Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on December 06, 2016, 03:38:06 PM
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I've never started one of these before so here goes with what was written in the latest H&V.
Another famous old club fallen on hard times. Or alternatively, a club who got bankrolled out of all proportion to where they should be and are falling back where they belong now, even if they did bounce upwards last season. Don’t expect many of them, because Wigan folk don’t go in for that soft southern nancy’s game and prefer watching wrestling with a ball. After they won the FA Cup in 2013 they sold a massive 5,500 tickets for the Charity Shield so clearly their regular supporters took all their friends. Their new manager, like ours, is a graduate of the Alex Ferguson School of Managerial Miseries, but ours has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past two months whereas theirs has merely moved from one under-achieving north-western club to another. Expect to see Ryan Giggs linked with a coaching post here on a weekly basis and the manager’s job whenever they lose.
They’re going down. Our good run will still be running. The result is a formality, even though they were a bogey side of ours in the days before we had nineteen bogey sides. At the risk of regular repetition, this is the sort of game we’ve got to win without really trying.
Things newfooty fans won’t know: How Wigan managed to con us out of nine and a half million pounds, an amount that looks no better in words than in numbers, for Charles N’Zogbia. Again, neither does anyone else.
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We have not got a very good record against these at Villa Park, but this time will be different! 3-1 Villa.
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A win and back on track.
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According to Fotmob they started Warnock at centre-half last week. If they do again, I'd be tempted to start Gestede again.
Main thing though, PLEASE PICK A MIDFIELD.
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If we can't beat this Wigan side then we might as well give it all up!
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Thankfully this is not the 3rd round of the FA cup otherwise somewhere down the line all you would read about would be about Dave Whelan and his broken leg.
Nothing but a win will do. We need to get after them from the start and not wait for an hour to start making a proper impression on the match.
Again we should win and for once I think we will. Just hoping for a clean sheet at our end might not be if Elphick is playing though.
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I used to know a Wigan season ticket holder through work and his tales of being a football fan in a rugby town were always entertaining so I have some respect for those that do bother to travel. That said, I hope we smash them and they all switch sports after the game.
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We badly need a positive result to get back on track. 0-0 or 1-1 is not what we or Steve Bruce will be looking for.
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Saturday will be 580 days and 15 games since I last saw a win. In short, we'd better FTFs.
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Thankfully this is not the 3rd round of the FA cup otherwise somewhere down the line all you would read about would be about Dave Whelan and his broken leg.
So why bring it up? Now I've just read you going on about it.
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2-1 villa, Kodjia with both goals. Although I'm a bit wary as they beat Huddersfield away recently with a very late winner. Must play Grealish and Ayew in this surely? I hope Baker is back to replace Elphick. SB needs a new Centre Back in January to bolster the defence.
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Home win.
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Thankfully this is not the 3rd round of the FA cup otherwise somewhere down the line all you would read about would be about Dave Whelan and his broken leg.
So why bring it up? Now I've just read you going on about it.
Is it a bad beak? Which leg is it?
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3-1
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my ex wife is from Wigan and used to live there. I hate them. 12-nil to the Villa, double hat tricks for Kodjia and Gestede.
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The rugby town thing is a bit of a myth, in that most people are football fans, they mainly just support one of the Manchester or Liverpool teams. Wigan is still the town I've lived the longest, and I love the place.
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I've never started one of these before so here goes with what was written in the latest H&V.
When and what time is the kick off please?
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Grealish and ayew for Gardner and gestede please
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This is my last home game before Christmas, so far got a 100% record of wins from three visits and cant see anything other than another Villa win. 3-1
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Nil Lamptey to score whilst falling over. 5-0.
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I've never started one of these before so here goes with what was written in the latest H&V.
Another famous old club fallen on hard times. Or alternatively, a club who got bankrolled out of all proportion to where they should be and are falling back where they belong now, even if they did bounce upwards last season. Don’t expect many of them, because Wigan folk don’t go in for that soft southern nancy’s game and prefer watching wrestling with a ball. After they won the FA Cup in 2013 they sold a massive 5,500 tickets for the Charity Shield so clearly their regular supporters took all their friends. Their new manager, like ours, is a graduate of the Alex Ferguson School of Managerial Miseries, but ours has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past two months whereas theirs has merely moved from one under-achieving north-western club to another. Expect to see Ryan Giggs linked with a coaching post here on a weekly basis and the manager’s job whenever they lose.
They’re going down. Our good run will still be running. The result is a formality, even though they were a bogey side of ours in the days before we had nineteen bogey sides. At the risk of regular repetition, this is the sort of game we’ve got to win without really trying.
Things newfooty fans won’t know: How Wigan managed to con us out of nine and a half million pounds, an amount that looks no better in words than in numbers, for Charles N’Zogbia. Again, neither does anyone else.
Things new footy fans won't know was always my favourite bit of the mag.
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Straight forward win. No meltdown required.
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Villa 7 Wigan 0.
Steve Bruce claret & blue army.
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I'd forgotten that Bruce used to be their manager. Twice
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McLeish is the only Villa manager to beat them at VP in the league. Bruce will be the second, 5-1.
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2-0.
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3-0 routine win.
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The only thing that has been "routine" for Villa in recent years
Play like cowards
Lose
Be an embarrassment to all the traveling / home fans
Lets hope recent results make this different
Gollini (In the absence of anyone else)
Bacuna Chester Baker Amavi
Jedinak
Westwood Tshbola
Grealish Adomah
Kodjia
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3-1. Westwood 44, Westwood 47 (og), Westwood 89, Westwood 94.
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5-0 Villa
FTF
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It would be good to see Tish have a run out. If not, I'd like to see Leo in front of GG and Jedi rather than Pointy
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I reckon we will win this 2-0.
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I reckon we will win this 2-0.
I reckon you could be right there D-dogg
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I'm confident Bruce won't make the same mistakes he made last game and so will not play Gestede and Gardner.
Grealish will come in for Gardner and I think he'll either pick Ayew (hopefully) or Gabby instead of Gestede with Kodjia central.
Hopefully he'll try Tshibola instead of Westwood, but not sure he will (why does he seem to hate Tshibola so much?).
Is Baker back? I'm not a big fan of Captain Calamity Elphick.
A comfortable win for us I think.
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2-1 to the good guys...
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I'd forgotten that Bruce used to be their manager. Twice
Once for full 18 days.
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This is the game that we finally break the shackles and start to set up the rest of the season. I reckon it will be 6-1 to us.
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3-1 win and continue to move up the league.
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Wigan don't seem to score or concede many at all, with the odd exception
We don't either
2-0 with a late goal
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Going by past history they will probably win this. Both teams seem to hate playing at home against the other.
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Wigan is still the town I've lived the longest, and I love the place.
I have disliked Wigan ever since I ate something described as Pea & Ham soup in a cafe there in 2007. It is without doubt the worst food I have ever tasted. Even worse than the lukewarm pie I purchased at Gigg Lane in 1968 and the manky chips I had at Boundary Park in 1971.
Don't they know how to prepare basic food up there ? It's grim up North !
On a positive note. Despite the disgusting fayre on offer we did win that day in 2007 and I predict the same 2-1 scoreline at VP this Saturday.
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Played only 16 League games vs Wigsn. From October 2005 to March 2013.
Won 5 Drawn 6 Lost 5
As others have posted Home record at VP against them is dreadful.
Won only 1. Drawn 3. Lost 4 ! Goals, For 4: Against 11
Horses for courses so Wigan to end this season's unbeaten home run 1-2.
To complete the record at their place Villa have
Won 4 Drawn 3 Lost 1. Goals, For 14 Against 8.
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I would like us to go at them from the kick off, and use our strength up front.
Bruce has had his new manager bounce, and has restored the confidence in the team so we are no longer conceding daft goals.
Now we need to start turning draws into 3 points to move up the league towards the play offs.
Would I settle for a draw? No, we need to start winning these games.
The next 6 games we should be aiming for 14+ points, a points haul of 10 or less and we will probably be in this league for another season.
3-0 to us. Kodija x 2, Grealish.
Time to turn up the heat
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We'll we SHOULD win this one but I have a gut feeling that they may sneak it.
Fear not, I'm usually wrong.
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We'll fuck the fuckers
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This should be a comfortable win, which will mean a frustrating 0-0.
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Wigan is still the town I've lived the longest, and I love the place.
I have disliked Wigan ever since I ate something described as Pea & Ham soup in a cafe there in 2007. It is without doubt the worst food I have ever tasted. Even worse than the lukewarm pie I purchased at Gigg Lane in 1968 and the manky chips I had at Boundary Park in 1971.
Don't they know how to prepare basic food up there ? It's grim up North !
On a positive note. Despite the disgusting fayre on offer we did win that day in 2007 and I predict the same 2-1 scoreline at VP this Saturday.
You find a better place for pies than Wigan. You must have been unlucky.
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We never bounce back in fine fashion.
I think we will win but a nervier 1-0 or 2-1 is what I think may happen.
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By my reckoning we've won a massive 6 league games by more than a goal in the last 3 years.
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Their really struggling and new manager is making little difference. 3-1 to us. A rare Gabby goal, an even rarer Hutton goal, and another one for Kodja.
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Just a win will do to get us back on track, we never thrash any team or win easily even with our much vaunted strike force (of Kodjia)!
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will be my second visit to VP this season, managed to get a disabled ticket so don't matter if i can walk or not this week, my last visit was vs Rotherham so i have a 100% record this season
UTV
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Think we will bounce back against these. 2-0 win.
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How many fans are they bringing? 12?
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We have won last 3 home games so winning 4th could be difficult but not sure why? Law of averages or something.
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We have won last 3 home games so winning 4th could be difficult but not sure why? Law of averages or something.
Belief has been battered out of us. It's coming back, but it'll take time.
It continues here.
3-0 us.
Ftf.
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You have given me belief Lfs so fuck em.... 3-0.
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How many fans are they bringing? 12?
Yes along with Whelan's ghost!
By the way have you checked their tickets sales?
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3-1 home win.
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8-1, eight bloody one.
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8-1, eight bloody one.
Post of the day.
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8-1, eight bloody one.
Post of the day.
Indeed, well done sir.
Oh, quelle journée au bas de la terre. Je suis très fatigué demain, Vera.
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Played only 16 League games vs Wigsn. From October 2005 to March 2013.
Won 5 Drawn 6 Lost 5
As others have posted Home record at VP against them is dreadful.
Won only 1. Drawn 3. Lost 4 ! Goals, For 4: Against 11
Horses for courses so Wigan to end this season's unbeaten home run 1-2.
To complete the record at their place Villa have
Won 4 Drawn 3 Lost 1. Goals, For 14 Against 8.
All of those games were in their 'fairytale' era. They're very much in the 'morning after. I hope I didn't give her my number. I don't know which part of town I'm in and I've got nothing in my wallet' phase now.
When I see them at our Shit Men meeting next week I'll tell them that I hope they stay up, just like Dave O'Leary did.
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I just don't think games against Wigan over a decade ago have any bearing on the odds for this match
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I just don't think games against Wigan over a decade ago have any bearing on the odds for this match
And the games from less than a decade? The spectre of pudgy Shaun Maloney still looms large over both clubs.
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It's games like this that we need to be winning. I'm going for 2-0. Kodjia and Adomah.
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As Steve Bruce didn't win Manager of the Month, we'll win this now. 1-0.
They'll bring 30 fans.
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It seems probable that those of us bootless and unhorsed who rely on public transport and Shanks's pony will get a fucking good drenching. Should have known this would be the case as H&V is on sale and Dave Dubya has upset the weather gods somehow in the past.
Met Office Forecast (http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcqdtph60#?fcTime=1481328000)
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3-0 Kodjia, Adomah & Grealish to score.
I'd really like Tishbola to start please, Steve!
UTV!
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Looks like Elphick will keep his place as Baker is still out (according to Express & Star) if anyone wants to alter their predicted score line
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3-1 to us dont care who scores ,not sure about Elphick at all always a mistake in him ,never thought i would come to miss Baker in our defence,if we are going to get out of this league we need to put these kind of teams away without too many problems
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I've not been overly impressed with him so far but I reckon Elphick will eventually settle down and do a good job for us. We'd have sold Baker a long time ago if some fans had their way but now he's all of a sudden a miss for us.
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I was going to post the pic but it's massive!
https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/806862117534056448
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I was going to post the pic but it's massive!
https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/806862117534056448
"I know how intimidating it can be, that's why my game fell to pieces out of nowhere"
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6-1
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what is the bit about French Pussy got to do with an intimidating Villa Park ?
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Looks like Elphick will keep his place as Baker is still out (according to Express & Star) if anyone wants to alter their predicted score line
With Baker out and Richards... well, Richards. Do Villa actually have another reserve centre half ?
I think that I'd actually prefer to see McCafu or Jedi play there rather than Mad Tom
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I've not been overly impressed with him so far but I reckon Elphick will eventually settle down and do a good job for us. We'd have sold Baker a long time ago if some fans had their way but now he's all of a sudden a miss for us.
Agreed, Elphick was outstanding in some of the earlier games for us, against Derby and Sheff Wed. Obviously some of his crucial mistakes since have hurt his confidence but thought he was reasonably solid v Leeds. He was one of many that need to take blame for their first goal.
Jedinak made arguably a worse mistake giving Jansson a free header from 5 yards out, yet most of us thought he was our best player. Baker is a wholehearted player but really shouldn't be seen as much of a loss for a home game v Wigan. Definitely another case of getting better by not playing..
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what is the bit about French Pussy got to do with an intimidating Villa Park ?
Ive seen a few hairy fannies down there, now and again.
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Whose got the minute's applause this week and which minute are we having it? Thanks
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I would like it in the 60th minute as that's how much money I paid today for two bus lane violations.
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Whose got the minute's applause this week and which minute are we having it? Thanks
This week's is in the 100th minute to celebrate Kirk Douglas' birthday.
Don't forget to stay behind.
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I've not been overly impressed with him so far but I reckon Elphick will eventually settle down and do a good job for us. We'd have sold Baker a long time ago if some fans had their way but now he's all of a sudden a miss for us.
Agreed, Elphick was outstanding in some of the earlier games for us, against Derby and Sheff Wed. Obviously some of his crucial mistakes since have hurt his confidence but thought he was reasonably solid v Leeds. He was one of many that need to take blame for their first goal.
Jedinak made arguably a worse mistake giving Jansson a free header from 5 yards out, yet most of us thought he was our best player. Baker is a wholehearted player but really shouldn't be seen as much of a loss for a home game v Wigan. Definitely another case of getting better by not playing..
Hopefully tomorrow he'll stop doing that daft kissing/hugging the goal post before the game & just get focused on trying to defend properly,it can't be a good luck omen he's been awful
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I reckon we'll win but make it much harder work than it should be.
2-0.
I love a clean sheet!
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3-1 home win
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This is one we need to win.
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Has the distinct feel of a boring game today but hopefully one we can win
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Already in the pub and trying to build some confidence that we can return to winning ways. Always the optimist but where villa are concerned always the pessimist...villa win draw no bet...perhaps by the time I take my seat I will have convinced myself a walk in the park 4-0 victory is about to unfold.
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I hope you're just on the orange juice at this hour.
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Today will say a lot about the new-found character of the team - whether it's a real change of attitude, or just a new manager balloon which deflates completely after one defeat.
Don't know much about Wigan, so I don't know how we might win or lose this. It might be a good idea to keep the ball at home and dominate possession, though, just from a mental standpoint - that this is our turf, and one setback away from home doesn't change that.
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A 4-0 victory for the Villa boys today.
Dedicated to Melvin & Bozzie. HITS
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Wigan are unbeaten in their last 5 away.
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5-1 Villa it is then.
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Not my choice, but I reckon we will see the following team (assuming Baker is not fit)
Gollini
Hutton Chester Baker Amavi
Westwood Jedinak
Adomah Grealish Ayew
Kodjia
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In a radical departure from sane thinking, I'm devoting the bulk of my afternoon community radio show here in Aberdeenshire to coverage of Villa's game v Wigan. I fully expect to be hauled off air never to be invited back but I'm happy to become collateral damage in AVFC's great fightback to fame.
I won't have a stream or bbc updates, I'm basing the coverage purely on the H&V match thread. It'll be on here if you feel your ears deserve punishment.....http://www.mearnsfm.org.uk/listen-live
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Not my choice, but I reckon we will see the following team (assuming Baker is not fit)
Gollini
Hutton Chester Baker Amavi
Westwood Jedinak
Adomah Grealish Ayew
Kodjia
Your assuming Baker is not fit then you put him in your starting line up? Interesting
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Wigan will let us have the ball and try to counter. Possession stats will be fine. We need to bust their defence and find goals though. This game calls for width.
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In a radical departure from sane thinking, I'm devoting the bulk of my afternoon community radio show here in Aberdeenshire to coverage of Villa's game v Wigan. I fully expect to be hauled off air never to be invited back but I'm happy to become collateral damage in AVFC's great fightback to fame.
I won't have a stream or bbc updates, I'm basing the coverage purely on the H&V match thread. It'll be on here if you feel your ears deserve punishment.....http://www.mearnsfm.org.uk/listen-live
Wonderful! You can count on me, Russon. Maybe you can discuss at half time the price of salted cod fish. It's bloody expensive this time of year.
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In a radical departure from sane thinking, I'm devoting the bulk of my afternoon community radio show here in Aberdeenshire to coverage of Villa's game v Wigan. I fully expect to be hauled off air never to be invited back but I'm happy to become collateral damage in AVFC's great fightback to fame.
I won't have a stream or bbc updates, I'm basing the coverage purely on the H&V match thread. It'll be on here if you feel your ears deserve punishment.....http://www.mearnsfm.org.uk/listen-live
Wonderful! You can count on me, Russon. Maybe you can discuss at half time the price of salted cod fish. It's bloody expensive this time of year.
Predictions and analysis of the price of Brent Crude also appreciated.
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This is the lineup I would hope we for (if Baker is out):
Gollini
Hutton Elphick Chester Amavi
Jedinak
Bacuna Grealish
Adomah Ayew
Kodjia
But after Leeds last week he is going to play Westwood again for sure and maybe let Ayew come off the bench.
But then again...its Wigan. Even RDM could win this game and not even Westwood could fuck this up enough for us to drop points today.
3-1. (6-0 with the lineup above).