Monaco vs Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[ChicagoLion]

I don’t think injuries are a fair excuse, all teams suffer injuries, it’s why you have a squad.
Monaco did not have their best team out, but were much better than us.
We got the selection,tactics, performances and substitutions wrong.
We are not good enough at this stage to deal with the demands of both the Champions and Premier League.

[London Villan]

It was also in-line with the majority of our cup performances under Unai.

Low intensity
Trying to control the game
Hard to watch

There have been too many for it not to be a conscious strategy - preserve players,

[fredm]

Without McGinn we have nobody who is going to get at people in midfield.  Our captain is the goalkeeper so he cant get up peoples backs, Tieleman keeps playing it very cool but needs to quicken up, the two centre halves need to be told to get the ball moving forward so much quicker. What we need is a Townsend, Keane or Souness type in there to make things happen.

[olaftab]

I was very bored by around the 55th minute mark. When were bad we do it properly.

That’s about the time I would have left the ground if I could. Performance was a bit like our pathetic showings against lower league teams in the cup.

[eamonn]

It was also in-line with the majority of our cup performances under Unai.

Low intensity
Trying to control the game
Hard to watch

There have been too many for it not to be a conscious strategy - preserve players,

Preserve players for when though?! Winning 10 on the spin in April and May? High-risk strat.

[VillaTim]

Poor low tempo performance and poor atmosphere, felt like a testimonial game . That said if Watkins and Bailey tuck their great chances away we've won the game .
Fine margins , cannot miss chances like that in the champions league .

[Astnor]

Without McGinn we have nobody who is going to get at people in midfield.  Our captain is the goalkeeper so he cant get up peoples backs, Tieleman keeps playing it very cool but needs to quicken up, the two centre halves need to be told to get the ball moving forward so much quicker. What we need is a Townsend, Keane or Souness type in there to make things happen.

Yes to this. Was nice and tidy from us in Monaco but lacking some of this.

[Sexual Ealing]

Quite simply, if we will insist on dressing like Scotland we run every risk of turning into them.

[Clampy]

Like I said after the game, I thought we needed someone alongside Kamara. I know that sounds defensive but I think it would have done us a lot of good.

Even the best manager's have an offday and last night was one of Emery's.

[PaulWinch again]

Like I said after the game, I thought we needed someone alongside Kamara. I know that sounds defensive but I think it would have done us a lot of good.

Even the best manager's have an offday and last night was one of Emery's.

Yup you have to be able to build out, otherwise you’re basically reliant on a moment of magic. Obviously JD can do that, but it’s not really a sustainable way of achieving a positive outcome.

[brontebilly]

They were barely PL standard and we got beat.  Awful result. 

The last 30 mins was about as bad as we get and it was mostly the result of trying Watkins and Duran together.  It just doesn’t suit either player and I don’t think we’ll see it again.  They will both have to accept that they will be rotated and either get on with it or leave the club. 

Rogers was imperious first half and terrible second.  He looked totally gassed. 

Bailey… jeez, he needs benching for a bit.  I hope Malen is more robust physically and mentally. 

Maatsen looks ok going forward but crap defensively and not as good as Digne at either aspect. I hope I’m wrong but it looks a shite transfer at the moment (I know, PSR, but still). 

This seasons tactics have been mentioned on here, but I think it’s totally down to Emery realising that playing the high line is so physically demanding that a team competing on so many fronts with a relatively small squad of genuinely first team players is… risky.  See spurs. 

Barely PL standard? They're 4th in the French league.  We SHOULD be beating teams like that, even with a below par performance and the chances missed (I'm convinced we win that game if Ollie's chance doesn't get pushed past the post) - but we don't need to negate the standard of team we're playing. They are decent enough.

There ARE some teams in the Champions League who would struggle in the Prem, and probably struggle to get out of the Championship. We beat one of them 3-0 away from home. But Monaco are NOT one of them.

EDIT: totally agree on the tactics, I also think teams started to figure out our high line towards the end of the season, and Unai is trying to find a new way to play.  As you say, Spurs have gone the opposite way and doubled-down on their style from last season, and look how it's working out for them.

It was like watching grown ups playing a youth team in the 1st half.  I thought they were ordinary at best and like a less physical Ipswich.  Young Boys aside, easily the worst team we’ve played in the CL.  I hope Celtic make that statement moribund next week! 

Yeah, the change in tactics is another sign that Emery is a serious (and seriously great) coach.  He seemed highly pissed off with some of the players last night.

The players have a right to be pissed off with Emery too. He had a night to forget on the sideline and talked a lot of utter shite afterwards. Two up top didn't work, sure so why not correct it during the second half and/or start Duran not Watkins. Did we really need to find out yet again in a crucial CL game that those two cannot play together?

Players didn't follow instructions, even if that is true (and it's a serious enough accusation) then it should be dealt with in the dressing room.

There was more than an element of him chucking players in front of the proverbial bus after a nightmare second half. We win and lose together.

[Drummond]

When you say 'we' you clearly don't include yourself. 😉

[Brazilian Villain]

When you say 'we' you clearly don't include yourself. 😉

Not directly, but I've heard that Unai pins bb's match ratings on the dressing room wall to try and gee the players up for the next game.

[Pat McMahon]

I got home tonight and once again had a great trip, sullied somewhat by an absolutely abysmal performance.

I haven’t read this thread by we were lacking across the pitch and I’d say only Cash and maybe Digne were not poor. Bailey was visibly off and Buendia and Roger’s seemed to be diametrically opposed in one being ok for a while with the other being dire, and then swapping.

Another brain fart to give away a needless corner and allow the opposition to score with their first chance. None of the subs helps, notably Duran alongside Watkins, and between them I think they had once chance all game ( not seen it again but thought Ollie should have scored it).

It was avery sterile atmosphere, the away end is a long way from the pitch and our fans were very flat. The highlight of the evening was bumping into Mick Dale on the train back to Nice after - he’s doing well and working elsewhere, saying his new employers look after him well.

Second visit to Monaco and it’s bling but sterile. Nice is much nicer. And despite warnings, you could find drink in Monaco. Who’d have thought Hagen Daasz would sell alcohol?

[eamonn]

When you say 'we' you clearly don't include yourself. 😉

Not directly, but I've heard that Unai pins bb's match ratings on the dressing room wall to try and gee the players up for the next game.

Us Irish lads are hard to impress.