Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on April 09, 2011, 09:39:58 PM
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Available Sunday evening.
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Thank god for that, clean sheet! We battered them in second half and should have had a pen and a goal that was disallowed.
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Friedel kept us in it motm for me
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Phew, 3 points was all i cared about. Didn't care about the performance.
My man of match was Gabby.
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Thank FUCK for that!
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Torture.
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Get in there 3pts will do very nicely well done the Villa boys.
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Never in doubt.
Nile Ranger is THE shittest forward ever, didn't someone actually say we should look to sign him?
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Time for a Desperado beer , as I have been Desperado for the last couple of hours...
3 pts ..yess. Petrov MOM
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I need a lie down. Three points in the bag. That's all we needed. Didn't hear any rousing renditions of the Bells are Ringing on my stream but hey ho!
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Petrov man of the match by a mile.
This end of the table is no good for the old ticker!
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Friedel and Collins were excellent. Collins in particular had that Ranger firmly in his pocket. We should have won by more, but that will fucking do nicely!
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The 2nd half was much more like it, apart from the final few minutes. Couple of good saves from brad, we looked half decent today, beat West Ham now please. Almost glad its not on sky, too nervy today!
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As i said earlier, if you saw the last match at VP against them it was deja vu. We weren't great and they were shit. If it wasn't for Brad making the only saves he needed to do in the second half (if not the whole match as I missed the first 25 mins) it would have been typical Villa under Houllier.
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If I could describe it as a physical feeling, it feels like a piano has been taken off my chest. Petrov's best game for us in 18-24 months, I'm normally a critic of his but he stepped up massively today. Bent should have had a goal.
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40 points will be beginning of safety. A win is a win but I wish we had more style in doing it. Confidence should grow now.
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Stressful stuff!
A really important win, that, obviously, but I also thought that, at times, we looked rather good. We were the better team for the majority of the match (Newcastle's general shoddiness notwithstanding), and played some decent stuff again. Yes, it got nervy at the end, but that's no surprise given the predicament we're in.
Anyway, I thought Friedel did very well today (he even came and got a cross!!), Downing looked the part again, and Petrov played an important role very effectively in the middle.
Makoun looks a good player.....but I'd rather him in a midfield three than two!
Oh, and a good shift from Agbonlahor today, too.
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Never in doubt.
Nile Ranger is THE shittest forward ever, didn't someone actually say we should look to sign him?
2 league goals in 44 appearances (both goals in the Championship), and they've signed him up for another 5 years. You've got to laugh.
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clean sheet too .. ;-))
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As I said though we really battered them in the second half. Also pleasingly the players looked like they cared, Collins in particular.
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Very nervy last 20 minutes, to be expected i suppose. Although with the "offside" and penalty we should have been out of reach by that stage anyway.
Impressed with Downing (I still cannot fathom how some can't see what he brings to the team), both Youngs, Gabby in patches and Friedel. Thought the back 2 got VERY lucky on a couple of occasions by being sucked towards the ball and leaving newcastle players in acres of space.
And as if we needed any more evidence of how much of an odious little prick barton is, then we got it in spades today.
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Well we won but god is it painful to watch
Only Petrov to me looked like he had the remotest idea of the trouble we are in
If we do stay up in the summer, god is there some work to do
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Excruciating viewing for the last ten minutes or so....But a win is a win and those points are massive for us. 5 points clear.
Makoun was dreadful. I'm not impressed with him so far. Petrov, Friedal, Gabby, Luke Young and Bent were immense I thought.
What happened our anthem by the way?
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I thought Collins had the best game he has had in an age.
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The Sky guy. " The fact that we are the only team in the bottom half to claim all three points....."
What about the stripeyfilth? If they hadn't have won it would have been a perfect weekend.
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As I said though we really battered them in the second half. Also pleasingly the players looked like they cared, Collins in particular.
'Really battered them'???? - gosh, I didn't realise me watching in HD made that much difference...
We might have upped our game a little and had a few chances but 'really battered them'?
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What do others make of Makoun?
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sorry
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Well we spent most of the second half in their half, and they didn't have a shot on goal until the 89th minute.
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An important win, but I think Newcastle were the ideal team for us to play, they have nothing to play for and it showed, still 3 points is 3 points. Thats 2 good results in a row now, and there was a bit more bite about us so fingers crossed we have turned the corner.
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we have played better and not won . Typical Villa performance today . The summer needs to come quick and to get this club sorted out.
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Watched it here in New York in Nevada Smiths with some expat Villains. Very nervy but a win and it had made my weekend complete.
Now looking forward to going to West Ham next week
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I thought at half time we had been fairly poor but should have been two up. I said to mates that it'd be typical of us if we then went on to play well in the second half and drew/lost. Well a decent performance from some of the lads today, thought Gabby ran his socks off, Ash his usual self and the defence with a mild improvement.
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Petrov superb
Great 3 pts
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we have played better and not won . Typical Villa performance today . The summer needs to come quick and to get this club sorted out.
Agreed. Obviously this season has been a near disaster (fingers crossed), but I'm still convinced that GH's vision is more likely to provide more sustainable and long-term success for the club than MON's.
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What do others make of Makoun?
I would still feel more comfortable having NRC playing than Makoun.
Still think he needs a little time to adjust to the league.
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That'll do. We'll play better and lose, but no complaints here.
Good: Downing, Gabby, Ash, Petrov, Friedel, Young, Collins
Average: Bent, Dunne
Not really at the races: Walker, Makoun.
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Brad 7.5
Walker 6
Young L 6.5
collins 7.5
dunne 7
Makoun 7
Petrov 8
Downing 7.5
agbonlahor 7
Young a . 7
Bent 7
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Brad 8.5
Walker 5
Young L 7
Collins 7.5
Dunne 7
Makoun 5
Petrov 8
Downing 7.5
Agbonlahor 8
Young A . 7
Bent 7
NRC 7
Pires 6
Cueller 6
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I was worried before the game of how Newcastle would bully us again but without Nolan in midfield, Barton got spanked all over the pitch. Obviously them having two donkeys up front helped us too but we more than deserved all three points. Good to see so many players put a shift in and hopefully the confidence will finally be back.
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What do others make of Makoun?
I would still feel more comfortable having NRC playing than Makoun.
Still think he needs a little time to adjust to the league.
I'd rather he was given time to adjust after we have secured our Premier League status... I thought he was very lightweight today. He needs to bulk up a bit and improve his passing. NRC and Petrov should get the not for West Ham.
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The real worry is, our best players are the ones GH is trying to fuck off
Waste of a season and GH was a shocking appointment
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I've recorded the game. I am torn between watching it again or taking a cheese grater to my genitals.
I was sitting here trying not to think 'Newcastle don't look like they will score in a month of Sundays'. All very O'Neil, right down to the three points from a threadbare performance.
Defence always looked dodgy when Newcastle got the ball that far up the pitch. Fortunately that wasn't very often. We seemed to lose what shape we had completely when Walker and Makoun departed.
Well played Petrov, good graft from Gabby and well done Friedel for the late save. Top bollocks to Barton for the entertainment.
All in all a brilliant weekend results wise.
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Three points was the main thing today, it was always going to be a nervy one.
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(http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/3116/collins.jpg) (http://img857.imageshack.us/i/collins.jpg/)
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Walker's confidence is shot, Collins (after a shakey start), Dunne, Friedel, Downing and Petrov did well. Gabby gave us a lot of direct effort and Ashely Young was OK. Makoun could be excellent for us but he's looking more like Berson with every game. Hopefully a full pre-season will see him OK :-)
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The real worry is, our best players are the ones GH is trying to fuck off
Waste of a season and GH was a shocking appointment
Not only pointlessly pessimistic to the point of pissing on everyone's parade, but also remarkably irrelevant. Well done.
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When you say "the penalty" do you mean Bent being barged over? I thought there was a bigger shout for a red card when Taylor elbowed him on the half way line.
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we have played better and not won . Typical Villa performance today . The summer needs to come quick and to get this club sorted out.
Agreed. Obviously this season has been a near disaster (fingers crossed), but I'm still convinced that GH's vision is more likely to provide more sustainable and long-term success for the club than MON's.
I'd second that emotion .
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We controlled that game from the start up until the 85th minute when the innevitable panic set in, over all we totally deserved the win though, should've been 2 or 3, Newcastle were awful and the ref was bollocks, Gabby and Petrov had good games and its nice to keep a clean sheet again.
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Gabby was my mom, have to say I'm disappointed so far with Makoun, hoping with pre-season behind him, he'll be the dogs, but delighted with result, think we'd all take result today above performance.
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Putting on Pires was bizzare, nearly cost us 2 points.
Its a huge result and we will be safe but what a fuck up of a season.
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The real worry is, our best players are the ones GH is trying to fuck off
Waste of a season and GH was a shocking appointment
who are these best players he is trying to fook off?
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Gabby was my mom
Had to do a real double-take at that.
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Gabby was my mom, have to say I'm disappointed so far with Makoun, hoping with pre-season behind him, he'll be the dogs, but delighted with result, think we'd all take result today above performance.
I gave him an extra point , just for that sublime pass to Bent for the offside goal. Id like to see him with another 2 midfielders .
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What do others make of Makoun?
The Black Berson, great one touch passing and gives the ball away to often. Judge him next season I guess.
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Gabby was my mom
Had to do a real double-take at that.
Interested to know who you'd give it to???
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Some good performances from Brad, Stewie and Collins and very impressed by Petrov. I thought he had one of his best games for us.
Should help with the confidence.
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Gabby was my mom
Had to do a real double-take at that.
Interested to know who you'd give it to???
Yer DAD?
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Gabby was my mom
Had to do a real double-take at that.
Interested to know who you'd give it to???
Haha, not at that, more at the "Gabby was my mum" way of looking at it. Gabby run his heart out today and did well, though my MOTM would have probably been Petrov.
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That'll do. We'll play better and lose, but no complaints here.
Good: Downing, Gabby, Ash, Petrov, Friedel, Young, Collins
Average: Bent, Dunne
Not really at the races: Walker, Makoun.
Good: Downing, Gabby, Ash, Freidel, Young, Bent
Average: Dunne, Collins, Petrov, Makoun
Below Par: Walker
For me anyway. I don't think there was a lot to pick between Petrov and Makoun myself, Makoun was lively and more involved but made more errors, Petrov was laboured and not involved enough. Petrov did look better when NRC came on, but Makoun possibly would have too. NRC should start next time with one dropping out. Makoun is obviously with us for the longer term though.
Walker definately looks like he would be better as a right midfielder (not winger), because he's a good footballer but suspect defensively.
Fair play to Collins with the goal. Bent's should have stood too.
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At this stage of the season - and in our predicament - all you want is 3 points. I'll take another 3 home games like that, thank you very much, if they all end 1-0 to us.
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Result is everything but the 2nd half was torture. Beat West Ham - and its a big if - and i reckon we're safe.
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I'm still concerned more than ever about Makoun. He will be a good player for us but in our current predicament we cannot have a midfielder who is learning on the job.
Also I really hope that Houllier realises that whilst the 4-4-2 has worked well in the last few games it will not be a good idea in next weeks match against West Ham as they typically play three busy hardworking players in Hitz, Parker and Noble who will outnumber and outplay our two. I'd think about playing NRC, Stan and Delph against them with Makoun or Bradley replacing Petrov late on.
I'm glad I won't have to sit through the West Ham game (I will be somewhere else happily) and have to put up with another hour and a half of mental torture but I hope that it will give us three points that will all but secure our top flight status.
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At this stage of the season - and in our predicament - all you want is 3 points. I'll take another 3 home games like that, thank you very much, if they all end 1-0 to us.
Pretty much.
We missed a few chances, we should of had a penalty... but the main thing is getting the 3 points at this important stage of the season. A really big positive is keeping a clean sheet (yea, I know we were playing Newcastle today) and not conceding a silly goal in the last ten minutes.
A win today was massive. A draw would have been bad as loss, it's always a cliche when people say this, but it the definition of "must win" really applied today.
I'm happy so everybody to the Dougie!
(http://www.gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=1305810&t=o)
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Wanted to see Delph replace Makoun. Pires was a joke. Also think Albrghton needs to be on the pitch more .....
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Result is everything but the 2nd half was torture. Beat West Ham - and its a big if - and i reckon we're safe.
I think we will lose that one, will be like a cup final for them and they will think it one of their winnable games
I am still not at all sure we have 'a we are in trouble and need to fight our way out of it' mentality based on what I saw today
Agree though that a central midfield three is absolutely crucial against West Ham
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Good result, lucky that the best midfielder in England didn't turn it on, but hey-ho, you can't have it all.
Up yours, Barton, you useless, self-promoting waste of space!
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Anyone know why Newcastle played in white?
As far as I know, "claret and blue" versus "black and white" isn't a colour clash.
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Petrov was excellent
Makoun Poor
Great 3 pts
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
Diabolical is massively over the top. In the second half we were along way from diabolical.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
Bit over the top but still nearer the truth for me than saying so and so was excellent today etc, etc
We are not out of this by a long chalk as you say, not based on what I saw today...
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
What exactly did you expect? Do you accept that, sometimes, the result is the only thing that matters?
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Crap or not, 3 points are added to our total, and now 5 clear of the bottom three. A point at WHam and I'll be chuffed.
We'll win at the boggies...
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
Diabolical is massively over the top. In the second half we were along way from diabolical.
So is 'we battered them' Paul! ;-)
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
Mars bars are smaller than they used to be an' all.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
Diabolical is massively over the top. In the second half we were along way from diabolical.
So is 'we battered them' Paul! ;-)
Haha ok Richard, battered might have been a touch over the top! But we were well on top in second half, and I don't think anywhere near diabolical.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
You thought we'd draw today though.
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Thank McGrath for that.
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I have to say that I wasn't remotely nervous today. As comfortable as we've been, and it should have been more.
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No, somewhere plum in between Paul I reckon, but not very good for me
I still reckon that BCV is right to say we are not out of this by a long stretch...
Coming over to Winchester on Thursday as few of my team live there and it is End of Year appraisal time...
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3 points is 3 points. Very similar to the game we sent them down 2 years ago.
Also special mentions to Dunne for clattering Barton :D
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The win is all that matters I guess.
Newcastle were very, very poor and appeared to have no interest in making a game of it, thank God.
Back 4 did well, with very little to trouble them
Petrov was a wise old head who had a great game.
I really rate Makoun and think he'll come good, but he was awful today.
Not impressed with Gabby and he should have been replaced by Heskey at half time.
Baffled by the introduction of Pires as we tried to snuff the game out.
All in all we still look very brittle, still not playing anywhere near our full potential and i'd still like to see the back of Houllier at the end of the season.
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Thought Dunne & Collins were solid, they needed that performance.
Walker was a bit ropey & not as lively coming forward.
Petrov was MOTM IMO. Best game for 12 months for us.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
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Phew. 3 points. Stuart Atwell is not a very good referee. Petrov was excellent. Don't really know why I'm typing like this. Must be stress. Going to lie down for a bit.
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and we never beat Wigan at home
Yes, it's written in stone.
No point in us even turning up.
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What do others make of Makoun?
Djemba Djemba mark 2.
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No, somewhere plum in between Paul I reckon, but not very good for me
I still reckon that BCV is right to say we are not out of this by a long stretch...
Coming over to Winchester on Thursday as few of my team live there and it is End of Year appraisal time...
Ah I'd recommend a pint to discuss Villa's woes, but I'm in Norwich with work over next couple of weeks sadly.
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First half we were poor, second half ok.
Result was all that mattered though.
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(http://www.avfc.co.uk/javaImages/e6/18/0,,10265~9574630,00.jpg)
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The result is everything today. It was a committed performance, and while it is very easy (and typically Villa) to pick faults with the team and individuals, we have got what we desperately needed. A lot more hard work to do still but that result is a massive boost. When times are hard, teams don't generally go out and win comfortably so who cares if it wasn't like watching Brazil?!
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We have won a 'must win' game and pretty much all the other results that mattered have gone for us this weekend so we have got to be happy with our lot
No we are not out of the shit yet and not read anyone on here saying we are so not sure why so much negativity on here - let's enjoy the three points and rare clean sheet
Perfect weekend results wise, now five points clear of the drop with six games to go and I backed the winner of the National too; happy days!
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I don't agree with BBC Digital's report that says Newcastle were the better team in the first half and that we scored 'against the run of play.'
Bullshit.
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Perfect weekend results wise, now five points clear of the drop with six games to go and I backed the winner of the National too; happy days!
Get down your local.
With luck like that you'll be beating Women off your Todger.
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I saw some tweet on the BBC site that a barcodes fan had tweeted, along the lines of 'well we won 6-1 on aggregate and Villa's strongest could only beat our reserves.' Twat.
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I saw some tweet on the BBC site that a barcodes fan had tweeted, along the lines of 'well we won 6-1 on aggregate and Villa's strongest could only beat our reserves.' Twat.
There is a grain of truth in that.
Had we been playing a side featuring Kevin Nolan and Leon Best, it might have been different.
As mentioned above, Nile Ranger was laughably bad.
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I'm not interested in nice football right now and just want us picking up points which is what we have done today.
Same again next week please.
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Still think Kyle Walker would make a great right sided midfielder/winger.
It worked for Bale moving positions, I think it would work for him.
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
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I thought Gabby did well today.
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A battling display and good win- petrov impressed me today and friedal also, the win Is all that counts,nervy last few minutes but we got the points- a win at west ham next week and we will be almost there.
Well done to management , players and fans, we are well on the way to safety!
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
It's been a bad season for him, not helped by Houllier's bizarre and mentalist decision to play him on the wing.
He's still a good striker and I still think there is a future for him at Villa.
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BCV, you really are a moany, whiny, glass mostly empty, miserable, fucking tit.
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Gabby was one of our better players today. BCV is a div.
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I thought Gabby did well today.
I thought he was good, worked very hard. Couple of times I think he was a bit greedy & could have played Bent in, but they've only played a couple of games together upfront.
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A win !!!!!!!!!!!!
That will do for now.
Gabby was very poor first half, and very good for 25 mins in the second.
I though Luke Young was excellent throughout, his namesake wasn't.
Onto West Ham, priority no:1 - JUST DON'T LOSE.
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After a shaky first twenty minutes I thought Collins' then played exceptionally well and probably deserved MOTM.
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3 points - get in I say !
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Petrov Man of Match for me (no short hand- gotta watch the Mother complex on here). The defence seems happier with him holding and anyway he sweats the shirt into the correct Claret colour and not the Barcelona Red.
Gabby is giving out a very frustrated body language.
The truth is however, we are not actually very good are we and could have blown it. Loved the Barton chant "You'll never play for England" and the corner claim from Brad which got the biggest cheer. Shows how nervous we all were.
Still, points are what matter and we fought. What happened to the "bells are ringing..."?
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Overall poor but understandably so. Thought Collins was great apart from the odd lapse. I'm getting more concerned about Walker though and think Cuellar should replace him. Not sure what Makoun offers either. Anyway, job done.
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
It's been a bad season for him, not helped by Houllier's bizarre and mentalist decision to play him on the wing.
He's still a good striker and I still think there is a future for him at Villa.
He has played down the middle in the last 2 though, and rarely looked a threat. I though he did great for the team today, but with a bit more quality would have put Bent in 5 or 6 times. Bent has great movement, and we need a forward to play with him that can pick him out. When we do he will be devastating.
Overall I thought we did really well today and on 70 minutes 3-0 would not have been flattering, we stratched them so much, but the final ball was always just off, or the ball just didn't fall right. Had Bent been given the pen and the goal he also scored, we would have cruised in comfortably.
Not read the thread, but I though all 3 changes were the right ones coming off, but I would have had Heskey on for Gabby simply as we needed legs. Pires made sense to keep the ball, but we had to get it first, and shite, that old man can't fecking tackle a dinner, let alone a player!
Shame Barton got up after Dunne did him. A lot were saying Collins was MOM, but Petrov was for me, thought he was immense both in midfield and as a leader. Really stepped up. So did big Brad. 3 more wins please Villa.
Great weekend though. AND - good result last week in retrospect. 4 points from 2 games. Keep it up.
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Well a win is a win is 3 points which we desperately needed. Was fully expecting Noocasel to nick a point at the end - they offered practically nothing all game until the last 10 minutes when they piled everyone forward and launched balls at our box and Friedel had to make a couple of decent saves. Was praying for a second goal for us to feel more comfortable.
Dunne and Collins looked sound again. Luke Young was my man of the match - made some great overlapping runs down the left. Walker made the same mistake as he did at Eevrton but got away with it this time. Thought Downing was OK. Ash was busy as usual. Petrov was solid. Still not convinced about Makoun (where was Delph today?). Gabby worked hard and but for a poor second touch would maybe have scored. Bent didn't get any real service but when he had that chance he took it well - haven't seen any replays yet, but was he really offside? The not-given penalty would have been soft - minimal touch and looking for it. Bringing Pires on was totally bizarre when we had better options on the bench.
Thought the 'Bells are Ringing' anthem was a resounding flop. The bells at the start of the second half sounded like something at a funeral. They also sounded exactly like the opening track on Black Sabbath's first album - some Tony Iommi power chords would have sounded great!
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as some one who has constantly backed Houllier, that was rubbish,
apart from the result which as others have said, was the only thing that mattered
maybe it was the pressure telling, but i couldnt even pick a MOM as there was no one who stood out, with everyone doing at least something worthwhile during the game, but we had no style and no shape or confidence.
might have been different had Bents goal stood, or we got a pen, but thank goodness we held on this time.
Gabby is just not a footballer, probably the worst technically i've seen for a long time at Villa, just canot see why he gets in before Albrighton,
Ashley has been flattering to decieve all season, i never thought i'd say this, but i'm not to bothered about losing him anymore
we need a shake up, i hope GH is man enough and good enough to do it, because todays performance was torture,
i will say this only because we won today,
but i've been losing a bit of faith in Houllier, his subs, his team formations,
next season he will have to improve dramatically for me, performance wise and results wise
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I said to my old man, are they playing some Sabbath?
The 'anthem' was Djemba DJemba.
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On the contrary, I thought it was a very underwhelming performance today. Important win but not one that feels me with much confidence going into next season if he's still here.
Stan was very good today, my MOTM. Makoun after a decent start has gone off the boil which is a big worry, gave the ball away so often.
newcastle were dire but could've easily nicked a point at the end.
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Strange is the difference in opinion between the tv watchers and the match go-ers.
The comments about Friedal I find baffling, i don't think he done anythink of note that you wouldn't expect your keeper to do, maybe his recent performances being so questionable haven't helped.
Walker I thought was steady, maybe Luke needs to go RB and Clark come in at LB and he needs to come out of the team for a while. He'd be a very positive sub if we needed more attacking momentum
Luke Young was steady Edddie
Collins, i though (goal aside) he was poor in the first half, getting dragged out of position all of the time, second helf i thought he was much better
Dunne, steady
Downing - fine going forward, still has bollocks the size of a hamster when the need comes to make a challenge
Ash - infuriating. So much ability, so much desire to keep falling over
Petrov - Best game in a Villa shirt for a long while. Amazing what being dropped does eh?
Makoun - Clearly has ability, and needs time but we don't have it at the moment. He needs leaving out
Gabby - I thought he worked hard, but didn't really seem to knwo where to run orf go
Bent - Poor service to him, and lets be honest, he ain't ever really going to create anything for himself. I think a Bent/Gabby front two sounds lethal, but i just can't see them gelling.
Bent - does what he does, very little!
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Gabby Agbonlahor is easily one of the worst technical players i've ever seen. If he was one of our better players today it just shows how shit we are. He couldn't beat a traffic cone and because he's got no footballing brain his final ball and decision making are shocking.
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Think people are being a lil' harsh on Makoun. Thought he did well today.
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I thought Gabby did well today.
I thought he was good, worked very hard. Couple of times I think he was a bit greedy & could have played Bent in, but they've only played a couple of games together upfront.
We played with two lone strikers today. That's the best way of describing the on-pitch connection between Gabby and Darren. However, by the time Gabby came off, it did appear that they did have a vague idea that the other was on the pitch.
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Twice early on if Ranger had looked up and passed, a team mate would have had a tap in. However, after that, Dunne gave him a battering and he wasn't a factor again.
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Twice early on if Ranger had looked up and passed, a team mate would have had a tap in. However, after that, Dunne gave him a battering and he wasn't a factor again.
Lovenkrands was moaning at Ranger for a while after both these chances he missed.
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The are some weird fuckers out there who always have to seek pain in any pleasure. even after a much needed win, in a match we were rarely pressed they have to come on here and moan.
It's like you're desperate for us to go down, just so you can say," I told you so"
It's fucking pathetic.
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Project Anthem? Crap.
Bring a scarf day? Good.
Operation Survival? Fantastic.
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I saw some tweet on the BBC site that a barcodes fan had tweeted, along the lines of 'well we won 6-1 on aggregate and Villa's strongest could only beat our reserves.' Twat.
There is a grain of truth in that.
Had we been playing a side featuring Kevin Nolan and Leon Best, it might have been different.
As mentioned above, Nile Ranger was laughably bad.
Do you think they're slightly bitter that we took such enjoyment from relegating them? Any other set of fans would have done the same.
You were shite, we sent you down, we had a laugh at your expense. Deal with it.
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Still think Kyle Walker would make a great right sided midfielder/winger.
It worked for Bale moving positions, I think it would work for him.
Agree wholeheartedly with this. I think he is totally wasted at right back. Sure chasing a game move him back ala Bale or even Giggs last week, but I think he would make a hell of a winger, while covering back well too. Got the pace and lungs for it.
Got to say I am not sure what people expected today, but at half time had Bents 'goal' stood, we would have been 2-0 up in a must win game. Second half we created a string of 'opportunities' which essentially we fecked up. Then we held on very well in the last 10 minutes, albeit with the keeper saving a couple.
Young was shit scared of Barton though, which was quite funny. Also - the moment Makoun went off for all the flak he is getting was the moment we stopped controlling the game. We hardly kept the ball after that.
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I saw some tweet on the BBC site that a barcodes fan had tweeted, along the lines of 'well we won 6-1 on aggregate and Villa's strongest could only beat our reserves.' Twat.
There is a grain of truth in that.
Had we been playing a side featuring Kevin Nolan and Leon Best, it might have been different.
As mentioned above, Nile Ranger was laughably bad.
Do you think they're slightly bitter that we took such enjoyment from relegating them? Any other set of fans would have done the same.
You were shite, we sent you down, we had a laugh at your expense. Deal with it.
Precisely and they're still shite and next season I think they'll struggle.
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Just back in and I thought Barton was MoM! After a noisy start we were just settling down whe he started playing up and it riled everyone up again. I kept saying to my mate we needed more "Joey moments" to get everyone going. "Your a shit Gareth Barry" and "...Lampard on a diet" ,ade me laff.
We should have romped home second half but they do insist on playing quite a structured way at the moment and I feel some flair is being sacrificed for stability?
Saw Downing go in and win a 40:60 ball yet miss another easier tackle.
Did anyone sing "The bells"? - we started it up only to be drowned out by "Barton is a w****" What is it with the Black Sabbath intro bells to the second half?
Enjoyed today in a perverse way - apart from Pires. Oh - my - God.
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On the contrary, I thought it was a very underwhelming performance today. Important win but not one that feels me with much confidence going into next season if he's still here.
That would be my take on it.
Still, credit where credit is due the consensus was this was a must win game and we got over the line. You could feel the tension from the outset and even right up until the end it was as if everyone in the ground thought we'd throw it away. That weird intro at the kick off and again at the start of the second half kind of set the tone in that regard, sounded like the bells of doom.
Encouraging that even with the tension there was some smart play in compact areas, the mix up between Walker and Petrov apart. Overall our pattern of play was poor though, a lack of conviction, not playing to Bent's strengths and we always looked vulnerable on the counter, particularly with the ball played down either flank. There is a naivety to our play at times that seems at odds with the experience of the squad we can put out. There were huge gaps in the backline at times, better sides than Newcastle might have taken full advantage. But after gobbing it so many times this year it was just great to hang on. We probably caught a break with the state of their forward line today, but we were due one.
Credit to to GH for the subs, too he had a 'mare against Wolves but got it pretty spot on today in that regard.
Hard to split either Gabby or Petrov for MOTM. Gabby caused them problems all afternoon, but Stan calmed us down when we most needed it. Not at his absolute best, but closer to it than we've seen for a while. Intelligent use of the ball and good anticipation - the things he does better than anyone else in our side when he's on song.
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I thought Petrov and Downing were excellent today.
I thought AY and Makoun gave the ball away horribly in the first half; got bette rin the second.
I thought Walker and Collins were pulled around something rotten in the first half; got better.
LY was so energetic onthe overlap, and he and AY worked well on the left in the first half.
Gabby might not be the sharpest blade in the block, but his workrate and commitment were commednable, and he probably could / should have scored in the second half (when Harper parried his shot).
I thought Bent worked v hard as well with the closing-down of the NU defenders.
This was a big win for us: I can't really understand why some people are moaning about the performance - it was always going to be about the result.
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Oh, and Barton should have been carded for his verbal volley at the ref.
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I think Gaby worked hard but he doesn't supply the correct passes / crosses for Bent. If Gaby is top notch supplier I would think Bent get a hat trick.
Newcastle is bad especially Ranger. I hope Small Heath will break their transfer record to sign Ranger :)
Good result
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What do others make of Makoun?
I would still feel more comfortable having NRC playing than Makoun.
Still think he needs a little time to adjust to the league.
I'd rather he was given time to adjust after we have secured our Premier League status... I thought he was very lightweight today. He needs to bulk up a bit and improve his passing. NRC and Petrov should get the not for West Ham.
Shaky first 10mins but after that he settled down and did alright, I agree though with more time he will be good player for us.
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Personally, I thought Makoun had an excellent game, along with Luke Young who was very energetic on the overlap and got forward plenty of times; got him mixed up with Kyle Walker a lot!
I was disappointed with Gabby though, didn't play very well and really just ran around for 90 minutes not doing much - that's probably a little harsh on the lad and I love him to bits but I'll have to watch the highlights on Match Of The Day before making a proper judgement.
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thank you Villa
dont care about the performance, or how who played etc etc
3 points
now beat west ham next weekend and job done
then the summer comes and we will see what happens
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Friedel - highly competent, 7
Walker - shaky and poor positioning - 5. I'd play Cuellar at West Ham.
Collins - struggled to begin with as he and Walker got pulled around. But got a lot better as the game went on - 6.
Dunne - very good I thought - , but Ranger was poor - 7.
L Young - thought he played well, with some poor distribution in the first half - 7.
Downing - very good in patches, player of the season by a mile - 7.
Petrov - back to his best, worth keeping on that form - 8.
Makoun - a few good moments, but looked quite lost and sloppy on the ball. Has quite a 'soft' way of passing the ball which can be frustrating - 5.
Young - not at his best, but dangerous still - 6.5.
Bent - lively - 6.
Agbonlahor - caused quite a few problems, especialy when pulling left. Really poor touch though on several occasions. 7 for effort.
All in all, I found it a horrible game to watch, but an interesting one to draw conclusions from:
- I've seen us pass the ball and look more creative a number of times this season, and get nil points.
- the shift to 4-4-2 and a more direct style made us look more like the MON side, with all its strengths and weaknesses.
- sloppy in possession at times and quite a few hoof balls.
- but created a number of chances and having two strikers meant we had more people in the box and thus created chances.
- we still look at our most dangerous playing on the break.
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Cracking win. Dunne and Petrov were great.
Gabby had a fantastic second half.
Collins had a 'mare until he scored, seemed to pick up in confidence after that. Fingers crossed he can keep that up until the end of the season now.
Haven't seen it back but the Bent goal didn't look off, and Makoun played a lovely ball into Bent didn't he?
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shocking game, Makoun oh dear!! game was screaming for Albrighton so he puts on Pires, but 3pts happy days
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Cracking win. Dunne and Petrov were great.
Gabby had a fantastic second half.
Collins had a 'mare until he scored, seemed to pick up in confidence after that. Fingers crossed he can keep that up until the end of the season now.
Haven't seen it back but the Bent goal didn't look off, and Makoun played a lovely ball into Bent didn't he?
He wasn't off, it was a great ball.
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Just got home from the match. I agreed with pretty much everything the posters on here who really want us to survive have said. The three points are what we needed and the ability to keep a clean sheet and win ugly.
I was impressed with Gabby's hard work and rated him a bigger threat than Bent. Dunne looked slimmer and more committed than for a long while. Kyle Walker oozes talent but not as a full back he looked a natural, very quick hard shooting wide player. A quicker more athletic version of Kenny Swain.
Nigel Reo-Coker as ever stuggles to ping the ball once he has won it.
The bells tapes were ridiculous. When we used to sing the bells are ringing for the claret and blue it was upbeat and slightly effeminately daft but it worked. Whatever that was it was not the bells are ringing, more like a stunt to publicize Pires next paid employment as the Phantom of The Opera at the Hippodrome.
Nice day, nice result. I will take an imperfect win and sleep soundly tonight.
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shocking game, Makoun oh dear!! game was screaming for Albrighton so he puts on Pires, but 3pts happy days
I'm not sure the game was screaming for Albrighton with about 4 minutes to go.
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I thought Friedel had one of his better games. Haven't read all of this thread, but I enjoyed the game. Listening to Alan Green on Radio 5 on the way to the game made me realise it's actually him that increases my dislike of Newcastle fans. He was going on about the season before when they were relegated at Villa Park and how some Newcastle fans still hold a grudge about some Villa fans' comments on that day.
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Cracking win, Brad actually left his line for some crosses today.
Petrov was outstanding, a real captains performance.
I'd drop Makoun for NRC next week, we people up for the fight and John is too Berbatov esk.
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Thought we lacked a bit going foward today , god job the barcodes were crap,3 point's thank's
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if he'd have put him on after 70mins i believe we'd have scored a couple more, Pires offers nothing and did nothing
shocking game, Makoun oh dear!! game was screaming for Albrighton so he puts on Pires, but 3pts happy days
I'm not sure the game was screaming for Albrighton with about 4 minutes to go.
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Petrov was superb
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Friedel - better than recently but only what you should expect
Walker - good going forward but poor defending and he's supposed to be a full-back
L Young - good game
Dunne - solid good tackle on Barton
Collins - shaky but improved after the goal
Downing - ave, have seen much better of him
A Young - ave, refs will always think he is diving
Makoun - seemed to like passing to white shirts
Petrov - my M of M, I liked the revenge tackle that got him booked
Gabby - Best I have seen him for ages
Bent - Why the long ball up to him, play Heskey and let him feed off him in a Withe/Shaw fashion
Reo-Coker - Improvement on Makoun
Cuellar - Improvement on Walker
Pires - Running or Ministry of silly walks ::)
Funeral bells - well say no more,
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that bells thing being played on the tannoy
please stop it
we thought there was a body being brought to our local chapel overnight
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Poor performance but who gives a flying f**k?
Quite agree on the Pires front,why why why bring him on?
We can leave the recriminations til the summer though.
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Phhheewww, thank god that Newcastle didn't turn up until the last 10 minutes, Petrov and Friedel were just what we needed, all that matters is the 3 points oh and Barton is a twat.
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Bent did what he was paid to !
Great goal wrongfully disallowed
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THANK THE LORD GOD OF FUCK!
(and Newcastle's injuries and suspensions).
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Haven't read all of the thread so apologies if it's been said but I thought Stan was superb today. Fantastic performance.
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Howay! 6-1 on aggregate, eh? And how many of the 6 available points did you take you daft flab fetishists?
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/9446263.stm
Pardew's comments on Ash Young do make me laugh.
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Glenn Roeder was there too, I wonder who he was scouting.
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What do others make of Makoun?
I would still feel more comfortable having NRC playing than Makoun.
Still think he needs a little time to adjust to the league.
I'd rather he was given time to adjust after we have secured our Premier League status... I thought he was very lightweight today. He needs to bulk up a bit and improve his passing. NRC and Petrov should get the not for West Ham.
Shaky first 10mins but after that he settled down and did alright, I agree though with more time he will be good player for us.
I thought he was aweful today. He does have a good first time pass on him but he gave the ball away too many times today, got muscled out of it too easily a few times and doesn't exert enough influence on the game. Dissapointing performance from him today. He could have been subbed earlier.
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What did their banner say at the end of the game by the way? Couldn't see it from the Holte.
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God, we don't make things easy for ourselves do we? If we were a bit more confidence and better-organised I think we could have handed the Barcodes a spanking today. As it was, the last few minutes had nerves fraught. I held my breath as Lovenkrands rose for that header. A bit more to the corner and that would have been another two costly two points dropped at the death.
I think Luke Young deserves some praise. Playing out of position, as in fairness he often has for us, the bloke covered a huge amount of ground on our left. Bearing in mind we didn't really have a left sided midfielder, Ashley Young generally roaming and Gabby more central, Luke had a lot of running to do but made himself available for the overlap as much as he could.
I thought Petrov's calmness and quality on the ball was very important. Equally so where he got stuck in and won a fair few tackles. Walker was a bit shaky and Cuellar coming on was a good move as we had a fair bit to deal with in the closing stages.
Criticism for Makoun is over the top. You can tell he's a cultured player, he just needs to be a bit more savvy with possession - ironically it's when he has time he often gives it away, but his first time passing is very good. Also, that slide-through for Bent's incorecctly disallowed goal and a similar pass he made for Ash to hit the bar against Wolves are the type of defence-splitting passes that I don't think NRC or Petrov have ever made with us. He definitely adds something but it will probably take a pre-season before we see his best.
Speaking of over the top criticism I know he plays for the opposition but I've seen bits and pieces of Ranger in other games to suggest he could be a decent player. It's not like we write off our young lads on the basis of one average performance. Well, actually, maybe some of us do... Dunne's experience was important against him as he didn't allow himself to be caught in a race with Ranger who would have left him for dead.
And special mention to the all-important moment. A beauty of a header by Collins. Knew what he was doing and as always with those glanced-angled headers, you need a bit of luck. Great goal and a huge 3 points for us.
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I really don't understand all the sniping at Makoun. I and the people either side of me all agreed he had a decent game. He's one of the few in the team who knows where he is going to pass the ball before he receives it. I think he will be a big plus for us next season.
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I don't think I've ever seen a post-match thread like this after Villa have won.
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3points thats all that matters!!!!
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Bent's goal was offside. Not by much, but it was.
If any part of your body that can score a goal is ahead of the last defender then you're off - Bent's leg was beyond the last defender.
Tight, but undoubtedly the correct decision.
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If you are going to use the bloody awful phrase 'must-win game' then you can't bloody moan when we win.
Either it's a must win or it isn't, logic fans.
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I really don't understand all the sniping at Makoun. I and the people either side of me all agreed he had a decent game. He's one of the few in the team who knows where he is going to pass the ball before he receives it. I think he will be a big plus for us next season.
I have no doubt he has lots of ability, has an eye for a pass and will go on to be an important player for us. My original question was based on the fact he gave away an awful lot of cheap possession today and I thought we might be better with a grafter like NRC in there until we are safe. I agree that he is more creative than Petrov and NRC but he was out muscled a lot today and I thought overall he was poor and unsuited to the type of scrap we're in. I'm sure he will be good for us next season... I just think I'd leave him out against West Ham (and until we are safe). Thanks to those who responded to my earlier question by the way.
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Bent's goal was offside. Not by much, but it was.
If any part of your body that can score a goal is ahead of the last defender then you're off - Bent's leg was beyond the last defender.
Tight, but undoubtedly the correct decision.
So just like Berbatov's yesterday?
Oh sorry that wasn't offside.
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Bent's goal was offside. Not by much, but it was.
If any part of your body that can score a goal is ahead of the last defender then you're off - Bent's leg was beyond the last defender.
Tight, but undoubtedly the correct decision.
So just like Berbatov's yesterday?
Oh sorry that wasn't offside.
No idea, I've not seen it.
But yes, if any part of him was offside then that should have been given as well.
It doesn't make today's decision incorrect.
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3 points is what mattered today. I'll even give Clueless Clousseau a break (this week) as he seems to have woken up to the fact that as we are in a relegation scrap and that means Luke Young, Petrov (and never been a fan), Dunne and Collins need to play. So does Cuellar and NRC. Preferably Warnock should be brought back to the 18. And Pires should never ever play - he brings nothing other than trouble to Villa. People who think Heskey should start really are deluded - nice bloke but useful nuisance from the bench.
Both Gabby and Heskey occupy defences though Gabby scores more, though neither score enough.
I don't care much for Ashley's and Downing's exit strategy - in fact if and when we are safe these are the pair who should be put in the reserves. Neither of them are that good - one is a blatant cheat and the other is a lightweight show pony (Joe Colesque) and both of them think they are far better than they really are.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
The missus has just had to stop me from slashing my wrists after reading that!
Doom. Doom and despair!
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Well I am going to upset a few people here but I think Gabby should not be in the team. We should play with a front three of Bent (central) and Ashley and Downing either side as strikers with Albrighton as back up.
Behind those should be a midfield three - Petrov and NRC (or Delph) doing the graft and Makoun pulling the strings. As per Man U yesterday with Berbatov between Nani and Valencia.
Playing Gabby and Bent up front does not give us any balance as neither is prepared to come back into midfield and pick up the ball and act as link man. Bent is an out and out striker and must be played in that position, Gabby cannot play the other position as he showed today by just aimlessly wandering around waiting for the long ball to chase after therefore IMO he is not what is required.
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I don't care much for Ashley's and Downing's exit strategy - in fact if and when we are safe these are the pair who should be put in the reserves. Neither of them are that good - one is a blatant cheat and the other is a lightweight show pony (Joe Colesque) and both of them think they are far better than they really are.
Downing's exit strategy?
What on earth are you blathering on about?
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I don't care much for Ashley's and Downing's exit strategy - in fact if and when we are safe these are the pair who should be put in the reserves. Neither of them are that good - one is a blatant cheat and the other is a lightweight show pony (Joe Colesque) and both of them think they are far better than they really are.
Downing's exit strategy?
What on earth are you blathering on about?
Yeah I was wondering that, he said he wants to stay.
I can't believe the amount of moaning on this thread. This weekend has shown how tough it is at the end of the season, none of the other sides in bottom half have won, we have. That says it all.
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A nervy affair that we should have won by several goals and if it wasnt for one of the worst refs Ive ever seen and dickhead linesman with a poker cap, we would have done.
Not the team I would have played but fair play, they did well. A fair amount of mistakes but its to be expected with so much at stake I suppose.
I also liked how we stod up to a team looking to make it a cynical physical encounter because they're shit and had no other options.
Newcastle are fast becoming the team Allardyce would have proud of several years after his departure.
Anyway. Villa controlled this game. A good performance without being completely convincing but a big result that was nothing short of deserved.
Friedel - 8. Some good saves and never looked in trouble.
Walker - 6. Nervy moments, caught out of position a few times and didt suppport the attacks as ofetn as he can and should. Still learning.
Collins - 8. A bit of a mix bag but great goal and grew into the game.
Dunne - 7. Solid and untroubled.
Young - 7. A decent enough performance.
Downing - 7. A decent game overall.
Petrov - 8. I rolled my eyes when I saw him in hje side but fair play to him. Did very well. Still too many pointless passes to marked players though.
Makoun - 6. Very harsh criticism of him here. Did 9 things well but the tenth was sloppy and made it seem worse than it was. Some good tackles and endeavour but a long way from a vintage performance and he knew it. No real worries over him yet at all.
Gabby - 7. More like it. Some genuine effort and might have scored.
Young - 7. Typical Ash performance. Lots of effort and some good and bad set pieces (including an assist).
Bent - 7. Should have a goal to his credit. Held the ball up well. Generally decent game.
Fuck yous going out to Alan Pardew because he's a bell end, Joey Barton because I'd love to put my fist through his scouse mush and Stuart Atwell because he's an incompetent cockpuppet.
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I don't understand the moaning and whingeing on this thread.
Everybody else at the bottom, bar Small Heath, lost yesterday and today. We won.
It makes not a jot of fucking difference to the season as a whole if we played like Brazil 1970 or Wimbledon 1987 today, but we got three points and kept a clean sheet - and that is all that matters.
It's almost as if some of us are slightly disappointed we actually won, so as to remove the chance to tell us yet again how utterly shit and fucked we are **
** I know nobody really feels this way, but fucking hell, you'd think it, given a glance through this thread.
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
That's it! The ropes coming out!
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3 points fanbloodytastic. That is it :)
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Yeah it was important to win but I dunno it wasn't like a scrambled win from 0-0 with ten minutes to go which I'd have been more pleased with.
We got an earlyish goal so I dunno but was it really unreasonable to expect us to go and get a second in the second half and keep the ball a bit better?
I'm also factoring in a) Newcastle are dire without Carroll and b) didn't have Nolan or Tiote playing so a weakened central midfield. They also last their last away game 4-0 to Stoke.
While it's important we get to 40 points as quickly as possible, I'm trying to see some hope for next season, that we won't be scrabbling around in the bottom half again and will insead be challenging the top 6 like we used to.
I can't see it on performances like today really.
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I don't understand the moaning and whingeing on this thread.
Everybody else at the bottom, bar Small Heath, lost yesterday and today. We won.
It makes not a jot of fucking difference to the season as a whole if we played like Brazil 1970 or Wimbledon 1987 today, but we got three points and kept a clean sheet - and that is all that matters.
It's almost as if some of us are slightly disappointed we actually won, so as to remove the chance to tell us yet again how utterly shit and fucked we are **
** I know nobody really feels this way, but fucking hell, you'd think it, given a glance through this thread.
Agree. I almost feel like I should feel bad for enjoying the game. But I don't.
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Bent's goal was offside. Not by much, but it was.
If any part of your body that can score a goal is ahead of the last defender then you're off - Bent's leg was beyond the last defender.
Tight, but undoubtedly the correct decision.
So just like Berbatov's yesterday?
Oh sorry that wasn't offside.
No idea, I've not seen it.
But yes, if any part of him was offside then that should have been given as well.
It doesn't make today's decision incorrect.
Dave is correct. Although very tight, part of Bents leg was nearer the goal-line then the 2nd rearmost defender, so the correct decision was made.
Tbh, both were so tight, you cant criticise the A/R for getting either wrong, as they haave to make a split second judgement call. Berbatovs was proved wrong, today, it was proved correct.
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
That's it! The ropes coming out!
I thought Gabby played well today. I wonder what game Blackcountry Villa watched today?
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Phewwwww.
I will never understand why such a talented player like Super Mark Albrighton, that would form a fantastic pair of wingers with Downing, is regularly condemned to sit on the bench, nor I understand why entered as a sub Bobby Pires, but, after all, win is a win.
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Well me and the mrs have had weekend from hell. It does put things into perspective sometimes. However I am sat down now with a pint and waiting for Match of the Day and I am looking forward to seeing the Villa win.
I aint to bothered how they won, just very, very glad they have won. A massive result and fair play to everyone involved.
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Phewwwww.
I will never understand why such a talented player like Super Mark Albrighton, that would form a fantastic pair of wingers with Downing, is regularly condemned to sit on the bench, nor I understand why entered as a sub Bobby Pires, but, after all, win is a win.
Pires was so far off the pace today. Is he related to le Gaffeur? That's the only way I can imagin he gets a game.
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A win is welcome.
Yet we havent played well for a very long time, and I think that is where the negativity is coming from. Staying up is hardly a massive result.And whtever happens the fate of Houllier, Young ( and probably Dunne and a few others) is uncertain.
There is not much to look forwards to.
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What did the banner say they unveiled after the game? Im guessing it was in response to ours from the relegation game
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I find Ashley Young to be a major disappointment. Albrighton needs more playing time. I think that we are stuck with Houllier for next year.
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Something along the lines of, 'proud to be a geordie, blah, blah'.
Can't remember exactly. Was nothing major.
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One thing I am look forward to with the end of the season is and end to going to football matches with my stomach churning so much I think I'm going to be sick.
I can't handle the nerves of it all.
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Hopefully that will give us the impetus we so badly needed to make it through this season and stay in the top flight.
We can then give GH the chance (that he deserves) to really make it his squad. Get the deadwood out and some fresh faces in. Perhaps then we'll see some optimism from the fans instead the negativity which quite frankly had bordered on the hysterical over the last few weeks.
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The main thing is Villa won, we can all sleep a bit easier now. Its not over but if we play with that much effort for the next few weeks we might still make the top half if you consider Newcastle are 9th - they weren't much better than their relegation team a couple of seasons ago.
Luke 25 - the banner read "Proud to be a Geordie, we'll support you ever more".
I'm not his biggest fan but Collins after a dodgy first 15 minutes was immense. Petrov played his best game of the season and Gabby ran himself into the floor.
What upset me today was staying after the whistle to clap the players off only to be hit by a coin on the back of the head from one of our own (I assume?) in the upper North. Someone said it would've been meant for Joey Barton - christ they'd have to be a cross between Steve Backley and Phil the Power to hit Barton with a 20p from there! either way I can't believe we have pricks like this down Villa Park, luckily it hit me and didn't split some kids eye open.
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Pardew and Barton, both tossers.
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
Utter cock.
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
Utter cock.
Whilst I wouldn't have put it in quite such extreme terms, I can't help thinking BCV has got something right with his comment about how we'd treat him if he wasn't "one of us".
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A win is welcome.
Yet we havent played well for a very long time, and I think that is where the negativity is coming from. Staying up is hardly a massive result.And whtever happens the fate of Houllier, Young ( and probably Dunne and a few others) is uncertain.
We played well at Bolton, much better than today in fact
There is not much to look forwards to.
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Weren't Newcastle fucking animals?
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Why do we keep playing Agbonlahor? He is absolutely shit and i've always said so. Zero technical ability, no footballing brain and has fuck all apart from a bit of pace. He's a nice enough lad and a Villa fan, but if he wasn't nobody would rate him. He's piss poor.
Utter cock.
Whilst I wouldn't have put it in quite such extreme terms, I can't help thinking BCV has got something right with his comment about how we'd treat him if he wasn't "one of us".
I think I'd quite like a striker who'd scored for us at Anfield, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and The Emirates and had hit double figures in each of his first three seasons even if he was a Small Heath fan. I mean, how many have we had who could boast such a record?
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Just saw highlights on MOTD2. Blatant foul on Ash by Barton for the free kick leading to our goal. So Pardew talking bollocks. We also had a perfectly good second goal disallowed by a poor linesman decision.
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The Sky guy. " The fact that we are the only team in the bottom half to claim all three points....."
What about the stripeyfilth? If they hadn't have won it would have been a perfect weekend.
They're not in the bottom half.
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Missed the game due to my nippers christening.even though I knew the score I still felt sick watching motd with those last few Newc chances.
So many of the bottom lot are playing each other next week it finishes it if we win.
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The Sky guy. " The fact that we are the only team in the bottom half to claim all three points....."
What about the stripeyfilth? If they hadn't have won it would have been a perfect weekend.
They're not in the bottom half.
But they were before their game yesterday.
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As I said though we really battered them in the second half. Also pleasingly the players looked like they cared, Collins in particular.
'Really battered them'???? - gosh, I didn't realise me watching in HD made that much difference...
We might have upped our game a little and had a few chances but 'really battered them'?
Yes we did. Newcastle didn't get hold of the ball for 20 mins after the start of the second half. We should have been 2-0 up by then anyway, but for a sun-blinded linesman.
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Excellent result. Just what we needed.
If we can get a couple more like that we will be safe.
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Bent's goal was offside. Not by much, but it was.
If any part of your body that can score a goal is ahead of the last defender then you're off - Bent's leg was beyond the last defender.
Tight, but undoubtedly the correct decision.
So just like Berbatov's yesterday?
Oh sorry that wasn't offside.
No idea, I've not seen it.
But yes, if any part of him was offside then that should have been given as well.
It doesn't make today's decision incorrect.
And having now seen it, yes Berbatov's was offside - by a greater margin that Bent's today.
Which nonetheless was still offside.
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Lawro seemed to think GH's body language suggests he could walk in the summer. Is that a leap of the imagination or does he know something?
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so. We should of gone 2-0 up. Oh well. We still won.
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so.
It was. It's not even a matter of opinion - it just was.
And the fact that a dimwit like Robbie Savage doesn't know the rules comes as no surprise.
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iffy performance at times but the result was all that mattered. Takes the pressure off us for now. Keep plugging away like that and the last game won't matter. Surprised some on here are using today's game to have a go at gabby. He's not had a good season by any means but who has?
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so.
It was. It's not even a matter of opinion - it just was.
And the fact that a dimwit like Robbie Savage doesn't know the rules comes as no surprise.
It was a goal.
Even a Newcastle fan on facebook said so.
It's not even a matter of opinion, it was a goal. Bent was level, it showed that on the replay.
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Looked level to me.
The benefit of the doubt is supposed to go with the attacking side.
I haven't seen the specific part of the ruling that says if an arm or leg is fractionally past the last defender it's offside, but I'll take Dave's word on that.
You're getting into very fine (almost petty) margins if you have linesmen discounting goals for that, mind.
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It was almost certainly more to do with the fact Bent was going towards goal and the defender was going away from goal, so by the time the lino registered the pass Bent appeared offside.
Poor assistant refereeing.
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What did their banner say at the end of the game by the way? Couldn't see it from the Holte.
No one saw it?
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so.
It was. It's not even a matter of opinion - it just was.
And the fact that a dimwit like Robbie Savage doesn't know the rules comes as no surprise.
It was a goal.
Even a Newcastle fan on facebook said so.
It's not even a matter of opinion, it was a goal. Bent was level, it showed that on the replay.
Sorry to be contrary, but Bent's leg was clearly nearer the goal than the last defender. Unfortunately he was therefore offside and no amount of retrospective opinion from any source can alter that fact. It was bad luck, because it would have had a much more positive effect on the game from our point of view, but that's life. Swallow it. We fucking won. Isn't that good enough?
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Hallelujah!
I just* saw MOTD - working today, so I did not know the result till the end of the News just beforehand.
What a superb goal. Good that it came from Collins,and that there were a couple of other players lined up behind him to get it if he missed or grab rebounds from a save. and what a cross!
If I hadn't seen the result, the free kick just before the end of the match might have finished me off. Even though I did know we won 1-0, the tension was unbelieveable. I was still half expecting a draw in the last minute. But finally, the team can defend!
Really impressed with Makoun. If anybody from the top four had beaten players on the edge of the area like that and threaded that pass to Bent, they'd be talking about his genius and ability and how prescient the manager was to sign him. Reminded me of Milner, with his ability to find the killer pass and frighten defences. When his passing is consistent, he'll be so good to watch. Bent was so, so unlucky - he was in the right place - give or take a boot.
Really enjoyed seeing Gabby take off and look as if he was enjoying himself, again. I'd just like to hug the entire team, to tell the truth. And le Gaffeur.
When I got in tonight I was so tired! Thanks Villa!
Have just listened to the Hallelujah Chorus which expresses how I feel. Now the 1912 overture... Bells? Nah... Cannons!!
*so many people posting it's difficult to get a word in!
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What did their banner say at the end of the game by the way? Couldn't see it from the Holte.
Luke 25 - the banner read "Proud to be a Geordie, we'll support you ever more".
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I have to say that I wasn't remotely nervous today. As comfortable as we've been, and it should have been more.
I was bricking it to begin with today, however, as the game wore on, I started to realise that if we were still playing next week, Newcastle still wouldn't score. They just didn't look like they were with it at all today.
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so.
It was. It's not even a matter of opinion - it just was.
And the fact that a dimwit like Robbie Savage doesn't know the rules comes as no surprise.
It was a goal.
Even a Newcastle fan on facebook said so.
It's not even a matter of opinion, it was a goal. Bent was level, it showed that on the replay.
Sorry to be contrary, but Bent's leg was clearly nearer the goal than the last defender. Unfortunately he was therefore offside and no amount of retrospective opinion from any source can alter that fact. It was bad luck, because it would have had a much more positive effect on the game from our point of view, but that's life. Swallow it. We fucking won. Isn't that good enough?
What happened to the instruction to assistants that players are onside if there is no daylight between them and the defender?
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so.
It was. It's not even a matter of opinion - it just was.
And the fact that a dimwit like Robbie Savage doesn't know the rules comes as no surprise.
It was a goal.
Even a Newcastle fan on facebook said so.
It's not even a matter of opinion, it was a goal. Bent was level, it showed that on the replay.
Sorry to be contrary, but Bent's leg was clearly nearer the goal than the last defender. Unfortunately he was therefore offside and no amount of retrospective opinion from any source can alter that fact. It was bad luck, because it would have had a much more positive effect on the game from our point of view, but that's life. Swallow it. We fucking won. Isn't that good enough?
What happened to the instruction to assistants that players are onside if there is no daylight between them and the defender?
It never happened. A myth that was completely made up by Andy Gray.
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Bent's goal was NOT offside. Even Scumbag Savage said so.
It was. It's not even a matter of opinion - it just was.
And the fact that a dimwit like Robbie Savage doesn't know the rules comes as no surprise.
It was a goal.
Even a Newcastle fan on facebook said so.
It's not even a matter of opinion, it was a goal. Bent was level, it showed that on the replay.
Sorry to be contrary, but Bent's leg was clearly nearer the goal than the last defender. Unfortunately he was therefore offside and no amount of retrospective opinion from any source can alter that fact. It was bad luck, because it would have had a much more positive effect on the game from our point of view, but that's life. Swallow it. We fucking won. Isn't that good enough?
What on earth...
(http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/avfcboy93/IMAG0422.jpg)
Clearly level, clearly onside, clearly the linesman got it wrong.
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I think that photo makes him look offside.
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thats not the view the linesman got or could you tell with that view.
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(http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm227/avfcboy93/bent.jpg)
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What difference does two random lines make?
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If any part of his anatomy that can score a goal is offside, then he is offside.
I thought he was onside at the time, but that screenshot suggests otherwise, and it's a great call by the linesman.
Stuart Atwell was infuriating today. He made a lot of bad calls, yet I don't think I've seen any ref play the advantage rule as well as him.
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you obviously don't understand perspective. repeat after me.
this cow is small.Those ones are far away. Small...Far away.
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But his leaning arm is ahead of his right foot and even so his right foot is still level. If you aren't allowed to score with your arm or hand how can you call it offside.
Offside rules are quite suspicious these days because of how inconsistent the calls are by the refs.
I was right behind the goal with a good view in the upper north stand, I had a perfect view. I have been told the Sky commentators said it was onside after numerous replays and just seen MOTD and all 3 agreed it was onside. Most people I've spoken too agree it shouldn't of been disallowed.
Besides, the sun was shining right in the linesman's eyes - how could he possible deny the goal if he couldn't see clearly?
brb calling it offside when i'm not 100% sure.
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Just so relieved to have got that win. Woke up at 4.30am and lay awake thinking about what the result was before getting up and punching the air.
Monday doesn't half feel better with 3 points in the sky rocket. Will watch later to check out the 'offside' goal.
UTV.
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The photo isn't helpful because it shows that he is offside.
Apparently.
But the ball - is this right? is the little white blob between Darren and the goal. He's clearly moving after it, hence the goalward right leg moving beyond the defender, on his way to chase it.
Where was that leg when Makoun actually played the ball? (in relation to the defender's position, apart from, 'attached to Darren Bent'.)
The linesman thought it was already past the defender. Without the photo of the ball on the end of Makoun's boot and Bent's position then it's not clear.
And we WON!!!!
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But his leaning arm is ahead of his right foot and even so his right foot is still level. If you aren't allowed to score with your arm or hand how can you call it offside.
Offside rules are quite suspicious these days because of how inconsistent the calls are by the refs.
I was right behind the goal with a good view in the upper north stand, I had a perfect view. I have been told the Sky commentators said it was onside after numerous replays and just seen MOTD and all 3 agreed it was onside. Most people I've spoken too agree it shouldn't of been disallowed.
Besides, the sun was shining right in the linesman's eyes - how could he possible deny the goal if he couldn't see clearly?
brb calling it offside when i'm not 100% sure.
you may well be right but you can't tell from that picture because of where it was taken from. Similarly you wouldn't have much chance of judging an offside from behind the goal. thats why the linesmen are on the sides :0)
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Just got back to Blighty, great result but will catch up with reports after a nights kip....no sleepless night anyway that's an improvement
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whether it was onside or offside, we were denied a stonewall penalty in the second half so i'm surprised no one seems to be mentioning that. motd2 failed to show it as well.
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What, for Taylor's little shove on Bent? Come on, if it had happened to us we would have been calling the Barcoder a poof.
Nowt wrong with a bit of physical defending. Thank God, otherwise Dicky Dunne would be penalised every time the ball goes near our goal.
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Monday doesn't half feel better with 3 points in the sky rocket.
3 points in the what now?
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I don't agree with BBC Digital's report that says Newcastle were the better team in the first half and that we scored 'against the run of play.'
Bullshit.
Newcastle were much the better team in the first half however we were in control in the second half and deserved our win.
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I thought that it was both offside and the wrong decision to call it offside.
The lines in the grass show that Bent's foot is nearer the goal than the defender's nearest ball-legal anatomy. From the TV replays, that screen shot is about right for when Makoun made the pass.
However, it's not Simon Taufel calling a LBW. An AR can't possibly spot a foot 15cm closer to goal when players are moving in opposite directions and there are three things to watch. A better call would have been to give the benefit to the attacker. But I thought it technically correct all the same.
The non-penalty on the other hand was I reckon a poor call. The replays showed that the best angle to see the elbow go into Bent's side was probably the ref's.
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Monday doesn't half feel better with 3 points in the sky rocket.
3 points in the what now?
Cockney rhyming slang, me old china (plate). Sky rocket = pocket.
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Still don't believe the players gell together, most are good players in their own right but they just dont play well together.
Lets give the defence a little praise after all the stick the've taken lately.
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I thought we'd win one-nil, and we did. Nobody's expecting great football, but some effective football is what we need now. We got it to a certain degree because we won the match, but all this passing it among ourselves in front of our own box business is not the way forward. Better or more motivated teams will have the measure of that. We're poor, and I see no signs that we're about to become the slightly better than average team we probably should be any time soon. That said, it was a result the size of a walrus.
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3 points. Clean sheet. Great!
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Regarding Collins, the BBC website says he won 16 aerial challenges against Newcastle, the most in the Premier League at the weekend.
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whether it was onside or offside, we were denied a stonewall penalty in the second half so i'm surprised no one seems to be mentioning that. motd2 failed to show it as well.
I think that the fact he went down far too easily really didn't help him. I wouldn't have given it either.
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Sky rocket = plug socket = davy crockett = not me face wankah
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Fantastic win, great to get the three points. The little ball over the top tactic and lack of desire however is still very concerning.
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3 much need points in the bag, clean sheet, looked like a decent atmosphere as well.
Downside, Joey 'thrush' Barton, an irritating c**t.
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I thought Petrov played well yesterday, I've given him some stick but he looked a decent player again.
great result.
UTV
The Doc
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3 much need points in the bag, clean sheet, looked like a decent atmosphere as well.
Downside, Joey 'thrush' Barton, an irritating c**t.
Maybe so, but I think he'd be the perfect midfield partner for Makoun & Delph.
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Very nervous afternoon but we were well worth the win.
On the Makoun debate, he did give the ball away cheapily but his pass for the disallowed 'goal' was the best bit of football of the game so there's clearly something there.
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Very nervous afternoon but we were well worth the win.
On the Makoun debate, he did give the ball away cheapily but his pass for the disallowed 'goal' was the best bit of football of the game so there's clearly something there.
And about 5 mins later the one/two play with Stan to take the ball from edge of our box to midfield (before giving it to Young) was brilliant too - pass and move from both players, took out 4/5 Newcastle players in one quick move.
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Definitely a penalty in my opinion.
Taylor clearly pushed him and last I heard, that's a foul.
Can you seriously imagine Bent going down when clear on goal? I cant. So a penalty and a red card.
As for the disallowed goal, well its more contentious than I'd thought but there still must been major doubt and so we could be considered unfortunate not to get the decision. Still, what's done is done.
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Thing that got me about the 'penalty' was that if he didn't give it Bent should have got a red card for diving. Went on the sesh after so haven't seen it again on tele yet, but I thought he went down a bit dramatically, which wouldn't have helped. Yet not booking him or giving the penalty tells me the ref basically bottled it!
As for the rest of the game it seeme to me a very MON like performance. Lots of endeavour without being overly pretty to watch for the most part, a clean sheet and win it with a set piece. 4-4-2 with Gabby upfront and we even saw a cameo of Carlos at RB.
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There seems to be some belief that if a player goes down it's either a foul or a dive. It is possible to be challenged fairly and fall over.
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True, but that wasn't a fair challenge. Maybe in Judo, but not football.
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There seems to be some belief that if a player goes down it's either a foul or a dive. It is possible to be challenged fairly and fall over.
Correct, unless the player then gets up and appeals for the penalty, which is what Bent did. I thought 'yes' at the time, but his fall was theatrical and that particular incident was a case of "Penalty or Booking" for me.
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If our defender pushed a striker over in the box I think this place would be awash with how our defender was stupid and reckless and rightly so.
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Whilst I wouldn't have put it in quite such extreme terms, I can't help thinking BCV has got something right with his comment about how we'd treat him if he wasn't "one of us".
I think I'd quite like a striker who'd scored for us at Anfield, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and The Emirates and had hit double figures in each of his first three seasons even if he was a Small Heath fan. I mean, how many have we had who could boast such a record?
But if said player had had the season Gabby has had many on this forum would be up in arms and there would be comments along the lines of, "Fuck him off, he's finished" "Obviously doesn't want to play for us any more" "Off in the summer, good riddance, swap him for Crouch",
See Young, Ashley.
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Well i've just watched the game and it was a stonewall penalty. You can't barge into an player, while not even going for the ball and push the player over - whether the fall looked theatrical (which I honestly didn't think it did anyway) is irrelevent - it was a foul. To be honest, the Referee looked poor all game.
Thought we did well overall, we arn't a particularly fluid side but we dug deep and Petrov and Downing played weel, Collins did what he needed to, Gabby worked hard and Bent looked a constant goal threat.
Newcastle were just the sort of team we needed to be playing by the looks of things, quite satisfied with their season and quietly winding down.
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To be honest, the Referee looked poor all game.
I found the referee very annoying. He was especially poor at judging goal kicks/corners and on at least two occasions he awarded Newcastle a goal kick in the second half when it was blindingly obvious to all present it was a corner.
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Those bells???? I was expecting Quasimodo to be seen swinging from the rafters in the Holte End. Then at the end was expecting loads of confetti when they played what I thought was wedding bells. Pires MOTM for managing to look like a clown in the few minutes he was on the pitch. lol
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Whilst I wouldn't have put it in quite such extreme terms, I can't help thinking BCV has got something right with his comment about how we'd treat him if he wasn't "one of us".
I think I'd quite like a striker who'd scored for us at Anfield, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and The Emirates and had hit double figures in each of his first three seasons even if he was a Small Heath fan. I mean, how many have we had who could boast such a record?
But if said player had had the season Gabby has had many on this forum would be up in arms and there would be comments along the lines of, "Fuck him off, he's finished" "Obviously doesn't want to play for us any more" "Off in the summer, good riddance, swap him for Crouch",
See Young, Ashley.
I think there's every chance we'd be saying that about Gabby if, instead of signing a long-contract this season, he'd refused talks in order to ...erm...'concentrate on his football'.
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Awful game to watch but we won ,all the other games except the baggies went our way so not a bad weekend at all !
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3 much need points in the bag, clean sheet, looked like a decent atmosphere as well.
Downside, Joey 'thrush' Barton, an irritating c**t.
Maybe so, but I think he'd be the perfect midfield partner for Makoun & Delph.
I would never want that disgusting thug in a Villa shirt thanks.
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I thought that it was both offside and the wrong decision to call it offside.
The lines in the grass show that Bent's foot is nearer the goal than the defender's nearest ball-legal anatomy. From the TV replays, that screen shot is about right for when Makoun made the pass.
However, it's not Simon Taufel calling a LBW. An AR can't possibly spot a foot 15cm closer to goal when players are moving in opposite directions and there are three things to watch. A better call would have been to give the benefit to the attacker. But I thought it technically correct all the same.
Nicely phrased and I'd agree with all of that.
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The photo isn't helpful because it shows that he is offside.
Apparently.
But the ball - is this right? is the little white blob between Darren and the goal. He's clearly moving after it, hence the goalward right leg moving beyond the defender, on his way to chase it.
Where was that leg when Makoun actually played the ball? (in relation to the defender's position, apart from, 'attached to Darren Bent'.)
The linesman thought it was already past the defender. Without the photo of the ball on the end of Makoun's boot and Bent's position then it's not clear.
And we WON!!!!
The little white blob between Darren and the goal is the penalty spot, the ball in that photo is on the end of Makoun's boot. :-0
"In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply:
• “nearer to his opponents’ goal line” means that any part of a player’s
head, body or feet is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the
ball and the second-last opponent. The arms are not included in this
definition" - The FA
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I love Gabby. He's never gonna be a world beater and I probably wouldn't have him as an automatic first choice anymore - but does anyone want him playing elsewhere?
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Not me, not yet, at least. Gabby's got weak areas to his game but still plenty to offer us and I thought he played fairly well yesterday.
Just read through a lot of this thread - a fair few of the players are getting panned. Don't think many had great games but most of the team, for me, would have picked up 6s and 7s - we were steady and looked pretty comfortable.
Pick of the bunch I thought were the midfield two: Petrov and Makoun. I'd move Petrov on at the end of the season but yesterday he was calm, composed, used the ball well. Makoun looks very comfortable in possession too, and seems to be settling in to the side.
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What, for Taylor's little shove on Bent? Come on, if it had happened to us we would have been calling the Barcoder a poof.
Nowt wrong with a bit of physical defending. Thank God, otherwise Dicky Dunne would be penalised every time the ball goes near our goal.
no attempt to play the ball, a step across and a shove straight into his chest. a clearer penalty you will not witness (unless you watched the blackpool game...!).
whether it was onside or offside, we were denied a stonewall penalty in the second half so i'm surprised no one seems to be mentioning that. motd2 failed to show it as well.
I think that the fact he went down far too easily really didn't help him. I wouldn't have given it either.
he can go down however he likes. if the foul's been committed, which it was, then it's a penalty. similar to the villa liverpool 0-0 where carragher tripped petrov. petrov went down like an arse, but that doesn't change the fact that it should have been given..
There seems to be some belief that if a player goes down it's either a foul or a dive. It is possible to be challenged fairly and fall over.
agreed. and i thought the same at the game as taylor ran to the referee asking for a card to be shown to darren. it just so happens that in this case it wasn't a fair challenge, and he didn't just fall over.
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Seen stories from Pardew and Ryan Taylor today, that they complain about Youngs dive for the foul...How could anyone call that a dive? Blatant foul from a thug - should have been booked for his protests.
Worst part is - that it will become a fact that it was a dive - because noone is saying otherwise. (what happend with getting facts into articles?)
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Pardew was complaining after the game in his post-match interview. I thought he was pushing it a bit - talk about clutching at straws. Young went to go round Barton, Barton stuck his right leg out and tripped him; not the worst of fouls but certainly a foul. It was hardly a contentious decision.
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I love Gabby. He's never gonna be a world beater and I probably wouldn't have him as an automatic first choice anymore - but does anyone want him playing elsewhere?
I like him and want him to remain at Villa, but I still think, at the moment, that Heskey would be a better combination up front with Bent.
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My first live game this season and the tension gave me a splitting headache. Most important thing is 3 points.
Petrov, who I can't normally stand, was excellent and MOTM for me.
Defence much better than usual but there were still some glaringly bad moments that a better team would have exploited. Walker is not a great defender.
Makoun shows glimpses of brilliance but gave the ball away far too often.
Downing was poor, Friedel looked more solid and confident than he has been.
Gabby tries hard but he really is a limited footballer and Heskey would have been a better option.
Bent makes a lot of great runs to lose his marker that aren't spotted by his team mates and would score hatfuls if we had midfielders and strike partners with a bit more awareness and vison of what he's doing. Should have had a penalty and arguably a goal although I can see why the lino gave offside.
A Young continues to frustrate. One top delivery for the goal, but the usual quota of crap corners, diving and petulance, plus some lazy stuff such as when he lost Barton for his free header early on.
Houllier continues to baffle with his selections and especially his substutions (surely Albrighton or Heskey would have been better options than Pires yesterday?).
The ref was poor and got some very clear decisions badly wrong.
Crowd were very good considering the nervy atmosphere.
To summarise, thank fuck for that.
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I love Gabby. He's never gonna be a world beater and I probably wouldn't have him as an automatic first choice anymore - but does anyone want him playing elsewhere?
No he's a one club man and he is a very good player, unlucky not to register yesterday
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My views for what its worth.
We needed 3 points and we got them.Points was more important than the performance, played well against Bolton and Everton, got 1 point.
The game.Really like Makoun, does give the ball away too much at the moment, but a real cultured midfielder with a nice pass on him, Bent was not offside, and Makoun is the only current Villa player who i think would find that pass.
Petrov, played well, but for me is very limited, does'nt move the ball quick enough to the front 4.
Gabby, not sure about Gabby tbh, played better 2nd half, just nebver picks the right ball out for me.
Collins i thought was poor yday, yes he scored the goal, and yes he won a lot of headers, but, partic in the 1st half, wasn't half out of position a lot.Against a better foward line would have struggled.
If we win next saturday, we could be 8th.
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Good result but we are diabolical. What a terrible game of football that was.
Win next week and we're almost safe but i think we'll lose, and we never beat Wigan at home and i think Albion will beat us. Anyone who thinks we're safe now is getting ahead of themselves, we're still crap.
Occasionally, im confused by your views of games and the statements you make...but jesus christ mate, we won...we didnt set the world alight, but oh well, 3 points it is...if we are 'crap', west ham and wigan are worse-did you see West Ham against Bolton? Wigan have tightened up of late, but theyre not picking up enough points and can hardly be labelled as anything other than crap also. I dont know mate.....
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On the offside question: whatever became of that initiative of a few years ago where there had to be "daylight" between defender and attacker. Was it discarded or did I dream it up?
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we won, we got 3 pts, so luckily the "offside" incident matters not
didn't he tuck it away well though, great we've finally got a top notch striker
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Yeah, it was a beautifully constructed and exquisitely executed "goal".
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Love Gabby and his commitment to AVFC. But surely in training he can learn a few moves to open up a range of approaches when attacking other than kick and run ? A step over a fake ? Petrov very solid, Downing threatened and Collins solid with Dunne. Was upset we was not given a penlty until i saw the one at Blackpool that was not given. Great "result" .........
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On the offside question: whatever became of that initiative of a few years ago where there had to be "daylight" between defender and attacker. Was it discarded or did I dream it up?
You didn't dream it up, but Andy Gray did!
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Yeah, it was a beautifully constructed and exquisitely executed "goal".
It was Makoun's best moment, and probably Bent's too
Give him the ammo he will score a lot of goals
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On the offside question: whatever became of that initiative of a few years ago where there had to be "daylight" between defender and attacker. Was it discarded or did I dream it up?
It never happened, was never made law and was probably not even discussed outside of the Sky Sports studio.
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Don't think I have seen about this anywhere so apologies if it has been mentioned, but did anyone see/know why Gabby came off yesterday?
We had just won a corner in front of the Holte and as we were meandering to take it and Petrov was strolling towards the edge of the box from midfield, Gabby ran out of the box and spoke to him. Gabby then went back into 6 yard box and while corner was being taken Petrov sprinted over to the dugout and said something to the bench. Almost immediately Pires started warming up and of course came on shortly after.
Don't think Gabby was injured - so was he ill? Anyone know?
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He was injured. You could see him limping
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Ah, the old 'I've been subbed lets make up an injury so it looks better' ruse...
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It was Gabby who instigated the substitution, I personally didn't see him limping and that is why I was wondering why he had asked.
Wonder if he will be ok for saturday?
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Massive win and even bigger three points - good work.
Lets hope we can put a few more on the board soon and put this season behind us, get a new manager and look to the future.
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Tom Ross said Petrov ran over to the bench and told Houllier to take Gabby off due to his injury.
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Tom Ross said Petrov ran over to the bench and told Houllier to take Gabby off due to his injury.
Petrov did go over to the bench. Maybe Gabby didn't want to go off & thought he could play on. I didn't notice him limping that badly to be honest.
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I really think Makoun will be a big player for us next season, he has some sublime touches, but I think intially, that he's struggling with the pace of the game, so his radar is slightly off with the passing.
I think once he has the proverbial pre season training, he'll be up to speed, just like the Downing scenario.
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I really think Makoun will be a big player for us next season, he has some sublime touches, but I think intially, that he's struggling with the pace of the game, so his radar is slightly off with the passing.
I think once he has the proverbial pre season training, he'll be up to speed, just like the Downing scenario.
Agreed, started off shaky (not singing 'Green Door') but then settled and put in a good performance..next season we will see him come good.
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I really think Makoun will be a big player for us next season, he has some sublime touches, but I think intially, that he's struggling with the pace of the game, so his radar is slightly off with the passing.
I think once he has the proverbial pre season training, he'll be up to speed, just like the Downing scenario.
Agreed, started off shaky (not singing 'Green Door') but then settled and put in a good performance..next season we will see him come good.
His quality is obvious, needs to get used to the pace. I think he will.
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I really think Makoun will be a big player for us next season, he has some sublime touches, but I think intially, that he's struggling with the pace of the game, so his radar is slightly off with the passing.
I think once he has the proverbial pre season training, he'll be up to speed, just like the Downing scenario.
Agreed, started off shaky (not singing 'Green Door') but then settled and put in a good performance..next season we will see him come good.
His quality is obvious, needs to get used to the pace. I think he will.
Nah, he's finished now. He was only a shit bastardisation of Cliff Richard and Elvis to begin with.
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Ah, the old 'I've been subbed lets make up an injury so it looks better' ruse...
He was injured for about 5 minutes before being substituted.
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I really think Makoun will be a big player for us next season, he has some sublime touches, but I think intially, that he's struggling with the pace of the game, so his radar is slightly off with the passing.
I think once he has the proverbial pre season training, he'll be up to speed, just like the Downing scenario.
Agreed, started off shaky (not singing 'Green Door') but then settled and put in a good performance..next season we will see him come good.
His quality is obvious, needs to get used to the pace. I think he will.
Nah, he's finished now. He was only a shit bastardisation of Cliff Richard and Elvis to begin with.
Yes but if he can get on 'I'm A Celebrity' and get off with Esther Rantzen or somebody you never know.
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Dare he have such lofty dreams.
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relief is the only word i can use to describe that game...
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if you want to get a true impression of how we played you need to watch the game again when you know the result. I don't think it is possible to make a rational assessment of a players ability during a game because we are all too emotionally involved, and you don't see a true picture. I watched the game again last night, and Makoun made several very good passes, and of those that didn't come off was not just down to him. When he gets players around him that are similar in their understanding and movement you'll see his game go up a level. I think he will be a very important player for us next season.
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The photo isn't helpful because it shows that he is offside.
But the ball - is this right? is the little white blob between Darren and the goal.
The little white blob between Darren and the goal is the penalty spot, the ball in that photo is on the end of Makoun's boot. :-0
"In the context of Law 11 – Offside, the following definitions apply:
• “nearer to his opponents’ goal line” means that any part of a player’s
head, body or feet is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the
ball and the second-last opponent. The arms are not included in this
definition" - The FA
Thanks Villladawg. I have often wondered what the little white blob on those photos is. Now I know. In my defence I'd had a very, very long day!
And I agree that's one of the bits of the offside laws. Always loved it. Or maybe it's the only one. Are there still 12 reasons to be offside or was that just my grandad lecturing us in the 60's?
Or maybe it was, 12 situations in which a goal can be scored....the memories are fading...
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I think you're getting mixed up with 'THe Joy of Sex'. Try to think: is the striker naked, with a beard like a school art teacher?
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I think there were more than 12 if we're talking about the same guy.
He was adaptable...
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Was any part of his body over the line?
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I believe his Dong had crossed the Rubicon.
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Dongs aside. Whatever happened to the recent ruling of there having to be "air" or space between defender and attacker recieving the ball? And attacker getting benefit of doubt?
I mean, when will the offside rule actually have a rule and that rule is appropriately ruled?
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Apparently there was no such thing and Andy Gray made it all up.
The Dong with a Luminous Nose (http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ll/dln.html)
(http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ll/dln.gif)
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part of the attacker's body has to be past the point of no return
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What about coitus interruptus?
I suppose that s why we can't have VT.
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Dongs aside. Whatever happened to the recent ruling of there having to be "air" or space between defender and attacker recieving the ball? And attacker getting benefit of doubt?
The former never existed and the latter isn't used because anything that given in the attacker's favour when fractionally ahead will be criticised, so it's safer for officials this way.
The law was brought in to prevent goal-hanging rather than to disallow goals due to the fabric of a striker's shirt being ahead of the defender - but while the law is being enforced in its current guise, Sunday's decision was correct.
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Well this is irrelevant what ppl are saying because Chicharito's "head was offside" yesterday looooooool.
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Why the fuck does he have a nickname on the back of his shirt?
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Why the fuck does he have a nickname on the back of his shirt?
I've often wondered how they get away with that. Didn't Bloose had one too - Choochoo or something? Maybe it should be all nicknames on the backs of shirts, but given the intelligence of most footballers, nicknames just consist of the surname with "Y" on the end so not much change there then.