Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on November 05, 2016, 04:52:17 PM
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Here you go.
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Spendid.
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Satisfactory result.
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Routine.
Let's go boys!
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Another routine win, boring boring Villa.
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3 points. Lots to do but right now I'll take the points, thank you very much.
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We keep the only unbeaten home record in division 2.
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My win streak continues!!!!!
Seriously though, 11 points from 15 for Bruce is excellent and a win coming from behind. Very positive going into the break. Very happy!
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Fantastic to win
Shocking first half and terrible initial tactics but came good in the end
Interested to hear who played well second half from those that were there
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11 points from 5 for Bruce without appearing to play all that well. What is this good management wizardry?
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Bruce has made us a lot more resolute in a few short weeks. That's impressive.
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11 points from 5 for Bruce without appearing to play all that well. What is this good management wizardry?
11 points from 5 would truly be wizardry ;)
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Great result.
Blackburn aren't a bad side, either, better than their position in the table.
Kodjia could prove to be a bargain £11m :)
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good win, although there is much to be done!
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My win streak continues!!!!!
Well done. You may have been assisted by my refusal to predict the score in the pre-match threads. If it ain't broke..
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My win streak continues!!!!!
Well done. You may have been assisted by my refusal to predict the score in the pre-match threads. If it ain't broke..
Also my refusal to pay any attention to the score until the match is over.
Top work everyone
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We are unbeatable!
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cant believe i listened to the first half twice ( it was that shit ) on some link and missed the bloody goals when I realised i was one hour behind .... ffs
but 3 pts
get in you beauties
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Kodjia seems the difference up front, not sure about McCormack though. Definitely thought it would be the other way round when we signed them. Happy days and UTV!
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
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cant believe i listened to the first half twice ( it was that shit ) on some link and missed the bloody goals when I realised i was one hour behind .... ffs
but 3 pts
get in you beauties
Ha, I clicked a link someone posted, and didn't realise I was listening to an old game vs Barnsley for about 3 minutes.
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Jedinek motm. Special thanks to guy next to me in l7 row vv who left at 1 nil down and hasn't seen us win in 2 years!!
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Westwood who is crap but has a decent attitude comes on = Gets booed
Gabby who is crap and who's attitude stinks comes on = Gets cheered
Villa fans' logic. Absolutely mental.
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
Hes going to score the winner v Brighton on the telly?
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
Hes going to score the winner v Brighton on the telly?
Is that a question? I'm not a clairvoyant!
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My win streak continues!!!!!
Well done. You may have been assisted by my refusal to predict the score in the pre-match threads. If it ain't broke..
Also my refusal to pay any attention to the score until the match is over.
Top work everyone
Also, my continued absence until we get into the top two.
Ahhh, bollocks.
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Westwood who is crap but has a decent attitude comes on = Gets booed
Gabby who is crap and who's attitude stinks comes on = Gets cheered
Villa fans' logic. Absolutely mental.
I suppose it's because Gabby gave us 5 good years, whereas we have hardly had 5 good minutes from Westy.
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
Hes going to score the winner v Brighton on the telly?
Is that a question? I'm not a clairvoyant!
It cant be wrong to want him to become the player he once was. Ill support him whilst he pulls on the shirt, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
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What a difference 45 minutes makes. From complete and utter turd, to team that looks capable of beating teams and going up.
Seemed to me Bruce basically said to the at half time "get the ball and go forward and run with it". It worked.
Going home happy and considering buying tickets for Cardiff.
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My win streak continues!!!!!
Well done. You may have been assisted by my refusal to predict the score in the pre-match threads. If it ain't broke..
Jump on Mark, room for everyone!!
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oz_FVLkV9NI/VYsP4460xlI/AAAAAAAACZs/1MynfZuDGBc/w800-h800/bandwagon.gif)
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
Hes going to score the winner v Brighton on the telly?
How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
Hes going to score the winner v Brighton on the telly?
Is that a question? I'm not a clairvoyant!
It cant be wrong to want him to become the player he once was. Ill support him whilst he pulls on the shirt, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Well if Bruce can get something from Gabby fair play to him. If Gabby playing well in a Villa shirt that all that matters and only better for the team.
Well done today, come from behind and fight to the end. Happy days.
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Just watched the brief highlights. Gabby nicked the ball very nicely for the second goal
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How did Gabby do? He has obviously had head issues but seems to be on the mend.
May has well have him earning his money, I cant dislike him like some.
Try harder. He's a twat.
Hes going to score the winner v Brighton on the telly?
Is that a question? I'm not a clairvoyant!
It cant be wrong to want him to become the player he once was. Ill support him whilst he pulls on the shirt, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.
That's very magnanimous, romantic and totally expedient but he's still a twat. Remember why we're mid-table in tier two of the football league.
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Hard to judge players when you just got radio ref...and the commentators had no idea what kind of tactic we played after Kodjia went off.
Something with Gabby up front and parked Bus driven by Jedi with a limping Adomah as counter outlet.
But who care, we won! Happy if we get Ayew and Bacuna back after the break though.
Felt like Bruce used every leftover we had in the pan....it wasn't a culinary treat but was passable with Ketchup.
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I like winning.
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Highlights (http://www.skysports.com/football/a-villa-vs-blackburn/358290)
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A strong 2nd 45 & coming from behind to win? 'Tis jiggery - and indeed pokery - I tell thee! Marvellous teatime scenes. 8)
Edit: highlights already up...
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Can we get player ratings from people who saw it?
I only saw that it was scoreless at half time and spent the latter part of the second half in the pub. BBC's live scores programme was on in the background but they didn't seem to go to VP once so I assumed it was another fucking draw and a scoreless one to boot. Wasn't mannerly to check phone in the company of others so I was very chuffed when I finally saw we won.
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Can we get player ratings from people who saw it?
I only saw that it was scoreless at half time and spent the latter part of the second half in the pub. BBC's live scores programme was on in the background but they didn't seem to go to VP once so I assumed it was another fucking draw and a scoreless one to boot. Wasn't mannerly to check phone in the company of others so I was very chuffed when I finally saw we won.
Gollini 6
Hutton 6
Baker 6
Chester 6
Amavi 7
Jedinak 8
Gardner 6
Adomah 7
Grealish 7
Kodija 7
Mcormack 5
Very similar to Fulham. Slow start but upped the pace and closing down hugely in the second half. A bit of game management by Bruce I think. We are getting stronger as the game goes on whereas earlier in the season we were flagging.
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Double post
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My win streak continues!!!!!
Well done. You may have been assisted by my refusal to predict the score in the pre-match threads. If it ain't broke..
Also my refusal to pay any attention to the score until the match is over.
Top work everyone
I've been doing this for years. It always seemed to me that we did better when I did, until the last six years then, no matter what I did we couldn't seem to buy a result. I even saw a lone magpie today and my heart sunk, then when I switched this thing on at five-o-clock, bingo!
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Gollini - couple of decent saves. Kicking was satisfactory
Hutton - has pace but positional sense non existent. Crossing garbage. One of weak links in team.
Chester - solid and composed.
Baker - limited footballer but currently rock like in defence. Worried when he made 1st half interception and nearly hurt himself.
Amavi - lost his man a few times 1st half but overall ok. Not much threat going forward.
Adomah- lots of the ball but not productive enough with it
Jedinak- excellent again. Authoritive in front of defence and lovely sweeping pass for 2nd goal . motm
Gardner- one great shot otherwise grafted but mainly anonymous
Grealish - excellent at times and scared them each time he went forward. Great run for pen.
McCormack- off the pace. Can't seem to find the right position to utilise his obvious ability.
Kodjia- drifted wide a lot but his pace and running with ball caused them trouble all afternoon. Took 2nd goal very well. Clearly will be our top goalscorer.
Subs
Gabby - hard to forgive but at least he looks like he is bothered. Worked hard for time he was on.
Westwood - did the job.
Elphick- steady.
Summary
Though we deserved it for effort and we'd half bottle. Short passages of good play but not quite fluid enough yet
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Thumbs up!!
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I still haven't seen us win under Bruce as I missed today through being ill. I'm tempted to start a fundme page for you all to keep me away from games!
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Re: Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers Post-Match Thread
« Reply #42 on: Today at 05:20:56 PM »
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Gollini - couple of decent saves. Kicking was satisfactory
Hutton - has pace but positional sense non existent. Crossing garbage. One of weak links in team.
Chester - solid and composed.
Baker - limited footballer but currently rock like in defence. Worried when he made 1st half interception and nearly hurt himself.
Amavi - lost his man a few times 1st half but overall ok. Not much threat going forward.
Adomah- lots of the ball but not productive enough with it
Jedinak- excellent again. Authoritive in front of defence and lovely sweeping pass for 2nd goal . motm
Gardner- one great shot otherwise grafted but mainly anonymous
Grealish - excellent at times and scared them each time he went forward. Great run for pen.
McCormack- off the pace. Can't seem to find the right position to utilise his obvious ability.
Kodjia- drifted wide a lot but his pace and running with ball caused them trouble all afternoon. Took 2nd goal very well. Clearly will be our top goalscorer.
Subs
Gabby - hard to forgive but at least he looks like he is bothered. Worked hard for time he was on.
Westwood - did the job.
Elphick- steady.
Summary
Though we deserved it for effort and we'd half bottle. Short passages of good play but not quite fluid enough yet
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I agree with Hooky
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You will have observed we are now only five points off the play offs!!
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Just watched the brief highlights. Gabby nicked the ball very nicely for the second goal
Gabby did well and that interception was excellent. I must not praise him too much though as it will upset some.
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Very poor first half - complete lack of intensity or tempo. Whatever Mr Bruce said at half time certainly worked - completely different attitude in the second half which got the crowd going as well. Kodjia is one hell of a player, and Adomah will look even better when he's got Bacuna behind him - for all Hutton's hard work his crossing was woeful again today. Not sure I like playing Kodjia wide with McCormack (who still looks off the pace) up top, but while we're getting results I'll bow to Mr Bruce's superior knowledge of how to set a team up. Couple of good saves by Gollini, solid across the back, Jedinak played very well in front of them - MOTM for me - Jack did well to get the pen, and the build up and execution of the second goal was top drawer. Coming back from one down, seeing the game out, not conceding late to throw points away - feels like witchcraft at work. Long chants of 'Stevie Bruce's claret & blue army' in the second half and one 'Brucie gi's a wave' (which he did) - all pulling in the same direction, and it feels good!
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Quality winner
Hard to tell from highlights but did Gollini totally lose his bearings for their goal? Didn't even make an effort to save it
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haven't seen the game,
but really pleased to hear that Jedinak played well as he was becoming a bit of a worry
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Quality winner
Hard to tell from highlights but did Gollini totally lose his bearings for their goal? Didn't even make an effort to save it
I've got a sneaking suspicion that Gollini is far weaker on his left side than his right side. There have been numerous times this season that the ball whistles past his left hand post and he's rooted to the spot. Very similar to Dida.
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My first game for a while as now live overseas.
First half was dire - second half excellent. Go figure!
Agree with others that Jedinak was MOTM. But apart from the penalty I thought Jack offered very little and too often seemed half arsed. Midfield remains the big weakness - need upgrades there in January
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It's all very well you all going on about the win and being the only Championship team unbeaten at home but don't you realise the Blose really deserved to win last Sunday.
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Was never in doubt. Said 3-1 but will take 2-1.
Anyway FTF.
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You don't usually learn anything from Facebook, but somebody there made the astute point that the slow first halfs are Bruce's way of dealing with the squad fitness issue.
Anyway as a baritone singer I can fully get behind the 'Steve Bruce' inserted into the 'Claret and Blue Army' chant.
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Gabby did well and that interception was excellent. I must not praise him too much though as it will upset some.
Your last sentence is a bit needy. Why not just say what you think and deal with the comments you may or may not get?
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Until we shifted formation, the concern I had when I leaked the team was justified. Ross is a good player, however he is an expensive cost to how we set up now. He can only play in a 4411 or a 10 role or not at all in my opinion
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Ross/Jack is a one or the other choice IMO.
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I had the radio coverage but I gave up because about 12% of the commentary was description of play and the rest idle chit-chat. I'm just ecstatic to see that we have won another game.
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Interesting post-match quotes from Bruce on Pravda, including about Kodjas penchant for drifting wide. Can't link, it's too fiddly on a tablet.
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As others have said, the first half was just a waste of 45 minutes. There was no intensity and no energy.
I thought Grealish and Gardner were especially culpable in the first half but they did improve.
Jedinak had his best game so far and I thought Adomah really put a shift in, and although his end product wasn't always there, he ran at their defence and caused problems, much more so than Grealish who, penalty aside, didn't really warrant the amount of adulation he received.
Had a direct view of their goal. Good header but Gollini should've reacted to dive at least. Gallagher is another off the Southampton conveyor belt of good young players...lesson to be learned there.
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You don't usually learn anything from Facebook, but somebody there made the astute point that the slow first halfs are Bruce's way of dealing with the squad fitness issue.
Interesting as that was on my mind as well - pressing 2nd half after sitting off first half- and I was hoping this 2 weeks would give us time to do a bit of fitness work but then see we have players jetting off everywhere e.g. Jedinak playing in Thailand Tuesday before a tough Friday night away game. That's why we spent to have options I guess
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Pleased with that in the end -
poor first half when we let Blackburn play some slick, tidy stuff but with only a few half chances; much better second half - whatever Bruce put in the half time tea needs to be taken before the game kicks off!
Thought Jedinak was calmly immense and showed a lovely bit of vision for Kodjia's winner...jack and Adomah caused them real problems second half and Kodjia dispatched both of his goals beautifully.
Only negatives...yet again we only play for 45 minutes, midfield needs attention (Gardner not good enough/organisation), Hutton weak, McCormack - didn't do enough again!
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You don't usually learn anything from Facebook, but somebody there made the astute point that the slow first halfs are Bruce's way of dealing with the squad fitness issue.
Interesting as that was on my mind as well - pressing 2nd half after sitting off first half
Hmm, intriguing idea. I wouldnt put it past him, he seems a practical bloke.
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I feel a bit sorry for McCormack. He's played completely out of position two games running now
He is a luxury though and you wonder if he'll ever find his place. A shame as he's clearly very talented
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I feel a bit sorry for McCormack. He's played completely out of position two games running now
He is a luxury though and you wonder if he'll ever find his place. A shame as he's clearly very talented
He could play at the head of a diamond with Jedinak at the base but we currently don't have the right personnel to complete the quartet.
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Awful, awful first half, Blackburn played all the football, no intensity, nothing.
I said at half time that I hoped that was our "bad half" but feared the worst when they took the lead.
Fair play, Kodjia was like a shining light out there, prepared to run at defenders when no one else would in the first half. Deserved his goals and just hope his injury isn't too bad.
Much better from Jedinak too, lost count of how many headers and tackles he won and his great ball for the goal. Overall great to see us fight back and win a game, it's early days but it's much more promising.
Finally, Gabby. Clearly I'm very much in the minority. His return was greeted with delirium all around us, people sang his name and marvelled at every move he made. The fact that he's back on the pitch just makes me sad. He's duped every Aston Villa fan for years and I for one won't forgive him.
Dick of the day, possibly the season behind me shouted "Gardner you bluenose c***" after a bad pass and then continued to justify that comment to his mate. Quite stunning.
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Ross/Jack is a one or the other choice IMO.
I'd pick Ayew :D
First comeback win in a long time? Results are the most important thing right now, we are slowly but surely building up a bit of momentum, it's us making comebacks and getting late winners now as opposed to being the dog that get's kicked.
Really happy with the job Bruce is doing at the moment. Big test against Brighton, if we are still unbeaten after that, then we have
Cardiff H
Leeds A
Wigan H
Norwich A
QPR A
Burton H
Leeds H
Very conceivable we go in to the new year unbeaten at home on that back of 6 straight wins at home. I think we are very capable of taking 2 points per game from that set of fixtures which would put us on the brink of the play offs heading in to January with the chance to sort out our midfield problems.
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Enjoying this winning most weeks business.
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Quote Of The Day from a wag behind me in the Holte. Jedinak missed a decent headed chance in the second half. Not sure if he was called offside. "You should have put your beard on it"! came the cry.
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Amazing how much difference a Saturday afternoon win can make to a Saturday night's enjoyment.
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I thought Adomah had a cracking second half. Him and Hutton combined really well down the right after half time. Should I now expect a volley of abuse from the Hutton Haters? I'll get in first. His crosses were still pretty iffy.
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Terrible first half, I had us down at half time. Great comeback second half, fantastic second goal from Jonathan. Would be nice to have a more comfortable lead going into last 10 mins, nervy again. Still, wins have been so rare in recent years that goes down as a great afternoon.
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I thought Adomah had a cracking second half. Him and Hutton combined really well down the right after half time. Should I now expect a volley of abuse from the Hutton Haters? I'll get in first. His crosses were still pretty iffy.
Hutton gets into such good attacking poaitions. Then fecks it up.
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We played well second half. Jedinek had by far his best game and probably was Man of the Match but it was Grealish that got us back in the game. After a poor first half from the Team, He was brilliant in the first 15 minutes of the second half. He kept demanding the ball and running at Blackburn.
We then went a goal behind against the run of play but Grealish got us back into it with yet another run earning a penalty.
There are not many players in the game who can beat opposition players with a bit of skill. When you do that it causes all sorts of problems to the defending Team as the opposition players have to make all sorts of decisions like do I stay with my man or do I close down the guy running at me.
Grealish posed these problems throughout the game.
Kodija also has the ability to run at defenders and although He is not the finished article He has great strengths too.
Very pleased with the result and we can go on from here.
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This thread would be 20 pages by now if we'd lost
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I thought Adomah had a cracking second half. Him and Hutton combined really well down the right after half time. Should I now expect a volley of abuse from the Hutton Haters? I'll get in first. His crosses were still pretty iffy.
Never seen or heard anyone say they hate Hutton so not sure where that comes from?
What is said is he is all a model professional who is all heart and pace with little positional defensive sense and can't cross - which are observable facts
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Jedinak and Chester were my men of the match today. We're certainly a lot tighter defensively now. Midfield is still our problem area.
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Went to the game earlier. Dreadful first half, but much better in the second half and the Holte got going as well. Thought Blackburn scored a pretty soft goal against the run of play, but it didn't put us off. For me, Kodjia looks better cutting in from the left and Grealish in a more central role. Unthinkable a couple of weeks ago, but Agbonlahor might just have a role to play this season.
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Agree noticeable as soon as Grealish went to left after Kodjia went off he was out of the game and not as effective.
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Pleased as I am, I notice that the further we climb from the bottom of the table, the slower our upward progress, even with three points. We're going to have to turn this into a proper run if we are going to enter the New Year with a chance of competing at the top.
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A cracking three points.
This game sums up the Championship and the sort of grit we need to grind out these results.
It's going to be a long hard season but I have already seen some great positives:
Gollini: Much more solid and a great first half save, looks so much more confident.
Hutton: He was outstanding today. Never been his bigget fan but he was solid, positive going forward and a great defensive header right at the death.
Amavi: Looking class an much stronger defensively
Baker: Tough, uncompromising although their centre forward gave him a lot of poblems today. Did well.
Chester: Excellent, solid and a leader.
Jedinak: Best game so far. Heading and intercepting everything and a superb pass for Kodji's winner.
Gardner: Worked his socks off and was solid and determined.
Adomah: This guy just keeps going and going, was perpetual motion in the second half and ran himself into the ground.
Grealish: Great running with the ball, won penalty well.
Kodija: What a find, 20 goals this season is on the cards. Centre, right, left, he can play them all and is a constant threat.
McCormack: He is the only one who was dissapointing today, he doesn't seem to fit in with the way we're set up I wa expecting so much more fom him but his undoubted quality in this league should se him come good eventually.
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The art of grinding out results will serve us well; long may it continue.
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Three points. Don't care about the details.
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Lovely second goal. Deft touch by Agbonlahor and great pass from Jedinak, nice finish.
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We played well second half. Jedinek had by far his best game and probably was Man of the Match but it was Grealish that got us back in the game. After a poor first half from the Team, He was brilliant in the first 15 minutes of the second half. He kept demanding the ball and running at Blackburn.
We then went a goal behind against the run of play but Grealish got us back into it with yet another run earning a penalty.
There are not many players in the game who can beat opposition players with a bit of skill. When you do that it causes all sorts of problems to the defending Team as the opposition players have to make all sorts of decisions like do I stay with my man or do I close down the guy running at me.
Grealish posed these problems throughout the game.
Kodija also has the ability to run at defenders and although He is not the finished article He has great strengths too.
Very pleased with the result and we can go on from here.
Noel, I agree with you completely. Grealish was the instigator of our upsurge in taking the game to them in the 2nd half. Easily MOM for me. Why we were so shit in the first 45 I don't get. We have good players...not great, but good enough to be in the top six easily.
One thing that is really pissing me off with our players and most footballl players in general is that any slight knock results in lengthy delays for no reason usuallly. Just get up
And play the game you wankers.
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After we made them change their shape at the end of the first half I thought our full backs, Hutton in particular, took up much better starting positions.
They were a good 20 yards further up and gave good chance from an overlap, Adomah and Hutton wore them down for instance.
Much better intensity, less touches on the ball before moving it on and a collective press.
Kodjia is an excellent player. I love watching him.
Their goal came against the run of play, but again it had a familiarity to it. Our response wasn't. he first time we've come from behind to win in the league since Leicester in December 2014.
A pleasing result.
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Highlights (http://www.skysports.com/football/a-villa-vs-blackburn/358290)
Thank you.
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Had a strange feeling when we went a goal down that we would still win, haven't felt like that for years. Thought we would go on and get 3 or 4. The only thing I would question is bringing Elphick on for Jack meant we invited pressure on ourselves at the end and didn't have an out ball. For all Jack's faults he has a knack of holding on to the ball and getting someone to foul him, especially as a couple of times in injury time Gary Gardner broke from the back and it was crying out for him to have someone with him and keep the ball or kill the game. Anyway we won so fk it! Jedinak was MOM by a mile, was a beast today and starting to look like the player we thought we'd signed. Don't look back in anger indeed.
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It was anything but a routine win today.
Blackburn played very well for an hour...much better than I thought they would be given they're bottom 3.
We were actually on top when they scored.
I thought the penalty was harsh but seeing It on the highlights it is a foul.
Kodjia's got an interesting method. He makes it so obvious which side he'll hit it from his run up but he hits it with so much power and in the corner....he would give me heart failure in a shoot out in the play offs though!
First half our formation didn't work at all. McCormack doesn't convince me at all leading the line and Jack just can't get involved enough in the game playing centrally imo...he's much better nominally wide but with licence to drift infield. He had good games in the premier league playing this role.
What a great ball from Jedi for the second...reminded me of the ones Barry used to play beyond the fullback.
Just important to get another 3 points....we are slowly creeping up the table and was much needed as Brighton away will be our toughest game of the season by a long way.
When was actually the last time we won a league game after falling behind?
Today was everything Forest at home should've been. The funny thing is I reckon RDM would've still been here if we'd won that day.
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Oh and this pressurizing their defenders in their own half instead of letting them walk to the halfway line, what a great idea! They tend to shit themselves and make mistakes, a bit like us for the last god knows how many years. Except try to keep doing it for the last 5-10 minutes of the game.
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Just got back after celebrating with a few drinks.
When the team was announced I was a bit worried that the 2 instead of 3 in our middle could be overrun until I saw Westwood wasn't one of the 2. Adomah back was also a massive plus.
Dreadful first half with boos really ringing loudly until the savvy bloke next to me suggested that this was a Bruce master plan. Considering the talent at our disposal - they're not up to speed fitness wise. They'll come out the blocks 2nd half.
Sure enough!
Gollini - Really grown in confidence but was rooted to the spot for their goal. Fine stops from their attacks, overall good.
Hutton - Solid at the back, got forward loads of times but his limitation on crossing or playing a decent final ball is so frustrating. Definitely need an upgrade.
Baker - Rock solid and won most of the headers. No worry or shakiness, is keeping Elphick out.
Chester - Like his defensive partner, solid.
Amavi - Gets into oceans of space and bombs forward. Nailed some cool defensive headers too.
Jedinak - He is MOM1 for me. Headers, Inteceptions, Tackles, Pass for the winner. Hail to King Leonidas!!!
Gardener - Buzzed around and really doesn't want to give the shirt up - just the attitude we need.
Adomah - Bags of energy and I thought him and Hutton linked up great to give Rovers problems.
Grealish - Picked up the ball, dodged the swarm of black shirts and offered a threat. Fantastic run to win the pen.
Kodija - MOM2 - Over the last 5 years I haven't had much desire to have a player's name in on my replica shirt - I'd have this guy's like a shot. Great performances, wonderful goals, will fire us back to the Prem. Ah shit....he's gone for a month come Jan
McCormack - Tried hard and was a couple of efforts close but needs a goal to boost his confidence.
Gabby - WTF - I'm firmly in the jettison his ass camp. However the club needs to be ruthless now after having the piss taken by similar wankers of his ilk. That is use them for the fleeting moments of distraction for the opposition but not take them seriously as a long term. I'm amazed at some sections singing his name.
Westwood - Helped shore the middle up.
Elphick - Shored the back up but didn't have time for a bigger impact.
Came from behind to win.
5 games unbeaten.
Only side to remain unbeaten at home.
Let the good times roll.....
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After we made them change their shape at the end of the first half I thought our full backs, Hutton in particular, took up much better starting positions.
They were a good 20 yards further up and gave good chance from an overlap, Adomah and Hutton wore them down for instance.
Much better intensity, less touches on the ball before moving it on and a collective press.
Kodjia is an excellent player. I love watching him.
Their goal came against the run of play, but again it had a familiarity to it. Our response wasn't. he first time we've come from behind to win in the league since Leicester in December 2014.
A pleasing result.
Ah just seen your post Ads...Leicester it was. I thought Norwich in March 2014 so was a bit off.
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December '14 or as it's also known, 'too long'.
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Pleased as I am, I notice that the further we climb from the bottom of the table, the slower our upward progress, even with three points.
I agree, have been thinking the same thing. Thought we'd have climbed much more than we have today, was surprised when I checked. It's a fucking battle this league, and you really need a Newcastle style run.
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We need to keep on beating a few around us...we play Leeds twice in the next 6 weeks and they somehow are in the last play off spot now....I swear when I looked at the table 3 weeks back they were below us!
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We won 1 of the first 11, we've still only won 4 out of 16. It's obvious it would take more than a few games to start moving into the top 10.
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We need to keep on beating a few around us...we play Leeds twice in the next 6 weeks and they somehow are in the last play off spot now....I swear when I looked at the table 3 weeks back they were below us!
Leeds have taken 22 points from their last 10 games, a run which has seen them climb from 22nd place to sixth in under two months.
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It's fairly obvious, but we just need to keep winning and our league position will take care of itself.
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If Bruce can keep up this rate of points we should end up on 87 by the end of the season. I think we've got some improvement to come though so who knows how quickly we can gain on everyone ahead of us. After Brighton in two weeks we've got get winnable games until the end of the year.
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Pleased as I am, I notice that the further we climb from the bottom of the table, the slower our upward progress, even with three points.
I agree, have been thinking the same thing. Thought we'd have climbed much more than we have today, was surprised when I checked. It's a fucking battle this league, and you really need a Newcastle style run.
When Bruce took over we were 10 off the play offs, then after the Reading win we were only 6. I was sure 7 from 9 after that would have 3 points off and in the top half, but not to be.
11 from the next 5 and we will be within a couple of points of it though I reckon now.
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Life in the championship, could not get any sort of feed even for radio, so stuck with match thread and sky updates, drove me ffing mad, but another 3 points, still alot of work to be done, but after the last so many years a win is a win.
As long as we keep moving in the right direction and nice to see a manager can have an influence down at B6
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Had a great view of both goals - definite penalty and a simply brilliant piece of skill from Kodjia for the second. He's our new talisman. Blackburn surprised me for most of the game but what is evident is that Bruce has instilled belief and resilience - at no point did I think we were going to loose.
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Had a great view of both goals - definite penalty and a simply brilliant piece of skill from Kodjia for the second. He's our new talisman. Blackburn surprised me for most of the game but what is evident is that Bruce has instilled belief and resilience - at no point did I think we were going to loose.
How long has it been since you(we ) felt like that?
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At a loose guess, we are going to lose less games than before.
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The difference in tempo in the second half was massive, we looked really good going forward and very solid at the back. Difficult to pick a MOM, all the defenders were in with a shout but I'd go for Jack, he dictated the pace and looked a threat all game.
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Well I was sitting there in my seat at HT with my head in my hands. I couldn't make any head or tail of what I had seen in the preceding 46 minutes. No shape , no idea, no desire leading to no shots , no chances no hope. Thinking that we are lucky to be level at HT against a team in bottom 3 was quite shocking.
Not sure if we started off any better in the second but the key thing was their goal. That seem to spur on our players an we started doing the right things. Like picking the ball up and running at the opposition. So we ended up turning it around and that's great. Not seen this from a Villa team in the recent past.
So that meant I was able to have a really great evening at home with BBQ, Bonfire in the garden and couple of batteries of 130 shot Fireworks to finish off everything.
Jack was MotM for me slightly edging out Mile.
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At a loose guess, we are going to lose less games than before.
Need I remind you loose talk and you lose points!
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The first half was just a typical championship game...high on energy but low on skill and any sort of quality. Infact I've seen plenty of those halfs at premier league level.
It's scary to think just 8 years ago this was a top 6 premier league fixture with both teams around that position.
It's sad to see how much Blackburn have declined as they're a decent club, the Venkys are worse than Lerner which is saying something.
We'll probably be the ones to relegate them in April.
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Pleased as I am, I notice that the further we climb from the bottom of the table, the slower our upward progress, even with three points.
I agree, have been thinking the same thing. Thought we'd have climbed much more than we have today, was surprised when I checked. It's a fucking battle this league, and you really need a Newcastle style run.
It's an issue often reported by mountain climbers.
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The McCormack miss was posted as 2-1 lead to Villa by most bookies. They computers are fast to pre guess!
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He was offside anyway.
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At a loose guess, we are going to lose less games than before.
Fewer.
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I don't think we played particularly well really but it's another 3 points on the board which is what matters at the moment. I thought Jedinak and Hutton both had decent games and Gabby seemed like the right sub at the right time. He seemed to keep their defenders on their toes.
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Small thing, but I noticed yesterday that towards the end of the game yesterday we had four players on the pitch who had come through our academy. Its certainly one thing I hope to see more of going forward.
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Oh and this pressurizing their defenders in their own half instead of letting them walk to the halfway line, what a great idea! They tend to shit themselves and make mistakes
This is where Villa miss Bacuna. His harassing of defenders or deep-midfielders makes up for the lack of pace if GG and Jedi
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I thought the last 10 plus 5 minutes were the most comfortable ending to the game where we are leading I have seen this season at VP. Matches against Huddersfield, Brentford and Forest were terrible for that.
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The difference in tempo in the second half was massive, we looked really good going forward and very solid at the back. Difficult to pick a MOM, all the defenders were in with a shout but I'd go for Jack, he dictated the pace and looked a threat all game.
Agree with all of that. I think there goal was the first time they had been been in our half after the break. It is also a nice thought that it was done with good players missing.
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At a loose guess, we are going to lose less games than before.
Fewer.
I have resigned my position. Oops!
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Is it me, or does it look like Jedniak struggles to run. He looks like someone trying to run after just completing a marathon having done no training.
Not that he didn't play as well as everyone else in the second half, it just amuses me watching him try to run.
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Is it me, or does it look like Jedniak struggles to run. He looks like someone trying to run after just completing a marathon having done no training.
Not that he didn't play as well as everyone else in the second half, it just amuses me watching him try to run.
No-I've noticed this as well (it worked in our favour last week when the rest of the team ran to our fans after the goal haha)
It is why he cannot play in a 2 man midfield as RDM attempted. He is simply not mobile enough.
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It's all very well you all going on about the win and being the only Championship team unbeaten at home but don't you realise the Blose really deserved to win last Sunday.
But they didn't. Wolves deserved to win but they didn't and that the difference. Getting results when they aren't deserved is better than throwing away points in the last few minutes. It shows more fight and determination is in the team now.
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Is it me, or does it look like Jedniak struggles to run. He looks like someone trying to run after just completing a marathon having done no training.
Not that he didn't play as well as everyone else in the second half, it just amuses me watching him try to run.
I said the same thing to my son at the game. Fortunately he reads the game well so manages to be in the right place the majority of the time. Lovely ball for the goal too.
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I like Adomah. I notice he ran back with the ball to the centre spot after the penalty.
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Were there really people booing Westwood whilst Agbonlahor was cheeed at the substitutions?
For all his limitations Westwood hasn't taken the piss out of the football club and if he's low on confidence that's hardly going to help. I hope that come January a club are foolish enough to take Agbonlahor off our hands, can't believe he has been welcomed back so readily by some.
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Were there really people booing Westwood whilst Agbonlahor was cheeed at the substitutions?
For all his limitations Westwood hasn't taken the piss out of the football club and if he's low on confidence that's hardly going to help. I hope that come January a club are foolish enough to take Agbonlahor off our hands, can't believe he has been welcomed back so readily by some.
I didn't hear anything from the DE. The crowd were focusing on giving Kodjia the ovation that he deserved.
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Were there really people booing Westwood whilst Agbonlahor was cheeed at the substitutions?
For all his limitations Westwood hasn't taken the piss out of the football club and if he's low on confidence that's hardly going to help. I hope that come January a club are foolish enough to take Agbonlahor off our hands, can't believe he has been welcomed back so readily by some.
I didn't hear anything from the DE. The crowd were focusing on giving Kodjia the ovation that he deserved.
I didn't notice the boos for Westwood but I agree with you on the Agbonlahor thing...I just don't get it
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It was more collective grumbling than booing I would say
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I think Agbonlahor's Blues baiting makes a certain element of our fan base elevate him to hero status more than his playing ability does. I'm clutching at straws here - I have no idea why some still think he is worthy of any ovation, standing or otherwise.
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I've not read the rest of this thread so excuse me for asking, but did we miss Ayew?
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I've not read the rest of this thread so excuse me for asking, but did we miss Ayew?
Not massively. We won, and Kodjia and Adomah bring more to the team anyway.
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I like Adomah. I notice he ran back with the ball to the centre spot after the penalty.
Me too. Kept trying to be involved when he could barely move at the end. Would have been an easy move for him to just walk off and let us play with ten.
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It was more collective grumbling than booing I would say
I was up the Holte and there was definitely booing when Westwoods name was announced. Fucking moronic bunch of pricks.
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Were there really people booing Westwood whilst Agbonlahor was cheeed at the substitutions?
For all his limitations Westwood hasn't taken the piss out of the football club and if he's low on confidence that's hardly going to help. I hope that come January a club are foolish enough to take Agbonlahor off our hands, can't believe he has been welcomed back so readily by some.
Agree, surely six managers can't all be wrong?
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I've not read the rest of this thread so excuse me for asking, but did we miss Ayew?
Not massively. We won, and Kodjia and Adomah bring more to the team anyway.
Yes, hard to say we missed him after the win. But I think our best team has him in it.
I'd have the team from yesterday with Bacuna, Tshibola and Ayew replacing Hutton, Gardner and RMC respectively.
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At a loose guess, we are going to lose less games than before.
We have only lost three games in fairness this season, same as Newcastle.
Converting draws into wins is still the challenge, only 17 goals scored this season despite all the attacking talent
Great to win yesterday but Blackburn are where they are in the table for a reason
Friday night will tell a lot, Brighton dont have outstanding individuals but are a very solid second division team
Think we can get some joy from Shane Duffy, good in the air but very slow on the turn
Id expect Ayew to come back in for McCormack and we should be very dangerous on the counterattack with Ayew, Kodjia and Grealish
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I've not read the rest of this thread so excuse me for asking, but did we miss Ayew?
Not massively. We won, and Kodjia and Adomah bring more to the team anyway.
Agree with PM but for some reason SB doesn't like Tish. He has been available, on the bench, for the last three or four matches but been overlooked for alternative midfielders
Yes, hard to say we missed him after the win. But I think our best team has him in it.
I'd have the team from yesterday with Bacuna, Tshibola and Ayew replacing Hutton, Gardner and RMC respectively.
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It was more collective grumbling than booing I would say
I was up the Holte and there was definitely booing when Westwoods name was announced. Fucking moronic bunch of pricks.
Yep, I heard it in the Holte Lower too. No need for it.
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Does anyone know what the first half applause was for?
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Does anyone know what the first half applause was for?
Yes, it was posted on here, earlier in the week. Have a look at the latest thread in the Holte Enders in the Sky section
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Does anyone know what the first half applause was for?
Yes, it was posted on here, earlier in the week. Have a look at the latest thread in the Holte Enders in the Sky section
Will do, thank you
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It was more collective grumbling than booing I would say
I was up the Holte and there was definitely booing when Westwoods name was announced. Fucking moronic bunch of pricks.
Yep, I heard it in the Holte Lower too. No need for it.
That's disappointing I was in the Witton upper P8 there was no booing there
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Thought Brucey fell into same trap as RDM first half with trying to shoe horn 4 attacking players into the team whilst not having enough strength & physicality behind them to win enough ball to make use of those 4.
Jedinak looks like that player we thought we were buying now.
McCormack is looking like the player Fulham & Leeds fans told us we were getting, one who doesn't look like he fits any formation...if his legs went as fast as his arms wave he'd be quite an athlete.
Bar the brain fade for the goal Chester / Baker look very good at the back...look forward to that developing as Bruce coaches them more.
Hutton, runs around a lot and is always willing to go forward, shame he has zero ability to deliver anything remotely useful when he gets there. When you are playing with snow whites dwarves up front why keep crossing in air, you just know if Gestede came on it would have been daisy cutters. With de Laet out for season hope there is a right back out there come January on loan. (ps am not a hater just want to see better)
Understand groans when Westwood came on as rightly or wrongly his bang averageness is associated with how we have fallen in recent times, any booing is plain stupid though!
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Does anyone have a link to the highlights?
I've been working all weekend, so haven't had a chance to watch.
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Does anyone have a link to the highlights?
I've been working all weekend, so haven't had a chance to watch.
They are on AVTV if that's any help
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Thought adoma was excellent as well
Amavi looked class in all areas
And this run has nothing to do with Bruce it's due to me having a chicken balti pie since I have had one before each game we haven't been beaten
Come on villa
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Highlights (http://www.skysports.com/football/a-villa-vs-blackburn/358290)
Here you go
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Thanks chaps. It's a thing of beauty.
We look dangerous.
Gollini should have got at least near to that though.
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I am more impressed with Kodjia after watching his goal on TV. Absolute class the way he placed it in the far corner. Whilst watching from the Witton End upper I saw it as a straight hit that managed to get through the keeper into the net.
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Thought Brucey fell into same trap as RDM first half with trying to shoe horn 4 attacking players into the team whilst not having enough strength & physicality behind them to win enough ball to make use of those 4.
Jedinak looks like that player we thought we were buying now.
McCormack is looking like the player Fulham & Leeds fans told us we were getting, one who doesn't look like he fits any formation...if his legs went as fast as his arms wave he'd be quite an athlete.
Bar the brain fade for the goal Chester / Baker look very good at the back...look forward to that developing as Bruce coaches them more.
Hutton, runs around a lot and is always willing to go forward, shame he has zero ability to deliver anything remotely useful when he gets there. When you are playing with snow whites dwarves up front why keep crossing in air, you just know if Gestede came on it would have been daisy cutters. With de Laet out for season hope there is a right back out there come January on loan. (ps am not a hater just want to see better)
Understand groans when Westwood came on as rightly or wrongly his bang averageness is associated with how we have fallen in recent times, any booing is plain stupid though!
The shape of the side seems to be coming together. Interesting that Bruce went with a 4-2-3-1 formation at home yesterday rather than the 4-3-3 he employed at Blues last week.
Edit - every time I see the tactic of bringing an extra defender on in the final stages (like Elphick yesterday) it results in one thing - increased pressure on the defence as there is no one pressing the opposition higher up the pitch. Although it is seems a pretty logical move, I've always thought it is a questionable tactic.
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At a loose guess, we are going to lose less games than before.
Excellent stuff, cheers!
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Edit - every time I see the tactic of bringing an extra defender on in the final stages (like Elphick yesterday) it results in one thing - increased pressure on the defence as there is no one pressing the opposition higher up the pitch. Although it is seems a pretty logical move, I've always thought it is a questionable tactic.
I'd prefer an extra midfielder to harass the opposition further up the pitch. Therefore, I'd have brought on Tish
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Edit - every time I see the tactic of bringing an extra defender on in the final stages (like Elphick yesterday) it results in one thing - increased pressure on the defence as there is no one pressing the opposition higher up the pitch. Although it is seems a pretty logical move, I've always thought it is a questionable tactic.
I'd prefer an extra midfielder to harass the opposition further up the pitch. Therefore, I'd have brought on Tish
It was the 89th minute. Blackburn were firing the ball high into our box at every opportunity. Elphick won several headers in those few minutes that he was on, it's the one thing that he's good at. No complaints from me there. Grealish would have been a passenger for those last few minutes.
I remember a few years ago, away at Spurs. We were 4-1 up and they were simply firing everything into our box. The midfield was always being by-passed. We had Curtis Davis on the bench and MON bought someone like Marlon Harewood on. I'm convinced to this day, that if we'd have bought Davis on, we would have won that game.
Sometimes, when teams get desperate, they play over the midfield, meaning that however many we have there, it makes no difference.
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I could get used to this winning games malarkey...
Shame the international break has come now but hope we can carry on the good form into what looks a very difficult game at Brighton
Bruce has only been here five minutes and has already won as many games as Garde, Black and Di Matteo combined - it's amazing what a difference it makes when you someone who knows what they are doing in charge
UTV
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Thought played well 2nd half. More organised and resilient.
Kodja is a good player took 2nd goal well. Jedinak is a player we have been missing for years. Gardener is looking more like the player we thought he could be. Collini, Baker and Chester solid base of spine.
Thought Amavi speed of thought and positioning was generally sound, not always been the case. Adomah ditto. Jack had some good touches.
Downsides
RMC looks way off the pace, Hutton tries but is frankly pretty hopeless though did have some decent moments is 2nd half and Jack needs to stop that Westwood style pointing. Subs were a little too negative but result counts.
A big test await us against Brighton - it'll be a measure of how far we have come. Onwards
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Has much been discussed about McCormack's miss? It might have been offside in any case but my word, it really took something special to miss from where he was.
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Edit - every time I see the tactic of bringing an extra defender on in the final stages (like Elphick yesterday) it results in one thing - increased pressure on the defence as there is no one pressing the opposition higher up the pitch. Although it is seems a pretty logical move, I've always thought it is a questionable tactic.
I'd prefer an extra midfielder to harass the opposition further up the pitch. Therefore, I'd have brought on Tish
It was the 89th minute. Blackburn were firing the ball high into our box at every opportunity. Elphick won several headers in those few minutes that he was on, it's the one thing that he's good at. No complaints from me there. Grealish would have been a passenger for those last few minutes.
I remember a few years ago, away at Spurs. We were 4-1 up and they were simply firing everything into our box. The midfield was always being by-passed. We had Curtis Davis on the bench and MON bought someone like Marlon Harewood on. I'm convinced to this day, that if we'd have bought Davis on, we would have won that game.
Sometimes, when teams get desperate, they play over the midfield, meaning that however many we have there, it makes no difference.
The problem though is that when you take an attacker off it just gives the opposition more time to launch balls. It also means that you have no attacking outlet and it just goes straight back to the opposition when it is cleared.
Not having a go at a Bruce at all, just questioning that often used tactic.
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Edit - every time I see the tactic of bringing an extra defender on in the final stages (like Elphick yesterday) it results in one thing - increased pressure on the defence as there is no one pressing the opposition higher up the pitch. Although it is seems a pretty logical move, I've always thought it is a questionable tactic.
I'd prefer an extra midfielder to harass the opposition further up the pitch. Therefore, I'd have brought on Tish
It's a "problem" whatever you do. It's what happens when you're holding on at the end of the game-The other team come at you. When a team are behind, they tend to have more of the ball and they attack more. The team in front rarely commit men forward so attacks are broken down quite easily in any case. No manager is going to bring on an attack minded player when holding on to a slender lead.
The Blackburn striker had a great header first half and scored from one in the second. He was a threat. They started to go long at every opportunity and Elphick certainly proved useful in those dying minutes.
It was a substitution that definately worked and no matter who we had bought on, Blackburn would still have launched the ball into the box every time they had possession.
It was the 89th minute. Blackburn were firing the ball high into our box at every opportunity. Elphick won several headers in those few minutes that he was on, it's the one thing that he's good at. No complaints from me there. Grealish would have been a passenger for those last few minutes.
I remember a few years ago, away at Spurs. We were 4-1 up and they were simply firing everything into our box. The midfield was always being by-passed. We had Curtis Davis on the bench and MON bought someone like Marlon Harewood on. I'm convinced to this day, that if we'd have bought Davis on, we would have won that game.
Sometimes, when teams get desperate, they play over the midfield, meaning that however many we have there, it makes no difference.
The problem though is that when you take an attacker off it just gives the opposition more time to launch balls. It also means that you have no attacking outlet and it just goes straight back to the opposition when it is cleared.
Not having a go at a Bruce at all, just questioning that often used tactic.