discipline issue with all the yellows for abusing the officials,  they need to drop thier big fish attitude if they want to compete as they showed some real class for the first 20 mins and thier goal was quality.

I thought our midfield were the issue in the first half as they weren't supporting the defence well enough and some of the final balls were woeful, great second half though.

[The Coach]

First Half:

We were poor. Could of been 3-0 down. Reid was at fault for losing the ball leading to the goal. Poor defensive work mostly from Little contributed towards a very good goal from a fantastic player in Grealish. Defensively unorganised, midfield was non-existent, Abraham did not get a sniff. So we were fortunate to just be 1-0 down.

Second Half:

Entirely different team. Passed the ball well. Freeman and Little improved dramatically. O'Neil got into the get much more. Overall we deserved the win.

 

Where do we go from now until Deadline Day?

I honestly think Kodjia will be gone. I know LJ has gone on to say no offer has matched our value. But I'll be surprised if he stays. With the arrival of Patterson at half time (who I have no idea about) it would not surprise me if Freeman moved on. Unfortunately Freeman  who gives it a go but has no end product. And all in all is not a Championship standard player for me. I'd still like to see an experienced CB and a quality RB who would be an improvement on both Little & Matthews.

I'm also going to comment on the midfield. We need Smith back ASAP. Reid and Pack are not Championship standard in my eyes. Again today Reid was off balance and not on the same wavelength as the others in the squad. I'd also like to see us bring in another quality CM as Reid and Pack give me no confidence.

Tomlin, sorry definitely not man of the match. Was poor again today, understandable that he was played out of position, and scored a very good goal. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

All in all there is definitely something still missing within this team. We need to try get in the game more in the first half rather than just turn up in the second.

Just a few words summarising how I feel after the game today. Not gone into detail much.

Onwards & Upwards!

 

 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Red_Wizard said:

First Half:

We were poor. Could of been 3-0 down. Reid was at fault for losing the ball leading to the goal. Poor defensive work mostly from Little contributed towards a very good goal from a fantastic player in Grealish. Defensively unorganised, midfield was non-existent, Abraham did not get a sniff. So we were fortunate to just be 1-0 down.

Second Half:

Entirely different team. Passed the ball well. Freeman and Little improved dramatically. O'Neil got into the get much more. Overall we deserved the win.

 

Where do we go from now until Deadline Day?

I honestly think Kodjia will be gone. I know LJ has gone on to say no offer has matched our value. But I'll be surprised if he stays. With the arrival of Patterson at half time (who I have no idea about) it would not surprise me if Freeman moved on. Unfortunately Freeman  who gives it a go but has no end product. And all in all is not a Championship standard player for me. I'd still like to see an experienced CB and a quality RB who would be an improvement on both Little & Matthews.

I'm also going to comment on the midfield. We need Smith back ASAP. Reid and Pack are not Championship standard in my eyes. Again today Reid was off balance and not on the same wavelength as the others in the squad. I'd also like to see us bring in another quality CM as Reid and Pack give me no confidence.

Tomlin, sorry definitely not man of the match. Was poor again today, understandable that he was played out of position, and scored a very good goal. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

All in all there is definitely something still missing within this team. We need to try get in the game more in the first half rather than just turn up in the second.

Just a few words summarising how I feel after the game today. Not gone into detail much.

Onwards & Upwards!

 

 

Not sure I agree with much of this, except the summary. I thought Reid was v good second half, as was Tomlin and Pack really shored things up when he came on and got stuck in and broke a lot of their play up. I think there's plenty to be optimistic about. Freeman I think has looked every bit a championship player in the last 2 games and not sure we need a CB. Flint and Magnusson both very competent and will only improve as they gain an understanding of each other and we have Moore in waiting. Perhaps Ekstrand or a loan who's willing to play back up but I wouldn't target a CB. 

[Guest]

I actually think we started to come back into the game the last 10-15 mins of the first half . We gave them too much respect first half hour and resorted to lumping it forward. Then we started passing it, GoN started bossing the midfield and second half it just clicked.  It was a shame Byran went off injured when he did as I think we could have run riot.. 

[Murraysrightplum]

1 hour ago, Red_Wizard said:

First Half:

We were poor. Could of been 3-0 down. Reid was at fault for losing the ball leading to the goal. Poor defensive work mostly from Little contributed towards a very good goal from a fantastic player in Grealish. Defensively unorganised, midfield was non-existent, Abraham did not get a sniff. So we were fortunate to just be 1-0 down.

Second Half:

Entirely different team. Passed the ball well. Freeman and Little improved dramatically. O'Neil got into the get much more. Overall we deserved the win.

 

Where do we go from now until Deadline Day?

I honestly think Kodjia will be gone. I know LJ has gone on to say no offer has matched our value. But I'll be surprised if he stays. With the arrival of Patterson at half time (who I have no idea about) it would not surprise me if Freeman moved on. Unfortunately Freeman  who gives it a go but has no end product. And all in all is not a Championship standard player for me. I'd still like to see an experienced CB and a quality RB who would be an improvement on both Little & Matthews.

I'm also going to comment on the midfield. We need Smith back ASAP. Reid and Pack are not Championship standard in my eyes. Again today Reid was off balance and not on the same wavelength as the others in the squad. I'd also like to see us bring in another quality CM as Reid and Pack give me no confidence.

Tomlin, sorry definitely not man of the match. Was poor again today, understandable that he was played out of position, and scored a very good goal. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

All in all there is definitely something still missing within this team. We need to try get in the game more in the first half rather than just turn up in the second.

Just a few words summarising how I feel after the game today. Not gone into detail much.

Onwards & Upwards!

 

 

Not much detail, no!

[downendcity]

2 hours ago, Robbored said:

Indeed. 

If he did say that then I like him even more....

He also added " whatever I do I hope it is not enough to make Robbored like me"

[Robbored]

The improvement second half came from essentially a higher tempo and quicker pressing. No one player stood out for me but Bryan, Tomlin and Abrahams were definitely more effective and all three were involved in the goals.

As for Reid, to me he's always been lightweight and that showed in today's game. He just doesn't have the upper body strength or muscle to compete in the middle. Too easily shoved off the ball. He needs to beef up.

LJ will know all about how to hold your own in the middle. He's a diminutive guy but wasn't  often bullied out of possession in his playing days.

[Lanterne Rouge]

Villa looked exactly like they did v Luton in the cup. Steamrollered them for the first twenty and went a goal up but when Luton equalised their heads went and they never looked like getting back into the game.

We were dire first half though and ten times better in the second.

When was the last time Ross McCormack played against us and didn`t score too?

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

3 hours ago, 29AR said:

Can those of us who wanted LJ for the get-go gloat yet? 

Definitely.

I've just done exactly that on another thread.

It's brilliant when a guess seems to have paid off.

[Robbored]

5 minutes ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

Definitely.

I've just done exactly that on another thread.

It's brilliant when a guess seems to have paid off.

If you're referring to LJ appointment as a guess then you're wrong. SL has apparently been watching LJs progress as a manager ever since he retired from playing.  When Cotterill was sacked there was really only one candidate - LJ.

Ashton was told to go out and recruit him and did exactly that.

I just watched LJs extended post match interview on Player. As usual he very candid and explained what he'd said at half time and why Kodjia wasn't  in the squad. Honest and open with no "knowledge is power" attitudes at all.

Very refreshing.

 

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Tomarse said:

I actually think we started to come back into the game the last 10-15 mins of the first half . We gave them too much respect first half hour and resorted to lumping it forward. Then we started passing it, GoN started bossing the midfield and second half it just clicked.  It was a shame Byran went off injured when he did as I think we could have run riot.. 

Agree, we looked better in the final 10 of the first half and actually had done controlled posession, and for a bit better care might have got Abraham in...good cover by their CB.

Second half, we came out better.  Reid in the first half looked like he felt he shouldn't be playing against these 'superstars'.  In the second half, he crunched Grealish or Amavi (not sure who actually) and I think it made him think he should be on the same pitch.  It got the crowd behind him, and it was part of a number of things that sparked us into a 25-30 spell where we were class.  They couldn't get out of their half.

Other key things in the game:

- Flint's sliding clearance to stop them going 2-0 up

- Hordur getting sucked in too tight to Ayew who spun him twice in opening 20.  The great thing is he learns (like against Wildschut too), and learns quickly.  Was awesome after that.

- ROD's spill, then hack away with his feet.  Was it still 0-1 at that point.  Bit blurry from the excitement!

- Golbourne was galloping down the left - where did that come from?

[Robbored]

5 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

- Golbourne was galloping down the left - where did that come from?

He's in competition with Bryan at LB and we all know how attacking JB is. 

Untill today Goldbourne looked as if he'd get nose bleed everytime he ventured over the way line but he's either been told/coached to push up more or hes made the decision himself. 

Either way, for SG to have another string to him bow can only be good for him but just as importantly good for the squad.

[DaveF]

4 hours ago, Robbored said:

Rubbish first 45. No Idea at all and Villa were deservedly ahead.

What LJ said at half time will remain unknown but whatever it was it worked.

City were a completely different outfit in the second half. More balanced, more aggressive, and decidedly more up for it. Tomlin became more involved as did GoN and Tomlin in particular was at his most tricky best and Villa could cope with him. He was my MoM for sure. 

Once City equalised the Villa heads dropped along with their body language. Chatted briefly with two Villa fans on the way back to the car and they said that's been the story of their season thus far and that DiMattel has a difficult job ahead of him. They were pretty dispondent. 

But who cares?     

 

 

Spot on.

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

23 minutes ago, Robbored said:

If you're referring to LJ appointment as a guess then you're wrong. SL has apparently been watching LJs progress as a manager ever since he retired from playing.  When Cotterill was sacked there was really only one candidate - LJ.

Ashton was told to go out and recruit him and did exactly that.

I just watched LJs extended post match interview on Player. As usual he very candid and explained what he'd said at half time and why Kodjia wasn't  in the squad. Honest and open with no "knowledge is power" attitudes at all.

Very refreshing.

 

No- you've completely missed the point about what 29AR said and my reply.

Try looking at the " It's happening" thread - post 663.

Where were you, Robbo?

[Robbored]

6 minutes ago, Marina's Rolls Royce said:

No- you've completely missed the point about what 29AR said and my reply.

Try looking at the " It's happening" thread - post 663.

Where were you, Robbo?

That thread is ages old but you expect me to remember it? 

Ffs!.......