Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: kippaxvilla2 on January 20, 2018, 04:57:20 PM
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We won. Doesn’t matter how. We are third. There’s life in this season.
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Knew we'd be OK.
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With Golden Boot contender Scott Hogan leading the way, we are unstoppable.
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Good win. Next...
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Four wins on bounce and Grealish/Hogan in top form. Bodes well.
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Well done Villa, obviously second half could have been better but we won. Well done Scotty!
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That's the way.
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Not convincing in the second half but we were dominant in the first half. Still good to see us win again. And Scott Hogan very unlucky not to bag a hat trick today. Great to see him confident and scoring.
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Just need Wednesday to beat Cardiff now.
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On December 23rd after blowing that 2-0 lead vs Sheff Utd, we were 9 points off an automatic promotion place.
It's now 3.
The team is doing well.
This season could yet be great.
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The sort of match that the promoted teams chalk off with regularity. Second place within touching distance with more winnable games to come.
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Good 3 points.
Grealish great, Hogan good, Birkir good, SJ as always.
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A bit sloppy second half but you always felt we were in control and had another gear if needed. Our job done and on to the next one. We now have 10 days to rest up and recover before a tricky away trip. Let's hope Sheffield Wednesday can do us a fave later.
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I was ready to wave goodbye to Hogan this month so fair play. With Kodja unlikely to play again this season he may become a pivitol rather than peripheral player.
Long way to go but right in there.
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Marvellous.
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Great win. So happy Hogan is in form. Brillant stuff.
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For once my pre-match prediction was correct (3-1 by half-time then pass it around). I don't know if we 'passed it around' during the second half but who cares?
3 points, 3 goals and 3rd place. Ta very much lads!
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Well done to all concerned, keep it up. I have a Brentford supporting friend and I've posted this before that he was telling me ages ago that they had a player who, with the correct service would score for fun. That player was Hogan so I was delighted when we signed him. I was so disappointed that he was showing no form for us at all but, for whatever reason, he's now beginning to show why my mate was so fond of him.
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I can't quite put my finger on it, but Jack doesn't half remind me of Sid. Great performance today, well done son.
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Delighted for Hogan. Jack on form and a decent performance across the board. Well done lads, I could get used to this winning lark.
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Could have scored 10.
First half we were brilliant going forwards. They really did have 5 hard pressed at the back. The full backs starting position was 30 yards from their goal! Grealish was superb and Scotty worked very hard too.
Second half they switched formations and we should have had a couple more.
They were so bad we switched off. The mistake on 65 minutes by Chester created a few more between him and Terry, but it was a 15 minute blip. Even then we should have scored more.
Saw the game out well. Plenty of positives.
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I agree. A bit sloppy but we could have easily scored 5 or 6 today had we been a bit more clinical.
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Delighted with the 3 points, we go again.
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https://youtu.be/nAyT8xL2eWo
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Highights
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Fantastic first half and it's especially pleasing to see Hogan in form and Jack finally becoming the player he's threatened to be for a few years.
Hutton looks right at home at left back and he links really well with Albert. Thor looks very comfortable in that defensive midfield role and Johnstone made a couple of good saves.
It's all coming together now and the teams around us are faltering. Well done Villa.
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I can help thinking its no coincidence that Hogan starts scoring when Elmohamady is playing, so happy for Hogan. Hutton is far better at LB for whatever reason, Jack brings out the best in others too when he is playing well. We have the best two CBs in the league so we are always solid, we look a better team without Whelan too. Hopefully Sheff Wed can do us a favour tonight. Onwards and upwards, UTV.
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It’s good, this.
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We absolutely dominated the first 60 and held well when they came forward at is for the final third of the match. I'm happy, good weekend.
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https://youtu.be/nAyT8xL2eWo
Thanks for the link.
Sounds like Borat doing the commentary!
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Can't complain about that start. If Barnsley hadn't have got theirs I think we'd have run away with it. We cut through them in the first half like they weren't there. Second half a bit wonky but I can't say I'm surprised we slacked off a bit. Inevitable carp at the ref - again absolutely desperate to make the game all about him after the break.
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From what looked at half time as a stroll in the park to a contest in the second half. Chester at the back today was awesome. Would give us a b plus
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Excellent stuff, and even better with the Derby draw and Barcahampton losing.
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Highights
Cheers mate.
edit: Bloody hell Sky's commentary team has improved. Much better!
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Highlights (http://www.skysports.com/football/a-villa-vs-barnsley/374943)
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Brilliant result, good team selection and good all round performance.
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Hogan's first was a great finish
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Happy with the win. Could and should have been by more. We need to cut out the sloppiness and we do that by pushing on further rather than trying to keep hold of the ball which we’re not great at. Jack MOM again, Hogan good, Hutton good, Bjork good and our most solid midfielder when we allowed them to push on.
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Grealish plays like he owns Villa Park. Wonderful to watch.
Great first half, disappointing second. Credit to the boys, Barnsley are a tough nut to crack as Wolves found out last week. There are quite a few big, strong, physical sides in the Championship but we now manage to hold our own. Since the arrival of Agnew we seem to have thrown caution to the wind and play a more open game. It's far more entertaining, plays to our strengths and allows the players to show their true capabilities. More please.
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We play more passes on the ground, move quicker and, in the first half, cut out the 50 yards hoofs. As well as agnew our run has coincided with grealish getting up to speed.
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Some of the football in the first half was the best I've seen us play in ages, excellent football.
Thought we looked tired the last 35 minutes.
Grealish was on a different level, and hats off to Hourihane as well, for another excellent performance.
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For the first time in ages I actually look forward to matches at the moment! Thought we looked the real deal today. Long may it continue.
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This Agnew fella seems to be the solution to our problems. Well done to all who appointed him. Until we draw again, when he, his family and any friends he might have can get to fucking fuck ASA fucking P.
A good day.
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Just hand me my "Fickle 13" shirt. Thanks. Yeah I am Bruce "in" again :)
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https://youtu.be/nAyT8xL2eWo
Thanks for the link.
Sounds like Borat doing the commentary
The commentator has very bad Scottish accent.
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https://youtu.be/nAyT8xL2eWo
Thanks for the link.
Sounds like Borat doing the commentary
The commentator has very bad Scottish accent.
I love his laugh at the ref going on his arse.
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Another win. Well done Villa boys and Bruce.
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Hourihane as well, for another excellent performance.
Watch the replay of his goal and how he made the space for himself to get into a shooting position. Brilliant stuff.
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Great start and good first half - the first 30 minutes or so I thought we played some superb stuff. When they got their goal I had nightmare visions of a repeat of the Sheffield Utd game, but to get a third so quickly after they scored put paid to that. I think them changing formation and putting an extra body in midfield for the second half allowed them to press forward more, and we got a bit sloppy and were lucky on a couple of occasions that they didn't get a second. Another win, Scotty's in the goals, up to third place (at least until about 7.30 tonight), great stuff
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I'm starting to believe in the Villa again and I like it!
Pleased for Hogan. There's a player in there who struggled to get out but now his confidence is restored he's like a new signing.
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Well done Villa on a great performance (especially 1st half) and result. I was willing Hogan to get his hatrick and I was very pleased for Thor who seems to have reinvented himself.
Tribute to Cyrille was great! Privately I was also thinking about my mom who sadly passed away last Sunday as well. She would have appreciated the goals from the Irish boys Hogan and Hourihane. Very emotional tribute!
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Sincere condolences Abbeyfeale to you and your family and friends.
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Hourihane as well, for another excellent performance.
Watch the replay of his goal and how he made the space for himself to get into a shooting position. Brilliant stuff.
That was lovely from him and jack, amazing what a bit of a confidence does for players. It’s ages since I’ve seen that kind of composure from us. Occasionally an individual will do something but recently there are glimpses of decent movement as a team. Long may it continue!
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Privately I was also thinking about my mom who sadly passed away last Sunday as well. She would have appreciated the goals from the Irish boys Hogan and Hourihane. Very emotional tribute!
Sorry to hear that. Mums are wonderful. My condolences to you and your family.
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Great ovation from Barnsley fans for Conor Hourihane when he was subbed.
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Thanks for your kind words much appreciated! UTV
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My nephew continues to idolise Alan Hutton. Bloody loves him. First thing he did when getting home to Mum and Dad was to tell them "Alan is number 21." He doesn't understand why the highest number is Adomah (37) yet the 'master,' is only number 26.
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We looked great going forward for 55 minutes and then they came into it more. Looked a bit shaky at the back in terms of gifting them chances but held firm in last ditch situations and Johnstone had a good game. I think if they'd got a second we'd have kicked on but we might equally have gone to pot. Fortunately we didn't find out.
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Well we finally seem to be playing some decent football in spells and seem to have found a way to get the best out of Grealish and Hogan. As one of the latter's supporters through his lean start, I'm glad he's found his mojo. I don't know if Bruce deserves the credit or if Agnew's influence is making the difference. Whatever, I hope it continues and that we eventually manage two full good halves - we'll take some stopping if we do.
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Wasnt there today so performance wise, i've no idea how we played but the first half sounded great but judging by the amount of times Jeff Stelling went over to the ground in the second half, it probably wasn't as good but it's another win and it's looking promising. One game at a time, in Bruce we trust and all that.
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We should've been well out of sight by the time they had their good spell. They pressed higher up in the second half and we got complacent as shown by a few individual lapses, but we were excellent for around an hour.
Bjarnason and Hogan are players I'd written off, but they're proving me wrong at the moment.
Given the first half I thought the crowd was strangely a bit subdued and maybe complacent too. One thing I notice is that the pitch doesn't look great, cutting up a lot, the poorest I've seen in a while.
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Listened to it on the wireless. Easy win. I think we are going on big run here.
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My nephew continues to idolise Alan Hutton. Bloody loves him. First thing he did when getting home to Mum and Dad was to tell them "Alan is number 21." He doesn't understand why the highest number is Adomah (37) yet the 'master,' is only number 26.
Outstanding
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We have balance with that front 4. Something we’ve lacked for a good while. Oh, and goals. Those too.
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Having a lie-in until 10:15 was a mistake. Missed both of Hulk’s goals!!!
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Good first half, very ropey second.
Very uncharacteristic performance, we were great going forward but looked frail at the back.
Jack looked like Zidane at times today, he really has great balance and poise, Adamoh gave his marker twisted blood in the first half and him and Snodgrass put in some glorious crosses.
Second we took our foot of the gas and we looked weak and a little tired, they only looked dangerous from set pieces, very dangerous in fact, it was frustrating to see us give so many fouls away in dangerous positions.
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One thing I notice is that the pitch doesn't look great, cutting up a lot, the poorest I've seen in a while.
Yes, I wonder if it’s any coincidence that we started to look poor after an hour when the pitch deteriorated rapidly.
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Great result. First half the best team performance I have witnessed in years, at times we seemed to outnumber them by three or four players. We used the full width of the pitch and really stretched them and were unlucky not to score more.
Second half we took our foot off and they looked dangerous but we were never in danger of losing with Chester and Terry in control and even when they took their eye off the ball, Sam Johnstone was always alert enough to pull off some great saves. All in all we looked like a team that knew one another and knew how to play together.
Today we were expected to win and we did and long may it continue.
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Great performance up until 55 min's. Between then and the 80th minute we allowed them a number of good chances which could well of cost us the 3 points.
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Good first half, very ropey second.
Very uncharacteristic performance, we were great going forward but looked frail at the back.
Jack looked like Zidane at times today, he really has great balance and poise, Adamoh gave his marker twisted blood in the first half and him and Snodgrass put in some glorious crosses.
Second we took our foot of the gas and we looked weak and a little tired, they only looked dangerous from set pieces, very dangerous in fact, it was frustrating to see us give so many fouls away in dangerous positions.
Went to the game earlier and went out after, so only just got back in. Would agree with all of the above. Looked really good going forward in the first half, if a little shaky at the back especially off set pieces. Dropped off a bit in the second half and a few mistakes began to creep in.
Thought Grealish was excellent again and looked a different class to most of the others on the pitch at times. Although he didn't get involved much in general play, I thought Hogan looked a threat when the ball came into the box (especially at the near post where he scored one and hit the post). Bjarnason did pretty well in the holding role and kept things nice and simple. The ball does spend a lot of time in the air in that area of the field though and I still think Jedinak's aerial presence would give him the nod in there (especially as we struggled to defend set pieces at times today).
Still, another win and we are right in the mix now.
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Great performance up until 55 min's. Between then and the 80th minute we allowed them a number of good chances which could well of cost us the 3 points.
Yes. The BBC stats say that they had 21 shots compared to our 13, with both teams having 6 on target.
A positive spin is that we are going to give away teams at VP more room, on the basis that our solid defense and superior fire power will deliver more home wins.
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Just back, the boys enjoyed their first visit to VP despite the snow. Snodgrass is a class act. Really enjoyed what was an comfortable victory. I think our greatest problem will be the weight of expectation.
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We should've been well out of sight by the time they had their good spell. They pressed higher up in the second half and we got complacent as shown by a few individual lapses, but we were excellent for around an hour.
Bjarnason and Hogan are players I'd written off, but they're proving me wrong at the moment.
Given the first half I thought the crowd was strangely a bit subdued and maybe complacent too. One thing I notice is that the pitch doesn't look great, cutting up a lot, the poorest I've seen in a while.
I pretty much agree with all of that rougegorge..
They only pressed with one or two players in the first half and we danced around them. Some of our football was lovely, particularly between Grealish and Adomah. In the second half Barnsley pressed as a unit and strangled us more effectively. Some poor individual errors from each of the back 4, except Hutton, could have let them in but a combination of poor finishing and good saves from Johnstone kept our 2 goal cushion. A bit nervy though.
I was in the Holte upper in K4 and as you say it was strangely subdued given the performance.
Very happy though. M40 weather was abysmal, including a snow storm, so I thought I would miss kick off. Just made it up the steps in time for the tribute to Cyrille Regis
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Well done lads, regards the weight of expectation it was interesting to hear the Barnsley manager quoted afterwards as saying how their players seemed overwhelmed by us and stood off us too much early on.
A few on here always felt that if we got up a head of steam teams would start to find VP intimidating rather than a day out at a big ground. Starting to happen??
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Marvellous.
Indeed. Scenes of a marvellous nature, no less. :)
UTV!
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I can't quite put my finger on it, but Jack doesn't half remind me of Sid. Great performance today, well done son.
That is quite a compliment and know Jacks dad will be so proud to see that. The thing is he has vision like Sid and glides by players probably better than him, not as good a tackler but he is improving and is the main man now but a team player as well.
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From what looked at half time as a stroll in the park to a contest in the second half. Chester at the back today was awesome. Would give us a b plus
I normally got c-in things but for sports
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I can't quite put my finger on it, but Jack doesn't half remind me of Sid. Great performance today, well done son.
That is quite a compliment and know Jacks dad will be so proud to see that. The thing is he has vision like Sid and glides by players probably better than him, not as good a tackler but he is improving and is the main man now but a team player as well.
He has so much awareness and knows when the tackle is coming, just like Sid did. If he can be half the player Sid was, we'd be lucky.
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Well done Villa on a great performance (especially 1st half) and result. I was willing Hogan to get his hatrick and I was very pleased for Thor who seems to have reinvented himself.
Tribute to Cyrille was great! Privately I was also thinking about my mom who sadly passed away last Sunday as well. She would have appreciated the goals from the Irish boys Hogan and Hourihane. Very emotional tribute!
Good man and so sorry for your sad loss
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Well done Villa on a great performance (especially 1st half) and result. I was willing Hogan to get his hatrick and I was very pleased for Thor who seems to have reinvented himself.
Tribute to Cyrille was great! Privately I was also thinking about my mom who sadly passed away last Sunday as well. She would have appreciated the goals from the Irish boys Hogan and Hourihane. Very emotional tribute!
Good man and so sorry for your sad loss
Very much +1
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I went to university in Newcastle in the late 80s and used to go and watch them quite a bit at the time.
A 16 or 17 year old Gascoigne was just breaking through in the team, and i can remember seeing him, before he'd really had any press coverage, swanning about the pitch, socks around his ankles, chest puffed out, like he owned the place, clearly the best player on the park.
Watching Grealish today doing the same, covered from head to toe in mud, really reminded me of that.
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Still not fit enough to play high possession for 90 minutes which is pretty disappointing. I also think the deterioration of the pitch condition contributed to the lapse in intensity that let Barnsley have a few too many very good opportunities.
Edit: That sounded a bit negative. I was very pleased with the performance and win overall.
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Excellent first half, decent enough second half when Barnsley got into a mode of nothing to lose so opened up the game.
Retrospective yellow card for the ref taking a dive? :-)
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https://youtu.be/nAyT8xL2eWo
Thanks for the link.
Sounds like Borat doing the commentary
The commentator has very bad Scottish accent.
I love his laugh at the ref going on his arse.
What language is it? Yeah, the commentator laughing was fantastic.
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We’re looking like a strong side in good form just at the right time. Grealish starting to boss games like we all envisaged he could, especially at this level. Long may it continue.
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They only pressed with one or two players in the first half and we danced around them. Some of our football was lovely, particularly between Grealish and Adomah. In the second half Barnsley pressed as a unit and strangled us more effectively. Some poor individual errors from each of the back 4, except Hutton, could have let them in but a combination of poor finishing and good saves from Johnstone kept our 2 goal cushion. A bit nervy though.
I was in the Holte upper in K4 and as you say it was strangely subdued given the performance.
Very happy though. M40 weather was abysmal, including a snow storm, so I thought I would miss kick off. Just made it up the steps in time for the tribute to Cyrille Regis
Pleased you had a worthwhile trip up, for once, Paul. You obviously missed Hutton making a mess of it in the first half left hand side of the box by losing the ball whilst imitating Maldini but we were saved by their incompetence ;)
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Good first half, very ropey second.
Very uncharacteristic performance, we were great going forward but looked frail at the back.
Jack looked like Zidane at times today, he really has great balance and poise, Adamoh gave his marker twisted blood in the first half and him and Snodgrass put in some glorious crosses.
Second we took our foot of the gas and we looked weak and a little tired, they only looked dangerous from set pieces, very dangerous in fact, it was frustrating to see us give so many fouls away in dangerous positions.
Agree with all this.
I also thought we allowed them too much time to get crosses into dangerous areas as we were too open in the second half
Their player Mallon looked decent. Great delivery
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Got to give Barnsley credit for their strong second half, pressed as a unit and upped their work rate. However lacked any real quality to hurt us. Thought we just got lackadaisical and sloppy with the game all but won by the hour mark.
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I went to university in Newcastle in the late 80s and used to go and watch them quite a bit at the time.
A 16 or 17 year old Gascoigne was just breaking through in the team, and i can remember seeing him, before he'd really had any press coverage, swanning about the pitch, socks around his ankles, chest puffed out, like he owned the place, clearly the best player on the park.
Watching Grealish today doing the same, covered from head to toe in mud, really reminded me of that.
Couldn't make it yesterday but that's very high praise indeed. Can Jack become the new Gascoigne? Who knows but if he keeps going the way he is it's gonna be great to find out.
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By the age of 21 Gascoigne was world class. Jack has not progressed as well but let’s see.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
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By the age of 21 Gascoigne was world class. Jack has not progressed as well but let’s see.
Don’t think he was world class at 21, but it’s all about opinions I suppose.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
31k I think.
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I love his laugh at the ref going on his arse.
Fair play to the ref - he didn't go all Paul Alcock about it but laughed himself and shook Jack's hand
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It's really rather nice to be coming up from London these days without much concern for whether we'll win or not.
Few random thoughts from the day.
You'd think by now that away teams would understand that there's really no point in making us attack the Holte first half. It won't change anything.
That 4-1-4-1 is really working for us. Barney has really found a spot in the team where he can excel. Other than one give away from a Terry pass, he did the simple things really well, and kept the energy levels up all the way through.
You can really see the Agnew effect in the pre-match routines. No more casual, half-arsed shooting. Full-on, pressing drills. The six-on-six two-ball drill getting players moving the ball through a crowd really showed in the game itself – Jack's set up for Conor's goal being one case in point.
Our crossing has improved massively of late. Every ball in from Snoddy, Albert and Elmo caused them problems. I don't remember a single aimless cross.
A full Holte in full voice is a wonderful thing. It properly felt like the 12th man at times. Their number 19 getting subbed 10 minutes after he'd blazed into the Holte, with 'you're f***ing sh**' still ringing in his ears was a thing of great joy and beauty.
I was sitting next to a lad of about eight, face painted claret and blue, massive smile on his face throughout and singing his heart out with his Dad. Made me think of all the times my Dad took me at that age, and even though he died 20 years ago, it's the place I feel closest to him. Nice to think that there's a whole generation of kids who actually want to go to games again after the dross of the last few years.
In short, all good. Already looking forward to Burton next.
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A full Holte in full voice is a wonderful thing. It properly felt like the 12th man at times. Their number 19 getting subbed 10 minutes after he'd blazed into the Holte, with 'you're f***ing sh**' still ringing in his ears was a thing of great joy and beauty.
The kid to our left shouting the PG version, "you're flipping bad" was a highlight of the day.
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My daughter enquired, ‘why are they being so mean to that man?’
The innocence of children.
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It's really rather nice to be coming up from London these days without much concern for whether we'll win or not.
Few random thoughts from the day.
You'd think by now that away teams would understand that there's really no point in making us attack the Holte first half. It won't change anything.
That 4-1-4-1 is really working for us. Barney has really found a spot in the team where he can excel. Other than one give away from a Terry pass, he did the simple things really well, and kept the energy levels up all the way through.
You can really see the Agnew effect in the pre-match routines. No more casual, half-arsed shooting. Full-on, pressing drills. The six-on-six two-ball drill getting players moving the ball through a crowd really showed in the game itself – Jack's set up for Conor's goal being one case in point.
Our crossing has improved massively of late. Every ball in from Snoddy, Albert and Elmo caused them problems. I don't remember a single aimless cross.
A full Holte in full voice is a wonderful thing. It properly felt like the 12th man at times. Their number 19 getting subbed 10 minutes after he'd blazed into the Holte, with 'you're f***ing sh**' still ringing in his ears was a thing of great joy and beauty.
I was sitting next to a lad of about eight, face painted claret and blue, massive smile on his face throughout and singing his heart out with his Dad. Made me think of all the times my Dad took me at that age, and even though he died 20 years ago, it's the place I feel closest to him. Nice to think that there's a whole generation of kids who actually want to go to games again after the dross of the last few years.
In short, all good. Already looking forward to Burton next.
My father is till in good health at the age of 88 but if he does go before me the place I will remember him most is at villa park. His constant saying of " he ain't as good as Nat Lofthouse " will live with me forever.
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By the age of 21 Gascoigne was world class. Jack has not progressed as well but let’s see.
Don’t think he was world class at 21, but it’s all about opinions I suppose.
Well if not exactly 21 soon after. Gascoigne lit up the 1990 WC at just about 23 years old. Jack will be 23 in September. Jack is doing fine at the moment but must stay focussed, perform consistently and be more clinical to deliver the promise of his natural talent
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I love his laugh at the ref going on his arse.
Fair play to the ref - he didn't go all Paul Alcock about it but laughed himself and shook Jack's hand
If it was in France, the ref would’ve kicked him and sent him off.
https://youtu.be/QjM827E4_k0
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By the age of 21 Gascoigne was world class. Jack has not progressed as well but let’s see.
Don’t think he was world class at 21, but it’s all about opinions I suppose.
Well if not exactly 21 soon after. Gascoigne lit up the 1990 WC at just about 23 years old. Jack will be 23 in September. Jack is doing fine at the moment but must stay focussed, perform consistently and be more clinical to deliver the promise of his natural talent
Gascoigne was a fine player but I always thought he was a tad overrated but that’s just my opinion. Grealish is the most gifted player we’ve had in years and years but has never really had a prolonged run in the first team for one reason or another. For me he’d be the first name on the team sheet and we should build the team around him. I just hope there’s no niggling injuries just around the corner for him because that’s what’s held him back at Villa. Oh and having a a decent team with better players around him also helps his game. Let’s face it in his time here he’s played in mostly woeful football teams. The best of Grealish is yet to come.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
31k I think.
Yep. Nearly 32,00.
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Been a big fan of Jack since he was 16. First time I saw him come on as a sub in Next gen game I thought we have a future Brian Little here. So good to see some of that potential coming through now but he has let himself down in the recent past but let's hope that is all behind him.
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It's really rather nice to be coming up from London these days without much concern for whether we'll win or not.
Few random thoughts from the day.
You'd think by now that away teams would understand that there's really no point in making us attack the Holte first half. It won't change anything.
That 4-1-4-1 is really working for us. Barney has really found a spot in the team where he can excel. Other than one give away from a Terry pass, he did the simple things really well, and kept the energy levels up all the way through.
You can really see the Agnew effect in the pre-match routines. No more casual, half-arsed shooting. Full-on, pressing drills. The six-on-six two-ball drill getting players moving the ball through a crowd really showed in the game itself – Jack's set up for Conor's goal being one case in point.
Our crossing has improved massively of late. Every ball in from Snoddy, Albert and Elmo caused them problems. I don't remember a single aimless cross.
A full Holte in full voice is a wonderful thing. It properly felt like the 12th man at times. Their number 19 getting subbed 10 minutes after he'd blazed into the Holte, with 'you're f***ing sh**' still ringing in his ears was a thing of great joy and beauty.
I was sitting next to a lad of about eight, face painted claret and blue, massive smile on his face throughout and singing his heart out with his Dad. Made me think of all the times my Dad took me at that age, and even though he died 20 years ago, it's the place I feel closest to him. Nice to think that there's a whole generation of kids who actually want to go to games again after the dross of the last few years.
In short, all good. Already looking forward to Burton next.
Great post mate 👍
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Loved Jack's Cowansesque performance.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
31k I think.
Yep. Nearly 32,00.
A fair. Road given opposition and weather. I was surprised to see Leeds got 33k. I though their crowds were sub 30k
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My younger son made an episode of Football Stories from Newcastle just as Gascoigne was breaking into the team. The Toon players all loved him. They could be three none down at half time and Gazza would say Gie us the ball man, I can beat this lot on me own. Jack seems to have the same sort of mind set.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
31k I think.
Yep. Nearly 32,00.
A fair. Road given opposition and weather. I was surprised to see Leeds got 33k. I though their crowds were sub 30k
It was Millwall, they were hoping for a rerun of that TV documentary.
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I'm very pleased with the three points could have had more goals we are only three points behind Derby keep winning and who knows.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
31k I think.
Yep. Nearly 32,00.
A fair. Road given opposition and weather. I was surprised to see Leeds got 33k. I though their crowds were sub 30k
When I saw yesterday's attendance I googled average crowds in the Championship this season. Leeds are top of the table and we are second (at home and overall).
Source (http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-championship-2017-2018/3/).
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Leeds are a big club and their attendances are excellent when you consider the disaster that club has been on and off the pitch. Especially the latter. They would comfortably average attendances like us (39-41k) in the PL if they got up. I might not like all the big, well supported clubs but the top tier of English football is so much better as a competition with clubs like us, Leeds, Sheff Wed, Forest etc in it.
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Leeds are in their natural position I think. They've spent fewer seasons in the top flight than the Blues, for example.
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left slightly early yesterday as i was very cold- what was the attendance as it looked pretty busy?
31k I think.
Yep. Nearly 32,00.
A fair. Road given opposition and weather. I was surprised to see Leeds got 33k. I though their crowds were sub 30k
When I saw yesterday's attendance I googled average crowds in the Championship this season. Leeds are top of the table and we are second (at home and overall).
Source (http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-championship-2017-2018/3/).
That table, somewhat oddly, includes away attendances as well.
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
They're averaging above 32k now. And with the exception of a handful of sides who bring decent numbers in support their attendances are mostly home fans. Why don't you think they wouldn't add an extra 5500 to that number with the likes of Man U, Man City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool etc. Their own fans would swell that average let alone the larger travelling support.
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
;) ;)
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
;) ;)
I got the bit about their capacity. It's not about that. It's no different to us talking about a 60k stadium. My point was would they average certain attendances given the size of the club?
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
;) ;)
I got the bit about their capacity. It's not about that. It's no different to us talking about a 60k stadium. My point was would they average certain attendances given the size of the club?
Don't get your knickers in a twist, I was only joking.
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Talking of attendances, how the holy fuck are West Ham getting over 56k for home league games?
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
They're averaging above 32k now. And with the exception of a handful of sides who bring decent numbers in support their attendances are mostly home fans. Why don't you think they wouldn't add an extra 5500 to that number with the likes of Man U, Man City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool etc. Their own fans would swell that average let alone the larger travelling support.
Only holds 37500 bud.
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Elland Road was always 40k capacity when they were in the premier league.
Attendance when we play them on Boxing day 2003 was 38.5k for example.
Have they removed some seats? They do what we do and don't open the top tier of one of their stands for most home games.
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Our average will increase by the end of the season because we have big games coming up. We’ll have the highest average attendances in the league once the season is over.
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Our average is slightly down on last season so far but then the upper trinity had opened a couple of times by now compared to just the once this. I think.
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We'll get 40k + crowds for SHA, Wolves, Leeds and Derby I reckon. Cardiff and Reading on Easter Monday won't be far off either.
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Talking of attendances, how the holy fuck are West Ham getting over 56k for home league games?
They don't actually get that many in the ground its based on cheap ST sales always counted in. They managed to sell about 52K ST's. https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/july/06-july/sold-out-hammers-fans-fill-london-stadium-six-weeks-kick
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We'll get 40k + crowds for SHA, Wolves, Leeds and Derby I reckon. Cardiff and Reading on Easter Monday won't be far off either.
There aren’t many tickets left for the Small Heath game next month. The fans will flock to Villa Park during the run-in.
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I guarantee Leeds wouldn't even average 38,000 in the top flight.
They're averaging above 32k now. And with the exception of a handful of sides who bring decent numbers in support their attendances are mostly home fans. Why don't you think they wouldn't add an extra 5500 to that number with the likes of Man U, Man City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool etc. Their own fans would swell that average let alone the larger travelling support.
Only holds 37500 bud.
Yes I realize that. My point made above isn’t about ground capacity. It’s about what would they draw as a club in the PL.
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Leeds are in their natural position I think. They've spent fewer seasons in the top flight than the Blues, for example.
Let's not talk Blues up too much. They may have been in the top flight more times but they have played 24 more seasons than Leeds. It's 50 out of 91 for Leeds (55%) and 57 out of 115 for Blues (50%). In summary; Blues are shit.
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Leeds are in their natural position I think. They've spent fewer seasons in the top flight than the Blues, for example.
Let's not talk Blues up too much. They may have been in the top flight more times but they have played 24 more seasons than Leeds. It's 50 out of 91 for Leeds (55%) and 57 out of 115 for Blues (50%). In summary; Blues are shit.
Excellent work.
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Just watched Barnsleys goal again - that's one of the worst defended corners I have seen in years - keeper should be taking those with ease - great header but he should not have been given such an easy chance - an element of the game I think SJ should be spending time on improving
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Just watched Barnsleys goal again - that's one of the worst defended corners I have seen in years - keeper should be taking those with ease - great header but he should not have been given such an easy chance - an element of the game I think SJ should be spending time on improving
Thought the Barnsley keeper was abysmal for Hogan's second too. Not too often you see modern keepers cleaning man and ball out of it at set piece time.
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I've been highly critical of Scott Hogan but if he keeps this form up for the rest of the season I'll be the happiest person ever to eat humble pie
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I've been highly critical of Scott Hogan but if he keeps this form up for the rest of the season I'll be the happiest person ever to eat humble pie
Again.
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I've been highly critical of Scott Hogan but if he keeps this form up for the rest of the season I'll be the happiest person ever to eat humble pie
Again.
Blindspot for strikers maybe...
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We'll get 40k + crowds for SHA, Wolves, Leeds and Derby I reckon. Cardiff and Reading on Easter Monday won't be far off either.
There aren’t many tickets left for the Small Heath game next month. The fans will flock to Villa Park during the run-in.
SHA game sells itself.
Cardiff on a Tuesday night normally dosen't so I'd be more impressed if we get 40k for that and obviously having a big chance of second will help.
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It's really rather nice to be coming up from London these days without much concern for whether we'll win or not.
Few random thoughts from the day.
You'd think by now that away teams would understand that there's really no point in making us attack the Holte first half. It won't change anything.
That 4-1-4-1 is really working for us. Barney has really found a spot in the team where he can excel. Other than one give away from a Terry pass, he did the simple things really well, and kept the energy levels up all the way through.
You can really see the Agnew effect in the pre-match routines. No more casual, half-arsed shooting. Full-on, pressing drills. The six-on-six two-ball drill getting players moving the ball through a crowd really showed in the game itself – Jack's set up for Conor's goal being one case in point.
Our crossing has improved massively of late. Every ball in from Snoddy, Albert and Elmo caused them problems. I don't remember a single aimless cross.
A full Holte in full voice is a wonderful thing. It properly felt like the 12th man at times. Their number 19 getting subbed 10 minutes after he'd blazed into the Holte, with 'you're f***ing sh**' still ringing in his ears was a thing of great joy and beauty.
I was sitting next to a lad of about eight, face painted claret and blue, massive smile on his face throughout and singing his heart out with his Dad. Made me think of all the times my Dad took me at that age, and even though he died 20 years ago, it's the place I feel closest to him. Nice to think that there's a whole generation of kids who actually want to go to games again after the dross of the last few years.
In short, all good. Already looking forward to Burton next.
Great post mate 👍
X 2 👍
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It's really rather nice to be coming up from London these days without much concern for whether we'll win or not.
Few random thoughts from the day.
You'd think by now that away teams would understand that there's really no point in making us attack the Holte first half. It won't change anything.
That 4-1-4-1 is really working for us. Barney has really found a spot in the team where he can excel. Other than one give away from a Terry pass, he did the simple things really well, and kept the energy levels up all the way through.
You can really see the Agnew effect in the pre-match routines. No more casual, half-arsed shooting. Full-on, pressing drills. The six-on-six two-ball drill getting players moving the ball through a crowd really showed in the game itself – Jack's set up for Conor's goal being one case in point.
Our crossing has improved massively of late. Every ball in from Snoddy, Albert and Elmo caused them problems. I don't remember a single aimless cross.
A full Holte in full voice is a wonderful thing. It properly felt like the 12th man at times. Their number 19 getting subbed 10 minutes after he'd blazed into the Holte, with 'you're f***ing sh**' still ringing in his ears was a thing of great joy and beauty.
I was sitting next to a lad of about eight, face painted claret and blue, massive smile on his face throughout and singing his heart out with his Dad. Made me think of all the times my Dad took me at that age, and even though he died 20 years ago, it's the place I feel closest to him. Nice to think that there's a whole generation of kids who actually want to go to games again after the dross of the last few years.
In short, all good. Already looking forward to Burton next.
Great post mate 👍
X 2 👍
I thought the big bloke who was taken off was not that bad. Caused us problems in the air so I was kind of glad he got the hook. They also had a half decent player in the middle.
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The point above about pre-match drills is a good one. Always thought we looked very amateurish before
Very pleased at the moment. One cause for concern was the chances we gave away. 5 very good ones I’d say. We’d get punished for that in the prem. Almost all of them were self inflicted. That is unusual for us, so hopefully an aberration.
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We'll get 40k + crowds for SHA, Wolves, Leeds and Derby I reckon. Cardiff and Reading on Easter Monday won't be far off either.
Well yes the 4 biggest home games are yet to come in terms of attendence. 2 x high 30s and 2 x low 40s would be my guess
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Leeds are in their natural position I think. They've spent fewer seasons in the top flight than the Blues, for example.
Let's not talk Blues up too much. They may have been in the top flight more times but they have played 24 more seasons than Leeds. It's 50 out of 91 for Leeds (55%) and 57 out of 115 for Blues (50%). In summary; Blues are shit.
Excellent work.
Bravo!
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On December 23rd after blowing that 2-0 lead vs Sheff Utd, we were 9 points off an automatic promotion place.
It's now 3.
The team is doing well.
This season could yet be great.
Does anybody on here appear on The Villa View? ;D
Just asking because I was listening to their post match reaction on Youtube last night and they read this post out so they definitely come on here.
Great channel btw.