The couple of times Hugo was in Gakpo’s position he did very well, that lovely back heel to Robbo’s overlap being the highlight , I do think he could operate there superbly when Isak gets up and running
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Arne really appreciative of the supporters today and especially his chants!
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It feels really good to finally get a win.
Gravenberch made a real impact on his return.
It’s also nice to see Salah get onto the scoresheet. Hopefully this heralds a return to form for the Egyptian King.
I’ve heard a lot of criticism of Slot but I have faith he can turn this team around. It starts with a win. Let’s keep the good times going.
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I didn’t see the game so I can’t comment on the performance. Obviously made up with the scoreline.
But one vey obvious thing I noticed is that only one of our summer signings started the match. We may have won the game but Slot still hasn’t solved the conundrum of how to accommodate the new players. Yes, Isak is injured / unfit, but Wirtz needs to be starting games and learning what his role is.
Looks like that will have to be on the left, but right now Gakpo is getting the nod there. I hope that’s not Dutch favouritism.
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Wirtz could fit in there in my view, and Hugo could easily accommodate where Gakpo is.
I commented how much better Wirtz has looked in the European games and perhaps that’s the idea for Tuesday.
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First of all credit to Slot, he took a big gamble in midweek and a lot of people are still pissed off about it but winning last night justifies it to a degree. The players looked motivated and committed.
Szoboslai (again), Gravenberch and that new swarthy-looking bloke who scored the first goal were my MOTM. Who is that fella? We’ve been crying out for a player like that down the right for a long time.
The elephant in the room for me is our continued inability to create chances for or even involve our CF. I think Ekitike touched the ball about 3 times before his disallowed goal. £200 million spent on CF’s in the summer and there still doesn’t appear to be any gameplan to play to their strengths.
Attwell an absolute fucking tosser as expected. I thought grabbing someone by the neck and throwing them to the ground was a red card these days?
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This is both heart warming and sad
https://x.com/theanfieldtalk/status/1984727485318328683?s=61&t=VxX1vHU3NOwwNhlbyICG-g
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Too soon to cry total relief, but signs are much better. Intensity and purpose returned, which are first principles, so credit to Slot, he’s gone back to basics. Better penetration should come from stability. Because we didnt really score tonight, but got gifted two. If slot turns this round he’ll be ten feet tall. Overcoming these problems is what makes great managers, and he admitted, it’s his first challenge of this kind as a manager in his interview.
That new lad on the right wing, does it get said often enough, but his first touch is mostly 11/10.
I think Slot worked out, the problems we have up top, shouldn’t dislodge his midfield. So he put Grav back at DM. Immediately we got a midfield back. Still this problem of how to accommodate Wirtz, Isak and Ekitike.
Thank fck we broke the duck.
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Yeah…Hugo is quite unpredictable in his moves…He looks mad good there!
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Did anyone see this? I just found it in the German media.
Can someone explain how Onana (only)gets a yellow for grabbing Macallister by the throat?
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He could have broken Macca’s neck after being booked.
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Yeah and Macca was really doing his best against Onana. I think we’ve got a lot more to do although neither Real nor Cheaty will hopefully be doing the full long throw/ball shithousery. On the other hand, I expect other prem teams will look at how Villa fared and double down on the Brentford.
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Absolutely but I think the villa result justifies it completely. I know teh League cup game was at Anfield but we don’t want to be in that competition - the Southampton game brought us only injuries - and the week just training really showed.
I’d like to see the League Cup reserved for teams out of europe.
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Maca for all his sophistication at his best is also a mischievous shithouse (in the best way). It felt like that whole sequence recharged his batteries a bit
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I‘d like to see it reserved for teams that play in the Football League.
Yeah it looked like it. I hate shitehousery but it really seems our team gets done over by others engaging in it and we need more of the Macca where we ensure we aren’t taken advantage of. It’s something Jurgen never fostered and, with the setpiece FC leading the way and the lego-man learning from his doping compatriot, something that sadly we can’t afford to do without.
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If they do that then it can’t really have a conference league position attached. Teams out of Europe would give the likes of Man Utd* a chance to snag a European Spot for the following season.
- Sadly this joke is currently in abeyance
Best performance of the season and the most normal one in terms of application and intensity in months.
Villa helped out by playing from the back and with that dickhead gifting the first goal, but that doesn’t diminish the performance in the slightest.
What is troubling is that we are no closer to integrating Wirtz, Kerkez or Isak than we were at the start of the season. This was last season’s team with a better No. 9, who we again largely failed to involve. The fact that Slot made just one substitution is also telling.
In conclusion, a nice win that provides a platform to build on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Slot is any closer to finding the next step.
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