“It was shocking, really.”
Roy Keane was on punditry duty for Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football and he looked about as happy as a punter at an NFL game, in London, that was asked for a selfie as the action was unfolding.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, on Monday evening, in a result that leaves both sides in the lower reaches of the Premier League. Steven Gerrard’s side are 16th while Steve Cooper’s men remain in 19th but are still two points off escaping the relegation zone.
Emmanuel Dennis opened the scoring for the hosts but Ashley Young got the Villa equaliser, seven minutes later, and the game finished level. Following the match, Keane accused Villa as lacking conviction in attack and both ‘courage on the ball’ and “bottle”. He declared:
“The game was really poor. It was shocking really. Forest needed to stop the rot.
“Villa have got no bottle. Overall a really poor game, a real lack of quality.”
🗣️ "They've got no bottle that team"
🗣️ "I couldn't believe how bad their attacking players were"
Roy Keane is NOT impressed with Aston Villa. pic.twitter.com/h5d0ymJqpP
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 10, 2022
Steven Gerrard said Villa had ‘more clear-cut chances’
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard said ‘there was not too much wrong with that performance’ but admitted his side did not create enough clear-cut chances, even though they edged Forest on sighters on goal.
The former Liverpool captain, and Rangers manager, said Villa need some of their ‘big players to step up more’.
With that in mind, his old Reds teammate, Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports that Philippe Countinho was struggling for Villa. He commented:
“Countinho is a shadow of his former self. He was a million miles off it and taken off again. He is the only attacking player Steven Gerrard has bought.”
As for Forest, who climbed off the bottom of the table with the point they earned, Roy Keane said his old side [as player and assistant manager] did well to grind for their draw.
“You can have a philosophy, the way you want to play, but being a manager is about survival. It was a big point. Don’t shy away from taking a point. It’s a big point for Forest.”
“Gerrard is under pressure as they are not winning enough games,” Keane added. “It’s nowhere near enough for a side as big as Aston Villa.”
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