Miserable afternoon in the rain and cold. Having said that Ithought we played well and were the better side in the first half. Farkebrought back Struijk for the useless Bijol (that’s 16 million down the drain !)and also decided to keep Nmecha after his goal at Forest (maybe DCL isn’t 100%fit – it wouldn’t surprise you would it ?). I think a lot of fans weredisappointed that Farke wasn’t prepared to change things and actually play 2wingers in a 4-3-3 rather than stick with Aaronson who isn’t a winger.
We turned the first half into a scrap which suited us andVilla didn’t like it, particularly that horrible little twat Mcginn, who was inthe refs ear all game. Our goal summed up the first half – a very scrappy goalfrom a freekick after good work from Aaronson, with Stach getting injuredwhilst winning the ball for Nmecha to put in from 2 yards (he didn’t reallyknow much about it). I didn’t celebrate the goal because it looked like therewas a possibility of a foul. VAR is ruining football. They had one or two moments but on the whole I thought wedid really well and had opportunities especially down our left to be furtherahead. I was in the concourse finishing my pint of bath water (can’treally call it beer) when Villa equalised. I’ve seen the goal later and it justlooks like we came out after the break half asleep. The same old problem thatseems to be plaguing us. Unmarked player gets cross into the area and unmarkedplayer scores despite 3 or 4 white shirts being in close proximity. What isgoing on ? How can this happen ? Are they all looking at each other andthinking it’s not my man it’s yours. It’s criminal. Once the game, started to open up, Villa showed theirquality on the break and we seemed to quickly run out of steam. Actually, I don’tthink we had any steam at all after the break. Villa changed it at half-time, 2subs , fresh legs and what a good manager does when he sees things aren’t goingwell. We had to wait until 70 minutes (almost to the second) for Farke to makechanges. A bloke in front of me was counting it down and I think James and DCLwere on their feet at 70 minutes and came on 30 seconds later. The crowd weresinging for a sub earlier and I think Farke just thought “fuck you, I’m waitingtill 70 minutes”. The subs did change things. James was lively and caused themall sorts of problems down the right, doing simple stuff that Aaronson was justnot made to do. We scored – another goal I didn’t celebrate because I thoughtJames was offside but turns out DCL did a Maradona to get the ball over theline. Haven’t seen this ‘goal’ back but the speed that James’s cross came in, I’dbe surprised if DCL intentionally used his hand to put it in (could be wrong). Then came the moment of the game. Villa got a free-kick onthe edge of the box and we lined up with our familiar wall with Aaronson laidon the floor behind him. Rogers ran up and just dinked it over the wall intothe centre of the net. It wasn’t in the top corner or high in the net, it wasn’teven hit that hard, it was just a little chip over the wall. I could have doneit. Our keeper didn’t even move and he only had to move a yard and a bit to hisleft to catch it ? At very least he should have anticipated the ball comingover the wall and try to get it. If you decide that the wall will cover your entireleft side of the net and you’re just going to concentrate on the small area tothe right, you’re in trouble. I think it’s a terrible goalkeeping error.However, it isn’t the first time this season where we have come unstuck at free-kicks.Remember Darlow against Bournemouth. The Bournemouth player at least whackedbut the wall didn’t cover and Darlow didn’t move. So maybe there’s somethingfundamentally wrong when defending freekicks. Has to be sorted soon though. Overall, I thought we deserved a point but Villa showed theirquality second half and to be honest it was inevitable. This was a much betterperformance than the last two but Farke’s system and his inability and stubbornnessto change things is frustrating and I think most fans are ready to see the backof him. I’m not completely in the Farke out camp but he needs to play with 2wingers, he needs to sort out the isolation of our no 9 and he needs to sortout the defensive frailities. It’s a big job and I’m not sure he’s up to it. Scores: Perri – 3. Really poor keeping. Ironically, I don’t thinkPerri or Darlow are as good at saving shots that Meslier. We have a problem inthis position. Bogle – 6. I think he was nearest to Rogers for the firstgoal but didn’t do anything. I thought 2nd half especially withJames on the pitch he did well coming forward but ultimately he’s a defender. Gudmonnsen – 7. Did well going forward in the first half anddidn’t do much wrong. He wasn’t responsible for Villa’s equaliser, he coveredCash but then Okafor was asleep when the ball was played back for the cross. Rodon – 8. I thought he battled well and looked to get thebetter of Watkins. Struijk – 7. Didn’t really do anything wrong and I do thinkhe is a better option than Bijol, although that’s not saying much. Stach – 7. Wasn’t on long but started well. Ampadu – 7. I thought he had a decent game after recent poorperformances. Longstaff – 6. Lots of effort, lots of tackles but littlequality. Okafor – 6. Started brightly and caused them problems. Fadedsecond half and has to realise he does need to defend at times. Aaronson – 6. He’s obviously getting slated but it’s not hisfault he’s playing at right wing and isn’t a winger so he comes inside everytimeand it’s not his fault he doesn’t have the quality for the premier league. Hedid well for the freekick for our goal, he had a good shot well saved firsthalf and he did lots of good work. He also lost the ball in the 2ndhalf easily. Nmecha – 7. I thought he played well throughout. Obviouslytotally isolated but I thought he looked a bit fitter, quicker and stronger andI think he gave the Villa centre back a good battle. Is he the answer ?probably not but the options are limited Subs: Tanaka – 8. I thought it was a blessing in disguise whenStach had do go off. I thought Tanaka was our best player and he just got roundthe pitch and hassled them off the ball. He was taken off cos he was on ayellow and was still putting in desperate challenges but for me he starts overStach or Longstaff, any day of the week. James – 7. Caused them problems. Piroe – 6. You do notice when Piroe comes on that whilst hecan’t really run, he is a good footballer. Can he start ? Probably not. Mention for the ref - he was shite and Villa should have had more yellow cards. Mcginn should have been off. _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ Rest In Peace Steve "Score one, score one more!" Gillen.
