Match Day: Middlesbrough vs. Aston Villa

Following the astonishing 5-5 spectacle at Villa Park midweek, it’s off to the Riverside to take on third-place Middlesbrough. Boro are unbeaten in their last five, and have only lost twice all year, and the obvious statistic of interest is 22 goals scored versus 10 conceded. Villa have netted 36 times, by comparison, and conceded 30.

Match Day: QPR vs. Aston Villa

So, third game in less than a week, and there’ve been lots of talking points as Dean Smith’s Villa have gone 1-1 since his arrival. It’s been fun stuff. Now we travel to Loftus Road to take on Queens Park Rangers looking to rebound from the 2-1 setback against Norwich.

Pleased To Meet You, Dean. What Happens Now?

Dean Smith & Co. took their first bows this week, and along with Christian Purslow, seemed to quite easily make a good impression all round. Well, Purslow seems a bit tightly wound, but you know what I mean. When he talked about Villa’s FFP woes being completely resolved? He made a pretty good impression. Richard O’Kelley seems likable and no nonsense. John Terry made all the right noises. And Smith? Smith managed to not say a whole lot other than promotion remains the goal.

The Garbage Has To Go: Aston Villa vs. Rotherham

Thanks to Conor Hourihane, Villa came away with a point at the weekend, and one that left many supporters underwhelmed. Once again. There are folks urging patience. Always are. And, given the new faces who’ve yet to really be integrated, there’s still some argument for patience. However, I really have seen just about enough of what looks like ineptitude.