A horrible showing at Villa Park, as Unai Emery’s side outworked us in all areas. Three away games on the spin has taken it’s toll on the squad as we looked totally spent and second best in every department. Less said about the game the better, let’s move onto next week.
Here come our marks out of 10 from that 3-0 defeat:
Nick Pope – 4 – Feel he could’ve done better with Watkins’ goals, especially his second. He did make a couple of big saves with his feet to deny the striker, but he looked below his reliable best here.
Kieran Trippier – 2 – Moreno and Ramsay caused him absolute nightmares all afternoon. Looked second best to the tackle, was beaten in the air for Villa’s opener and didn’t get much going with Murphy in attack.
Fabian Schar – 2 – Looked slow against the lively Watkins. Really struggled to cope with his movement and energy, also getting booked in the first half for a late foul from behind. A really poor defensive performance which is surprising after his consistency this season.
Sven Botman – 2 – By far his worst game for the Magpies, as the big Dutchman was run ragged by Watkins. Couldn’t get close to the striker from first minute to last and struggled to play out from the back all afternoon.
Dan Burn – 2 – Looked totally lost at left back and really, really struggled. Got done for Watkins’ second goal and looked so off the pace at both ends, chasing shadows defensively, being caught in possession and failing to get forward. It’s easy to see why the club are looking at an orthodox left-back this summer, as the 6ft 7′ Geordie’s limitations have been evident in recent weeks.
Bruno Guimaraes – 4 – Failed to stamp his authority on the game but showed a few glimpses of real quality with some beautiful passes forward; his lob into Almiron was brilliant at 1-0 down. Seemed to struggle without the legs of Longstaff in midfield and didn’t really press as he normally does; perhaps due to his ongoing ankle issue?
Joelinton – 3 – Looked like he was carrying granite slabs in his feet for this one. Was robbed of possession too often and wasn’t snapping into tackles as he normally does. Like so many in the side, it was an out of character display from the usually brilliant Brazilian.
Joe Willock – 4 – Battled well but struggled to use his pace and dribbling ability going forward. Lacked options in transition, with little coming off for the ex-Arsenal man.
Jacob Murphy – 4 – In patches, he was our most dangerous player in the first half, but he often failed to make use of the space, struggled to combine with Trippier and looked shattered. Did whip in a majestic ball that Isak almost latched onto and fired one second half effort just wide.
Anthony Gordon – 3 – Must’ve been fired up to prove a point to his manager after his antics last weekend, however delivered a very forgettable performance, sadly. Didn’t get into the game and never got past a 37-year-old Ashley Young. Really hoping for a response against Spurs.
Alexander Isak – 5 – Far too isolated in the first half, but got a fizzing shot off that forced Emi Martinez into an early save. So unlucky not to reach Murphy’s beautiful ball in the first half, played a lovely cross into Wilson in the second and came closest to scoring after that as a slick dummy and shot forced Martinez into another stop. Villa contained him well, but he was arguably the best of a bad bunch.
Substitutes:
Miguel Almiron – 5 – More of a threat than Murphy, but dragged a decet chance after a lovely ball in behind from Bruno.
Callum Wilson – 5 – Made some decent runs and almost tapped in Isak’s cross, only to be flagged offside. Is it time to start him and Isak?
Matt Targett – 4 – Nice to see him back and will be hoping for a start next week. Sadly, he didn’t cover himself in glory for Villa’s third. He will be lacking match sharpness.
Sean Longstaff – 5 – We better when he came on the pitch. His energy was a big miss in the midfield battle. Showed fight late on and combative in the tackle. First name on the team sheet next week.
Elliot Anderson – N/A – Only on for 10 minutes. Tried to put himself about, but lost the ball in a poor area just before Villa’s third.
Both Gordon and Murphy did not protect the fullbacks, it was like the bad old days, if the defence gets bombarded with runners and crosses they look awful and that’s the same for any defence.
They missed Longstaff for closing people down, he is not the greatest creativity wise and misplaces passes but he does stop the opposition and gives Trippier who looks to have lost a yard of pace. Burn has to be replaced by Taggert as he is nothing but arms and legs, not compact enough for that position imo.
Villa are a very good side as are Brighton and they deserve the utmost respect, we will need to do much better in the remaining matches, thankfully five are at home.
Joseph(Quote)
There have been some noises about the number of matches being played as a possible reason for some jaded performances recently.
Utter nonsense, we only play 38 league games, Championship clubs play 46, we also have no European games to contend with unlike the teams around us, the Carabo Cup was our only distraction.
How will we cope with the group stages and beyond in the CL if we get there?
Lack of quality and depth in the squad is the reason for jaded performances and we all know the historical reasons for that.
Joseph(Quote)
The signs have been there in the previous couple of matches, with slow starts, where the opposition have come out of the blocks. Could have been 3 goals down oa Brentford, last week. Has Howe got as much as he can from the existing players, who were there when he took over? Bit unfair slating Burn, as he ids not a L B, but a central defender, being played out of position.I was shocked by Botman’s performance, as he always has looked very solid, but was not his usual self yesterday.
It was also a test/comparison, as to Emery V Howe, as to their ability to set teams up.At the present time, on that match, Howe 5//10 Emery 10/10, as they had similar resorces when they took over, plus Newcastle beat them 4-0 at the start of the season
B Austin(Quote)
We seem to have developed a weakness defensively in between the fullbacks and the centre backs, this was exposed against Liverpool, Forest and Villa, and we need to put it right.
Botman and Schar Trippier and Burn culpable.
Joseph(Quote)