Hobsons Choice

One of the key takes from the weekend is that we have a system that contains both Ollie and Ings that can be effective. Just have to find a way to play Ollie Ings Bailey and Buendia together!

Also, I can see why folks on here were suggesting we get Edouard. He is going to get a shed load of goals. Quality.

You summed up my feelings exactly. I try everything to not dislike people as a rule, but he is so fundamentally dislikeable and smug. As you say, respect his talent, but almost uniquely amongst elite sportsmen and women I find him unbearable to watch. He's the Oasis of sport.

Just watching MOTD. My smug-bastard-cringeometer just went off the scale during the Man U game. I know he's talented and that, but the Newcastle goalie has made two massive mistakes which gifted Ronnie-resting-bitch-face two goals. From the commentary you'd think humanity had just cured cancer or solved climate change. Ugh. Feel sick, man.

We’ve not been within a country mile….not even in the same postcode as our strongest team yet. Or I should say that our team has not yet all been in the same postcode together.

Watched Lukaku in the Euros. Seems to have got even better after leaving the Prem (to my shame I don’t really follow Italian football). One of the top strikers in the world for me. I would rather him than Kane, and I really rate Kane.

You are right, and what you say is fine, because the interpretation of xG can be used to identify exceptional players and goalkeepers. Again that's what the metric is used for. People who have transcended what average players in a given situation would have done. What that says to me is that if we had that exact xG configuration, and had been playing a team with average players we would have drawn, and below average players we would have probably won (because they would not have converted their opportunities).

You do realise that the point of xG is to examine chance creation, not goals? If you exceed your xG by 2 goals it's because you have scored goals that your overall play didn't suggest you should have, and on most other days would not have. Based on xG if you played today's game 1000 times it would most often have been 1-1

How many kicks in English football has Bailey had?

Chelsea xG 1.22. Villa xG 1.17. Nothing in it.

Would love to know xG for this one

18 shots, 6 on target versus their 12 and 4. 0-3 is very harsh

I missed you, man. Hopefully my aim will improve.

Again I think it’s our midfield that causes concern here. They effectively have 4 in there against our 3. Plus none of our 3 are known for commanding their area or winning the ball. Only chance we have is to bypass it with long balls and hope it sticks with our two up top. Thing is it might just work. Ollie and Ings could do it for us here. Alternatively one of the back three has to step out to counter the Chelsea AMCs. Someone mentioned the back three being static. I don’t think it has to be if it’s coached right. Fingers crossed we’ve been working on it more on the training ground this season.

With that team I would probably play McGinn and Luiz deep, sticking close to Ziyech (sp.) and Havertz, hopefully preventing service to Lukaku. They have some team you know!

Is Lukaku not out then? Shit. There’s no stopping him, he’s monstrously good. We’ll have to focus on supply.

That formation looks designed to counter the opposition setup. Seems a logical selection to me. If they score first though, I think it’s probably game over, as our creativity is going to be limited. I expect to see a lot of hoof ball today.

Called it earlier. Ronnie smug face has 10 mins to sort himself out.

No Bailey then. Who are the subs?

Ten minutes until meltdown, when we find out that our team is predominantly made up of the catering staff, and some bloke they rounded up wandering past Aston station.

Yeah. My only hope is that motd will be jizzing over Ronaldo’s hat-trick against Newcastle which will distract a bit.

Eh? So we should ignore the fact that we’re causing our own demise ‘cause if we don’t kill ourselves something else will? That’s the most nihilistic argument i’ve ever heard. The timescales on that graph are difficult to tell because of scale, but the current rate of climate change is only comparable with meteor impacts in the historical record. Those always work out well right? Go Sanson.

Only listening to it here, but sounded totally one-sided.

yessss. Stoppage time

Think he might. I have a feeling that today will be a train crash unfortunately.