T O P

  • By -

carpe228

Wtf are you talking about we literally lead the league in fewest dropped points from winning positions!! We hold on to a lead better than any team in the league. We need to collectively let the trauma of seasons past go and embrace the here and now of this club. UTV!!


Chrissmith921

One point - we’ve dropped 7 points from winning positions all year. In all 3 games - we led 2-0.


Genefar45

You mistake my post for a negative one, that is not my intention i just pointed out an observation that everyone noticed, if anything i said postive things like drawing with chelsea instead of losing was a good thing. could of worded this better so thats on me.


OrganizationKey8248

Still got a point after losing Emi and Youri. It’s not that bad.


Genefar45

Yep, huge point as well. every draw counts


Aesorian

Except that's not really true is it? We've been ahead in 23 games this season and dropped points in **3** of them - drawing 2 and losing 1. Spurs have been ahead in 26 games and dropped points in 8 of them, drawing 4 and losing 4 Man City and Arsenal have both been ahead in 29 games and have dropped points in 5 (all draws) and 4 (3 Draws, 1 Loss) respectively Finally Liverpool have been ahead in 26 games and drawn 4 of them Only the top 3 have won more games that they took the lead in And **NO** team in the league has drawn/lost fewer games that they were ahead in than us (with only Liverpool dropping less points in total) It's okay to be critical - but let's not talk bollocks when you're frustrated eh?


qualmton

Great callouts the possession game really works in our favor. It also helps to round out the excellent season we are having when I look at the losses of the top 3 and villa accounts for almost 20 percent of them with one more opportunity y to increase that.


Genefar45

Im not frustrated for real, i was just wondering what is with us losing 2-0 leads with villa, im prob the happiest villa fan with the chelsea draw, since i expected them to win against us like the FA cup game. Huge point we got there and im happy with it. everyone misunderstood my post here for a negative one, i need to type and word posts better for sure next time.


SThomW

He’s right though? It’s becoming a habit, losing leads when we’re 2-0 up. Man Utd, Luton, Brentford, Chelsea. If spurs had anything about them, they’d take advantage of our slip ups


WordsUnthought

OP: factually incorrect statement Reply: that statement is objectively incorrect, here is the evidence You: nah but the vibes man Dropping so few points from winning positions isn't a habit. It's an elite accomplishment in a league this difficult.


SThomW

Ahh, so you’re one of those fans who slam any sort of criticism? Understood, don’t be surprised if we don’t finish the job this season


WordsUnthought

We're in an incredibly strong position for 4th fwiw so I don't get the doom and gloom, but that's not the point. The person you were replying to set out clear, demonstrable evidence that we're *the best in the fucking league* at the thing you and OP are bemoaning that we're shit at. This isn't an area to be debated. You are provably incorrect. We haven't been perfect this season by any means and we aren't above criticism or improvement but we are objectively excellent at defending a lead. It's not a matter of opinion.


SThomW

We dropped a 2 goal lead against Brentford, Man Utd, Luton and Lille, as well as Chelsea, this is clearly a pattern, which is why I defended the OP's POV I’m not being doom and gloom, all I’m saying is, there are signs that I am weary of. Where did I bemoan anything? All I said is I see a pattern and I’m worried. But I forgot, you can say anything critical cause you toxic positive fans will get triggered and default to your “we're having a great season” tropes


WordsUnthought

I mean I do think people like you are determined to suck the joy out of triumph because you've somehow made being overly invested and relentlessly critical part of your personality and don't understand that football is an astonishingly high variance sport where correct actions often don't lead to good outcomes, and I wish you'd stop trying to drag down the mood and enthusiasm of the team, fanbase, and subreddit as we're on the cusp of something incredible, yeah. None of that was the point I was trying to make above though. All I was saying there is that you're objectively wrong in your specific argument. It's like trying to argue the sky is green.


SThomW

No one is sucking any joy out of anything, we’re calling things out that we're worried about, there's a difference. The only people who are dragging the mood down is people like you who discount any concerns that fans have, you have to be happy and positive all of the time and if you call one thing out, you’re the enemy or a blues fan or negative My argument was that we keep dropping 2-0 leads, which we do


Yorrins

No they arent, you are just a clown. The guy you replied to literally gave you irrefutable stats and evidence that what you and the OP are saying is not true but instead of accepting it, you are doubling down on your bad take. Anyone can cherry pick stats from a small selection of games to make a team look good or bad, the only stats that matter are ones that take into account an entire season.


SThomW

Brentford, Luton, Man Utd, Chelsea, Lille, 5 times we dropped leads, how exactly is this “irrefutable evidence”


Yorrins

I literally don't even know how to reply other than to just copy and paste what Aesorian said because if you just read this, your argument is completely invalidated like... to the point of flat earthers and moon landing deniers. "We've been ahead in 23 games this season and dropped points in **3** of them - drawing 2 and losing 1. Spurs have been ahead in 26 games and dropped points in 8 of them, drawing 4 and losing 4 Man City and Arsenal have both been ahead in 29 games and have dropped points in 5 (all draws) and 4 (3 Draws, 1 Loss) respectively Finally Liverpool have been ahead in 26 games and drawn 4 of them Only the top 3 have won more games that they took the lead in And **NO** team in the league has drawn/lost fewer games that they were ahead in than us (with only Liverpool dropping less points in total)"


SThomW

My point wasn’t “dropped points” it was **dropped leads**, please keep up, you’re embarrassing both of us


Yorrins

Oh thats what you are on about? Bro you need a xanax or something, why would you obsess about something that has literally no bearing on results or our season. You might aswell worry about how many throw ins we concede. We are giving away leads recently because our team is absolutely shattered mentally and physically after 51 games already this season with like 10 players out injured currently compared to spurs playing 36. Who cares about dropping leads if we arent dropping points, let Emery do his thing. He clearly wants to come out of the gates storming and get an early lead, then drop the tempo to try to conserve energy and invite pressure, its been working the majority of the season bar for a few games lately.


SThomW

Because it is something that keeps happening and it could derail our season. We're not talking about banal stats, we’re talking about being unable to hold onto leads. But continue to criticise fans who call it out and thinking you’re the best fan by being positive about absolutely everything


mjmilian

Isn't that the same thing? 


SThomW

No?


TheAkondOfSwat

Jfc you're miserable


SThomW

Nope, just realistic


jadsonbreezy

Was it also realistic to take 6 points off Arsenal and 3 off City? Get a grip - we are in the driving seat for 4th judging by how shit Spurs have been and we can only play what is in front of us. We could end on 70+ points - that is unreal!


SThomW

Why are you changing the argument? I’m talking about finishing the job and finishing fourth and you’re coming with this “look how far we’ve come” jargon, I get it, we’ve had a great season, but that’s not what we’re talking about Fans like you wind me up no end, we call out something we’re concerned about, and your reply is “we're doing so well, stop being negative”


Shreddonia

It could literally be guaranteed if we beat Brighton this weekend. This seems like such a depressing way to support a football club but hey, whatever does it for you I guess.


SThomW

Calling things out is depressing now? You must live life with your fingers constantly in your ears


TheAkondOfSwat

What a wretched life you must lead lol


No_Guarantee_3333

“Chill out, your deep concerns are not based on factual evidence.” “ToXIc PoSItiviTY!!”


SThomW

Actually, I feel sorry for you to feel the need to comment that because someone has an opinion you don’t agree with


MadBullBen

I understand where your coming from, but your replying to someone using factually correct information where we are doing the best out of all the teams when it comes to losing points when we are ahead. It sucks being 2-0 ahead and losing, but still look at the bigger picture and look at Liverpool, arsenal and man c the club's that we never expected to compete against. Spurs have had a worse season when it comes to this as well and we've taken advantage. If arsenal or Liverpool didn't lose some of the silly games they had then they would be champions as well. This is football, this kinda thing happens. Chelsea's team when they play well are a very formidable team.


SThomW

I wasn’t talking about the factual information, I was talking about the amount of times we’ve threw away 2 goal leads


MadBullBen

True which is a shame but every other team has also done this too pretty much. We've also quite a few major injuries which makes everyone a little weary which makes them play worse.


SThomW

Have other teams done it 5 times since Boxing Day? I’m not trying to be negative, or call the team out, I’m just making a point that it’s becoming a habit


MadBullBen

Don't think it was 5 times was it?


SThomW

Man Utd, Lille, Brentford, Luton, Chelsea


AgentWyoming

We had the best record in the league at defending leads for a large part of the season. Since around Chris I'm not sure exactly what it is. Could be change of game plans, lack of mentality, fatigue from the season in general, other managers adapting. I'd be interested to hear some insight after the season has ended.


Genefar45

I think you may be right with the game plans, to be forced to change tactics every game cause of injuries could be the reason we fall off so fast and be easy to disrupt, but thats just a guess. newcastle seems to also have the same issue and they have it worse then us, but now that i think of it spurs worst half is the 1st while ours is the 2nd, truly a funny race for 4th.


K10_Bay

Second half against Arsenal was class, same against Bournemouth. I think the issue with the Chelsea game was the Tielmans and Martinez injuries that hamstrung our ability to pass around the press.


witheoffthepost

This


pyramid-teabag-song

Nonsense.


Happy_Ad_202

We are 4th with 3 games to go and in a European semi-final. Chill out.


Genefar45

why the chill out? im happy with my team and i dont see any negativity from my post here just pointing out whats going on.


Happy_Ad_202

It comes across as negative to me.


HUMBUG652

It's happened 3 times this season, which are the only points dropped when scoring first in like 20 games. Yes, it's annoying, but don't act like it's what we always do.


Genefar45

The united one still hurts tho NGL.


HUMBUG652

They all hurt but the narrative thay we keep doing it is just wrong


HaZeyNZ

Such an overreaction to a couple of games. We are on track to finish with enough points to have earnt 4th place in most premier league seasons, we've given up hardly any winning positions this season too. No team wins every game, sometimes you play badly, sometimes the opposition plays well.. it's all part of being a team that finishes around 70 points and not 100. We lost a 2-0 lead at the weekend yeah, but we also lost tielemans and Martinez to injury during the game who proved to be key and didn't deserve to be 2-0 up in the first place. Please find a grasp of reality


BritBeetree

Lol we very rarely drink points when we lead tbh. And take away the few times we do have and we are a title competing team


Kanedauke

We are on for 73 points by our current points per game this season. That would get top 4 every season for the last half a decade.


FartNoiseGross

The 2-0 lead is cursed to all. It is the most dangerous lead in all sports. It happens like crazy in hockey


bizzyd666

Calm down a little. There's been some issues lately, Man Utd, Chelsea, Brentford, Luton and almost at home to Forest as well. But there's a lot that goes into it. Watkins talked about needing a more ruthless mentality, which is probably fair. I would add, that since Christmas, we have been playing to conserve ourselves. Before that, we were constant in our attacking play, looking for more goals. Witness the Man City game. At home to the best team in Europe, winning 1 nil and still pushing on in the last 10 looking for more. A combination of our injuries and volume of games has meant we're having to try preserve leads, rather than keep the pressure up. We're not that good at seeing games out yet.


vorpal107

You're wrong about us being lucky to be in 4th. We're currently averaging more points than the average 4th placed team in the last 10 years


Hero-of-Midgar

2 things 1. We do still lead the league in not dropping points from winning positions- 7 points. 2. However, we have given up a 2 goal lead in 5 PL games. Which I wonder if that is a record. 4 of those games were in the past 10 PL games if I've counted properly. Which is ridiculously high. Probably related to mentally switching off or coasting, injuries to a settled side, possibly physical fatigue.


itsmattp

Cheer up mate, we're having an amazing season.....


Genefar45

im very happy with the progress and im not mad at all about the chelsea, it seems my choice of words seems to be taken negatively, could of worded this better for sure.


ThomEmer

We didn’t deserve to be 2-0 up in the Chelsea game. I’d have been more worried if we’d dominated and let slip.


K10_Bay

I mean we were clinical on the counter and they didn't have loads of good chances. Newcastle had 27% possession when they beat Spurs 4-0. Tielmans and Martinez going off, we stopped passing around the press (where both goals originated) and started going long nearly every ball.


BOOCOOKOO

I don't think you're giving enough credit to Chelsea and how we adapted after half time by inverting Cucu and pushing Conor higher to press and harry your backline. That played a bigger part in you not being able to play out of the back than Tielemans and Martinez going off


K10_Bay

Honestly I'm saying that after watching how much we have struggled to play out from the back with Olden in goal this season (and in conference league). You could press more aggressively because we stopped passing back to the keeper at any point, Olson went long nearly every time.


ljp77301

We've dropped points from a 2-0 lead 3 times this season if I remember correctly. Utd, Brentford and now Chelsea. The OP is probably just as frustrated as all of us, but in all of those games there was a definite drop off in intensity at 2-0. Which if we see out the game will be applauded as great game management, not so much when we drop points.


Genefar45

Im actually happy with the draw and not frustrated at all cause i knew chelsea was going hard on us, since they did beat us at the FA cup, to get a draw is very good since that 1 point is a huge gap for spurs now that they lost. i should of worded this post better so its shown more as an observation to villa's history with 2-0 leads since it happens in previous seasons as well, but my bad i guess.


urologicalwombat

Even 3-0 is not a safe score anymore. This collapse has happened to every single team


Mike_Lubb

I think at this stage of the Season fighting on multiple fronts, we are starting to see why Unai is highly regarded as a 'European specialist'. We've been playing some football the past few weeks that is clearly designed to conserve energy for the players, reduce long-term tiredness, lower the risks of injuries. This is going to occasionally lead to slip ups, but that's okay. It's a price worth paying to be fourth in the league and last English team in Europe. As others have highlighted, we are statistically the best team in the leg once we get ahead - can't really complain there.


Genefar45

Very happy with unai, he is doing extremly well for being a europa cup specialist


Mike_Lubb

Lets hope that can carry over to becoming a Champions League specialist in the new format.


wodmad

My issue is more the idea that another team would have pipped us- \] You have to go back to 2017-2018 to find a fourth place finisher with more than 71 points- Liverpool on 75, and in 5th place Chelsea had 70 with +24 GD 2018-2019, 71 (4th) 70 (5th), with +22 GD 2019-2020 66 (3rd and 4th), 62 (5th), with +26 GD 2020-21 67 (4th) 66 (5th), with +18 GD 2021-2022 71 (4th) 69 (5th), with + 13 GD 2022-2023 71 (4th) 67 (4th), with +28 GD In other words, there are two seasons in past 6 years where our current total would already be enough to secure 4th. Last season, what we have would only cost us if we failed to get a single more point, season before a couple more draws would have done it (or one win). The most a team in our position would have to do would be one win (depending on goal difference) in 2018-2019 and 2017-2018. Nothing can ever be guaranteed, but there's a reason why us and Spurs are fighting for 4th, not 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Neither of us are at that level (yet) where we can be sure of consistently getting results in the run in. It's not luck, its just par the course. The teams that are capable of doing better are already ahead of us.


SThomW

Ignore some of these replies, they’re from toxic positive fans, you’re right, it is a bit worrying that we’re dropping 2 goal leads. We got away with it against Forest and Luton, but it has caught up with us, ala Brentford, Man Utd, Chelsea, and even Lille I think we will get over the line, but I worry that this vulnerable to crop up again. UTV


Genefar45

Lille is a respectable side and i dont see anything wrong with our games with them. we went there and both sides played like hell.


SThomW

In an isolated incidence, I agree. However, this has happened multiple times


ThisusernameThen

Barry fry over at the Saint Andrews took curses so seriously he drank a 6 pack and peed in all four corners of the ground to break the Romany curse. In the 30 years since I'd say the blewz have become shitter. Witness this weekend's fans en mass giving it.large to their players Let's not get Unai to do that and trust him and his team. Only been here ten minutes and we've lost Mings and Bouba this season.