Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: ROBBO on January 25, 2011, 10:39:39 PM
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looking at the choices GED had on the bench tonight made me reflect back just a few weeks when some of us thought we were relegation material. Having Heskey, Petrov and Albrighton on standby gave me an insight into what the summer may bring. We are back to a position where just one or two top players will make us in to a very good side and i am more than confident that this manager is well connected enough to get them in. I would hate to see AY leave in the summer, i have been critical of him in the past but realise how much better we are with him in the side. Starting NRC tonight indicates that GED will rotate even the better players to keep them fresh and he will continue to give younger players their chance. Happiest i've been for a long time.
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GED?
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When I stop shitting myself in the last 10 minutes I might be able to look forward but for now I'll do the famous "1 game at a time".
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When I stop shitting myself in the last 10 minutes I might be able to look forward but for now I'll do the famous "1 game at a time".
Agree to a point. I'm cautiously optimistic about the future, but the final 10 minute panic is a worry. Only thing is that it's not exactly a new phenomenon. Villa have been guilty of it for a few years now.
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Absolutely, Ger, they always do it to us. If GH cures them of that habit it will be better than any signing.
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Tonight's final ten mins was particularly bad.
I go into dread mode whenever we conceded on 75-80 minutes.
If we could stamp that out, we'd be well on our way to being a very good side indeed.
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I agree, some very good progress but still some hard grafting to be done but let's enjoy the wins.
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looking at the choices GED had on the bench tonight made me reflect back just a few weeks when some of us thought we were relegation material. Having Heskey, Petrov and Albrighton on standby gave me an insight into what the summer may bring. We are back to a position where just one or two top players will make us in to a very good side and i am more than confident that this manager is well connected enough to get them in. I would hate to see AY leave in the summer, i have been critical of him in the past but realise how much better we are with him in the side. Starting NRC tonight indicates that GED will rotate even the better players to keep them fresh and he will continue to give younger players their chance. Happiest i've been for a long time.
Steady on. Back to back wins are fantastic but we're not out of the woods just yet. Far too soon not to consider us ''relegation material'' anymore.
Wigan are third from bottom and looking from the highlights there didn't seem to be that much between the teams. I know we can play better, just a matter of us doing it, and then doing it a few more times after. Then, maybe a decent finish will be on the cards.
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I don't get it really. Things are looking distinctively positive at the mo but did MON see a load of trouble coming and get out and therefore was GH the fall guy to sort it out. Having said that the last 3 or 4 months are not excusable. 6th to possible / likely relegation candidates is chronic. However that's our beloved Villa - 5 year cycles -eh
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We did what we had to do tonight, and the important thing is this continues to build momentum. Man U is realistically our last really tough league game for a good while until Arsenal and Liverpool at the end of the season. That's a 10 or 11 game span of very winnable games coming up. Throw in a decent cup run and what was turning into a disaster of a season might end up being quite good after all.
Even though we are not playing with complete confidence or fluidity, it's coming. Darren Bent gives us a player that opposition defenders have to account for. Give him an inch in the box and he'll kill you. The supporting cast are getting to know him better, and overall, the the players are buying into what GH is selling with every practice and positive result. This is by no means the finished article, but we can see the direction that the club is going now.
There will still be significant change between now and next August, but the change is for the better. Between new technically gifted players, incumbent players with a new sense of belief, and young kids coming through with boundless energy, our future is indeed looking very bright. There's a unity at the club that you felt was eroding, and everyone seems to be on the same page again.
If we're patient and observe and enjoy the development of this club, despite the bumps we will invaraibly encounter, the end result should be something we will all come to appreciate.
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Even relegated sides have an upturn in fortune at some point of the campaign -usually around this time of year too.
We have to ensure that this isn't our mini revival and then we revert to type in March/April. After looking like possible relegation candidates under BFR in 1994/95, we had a good run under Sir Brian stretching over Jan/Feb 1995 -before the arse fell out of our season again and we just about stayed up. Difference between that and this occasion is we've strengthened considerably - and we might not be done yet.
The three points tonight were absolutely huge in the context of the season for us. If we get another win on the board ASAP (most likely Fulham at home) then it would just be another three wins to get to the magic 40 point mark (possibly less depending on what we do at OT).
The way the fixtures have panned out, we could conceivably reach that by mid March. If we do, we'll have two months and eight games to build a respectable league position, possibly even a late dart for Europe if the sides above us flounder.
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They never looked like scoring in the second half until that huge deflection, of course that's going to give them a lift as it would any side. Blackpool were two up against United who looked completely flat and were being ouplayed but one goal changed the game completely. I am not going to be swayed by you pesimists we are on the up, get used to it.
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The good thing about Houllier, compared to the Villa hating madman, is that he will use the squad and rotate players, rather than running the favoured 11 into the ground.
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It was interesting that as soon as Makoun looked tired Petrov came on and got himself forward a lot, leaving Reo Coker to do the dirty work so to speak.
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Agree with the comments about the mini revival - remember under Brian that we won a few games and got to about 10th in the league, then the dip in form and were lucky to stay up!!
Had to smile when I saw Houllier at the end of the game giving the thumbs up and a wave to our support.
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If we keep winning and playing good football then there will be exciting times ahead, i am pleased with the way we are playing we are going on a bit of a run and that will boost confidence, and i don't think we are finished in the transfer market it's certainly looking better than it did before christmas.
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O'Neill did very well with his "eleven", but we now are assembling a squad to use. I feel happier with the options, and will feel happier if the results keep on coming. I won't be upset if we lose to Man Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool, but draws and wins for the rest are very important.
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Tonight's final ten mins was particularly bad.
I go into dread mode whenever we conceded on 75-80 minutes.
If we could stamp that out, we'd be well on our way to being a very good side indeed.
I agree, although at least we've managed to stop conceding a second for the time being.
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I watched a French feature film rather than follow the match thread last night, that's how nervous I was.
There was plenty of shooting and mumbled dialogue, and a bloke got stabbed, but hardly any sex. Onwards and upwards
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O'Neill did very well with his "eleven", but we now are assembling a squad to use. I feel happier with the options, and will feel happier if the results keep on coming. I won't be upset if we lose to Man Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool, but draws and wins for the rest are very important.
Arsenal and Utd I'll grant you, but we should be aiming to take points at home to liverpool.
Also, we're now twice as close to 7th as we are to the relegation places. IF (and I'm taking nothing for granted) we finish in 7th I think it will have been a success, considering what has happened to us this season, and would be a great platform to build on for next season.
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as someone mentioned, one game at a time, but there are more positive signs since the transfer window, and we have some players back fit, than there have been for a long time...
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GH did look happy, I had to laugh when he stuck his thumbs up.
I was shitting it for the last 10 mins
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There's an outside chance we could still finish 6th this season. Good run of fixtures coming up we really need to make the most of them. After Man U we only play one more team in the top 6 this season. Sunderland, have 4 games left against top 6 teams. 6th place could be anyones this season.
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I know that I should move on but I still get very wound up about the way that MON left and the damage which he did to us. The last two games have shown what an improved (and rotating) squad can do for us and it's such a shame that it's taken until January to get it sorted out. We really should have been in this position back in August, and if we had been we would be back at the sharp end of the league. As it is, I predict a very strong finish to the end of the season and believe that with the exception of a resurgent Lplop, we can still finish 6th.
Our away support last night was superb and I'm not surprised that Houllier acknowledged everybody. Just imagine the consternation if he hadn't. The relationship between fans and manager ebbs and flows and it's really good to see Houllier rebuilding some of the goodwill and confidence which he so skillfully destroyed in the Autumn!
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The signing of Darren Bent has given the club a massive lift - players and fans alike.
It means Villa do mean business, and that we don't have a 'sell to buy' policy as per Paul Faulkner's answer on tv a few weeks ago.
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There was plenty of shooting and mumbled dialogue, and a bloke got stabbed, but hardly any sex.
Yes, that sounds like the match thread alright.
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On paper the squad has improved, but for the lack of willingness of Ireland and Warnock to perform. The downside is the start of the season, the injuries have put us on the back foot and it usually takes time for new recruits to settle
The recent upturn in performances are encouraging, but we are a long way off a top 10 side, but hopefully we will continue to improve over the last third of the season, although the 4 games in 2 weeks culminating in the Utd game will really stretch the squad we have. I'm not as convinced as some by the younger element. In time yes but now, no, they still got us into this mess and its taking the more experienced players to get us out of it.
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I'll be happier when we're safe from relegation which hopefully won't be too far away. There's still some tricky games ahead, but I'm optimistic for the future.
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although he scored, I think Agbonlahor is a square peg in a round hole on the left, so to speak
playing people in their best players, plus an intent to rotate should meant that up front sometimes we have Bent, with Young behind him and Downing and Albrighton on the wings. Other times Agbonlahor would replace Bent or he or Heskey would play alongside him as 442 with any two of Young, Downing and Albrighton out wide.
I've no evidence for this, but just speculating, maybe GH is less willing to rotate Bent, Young, Downing, Agbonlahor since these are the prize assets and so they need to play to keep them sweet?