What a difference a game makes!

Sherwood’s first two games showed slight improvements but nothing to suggest what we would see on Tuesday night. The score line of 2-1 doesn’t tell all of the story, the last minute penalty suggesting that Villa where “lucky” to get their first win in 8 games – but only the most bias of Baggie fan wouldn’t accept that it was a fully deserved result.

16 shots, 8 on target, 58% possession, 80% pass accuracy and 70% pass accuracy in the opposing half. All decent stats, but made even better considering the way Villa played, the ball was moving quickly, we where more direct than in recent matches but without looking like one dimensional long ball merchants.

Villa could have easily gone in at half time 3-0 up such was the dominance for the Villa side.

Question marks over selection where answered, substitutions where bold and went on to affect the game.

There where many positives to take out of the game, though there are still clearly some things to work on. Dead ball delivery being one of them. In Brunt West Brom have someone who consistently delivers dangerous balls from anywhere around the box, and this was the only time West Bom really looked a threat. Guzan has been blamed for the goal but the ball that Brunt put in would leave most keepers with question marks. The marking on Lescott could have been better but without a great delivery no one gets a chance. Something that, in stark contrast to West Brom, Villa struggle with. Our free kicks and corners on the night where terrible, with Westwood being the main culprit.

The test comes on Saturday when the team needs to show this was no flash in the pan.

I think Sherwood will change a few key personnel, Grealish and Gil will surely be in contention to play ahead of N’Zogbia. Sanchez could well be in contention to start his first game for Sherwood ahead of Westwood or Cleverly.

In defence it’ll be interesting to see what we do with limited options. Vlaar could be back, but we’ve seen what happens when he comes back to soon, he breaks down on goes off within the first half hour. Cissoko, Richardson, Baker and Senderos all out injured and Hutton now suspended after confusing which balls to kick. Kinsella could come in for his debut or Sherwood could ask Delph or N’Zogbia to deputise in a role they’ve both performed before.

It’ll also be interesting to see if Given continues in his role as cup keeper.

Gabby will surely continue up front with Benteke, fingers crossed we can get some consistent good form Villa’s current longest serving player. He showed on Tuesday, even with all his faults, when Gabby is on form he is a handful. I was surprised at the criticism Benteke received on Tuesday, many calling him the worst performing player. Personally I thought he was selfless for the team, worked hard, did a lot of dirty work, won most of his aerial duels, set up Gabby’s goal and then became the iceman to slot home a massive penalty. I thing he’s getting there, only a matter of time until the beast is reborn IMO.

The most important thing, who ever is picked in the team, is the same intensity and work rate is applied to the game.

First time for a long time I’m going in to this game with an expectancy, not necessarily for Villa win, but an expectancy that this team will perform, entertain and score.

UTV long may this feeling continue.

Comments 287

  1. Well said, its a very long time since we had this feeling of optimism. You can’t believe that we’re actually in the QF of the FA Cup with this side, a team that has consistently disappointed and disgusted in equal measures.
    Fair play to TS he seems a perfect fit for Villa and if Lerner sells up then we can renew the dream we had when Herbert sold up.

  2. Twice in one night i agree with Steamer – fudge me i need a holiday. I’m off to find some of that salt fish next week!
    Personally wont find me on the optimism express unless we win on Saturday too.

  3. gog
    just a thought how many bookings is clark one stat is showing 8 another 9.if it s 9 i think a rest would be in order,rather miss him for cup game especially with hutton still out for 1 more game think i would try this team if injuries to defence are as bad as said
    given
    bacuna rb
    delph lb
    lowton ch
    okore ch
    cleverly cm
    sanchez cm
    gil lm
    zog rm
    benteke
    gabby
    subs
    have no defenders so
    westwood grealish sinclair wiemen guzan clark

  4. thought l’d share this with you all , some might know its book week day today at the schools and the kids all dressed up as their hero . well one kid who goes to the school Chris’s mom teaches at , came as a cage fighter and when he was asked by the head who he was . He said Im Chris Miah the champ , kinda makes you feel good ,

  5. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, so I’m yet to be convinced even though I am encouraged by the change of emphasis.
    I’m well aware that we cannot expect other teams to sit back and let us come on to them like the Baggies did on Tuesday night; in fact I can assuredly say none of our last opponents would fit into that category. So the only way we can win will be to get on the offensive early and mark tightly throughout.
    The defensive weakness we now have will test Sherwood’s determination and his perception of the abilities of what we have left that is still fit!

  6. Steamer: You canโ€™t believe that weโ€™re actually in the QF of the FA Cup with this side…

    Yes. Interesting thing is that each team Villa have faced (at home) in the Cup has been one gradation higher in ability than the previous opponent. So we started with a lowly opponent and have gradually risen up through Leicester and now to play high-flying Albyun! ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Well, I’ve gotta be in Lunnon to be at our son’s wedding so will miss seeing the match. They’ll probably win 5-0 without me watching!

  7. morning lifers and thanks to Graham.

    I’m still in the lets give it a few more games before I believe we have turned that corner and are not looking back camp.
    the signs are positive and its intoxicating to believe the good times could be back. came across this reading of the last game and it pretty much echo’s my view of it so it saves me typing ๐Ÿ™‚

    http://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2015/3/5/8158917/how-tactics-tim-can-beat-pulis-again

    Sanchez played the whole game against stoke graham so it wouldn’t be his first start, obviously TS has seen something he doesn’t like, which is probably his fitness levels for the role he plays in .

  8. Everyone agreeing with Steamer is slightly surreal I feel like I am living in a different universe, but I concur about Stan he was not even in our top hundred best midfield players Cropley was one of my favourites and did things others could only dream about until he was brutally injured and that’s another reason why I hate the bogeys.

    Anyway today I am off to get some goat meat for the weekend curried goat for me the weekend to eat after our win against the carriers.

    AVFC ITWT

  9. good morning all

    I had a dream – i had a dream that villa made it to the fa cup final and didnt even need to win it to qualify for europe , we stayed up and played the next season in the uafa cup under new ownership
    We won the uafa cup which qualified us for champs lge and the was the beginning of the Villa world domination

    but then i woke up ๐Ÿ™‚

    On Stan – i was always a big fan of his duing his time at villa — he used to pass sideways a lot which was the downside , but he was very solid in the middle and rarely lost the ball ,, he did play under manager who was as negitive as lambert which takes so much away from any players game — but he carried himself with such class around the place and was a fine example to our youngsters — stan will always have my respect

  10. Runtingz,
    You never know mate. Went to a few away games in the UEFA & EC years, real good laugh, Malcom Allison and his burd sat in front of us at Fenerbahce. St75 was reminiscing about Rotterdam yesterday, the thousands of Villans having a good gargle on the central boulevard and the kids taking the empties away because they got a third of the cost back, they must have made a fortune that day..
    John,
    Sorry you have to spend a day in Laaandaan, at least you’ll have some cake though, best wishes to nipper and the new Mrs L.
    Did you read yesterday how central government suppressed Birminghams growth post war ?

  11. steamer- just reading a book called “why we can’t afford the rich” by Andrew Sayer. better than “the establishment” by Owen Jones, should be up your street.

  12. Steamer,

    The cake is being made by me own son!! He works for a caterer as a baker, cakemaker and goodness knows what…

    “how central government suppressed Birminghams growth post war” – Have you got a link for that Steamer?

  13. Steamer,

    “You had that Jaytex on last time i saw you. Seems i was the only one with a made to measure crombie, and the famous sheepskin as well. Snappy dressers werenโ€™t we, even S75 in his bib nโ€™ brace and kajagoogoo streaks.”

    I wished I had those old button downs real quality not like the shite you get today, there is a good reason your Crombie was made to measure any shop that stocked your size and shape would be petrol bombed by style activists.

    Remember ST75 and his bib and brace what a nork, we went to Leeds away in the cup on a Wednesday night and there was hundreds of their lot all dressed in white boiler suits it was like going to a Mr.Pastry convention.

    AVFC ITWT

  14. Morning all. Having basked in the glory for the last couple days its time for the players to get down to business again tomorrow. My only concern is that the players thinking they have turned the corner get complacent. I hope Sherwood freshens up the squad a little bit. Defence is down to bare bones, possible just a matter of replacing Hutton with Bacuna. Hope to see Gil and Sanchez too.

    Good article on Stan and reflects my own views on him
    http://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2013/7/8/4456376/aston-villa-stiliyan-petrov-birmingham-fans-leukemia

    Congrats on your son John and have a good time down in Laandaan.

  15. Good write up Graham. I agree with everything, although I would be surprised if N’Zogbia is a contender for left back. The thought of it fills me with dread. But then again we have used Stevens, Bennett and Luna there in recent seasons, so why not?

    I think Grealish may take over the set pieces and I think he may start. Sherwood seems to like the look of him. I like the look of his link up play but not convinced he is ever going to terrorise defenders by running at them.

    Benteke and Gabby will be an excellent partnership if they can perform like they did the other night on a consistent basis. Not much hope. Gabby is in his late 20s and has never found consistently good form throughout his entire career. Has put the fear of God into top class defenders on his day but sadly, those days have been few and far between.

    If Bacuna takes over at right back then he will take over the dead ball duties on goal. He’s another one that has looked amazing at times and atrocious at times when played in the full back position.

    Given will start. I expect something like this as our team…

    Given

    Bacuna
    Okore
    Clark
    Lowton

    Cleverley
    Westwood
    Delph

    Grealish

    Benteke
    Agbonlahor

  16. It’s amazing how one pen kick can give so much hope. If it was 1-1 what would the reaction be?!

    Fantastic to listen to ts talk about Grealish…not seen alot of him to judge but look forward to seeing him develop under ts.

    Droyd

    Id go with delph as a captain…always liked a midfielder as skipper.

    On Petrov.

    Someone on another thread said about his debut…ive never seen a villa player have such a good debut. Towards the end he was more frustrating as a player playing too deep.

    However it’s inspired to get him on as a coach…no doubting his love for villa, being professional and other players respect.

    Thats ts, mcdonald, bowen, petrov……under lambert we had pl, kinsella, culverhouse, then kean then no one at all!

    The training ground must be a different place.

  17. Good article Graham and I agree entirely that Sat is the real test . As Clive says, we have had too many false dawns that when we do feel positive there’s a rumbling in the back ground saying “look what happened last time “. Eg when we were top 4 beginning of season beating Arsenal etc. That said / the choice of KMac , the focus on fitness and the attitude of the team on Tesday are all positive steps – even Bebteke had a smoke on his face !

    WBA were struggling like ourselves not so long ago , and taken as a whole team Id say we have the edge no doubt . With VP coming to life again, and the confidence boost our win over them has given us , it’s definately in out favour to go through.

    Can’t wait to see who he puts out , but I’d stick with the “don’t change a winning team ” principle – particularly when that winning team has just beaten the team you are playing . Hutton is out – Lord only knows who will come in his place – afterall Nzog was a surprise to us all , and I think it was a good move on TS part. At least we know that they won’t go out without putting up a fight now.

  18. Steamer,

    This must be the piece you’re referring to, actually extracted from an history of Birmingham…

    Up until the 1930s it had been a basic assumption of Birmingham’s leaders that their role was to encourage the city’s growth. Post-war national governments, however, saw Birmingham’s accelerating economic success as a damaging influence on the stagnating economies of the North of England, Scotland and Wales, and saw its physical expansion as a threat to its surrounding areas โ€“ “from Westminster’s point of view was too large, too prosperous, and had to be held in check”. A series of measures, starting with the Distribution of Industry Act 1945, aimed to prevent industrial growth in the “Congested Areas” โ€“ essentially the booming cities of London and Birmingham โ€“ instead encouraging the dispersal of industry to the economically stagnant “Development Areas” in the north and west. …

    http://spatial-economics.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/booming-birmingham-and-need-for.html

  19. if vlaar is available wouldn’t be surprised is Okore plays right back. alternatively Lowton switches and either clarke goes left or kinsella comes in. without vlaar its a straight bakuna for hutton.

  20. Think Bacuna is a shoe in for right back. Brunt had the entire left flank to himself the other night. He was their left back, left midfielder and left winger. One man covering the entire flank that lacks pace is not going to be a concern to the degree that we need a centre back playing right back.

  21. lowton was being tested and will be again, three centre backs would allow him to get forward and give greater aerial capabilities, not keen on him waving his right leg in the air to block crosses either got lucky with a couple of blocks. but TS seems happy with him so Bakuna seems the natural choice. that said nobody expected the last line up either

  22. Thanks for that link to the Benjamin Zephaniah video Jen.

    “The wonderful, the magnificent …Aston Villa!”

    It’s a beautiful thing.

  23. The next Andros Townsend ? i’d find that insulting if i were Grealish.
    Ree,
    The OS described Petrov today as ‘a legend’ now that is not only an exaggeration but obviously total bollox, nice bloke he may be but a legend ? not even the first rung on that ladder and it, imo, makes the standards at AVFC look pretty poor.
    JL,
    I recognised some of that text as part of the BM article but not certain that it came from that source. The Labour Government in the mid 60’s also introduced an act to restrict the growth of our great city and we all know about Thatcher and her mob. Why B’Ham attracts such hate is beyond me, Brummies are a welcoming breed and within half an hour from the city you are in Stratford or any one of half a dozen quality tourist attractions, we also have more Michelin rated restaurants than Manc, Pool and Leeds combined, the only downside is BCFC but they’ve always been pretty anonymous anyway. I doubt if these Brummie haters have even been to the city.
    Have a good ‘un tomorrow.

  24. Steamer

    I am not a Braamie saan,I only moved there at 14 years old.The first thing I took an instant dislike to was BCFC,no I wasn`t brainwashed it was my own choice.Ugly club,location,stadium and fans,with an ugly mentalityA truly repulsive footballl club.The vermin at school were just obsessed with Villa and I take this as a great compliment At the time we were Div 3 they were a notch above us and told me constantly how we would always be in their shadow. No history,no stature,no class,was my mantra to them..They will always be a stain on the reputation of the city.

    JL have a good weekend in London,all the best.

  25. steamer- seems they only remember players from the prem era as legends but petrov and gabby are not 2 that spring to mind, memorable but not in god territory

  26. Jen,
    Thanks for that BZ link, very, very entertaining and obviously sincere, he seems to be a top bloke. This is the type of person i’d like to see introduced into our structure, genuine and with gravitas, when you have these qualities you attract respect.

    I think TS may tinker a little tomorrow, he may reward Gil and Sanchez for their hard work in training and possibly play Delph at LB to accommodate one or the other.
    Lowton’s Villa career may be re-ignited by Lamberts departure, a little one paced but creative going forward, another one who’s career has been stunted by PL’s pathetic vindictiveness.
    It’ll be tough tomorrow i think, possibly 2-2.

  27. Fellers,

    Wishes for tomorrow are gratefully received. Have to help this endeavour to ensure the successful procreation of the Lerwill line! ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Steamer,

    Though thinking of the North was a salutary affair, what Labour did in 1945 is really odd in one way since Birmingham had been the main production centre of planes, and also produced armaments of all kinds.

    Not that you want to perpetuate a warlike spirit, but the skills generated at that time were enormous and could have been better channelled.

    I get rather sick of useful skills being made redundant, something that Thatcher repeated later on in a big way.

    Incidentally, I was fortunate to be interviewed for a South American TV company yesterday (on my knowledge of Villa’s beginnings) and afterwards they said they would like to do some film of local (to VP) industrial companies. Of course, I was dumbstruck. Where were all those companies?! But I did manage to direct them to Jaguar at Castle Bromwich.

  28. Yes Mark, the qualifications for legendary status seem to be minimal.

    B6B,
    Hopeful that stain will soon be eradicated.
    The so-called ‘big club’ in the city has, since 1875, managed on only seven occasions to muster higher average attendances than Villa, says it all.

  29. Steamer – I think it all boils down to good publicity for the club and Petrov’s charity. I wouldnt class him a legend but then again in my Villa supporting lifetime there hasnt been many outstanding candidates. I only caught the end of Paul McGrath’s days, but I supported him and ROI before I supported the Villa, hell its the biggest reason I started supporting the Villa.

    Who else besided McGrath tho? Only one I can really think of myself is Yorke. Tayls possibly since he was a Villa fan too but honestly he was a good player not a great player.

  30. Steamer,

    I suppose you know that the Small Heath club only came to be called “Birmingham” when Villa’s territory was removed from any inferred Birmingham connection by a local government reorganisation in 1903? Those Heathens took full advantage of the situation while the Villa News at the time rather laughed at their antics!

    When Villa became reinstated in Birmingham in 1911, business went on as usual as to who was the top dog in the city.

  31. JL,
    Can you keep us informed on that film please ? lets hope it shows Birmingham in a good light.
    Thats the argument i always put forward John, where would we have been in 1939-45 without our great city ? and what reward did it get ? IMI, Lucas, BSA, Dunlop won’t suddenly re-appear.

  32. Ree,

    Well I think that Staunton, Saunders and Southgate also deserve higher recognition. Again, not legends, but I think the players we had in the 90s were generally of a higher ability. Perhaps I’m getting over-sentimental.

  33. They’re always banging on about being the city’s representatives but in the mid 60’s they rejected the crest of our city in favour of what looks like a traffic road sign. Sullivan, Gold and Brady were forever telling us about having this status but never re-instated the crest. As a club BCFC hasn’t contributed much to Birminghams history and the sooner its put out of its misery the better. SOTC.

  34. If ever a former player was destined to become a top manager or coach it was Steve Staunton, he was unjustly pilloried for leaving VP for Pool but only did it because our team was breaking up because Herbert wouldn’t invest, i’d love to see him back, a genuine Villan.

  35. Steamer,

    The biggest laugh, I think, was that move by the council leader a few years ago for Villa to be re-named “Birmingham Villa” or suchlike!

    I sometimes wonder whether certain so-called leading lights in this city have their heads screwed on properly!! Bring back Joe Chamberlain I say!

    BTW, that crest of the Blews came into existence in the 50s, when they were in the Inter-City Fairs Cup. Interesting that Villa were approached to supply players to play in that competition as a combined Birmingham side, but turned their noses up at it.

  36. Staunton I remember left us for Liverpool which left a bad taste. Saunders was quality from the 1 season I remember him but still a bit before my time. Southgate left to go to Middlesbrough thinking they were a better club. You could say Laursen, Merse, Angel… they were all great players but legend status?

  37. Just wanted to say that personally they are all legends to me, but is that enough for them to get into an official Villa Hall of Fame considering the rich history? Not sure… its all subjective really tho….

  38. Ree,

    Doug’s refusal to take Villa up a notch really got up the noses of players like Yorke, Staunton, Southgate et al.

    They wanted Villa to move on and gain trophies, but they were held back.

    I don’t blame ’em.

  39. Ree,Steamer,John

    We all have our favourites,but need to distinguish between best and favourite players.

    Personally the best,my favourie and THE most underated player and or FB at Aston Villa in my time is Alan Wright.To make it as a footballer at his his size,you had to be exceptional,and he was.A 7 out of 10 player every week.An excellent pro,never sought or received the limelight.A very good player in my humble opinion.

  40. Thats a good way to put it B6.

    I always like Alan Wright, 5’5 and a left back… doubt you’d see many these days! He was really dependable and had good ability. I remember an outside of the foot 20 odd yard curler he scored against Middlesboro, took it first time and the replay showed how far he set it out side the post… but curled back in!

  41. Back to topic and anybody read this interview by Sherwood?

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2982852/Tim-Sherwood-play-small-club-need-b-play-Aston-Villa.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

    He talks a lot of sense but goddamn the guy has an ego! Talking like he’s spent the last 20 yrs managing title winners. His is def a marmite figure, Im loving it tho! Compared to Lambert who was a fat-free spreadable cheese figure, nobody really cares.

  42. Probably the only reason Wright didn’t play for England was because of his height which is odd because he was superb in the air.

    Staunton was peeved because everyone knew Bozzie was leaving and thought well, whats the point ? he received a great offer from pool which he couldn’t refuse and left. Back now though and involved in the Legends ( That word again ) team.

    Ree,
    I hadn’t viewed the OS thoroughly until today, its better than i thought, some great pictures of VP i’d never seen before, worth a few minutes, but you’d get narked looking at the beautiful old Trinity Rd stand that Ellis had demolished.

    Like SWV, i used to admire what were called inside forwards, in the 60’s people like Johnny Haynes etc, Peter Broadbent and David Gibson were particular favourites but Alex Cropley was a little magician. His lad comes down from Edinburgh for the ‘Legends’ games and, i believe, he sometimes plays,There’s something about Villa that stays with you.

  43. steamer they talk of legends at villa park when some of the guys mentioned are in fact leg ends

    there are only a hand full who i think can be called legends and for me they are Johnny Dixon John Gidman Bruce Rioch Brian Little Andy Grey Denis Mortimer Tony Morley Sid, GOD Yorkie Barry perhaps Platt &With
    can you add any more did not put staunton in it as did not think he was as good as the above what do you think

  44. Ree,
    Compared to Lambert who was a fat-free spreadable cheese figure, nobody really cares. Great.

    I hadn’t read that but i think it would win over most sceptics, i think we may have got lucky with TS, he’s a breath of fresh air with his honesty. ta for the post.

  45. there are so many players that would walk into even mons side, Platt was exceptional. the 2000’s haven’t really been that great so far hence the inter toto being our crowning glory

  46. JD,
    No mate,much as i admire SS i wouldn’t regard him as a legend. Your list is very impressive, apart from being great players you could identify with them, Johnny Dixon was a lovely man, met him in his shop at Wylde Green, delightful. Sid, Giddy, Morley use the Aston Soc after games when they meet up. However good Yorke was as a player, as far as i’m concerned he’s persona non grata.

  47. On Ree’s TS link, and a quote:

    People say the fans have got to get behind the team. Hold on, why must they cheer? You make them cheer. Theyโ€™re the only loyal people in the game. Make the difference for them, get them on your side.

    This has to be seen to be a great statement of responsibility. He effectively states that it’s the players that have to help fans enjoy their game and get behind the team. Commonsense init?

    After all the nonsense of the last few seasons of players being protected, we have now a manager who stands the best chance of keeping the club up because he uses commonsense and defies those bureaucrats at VP who say the fans should do more.

    How far TS can take Villa remains to be seen. But at least I love his attitude.

  48. JL- doesn’t it make a change a manager handing responsibility to those he sends out to play, not in a negative sense but because its the reality of the situation and empowering for them to grasp that destiny is in there hands not his ultimately.

  49. He’s playing to the fans, earning brownie points. Being a laaad he knows what your average fan wants and projects onto himself. The only way I see this not working is if results don’t come and disagreements happen. He’ll have some players fall out with him and when that happens the ego will kick in and he’ll be hugely divisive.

  50. I’m finding it hilarious the way he’s firing subliminal shots in his interviews. In the past week he’s had a pop at the Baggies ‘great I’ll club’ (Villa ‘massive club’), he’s had a pop at Mourinho ‘knows what he’s doing when playin up to the cameras’, a dig at Tony Pulis ‘we’re not like CP last season or WB this’, his own players ‘not suited to a dogfight’ and even Everton ‘we’re like Everton’. The guy is a media wet dream!

  51. about legends
    wouldnt class them as but what i would give for some of these
    bosnich delaney bouma teale kent neilsen kevin richardson platt daley atkinson froggat carew

  52. Fascinating seeing peoples ideas of our post war legends, for me, from the very earl days were the stalwarts of Jimmy Dugdale (hard as nails centre-half), Nigel Sims, Stan “the wham” Lynn, Johnny Dixon, Stan Crowther,John Neal,Peter McParland, Bobby Thomson, Harry Burrows (hardest shot in football),Gerry Hitchens, Vic Crowe, Ron Wylie…….these boys were at team of legends, then followed by Mercer’s Minors, which included Alan Deakin, John Slewenhoek,Charlie Aitken, and Colin Withers (nicked from the Blue Noses). Then followed the likes of Bruce Rioch, Dennis Mortimer, Andy Gray,John Gidman, Gordon Cowns, David Platt, Ray Graydon, Nigel Spink, Gary Shaw, Alex Cropley, Tony Morley, Brian Little and many many more, and these guys were not just good for a season or two, but devoted themselves to Villa and are still part of our club and our legends, apart from the ones who have passed on.

  53. just watched Sherwood’s pre-match interview on AVTV, and it has to be the longest and best interview from the club since they started them.
    Well balanced, with humour and you could hear the questioners……and no Jack Woodward….just the press!!

    He also said that Petrov had already started as coach before Tuesday and was in the dressing room at half time talking to the players..

  54. PP yes we have had some great players,especially as you mentioned, little,smashing player,sid,god,hitchens,aitken,barry hole,slogger slewenhock(laursen reminded me of him all action centre half) tayls ,merson,morley (great player smashing down to earth guy),willie anderson,out of all these aitken was probably the all time great servant to the club.

  55. Morning

    What a lovely day to win another football match.

    PP- Sherwood is great. He’s already taken down a picture of us celebrating the 6-1 v Sunderland. He says we shouldn’t celebrate just one win.

    He’s also said it takes balls to play for Villa

    And I like what he’s doing with Gabby. I’ve said for ages the only use he could possibly have is getting in behind the defence and nothing else. Sherwood has said that’s what he’s told shabby Gabby to do

    Sherwood will have to come up with something different today though. I’d be amazed if Pullis let’s gabby and Benteke to what they did again today. I expect them to play a really deep line

  56. He said 6 or 7 of the youth team players were training with the first team this week. Nice. Lambert didn’t give a shit about our youth.

    Kinsella will be at left back today I guess

  57. interesting fact about a winning mentality and indeed winning.

    “Winning has been associated with high testosterone levels. In a recent study the researchers measured serum testosterone levels from the fans before, and after the match. Results showed that the winning side responded with a huge increase in testosterone levels, but the losing side experienced a significant drop in serum testosterone.”

    so women around villa park should start getting beards and deep voices soon. seriously though it shows how continual stress (cortisol) and low testosterone will effect recovery, attitude etc.

  58. Thoughts on Evans and Cisse Having 6/7 match bans, and how it could affect the games coming up for them.

    Could have a major effect on the Toons. Not so sure about Utd, but may help us when we play them.

    Looking forward to tonight now and will be making the journey soon….UTV…

  59. Mark,
    How do you account for all the women around the sty having beards and deep voices, they rarely win.

    PP,
    LvG’s pathetic attempt to get Evans off was worse than embarrassing. I’ve always rated him and thought that he was above the lying and bs that came naturally to Ferguscon, that club really is the dregs with its manipulation of both legal procedure and football regulations.Unfortunately it means Evans misses the Villa game, he was probably our best chance of beating them, Champ player at best.

    Good luck to the lads today and i hope all the lifers who are attending have a great time celebrating a win.

  60. Shame for Johnson, Drennan and others that TS didn’t arrive earlier, they may have got an opportunity rather than see their careers stall because of Lambert.

  61. steamer- its the chemicals in the water that keep them calm and hairy. got to stop them reproducing some how.

    I said the same the other day about all our lost prospects. I really like TS’s attitude, I had a similar mind set when I played, cant understand why players wouldn’t go through walls to be on that pitch, you have to love it.

    great article

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2982852/Tim-Sherwood-play-small-club-need-b-play-Aston-Villa.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

  62. Afternoon Lifers

    Win,lose or draw today I`m liking Sherwood a lot.OK,humility is not in his makeup.He`s brash,self assured and cocky…but,it`s great to have someone talking up the club,and to play for him you must feel 10 feet tall.
    He`s quite new to this management lark,but knows how to play the media game,and seems to revel in it.Poor Lambert to him it seemed a chore,a necessary evil.
    I hope Matt,PP ,Frem,Andrew P. and the rest have a superb day and the right result.

    COYVB

  63. So Mark, what came first? Winning or a big nut sack?

    And that post yesterday about Euro football and staying up in the Prem got me day dreaming.
    Looking forward to the game today. This is the first time in a long time I’ve got up to catch a game with a positive attitude towards it.
    B6to Brazil you are right a cocky attitude is a necessary attribute for a manager. Keane had a cocky attitude but it came with a nasty streak. Tim doesn’t seem to have that. Let’s see a QPR loss and a Villa win. Sounds good to me.

  64. Ian- if the exponential growth of the ballsack went on unabated with continual wins they couldn’t get their shorts on
    so I’m guessing there is no correlation with size of Gonads but more production capability per se, all testicle related question please address to nutsbuttrue@testies.com .

    Gardeners goal was another beauty from outside the box, placed with the inside of the foot. commentator said 3 keepers wouldn’t of got near it. can’t wait to see this lad in our colours again.

  65. Did anyone watch Matt on TV ? just wondered what topics were discussed, the last time he was on the bloke asked him questions and answered them himself ( usually wrongly ).

  66. On the Petrov debate…with the utmost respect to all parties,I have a feeling,but no evidence,that his appointment is ordered by Lerner.I may be wrong and hope I am,and that his contribution is valuable.

  67. Brazil- Dublin thinks its inspired!? nothing against him but he’s got less coaching experience than the manager has managerial experience. Its a wait and see

  68. B6B,
    To be honest, there wasn’t exactly a queue for his services, but, i do hope that he offers something and both Villa and SP prosper.
    Ian,
    Ditto about positivity, a win today will have Chelsea looking over their shoulders.
    In all honesty you can tell the mood amongst Villans has completely changed, i honestly don’t think we’d have won another point if Lambert hadn’t been booted, its surreal that Lerner and the admin couldn’t see this, i really think that Lerner is even more gormless than i thought.
    Mark,
    GG should be coming back next season with a lot more confidence, another one that Lambert treated like dogshite, for such a mediocre player he really did have a high opinion of his imaginary capabilities. I liked Andrews post that stated that he was too stupid to manage and just copied MON, more evidence on why he relied on Culverarse to take training, a complete and utter phoney who got caught out but still took home millions, gormless again.

  69. Petrov on board can only be a good thing. Especially as we just had 2 bullys, keano then no one.

    A new backroom team of bowen, petrov and kev mac can only be so much better.

    I think now we have coaches and a manager who are good on the training field

  70. I think gg on loan was the right thing to do. The lad needs to be playing 90 mins every week and seeing if he can stay injury free.

    If he keeps fit rest of season we will have a better player next season

  71. No Tekkers. I can’t see us winning this one now.
    Nice to see TS’s inclusive style of management with Calder, as opposed to Lamberts.
    0-3, not being negative but i think they’ll be too big for us.

  72. Good points fellas,but sod the performance,let`s fekkin win,and we ain`t gonna do that with CNZ within a mile of the field,what is his contribution FFS?
    I don`t have the game here,but he is talented,but hides it well,I`m guessing he has done eff all.

  73. correct brasil, but he’s not alone. no tempo, no pressure and no idea. crosses going into the box with nobody who can win it. we need a creative player (Gil) slotting balls through and committing men on the deck

  74. At the start the commentator said this was one of the best refs in the league.
    So, will Given start against Sunderland?

  75. got to be pleased with the effort and result, if thats the best olbyon can do then they’re still in the mix for relegation.
    the refs in this country are beyond pathetic, taylor has alwas been crepe but surpassed himself tonight.

  76. Thank Given in the first half. Villa were good for the win in the second half. Impressed with Sinclair.
    Wonder what the repercussions of the pitch invasion will be? It was foolish, but it’s the act of fans long starved of success.
    Two red cards that weren’t.
    Anyway, it’s good to watch Villa play the wings and use the width of VP. Frem’ll be pleased.

  77. It has been so dark here in finland and Villa havent brought some light lately. A couple of years has gone without a single ray! I hope this is going to be a spring time with lot of tanningrays from newly born Villa side!

  78. Finland

    Hope Villa does shine through to light up those depressing short days.
    Now Villa need to beat Sunderland. I they play like theydid in the second half, they should.

  79. Thought Nzonia was great myself. Him and Delph were the ones trying to make things happen first half. TS had a word with the fullbacks to push on second half allowing Nzog and Sinclair to get inside between the libes. Led to our first goal, great run by Nzog and Siclair to pull away the defender and nice finish by Delph. That goal changed the game.

  80. can we swap berahino for gabby? man of the match delph or clarke. thought too many changes in defence set off the collywobbles. great ball from grealish for the second goal

  81. Hello FV, hope you’re well.
    The mindset of the players has completely changed, i think we’ve nearly got our Villa back, if only Lerner had listened.
    Mind you, its an expensive season with all the fines for lack of discipline on the pitch and now these invasions.
    Well done TS and the players for giving us some pride back.

  82. How many of you lot are coming over for the final if we reach it ?

    Many thanks to all the Boggies and Vermin fans who have congratulated us tonight, must have been at least 0, but we know you’re thinking of us.

  83. cant make my mind up on nzogbia, lot of blind alley stuff but came up with the pass for the first. I’m waiting for him to score a goal or just create more. that said not easy when nobody bar Sinclair makes decent runs

  84. Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes YEEEES!!!!!

    Best club in the world

    Dire first half, much better second half

    love sherwood. Given has said Sherwood ripped into them half time

    every Villa fan deserves this after years of Hell

    villa park needs to be like that every game. No place like it when its rocking

    Fuck you Baggies

  85. mark ..zoggy played well today seems to be getting better every game.sinclairs runs draging their players out of position is what we have been missing.great stuff.

  86. Mark,
    He has ability no doubt, i think its a case of being included, even when he had that good spell Lambert took him off and then omitted him altogether. In my opinion some folk haven’t grasped exactly how much damage Lambert did to Villa, he was toxic and the only club i would wish him on would be the mealies.
    Wonder if agent Rowett will don his claret & blue scarf and make the trip.

  87. Preparing to believe now.
    4-1 over two legs who would’ve thought it. ..?
    Why all the shock n horror over fans on the pitch?. Just shows how sanitised corporate n middle clarrrs the game and the meeeedia have become.

  88. Pride is being restored.

    Still think its going to be tight at the bottom, first half we was awful and should of been goal down.

    Dont think westwood and cleves should be in same side together.

    Hopefully ts will get the theam de lambertised asap

  89. Holy Moses

    Villa fans were daft and knobs yes,well done FA for showing the game ,which was at 5.30 ,thus having people in the ground who had been on the pop all day.
    However,disgraceful and disgusting is not Villa fans invading a pitch but an alleged a paeodophile ring within Parliament,the beheading of innocents being recorded and shown on Youtube,and people being thrown off buildings for being “gay”.So Mark Lawrenson and the BBC take some responsibility for when this match was played,late,at the behest of the corporation that over pays you,the context of drink involved,and above all get some perspective.

  90. Hello people. Just back from the game. Took 2 of my kids for a little walk around the pitch after the final whistle. Massive feeling of relief and the return of something resembling pride in our football club. BBC and others getting sanctimonious about a few thousand Villa fans celebrating the first decent thing that’s happened at Villa Park in ages. I couldn’t care less.

  91. Well said B6 just a shame that the pitch invasion will dominate the news instead of the victory.

    Gotta say the ppl who invaded while the game was goin on were idiots, which led to a mass invasion

  92. Terrible first half better second half god they was awful i am just happy we have beaten them twice happy days on talksport fucking wankers ringing in saying we should be thrown out of the cup because of the pitch invasion what a load of knobheads

  93. Thought I saw you on the pitch grumpy. Frankly ridiculous all this sanctimonious crepe about pitch “invasions”
    5:30 KO derby in pitch invasion shocker – fudge u BBC

  94. one thing i will say the shuttle runs are working fittest i have ever seen them and the other thing is Given is a must to start every game he is on another planet to Guzan when he was drooped he was not fit he looks so sharp now talks to the defense and his kicking and handling are on a anther planet to the old yank what say you he has played in 3 games and we have won them all and how long has it been since a clean sheet

  95. ave to say that there where a vast amount of fans today that where pi ssed before the game i know because i was one of them the pubs where open from 11 oclock and where all full then the ques in the ground where enormous For the beer
    but not as long as the ques for the pi ss house so have to say that it was a pure beer thing and i think that the kick off time was to blame as at 3 oclock they only have about 3 hours to drink today there where 5 hours drinking time

  96. I’ll give a bit of credit to Lambert. Lots of his players in the side and let’s not forget the job he did bringing Delph along. Keep this up in the League pls! UTV

  97. Steamer you can not moan about the fans runnig on the pitch before the end rember Mansfield when you went on your a rse before the final whistle me and boots and basil pissed ourselves laughing

  98. Who cares about the pitch invasion…Lot of beer and bottled up frustration. I didn’t like seeing it messing with the game, but that was it.

    The much bigger story than that, and a trip to Wembley, was two wins in a row, and more than one goal in each, four different scorers. Fantastic finishes by Delph and Sinclair. Villa needed the win for confidence much more than we need to progress in the cup. Not that progressing isn’t nice. But starting to hold on to a winning feeling, finding the scoring touch…I hope it helps them begin to believe.

    Sherwood might be a bit of a maniac, but he’s seeming to push the right buttons at the moment. The team needed a bit of fire, and it looks like maybe he’s provided it. I’m sure he wound up Albion, and I wondered if maybe he’d pushed the wrong buttons, but Villa survived the surge, and the nerves, then came on strong second half and made them pay.

  99. Bit harsh on beer to blame it for the pitch invasion. I’d only had 2 pints. Just nice to have something to celebrate. It’s only a little bit illegal anyway like doing 75 miles an hour on the motorway.

  100. Andrew P, Frem…..what a great day…fantastic atmosphere……Villa park rocking……and as Max Boyce would say….I was there…!!!!!……Shame about the failure of the lazy stewards and police who just stayed at the Baggies end, even though they had all gone home, after the second goal,and left just six stewards to hold back the youngsters in the Holte. Crazy situation…BBC should have to pay all the fines for putting the match on so late..!!

    Crap ref, too many cards for nothing, and deffo no red should have been shown…blind man in a black outfit.

    Enjoying the atmosphere again now on my recording..!! bring on the Bindippers now..!!!

    Feel certain Sherwood will make something of this team now..!!

  101. to be honest how safe would you feel with several thousand
    people who either love you or hate you at any one time surrounding you? its not the innocent times it used to be and neither unfortunately are the consequences. the players are asked to take responsibility so should the fans. say what you like it was the wrong thing to do for the club and being pissed is not an excuse.

  102. Was on daddy duty Grumpy. Watched it on the TV with Saint n Greavsie.
    We should be getting praise for not recycling the tesco bags as they spat on us and ripped up the stadium. Instead we have lazy meedia bemoaning real fans enjoying what they have done since football began.

  103. I find it all very strange when Man City won the title for the first time a few seasons back and there fans went on the pitch they were celebrating and jubilant at winning the title and skysports pundits congratulated them but when Villa do it we are mindless thugs and hooligans, did i miss something.

    AVFC ITWT

  104. Jl- don’t watch the first half you would think lambert was back ๐Ÿ˜‰

    SWV- what did you think when the mealies invaded the pitch? TS did not look best pleased and I think he pushed one fan out of the way. Problem is it sets a president and soon everyone’s doing it and eventually someone gets hurt. It’s the reason cages were introduced wasn’t it? I can understand why but it doesn’t make it right.

  105. Mark, I was at Blues as well when they invaded the pitch and to be honest you’re comparing apples with bananas. It was really moody at Blues where there was a line of stewards and police struggling to keep us and them apart. Yesterday was a celebration. There were families having picnics on the pitch. Other than the flying seats there was no menace whatsoever.

  106. Mark,

    I actually missed the first half altogether, switching on the radio while driving back when the second half was just starting, and later seeing MotD which showed little from the first half.

    I’m not so sure why we should be talking about the pitch invasion so much (which *was* foolish, but understandable) but the throwing down of seats from the stands. Awful!

    Mind you, perhaps as you suggested, TS perhaps pushed a couple or wrong buttons earlier in the week in the media, with the consequent reaction at the match.

  107. Don’t agree with invading the pitch when the games still being played but the club do love to bait the fans, ‘They let the club down’ No morons its the players, admin and owner who have been letting the club down, the fans have either been too loyal or happy clappers, there is a divide between fans and club that won’t be mended while this current mob infest VP.
    Thought Tony Pulis handled the situation with his normal integrity, i may not be a fan of his teams style but IMO he’s a classy bloke.

  108. Invading the ptch while a game is in progression is stupid and dangerous, but I do agree that the media’s use of words like “disgusting” is a bit over the top.
    Delph reckons people were trying to bite him and pinch his boots, mind.

  109. trinity- delph got caught by one fan and there was a stand off and delph looked genuinly frightened then about six or seven surrounded him and out came the camera phones for a few selfies.

  110. Mark, perspective mate. Players are swinging elbows at each other and jumping in 2 footed and no one bats an eyelid. A fan runs on the pitch and says “boo” to their keeper and it’s a diplomatic incident. Meanwhile a fan’s gad his head cut open by a thrown seat. I’d rather be “confronted” by someone to be honest.

  111. Andrew P- what next though mate, keeper punches fan? fan knifes keeper? none of it is acceptable because of the potential. players do what they do on a pitch its controlled and its a sport.

  112. Mark-From the vids I’ve seen of Delph he has a huge smile on his face.

    The media are wankers. If Blackburn pitch invade today, it will be the magic of the FA cup all over the media

  113. WOW = I just watched the match at 1700 on Sunday after a day on tenterhooks (whatever they are). I had to go off at 0400 this morning on family business to Bangkok so didn’t watch at 0030 and had to control my anxiety all day.
    Was I glad to watch the match ‘live’ on expat tv .com and after 4 or 5 cold drinks I celebrated with a few more.
    Idiotic ‘fans’ invading the pitch – do not agree with either red card.
    I will be with you in spirit at Wembley = let’s hope this time we make it count – I enjoyed 1957.
    We were lucky with the miss by Baggies early on but the half time team talk again worked wonders.
    UTV

  114. dont worry about the 6 finger mob throwing seats , at the top of trinity road most of them got kicked to fuck , even before the game there was pockets of fights going on , jb said his walkie talkie was going ballistic as he was on the police radio wave and it was going mental , but you’d have thought the police would have banned a 5-30 kick-off most fans l saw were out of it , thought they would have learnt a lesson after the watering hole incident , still makes me smile giving it the LuLu warriors , l was there when they went on the pitch and after throwing bricks at little kids , different story when you face them one to one ,they feel outnumbered .

    Runtins looks like we going to meet up sooner than we thought , lm happy to sit in a pub with mates down london , brasil might still be here as well ,

  115. JD,
    The have some very good bloggers on TVB but they have more than their share of sanctimonious knobs. That Johnny’s no Villan. Won’t be reading that blog again.
    Pitch invasions happen every week, just because its on TV and not a ‘favoured few’ club doesn’t mean VP is all of a sudden unsafe. One paper compared yesterday to the WHU vs Millwall game where their were stabbings and riots.
    B6B,
    Don’t know how long your staying in Laaandaaan but you may just manage to fit the Cup Final in your visit. don’t forget that 20 quid.

  116. Hello lifers,

    The BBC condemning the Villa fans make me quite the keyboard warrior last night after a few glasses of red… maybe Auntie instead of getting her knickers in a twist should take some responsibility for scheduling a local derby FA cup QF on a Saturday night? Doubt they will though, they apologised over Saville through gritted teeth and accepted no responsibility.

    It was obvious with that kick off time on a Saturday that a load of idiots would be drunk before hand. I’m just glad there have been no major reports of actual trouble (From our side at least), rather than a pitch invasion, where not one person was harmed. That early pitch invasion never would have happened with a 12.00pm kick off. Irresponsible scheduling.

    Why on earth was the Man Yoo game not on Sunday with the Villa on Saturday lunch or Monday evening? What’s that? Because of money and a complete lack of respect for football supports? Thought so.

  117. Agree Rags, the authorities are watching the game being choked to death for the sake of a few billion every year which goes into the pockets of bent agents and crepe players while pitches and historical lower division clubs go to the wall.

  118. andrew P- no just someone who doesn’t share your opinion on this.

    frem- he looked petrified at first and has admitted he was scared.

    Bit sad folks, its easy to claim its someone else’s fault or responsibility for your own actions. before the match we had a poet waxing lyrical about villa’s class. Yes the media love this stuff so why give them the ammo? villa will be in the shit for not being able to control the situation simple as.

  119. Steamer,

    Seriously though I’m astounded by the hyperbole, if the game was not on the box no one would have given a shit. The reaction from the media and the expectant one from the FA, given the way the FA cup is advertised and the way this particular game was arranged is the disgrace. ‘The passion of the FA cup’ enough hypocrisy to make me sick.

  120. Mark,

    The idea that we are in control of our own actions, emotions and produce our own perceptions of events independently is ignorant in the extreme. If we can all control ourselves why do we need law and order? We are all super civilised robots in the 21th century, we don’t need a government, a justice system, a police force or an army to protect us. We have institutions who establish social order because we need them; there are some pretty fucked up people out there. Those institutions let us down last night in a big way, all for profit, it’s repulsive. Thank god it was just a premature pitch invasion and not ‘a return to the dark ages’

  121. At first, then realised he had nothing to be scared off. Fans ain’t going to hurt you

    Do we get into Europe just for getting to the final ? hull did don’t they?

    I don’t want it yet though because it fucks up your league what ever division we will be in

  122. No the police have a responsibility to provide social order in conjunction with any other institution who could influence the safety and rights of all human beings within Villa Park. That includes the BBC the FA and both clubs, they failed. The minority lacked self discipline and innocent people could have been victims because idiots were given the opportunity to be idiots. This is completely unacceptable.

  123. Frem,

    It depends who we play if we get to the final, if we play a side who finish in the top 5 then indeed we do! Think Hull just got knocked out in the qual rounds, could be wrong though…

  124. Yesterday the behaviour of the fans was unacceptable, and not appreciated by the majority of fans there, and will cost Villa dearly.

    The blame must be laid at the door of the club and the person in charge of stewarding, as there was only 6/8 stewards to cover the whole of the Holte End pitch side. Everyone could see what was going to happen,but no-one attempted to get the mass of police and stewards who were by the almost empty away fans end to move and cover the lower Holte, and no more police were brought in from outside to prevent it.

    Do we want to go back to the days of having cages round the ground again? It is great that the fans want to celebrate, but not before the end of the game, and they have to consider the huge fines which will now be put on the club. It also prevented what the majority of fans would have loved to have seen, and that would have been Sherwood and the team doing a lap of honour round the ground…!!!!

  125. Morning Lifers

    Wow,it`s great to wake up with that winning feeling.After 5 years of dross,defeats,despair,and spineless leadership and performances,we might just have a decent manger.at last.

    Not going overboard,as we are still in great danger of going down,but to have a manger who approaches games to win them is so refreshing.To have the courage to select such an unreliable performer as CNZ ,tells me a lot about Sherwood.He can see talent there,so instead of excluding him,he tries to get the best out of him.So,after more than 3 years at the club,we might have found a footballer in CNZ.Well done Sherwood.

    I have had mu say already about the fans encroaching during the game.Potentially,very dangerous,very silly,daft fuelled by booze.However the media reaction os OTT.I am not shifting blame,those who ran on are responsible,they chose to do it.If it had been Scoucers,we could have blamed,the police,media,Albion,the weather,the stewards,the Government,Goverment cuts,harassment toward benefit claimants,The Sun newspaper, etc,etc.

  126. right who do we want in the next round? revenge against Bradford or manure would be nice? don’t fancy liverpoo too much at this stage or arse

  127. Trinity,

    Yes, thank you, it was a good but tiring day yesterday. We drove into Kings Cross via the M40 and then M4 and A4, through pretty heavy traffic in London, nearly got lost, and got into the registry office with about 10 minutes to spare before the due time of the wedding. Only to find that the real due time was 30 minutes later to make sure we all got there on time!

    Then there was a long journey back through dense traffic to Barnet in very north London to where the reception was held, so by the time we got there it was though we’d been through quite an experience!

    But it was a very lovely day, happiness-wise and weather-wise – very Spring like – and I’ve never seen so many cameras in action at a wedding of ordinary folk. People came afar – from Malaysia and Australia – so it was really a great meeting of the families. With only the closest 30 family members being there from both sides, it was a good bonding session. Son (who is a master baker and cakemaker) made the cake, a delicious white and brown chocolate affair.

    The bride was stunning. Yours truly had the task of making the main speech and managed to extract some laughter, so all-in-all it was a very good day.

  128. Rags: The idea that we are in control of our own actions, emotions and produce our own perceptions of events independently is ignorant in the extreme. If we can all control ourselves why do we need law and order? We are all super civilised robots in the 21th century …

    So, there’s no God then? ๐Ÿ˜‰

  129. I’m liking TS’s subs, you can see he’s trying to effect the game rather than Lamberts nonsensical changes.
    wonder if Grealish will get his red rescinded? and the Albion players, two shocking decisions.

  130. No Mark,as it was a 2nd yellow,rather than a stright red,an appeal is not poosible.The weird and wacky world of FA rules eh?
    We are racking up the yellows.

    Senderos broke down again in training,he is out for weeks.again.
    Vllar is a liability,Baker could be back,well, available for S`land.
    Joe Cole can`t even get on the bench.

    Sinclair showed great footballing intelligence with the way he ran across the 18 yard box,to pull defenders away,and create space for Delph.I haven`t seen such movement from our team for a very long time.

  131. Dark ages ? That wouldn’t have qualified as a tiff in the 70’s and 80’s, ten times worse than that EVERY week.

    No Mark, two bookings, although i don’t know what the difference is they still suffer unjustly while the ref gets off scot free. Something has to be done about the refs but as long as the authorities refuse to talk and the refs organisation won’t accept that there is a problem this sort of thing will carry on.

  132. haha John I nearly mentioned religion as a man made social institution but thought better of it! Steamer that’s nowhere near enough, we deserve a heavy fine.

    In terms of the game (I know, right?!) for me the most encouraging thing was Sinclair. In particular, he broke free before his goal and scuffed a shot wide on his left foot. For his goal he used that experience, knowing he has no left foot from that attempt and sold the dummy, that sort of self awareness and quick learning was great to see I thought.

    My Mrs was like ‘so you like him now then’. I wasn’t originally too impressed by a pro player who plays on the left with no left foot.

  133. Anthony Taylor has form for this sort of thing, i remember his first few games as a Prem ref, pathetic, wrong sending offs galore, why don’t they just accept he’s crepe and boot him with Fat Phil, Friend, Clattenburg, Probert and a few others.

  134. Rags: haha John I nearly mentioned religion as a man made social institution but thought better of it!

    Why are you -ve? I wouldn’t argue with you…

    Religion is merely a portal, like any other observance.

  135. steamer- I think the perception of our fans is they wouldn’t cause trouble in the ground. stupid planning though especially putting the away fans above ours and so little staff. doesn’t excuse peoples behaviour but it did allow the few to do what they wanted. strange after the dust up at the witton pub that the police didn’t suspect it could kick off too.

    B6- totally agree on sinclair, clever movement, wonder if he could teach gabby.
    don’t want to see Lowton at left back much longer he’ll be found out by better players, bakuna did ok though once he pushed up and although given kept us in it I’m not sure whether his game differs too much from Guzans and the centre half’s were not sure whether he was going to collect or not. Can’t argue with his win ratio though.

  136. TS

    There was a lovely article about him in the Mail yesterday…

    When a boy, his favourite was Brian Talbot (when at Arsenal) and when TS joined Watford Talbot had by that time also gone there.

    In training one day TS went in to a full-on tackle on Talbot, who immediately protested to manager Graham Taylor.

    You can imagine Taylor’s smiling face as he said “He [TS] just wants your shirt!”

  137. reading the FA and Birmingham police report looks like they are sitting down tomorrow to go through the footage of the fans who went on the pitch and the ones who ripped up the seat s banning orders seem to be the thing they want to hand out but how do they implement this they cannot have photos of all the offenders at every turnstile so how wouls some thing like this get implemented call me thick but does any body know or could tell me

  138. I don’t know JD but do you have to produce photo ID to get a a season ticket? or maybe link faces to seat numbers and names during the game?

  139. That only confirms what Brummies think about them. Can you imagine a WBA vs Blose derby ? winning ugly would apply to both teams. Mind you they terrified those litter bins and the extinguishers just bottled it.

  140. Just attempted to get a response from Vital Olbyon, 11 catagories related to yesterday, no comments, not a single word, must be having difficulty typing with six fingers.

  141. Two massive over reactions yesterday.
    Villa fans massively over reacted to beating the inbreds twice in a week. Then the media massively over reacted to villa fans over reaction.
    Looks as though a few on here are doing their best to create a hat trick over reactions.
    They even use scenes of a pitch invasion on the opening credits to fa cup MotD highlights programme.
    Mind you some great material from the likes of b6 Andrew P and Mark King on the massive over reactiongate topic.
    UTV!

  142. Bibulus- as much as its trivial in a lot of ways It was on tele, pitch invasion, coins chairs etc = media outcry always. wasn’t a smart choice on anyone’s part.
    Looks like we are going for a full media coverage this season, worst team, no goals, most losses, no brains, should really drag those big sponsors in. what really gets you is all season we have been shite and nothing much happens!? we improve and we go nuts, as they say people are strange

  143. That’s right the pitch invasion was trivial but seems the hot topic. Racist Chelsea fans already forgotten, chairs thrown that could kill (if seriously unlucky) only reported as an alleged incident.
    To my mind the biggest scandal is that our once great club has fallen so far we get excited about two wins against mutants.

  144. JD

    The morons on the fire extinguishers should face imprisonment. Just imagine if a fire actually broke out, and the fire extinguishers are empty. WBA need to clean up their own back yard, too.
    Like Bibulus has said, it’s all overeaction.

  145. JD,

    What they will do is lift photos from the videos publish them in the BEM and wait for people to grass them up then you either hand yourself in or have your front foot knocked off the hinges at six in the morning, that mobile phone clip of the boggies will get plenty of bans clueless morons.

    ABFC ITWT

  146. Bibulus, I’ve just emailed Villa and shopped Booter and Junior. I’m hoping they’ll treat me leniently in return for my cooperation. I’ve also suggested they remove the sprinklers and install the water cannons. That should do the trick.

  147. at least its stopped us reliving the first half got to be thankful for that. I want us to play someone decent now because against untied or arse we would be ten down playing like that. All feels a bit unreal and a sterner test would be welcome

  148. So pitch invasions are ok if they are not shown on TV and no one gives a phook about racist fans because some villa fans ” had a picnic ” Andrew p et al 2015, on the pitch after the match.
    What I really want to know is what was on the menu for the picnic.
    Villa fans should be given awards for not beating any Albion players or fans ( on the pitch) it shows what a great set of fans we really have.
    #overreactiongate

  149. Remember Ronnie Radford being chased off the pitch by a load of oiks in parkas? That’s what we had after the game yesterday. It was a metaphoric picnic Bibulus, but you’re right: racist fans, flying seats, families living off food banks, wars over oil, people starving while we’re living in the age of waste, violence against kids – I’ll save my outrage.

  150. Andy P,

    Naughty this is a family station, as Steamer said earlier this really was a walk on the park pitch invasions and pitched battles were a weekly occurrence and serious stuff, don’t get me wrong those days have long gone but this was over exuberance at best don’t forget we was not the ones throwing seats, I cannot wait to see the monday headlines.

    AVFC ITWT

  151. Apparently mc manaman was surrounded with all the usual abuse and someone hit him in the back of the head, he was rescued by Dawson who is a big lad, apparently Mc Manaman had frozen instead of running. doesn’t sound much but shouldn’t happen.
    for all the sensible people having a joyful moment on the pitch there will be someone who thinks that its a good idea to do something like that. not to mention the ref who had already sent off two players could of abandoned the game the only decent decision he made thankfully

  152. Mark, being serious for one moment: I agree that no fans should encroach on the pitch during the game and that nobody should be clumping players (even if they deserve it); I also agree that it is sad that as a club we’re now at a level where we are at fever pitch because we’ve got to an FA Cup semi final, but that’s the reality of where we are now.

    That said, for 99.9% of the fans on the pitch they were carried along on a wave of excitement, enthusiasm, exuberance, yeah, probably over exuberance, but after sitting through the past 4 turgid seasons week in week out being served up the worst football in living memory,if not ever, and having the few remaining vestiges of pride and hope in the Villa stolen away from you, I’ll excuse anybody who got a bit carried away after the final whistle. I’m certainly not going to demonise the club’s most loyal supporters because it upsets Mark fucking Lawrenson.

  153. I have now seen most of the videos, photos and read the varying reports from players, press and fans.

    The reaction from the gutter press is only to be expected, as they did the same to the Bindippers, after Hillsboro’…However what did happen in certain parts of the pitch and the stadium was totally out of order. Players, including our own should not feel threatened, and certainly should not be abused, by our fans, and for that there is no excuse, and unfortunately the club will pay a very heavy price…..The fines alone that are being talked about will be in a minimum of six figures, and I see that as around ยฃ500,000 which the club does not need. The worst is that the Villa could be ejected from the Cup, but is unlikely, at the moment.

    I was there and agree with most comments, and 7500 Holte has got it spot on in the article mentioned earlier. I feel there were a nimber of people in the Lower Holte who were not fans, but locals on a one trip visit. They were not the regulars wearing their colours, shirts,scarves etc.

  154. B62 is lying at the bottom of the Dudley / Sandwell canal with a 100 weight bag of groarty pudding weighing him down, ee doh arf sleep wiv dem fishes doh ee.

  155. For Patrick Barclay, who regards himself as influential, in the media world to describe Saturday as ‘like Hillsborough’ defies any logic, if it were Untied, Pool or any Laandaan club he wouldn’t have taken the cap off his pen, its just having a go at Villa because they come from Birmingham and are mediocre. If you do actually read his tripe then you will find well written pieces that usually say nothing and fall in line with the establishment view, he should be a tennis reporter or some other perceived middle class sport as he obviously knows nothing about footy.

  156. well I got the birthday present I wanted, into the semi-final. First half was frustrating, only Delph showing any forward thinking. Second half was a sea change in approach, much better performance from all, ref got two big decisions wrong.

    Pitch invasion pre end of game absolutely shameful, game on at the wrong time and lack of stewarding did not help, post match invasion probably relief as much as anything but still completely inappropriate and players shouldn’t fear being on a pitch, Baggie fans need to be taken to task for their actions in and around the ground as well.

  157. Morning all
    What a week!!! Before Tuesday we were all slightly worried at what could be a season defining few days, but to win both matches, climbing out of the bottom 3 and booking a trip to Wembley it has gone swimmingly .
    As for the reaction to what happened around the ground before, during and after the game, I think it needs some perspective and looking as separate incidents. Before the game due to the daft o’clock kick off time on a Saturday , the boozers were full to the brim from the off, there was pockets fighting around the streets and the Witton Arms decided to carry on with its usual ploy of opening early and having both home and away fans in the same pub, which ended up in chaos and a war zone . We got a taxi straight to the game from my mates local so avoided all that, arriving just prior to kick off, but as we walked up to the Holte there was a 10 a side knock with fans going toe to toe. The pitch invasions were daft but it was hardly Millwallat Kenilworth rd stuff, more an outpouring of alcohol fuelled emotion, the inbreds chucking seats and coins from the upper North and bravely beating up waste paper bins whilst setting off fire extinguishers should be dealt with, but this is what happens when you let the great unwashed from Sandwell out of their hovels, they get all excited and jealous of the far bigger and better neighbours.
    The clubs will both get fines, and the offenders will be dealt with in the authorities usual draconian measures, Henry Winter has summed it up in the Telegraph, Some Villa websites are trying to gather evidence to show irresponsible journalism which has sensationalised the events out of all proportion , I don’t think it will do any good but it’s worth a try.
    Anyway onwards and upwards, let’s beat Sunderland sat and Swansea the week after ( it will be interesting to see how many police are at this home fixture, given the events of this week and the disorder outside the coach park last year.

  158. Steamer
    If Barclay is saying what happened at VP was akin to Hillsborough, he really is a two faced muppet, as by condemning it as alcohol fuelled loutish/hooligan behaviour, is he now saying the red Scouse fans were also drunken thugs?? Surely not they are all saints ๐Ÿ˜‰

  159. B62 – I too think Winter has got it spot on. The thing is Villa and WBA will be fined because of actions taken by fans that are out of their control in reality, stewarding can deal with 3 or 4 people not 50 or 60 rushing on or indeed 5-6 thousand as it was at the end of the match. The one thing that stinks is that the FA will not get any kind of punishment, they had a great say over the influence of the fans on the day… which bright spark thought it would be a good idea to half a late kick off on a Saturday afternoon for a local derby??? I don’t blame the TV for wanting these fixture on, its prime time viewing and proved to be good entertainment…. by asking for this scheduling they are doing their job, by agreeing to it the FA are not.

    I move on the Delph biting incident that Dan Walker of the BBC was so keen to put out in to the world of twitter… That so I hear got to such a point that Fabian Delph requested to be able to speak to BBC 5 Live personally to set the record straight… “I was being kissed and felt a bit of teeth” Delph confirmed he had said…. So where did the “biting” comform Dan? It was around the media world so quick to the extent that even Matt for the great AVL was swayed in to reporting until the AVL twitter account.

    Next on to the way the media handled the invasion… or should I say Invasions… the first one by a small group of idiots can not be condoned. It was simply stupid and typified by the man with a dilbo stuck to his head. The second one though was one of emotional release, joy at over coming our local rivals, joy of getting to Wembley the joy of actually watching a Villa team that want to win games.
    When lower league team have these types of pitch invasions its reported as “the magic of the cup” when our team have one it “back to the dark ages” its sensationalistic poppycock.

    With ref to the play that was allegedly assaulted, there where various tweets suggesting that the play him self (a player who has had previous for this too) was at very least in part to blame for the incident… the tweets are probably still out there and I won’t comment to much on in my self. Dawson luckily was there and ended the dispute. It is typical that the immediate assumption was the the fan did something wrong, not the player – because as we all know these Football Players are perfect individuals, humble as can be with absolutely no ego.

  160. G’OG
    That bloke with the Dildo on his head has done far more damage to the image of our club and fanbase than the pitch invasions themselves, we are going to be taunted with that image for years to come, what an absolute twat.

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