What do people think went wrong?

[con001 0]

I really can''t put my finger on it, and i really don''t wanna hear "clueless" or "negative" because thats a lie!

[mrs miggins 0]

we let 4 goals in

[con001 0]

how did i not see that coming?

[The Great Mass Debater 1,033]

I really dont know. We were looking quite comfortable until they equalised. Perhaps Wes'' refusal to celebrate upset the players (not serious, but I doubt his teammates appreciated that). Bassong giving a needless corner away which they then scored from due to his poor defending and of course the goal. Bassong seems to buckle under any pressure these days. Poor choice for a captain it would seem with hindsight

[Making Plans 861]

Simple - when we concede a goal we''ve got absolutely no bottle and we give up

[ricardo 6,301]

A dreadful performance all round.

[ron obvious 1,398]

No real confidence. Any setback knocks us, & when a player like Benteke turns it on, we have no answer.

Plus several players not at the races. Very strange.

Worst game I''ve seen for Redmond, Olsson seemed off, even before his injury, Tettey took himself out of the game with a stupid tackle, Bassong has the wrong character for a scrap, Johnson not on top of his game.

Was it a clash of manager styles? Hughton''s calm, collected, rational approach vs. Lambert''s passionate, instinctive, inspirational one.

Football isn''t a rational game ..............

[Iwans Big Toe 212]

[quote user="mrs miggins"]we let 4 goals in[/quote]and we only scored 1. Had we have scored 5 on the other hand we would have won today.

[Patches OHoolahan 0]

We didn''t deal with Villa''s predictably direct tactics. 3 of the goals were the result of quick counter attacks, which anybody who''s watched MOTD more than once this season will know are Villa''s speciality. Benteke produces a bit of magic, and we lose concentration, get rattled and rapidly concede 3 more. I have to say though, how boring were Villa to watch? Yes they gave us a trouncing today, but my God I can see what they''re complaining about, it was so dull. Not that we were any better today, mind.

[ncfcben 0]

i think we panicked after they scored, stopped pressing them and let them play more.

[unique 377]

The wrong manager was 4-1 down at half-time....

Hughton settled for 4-1........Lambert would have set his team up in the second-half to get a draw or even a win........

[6088m canary 0]

It''s like watching a kids game:  I don''t know why exactly but there is absolutely no leadership throughout the team.  You could see how all the heads dropped immediately after their first.  Leaving aside tactics, the absolute bare minimum that a manager needs to do is get his team united, fighting for each other, showing for the ball and motivated.  D.Mills is a bit of a t*t but he has a few things right!Hooper\s second half chance was almost telegraphed to Guzman, any half confident striker would have lobbed the guy or minimum taken the ball on a few meters....looked the finish of a striker with no belief.Second to the ball all over the pitch.  I don''t want to go down the PL road, but rest assured if we were a lambert side we wouldnt have sat back after opening the scoring.  Villa were there for the taking and a goal so early on was the perfect start.  sacking Hoots now is a HUGE risk, players so short on confidence and belief....the right motivator could bring instant rewards, however the wrong guy would almost certainly send us down.  I guess the option is hope that there are 3 worse sides than us and scrape by.

[ricardo 6,301]

A wonder goal from Benteke changed the game although I thought his second was a foul on Bassong. Until then they didn''t look like scoring and after it we didn''t look like scoring. Goals change games.

[ncfcben 0]

Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.

[Phil Schmil 0]

After getting back into the game Villa attacked us with pace and strength whereas every time we got the ball in good positions we slowed the game down.

Redmond frustrated the hell out of me today. Never once took their defenders on and he failed to track the left back for the 3rd and killer goal.

Ultimately our team seem unable to handle a mid game setback. We were in control until they scored and capitulated after Benteke''s wonder strike.

Hughton has to take some of the responsibility, but the players let him down badly today

[Buzz Killington 0]

Even 1-0 up and playing ok, we still lack the confidence to go on. Not the first time it''s happened is it? The mentality in the squad is ruining us, and has been for so long that now even when it''s going well there''s no belief or confidence. Who is to blame for that? The players? The management? The fans? The board?

[Fuzzar 1,548]

I was really enjoying the style we were playing to start with. Thought we passed and pressed well and played much the better football.

But the Benteke goal changed everything, and it was a car crash after that.

Redmond was poor in possession and too many others underperformed.

[can u sit down please 0]

At 1 nil we started sitting deeper and commiting less pole forward when we broke.

Compare the number of players in final 3rd for our goal and other oops and it''s very different.

[ricardo 6,301]

[quote user="ncfcben"]Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.[/quote]So much so that he had both arms on Bassongs shoulders.

[ncfcben 0]

that happens every time the ball goes in the box, I''m sure out defenders did it at some point during the game.

you would be livid if that was us and a fall was given.

[Making Plans 861]

[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="ncfcben"]Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.[/quote]So much so that he had both arms on Bassongs shoulders.[/quote]It was all about desire & determination, nothing to do with "arms on shoulders".

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,064]

We sat deeper , and deeper. Benteke first goal came from a pass we can''t play; long, and to a central striker in the 18 yard box. Great control and finish, but we will never know if Hooper can do the same because he isn''t allowed to sit on the last defender .

 

After that it was a shambles.  

 

And the Amanda substitution beggered belief. Why play him there?

 

I think CH has gone.

[ncfcben 0]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="ncfcben"]Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.[/quote]So much so that he had both arms on Bassongs shoulders.[/quote]It was all about desire & determination, nothing to do with "arms on shoulders". [/quote]

I completely agree, bassong didn''t seem like he wanted the battle with benteke.

[ricardo 6,301]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="ncfcben"]Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.[/quote]So much so that he had both arms on Bassongs shoulders.[/quote]It was all about desire & determination, nothing to do with "arms on shoulders". [/quote]Read the rule book.

[ncfcben 0]

if you give that, you give 10 or so penalties a game for it.

[corbs 147]

The first goal was pure skill and did come as a body blow. Not sure when we last came from behind to get anything. One has to question the character of the side today. If we had drawn vs spurs, and villa, gained 2 points I would of been happy. In fact we gained 3 points from the last two games, and I am feeling humiliated, and once again the knives will be out if we do not beat Stoke. Its a strange pleasureless season. Can Hoots once again bounce back? Lets hope so, but surely we cannot continue in this division unless we can score some goals, and show more resilience.

[chicken 0]

I agree with Ricardo. First goal was pretty unstoppable other than closing down Vlar for the cross. Having said that, it wasn''t brilliant but Benteke''s technique and finish was.

The second should have been a foul - even the commentators suggested that. Nothing about desire - Bassong was unable to jump as he was being used as a launchpad - Benteke had a hold of him prior to the leap as well. I also wonder if Ruddy could have been a bit braver there and come to meet it - it wasn''t particularly high in the air.

Personally I think we were caught in two minds. We pushed hard and relatively high up the pitch. We got the goal and after that I''m not sure if the team were sure whether to keep pushing and effectively giving Villa their preferred space in behind or to drop. A couple of times the space between the midfield and the defence was too great and they exploited it.

I think the score line flattered Villa to an extent. But I also felt we were a bit over-eager. Perhaps due to the success of the last result where I thought we were calmer and more measured in passing and holding onto the ball.

We were better with Snodgrass off the pitch. That''s not to say he is rubbish - just I felt he was quite poor in the first half. His set pieces were very disappointing, You simply have to beat the first man and also with some whip on the ball. Otherwise you leave too much for the players to do if they get on the end of it.

Howson looked good when he came on. I thought he actually looked better than Hoolahan. More strength.

[......and Smith must score. 1,048]

[quote user="corbs"]Its a strange pleasureless season. Can Hoots once again bounce back? Lets hope so, but surely we cannot continue in this division unless we can score some goals, and show more resilience.[/quote]Couldn''t agree more.Aside the odd decent performance it''s been painful to watch throughout and to be honest I can''t wait for the season to end. There might be three sides who are even less inspiring than us in which case we''ll stagger to safety but whatever division we''re in next term we really do need to address the manager situation.A change is needed.

[Making Plans 861]

[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="ncfcben"]Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.[/quote]So much so that he had both arms on Bassongs shoulders.[/quote]It was all about desire & determination, nothing to do with "arms on shoulders". [/quote]Read the rule book.[/quote]No need to read the rule book because centre forwards have been scoring goals like that since the game began. Try telling Davies, Sutton, MacDougal, Curran, Roberts. Alcock, Holt, Dublin etc that that wasn''t a legitimate goal and I don''t think you would get any of them agreeing with you.

[walks on water 0]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user="ncfcben"]Don''t think it was a foul on Bassong, Benteke just wanted to win the ball more than Bassong.

we looked like we didn''t think we could get back in the game.[/quote]So much so that he had both arms on Bassongs shoulders.[/quote]It was all about desire & determination, nothing to do with "arms on shoulders". [/quote]Read the rule book.[/quote]No need to read the rule book because centre forwards have been scoring goals like that since the game began. Try telling Davies, Sutton, MacDougal, Curran, Roberts. Alcock, Holt, Dublin etc that that wasn''t a legitimate goal and I don''t think you would get any of them agreeing with you.[/quote]

Launching yourself with your arm over the defenders shoulder (preventing him from jumping) on the blind side of the ref is a foul. Plainly. If he spots the gamesmanship.