So, the penultimate game of a very long season is upon us and there’s still everything to play for. Which is kind of an odd feeling given the near miss in the Champions League and the FA Cup stinker. But, hey, we have been entertained and we now know there are more European nights. It’s just the nature of them that’s in question.
Ange and Spurs? Hard to know what to make of them. I do know I love seeing them down at the bottom of the survivors list and can’t believe they’re in a European final. That United are just above them and playing in that same final is surreal. That these two are where they are at this point, well, that wasn’t what you’d have thought at the start of the season. Neither of them deserves any kind of silverware. But here they are.
All the pundits figure it’s as easy as it could be with Spurs given their upcoming big night. They may be right. Though if you were looking at it from their side, you’d be hoping they’ll put in a strong performance and gain some momentum. But you’d also be thinking they want to save something for the final and not risk any more injuries. Which is to say that what we’ll see is very much an unknown.
What we do know is that Emery will desperately be wanting a win. A couple slip-ups around us have left the door open, and no matter what he says to the press, he’s not going to take it well if Villa come away with anything but three points. A win on a Friday night will keep the pressure firmly on the others vying for 5th. More than that, it would be a reflection of Villa’s makeup.
Beyond the obvious, the rumor mill is in overdrive, which makes these two games and the ones around us more than a little interesting. Basically, what will Villa have to spend and what lure will we have to offer?
Some kind of turnover is going to happen, but the scope is unknown. We’ve all read the various permutations: Ramsey is unhappy, Ollie’s unhappy. I’m sure Malen is unhappy. Everyone wants Rogers and now Youri is gaining admirers, while Emi’s off to Saudi.
Suffice to say, where Villa finish will have a big say in all of these players’ futures. And because of that, it’s useless speculating.
I will say, though, one thing puzzles me, and that’s Emery not playing Rogers off Watkins with Malen wide right. Obviously that’s down to Emery not trusting Donyell enough at the moment. And I assume that’s down to the system and how well he’s adapting. As I mentioned at the time, City’s winner came when Malen stayed central, allowed the pass wide left to bypass him, and didn’t drop to double on the winger (Doku, if I recall correctly). If he’d gotten over to give help, it’s less likely the cross would’ve gotten through and we’d be a point better off. Is that the kind of thing keeping him out? Because otherwise, he’s stronger on the ball than Bailey, seems just as fast, and reads the box well. And Rogers seems to thrive more centrally.
Anyway. No real pearls, as usual, all obvious stuff and I just really hope we can nick that final spot. Might not seem like such a big deal, but that’s the kind of thing that just might get us over the top.
So c’mon, lads—send Spurs limping into their final.
Over to you.
The Author
John Clark
John is co-owner of AVL, and has followed the Villa since the '70s. A journalist by trade, he is, by most accounts, a very nice person. You can follow me on Twitter @JClarkKohoutek. It's an astonishing experience. Or a complete waste of time.Comments 60
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Thanks for the script John. All the relevant questions are there. The answers depend on our status after 38 games. Friday night is going to be interesting. Most folks I know are really pissed off at the fixture date change. Can only lead to a hostile home support. If the team respond, then it’s going to be a great night which should set us up for Manure the following weekend. We can’t be dwelling on anything other than getting the 3 points.
Yeah, Plug, I’d think the players (never mind the fans) might take exception to Spurs getting help when we were refused.
So like you say, three points is everything.
Nervy half,we have had chances but so have they,cash is under pressure and with booking emery can’t risk repeat of last week red
Asenio is starting to purr,mcginn started on fire but not really in it,Rogers needs to improve and as usual another duff ref Sarr committed numerous fouls no booking, cash waving a card gets booked
I would take cash of put konsa right back,kamara to centre half mcginn midfield and either Bailey or malen to right
How pathetic is Regulian
Truly embarassing
JG . . . Aloud not be nervous of leaving us even more exposed down the right?
This does feel like the sort of game where Bailey might finally spring to life though
Why is that not a sending off?
Both feet in the air
Caught him on the shin
Get in
We need another
My nerves are on edge
Robbo
Konsa was excellent as a right back last season
JG. . . I have no problem with Konsa at right back , I’d just be nervous of us reducing our . . . . oh what a goaaal!
In our last game I said to my wife, if only Kamara could add shooting to his repertoire.
I love him!!
Get in kamara,what a time for 1st of season,my nerves want another now plus clean sheet
Assuming we can keep this going, what a great game to be at.
I’m not at all bitter that I was going to be there. . . until the ******* FA changed the date!!
Sky sports are certainly trying to suggest that Ollie is off this summer
I can’t imagine us replacing him with anyone of the same quality, and he still has time on his contract, so why would we sell him?
Job done
Ramsay available next week if we get 69 points and don’t make champions league it will unreal
Emery is a magician and fcuk sky commentators saying it could be ollie last match,still bigging up spurs even tho they are like us gerard useless
Thought asenio was really good tonight maybe his fitness is getting there
Phew…I was worried about a 0-0, or them getting one out of nowhere on the counter.
Nice to see rashford at game too
Depending on next 9 days monchi going to have busy summer our right side needs work
JG,
He had some really nice moments, Asensio. Was good they kept feeding him the ball. Makes up for Youri’s absence.
Liked the pugnacious punchy performances of Maatsen and SJM. Liked Malan on the right and Rogers on the left for the last 10 minutes. Asensio easily my POTM. Didn’t seem to fade at the 60 minute mark Is this the real Asensio, can he keep it going? Please don’t do a PC on us.
Still hope we sign Disasi. Don’t want the Rashford circus.
Felt weird seeing The Beard and Friedal on their coaching staff and no longer part of our good times.
COME ON MANURE! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Loved emery walking around pitch after all players and families, stopped for so many selfies and signed numerous items,class act from class man
Chelsea leading, but plenty of matches ,man city are going to have to avoid defeat in both games arsenal need points ,Newcastle have Everton last game
BAH! MANURE MUPPETS.
Manure, Spurs…both useless, jbd. But I’m glad for the three today.
And I believe Ian was there tonight.
Your average Brummie always enjoys beating a Laandaan outfit. It’s even better if that outfit is one of the entitled ones that managed to change the fixture date to suit its purposes. And so it came to pass that we eventually got on top of them on the score sheet. Another assist for Ollie. Konsa’s diversion into the net broke them and matters became easier. Great shot from Kamara to wrap up the game. The first I’ve seen from him. Bustacog Lou did of course help by selecting his 2nd string team.
Guess we did have some luck at last by meeting Spurs just before their big day out. It was to our advantage but to the detriment of our UCL contenders. Who cares, I’ll take it.
Immensely disturbed to see Dibu looking emotional after the game. If the world’s No 1 is moving out, I will be gutted. Haven’t really got over the departure of Big Jhon yet. Don’t know what’s happened. Have Villa received an offer they can’t refuse for him or have Saudi offered him Micky Mouse money to pack his bucket and spade. We will find out soon but it looked like a farewell to me.
I can’t believe we have any PSR issues this financial year. The sale of Diaby pretty much covered the purchase of Onana and the sale of Big Jhon plus the mega bucks from UCL, plus the admission price increases must leave us well within PSR regs. But our wonderful owners have said from day 1 that Villa must be self sustaining and I reckon we might not be there yet. There’s about £100 million to spend on the North Stand, plus the hotel at BMH training ground. There’s other works behind the North Stand too. All of this costs big money which may not be part of PSR calcs but nevertheless affect the bottom line. The club continues to be driven in an upward direction and whatever happens to our playing staff, I trust Unai to take exemplary care on that front.
But back to the game last night, I agree with R0BBo that Reguilon is a pathetic knob head. I also thought Bankes falls below the standard required to referee at EPL level. It was brainless of Cash to wave an imaginary card at the ref after he was brought down. Not the required level of intelligence.
I was just beginning to get twitchy with proceedings last night when Konsa scored. Unai was ready to act with Bailey and Barks on the touchline but the goal changed that. Guess he was getting twitchy too.
But it’s 3 more points making 24 in total from our last 9 games. It was only a few games ago we were 9 points behind Forest but now we are 4 ahead of them. We’ve done really well to reach the final game with a chance of UCL again. All we can do is go for the win at Manure.
On martinez tears,if he leaves as lo g as it is to Saudi no problems,it’s only bayern and Barcelona in Europe that are needing a keeper ,Barcelona are broke and bayern are afterwards from leverkusen at upwards of 100m,but anyway expect monchi and emery to have a plan
A right back is badly needed cash was at his average best last night getting roasted by son and his attacks nearly all ended with him stopping and retreating with ball so annoying/frustrating
Referee and var in final absolute disgrace
Palace Keepers deliberately handle ball outside area no action taken,astonishing
Doku throws himself to ground no booking either shambolic
Bang on the money James. Referee Attwell and VAR Gillett are two we’ve had criticisms of in the past. Yet they get handed a cup final. Don’t know how Gillett could possibly make such an error. Haarland was going to knock the ball beyond the keeper and tap it in. Even if a defender got back to cover the goal line (which was not a gimme), it would still have been a goal scoring opportunity. The only explanation is bias. The game’s integrity is in tatters.
Cluck bait,have us selling
Martinez torres tielmens kamara Bailey ramsay rogers and watkins,
Don’t understand psr but I am sure next 6 weeks will tell what our finances are like,and i trust monchi emery and owners are on top of it
JG and Plug, yes it was a mistake by the officials, but I’m glad it happened to City.
JG, I’m just about managing to avoid most of the click bait transfer rumours, but the Martinez ones are hard to escape, and his tears are hard to ignore.
None of us know exactly how he fits within the squad, but it’ll surely be hard to replace his experience and passion.
This season he has had his lapses, but the part of his game which has really improved is his distribution and he has become, not just a shot stopper, but an attack starter.
Just taken a look at the Villa Blog and found it hard to believe the debate taking place there. You’d be forgiven for believing half the posters on there are Bluenoses, based on the level of discussion.
I went to see a talk by a respected gardener who gives talks around the country. It was informative and interesting. . . until . . . he suddenly veered off into conspiracy theories about aircraft contrails.
It reminds me of me of some of the discussions about Watkins in particular on the other blog.
It doesn’t matter what ‘facts’ are put in front of such people, they prefer to believe their own irrational view of the world.
I imagine every club has its own smattering of fans, who are short on critical thinking skills, but aren’t afraid to show it.
All the rumors are hard to escape, r0bb0, and Dibu might well be off. Would be gutting, but if the talk after Duran’s departure has any truth to it (willing to listen to offers for either striker, not both), then I’m guessing most anyone is for sale at the right price.
Given the ridiculous amounts on offer, it does make sense for aging players (not that Martinez is old for a keeper) to take the Saudi retirement plan. And I could also see him going to a historic club like Bayern or Barca.
Could also be down to Emery and then CL, of course. Get it, things are different. But Emery may have different ideas and with PSR, you have to be ruthless if you want to stay in the running.
When I balance out JG’s list and think of where we shine and struggle, I think we probably do have to get a bit faster and need more young legs out there. And we’re still not at the level where every player is a one-touch passer.
PSG, Chelsea, Palace…Maybe less so Palace, but those are teams you have to get past, and they’ve had our number.
I can see Digne leaving, for example. Maatsen looks to have finally broken through. Kamara, probs depends on the player and contract. Love him, but he does get outrun by some. Tielemans is getting on a bit, so Emery might think cashing in a little early versus a little late might be the money move. And that could be the Martinez thinking if it isn’t coming from the player.
So, it’s all very hard to know. And it is a shame, because I do really like the squad. PSR is not a good thing.
JC, I guess every player has a range of values, and if someone, somewhere is prepared to pay above that range, for whatever reason (I reckon Duran fell into that category), then any club in our PSR position will feel obliged to sell. . . . provided they have faith that their recruitment team is capable of finding a decent replacement.
In our case, it helps that we have a manager who has shown that he can take players to another level, so maybe we can bring in players who are not yet be at the level of the player who left, but have the potential to get there.
JG, I know what you mean about Cash driving forwards but then “stopping and retreating”, when it would be lovely to see him crossing, or cutting inside, the way Bailey used to.
Is he the problem though, or might it be that the players aren’t in the centre for the cross, or close enough to him for an overlapping run (remember how Grealish and his left back used to create space and overlapping runs?)
r0bb0,
Yes, the upside is that I do have faith in Emery and Monchi. And I’d rather have a manager who’s more ruthless than sentimental. Just the way it is, and we saw how Pep left it a little too long to retool. He let some gems slip through his fingers in the process.
Cash frustrates me, as well, in exactly the way JG points out. Love the effort and attitude, but I’ve been banging on about him for a while. Sometimes unfairly. Maybe.
These last few matches Maatsen has definitely surpassed him to my mind. Though what I wouldn’t give for that left back at PSG (name escapes me, atm). Complete player.
Find that for our RB, and we’d be a lot better overnight.
Plenty of click bait sites suggesting Villa need to sell a high value player for PSR reasons. I think this is BS. In my view, if we sell anyone it will be down to Unai and team development. Why do I think this? Last season we earned £275 million revenue and made a loss of £85 million. Losses for PSR calcs are less than £85 million due to allowances so we complied….just. But we did fall foul of UEFA PSR calcs as our wages were £252 million or 91% of turnover against the allowed 80%. We are going to get a fine from UEFA for this. This season we will need to break even or make a small profit. With a projected revenue of £375 million, I can’t see our wage bill being any higher than last year i.e. £252 million (68% of turnover). It may even be less than last year which covered 13 months against this year’s 12 months. The current season UEFA PSR calcs must max out at 70% of turnover. I think we’re well in.
JC, the PSG FB’s were Hakimi and Mendes. That kind of quality as an upgrade on Cash would be excellent. But as always, attracting great players is easier when your team is in the UCL and here we are in a fight. I’m delighted we are still in that fight come the final game. As recently as March I had written off our chances. But a remarkable sprint to the finishing line has forced a UCL qualification possibility.
Watching highlights of u18 win over city,and again the refs are helping moneybags city,clear handball not given and burrows gets booked for complaining
One thing emery has to implement in our team is a professional foul,,when our corners break down make sure someone stops keeper launching ball,likewise minor around midfield take foul booking to stop opposition breaking forward
Yeah, Mendes, Plug. And Hakimi is very good too. Strong, fast, great defenders, great going forward.
Hear what you’re saying about CL (which is why I care…not like Europa would be bad). I’d like us to unearth one of our own.
Probably do need to do a little more tactical fouling, JG, although I would like to see the game cleaned up a little bit.
Not that I want it to be a non-contact sport, but the two things I dislike the most are the deliberate takedowns in midfield when someone’s driving (let’s say you get one for free if it’s not dangerous, after that it’s a yellow for anyone on the same team whether it’s a tackle or a pull-back) and the CBs grabbing hold of forwards from behind.
Ollie gets wrestled around every week and I don’t understand how it’s not a foul to wrap your arms round someone and stop them turning or gaining clean possession, but it’s a foul to breathe on them from behind and players feel it and topple over. I know we do it, too, Konsa a lot.
Anyway.
So if CBs are going to be allowed to do that, if I were changing ours up, I’d want ones who can close in like that. All of ours have always played a bit off in recent years, never understood why we don’t have a least one wrestler in the side.
Chelsea not happy,they have to play on Sunday with final on Wednesday, no game change there opponents play Friday 2 days extra rest
Spursbeat utd,2 awfully poor sides,levycant sack posteglo now
Didn’t think much of the P16/P17 playoff last night for a place in the UCL. Most underwhelming. But it was a sight for sore eyes watching Ratcliffe’s face looking like thunder.
Only saw the last 30mins or so, and it was terrible. I really can’t believe that two sides with such god-awful domestic results were vying for a CL spot.
The new shop in bull ring seems to have started well
The new away shirt looks pretty good we are using it for last match of season
The awards were on,big bad john didn’t get goal of season award very harsh because he left,mcginn won it for goal v psg but didn’t forget duran in his acceptance speech
Olsen got one too,biggest surprise he didn’t drop it lol,
Heck gave a list of his achievements and judging on all building work started around stadium, new lion statue and new shop in town ,next man has a lot to keep up with
And so it came to pass. Manure at OT for a place in next season’s UCL. The money. The team development opportunities. The brand exposure. For us, not for them.
They are our nemesis. Over the years, we’ve had less than slim pickings against them home and away. This is our latest chance. Time for something different. Time to kick their apple cart over. Time to take 3 points. As I see it, we must keep their most dangerous player quiet. That’s Amad, the speed merchant. Fernandes will be pulling his strings. Close these two down and we might just prevail. COYVB.
Well said, Plug. Better synopsis than what I’ve just put up.
COYVB