My concerns…

[JimmyRobbo]

Legitimate concerns but football needs calm heads.

There is a long term strategy in place. I trust VK and his selection process. Stick with it and don't get overly reactionary. I'm sure there are very good reasons for keeping Brownhill, Cork, Muric, etc on the bench.

[CoolClaret]

I'll agree with you on that. However, i then ask myself "what do i know?" and accept pretty easily that the gaffer has a much better grasp of football tactics than me and that i just need to trust the process.

See my comment on Arteta & Arsenal this year.

Remember when Farke brought Norwich up and died on the hill of his approach which lead to constantly being caught out of position and countered on?

Feels like that - we will get plaudits for having nice 10-20 minute spells where we cause a few problems but it’s patronising imo.

Set up like that against most teams in the PL and we will get whipped.

[Hibsclaret]

Anyone would think we had just lost to Sheff U, Luton, Everton, Wolves, Palace, Fulham, Bournemouth or Forest

[RVclaret]

See my comment on Arteta & Arsenal this year.

Remember when Farke brought Norwich up and died on the hill of his approach which lead to constantly being caught out of position and countered on?

Feels like that - we will get plaudits for having nice 10-20 minute spells where we cause a few problems but it’s patronising imo.

Set up like that against most teams in the PL and we will get whipped.

Yet we weren’t constantly caught out of position against City and in fact limited them to barely any clear chances (set pieces aside). Sheff Utd camped deep all game (14% possession) and didn’t register a shot until 75th minute approximately, yet City missed quite a number of pretty clear cut chances. So I’m not sure your argument holds - apart from the first 45 minutes against Villa, which in fairness, Kompany corrected at half time… that’s before we mention Villa being the 2nd most in form team in the league since Emery took over.

[CoolClaret]

Yet we weren’t constantly caught out of position against City and in fact limited them to barely any clear chances (set pieces aside). Sheff Utd camped deep all game (14% possession) and didn’t register a shot until 75th minute approximately, yet City missed quite a number of pretty clear cut chances. So I’m not sure your argument holds - apart from the first 45 minutes against Villa, which in fairness, Kompany corrected at half time… that’s before we mention Villa being the 2nd most in form team in the league since Emery took over.

No we weren’t - I’d have hoped not playing 5 at the back either.

Villa caught us on the break plenty in the second half as well mate, 3rd goal and another one they got in behind us drawing a good save from Trafford

[KefkaClaret]

I was critical of Forest's transfer policy last season and feel we are doing the same, still confident though cause I think Sheff Utd and Luton are guaranteed to go down

[Quicknick]

No one is guaranteed to go down.

[claretonthecoast1882]

No one is guaranteed to go down.

Katie Price ?

[CoolClaret]

I was critical of Forest's transfer policy last season and feel we are doing the same, still confident though cause I think Sheff Utd and Luton are guaranteed to go down

I don’t think thats fair at all.

Infact, I think Luton have done some sensible business - probably not enough to stay up but they’ll cause some teams some problems.

[xxmunkyennuixx]

Some exciting additions and I can see why we have signed most of them. Think it is far more difficult to build a structure in the Premier League. Popping Jack or Browny in the mix would have given us a bit more experience and solidity but City are exceptional and Villa looked very slick and pacy. Villa will rip a few teams apart this season. No need to panic result wise. The start of the second half shows what we can do offensively. We just need to embed the pressing and sort our structure for the counters.

Gut feelings off two difficult fixtures:
Berge is not a CM for a middle two. Make a three with Browny and Cullen and it will be strong.
Trafford made good saves but I am Muric fan and I think he deserves to be our keeper.
We need a competent full back.
Beyer is incredibly important this season.

Vinny is smart, trust the process.

[Hipper]

I’ve just seen the whole game on Clarets+.

It was an interesting well played match and I note that the trainers did not come on the field at all and there were hardly any minutes added. Well done to both teams and officials.

Some points I’d like to make on the Burnley performance.

I’ve seen Villa’s televised games and they are a good exciting team. Their thrashing at Newcastle was partly because they lost Tyrone Mings early on but they looked a real threat to Newcastle’s defence.

Our performance was nowhere near as bad as the impression I got from Sky’s live reports, highlights on Sky and MOTD 2, and many of the comments on this site. Yes we were second best but at times we gave it a good go and may be could have got a point. Equally Villa could have won by more. We are clearly not the full ticket yet there’s no reason to write us off at the moment.

Some players impressed me.

+ O’Shea. My MoM. Held our defence together as best he could. Organised. Was mostly there to clean up. A solid defensive performance. He’s not spectacular, just the sort of rock solid defender we were used to under Dyche. I think it’s good that we have such a player.

+ Delcroix. What a debut. Looks quality and one for a regular place in the side, not a back up. Yes he was slightly at fault for the first goal and also nearly allowed a fourth by Watkins. For both he was a bit sloppy but most of his play was of a good standard.

+ Berg. All over the pitch in his lumbering way. Was the player that seemed most likely to break Villa’s high line with his movement (four in the first half, once in the second) but unfortunately does not have the tools to complete the job - strength and determination. Incidentally it was mostly the experienced players that seemed able to make the necessary runs - Berg, JBG, J-Rod.

+ JBG. What a useful player he is. Has surely played against Digne before so dealt with him pretty well. Can head the ball and was quite effective. I would think it is worth trying to find a place for him in the side.

+ Foster of course. A first of what we hope will be many goals.

From the two matches so far of course I’m concerned. But we seem to have made some progress in the two games. I must admit looking at the forthcoming fixtures it’s difficult to see where we will get points but actually I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I also notice I'm getting a bit verbose - who was that fellow who used to write long but interesting posts? Mine are just long.

[HitchinClaret]

I’ve just seen the whole game on Clarets+.

It was an interesting well played match and I note that the trainers did not come on the field at all and there were hardly any minutes added. Well done to both teams and officials.

Some points I’d like to make on the Burnley performance.

I’ve seen Villa’s televised games and they are a good exciting team. Their thrashing at Newcastle was partly because they lost Tyrone Mings early on but they looked a real threat to Newcastle’s defence.

Our performance was nowhere near as bad as the impression I got from Sky’s live reports, highlights on Sky and MOTD 2, and many of the comments on this site. Yes we were second best but at times we gave it a good go and may be could have got a point. Equally Villa could have won by more. We are clearly not the full ticket yet there’s no reason to write us off at the moment.

Some players impressed me.

+ O’Shea. My MoM. Held our defence together as best he could. Organised. Was mostly there to clean up. A solid defensive performance. He’s not spectacular, just the sort of rock solid defender we were used to under Dyche. I think it’s good that we have such a player.

+ Delcroix. What a debut. Looks quality and one for a regular place in the side, not a back up. Yes he was slightly at fault for the first goal and also nearly allowed a fourth by Watkins. For both he was a bit sloppy but most of his play was of a good standard.

+ Berg. All over the pitch in his lumbering way. Was the player that seemed most likely to break Villa’s high line with his movement (four in the first half, once in the second) but unfortunately does not have the tools to complete the job - strength and determination. Incidentally it was mostly the experienced players that seemed able to make the necessary runs - Berg, JBG, J-Rod.

+ JBG. What a useful player he is. Has surely played against Digne before so dealt with him pretty well. Can head the ball and was quite effective. I would think it is worth trying to find a place for him in the side.

+ Foster of course. A first of what we hope will be many goals.

From the two matches so far of course I’m concerned. But we seem to have made some progress in the two games. I must admit looking at the forthcoming fixtures it’s difficult to see where we will get points but actually I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I also notice I'm getting a bit verbose - who was that fellow who used to write long but interesting posts? Mine are just long.

Glad we saw in it almost the same way. Not as sure on O'Shea and Delcroix (although I really see huge potential!), but everything else pretty much bang on as I saw it!

[CoolClaret]

I’ve just seen the whole game on Clarets+.

It was an interesting well played match and I note that the trainers did not come on the field at all and there were hardly any minutes added. Well done to both teams and officials.

Some points I’d like to make on the Burnley performance.

I’ve seen Villa’s televised games and they are a good exciting team. Their thrashing at Newcastle was partly because they lost Tyrone Mings early on but they looked a real threat to Newcastle’s defence.

Our performance was nowhere near as bad as the impression I got from Sky’s live reports, highlights on Sky and MOTD 2, and many of the comments on this site. Yes we were second best but at times we gave it a good go and may be could have got a point. Equally Villa could have won by more. We are clearly not the full ticket yet there’s no reason to write us off at the moment.

Some players impressed me.

+ O’Shea. My MoM. Held our defence together as best he could. Organised. Was mostly there to clean up. A solid defensive performance. He’s not spectacular, just the sort of rock solid defender we were used to under Dyche. I think it’s good that we have such a player.

+ Delcroix. What a debut. Looks quality and one for a regular place in the side, not a back up. Yes he was slightly at fault for the first goal and also nearly allowed a fourth by Watkins. For both he was a bit sloppy but most of his play was of a good standard.

+ Berg. All over the pitch in his lumbering way. Was the player that seemed most likely to break Villa’s high line with his movement (four in the first half, once in the second) but unfortunately does not have the tools to complete the job - strength and determination. Incidentally it was mostly the experienced players that seemed able to make the necessary runs - Berg, JBG, J-Rod.

+ JBG. What a useful player he is. Has surely played against Digne before so dealt with him pretty well. Can head the ball and was quite effective. I would think it is worth trying to find a place for him in the side.

+ Foster of course. A first of what we hope will be many goals.

From the two matches so far of course I’m concerned. But we seem to have made some progress in the two games. I must admit looking at the forthcoming fixtures it’s difficult to see where we will get points but actually I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I also notice I'm getting a bit verbose - who was that fellow who used to write long but interesting posts? Mine are just long.

I appreciate your contribution and view point here Hipper, agree with a lot of it especially re Foster & JBG.

Think it’s a bit in contrast to claim ‘what a debut’ for Delcroix then suggesting that he was at fault for two big chances, he was ok, grew into the game in the second half but I’d have liked to have seen him get stuck in a bit more although he was on a bit of a hiding to nothing.

Berg got into some ok areas (again especially in the second half) but he was absolutely nowhere near any secondary balls or gave Cullen anywhere near what he needs in a midfield partner imo.

There were countless times where Cullen would be battling and put a foot in and the ball would momentarily be bobbling about that was crying out for a midfielder to come in and snatch it but the only lads that were getting to them secondary were their lot which is another reason why we were countered on so easily.

We go again - just hope we’re a bit wiser against Spurs or it could have a very similar script as to what the Villa game did.

[arise_sir_charge]

I’ve just seen the whole game on Clarets+.

It was an interesting well played match and I note that the trainers did not come on the field at all and there were hardly any minutes added. Well done to both teams and officials.

Some points I’d like to make on the Burnley performance.

I’ve seen Villa’s televised games and they are a good exciting team. Their thrashing at Newcastle was partly because they lost Tyrone Mings early on but they looked a real threat to Newcastle’s defence.

Our performance was nowhere near as bad as the impression I got from Sky’s live reports, highlights on Sky and MOTD 2, and many of the comments on this site. Yes we were second best but at times we gave it a good go and may be could have got a point. Equally Villa could have won by more. We are clearly not the full ticket yet there’s no reason to write us off at the moment.

Some players impressed me.

+ O’Shea. My MoM. Held our defence together as best he could. Organised. Was mostly there to clean up. A solid defensive performance. He’s not spectacular, just the sort of rock solid defender we were used to under Dyche. I think it’s good that we have such a player.

+ Delcroix. What a debut. Looks quality and one for a regular place in the side, not a back up. Yes he was slightly at fault for the first goal and also nearly allowed a fourth by Watkins. For both he was a bit sloppy but most of his play was of a good standard.

+ Berg. All over the pitch in his lumbering way. Was the player that seemed most likely to break Villa’s high line with his movement (four in the first half, once in the second) but unfortunately does not have the tools to complete the job - strength and determination. Incidentally it was mostly the experienced players that seemed able to make the necessary runs - Berg, JBG, J-Rod.

+ JBG. What a useful player he is. Has surely played against Digne before so dealt with him pretty well. Can head the ball and was quite effective. I would think it is worth trying to find a place for him in the side.

+ Foster of course. A first of what we hope will be many goals.

From the two matches so far of course I’m concerned. But we seem to have made some progress in the two games. I must admit looking at the forthcoming fixtures it’s difficult to see where we will get points but actually I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I also notice I'm getting a bit verbose - who was that fellow who used to write long but interesting posts? Mine are just long.

You don’t appear to have watched it properly Hipper, after all, we were apparently “systematically torn apart”.

[CoolClaret]

The average team position against Villa vs the last game of the season (Cardiff home) and another game against PL opposition from last season, Bournemouth away in the cup.

Obviously the strength/playstyle of the opposition does play into this but it does reiterate the sort of feeling that many has that we were too congested compared to what we were last season and the lack of defensive support/cover that we had in the channels

[CoolClaret]

You don’t appear to have watched it properly Hipper, after all, we were apparently “systematically torn apart”.

Here’s what Matty Cash had to say about it:

https://youtu.be/G9JX43-BK2g?si=EUvs0fL2S5ZpQUva

“The game plan was to sit in a low block let them have the ball and hit them on the break”

3-1 win away from home without having to be too adventurous. Meat and drink

[Jakubclaret]

We wasn't torn apart but it's a game Aston villa easily controlled without breaking much of a sweat.

[spt_claret]

I’ve just seen the whole game on Clarets+.

It was an interesting well played match and I note that the trainers did not come on the field at all and there were hardly any minutes added. Well done to both teams and officials.

Some points I’d like to make on the Burnley performance.

I’ve seen Villa’s televised games and they are a good exciting team. Their thrashing at Newcastle was partly because they lost Tyrone Mings early on but they looked a real threat to Newcastle’s defence.

Our performance was nowhere near as bad as the impression I got from Sky’s live reports, highlights on Sky and MOTD 2, and many of the comments on this site. Yes we were second best but at times we gave it a good go and may be could have got a point. Equally Villa could have won by more. We are clearly not the full ticket yet there’s no reason to write us off at the moment.

Some players impressed me.

+ O’Shea. My MoM. Held our defence together as best he could. Organised. Was mostly there to clean up. A solid defensive performance. He’s not spectacular, just the sort of rock solid defender we were used to under Dyche. I think it’s good that we have such a player.

+ Delcroix. What a debut. Looks quality and one for a regular place in the side, not a back up. Yes he was slightly at fault for the first goal and also nearly allowed a fourth by Watkins. For both he was a bit sloppy but most of his play was of a good standard.

+ Berg. All over the pitch in his lumbering way. Was the player that seemed most likely to break Villa’s high line with his movement (four in the first half, once in the second) but unfortunately does not have the tools to complete the job - strength and determination. Incidentally it was mostly the experienced players that seemed able to make the necessary runs - Berg, JBG, J-Rod.

+ JBG. What a useful player he is. Has surely played against Digne before so dealt with him pretty well. Can head the ball and was quite effective. I would think it is worth trying to find a place for him in the side.

+ Foster of course. A first of what we hope will be many goals.

From the two matches so far of course I’m concerned. But we seem to have made some progress in the two games. I must admit looking at the forthcoming fixtures it’s difficult to see where we will get points but actually I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I also notice I'm getting a bit verbose - who was that fellow who used to write long but interesting posts? Mine are just long.

Agree on JBG and Foster.
Berg, unsure.

O'Shea and Delcroix I strongly disagree. We have a far better 'rock solid defender' in Ekdal who is just as good on the ball.
Delcroix, baffles me you can admit he was part at fault for one, got a let-off on another, and say 'what a debut'. I thought he looked worse than Vitinho in that position and not up to standard. Can't understand the aversion to Taylor.

It's way too premature to be pressing any panic buttons yet but that was a very poor performance. We got bullied and bossed for large parts of the game and could have been further down. Bizarrely, even though we scored against Villa and didn't against City, I thought we showed much more positive signs against City. Didn't think we'd beat Villa going in, hoped for a draw, again far too soon to be sounding alarm bells but we need more steel and spine and don't half look like we're missing Beyer/Ekdal/Muric as a unit right now, along with Maatsen's left-hand threat and Tella's pace and finishing. I was thinking Tella was being overpriced and backed Kompany not going all in on him but right now in hindsight I'm thinking otherwise.

[CoolClaret]

Agree on JBG and Foster.
Berg, unsure.

O'Shea and Delcroix I strongly disagree. We have a far better 'rock solid defender' in Ekdal who is just as good on the ball.
Delcroix, baffles me you can admit he was part at fault for one, got a let-off on another, and say 'what a debut'. I thought he looked worse than Vitinho in that position and not up to standard. Can't understand the aversion to Taylor.

It's way too premature to be pressing any panic buttons yet but that was a very poor performance. We got bullied and bossed for large parts of the game and could have been further down. Bizarrely, even though we scored against Villa and didn't against City, I thought we showed much more positive signs against City. Didn't think we'd beat Villa going in, hoped for a draw, again far too soon to be sounding alarm bells but we need more steel and spine and don't half look like we're missing Beyer/Ekdal/Muric as a unit right now, along with Maatsen's left-hand threat and Tella's pace and finishing. I was thinking Tella was being overpriced and backed Kompany not going all in on him but right now in hindsight I'm thinking otherwise.

In total agreement like I am with many of your posts SPT

[Commy]

Why did he wait until half time to correct it? Genuine question as, if he knew it was wrong, he could have done it in the first half.

[RVclaret]

Agree on JBG and Foster.
Berg, unsure.

O'Shea and Delcroix I strongly disagree. We have a far better 'rock solid defender' in Ekdal who is just as good on the ball.
Delcroix, baffles me you can admit he was part at fault for one, got a let-off on another, and say 'what a debut'. I thought he looked worse than Vitinho in that position and not up to standard. Can't understand the aversion to Taylor.

It's way too premature to be pressing any panic buttons yet but that was a very poor performance. We got bullied and bossed for large parts of the game and could have been further down. Bizarrely, even though we scored against Villa and didn't against City, I thought we showed much more positive signs against City. Didn't think we'd beat Villa going in, hoped for a draw, again far too soon to be sounding alarm bells but we need more steel and spine and don't half look like we're missing Beyer/Ekdal/Muric as a unit right now, along with Maatsen's left-hand threat and Tella's pace and finishing. I was thinking Tella was being overpriced and backed Kompany not going all in on him but right now in hindsight I'm thinking otherwise.

I know you are a big Ekdal fan but I just simply can’t understand how anyone can decide he’s a ‘far better defender’ than anyone else purely on the basis of 9 games at Championship level. With respect, the teams he faced in the Championship were simply no where near the level of City and Villa. Watkins and Diaby are in a completely different universe to the strikers of Preston, Wigan, Huddersfield and Watford. This is not to say he won’t be good, I like him and hope he does well, I just don’t understand this judgement of ‘far better defender’. Interestingly I watched him against Lukaku for Sweden a few months ago, they got beat 3-0, Lukaku hat-trick and he was quite poor.

[ab1882]

The average team position against Villa vs the last game of the season (Cardiff home) and another game against PL opposition from last season, Bournemouth away in the cup.

Obviously the strength/playstyle of the opposition does play into this but it does reiterate the sort of feeling that many has that we were too congested compared to what we were last season and the lack of defensive support/cover that we had in the channels

I see what you're saying but the average player position in the defensive channels will be heavily skewed due to the switches in the back at half time.
1st: Delcroix, O'Shea, Al-Dakhil, Roberts.
2nd: Roberts, Delcroix, O'Shea, Al-Dakhil.

[spt_claret]

I know you are a big Ekdal fan but I just simply can’t understand how anyone can decide he’s a ‘far better defender’ than anyone else purely on the basis of 9 games at Championship level. With respect, the teams he faced in the Championship were simply no where near the level of City and Villa. Watkins and Diaby are in a completely different universe to the strikers of Preston, Wigan, Huddersfield and Watford. This is not to say he won’t be good, I like him and hope he does well, I just don’t understand this judgement of ‘far better defender’. Interestingly I watched him against Lukaku for Sweden a few months ago, they got beat 3-0, Lukaku hat-trick and he was quite poor.

I admit it's a limited sample but for me it's how the entire defence stepped up and looked better with him in. Muric was more composed on the ball and assured, rarely out of position. Beyer seemed to get even better. For a good 6 or 7 of those 9 games we never gave teams a sniff, his reliability at recycling possession and accuracy at starting moves was fantastic. And it was instant- he came in, everything gelled, he went out and THB (who most people gush over) came back in, some of those early season problems reared their heads again and Muric looked more uncertain.
And I know it's a different standard, but firstly you can only play against what you're up against, second, again it was how the entire defensive unit improved- when that happens it's the sign of a genuinely quality player, third, I'm confident I've seen enough football to have a half decent go at adjusting for the standard of the division when rating a player. Plus, in pre-season he definitely stood out to me more than O'Shea did, by some margin. I'm high on Al-Dakhil too, it's not just an Ekdal thing FYI, and I didn't say he's better than anyone else- just that I'd put him above O'Shea. I'm sure O'Shea will improve, but right now, going off of what I've seen (which is all I CAN go on), he's the weakest of the 4, and it's Beyer/Ekdal/Al Dakhil/O'Shea, with very little between Ekdal and Al Dakhil depending on the situation.

[CoolClaret]

I see what you're saying but the average player position in the defensive channels will be heavily skewed due to the switches in the back at half time.
1st: Delcroix, O'Shea, Al-Dakhil, Roberts.
2nd: Roberts, Delcroix, O'Shea, Al-Dakhil.

The biggest skew comes from Roberts with a complete change of position but still - it’s the average shape throughout the game.

It was more the split back 3 that I’m looking at anyway - I’m just not a fan of it whatsoever

[ksrclaret]

The average team position against Villa vs the last game of the season (Cardiff home) and another game against PL opposition from last season, Bournemouth away in the cup.

Obviously the strength/playstyle of the opposition does play into this but it does reiterate the sort of feeling that many has that we were too congested compared to what we were last season and the lack of defensive support/cover that we had in the channels

That setup on Sunday was a real mess. Hard to believe VK sent out a team so unbalanced - no wonder we kept getting done time and time again down the right hand side and I’m revising my criticism of Al-Dakhil after seeing that. He was on his own out there.

[RVclaret]

Nice balanced tactical analysis/view from a Burnley fan of the game here:

https://youtu.be/9XT9fYGRAuc?si=vuUHZIqnNrruNme3

[CoolClaret]

That setup on Sunday was a real mess. Hard to believe VK sent out a team so unbalanced - no wonder we kept getting done time and time again down the right hand side and I’m revising my criticism of Al-Dakhil after seeing that. He was on his own out there.

I made comment on I think the transfer thread after the overlap with Kompany dropped, VK was asked about City and he seemed to be really enamoured with that new system they had with Ake/Dias/Akanji at the back with Stones and Rodri in front of them.

He was really bigging up their shape and system - I was wondering if thought he could use that with us this season…

Then as the window progressed and we signed a few more centre halves, wingers but no full/back or wing back I was wondering if we were really committing to that.

Now the City game was different granted but Villa yeah you could see we were trying something completely new and (as in my OP I tried to demonstrate/articulate) how off I thought it was.

Watching the post match interview with Vinnie since he’s been here he’s always told it as it is pretty straight - seemed to get away from that post Villa, looked a bit shocked and come out with some generic platitudes.

Really hope we see a bit more of a pragmatic approach against Spurs - not asking to tear the playbook up like but we have to give our lads a better platform to succeed.

[boatshed bill]

I’ve just seen the whole game on Clarets+.

It was an interesting well played match and I note that the trainers did not come on the field at all and there were hardly any minutes added. Well done to both teams and officials.

Some points I’d like to make on the Burnley performance.

I’ve seen Villa’s televised games and they are a good exciting team. Their thrashing at Newcastle was partly because they lost Tyrone Mings early on but they looked a real threat to Newcastle’s defence.

Our performance was nowhere near as bad as the impression I got from Sky’s live reports, highlights on Sky and MOTD 2, and many of the comments on this site. Yes we were second best but at times we gave it a good go and may be could have got a point. Equally Villa could have won by more. We are clearly not the full ticket yet there’s no reason to write us off at the moment.

Some players impressed me.

+ O’Shea. My MoM. Held our defence together as best he could. Organised. Was mostly there to clean up. A solid defensive performance. He’s not spectacular, just the sort of rock solid defender we were used to under Dyche. I think it’s good that we have such a player.

+ Delcroix. What a debut. Looks quality and one for a regular place in the side, not a back up. Yes he was slightly at fault for the first goal and also nearly allowed a fourth by Watkins. For both he was a bit sloppy but most of his play was of a good standard.

+ Berg. All over the pitch in his lumbering way. Was the player that seemed most likely to break Villa’s high line with his movement (four in the first half, once in the second) but unfortunately does not have the tools to complete the job - strength and determination. Incidentally it was mostly the experienced players that seemed able to make the necessary runs - Berg, JBG, J-Rod.

+ JBG. What a useful player he is. Has surely played against Digne before so dealt with him pretty well. Can head the ball and was quite effective. I would think it is worth trying to find a place for him in the side.

+ Foster of course. A first of what we hope will be many goals.

From the two matches so far of course I’m concerned. But we seem to have made some progress in the two games. I must admit looking at the forthcoming fixtures it’s difficult to see where we will get points but actually I’m looking forward to the challenge.

I also notice I'm getting a bit verbose - who was that fellow who used to write long but interesting posts? Mine are just long.

Just watched the first half. Nothing like as bad as I thought reading the match thread on here.
I'm looking forward to the second half now.

[Darnhill Claret]

I have absolutely no concerns whatsoever at this stage of the season. When people were getting carried away last season Vinnie said we were in 21st place. I reckon that we started the season in 18th place with Sheff U 19th and Luton 20th.
I expect everyone can see the logic in that statement. The table currently shows us in 18th place. At present until we start to get results we are in our rightful position. Game week 4 sees Everton go to Sheff U for the first of the many 'real 6 pointers'. We have our game and Luton are at home to West Ham so we will likely remain in the bottom 3 so let's start getting used to the idea for now. After the international break with our transfer business completed we will begin our climb upwards and aim to rise above 18th place. Once we get into the groove we will hopefully start to relax a little. UTC

[Carlos the Great]

The title says my concerns .. not I want to be the manager

[CoolClaret]

The title says my concerns .. not I want to be the manager

Fantastic addition to the discourse

[Carlos the Great]

I think it’s perfectably acceptable to make observations about the team without being shot down …

[CoolClaret]

I'm afraid to say that my concerns are still lingering...

[bumba]

I'm afraid to say that my concerns are still lingering...

There not lingering there growing

[CoolClaret]

There not lingering there growing

Well yeah. It's groundhog day right now watching Burnley

[bumba]

Well yeah. It's groundhog day right now watching Burnley

Very tough watch, sadly as soon as I saw the team sheet I predicted a comfortable Brentford win.

[Murger]

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[Rileybobs]

We got ninety nine problems but a pitch ain’t one.

[Safron]

I said before kickoff 11 players with no fight and no leader, wow I right I was, but when I look at the squad I don't think we have it which is a massive worry, can we get to January and hopefully we are still in touch and sign the players needed for a fight!

[Carwin261]

We need to sign at least 8 players if we’re looking for a team with fight ,only Foster ticks that box at the moment.

[Woodleyclaret]

We were showing some positive signs then s blunder from O Shea gifted possession and led to the soft goal
Two great strikes from unmarked players and it was good night Vienna.
We need a ball winning cm even Cullen usually reliable looked pxxx poor.Charlie Taylor my mom was let down by too many teammates off their game.The nonsense of international breaks wants binning Foster and Amoundi both looked jaded after their international matches.
Benny and Zaroury need to be in for Bournemouth

[Yorkshirelad]

I don't know if I read this back in late August but the first post is right on the money. It was brought to my attention yesterday.

I was there for yesterday's disaster we have no bite in midfield. We appear to slow. We get caught with the ball when we are looking for someone to pass it to. Trafford walked off at halftime and looked totally dejected. His confidence as gone. We don't play like a team who have a clear plan.

Mike Tresor looked lost stuck out on the right wing first 15 minutes he didn't know what he should be doing Odobert didn't get involved.

Once again Koleosho get's his defender booked but we don't seem to want to put balls into an area where he can get the defender to commit

[Blatherwickstattoo]

Absolutely spot on with this post. Ridiculed for it by the looks too. Great Analysis of the Villa game, good knowledge of what’s needed to stay in the premier league. Proven to be pretty much bang on with everything you’ve said.

[ksrclaret]

Yes reading this thread again it seems that coolclaret was absolutely spot on with his analysis and received some ridicule and personal comments as a result.

We were only 2 games in but the issues highlighted were sound ones that haven't been addressed and in some cases, have been made worse.

[CoolClaret]

Tell me I was wrong?