ohmelads

Leggy performance. Villa had the extra day's rest and brought in 4 fresh outfield players vs 0 changes for us. We started the same XI for the 7th game in a row and the third time in a week. In that situation we were never going to match their intensity. We failed to adapt our tactics to compensate. I thought we would sit deep, deny space in behind and play on the break. Instead we pressed high up the pitch with a high line which was the type of game Villa wanted.

Van Dijk was a world record transfer fee for a defender when they signed him.

He was fairly consistent I thought. Made it clear he's not carding anyone first half. They accepted the invitation, and we never adapted.

If the ref is letting fouls go without carding people, then you give it back. If he's a weak ref, you square up to players. It's part of the game. How would you like your captain to react to being fouled 8, 9, 10 times?

Bournemouth played some decent football but they had ten times more aggression. 18 fouls to 7. Yes their fouling was annoying but the ref was consistent to be fair. He made it clear early on that anything goes and they made it clear they wanted a physical game. We have to be able to stand up to that. Bruno, as captain, has to stand up for himself and set the tone for the team. How many times was he fouled? Might have been double figures. If the ref isn't giving cards out then as the leader you have to react. Teams are going to see this and really go in hard on us now. Few refs will let as much go as today but we have to be ready for this kind of game.

Not just the fee but Gravenberch's wages will be up there with our top earners.

If we play like that every week, we'll be fine. This should've been a routine 3-0 based on easily convertible chances. The 8 games so far underline the importance in January of signing a wide right and or forward as our top priority. Signing a defender can wait until summer.

Let's not forget the January window. We came out of the summer window on a profit, and we know the Guehi money is there. We could potentially spend big in January and if we get that right, it could have a major effect on the second half of the season, as it did when Trippier, Burn, Targett and Bruno came in. We won't see multiple deals like then, but just one top right winger could dramatically change our team and add depth up front if they're comfortable there. We also have two of our most important players to return at some point. Isak's had a broken toe but could potentially get to full fitness for the first time this season. Botman if he's lucky with his recovery could still have a big say in the second half of the season. We will get injuries but our rivals have more congested fixture lists ahead of them.

I think we were willing to seriously overpay to get him while the cartel clubs had other priorities. He looks a good player. Limited evidence he's great (which a 65m defender should be) but the potential is there. Liverpool had big success buying these types of player (for a high price) that have proven themselves in the Prem but are yet to hit their peak. If you look at their signings of Van Dijk, Mane etc etc, raiding other Premier League clubs. I see two problems with our Guehi approach. One is we can't spend half what Liverpool do on fees and wages, so I don't think following their successful model is realistic. The second is that we were willing to (my opinion) seriously overpay to get him while we could before those cartel clubs come in. What's going to happen now is those clubs will come in and get him at a more realistic price, and he will of course go to them over us (higher wages, higher chance of trophies, better sponsorship deals etc). The only way we can close the enormous gap on those clubs is by scouting far and wide and basically doing a Brighton but with more cash and possibly more chance of keeping players. It's not sustainable to keep getting them all right though. The cartel clubs can afford to make expensive mistakes but we can't and that's why no one is able to challenge them. At least if we make signings like Botman, Bruno etc at roughly half the fee we were offering for Guehi, the potential damage if it goes wrong is greatly reduced.

In a perfect world those aren't given as pens. In the real VAR world, they're always given as pens. If a keeper comes charging out and gets none of the ball and makes any contact on a striker running full speed, it's an easy decision for VAR. It's a rare area where VAR are consistent. If the ref hadn't given it, I'm sure VAR would've intervened. Hard to think of a similar post-VAR example where that's not given. Anyone? We've been victims of those before and will be again. Imagine if Pope had charged out like that and got none of the ball and had clearly connected with Haaland. I'm sure some in the media would be pointing the finger at him. The narrative would be reckless keeper, late, gave the ref no choice etc. The Joelinton one should be the main talking point.

Embarrassing.

Eales gives massive Ashley vibes.

Agree. He's unfortunately not doing any of those roles well at the moment and looks like he needs a rest. After Man City, I reckon he needs a rest for a week. On his form this season, he isn't undroppable.

If a couple of players aren't up to full intensity, you can get outworked and outfought and I think that's what we are seeing. We were bullied today. They were happy to take 6 yellows and we never looked like getting any. Bruno, Gordon, Isak all looked off the pace today. I'm a massive Bruno fan (who isn't?) but he's been poor every game this season. Do we keep picking players based on reputation and form from last season? It's a brave decision to drop the big names but we've been poor in every single game. Something has to change and perhaps he needs a rest. Same goes for Gordon. Man City next, so that's maybe not the time for experimentation, but we have to change something.

Sorry, I posted in a hurry but I did mean to acknowledge your overall point as I agree with the crux of your argument. I just mean that the situation is complex as they are part of a group of teams that have already conspired together and so in some contexts, they are very much part of that group.