Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on May 04, 2013, 06:02:00 PM
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Of our last 8 we've won 5, drawn 1 lost 2. Right now the only clubs with a better record are Man Utd, Arsenal and Everton, who are 1 point better off with records of W5 D2 L1.
Much credit to Lambert and the players for showing what they are capable of, especially when under so much pressure.
P.s.
Champions League it is then next year!
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Credit where it's due we are showing a degree of resilience of thought we were incapable of. The reaction to adversity especially during a game has been superb.
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Lots of character since the Christmas period. Getting something at Swansea was massive, but even that came with a kick in the teeth. I think we had to beat Reading and QPR and we did. I thought we had to beat Sunderland and Norwich and we did. The seven points from the West Ham, Stoke and Fulham games were massive. We seem to have accepted we will concede goals and just pick ourselves up and score another ourselves.
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That bloody Fulham draw in there could still kill us!
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There can be no complaints at our form since the Everton away game. Comfortable top half. The teething troubles between August-January are what we should rue if it comes to relegation. Which it wont.
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That bloody Fulham draw in there could still kill us!
Or equally it could keep us from a top 10 finish - those 2 points would see us a point off 9th place swansea- thats how tight it is.
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That bloody Fulham draw in there could still kill us!
Or the penalty that shouldn't have been in the home game to Southampton ...
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There can be no complaints at our form since the Everton away game. Comfortable top half. The teething troubles between August-January are what we should rue if it comes to relegation. Which it wont.
The big thing for me is how toothless we looked in those opening months, so many games like West Ham, Fulham and Everton where we barely had shots on target, we were what the likes of Stoke and Norwich are now.
Chalk and cheese, I believe since Swansea game we've scored 30 league goals, before that we'd scored 14 goals in about 19 games. We just have goals in us now.
As the manager would say "we're a right good team at the minute."
And incredibly we're only 3-4 points off 9th! So we're closer to top 10 than being relegated.
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There can be no complaints at our form since the Everton away game. Comfortable top half. The teething troubles between August-January are what we should rue if it comes to relegation. Which it wont.
The big thing for me is how toothless we looked in those opening months, so many games like West Ham, Fulham and Everton where we barely had shots on target, we were what the likes of Stoke and Norwich are now.
Chalk and cheese, I believe since Swansea game we've scored 30 league goals, before that we'd scored 14 goals in about 19 games. We just have goals in us now.
As the manager would say "we're a right good team at the minute."
And incredibly we're only 3-4 points off 9th! So we're closer to top 10 than being relegated.
New manager, new players, new system. It all takes time to gel together.
If I could scroll back and find my early posts, I predicted this season would be similar to Houliers, Up and Down, bit of a struggle but finding form for the last 6 or so games.
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Things were picking up pre xmas in fairness, the Liverpool win should've been the Launchpad the recent good wins have been but that was followed by the horrible Chelsea game which knocked us majorly back for 6 weeks and that period could still relegate us.
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We are a team getting used to each other and some of the younger players have found that hard, their response since the pressure has really come on has been superb, who would not have settled a week ago for 6 points and a plus 6 goal difference, it should be enough to keep us safe, I just hope to God it is, we dont deserve to go down after the last 6 or 7 matches.
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id be quietly confident of picking up two wins in the next two games aswell, Chelsea have a lot of games piling up at the minute
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Importantly, if we want to get something from Chelsea and, of course, Wigan, then the winning habit we've built up may well come in handy. Today, as against Reading and QPR, they showed a refusal to let setbacks ruin the day as they did earlier in the season. It's hugely cheering, but I'm still a Swansea fan this week because it is far too close for comfort.
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Importantly, if we want to get something from Chelsea and, of course, Wigan, then the winning habit we've built up may well come in handy. Today, as against Reading and QPR, they showed a refusal to let setbacks ruin the day as they did earlier in the season. It's hugely cheering, but I'm still a Swansea fan this week because it is far too close for comfort.
and stoke on Monday :o
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If we get relegated on 40 points, I'd be absolutely gutted. That would be tough to take. It could come to that, but I can't see it happening.
That said, I'm fairly confident we'll pick up some more points in the last two games. I can see us beating Wigan to be honest. I don't envision us being in the bottom 3 at the start of that game, and even if Wigan have to win that game to relegate us instead of them, I think that will play into our front 3's hands.
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There can be no complaints at our form since the Everton away game. Comfortable top half. The teething troubles between August-January are what we should rue if it comes to relegation. Which it wont.
Teething troubles is exactly what they were - we're going forward not back
The big thing for me is how toothless we looked in those opening months, so many games like West Ham, Fulham and Everton where we barely had shots on target, we were what the likes of Stoke and Norwich are now.
Chalk and cheese, I believe since Swansea game we've scored 30 league goals, before that we'd scored 14 goals in about 19 games. We just have goals in us now.
As the manager would say "we're a right good team at the minute."
And incredibly we're only 3-4 points off 9th! So we're closer to top 10 than being relegated.
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Credit goes where its due, definitely. But because of what largely went before we could still be relegated. Every game is massive for us and we have played well in many games since Newcastle. But we don't want to be going to Wigan on the last game having to get something. If they haven't gone down by then it means they will be on their usual end of season role. And we, still, can't keep a clean sheet. Its like starting every game 1-0 down because you know its coming. And being 1-0 down in our last two huge games is not the stuff of survival.
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That bloody Fulham draw in there could still kill us!
You are a bundle of fun today lol. Maybe we should credit the team for having the guts to win massive games against west ham, reading, Stoke, QPR, Sunderland and Norwich
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That bloody Fulham draw in there could still kill us!
You are a bundle of fun today lol. Maybe we should credit the team for having the guts to win massive games against west ham, reading, Stoke, QPR, Sunderland and Norwich
I think he already has.
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If we get relegated on 40 points, I'd be absolutely gutted. That would be tough to take. It could come to that, but I can't see it happening.
That said, I'm fairly confident we'll pick up some more points in the last two games. I can see us beating Wigan to be honest. I don't envision us being in the bottom 3 at the start of that game, and even if Wigan have to win that game to relegate us instead of them, I think that will play into our front 3's hands.
If Sunderland don't win on Monday, we cannot be in the bottom 3 at the start of the Wigan game due to Sunderland playing Southampton next week. I agree that being relegated on 40 points would be tough to take but when you consider that we are only 3 points off 9th, it shows how tight it all is.
One big plus for us is that our current form is excellent.
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If we get relegated on 40 points, I'd be absolutely gutted. That would be tough to take. It could come to that, but I can't see it happening.
That said, I'm fairly confident we'll pick up some more points in the last two games. I can see us beating Wigan to be honest. I don't envision us being in the bottom 3 at the start of that game, and even if Wigan have to win that game to relegate us instead of them, I think that will play into our front 3's hands.
If Sunderland don't win on Monday, we cannot be in the bottom 3 at the start of the Wigan game due to Sunderland playing Southampton next week. I agree that being relegated on 40 points would be tough to take but when you consider that we are only 3 points off 9th, it shows how tight it all is.
One big plus for us is that our current form is excellent.
They have to be worrying in the North East. If Wigan don't go down, I'd fancy one of those two for the drop, or possibly Norwich given they're struggling to score.
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
lol
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Richard Dunne is always hungry.
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
I see where you are going. We get Dunne to eat Ireland. Like it.
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
Sorry but Stephen Ireland is one the most overrated players in the history of the Club. Also a massive bellend too.
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I hope to never see Stephen Ireland anywhere near a Villa shirt again. Ever. Ever!!
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Its frightening to see how much shit we'd be in without this form.
We've beat every team around us, and fair fucks to lambert.
I dont know any villa fan who doesnt back the man, could be a legend ..
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Stephen Ireland has probably been a salsa party animal for the last few months.
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Ireland - as useless as an used condom. The earliest he f**ks off the better. The mere mention of his name makes me boiled.
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That bloody Fulham draw in there could still kill us!
Or the penalty that shouldn't have been in the home game to Southampton ...
Or the four points that Newcastle somehow managed to take off us....
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
Don't even go there!!!!
**I shall assume you're joking, though**
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We've had some crucial players come into form at the just the right time, gabby, Benteke, Lowton, and Bennett is no longer the liability he has been, I was very impressed with him against Sunderland. And, at long last, it seems the Heskey type power that Bannan had seems to have waned and he's not getting anywhere near the team. Delph is a far better player
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I hope to never see Stephen Ireland anywhere near a Villa shirt again. Ever. Ever!!
here fucking here
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If (yes, I know) we had held out as we should have done at Swansea, Everton and the Albion, we would be finishing above the self-title pride of the Midlands.
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The better we get and the more good football I see us producing, the more I look back and think about what could have (and should have) been against Bradford - what the fuck happened there?!?!?
Still, better to come good than not at all.
Looking forward to next season!
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Survive this, stengthen the squad, offload the dead wood and next season might be an interesting one.
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Current form is great however it's over a small window. We should take this in our stride just as we should any setbacks. The thing that has most impressed me about this team in the last six weeks or so is that whenever we have been up against it we have come out on top. The games against West Ham, Reading, QPR, Stoke, Sunderland and Norwich were all 'do or die' and our boys DID. These games were attracting attention on TV, radio and Press almost to an unbearable level. All were hyped as 6 pointers and our Coach and Team stood up to the test.
I had no regrets even in our darkest period post Chelsea, Spurs and Wigan and cup humiliations about Paul and what he was trying to do so today as we stand a step away from happiness I am content. (as the French would say)
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We done well for more than the 6/8 games most current form tables are based upon. 20 of our points have come from the last 12 games. That's almost a third of the season.
Our first 25 games yielded just four wins, in the next 11 we have won 6.
We haven't really played one season, it has been three mini seasons strung together where different teams and formations have been employed.
We started with a diamond 4-4-2 as the new players got to learn each others names. By the end of November the team seemed to settle down and was starting to get results. Lambert promptly moved to 5-3-2 which at first yielded two good results (Norwich and Liverpool) but then went spectacularly sour with big defeats in the league and embarrassing cup exits.
Finally we switched to something akin to 4-3-3 and there has been no looking back.
What we are seeing has been too consistent for too long to be a temporary upturn in fortune. We have a wobbly defence but are a good bet to outscore all but the top teams. That is genuinely where we are at the moment.
It probably means we will lose to Chelsea but have no trouble getting whatever result we need against Wigan, which is fine if you are OK with scooping your intestines up off the floor after each game.
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It's a great summation Mr Rose.
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What we are seeing has been too consistent for too long to be a temporary upturn in fortune. We have a wobbly defence but are a good bet to outscore all but the top teams. That is genuinely where we are at the moment.
It probably means we will lose to Chelsea but have no trouble getting whatever result we need against Wigan, which is fine if you are OK with scooping your intestines up off the floor after each game.
Agreed. I think we have found this particularly difficult to take because villa teams, with one or two rare exceptions around the mid noughties, have always been built around a solid defence. Scoring goals used to be our problem, not leaking them.
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Current form is great however it's over a small window. We should take this in our stride just as we should any setbacks. The thing that has most impressed me about this team in the last six weeks or so is that whenever we have been up against it we have come out on top. The games against West Ham, Reading, QPR, Stoke, Sunderland and Norwich were all 'do or die' and our boys DID. These games were attracting attention on TV, radio and Press almost to an unbearable level. All were hyped as 6 pointers and our Coach and Team stood up to the test.
I had no regrets even in our darkest period post Chelsea, Spurs and Wigan and cup humiliations about Paul and what he was trying to do so today as we stand a step away from happiness I am content. (as the French would say)
I think you must have forgotten the Man U game, but I take your point.
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
Don't even go there!!!!
**I shall assume you're joking, though**
Honestly after the help Dunne and Ireland have given us this season when we needed it most they can F off to the end of thd earth and jump.
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The better we get and the more good football I see us producing, the more I look back and think about what could have (and should have) been against Bradford - what the fuck happened there?!?!?
Still, better to come good than not at all.
Looking forward to next season!
It just followed on from the horrendous xmas run and where every set piece was a goal to the opposition.
If we played that game now, we would win 1-3 at Valley Parade.
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What we are seeing has been too consistent for too long to be a temporary upturn in fortune. We have a wobbly defence but are a good bet to outscore all but the top teams. That is genuinely where we are at the moment.
It probably means we will lose to Chelsea but have no trouble getting whatever result we need against Wigan, which is fine if you are OK with scooping your intestines up off the floor after each game.
Agreed. I think we have found this particularly difficult to take because villa teams, with one or two rare exceptions around the mid noughties, have always been built around a solid defence. Scoring goals used to be our problem, not leaking them.
It's the Lambert way. Look back to his time at Norwich and even when they were promoted from league 1 and championship, they didn't have the best defence in the division.
Have no problem with this continuing next season, 07-08 was one of the most enjoyable seasons I've had following us, so many highscoring games that season and think we only kept 7 clean sheets that year.
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I think we are not too far off just need 2 or 3 very top quality players especially in central defender and playmaker role. Now if Richard Dunne is fit and healthy and hungry and Stephen Ireland is in the mood and hungry we are almost there.
Don't even go there!!!!
**I shall assume you're joking, though**
Honestly after the help Dunne and Ireland have given us this season when we needed it most they can F off to the end of thd earth and jump.
A fit and motivated Dunne and a healthy Stan would have made a huge difference to this team over the season.
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With Stan, I firmly believe we'd have been looking at finishing above Liverpool. Add in a fit Dunne, and it makes me realise just how oh so close we are to being a very good side. We'd have been to wembley, and a very high probability of our young Lions having the chance to test their mettle beyond our shores next season.
So close.
I can't wait for the future.
UTV
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With Stan, I firmly believe we'd have been looking at finishing above Liverpool. Add in a fit Dunne, and it makes me realise just how oh so close we are to being a very good side. We'd have been to wembley, and a very high probability of our young Lions having the chance to test their mettle beyond our shores next season.
So close.
I can't wait for the future.
UTV
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