Holmes_and_Watson

The Sammy Lee / Dennis Rofe dream team!

Hands

AMN has to drop his standards. No more playing the ball up to an effective talented group of attackers. In fact, no more passing it up to the attack at all. side and back...side and back... 🙂 Learn those Automatisms Ainsley!

I think that's he there because he follows Ralph's instructions. Positionally, he's the guy to support the attacks of the others. To provide a little of everything for them. He should be the one dropping into the space left when KWP attacks. He should be the one adjusting that, when JWP goes to support KWP. Adams was non existant as we had no midfield control, forward thinking from Diallo or JWP, and there was no plan to find another way of getting it to him; Djenepo was a bit all over the place; AA worked hard as a one man press which was pointless, and didn't get a supply either; Aribo was very deep when he came on, and even Stu was passing it backwards. Mo's not likely to be the one to grab the game, or offer loads of goals. But post game analysis will probably show him being round about where he should have been, ready to do his job. In Ralph's world of Automatisms, Mo is proabably fairly solid. Even though he did overcommit recently, leaving a gap that cost us a goal down that flank.

We lost to pretty much Villa's only real chance of the game. A chance that came when we were slow, switched off a little from the resulting corner and got a bit unlucky where the ball off the bar dropped. RalphBall v2 is set up to try and not concede, and is let down by player error. We're then to capitalise on any chances we get. We have to absorb a fair bit of pressure every match, so the chances of those player errors increase. Especially considering how raw some of our players are. And as we've seen we go behind more often than not and have to fight our way back into the game. As we are dropping back, the chances we get to capitalise on are a lot fewer. Tonight, our fight back was a BK stretch to try and reach a knockdown. It's nowhere near as entertaining to watch. When it doesn;t work (and since we so often go behind, it might rarely be working) it's especially grim. What's worse is that, being RalphBall, it's by the numbers. Villa's defence looked shaky every time the slightest bit of pressure was applied. This was often by a hard working AA. But there was no appetite to change the plan to take advantage of that. Our system, and our game, is won or lost by the plan Ralph sets up in advance. Villa stopped the ball getting to Adams. That was made easier as our midfield, without a Romeu had no control over the game. Hopefully Romeo is back soon, or that AMN gets up to speed. JWP was playing a previous version of RalphBall, where everything went side and back. He had a few opporunities to take the game by the scruff, or at least push forward. He chose the most defensive option every time bar one. That's Ralph telling him that, as I used to see the same thing click in Redmond's mind. Even a goal down, don't take that risk, don't push forward. It just allowed them to recover easily all game. Stu did the same late on, resulting in it going all the way back from an attacking position. I'd have rather seen a few more chances, if only to then hold some others more accountable. We were wasteful when we had it. KWP (trying to prove something to a national manager who has multi-pack deal of right backs he'd rather choose ahead of him) overcommited. Djenepo looked to have learned a few things from being left back. But he switched off at what resulted in key moments, and over commited too. Larios (just a kid, so that's going to happen) did it too (great track back and tackle at one point though) We lacked a clear plan, for when we wanted to push forward. Our press didn't work, as not everyone worked together (Djenepo off a few times). I though Mo and Djenepo could have switched. We were behind and KWP didn't have as much room after that to link up with either Stu or JWP. We had no midfield to pass through, wich really stifled us tonight. Villa caught Perraud a couple of times before he went off. Mo was fouled a number of times too. Positives are that we kept it fairly tight. We lacked our key midfield player and really have to work on transitioning with more purpose and identity when we have it. Ideally, look to exploit opportunities, as a unit, without being reckless.

That was our best chance.

Villa are in bother now. With the peppering we've given their goal, an injured keeper isn;t going to do well. 🙂 He could be lying there on a stretcher, and we'd not get it past him.

Sadly Mo has had to be sacrificed as we have to push even more forward. 🙂

Djenepo loses us the press there.

we are faffing about now because Stu didn;t get the ball into the box when he had the chance.

Villa haven't created much this half (not that they have to), but it's still more likely to be them than us at the moment to score.

Well, he can hardly come on until that happens. Spontaneous attacking would ruin our balance. 🙂

Boy, are we missing a Romeu type figure in that midfield. Even a Romeo figure after the first few games.

Oh hey! That's a booking ref! Villa have targeted Mo all evening! He's won us a few free kicks.

Mo wins us another freekick! Come on Mo!

and again, a lack of options results in us giving away a free kick.

Hmmm. AA wins it well in midfield. It ends up back with our keeper, as there's just no movement in tour midfield to move the ball around.

AA runs in from very deep. Villa really don;t like the pressure. A RalphBall v1.0 would have given them kittens in the first 45.

I thought the ref was being generous not giving a freekick to Coutinho. Haivn gseen the replay it was a clar dive, and the ref should have booked him.

Mo wins a free kick! Come on Mo!

It's another game where Ralph will look back and think it very nearly worked. contain them and look to capitalise on any breaks chances. His second half plan would be to make some more attacking subs, where needed to put more pressure on the tiring home side. He will look at us not being in position and conceding a corenr. He will look at us being slow to react to the corner and being unfortunate on where it fell. But, it's another game where containing results in us not creating much, and certainly not punishing a Villa defence that looked shaky under any pressure. Another game where we go behind because containing all the time is tough to do, and players in our squad/ level will switch off. Here's hoping a more positive second half gets us back into this and we'll see how it ends up from there.

He does come across as flappy, doesn;t like catching and obviously not as physical as Forster. But he's not done anything wrong.

of course that was a free kick ref. Saints would have had an attack. Can;t have that.

Djenepo was a yard off concedign the corner. We were slow stopping the short corner, and unlucky that the flick back fell right to the guy who was offside moments before.

well, sod.