Stoke City vs Aston Villa pre-match thread

[Axl Rose]

WTF!
Playground humour is great if you're 11!
I suppose the scapegoaters will be busy again this weekend in darkened cupboards, rubbing their thighs delighting in the fact that they "have a voice!"
Soooo sad!
Come on the Villa boys, lets get the 3 points!

Well said. It seems Hourihane is the new Ashley Westwood

Yes; also it's not his fault he's playing in a position which doesn't suit him. He was getting loads of compliments last season, but now that he's not doing very well, he seems to have become the target for any jibe and an embodiment of all our troubles.

His defensive efforts in the past few games have been pathetic, so I think he deserves criticism (although not personal abuse of course).  I thought, along with others I might add, that it became quite obvious towards the end of last season that we would need an upgrade on him in the summer, which to be fair McGinn was.     

Hourihane is crap. Westwood was crap for us and is still crap now. Burnley in the Premier League or not.

It isn't playground humour, it isn't 'sooooo sad', it's nothing to do with 'scapegoaters', it's expressing an opinion about professional football players playing at a substandard level for our club.

To coin a crude, yet famous (ish) football chant, you can 'stick your fucking criticism of other fans criticising, up your arse'.

*It's not really coining a football chant....ah, fuck it. Too much wine.

Just win Villa.

[eamonn]

Tammy's skills in dat training vid woz well-sick. He'd make muppets of most, not just Tayls and the Jedinator.

[alanclare]

I’ve just renewed my season ticket, and I don’t know why.

4-0

[QuintonVilla]

WTF!
Playground humour is great if you're 11!
I suppose the scapegoaters will be busy again this weekend in darkened cupboards, rubbing their thighs delighting in the fact that they "have a voice!"
Soooo sad!
Come on the Villa boys, lets get the 3 points!

Well said. It seems Hourihane is the new Ashley Westwood

We could only dream of having Westwood back and that's saying something. Hourihane isn't a scapegoat, he's shite.

[ChicagoLion]

WTF!
Playground humour is great if you're 11!
I suppose the scapegoaters will be busy again this weekend in darkened cupboards, rubbing their thighs delighting in the fact that they "have a voice!"
Soooo sad!
Come on the Villa boys, lets get the 3 points!

Well said. It seems Hourihane is the new Ashley Westwood

We could only dream of having Westwood back and that's saying something. Hourihane isn't a scapegoat, he's shite.

Thanks for clearing that up. Spot on.

[Richard]

Oh yeah Westwood scorer of goals galore and creator in chief oh how I'd love him back in our midfield.....

[ChicagoLion]

Oh yeah Westwood scorer of goals galore and creator in chief oh how I'd love him back in our midfield.....

Be like Zidane in compared to Hollo.

[Fred Crump]

WTF!
Playground humour is great if you're 11!
I suppose the scapegoaters will be busy again this weekend in darkened cupboards, rubbing their thighs delighting in the fact that they "have a voice!"
Soooo sad!
Come on the Villa boys, lets get the 3 points!

Well said. It seems Hourihane is the new Ashley Westwood

We could only dream of having Westwood back and that's saying something. Hourihane isn't a scapegoat, he's shite.

Thanks for clearing that up. Spot on.

I watched Sky Sports (boo!) greatest goals of (I think) 2013 - 2014 this afternoon and one of them was the Snake’s goal against the Baggies. Westwood played a peach of a quick early ball out of defence, headed on by Benteke and bang into the back of the net by Delph. We would have ben purring if that pass was played by McGinn, and don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of SJM. I know I’m in a minority of 1 on here and will get pelters but in my h.o. it’s utter bollocks to say without any qualification that Westwood was shit. He clearly wasn’t, otherwise he wouldn’t have been picked time and time again by a succession of managers  and continues to be in the Premiership.  It’s all relative, compared with Kevin de Bruyne or David Silva, yes,  he’s clearly not in the same league. However, compared with others, he’s above average in open play, particularly in the Championship,say compared to Hourihane, although Hourihane is good at set pieces. Westwood was technically one of the most able players in that side and would be outstanding in our current team.  As would Daniel Johnson , Barry Bannan, Mark Albrighton or a host of our ex-players who get lots of stick from some Villa fans. Saying ‘Westwood was shit’ without any qualification is just a quick, easy trope, like saying Brexit would be easily fixed if politicians just got their fingers out and got on with it ...
I hereby claim my prize for being the world’s most hated man for managing to be pro- Westwood and anti- Brexit at the same time !!! 

[Fred Crump]

Light blue touch paper and stand well clear......

[eamonn]

I just can't see Ashley being more effective even than May in Brussels.

[Fred Crump]

He’s way better than May ! Have you ever seen her even pass it sideways let alone hit a defense splitting pass ?  She is truly the Bosko Balaban of British politics!

[LowerNorthStand]

67% think we lose. I am one of them. No expectations we can get a result at Stoke.

The red and white may come out of the afternoon looking like Brazil.

[Clampy]

It's got a draw written all over it really so i'll go for another 2-2. Abraham and Ramsey with ours.

[Nunkin1965]

2-0 Villa.
For the odd good showing here and there I can’t seem to forget the hours and hours of complete and utter anonymity of Westwood’s contributions to the team.

Tammy and Mings btw.

[wittonwarrior]

Hate  to say it but same as last time there 2-0 to Stoke - hold  them to half time and we then collapse