Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Smirker on August 12, 2019, 10:42:54 PM
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Saturday 17th August, 3pm.
Thought I'd get the thread going because I'm looking forward to this.
UTV
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Poll added.
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Thank you Legion.
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Poll added.
Are you sure? :P
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Open your eyes...
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Ah it's there now. Ignore me Mr Muscles.
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I'm still knackered, mate. Anyway 2-0 Home win. To us.
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Us 4 Them 0
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I think we'll win this one and there will be 3-4 changes to the team for it, I expect Guilbert, Targett and Jota to all start and maybe Douglas as well.
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A confidence boosting 3-0 home win and our first 3pts at Villa Park this season.
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It's mad but it already feels like there is a bit of pressure on this one. Would be nice to get a convincing win to shut up the Doingafulham bores. I'll settle for any old scrappy win, I don't think Bournemouth will be pushovers, Howe is a good manager. COYVB.
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It's mad but it already feels like there is a bit of pressure on this one. Would be nice to get a convincing win to shut up the Doingafulham bores. I'll settle for any old scrappy win, I don't think Bournemouth will be pushovers, Howe is a good manager. COYVB.
No pushovers but they're in a very small group of teams we beat during the relegation season.
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I'm gonna come over as being melodramatic here but these are the games we need to be winning if we are to avoid a nervous first season back in the top flight
Hopefully a good win and 3 points on the board come 5pm Saturday .....still have that niggly feeling that we ought to have signed another striker
2-0 McGinn and Hourihan
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It's mad but it already feels like there is a bit of pressure on this one. Would be nice to get a convincing win to shut up the Doingafulham bores. I'll settle for any old scrappy win, I don't think Bournemouth will be pushovers, Howe is a good manager. COYVB.
No pushovers but they're in a very small group of teams we beat during the relegation season.
In August, too.
Hmmm... on second thoughts, please don't win Villa. It's a bad omen!
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4-3 thriller won by...the Villa.
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It's mad but it already feels like there is a bit of pressure on this one. Would be nice to get a convincing win to shut up the Doingafulham bores. I'll settle for any old scrappy win, I don't think Bournemouth will be pushovers, Howe is a good manager. COYVB.
No pushovers but they're in a very small group of teams we beat during the relegation season.
In August, too.
Hmmm... on second thoughts, please don't win Villa. It's a bad omen!
Not any more.
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Jack to lead us to victory. All action attacking display in front of a brilliant full house. Stick me down for 2-0
Grealish and Wesley
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It's mad but it already feels like there is a bit of pressure on this one. Would be nice to get a convincing win to shut up the Doingafulham bores. I'll settle for any old scrappy win, I don't think Bournemouth will be pushovers, Howe is a good manager. COYVB.
No pushovers but they're in a very small group of teams we beat during the relegation season.
In August, too.
Hmmm... on second thoughts, please don't win Villa. It's a bad omen!
Not any more.
Gestede isn't here to jinx it any more.
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It's mad but it already feels like there is a bit of pressure on this one. Would be nice to get a convincing win to shut up the Doingafulham bores. I'll settle for any old scrappy win, I don't think Bournemouth will be pushovers, Howe is a good manager. COYVB.
No pushovers but they're in a very small group of teams we beat during the relegation season.
In August, too.
Hmmm... on second thoughts, please don't win Villa. It's a bad omen!
Would never have believed anyone if at 5pm on that Saturday it would've been said we'd only collect 14 more points from the next 37 games.
We actually looked reasonably solid that day with Richards-Clark, Guzan collectiing crosses no problem and most of the new boys played well.
Life in the immediate aftermatch of Benteke-Delph actually was good for one game so the ultimate false dawn match.
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We were actually alright in the first few weeks.
Beat Bournemouth, matched Man United and were unlucky not to at least draw as we had a pretty certain looking penalty turned down. Narrowly lost at Palace to a late goal when we had been chasing a winner, then played Sunderland off the park and somehow only drew two-two. We then had the infamous Sliding Doors match at Leicester where we blew a two goal lead.
In an alternative reality Villa won their first five games. Who knows what might have happened? Well, it would likely just have meant we got relegated one year later, but still...
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Those first 5 games, the win, a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Manure in a game neither side deserved to win, late defeat away to Palace, 2-1 up at home Sunderland and battering them and somehow drawing with special thanks to Micah clearing a winner for us off the line with his ear, and then THAT Leicester game.
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JINX!!!
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Villa 2-0, McGinn and Grealish.
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Any sort of win. I see this as one of the roughly 8 home games we have to get 3 points from over the course of the season to consolidate this year.
Wouldn’t change too much, maybe one of the full backs, one of the proper DM and maybe Jota to start (although I fought the wingers did well for the first hour at Tottenham)
A goal for Wes would be a huge boost.
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This won’t be easy. All depends on Smith as Howe is a smart tactician, but I do expect us to have more of the ball this week! I think there will be a few goals in this but we can come out on top
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I’d expect Howe to set them up defensively to contain us and counter attack. Wes will find himself a lot more forward this weekend and hopefully he’ll enjoy himself.
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Nervy 1-0 win
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I'm already starting to feel nervous about this, the Villa are just dominating my life at the moment thoughts wise and i'm not sure I like it - at this rate i'm going to be mentally exhausted by Christmas forget May.
Anyway a tough game but one where we'll get a true measure of where we're at. We'll need to remain patient as Howe's teams never seem to lose by many but ideally a Villa win and big Wes on the score sheet.
Haven't they got a stack of injuries too?
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Nervy 2 1 with Mings naturally to get the winner
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Feeling oddly deflated after the Spurs loss, even though no one in their right mind would have expected anything other. But I suppose like many I thought at the 70 minute mark that we had every chance of at least holding on for a point.
Bournemouth are a different kettle of fish. On paper, beatable. Wonder if Luiz will be fit enough to start, or if Wesley will have caught up on that extra yard of pace.
Honestly worried about the latter. It's a simple as this, if he doesn't score goals this season we will find it very hard to compete, across the board.
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1-0, El Ghazi. Was poor against Spurs, but I feel he'll do very well for us in the Premier League
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Our first three points of the season thanks to a 2-0 win
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Bet Mings is going to love this game...
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2-0 Villa, no idea who gets the goals
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I'm a little nervous because this is a very important game for us.
But I think we will come back roaring, with the old-hands determined to make up for last weekend and the new boys getting their first taste of Villa Park...
Wishlist:
A clean sheet
Wesley on the scoresheet
If Jota sees action then a good performance from him
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This is one of the games we need to win and I think we will.
Changes to the team;
Targett and Guilbert in for Taylor and Elmo, Luiz for Conor, 4-1-2-3 formation of all-out attack. Jota and Conor get on as subs.
Tough game, we can't get nervy if it takes us a long time to break them down, constant support is needed.
We'll eventually get the job done and a relieved and happy Mings, Jack and Heaton will be interviewed afterwards, Mings gives Jack the M.o.t.M. champagne for scoring.
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I can see us winning this I will go for a 2-0 Villa win.
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A win - their away form isn't great. On top of that nice things to see : Wes being a goal threat, quicker passing in our half and another solid defensive performance.
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Bet Mings is going to love this game...
As long as he keeps his professional head on and doesn’t owe any of them a kickin !?
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I think we'll win this one and there will be 3-4 changes to the team for it, I expect Guilbert, Targett and Jota to all start and maybe Douglas as well.
For protection reasons I think for a while he may use Elmo and Taylor away then Targett and Freddie at home . Can’t justify that but a bit of gut feeling
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Really, really, really, really looking forward to being back home with a full house! ;D
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We were actually alright in the first few weeks.
Beat Bournemouth, matched Man United and were unlucky not to at least draw as we had a pretty certain looking penalty turned down. Narrowly lost at Palace to a late goal when we had been chasing a winner, then played Sunderland off the park and somehow only drew two-two. We then had the infamous Sliding Doors match at Leicester where we blew a two goal lead.
In an alternative reality Villa won their first five games. Who knows what might have happened? Well, it would likely just have meant we got relegated one year later, but still...
Yeah that's a fair summary. Man. United game hardly anything happened which just showed what a terrible season they were going to have under LVG.
Palace we actually played well, Gabby missed a one on one first half and second half we should've claimed a point but terrible defensive error.
Sunderland game we should've won but Richards missed open goal header from 5 yards.
As much as it's a cliche that Leicester second half destroyed everything and we were a relegation team in waiting from then on.
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I think we'll win this one and there will be 3-4 changes to the team for it, I expect Guilbert, Targett and Jota to all start and maybe Douglas as well.
For protection reasons I think for a while he may use Elmo and Taylor away then Targett and Freddie at home . Can’t justify that but a bit of gut feeling
Can see Targett starting, think AEM will stay in as that will help Trez who will surely continue.
As for the game, think this is the least likely 0-0 all season. Pretty sure last year Bournemouth conceded the joint highest amount of goals in away games.
You can certainly get at their defence but we need to watch their quick attack on counters as Fraser, Wilson and Josh King are all dangerous if you give them space to run into.
Will go 2-1, Grealish and feels like an inevitable winning goal from Mings who will have point to prove.
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11 points from thoes 5 games wouldn't have flattered us but Sherwood lost the plot in te Leicester game and the downward spiral from there was probably the worst period to be a villa fan ever, we were truly awful for the rest of that season other than a brief flicker around the January transfer window which got stomped all over by Liverpool and then the entire club just accepted defeat.
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Tricky one this. Bournemouth are experienced in the Premier League now with a tactically astute manager. We're still finding our feet and the players getting used to playing with each other. A bit more pressure as we're at home.
In my view it's one I'd hope we'd win but wouldn't be surprised to lose. We really don't need to heap more expectation on ourselves and the players yet.
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11 points from thoes 5 games wouldn't have flattered us but Sherwood lost the plot in te Leicester game and the downward spiral from there was probably the worst period to be a villa fan ever, we were truly awful for the rest of that season other than a brief flicker around the January transfer window which got stomped all over by Liverpool and then the entire club just accepted defeat.
I still think the worst time ever was the Chelsea 0-8, Tottenham 0-4, Wigan 0-3, knocked out of the League Cup by Bradford, knocked out of the FA Cup by Millwall spell. Every game just seemed to be a punch in the guts.
The relegation season was more like a mercy killing. You knew we were down before Bonfire Night so no point stressing too much about the inevitable. Plus we had been rubbish for so many seasons, it didn't come as too much of a surprise by then.
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To be honest, after circling the plug hole for so long, finally going down was a relief in some ways.
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Just saw Merson on Sky .
I really worry for Villa , I cant see where the goals are coming from .
so 4-0 Villa
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We stank the place out for so many years it was kind of a relief when it actually happened.
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11 points from thoes 5 games wouldn't have flattered us but Sherwood lost the plot in te Leicester game and the downward spiral from there was probably the worst period to be a villa fan ever, we were truly awful for the rest of that season other than a brief flicker around the January transfer window which got stomped all over by Liverpool and then the entire club just accepted defeat.
I still think the worst time ever was the Chelsea 0-8, Tottenham 0-4, Wigan 0-3, knocked out of the League Cup by Bradford, knocked out of the FA Cup by Millwall spell. Every game just seemed to be a punch in the guts.
The relegation season was more like a mercy killing. You knew we were down before Bonfire Night so no point stressing too much about the inevitable. Plus we had been rubbish for so many seasons, it didn't come as too much of a surprise by then.
I agree, that period will take some beating. As everybody else has said, the relegation season was just the culmination of all the anti-planning coming together and delivering the killer blow.
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Just saw Merson on Sky .
I really worry for Villa , I cant see where the goals are coming from .
so 4-0 Villa
Paul Merson ;D ;D ;D
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Anyway, enough with the harking back to old disasters. I haven't looked forward to going to a match at Villa Park so much since the Tranmere semi. Hopefully we get at them from the start on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win. My heart doesn't take nervy performances and results very well any more!
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I'm 90% looking forward to it, 10% scared.
I think the atmosphere will be better than any top flight game at the ground this decade.
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Cannot wait!
I have to go and see Grease at the Hippodrome after, but at least after a good performance I can sit and daydream about the goals.
I'm already singing Grealish Lightning in my head.
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I've gone for a win but it will be a real test. Bournmouth are a good team with an intelligent manager and some excellent players, particulalry Fraser, Wilson & King going forward and also a very decent defence with Mepham and Ake. A tough fixture and will be a great barometer of where we are.
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Cannot wait!
I have to go and see Grease at the Hippodrome after, but at least after a good performance I can sit and daydream about the goals.
Why would you have to go? Is someone forcing you to go?
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Cannot wait!
I have to go and see Grease at the Hippodrome after, but at least after a good performance I can sit and daydream about the goals.
Why would you have to go? Is someone forcing you to go?
Yes, basically. My other-half wanted to see it so the tickets were a Christmas present and so I am expected to go, along with my wallet. ;D
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Cannot wait!
I have to go and see Grease at the Hippodrome after, but at least after a good performance I can sit and daydream about the goals.
Why would you have to go? Is someone forcing you to go?
Yes, basically. My other-half wanted to see it so the tickets were a Christmas present and so I am expected to go, along with my wallet. ;D
Never would someone have been praying for a home game with Bournemouth to be moved to a half 5 kick off on a Saturday as much as you a few weeks ago I bet!
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Cannot wait!
I have to go and see Grease at the Hippodrome after, but at least after a good performance I can sit and daydream about the goals.
Why would you have to go? Is someone forcing you to go?
Yes, basically. My other-half wanted to see it so the tickets were a Christmas present and so I am expected to go, along with my wallet. ;D
Never would someone have been praying for a home game with Bournemouth to be moved to a half 5 kick off on a Saturday as much as you a few weeks ago I bet!
Haha ;D
Well, not sure how well that would have gone down. He asked me to book my birthday week off earlier in the year before the fixtures came out as he was planning some surprise, and now it turns out we have Man U away... I was told 'tough'.
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Two very interesting home fixtures starting with Bournemouth. They are a team we would hope to beat if we are to prevail in this division, a draw is not the end of the world but a loss would make things tricky ahead of a tricky fixture against Everton.
If last Saturday is anything to go by the defence should be sound enough, it's what we can do from there with a full house and pressure on the team to produce but I think they will rise rather than cower from the occasion.
2-0
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This will be a tough game. They move and keep the ball nicely and are pretty useful up top.
They lack the physical presence of Spurs or their ability to press, so I'm hopefully we can play 20 yards further up the pitch.
Questions over whether the full backs can support the attacking play, whether we can retain and transition the ball better and whether Wesley, with service, can pose a threat and hold the ball up.
I still lack confidence that we're not good enough from the 15/16 season. Only competing as we did on Saturday and getting results can change that.
The team I think we'll go with;
Heateon
Taylor
Mings
Engels
Guilbert
Hourihane
McGinn
Grealish
Trezuguet
Wesley
El Ghazi
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I hope they feel like it's a good time to bring in Luiz. I think we'll be a different team once he's up to speed.
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Think we'll name an unchanged starting line up and give the players an hour to make their case.
I expect Targett and Douglas to come on for Taylor and El Ghazi at some stage. Hourihane for Kodja or Davis late on too.
Nervy 2-1 is my hopeful prediction. Although this early in the season a deflating score draw wouldn't surprise me.
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I'll take a draw. We are still learning they have been in the league for a while now and will be no pushovers.
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This will be a tough game. They move and keep the ball nicely and are pretty useful up top.
They lack the physical presence of Spurs or their ability to press, so I'm hopefully we can play 20 yards further up the pitch.
Questions over whether the full backs can support the attacking play, whether we can retain and transition the ball better and whether Wesley, with service, can pose a threat and hold the ball up.
I still lack confidence that we're not good enough from the 15/16 season. Only competing as we did on Saturday and getting results can change that.
The team I think we'll go with;
Heateon
Taylor
Mings
Engels
Guilbert
Hourihane
McGinn
Grealish
Trezuguet
Wesley
El Ghazi
I think picking the same team will see us under the cosh again, as Bournemouth play good football and will keep the ball better than us. If Targett isn't a better option than Taylor, why on earth did we pay £14m or whatever for him?
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Anyway, enough with the harking back to old disasters. I haven't looked forward to going to a match at Villa Park so much since the Tranmere semi. Hopefully we get at them from the start on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win. My heart doesn't take nervy performances and results very well any more!
Definitely agree with this Risso.
To be honest, I've been getting a little emotional thinking about seeing the team walk out to a Premier League game at Villa Park. There's been moments where I wondered if it would ever happen again.
UTV
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I'll take a nervy 1-0 win.
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Pressure game racked up by ott fans. Won’t be easy and we need early goals (more than one) to settle the nerves. Sliding by towards a close victory but a draw looks a good possibility
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Anything is possible as Deano tries to find his strongest team but probably a draw is the most likely.
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Nervy 1-0 win
Hand snapped off.
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To be honest, I think we are more nervous than the players!
The lads will be alright, we'll put in a good performance and they'll be buzzing from the crowd and atmosphere.
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I'll take a draw. We are still learning they have been in the league for a while now and will be no pushovers.
It’s going to be a long hard season if we only expect to pick up wins against the 4 or 5 sides that are relatively newcomers to the Premier League. We need to get into them from the off, don’t let them settle and make the early pressure count with a couple of goals. It’s time for the players and us as fans to make Villa Park a fortress and a place that other teams don’t like to come to.
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To be honest, I think we are more nervous than the players!
The lads will be alright, we'll put in a good performance and they'll be buzzing from the crowd and atmosphere.
Agreed. At least for now I can't see Villa Park being sit back and wait for the players to give us something to cheer about. The crowd are going to be well up for it and the atmosphere should be electric.
I'm expecting Bournemouth to be more defensive and play on the counter. They have some attackers with speed to spare so we'll need to make sure we are prepared to limit them the opportunity. Regarding the full backs, despite Dean always claiming the shirt is there to be won and both Elmo and Taylor playing well at Spurs, I expect Gilbert to come in on the right but Taylor keep his. It wouldn't surprise me to see Luiz start with Conor coming on from the bench later in the game. Luiz despite being a defensive midfielder does like to bring the ball forward which will help us breakdown Bournemouth.
2-0 Villa - Engels and Wesley (pen).
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To be honest, I think we are more nervous than the players!
The lads will be alright, we'll put in a good performance and they'll be buzzing from the crowd and atmosphere.
Agreed. At least for now I can't see Villa Park being sit back and wait for the players to give us something to cheer about. The crowd are going to be well up for it and the atmosphere should be electric.
I'm expecting Bournemouth to be more defensive and play on the counter. They have some attackers with speed to spare so we'll need to make sure we are prepared to limit them the opportunity. Regarding the full backs, despite Dean always claiming the shirt is there to be won and both Elmo and Taylor playing well at Spurs, I expect Gilbert to come in on the right but Taylor keep his. It wouldn't surprise me to see Luiz start with Conor coming on from the bench later in the game. Luiz despite being a defensive midfielder does like to bring the ball forward which will help us breakdown Bournemouth.
2-0 Villa - Engels and Wesley (pen).
It's bloody great to be able to debate all this because we have options and depth again!
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Very similar to reading at home in O’Neil’s first year. 1-0 down come back to win 2-1.
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I think we will win. I usually fancy Bournemouth to get a decent result if they are at home but I don't think they are a particularly good away side.
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I think we will win. I usually fancy Bournemouth to get a decent result if they are at home but I don't think they are a particularly good away side.
Oh God, that's us fucked then! ;)
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I think we can win this game but I don't think it will be easy. Bournemouth are a good side with good players and a clever young manager. I'd take a 1-0.
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The big problem with Bournemouth, and one they still haven’t managed to address despite several years in the Premiership and all the fabulous wealth that entails, is that their badge looks for all the world like it belongs on a shampoo bottle or an ad for some sort of Dyson ball-shaped hairdryer.
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The big problem with Bournemouth, and one they still haven’t managed to address despite several years in the Premiership and all the fabulous wealth that entails, is that their badge looks for all the world like it belongs on a shampoo bottle or an ad for some sort of Dyson ball-shaped hairdryer.
It's bad. Ours is not much better though imo.
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BFC conceded alot of goals last season , they should have played Mings .
Palace put 5 past them
soton 3
Liverpool 7 goals in 2 games
Arsenal 5
Spurs 5
Manure 4
even cardiff did them at home
I think we can get at them and score goals .
Id like to see Targett back at LB . I think he will stick with Elmo at RB but Guilbert was getting forward a lot in pre seson setting up goals .
Still think we will win by 2 or more
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I'd like to see Marvelous given a chance. The guy has bundles of energy, pace and skill.
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BFC conceded alot of goals last season , they should have played Mings .
Palace put 5 past them
soton 3
Liverpool 7 goals in 2 games
Arsenal 5
Spurs 5
Manure 4
even cardiff did them at home
I think we can get at them and score goals .
Id like to see Targett back at LB . I think he will stick with Elmo at RB but Guilbert was getting forward a lot in pre seson setting up goals .
Still think we will win by 2 or more
Targett and Guilbert both in but with Douglas in and sitting deeper (so he can help the central defenders on the counter), Jota on the right (because him and Guilbert looked good together in pre-season) and Trezeguet on the left. My slight concern is that Smith might think Douglas needs a bit longer before he's ready to start and I wouldn't want the fullbacks getting too high up the pitch with Hourihane as the deep midfielder.
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3.2 to Villa
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Will not be happy if he starts with the same midfield, we lost at spurs because the midfield couldn't cope with the pressure.
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One of Douglas/Marvelous will start I imagine. Trez, Anwar, Wesley will be the front 3. Jack and John make up the midfield. Back four picks itself imo.
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Taylor or Targett?
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Targett.
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Taylor
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Targett
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2-1
Trezeguet & Wesley to score
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I think we will win. I usually fancy Bournemouth to get a decent result if they are at home but I don't think they are a particularly good away side.
Please do NOT bet on us 😱
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Oh, and Taylor. He hasn't done anything to be dropped.
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I'd like to see Marvelous given a chance. The guy has bundles of energy, pace and skill.
Got a feeling we might see Marvelous and Douglas play together sometimes, with McGinn in front and Grealish pushed a bit further up.
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We need to kick on from a promising (if pointless start) and get our first win on the board - and I think we will.
Failure to do so could lead to confidence issues starting to creep in and with a tough game against Everton to follow, we can’t afford not to get some points on the board.
3-1 and spirits high
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2-1
Trezeguet & Wesley to score
2-1
Vowden and and Lochhead.
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2-1
Gil and Weimann
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That ball from Bacuna to McCafu :o
There was a decent player in there somewhere
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That ball from Bacuna to McCafu :o
There was a decent player in there somewhere
I used to like Bacuna and defended him, especially when played out of position. But then I saw him chicken out of a challenge and then put on a little limp as if he'd been hurt and that was it for me.
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Villa 2 v Bournemouth 1, Div 3, 12th Feb 1972 https://youtu.be/Uh_uIyd0OTk via @YouTube This was my 1st game my Dad and Uncle took me, my intro to Villa Park. My Dad and Uncle have since passed away. Sat in Trinity, will be in Trinity again on Saturday.
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Villa 2 v Bournemouth 1, Div 3, 12th Feb 1972 https://youtu.be/Uh_uIyd0OTk via @YouTube This was my 1st game my Dad and Uncle took me, my intro to Villa Park. My Dad and Uncle have since passed away. Sat in Trinity, will be in Trinity again on Saturday.
That Bournemouth header was a corker!
Imagine our current crop playing on that pitch too! ;D
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Taylor or Targett?
Targett by choice, but it has to be Taylor after Spurs as to drop him would be a terrible message to the rest of the squad.
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Taylor or Targett?
Targett by choice, but it has to be Taylor after Spurs as to drop him would be a terrible message to the rest of the squad.
I'd agree with this. Much as I think Targett is the future starter, he hasn't kicked a ball for us in anger yet and Taylor did better at Spurs than I think many thought he would.
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I would start with the same team with the exception of Jota for El Ghazi, and i would switch Trezeguet to the left and have Jota on the right. I think we would have enough to beat them, but i'm not expecting us to flow for the whole game and make light work of it.
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Taylor or Targett?
Targett by choice, but it has to be Taylor after Spurs as to drop him would be a terrible message to the rest of the squad.
Same goes for Elmo over Freddie. By selecting Taylor and Elmo for the first game, I think Dean has to stay with them for a couple more matches
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I would start with the same team with the exception of Jota for El Ghazi, and i would switch Trezeguet to the left and have Jota on the right. I think we would have enough to beat them, but i'm not expecting us to flow for the whole game and make light work of it.
I'd be up for this but also replace Hot Lips with Dougvaldo.
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Oh, and Taylor. He hasn't done anything to be dropped.
you should always start with what you believe is your best side
if you think Taylor is first choice then that's fine i wouldn't agree though
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"Best" on what basis? If you're applying a permanence to said status, then noone can be dropped or called up. I'd suggest that any attempt to deduce who is the best at any given time should include a consideration of current form, in which case Taylor does not deserve to be dropped.
I also think it sends a bad message if he is dropped when he's played well.
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"Best" on what basis? If you're applying a permanence to said status, then noone can be dropped or called up. I'd suggest that any attempt to deduce who is the best at any given time should include a consideration of current form, in which case Taylor does not deserve to be dropped.
I also think it sends a bad message if he is dropped when he's played well.
I agree and last season Smith mostly picked sides on that basis. What motivation is there for a player coming in if he knows he will be dropped for a ‘favourite’ regardless of how he performs? There’s more to management than just naming a team.
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I would start with the same team with the exception of Jota for El Ghazi, and i would switch Trezeguet to the left and have Jota on the right. I think we would have enough to beat them, but i'm not expecting us to flow for the whole game and make light work of it.
I'd be up for this but also replace Hot Lips with Dougvaldo.
I'm interested to see what Dougvaldo has got, likewise Marvellous but as these 2 didn't play any of the pre-season games i'd sooner us be a couple of goals up and cruising before introducing them at this stage.
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That ball from Bacuna to McCafu :o
There was a decent player in there somewhere
I used to like Bacuna and defended him, especially when played out of position. But then I saw him chicken out of a challenge and then put on a little limp as if he'd been hurt and that was it for me.
I saw El Ghazi do this against Spurs. lost out while trying to break down our left, got muscled out of it and just put on a limp while Spurs broke away.
Bacuna was decent enough I think. He got defamed with all that 'Champions League' naff that he didn't say and struggled after that.
I think Villa will win against Bournemouth but I don't think we will steamroll them. I would euphorically take a 1-0 or 2-1.
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I thjnk some people need to get usedcti havung a proper squad. Targett and guilbert coming in because we want to be more attacking at hkme doesn't mean anyone has been dropped, it means we're picking the team for the game based on what we want to do.
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Switch your Danish dictionary spellchecker off!
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I don't use autocorrect on my phone but the screen is cracked and means i make loads of typos on it, really need a new phone.
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I thjnk some people need to get usedcti havung a proper squad. Targett and guilbert coming in because we want to be more attacking at hkme doesn't mean anyone has been dropped, it means we're picking the team for the game based on what we want to do.
That's as it has to be. It's not harsh on any player it's horses for courses.
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From the videos of the team on tour etc. Taylor seems to be quite a prominent and well liked member of the squad. To a point, I think stuff like that matters in the selection process, unless he’s dropped a bollock, which he didn’t.
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I thjnk some people need to get usedcti havung a proper squad. Targett and guilbert coming in because we want to be more attacking at hkme doesn't mean anyone has been dropped, it means we're picking the team for the game based on what we want to do.
That's a fair point Paul, and will probably be the way we go in a few months but i think the over riding way of using the squad initially should be to use some of the experience whilst bedding in the new players, even if most would agree that some of the players we've come up with will end up looking inferior to the new lads over time. I don't want to see us rush anyone, i think the new guys have got the best chance of success longer term if they're eased in. It probably won't be necessary for all of them, that will be apparent by what they do on the pitch when they do get their chances.
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Villa 2 v Bournemouth 1, Div 3, 12th Feb 1972 https://youtu.be/Uh_uIyd0OTk via @YouTube This was my 1st game my Dad and Uncle took me, my intro to Villa Park. My Dad and Uncle have since passed away. Sat in Trinity, will be in Trinity again on Saturday.
Could you imagine the players of today on that pitch!
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Switch your Danish dictionary spellchecker off!
Oi, that's closer to Swedish😛
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"Best" on what basis? If you're applying a permanence to said status, then noone can be dropped or called up. I'd suggest that any attempt to deduce who is the best at any given time should include a consideration of current form, in which case Taylor does not deserve to be dropped.
I also think it sends a bad message if he is dropped when he's played well.
This was the same nonsense that took place last year against Blues
Whelan had had a reasonable game the match before so got picked again because of it when a better player in John McGinn was on the bench after being injured/suspended
we played crap struggled to make any inroads until McGinn was finally bought on then we started to play a lot better and go on to win the game
this is not some kindergarten game where we need to share everything around in case we hurt their feelings
Taylor played ok at the weekend but judging him on the whole time he’s been with us I would hope we have better options than him now,
I’d play are best 11 every time where possible especially in the league
al this pissing about with players more suited to the championship will get us nowhere
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"Best" on what basis? If you're applying a permanence to said status, then noone can be dropped or called up. I'd suggest that any attempt to deduce who is the best at any given time should include a consideration of current form, in which case Taylor does not deserve to be dropped.
I also think it sends a bad message if he is dropped when he's played well.
This was the same nonsense that took place last year against Blues
Whelan had had a reasonable game the match before so got picked again because of it when a better player in John McGinn was on the bench after being injured/suspended
we played crap struggled to make any inroads until McGinn was finally bought on then we started to play a lot better and go on to win the game
this is not some kindergarten game where we need to share everything around in case we hurt their feelings
Taylor played ok at the weekend but judging him on the whole time he’s been with us I would hope we have better options than him now,
I’d play are best 11 every time where possible especially in the league
al this pissing about with players more suited to the championship will get us nowhere
We might not care about a player's feelings, but unfortunately Dean Smith is paid to in as much as it's his job to manage that squad, their feelings, and deliver results. It would be wrong to just piss everyone off to favour a small group ( a la O'Neil ), because the whole point of having the squad is that at some point you will need the people you have pissed off.
Also, we have no idea what is happening on the training pitch and how well people are settling in behind the scenes, who may be physically and mentally ready to put their best in and who might benefit from being eased in or another few weeks build up.
Football, and management in general, has long grown past the point of just shoving your 'best' starting eleven on the pitch and expecting the best team performance.
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Nice response Muskahound. I was about to type something similar and you've saved me the trouble.
One for all and all for one and all that.
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With that said, I'd like to see Targett and Guilbert playing sooner rather than later.
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Play inferior players you will get inferior performances
you can say what you like but I hope the players you want to keep on playing indefinitely are replaced sooner rather than later with players who are more premier league quality
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Couldn’t agree more (edit - with Dogtanian). All that breaking eggs and omelettes stuff is just old school pretend-macho bollocks.
Nobody is saying pick players on sentiment alone. We have a squad which for the first time in years appears to have a sense of togetherness, and mutual respect between players and management. To risk that by treating players like numbers and ignoring the softer side of management would be a stupid thing to do, and I trust smith to be more evolved than that. But that also doesn’t mean picking players based only on loyalty and sentiment (Heaton vs steer).
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Switch your Danish dictionary spellchecker off!
Oi, that's closer to Swedish😛
I don't think he's finnished
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The flipside to that is that Targett and Guilbert will have legitimate reason to think they would be starting in the first game after pre-season so not picking them because and Elmo and Taylor don't deserve to be dropped isn't a great example of man management either.
Fullbacks who didn't go too far forward so we largely had a back 4 ready in place made sense for Spurs away, especially given we had Hourihane as DM so he isn't really capable of stepping back to make a back 3 if we get a quick counter attack. I think everyone in the squad would understand that experience and defensive stability were important for that game.
However, at home against a team that we should be competing with you want full-backs who are much more willing to get forward and be involved in our attacking play. I don't think anyone would see it as unfair if the younger, fitter and more attacking players of Targett and Guilbert get the nod.
The idea that it might upset Taylor and Elmo to find they're not going to start every game regardless of the circumstances paints them both as having the mental strength of toddlers.
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Switch your Danish dictionary spellchecker off!
Oi, that's closer to Swedish😛
I don't think he's finnished
It definitely wasn't finnish, nothing like enough i's for that.
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But that’s a bit different to what’s being said above. I tend to agree that smith picked defensive, experienced FB’s to deal with spurs and that he will pick more attacking options against teams we are going to go after.
If that’s explained to players then they wouldn’t (or shouldn't) have a problem with it. That’s not the same as all that nonsense about kindergartens and toddlers and like it or lump it, which isn’t the stuff of good management at all.
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i've only got one point
that is we should play our best 11 players for every game in this league
that might change depending on the opposition, but i didn't think Taylor was good enough for us in the Championship so i certainly dont think he should be holding down a premier league birth
i suppose it all comes down to how high you rate him, Smith obviously thinks he's good enough so we have to go with him for better or worse
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you can say what you like
Gee, thanks.
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And as was said at the time you have no idea if starting McGinn may have seen us lose, draw or win by 4, or get himself sent off considering how he can be and what went on first half. DS picked a side that won the sha game, so his team selection was right.
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And as was said at the time you have no idea if starting McGinn may have seen us lose, draw or win by 4, or get himself sent off considering how he can be and what went on first half. DS picked a side that won the game, so his team selection was right.
we had all this out last time
i say again and its my only point
i think we should play what we believe is our best 11 players, that's it
i've already said if you believe that Whelan is better than Mcginn for certain games and Taylor/Elmo better than Guilbert/Target then that is completely fine with me
i have no problem if that's what you think, i just think differently
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You pick the best team for that specific match. We won so it was the right team to select.
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You pick the best team for that specific match. We won so it was the right team to select.
so what your saying is
no matter what line up a manager picks to start a game and no matter how many changes he makes during that game
no matter how badly the team is playing before he makes those changes
as long as we win that was the right line up in the first place
thats bonkers mate
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No, i'm saying with how the game went he made the right decision. Bonkers is still going on about it 6 months later ;)
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"Best" on what basis? If you're applying a permanence to said status, then noone can be dropped or called up. I'd suggest that any attempt to deduce who is the best at any given time should include a consideration of current form, in which case Taylor does not deserve to be dropped.
I also think it sends a bad message if he is dropped when he's played well.
This was the same nonsense that took place last year against Blues
Whelan had had a reasonable game the match before so got picked again because of it when a better player in John McGinn was on the bench after being injured/suspended
we played crap struggled to make any inroads until McGinn was finally bought on then we started to play a lot better and go on to win the game
this is not some kindergarten game where we need to share everything around in case we hurt their feelings
Taylor played ok at the weekend but judging him on the whole time he’s been with us I would hope we have better options than him now,
I’d play are best 11 every time where possible especially in the league
al this pissing about with players more suited to the championship will get us nowhere
How many did we concede at Small Heath? The team was perfect to stop them scoring, then when we needed a goal we made a substitution and got one.
McGinn played well after coming on and so, quite rightly, retained his place. Just as Taylor should having played well last week. And in the run-in last year, too.
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No, i'm saying with how the game went he made the right decision. Bonkers is still going on about it 6 months later ;)
well i admit i am a bit bonkers
but simply saying as long as you win it proves the starting line is always right is right up there on my level of bonkers
and i only mentioned it as an example of what we were talking about with the current players and you were the one who picked it up and ran with it
it always amazes me how so many people would rather go with an inferior starting line up when we have (hopefully) better options now on the bench
just play your best team that's all i'm saying
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Which i've said numerous times isn't what i'm saying, i'm saying that the way the game went the starting 11 and substitutions were bang on and DS made the correct decisions.
I'd prefer to see Taylor on the bench for Bournemouth as I think he was the right choice for Spurs away but the onus is on us to attack a lot more at home to Bournemouth so i'd swap him.
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Well, it will be interesting to see who DS does actually pick for Bournemouth. But whoever he goes with in the end, I am sure he will have his reasons and truly believe it to be in the best interests of the team.
Genuinely can't wait!
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You pick the best team for that specific match. We won so it was the right team to select.
this is what you said, don't try and pretend i'm making it up
you pick a team for a match -we won - so it was right
and that's exactly what i said you said and then now you are trying to squirm out of it
your basically saying right there you know in that post above that if the team wins the stating line up is correct which is what i called you out on and now its 'numerous times i didnt say that'
i wish people would just stand by the stuff they say and not try and make it as though we misunderstood
i'm not arguing with you any more i cant stand the hypocrisy of it all
all i ever said was i believe we should play our best 11 and don't think Taylor gets into that now if he ever did
i don't see that as a big controversial statement but hey ho
i wont be replying to you clever clogs next post to try and win a point by changing the stuff you said,
because i dont give a shit
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"The best team for that specific match", it's not rocket science nor hard to grasp for most people.
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The game would be won by a series of events that led to the victory, effected by the actions of the manager and the players, so therefore they would be the correct series of events from our point of view. After the event you would not want to go back and change anything as this could seriously fuck up the space - time continuum, or worse still result in the Villa not winning the match.
By all means, argue the starting line up before the game but you don't want to meddle after the event.
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The game would be won by a series of events that led to the victory, effected by the actions of the manager and the players, so therefore they would be the a correct series of events from our point of view. After the event you would not want to go back and change anything as this could seriously fuck up the space - time continuum, or worse still result in the Villa not winning the match.
By all means, argue the starting line up before the game but you don't want to meddle after the event.
Small change there that gets to the heart of this. There are a number of ways to win a game and, as you say, before the game you can argue about which way to try, and if you don't win you can argue about why not (like we have done a little with the talk about bringing on Jota instead of Douglas and Grealish getting caught in possession) but if a game a won the choices made by the manager have worked, there's no argument to be had there.
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There are things that we can't decide on as well. Who knows how certain players look in training, not just in terms of performance level but in comfort/naturalness with their teammates, how they move off the ball, how well integrated they are to the system, whether their natural movement clashes with that of someone else who you know you have to pick meaning you go with the other option for this game, etc etc. We get 90 minutes a week - the staff get much much more than that, plus stats and analysis. It's not just about how well individuals look like they're doing on matchday.
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We have to place trust in Dean and the staff. It’s all well and good for us to be sat here saying Guilbert and Targett should be playing ahead of Elmo and Taylor based on preseason, but you also have to put those preseason games into perspective as they were against weak opposition and mainly used for fitness.
I do still have questions marks over Targett...he seems to be the exact opposite of Taylor in that we got exposed at LB numerous times as he Targett was pushing up, and we complain that Taylor doesn’t get forward enough. I’ve said it before but I think LB will remain to be our achilles heal this season, however Taylor should play in games where we need to be more defensive and Targett when we need to attack more with our fullbacks pushing on.
Guilbert was the pick of the new players for me in preseason...he looks very good, and confident he will be first choice RB in a few weeks. He clearly developed a good understanding with Jota down the right and there’s no reason why he wouldn’t do the same with Trez. Similarly I think Guilbert will play in games where we need to attack more and Elmo when we’re more disciplined defensively.
Both players need time to settle and prove their value in training, and Dean will pick the best team to win the game based on tactics and player performance. There will be no room for sentiment and Dean will manage that.
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What we've seen with the likes of Leicester winning the league is that it isn't all about the 'best 11' it's about the best team. The players that play the way the manager wants, play with each other and get results.
There are only a handful of players who can expect to start any match, and that's just because of who they are and what they've achieved. Players have differing styles, different strengths and weaknesses and often the opposition along with their strengths and weaknesses determine who the best 11 should be at any given time.
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I think players who don't play in glasses should get preference over those who do. Especially on wet days.
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I think players who don't play in glasses should get preference over those who do. Especially on wet days.
***cough***Sammy Morgan***cough***
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Was Sammy wearing glasses when he upset Bob Wilson? ..............must have been quite a spectacle
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He was framed!
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Really looking forward to the game now.One thing that pisses me off more than it should is the thought of them f*cking half and half scarfs . It's been great not seeing any for the last three seasons.
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Reading this thread has made me think twice about having an argument with my other half the next time the opportunity arises.
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We have to place trust in Dean and the staff. It’s all well and good for us to be sat here saying Guilbert and Targett should be playing ahead of Elmo and Taylor based on preseason, but you also have to put those preseason games into perspective as they were against weak opposition and mainly used for fitness.
I do still have questions marks over Targett...he seems to be the exact opposite of Taylor in that we got exposed at LB numerous times as he Targett was pushing up, and we complain that Taylor doesn’t get forward enough. I’ve said it before but I think LB will remain to be our achilles heal this season, however Taylor should play in games where we need to be more defensive and Targett when we need to attack more with our fullbacks pushing on.
Guilbert was the pick of the new players for me in preseason...he looks very good, and confident he will be first choice RB in a few weeks. He clearly developed a good understanding with Jota down the right and there’s no reason why he wouldn’t do the same with Trez. Similarly I think Guilbert will play in games where we need to attack more and Elmo when we’re more disciplined defensively.
Both players need time to settle and prove their value in training, and Dean will pick the best team to win the game based on tactics and player performance. There will be no room for sentiment and Dean will manage that.
I agree with all this.
I don't know if this is the case or not, but not changing the entire matchday squad on week 1 of the season seems to be a reasonably sensible idea to me. It's also about putting together a team that'll get the best result we can away against Spurs, which isn't always going to be as simple as picking the 11 most skilful players and hoping it works out.
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Targett and Guilbert to come in to the defence, Douglas as a deep lying midfielder and let Jack,SJM,AEG and Trez get forward.
Hopefully we win some corners so Bjorn and Tyrone can get on the end of some of them!
2-1 to us
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Reading this thread has made me think twice about having an argument with my other half the next time the opportunity arises.
Must be nice to have a choice. :-X
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Really don't know how this season will go until we see a few more games.
Smith hasn't normally changed the side too much, so I think he'll still start with Elmo and Taylor at full back, the only change maybe Luiz if he feels he's up to speed but I have a feeling we will be unchanged.
Bournemouth are a funny side, I think they gave a few tonkings to teams last season in away games, and similarly took a few.
They have dangerous players but we must look at this as one of the games we have to win, and go on the front foot which I'm sure we will.
I'm going for a very optimistic narrow victory.
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If it's an unchanged side I think we'll lose again.
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So, I'm actually a bit nervous about this, but I've tried to sanity check my own feelings.
I think the issue here is I'm conditioned to Villa struggling against opposition, conceding space, making mistakes, and ultimately under-achieving. Whilst we did great for 10 games last season, we still had a few issues.
So, I think a pre-season for Deano, the same mentality sprinkled with new blood, might actually see a more calm, clinical and well drilled side.
So, whilst my gut suggests a scrappy 1-1, I'm going over onto the optimistic side and suggesting a 3-1 Villa win with Goals from Engels, McGinn, and Trez.
I'd go with the same line up as Spurs, but with Guilbert in for Elmo.
I am wary of the Bournemouth team though. In Fraser and Brooks they have some serious dynamism splitting the lines, and Wilson is as good as any striker in the Prem imo on his day, and with service.
Let's see!
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i've only got one point
that is we should play our best 11 players for every game in this league
that might change depending on the opposition, but i didn't think Taylor was good enough for us in the Championship so i certainly dont think he should be holding down a premier league birth
i suppose it all comes down to how high you rate him, Smith obviously thinks he's good enough so we have to go with him for better or worse
Smith has to weigh up the team he's facing, look to negate their positives, as well as pick a fluid, balanced team ourselves. I think this means we're going to use players that, on paper, stat for stat, aren't as good, but that will deliver more for the team in and the tactical solutions Deano is looking to deliver against a given opponent.
I honestly don't think there is night and day between Targett and Taylor, or Elmo and Guilbert. Experience, tactical awareness and work rate is a good top-up to lacking talent too.
It's a big melting pot of things isn't it.
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i've only got one point
that is we should play our best 11 players for every game in this league
that might change depending on the opposition, but i didn't think Taylor was good enough for us in the Championship so i certainly dont think he should be holding down a premier league birth
i suppose it all comes down to how high you rate him, Smith obviously thinks he's good enough so we have to go with him for better or worse
Smith has to weigh up the team he's facing, look to negate their positives, as well as pick a fluid, balanced team ourselves. I think this means we're going to use players that, on paper, stat for stat, aren't as good, but that will deliver more for the team in and the tactical solutions Deano is looking to deliver against a given opponent.
I honestly don't think there is night and day between Targett and Taylor, or Elmo and Guilbert. Experience, tactical awareness and work rate is a good top-up to lacking talent too.
It's a big melting pot of things isn't it.
i'm hoping there is night and day between the two because i don't think Elmo /Taylor are good enough for us in this league
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Targett and Guilbert to come in to the defence, Douglas as a deep lying midfielder and let Jack,SJM,AEG and Trez get forward.
Hopefully we win some corners so Bjorn and Tyrone can get on the end of some of them!
2-1 to us
I know it was a Baptism of fire for Luiz coming on but he looked completely way off pace and positioning as opposed to Connor who played well I thought .
Bit more integration time and then let all other newbies loose in caraboa cup I’d suggest
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Even at this early stage it's a big game as far as confidence is concerned, win well and we will get a huge boost.
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Even at this early stage it's a big game as far as confidence is concerned, win well and we will get a huge boost.
Yes, early wins for Watford and Burnley in recent times have pretty much set the tone for their seasons. Hope we can get a similar impact win. I now suspect Brighton will do ok based on their decent win last week plus a winnable next fixture.
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I don't think anything is clear at this point ;D
https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2019/8/15/20804010/assessing-aston-villas-squad-depth-ahead-of-bournemouth (https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2019/8/15/20804010/assessing-aston-villas-squad-depth-ahead-of-bournemouth)
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Chester, Hause and Kodjia all out on Saturday.
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i've only got one point
that is we should play our best 11 players for every game in this league
that might change depending on the opposition, but i didn't think Taylor was good enough for us in the Championship so i certainly dont think he should be holding down a premier league birth
i suppose it all comes down to how high you rate him, Smith obviously thinks he's good enough so we have to go with him for better or worse
Smith has to weigh up the team he's facing, look to negate their positives, as well as pick a fluid, balanced team ourselves. I think this means we're going to use players that, on paper, stat for stat, aren't as good, but that will deliver more for the team in and the tactical solutions Deano is looking to deliver against a given opponent.
I honestly don't think there is night and day between Targett and Taylor, or Elmo and Guilbert. Experience, tactical awareness and work rate is a good top-up to lacking talent too.
It's a big melting pot of things isn't it.
If there isn't night and day between Taylor and Targett then we really have pissed £14m up the wall completely.
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Mark Lawrenson's predicting us to win 2-1 unfortunately. :-[
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I think it is horses for courses and he knew that Spurs would get their full backs high up the pitch - Rose almost played as a winger. So because of that I think he chose to have 2 steady full backs whose first instinct is to defend.
I do not think that at home against Bournemouth who don't play the same way he may choose to be more adventurous and certainly play Targett instead of Taylor, not because Taylor did anything wrong against Spurs, far from it, but I think we need an attacking presence further up that side of the pitch.
I personally would also swap Trez over to that side and bring in Jota on the right flank. Again as Hourihane did nothing wrong I would possibly start him and if we feel comfortable then introduce Luiz or marvellous or both to let them get a feel for the game without the pressure of the Spurs game
Heaton
Elmo Engles Mings Targett
Conor
McGinn Jack
Jota Wesley Trez
Subs:
Steer
Konsa
Davis
Guilbert
Marvellous
Luiz
AEG
3-0 Villa
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Jota was disappointing last week in my opinion.
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Targett and Guilbert to come in to the defence, Douglas as a deep lying midfielder and let Jack,SJM,AEG and Trez get forward.
Hopefully we win some corners so Bjorn and Tyrone can get on the end of some of them!
2-1 to us
I know it was a Baptism of fire for Luiz coming on but he looked completely way off pace and positioning as opposed to Connor who played well I thought .
Bit more integration time and then let all other newbies loose in caraboa cup I’d suggest
we must have been watching different games then
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One forward injured already after one game shows how light we are up front. Still baffled we didn't sign another forward - Maupay was a no brainer.
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Jota was disappointing last week in my opinion.
Yes he lost the ball quite a bit considering he wasn't on the pitch long.
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One forward injured already after one game shows how light we are up front. Still baffled we didn't sign another forward - Maupay was a no brainer.
Yep, that hasn't taken long to bite us on the arse.
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Jota was disappointing last week in my opinion.
Agree, we were watching the same game 💪🏻👍🏻
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It was a hard situation for Jota to come into at Spurs, but even so, he'll have to earn his chance to start and there's no way he can be said to have done that last week.
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Jota was disappointing last week in my opinion.
Agree, we were watching the same game 💪🏻👍🏻
I was watching that game too
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Jota didn't play well but I agree with Risso, it was a really tough time for a winger to come on because he was barely even getting scraps to play with and when he got the ball it was in our half with the rest of the team behind him. I'd bring him in to start and push Trez to the other wing but I don't think there's much between the 3 wingers right now (but I suspect Trez will be easily the best of the 3 by the end of the season).
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Trez was easily the best gainst Spurs. Anwar did OK, but lost his way second half. I expect he'll start with Jota coming on for him at some point.
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Same team as last week for me
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It’s tempting to assume that because they’re not Spurs we’ll win, but Bournemouth aren’t mugs so there’s no room for complacency. The team’s attitude will need to be spot on and I’m confident it will be. 2-1 Villa but it’ll be close.
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Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.
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i've only got one point
that is we should play our best 11 players for every game in this league
that might change depending on the opposition, but i didn't think Taylor was good enough for us in the Championship so i certainly dont think he should be holding down a premier league birth
i suppose it all comes down to how high you rate him, Smith obviously thinks he's good enough so we have to go with him for better or worse
Smith has to weigh up the team he's facing, look to negate their positives, as well as pick a fluid, balanced team ourselves. I think this means we're going to use players that, on paper, stat for stat, aren't as good, but that will deliver more for the team in and the tactical solutions Deano is looking to deliver against a given opponent.
I honestly don't think there is night and day between Targett and Taylor, or Elmo and Guilbert. Experience, tactical awareness and work rate is a good top-up to lacking talent too.
It's a big melting pot of things isn't it.
If there isn't night and day between Taylor and Targett then we really have pissed £14m up the wall completely.
My thoughts exactly. To be honest I think Smith bottled his team selection with a late crisis of confidence. Maybe the Leipzig friendly played into that thinking as they seemed to get a lot of chances from our left back position. But Taylor and Elmo at their peak weren't good enough for this level and certainly aren't now. Lansbury ahead of Marvellous on the bench was very strange too.
If we are to be a ball playing side, all indications are that's the way Smith wants us to play, then we certainly need better footballers at full back than Elmo and Taylor particularly. For a home game v Bournemouth to play those two means restricting our ability to keep the ball.
Luiz has had a limited pre season so he won't be up to 90 minutes just yet, best to hold in reserve. Jota did nothing to deserve a start. A lot more needed from Grealish, El Ghazi and Wesley.
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I disagree...I don’t think Dean bottled anything and made wise decisions with his team selection against Spurs.
Clearly Elmo and Taylor are experienced heads in this team, and more defensive minded than both Guilbert and Targett. Away at last seasons Champions League finalists and 4th best team in the Premier League on the first game of the season, it has to be about containing them and playing on the counter. It could have been a cricket score with Guilbert and Targett playing in an unfamiliar defence, and they will be introduced over several games until they are ready to start and play 90 minutes.
Similarly, Marvelous and Luiz only joined up with the squad a couple of weeks ago so they both need to settle and be introduced slowly into the team game by game. Throwing them into the firing line at Spurs would have been a mistake. Like you say, Luiz isn’t ready to start yet and clearly it was a step too far to have both new midfielders as options from the bench.
I think we’ll see a few changes to the starting lineup against Bournemouth and may be more game time for a couple of the new players depending on how the game plays out in the second half. If Dean plays the same starting XI then he clearly thinks they aren’t ready yet and we just have to be patient for them to get up to speed.
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The starting 11 he picked against Spurs is for the large part a Championship team, and won't win many games at all. Just doing 'alright' isn't going to cut it at this level. Depending on Mings and Engels to repel attacks becaause the rest of the team aren't as good will just get us relegated. To repeat myself, if Targett isn't ready to start ahead of Taylor, than we have wasted a huge amount of money.
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When you sign a player on a 3 year contract suggesting we might have wasted our money after one game seems a little premature. I suspect Targett will feature heavily over the course of the season but having two players competing for the shirt should keep both on their toes.
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Last week was an opportunity for players to go above their level and stand out in adversity - obviously most weren't going to because there was a pretty fierce opposition trying to stop them from doing so. Engels, Mings, McGinn and Trezeguet (fist half) did so - Heaton, as brilliant as he was, doesn't count because we know he can do it. The rest worked hard. I don't think we can judge anything meaningful about them based on last week. It starts now.
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Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.
He's out for three months.
Their main strength is Calum Wilson, King and Fraser on counter attack. Keep those three quiet and I reckon we'll win the game as rest of team is as good if not better in other areas plus 40k VP crowd in bouncing mood which always helps.
Think Bournemouth had joint worst defence away from home last season so certainly a side we should be scoring a couple against.
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We certainly have goals in this team so we need to go on the front foot and get at them from the off.
In the words of Monty Phyton..."Welease Wesley!"
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Play on the front foot and we'll win and keep a clean sheet.
Sit too deep and we'll lose.
The only change to the starting XI I would make would be Guilbert in for Elmo, with a view to bringing Douglas on after 55-60 mins. I'd also have Marvelous and Keinan on the bench too.
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I was surprised as anyone at some of last weeks team but i'm sure players like Targett will be picked and it's up to them to make the position their own. Suggesting we've may have wasted our money just because he didn't start in the first match of the season is ridiculous and smacks of the impatience that is around nowadays.
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1-1 we will score early.
For me the changes would be Luiz for Hourihane and I would play the French right back
UTV
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Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.
He's out for three months.
Their main strength is Calum Wilson, King and Fraser on counter attack. Keep those three quiet and I reckon we'll win the game as rest of team is as good if not better in other areas plus 40k VP crowd in bouncing mood which always helps.
Think Bournemouth had joint worst defence away from home last season so certainly a side we should be scoring a couple against.
I’m sure Harry Wilson will be involved this week too, I do like him, but not tomorrow
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I was surprised as anyone at some of last weeks team but i'm sure players like Targett will be picked and it's up to them to make the position their own. Suggesting we've may have wasted our money just because he didn't start in the first match of the season is ridiculous and smacks of the impatience that is around nowadays.
Except nobody said that. You'd have to be of very limited intelligence to infer that from what was actually said. Not that that's you of course.
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Word from inside the Network Rail matrix is that there will be a football special as usual, and a couple of extra trains stopping at Witton, after the match.
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I disagree...I don’t think Dean bottled anything and made wise decisions with his team selection against Spurs.
Clearly Elmo and Taylor are experienced heads in this team, and more defensive minded than both Guilbert and Targett. Away at last seasons Champions League finalists and 4th best team in the Premier League on the first game of the season, it has to be about containing them and playing on the counter. It could have been a cricket score with Guilbert and Targett playing in an unfamiliar defence, and they will be introduced over several games until they are ready to start and play 90 minutes.
Similarly, Marvelous and Luiz only joined up with the squad a couple of weeks ago so they both need to settle and be introduced slowly into the team game by game. Throwing them into the firing line at Spurs would have been a mistake. Like you say, Luiz isn’t ready to start yet and clearly it was a step too far to have both new midfielders as options from the bench.
I think we’ll see a few changes to the starting lineup against Bournemouth and may be more game time for a couple of the new players depending on how the game plays out in the second half. If Dean plays the same starting XI then he clearly thinks they aren’t ready yet and we just have to be patient for them to get up to speed.
The most sensible and realistic thing I’ve read about the game all week. Playing 3 out of the 4 of last seasons defence was definitely the right thing to do rather than start with a completely new back 4. It wasn’t the defences fault we lost last week, it was the midfield for not getting a hold of the ball and Wesley not holding it up.
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Buzzing for tomorrow! ;D ;D ;D
I know people think a lot about the game and what they would do and what they don't agree with and all that, but at the end of the day there's something to be said for just relaxing, letting the manager worry about all that, turning up, cheering them on, and seeing what happens. Ya never know, you may just enjoy it!
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Buzzing for tomorrow! ;D ;D ;D
I know people think a lot about the game and what they would do and what they don't agree with and all that, but at the end of the day there's something to be said for just relaxing, letting the manager worry about all that, turning up, cheering them on, and seeing what happens. Ya never know, you may just enjoy it!
Agreed, cannot wait. The atmosphere will be electric, and hopefully the team will put in a performance to match.
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Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.
He's out for three months.
Their main strength is Calum Wilson, King and Fraser on counter attack. Keep those three quiet and I reckon we'll win the game as rest of team is as good if not better in other areas plus 40k VP crowd in bouncing mood which always helps.
Think Bournemouth had joint worst defence away from home last season so certainly a side we should be scoring a couple against.
I’m sure Harry Wilson will be involved this week too, I do like him, but not tomorrow
Decent player but will need time to adapt to the prem, we kept him quiet in play off final. Would be good idea not to concede free kick 25 yards out with him on the pitch though, scored some great ones last season.
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Buzzing for tomorrow! ;D ;D ;D
I know people think a lot about the game and what they would do and what they don't agree with and all that, but at the end of the day there's something to be said for just relaxing, letting the manager worry about all that, turning up, cheering them on, and seeing what happens. Ya never know, you may just enjoy it!
Agreed, cannot wait. The atmosphere will be electric, and hopefully the team will put in a performance to match.
I remember going to the first home game in the Championship against Rotherham and the atmosphere was superb.
Surely out first game back in the Premier League can top that!
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Is that footyskillz sneaking back in?! 🤫
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Bournemouth played a 3-5-2 system against Sheffield United . That is a change from last season where they played more 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2.
From what I saw vs Sheffield United they were largely prevented from counter attacking play and their one goal came from a set piece.
After Liverpool,(30 goals) Bournemouth are the second most effective team in scoring goals from set pieces.
So will expect to create some goal opportunities as they do score a few (22 goals) from penalties, corners and free-kicks since the start of last season.
Their key man in attack is Scotlands Ryan Fraser who was unbelievable last season. He made so many assists 14 , second only to Hazard 15 and created the most big chances in the league. They can play attractive football, play out from the back and this season look like they use wing backs. With Calum Wilson and Fraser in particular they have a lot of pace, and goal instinct , Josh King is effective in support up front too.
So that being noted by Dean Smith and Aston villa it will be a intriguing contest if , as we expect , Villa use a fluid attacking 4-3-3 and move to 4-1-4-1 without the ball.
Certainly I would start with playing 2 very advanced wide forwards that gives opportunity to stop the threat posed by Bournemouths full-backs. And give clear intention to win the match.
I would like to see a far more tactically aggressive forward thinking team for the 90 minutes set out to win the game the Dean Smith way . So lets have our 2 wide forwards keep high in very advanced positions, to cause a problem against Bournemouth 3-5-2 backline. For this game a more defensively minded player who knows the role be it Douglas Luiz or Marvelous Nakamba is best selected to deal with the energy that Bournemouth have in their counter-attacks.
With a more expected front foot attacking style by villa then a protection of the back 4 is needed by our new 'Glenn Whelan' but also someone who will help start or attacks and allow Grealish on average positions to be deployed further up the pitch.
Villa will only have Wesley as a central striker against a back 3. We don't want him isolated. And with Wesley shy in pressing ,one of their defenders can bring ball in to midfield. I think the Brazilian will be instructed to show the energy and press from the front more and we should see McGinn , playing and pushing high up the field in support of Wesley and pressing. Hopefully I also get my wish of the 2 wide forwards though I'm not averse to Jota playing I like some pace up front and also whoever do play LW and RW be seen to be attacking and a high position.
A lot is needed from Wesley to be able to hold the ball up , link play more and be more robust , certainly needs to be better than in first match where he showed glimpses but was ineffective for me.
I can see this contest having it all as a footballing mixture. A real mixed bag of premier quality fused with 'not so much to see here'. Basically what we have here is when the football tempos good it's really good
Will see the patient football possession around the back by both teams, but also some quick counter attacks , fast passing and flowing football , quick and tricky set pieces .
Ideally I want a great 90 minute match by Villa with attacking intent though I think with caution be levelled at the main dangers of Bournemouth set pieces , quick build ups and counter attacks. I feel at times Villa be lacking in possession but otherwise competitive and creative.
There could be an openess in the match where counter attack vs counter attack will occur. I think this depends on Smith selection and were villa to concede first and be behind for a long period.
One thing to note is that Bournemouth were far more successful in matches at home last season. Away they are a different.
Bournemouth seemingly learning and adapting to their new 3 at the back formation (generally they were known for 4-4-1-1/ 4-4-2 ) they do still seek out counter attacks but perhaps their real danger is the major threat from set pieces.
I will take a 2-0 or 2-1 inspired by the crowd and support .
Wesley with a Pen and Grealish.
Nice post but I think you have accidentially randomly clicked the 'bold' button. After years of Alftitimus' postings a lot of us are attuned to just skipping any posts with too much animation.
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Buzzing for tomorrow! ;D ;D ;D
I know people think a lot about the game and what they would do and what they don't agree with and all that, but at the end of the day there's something to be said for just relaxing, letting the manager worry about all that, turning up, cheering them on, and seeing what happens. Ya never know, you may just enjoy it!
Agreed, cannot wait. The atmosphere will be electric, and hopefully the team will put in a performance to match.
I remember going to the first home game in the Championship against Rotherham and the atmosphere was superb.
Surely out first game back in the Premier League can top that!
And the weather forecast looks decent tomorrow too. Cant wait either!
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Buzzing for tomorrow! ;D ;D ;D
I know people think a lot about the game and what they would do and what they don't agree with and all that, but at the end of the day there's something to be said for just relaxing, letting the manager worry about all that, turning up, cheering them on, and seeing what happens. Ya never know, you may just enjoy it!
Agreed, cannot wait. The atmosphere will be electric, and hopefully the team will put in a performance to match.
I remember going to the first home game in the Championship against Rotherham and the atmosphere was superb.
Surely out first game back in the Premier League can top that!
Every time we get expectation like that it tends to fall flat so I hope this is the exceptiion.
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Every time we get expectation like that it tends to fall flat so I hope this is the exceptiion.
I dunno, I was buzzing for matches loads end of last season, including the play-off final, and I think the lads soaked up the pressure and enjoyed the buzz themselves. Not just my buzzing of course!
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Big long screed on Pravda about the increased variety of food available tomorrow. We can only hope that the service has also improved.
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I disagree...I don’t think Dean bottled anything and made wise decisions with his team selection against Spurs.
Clearly Elmo and Taylor are experienced heads in this team, and more defensive minded than both Guilbert and Targett. Away at last seasons Champions League finalists and 4th best team in the Premier League on the first game of the season, it has to be about containing them and playing on the counter. It could have been a cricket score with Guilbert and Targett playing in an unfamiliar defence, and they will be introduced over several games until they are ready to start and play 90 minutes.
Similarly, Marvelous and Luiz only joined up with the squad a couple of weeks ago so they both need to settle and be introduced slowly into the team game by game. Throwing them into the firing line at Spurs would have been a mistake. Like you say, Luiz isn’t ready to start yet and clearly it was a step too far to have both new midfielders as options from the bench.
I think we’ll see a few changes to the starting lineup against Bournemouth and may be more game time for a couple of the new players depending on how the game plays out in the second half. If Dean plays the same starting XI then he clearly thinks they aren’t ready yet and we just have to be patient for them to get up to speed.
The most sensible and realistic thing I’ve read about the game all week. Playing 3 out of the 4 of last seasons defence was definitely the right thing to do rather than start with a completely new back 4. It wasn’t the defences fault we lost last week, it was the midfield for not getting a hold of the ball and Wesley not holding it up.
Although i agree with your point if we had to point the blame at our own players, why can't we just admit that the main reason we lost the game was because Spurs were so good? We don't have a divine right to think that we should go to champions league finalist on the open day and get something after 3 years in the wilderness.
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13 teams managed to beat Bournemouth, when playing them at Home, last season.
Bournemouth finished 14th last season.
We have just spent £130 million, and spent it well according to most.
We will be at home in the top division, with a full house, for the first time in years.
If we can't be expected to win this game, then I'm not sure who we can be expected to beat.
Home win for me. It's needed for many reasons. Not least, as going forward, the players need total confidence in putting teams to the sword when at Villa Park.
2-0 or 3-1 to us.
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I took one of my lad's down to VP earlier.....looks fantastic, best it has looked for years. I won't spoil it by divulging anything but note Football Focus is live from there tomorrow in case you want to record it...
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I took one of my lad's down to VP earlier.....looks fantastic, best it has looked for years. I won't spoil it by divulging anything but note Football Focus is live from there tomorrow in case you want to record it...
Absolutely can't wait, weather looks to be decent as well.
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I’m going for a Villa win
hoping for a change or two in the starting line up but I think we will be unchanged
never the less we have to go for this one and put the 3 points on the table
I will miss this game tomorrow
my eldest Daughter is getting married and apparently I’ve got things to do
so it will be a mobile phone job in the afternoon
Son in law is a MK Dons fan (local team) but we are converting him
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I’m going for a Villa win
hoping for a change or two in the starting line up but I think we will be unchanged
never the less we have to go for this one and put the 3 points on the table
I will miss this game tomorrow
my eldest Daughter is getting married and apparently I’ve got things to do
so it will be a mobile phone job in the afternoon
Son in law is a MK Dons fan (local team) but we are converting him
Bloody hell John, priorities mate! ;) Congratulations.
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I’m going for a Villa win
hoping for a change or two in the starting line up but I think we will be unchanged
never the less we have to go for this one and put the 3 points on the table
I will miss this game tomorrow
my eldest Daughter is getting married and apparently I’ve got things to do
so it will be a mobile phone job in the afternoon
Son in law is a MK Dons fan (local team) but we are converting him
Congratulations. Don't be too drunk by kick-off though!
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Have a great day, John.
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All the best John.
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Congratulations, John.
If you're looking for any inspiration..
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Atkinson is a cock. Moss is probably an even bigger cock. It won't be plain sailing with those pair of scamps about, even if we play out of our skin. They'll find something to penalise us for.
Anyway, the game. Put them to the sword, Villa. 3-1.
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I disagree...I don’t think Dean bottled anything and made wise decisions with his team selection against Spurs.
Clearly Elmo and Taylor are experienced heads in this team, and more defensive minded than both Guilbert and Targett. Away at last seasons Champions League finalists and 4th best team in the Premier League on the first game of the season, it has to be about containing them and playing on the counter. It could have been a cricket score with Guilbert and Targett playing in an unfamiliar defence, and they will be introduced over several games until they are ready to start and play 90 minutes.
Similarly, Marvelous and Luiz only joined up with the squad a couple of weeks ago so they both need to settle and be introduced slowly into the team game by game. Throwing them into the firing line at Spurs would have been a mistake. Like you say, Luiz isn’t ready to start yet and clearly it was a step too far to have both new midfielders as options from the bench.
I think we’ll see a few changes to the starting lineup against Bournemouth and may be more game time for a couple of the new players depending on how the game plays out in the second half. If Dean plays the same starting XI then he clearly thinks they aren’t ready yet and we just have to be patient for them to get up to speed.
The most sensible and realistic thing I’ve read about the game all week. Playing 3 out of the 4 of last seasons defence was definitely the right thing to do rather than start with a completely new back 4. It wasn’t the defences fault we lost last week, it was the midfield for not getting a hold of the ball and Wesley not holding it up.
Although i agree with your point if we had to point the blame at our own players, why can't we just admit that the main reason we lost the game was because Spurs were so good? We don't have a divine right to think that we should go to champions league finalist on the open day and get something after 3 years in the wilderness.
I suppose by Spurs being good, which they were, didn’t allow us to keep the ball or get a foothold in the second half. Put those together and you get the final result.
Can’t wait for tomorrow, first season ticket since the Houllier glory days.
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any type of win please Villa :)
UTV
The Doc
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Allez Allez Allez
Je pensais que vous étiez parti.
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Absolutely fuck the fuckers Villa.
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Have a wonderful day john.
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Have a brilliant day John (hopefully helped along with a Villa win)
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I was at a wedding when Bournemouth won eight-nil at Small Heath. I may have had a bit of fun taking the piss out of the resident Heathens.
I'm not sure if this is or a good or a bad omen.
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From Matchday Guide email:
Attention North Stand Upper
Project B6 have been working hard over the summer to continue to further enhance the atmosphere of the North Stand on matchday.
Following on from their good work that has seen many flags and mosaics displayed over the last couple of seasons, the group have something in store again for the Bournemouth opener.
On every seat in Upper North will be a plastic sheet for supporters to hold up when the players enter the pitch, helping create a fan mosaic.
Kiosk map from Pravda:
(https://d3ix52z2istd7h.cloudfront.net/~/media/Files/1920KioskMap_Details.ashx?la=en&vs=1&d=20190816T152112Z)
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In the season target list this must be chalked up as a 3 pointer, 2-0 Villa.
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Kiosk map from Pravda:
(https://d3ix52z2istd7h.cloudfront.net/~/media/Files/1920KioskMap_Details.ashx?la=en&vs=1&d=20190816T152112Z)
They’ve had a couple of tries at ‘confectionery’ :o
Nice to see more options, though!
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What's Purity serving up? Veggie stuff?
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What's Purity serving up? Veggie stuff?
Just discovered it's booze!!
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The Witton stand kiosks are all called W..
No mention of Deadly, an omen for the future?
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What's Purity serving up? Veggie stuff?
Just discovered it's booze!!
Yes. Official 'ale' partner apparently.
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Is that footyskillz sneaking back in?! 🤫
My first though too!
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Thank you for all your good wishes much appreciated
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Jack to break his 19-game Prem losing streak - 2-0 Villa (Grealish, Wesley)
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Why does this feel like Xmas Eve?
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Thank you for all your good wishes much appreciated
Have a lovely day, john.
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Come on Villa boys let's get the 3 points today! We've come a long way in a short time with the owners, CEO, the management team, players and fans all pulling in the same direction. We can all see we're a different club, let's keep the positivity going and cheer the boys on to their 1st win back in the prem! UTV!
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Here we go then, let’s have it.
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Kiosk map from Pravda:
(https://d3ix52z2istd7h.cloudfront.net/~/media/Files/1920KioskMap_Details.ashx?la=en&vs=1&d=20190816T152112Z)
They’ve had a couple of tries at ‘confectionery’ :o
Jesus wept!
Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
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I’m going for a Villa win
hoping for a change or two in the starting line up but I think we will be unchanged
never the less we have to go for this one and put the 3 points on the table
I will miss this game tomorrow
my eldest Daughter is getting married and apparently I’ve got things to do
so it will be a mobile phone job in the afternoon
Son in law is a MK Dons fan (local team) but we are converting him
I got married into an Everton supporting family (not my wife who isn’t interested in football) the day we played them. They won.
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soz
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Why does this feel like Xmas Eve?
Because I've been awake since 5:30 with excitement.
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I genuinly think this is the first time since season 2010/11 i am attending a home Premier League match with optimism, belief and purpose.
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It would be great to start off the home campaign with a win but I can see it being 2-2 draw for some reason. McGinn and Big Wes for us.
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Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
I'll leave it to somebody else then. I still call them barm cakes, anyhow.
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Looking forward to this, might see some of ye in the Bartons afterwards
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Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
I'll leave it to somebody else then. I still call them barm cakes, anyhow.
Can we have some artisan bread 🥖 please people
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Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
I'll leave it to somebody else then. I still call them barm cakes, anyhow.
Can we have some artisan bread 🥖 please people
We’re Villa, not Brighton, don’t you know.
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This is what Charlie says:
Charlie's prediction
I thought a lot of people got excited about the Aston Villa situation at Tottenham, hanging on and hanging on throughout. Are they going to be this team? I don't think that is the way they should play. Jack Grealish is a huge talent and I am a massive fan, but Villa need to play him higher. He is not a deep-lying player. It takes you two to three years to understand it at the top level.
I like what Dean Smith has done - Villa are not threatened by relegation but Grealish is the Duracell battery. You can play Grealish and John McGinn in front of a holding midfielder, and if you do that I believe they can make the top eight and threaten for Europe. If Smith gets this right, it could be that good.
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Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
I'll leave it to somebody else then. I still call them barm cakes, anyhow.
Can we have some artisan bread 🥖 please people
“Artisan” is the way southerners spell expensive.
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Kiosk map from Pravda:
(https://d3ix52z2istd7h.cloudfront.net/~/media/Files/1920KioskMap_Details.ashx?la=en&vs=1&d=20190816T152112Z)
They’ve had a couple of tries at ‘confectionery’ :o
Jesus wept!
Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
That will be me a real number 8 bus route dweller. I will have a good look and report back a bit later today.
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I’m actually quite nervous for the first time in a long time. I hope we win, but I hope we put in a good performance and if we don’t win that performance will be key. Plenty shots please Wes.
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Cobs = crusty. Baps = soft rolls, usually covered in flour. That's right isn't it?
Someone needs to post a photo of these cobs in the match thread...
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Cobs = crusty. Baps = soft rolls, usually covered in flour. That's right isn't it?
That’s my understanding too.
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Cobs = crusty. Baps = soft rolls, usually covered in flour. That's right isn't it?
Someone needs to post a photo of these cobs in the match thread...
I am confident no one will be immature and/or childish and ask about photos of baps.
😀
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Pretty nervous about this one. To me, Spuds was a free shot. If we're going to be okay this season, this is exactly the game we need to win.
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Pretty nervous about this one. To me, Spuds was a free shot. If we're going to be okay this season, this is exactly the game we need to win.
Bournemouth probably think the same.
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I’m actually quite nervous for the first time in a long time. I hope we win, but I hope we put in a good performance and if we don’t win that performance will be key. Plenty shots please Wes.
Well I am not nmervous. We are either good enough for this League or we are not. If we lose it will indicate that we need to do more and I would rather have that now then in April.
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Just arrived in Hamburg today for my German Villa supporting mate
its definitely an omen , great quality she said like the team
(https://i.ibb.co/w6TbsHw/prem-x-x-x-x-x.jpg) (https://ibb.co/KyYQwZL)
<a target='_blank' href='https://imgbb.com/'>image to url[/url]
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So we're selling crumpets at the ground these days?
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Good morning all
https://twitter.com/avfcofficial/status/1162635172237455366?s=12
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I took one of my lad's down to VP earlier.....looks fantastic, best it has looked for years. I won't spoil it by divulging anything but note Football Focus is live from there tomorrow in case you want to record it...
?
Edit: They will be there a bit later in the show. 👍
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Cobs = crusty. Baps = soft rolls, usually covered in flour. That's right isn't it?
That’s my understanding too.
Correct. I look forward to your reports.
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Real men eat cobs and baps are something that women have.
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Kiosk map from Pravda:
(https://d3ix52z2istd7h.cloudfront.net/~/media/Files/1920KioskMap_Details.ashx?la=en&vs=1&d=20190816T152112Z)
They’ve had a couple of tries at ‘confectionery’ :o
Jesus wept!
Can somebody who is a Brummie and not a shire-dwelling aristocrat have a look at the 'cobs' and make sure they are not, in fact, 'baps'. That would be outrageous.
That will be me a real number 8 bus route dweller. I will have a good look and report back a bit later today.
Cheers our kid!
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Pretty nervous about this one. To me, Spuds was a free shot. If we're going to be okay this season, this is exactly the game we need to win.
Bournemouth probably think the same.
They probably thought the same about Sheffield United at home, too.
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Not much of a feature on Football Focus
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It's like a comfort blanket. No matter how things in the outside world are, there's always solace to be had in a H&V round bread discussion.
I'm a soft baps, crusty cobs man, by and large. BUT, should it be of simple filling (ham, cheese, maybe cheese & onion for those that have travelled) wrapped in clingfilm behind the bar of the pub, always a cob.
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Villa to win..both teams to score. A fraction under 7/2.
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22% of Villa fans* think we will fail to beat Bournemouth at home? Really!?
(*Forum users who responded to this survey - for the pendants) 😉
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Come on you Villa Boys!
4-2
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Villa to win a tight game 2-1, Wesley and Jack.
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22% of Villa fans* think we will fail to beat Bournemouth at home? Really!?
(*Forum users who responded to this survey - for the pendants) 😉
If that was intentional you deserve a medallion
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4 - 1 to the Villa, goals from McGinn, Trez, Wesley and Ming's.
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22% of Villa fans* think we will fail to beat Bournemouth at home? Really!?
(*Forum users who responded to this survey - for the pendants) 😉
If that was intentional you deserve a medallion
Great! That's going to be hanging around my neck forever now!
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Luiz for Hourihane the only change from Spurs
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For those that need a stream: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccerstreamsredd/comments/crk8h1/1400_gmt_aston_villa_vs_afc_bournemouth/
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Luiz for Hourihane the only change from Spurs
Happy with that. Need a more combative player behind Jack and McGinn. Taylor played well and deserves his place.
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You're a gent, Stu.