Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Toronto Villa on February 17, 2018, 04:55:11 PM
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I’ll kick this off. We got what we deserved. When the team was announced we were all concerned. And so it proved. Bruce sent out the side with a keep it tight approach and inevitably we let them have 70% of the possession at times. It was only ever going to end one way over the course of the game.
There was simply no need on th back 7 wins, even with Grealish and Adomah out to set up this way. We may still have lost by attaching. That’s fine. But playing not to win is unacceptable.
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Let's not under estimate the impact that losing our leading goalscorer and probably our most influential player of the last two months can have.
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Simply beaten by the better team.
Our line up was negative but ultimately we aren't PSG or Real Madrid. If we lose two of our best and inform players we will struggle to replace them.
It's alright people saying likes of Green and Grabban should've started today. Green has played one game since August. Grabban hasn't started a game since December.
Bjarni and Hogan have done well since xmas so those were two obvious selections unless I've missed something.
We've done well to win our previous seven so some perspective would be welcome although I fear that will be lost given some of the comments in the match thread.
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The run had to end somewhere. I'll be more despondent if we're in this mood at 10pm on Tuesday.
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Very disappointing, a defeat isn't the end of the world but the manner was reminiscent of too many away games against decent sides under Bruce. Only positive is that it was only 2-0. We were okay first half, second half we were outplayed everywhere. Need to win Tuesday and show this as a one off and not the start of yet another winless run under Bruce.
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Only Hutton and Snodgrass turned up. Failed to land a glove on them, pretty pathetic
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We are still piss weak anytime we play one of the top teams away from home. That's games at Cardiff, Wolves, Derby and Fulham where we've failed to score and not looked remotely like doing so once we go behind. It puts pressure on us to get results in the corresponding home games so the automatics are on a knife-edge.
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Very, very disappointing and deflating. Either we pick up 3 points v Preston or our confidence is going to take a hammering.
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Nothing to worry about, Fulham were better (going by radio commentary).
We had injuries to key players, we didn't win. Oh well.
We still have a great chance to finish 2nd and go up automatically.
We can't win them all. The team is still doing really well.
UTV
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Garbage Bruce. Have the bollocks to have a go at teams.
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That was rubbish. Of course losing Albert and Jack was a blow but that team selection was utterly abject.
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Poor record at the ground, law of averages that our run would end, injuries and a conservative approach led to this, absolutely no surprise.
I hope Bruce is more positive in midweek.
There will be ups and downs, we didn't go up last week we aren't out of it today.
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Well we've played them all away now. 2 games to win in the next week and we can forget about today
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Disappointing. I thought we pressed well first half but as soon as the first goal went in we stopped doing what we’ve been doing well the last 6 weeks. It’s such a fine line with us, doesn’t take much to become a rabble. Going up will depend on keeping our key players fit
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I remember an interview with Peter Withe about the championship winning side where he mentioned the key to that season was how we handled our setbacks. I think that applies here, we need to win on Tuesday.
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First half decent, second half an abomination. As I suspected, as soon as it opened up we got taken apart. Hoofball was our reply...shocking.
They were all pretty bad in the 2nd half, but Hourihane took the prize for being the worst player on the park.
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That was rubbish. Of course losing Albert and Jack was a blow but that team selection was utterly abject.
As I said though our attacking options on the bench were Davis and Grabban. Davis hasn't scored since I don't know when and Grabban hasn't started a match since December.
I'd have liked to have seen Green as sub but again he's played one game in six months.
Anyone knows you generally don't throw players in lacking match fitness/confidence away to other inform teams.
In any case when we did take off Jedinak and put Grabban on, Fulham started running through our midfield and scored the second.
What today does show is we really need to keep the key players fit for the run in. We may have numbers in the squad but we don't have much match winning quality beyond the regular 11.
We saw that in the cup where a similar 11 was put out and we've seen it today.
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Yes, two key players out injured, away to an in-form and cleqrly decent side, but my word that was absolutely shocking. I don't even think the tactics themselves were too bad, but Onomah, Bjarnison, Hourihane and Hogan barely did a single thing right in the entire game. We can talk about factors and luck all we want, but an abiding law of football is that if your attacking players all have shockers, you're gonna lose. And that happened today, and some.
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Didn't find a stream, but it sounded like long ball pap and a determination to draw. It didn't work at Wolves, or at Derby, or in fact most of the time. That's the most annoying thing - we played like we didn't start the game as the best of the rest and we got what we deserved. Wallop Preston, please.
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Simply beaten by the better team.
Our line up was negative but ultimately we aren't PSG or Real Madrid. If we lose two of our best and inform players we will struggle to replace them.
It's alright people saying likes of Green and Grabban should've started today. Green has played one game since August. Grabban hasn't started a game since December.
Bjarni and Hogan have done well since xmas so those were two obvious selections unless I've missed something.
We've done well to win our previous seven so some perspective would be welcome although I fear that will be lost given some of the comments in the match thread.
There’s a massive, massive gap between between what we put out and Real Madrid or PSG. It starts with the manager being positive and confident in his players. It then extends to how he approached the game irrespective of the opposition. And then it gets down to his team selection. It was too negative. Like I said before, we might still have lost trying to win. But we never started the game trying to win. That’s what is annoying and is precisely the reason Bruce has struggled as a manger in the PL. He could have chosen to attack Fulham and he chose not to.
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Yes, two key players out injured, away to an in-form and cleqrly decent side, but my word that was absolutely shocking. I don't even think the tactics themselves were too bad, but Onomah, Bjarnison, Hourihane and Hogan barely did a single thing right in the entire game. We can talk about factors and luck all we want, but an abiding law of football is that if your attacking players all have shockers, you're gonna lose. And that happened today, and some.
They're just not that good.
Onomah I thought was first good in his first few months here but he's struggled for a while now. Hogan is still limited beyond the six yard box.
Bjarni has done well but against a decent midfield who can play he was found out today.
Think how we've won our last seven and those players wouldn't really figure.
It's all been down to Chester, Terry, Hutton, Snodgrass, Albert and Jack being in great form.
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What has happened to Ohare?
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So many players were piss poor today. Bjarnason and Hogan were both back to looking like they'd won a raffle to play for the day, and Hourihane being disappointing shows no sign of abating.
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All trains out of Houston suspended as well, not our day really.
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What has happened to Ohare?
Didn't he play against Peterbrough and struggle to impose himself?
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You'd think Bruce had learned from the Brentford debacle, that you can't go to a team that is a quick, passing side and expect to sit back and be confident of getting a draw. Rubbish.
Have a fucking go at them.
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Problem is Bruce might be tempted to “freshen things up” on Tuesday Andrew we all know how that ends up!
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Euston, we have a problem.
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Simply beaten by the better team.
Our line up was negative but ultimately we aren't PSG or Real Madrid. If we lose two of our best and inform players we will struggle to replace them.
It's alright people saying likes of Green and Grabban should've started today. Green has played one game since August. Grabban hasn't started a game since December.
Bjarni and Hogan have done well since xmas so those were two obvious selections unless I've missed something.
We've done well to win our previous seven so some perspective would be welcome although I fear that will be lost given some of the comments in the match thread.
There’s a massive, massive gap between between what we put out and Real Madrid or PSG. It starts with the manager being positive and confident in his players. It then extends to how he approached the game irrespective of the opposition. And then it gets down to his team selection. It was too negative. Like I said before, we might still have lost trying to win. But we never started the game trying to win. That’s what is annoying and is precisely the reason Bruce has struggled as a manger in the PL. He could have chosen to attack Fulham and he chose not to.
We and he has been otherwise we wouldn't have won our last seven before today.
Maybe I'm being a bit too simple in my analysis but I simply see two key players out, away to a very inform team who'd won their last six home games and I wasn't shocked by the team SB put out. Many managers in a similar situation would've done that.
It didn't work, it happens. We do need to bounce back very quickly now with Cardiff back in second. Let's seriously worry if we can't win our next few games.
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What has happened to Ohare?
Didn't he play against Peterbrough and struggle to impose himself?
He was played out of position and was central to some of our best moves in the game. I don't understand not loaning him and Hepburn out if they're not even going to make it onto the bench for league games. They are proven at U23 level, all that's doing for them now is maintaining their fitness. They need to be given a chance at our level or at least League One.
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Disappointing but not a disaster. We just need to go again... starting Tuesday.
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I am a Jonah and I pledge to never watch that shower of spineless twats in person again.
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What has happened to Ohare?
Didn't he play against Peterbrough and struggle to impose himself?
Like the other 10 that day, what I have seen I have liked and he Has talent, certainly an option from the bench I would have thought.
He played Barney in the Jack role and you don’t need to be a genius to see the floor in that idea.
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Yes don't understand it either. RHM coming on v Bristol was first time I'd actually seen him live and he was lively. Not enough to suggest he can rip the championship apart but still worthy of a regular bench place and yet he's disappeared form the 18 again.
Certainly should've been loaned out given SB is always going to side with experience with his team selections with the position we're in.
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Euston, we have a problem.
Not what you want after that debacle
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Very disappointing result,especially in front of a big away following- to me it shows that whilst we have a big squad we lack quality
If Bruce was setting up for a draw today that is also disappointing and a risky strategy to boot.
It's a hackneyed response but Tuesday truly is a " must win" if we are looking at second place
Plenty of games to go yet but I fear we will be looking at play off at best - unless we batter Derby and Cardiff at B6
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With such a conservative starting eleven why not have Green or RHM on the bench? Why have Whelan there for example? Bruce can’t get out of his own way at times.
And yes let’s hope this is a game he wanted a point and didn’t get it, and goes for it from the off ve Preston. Long way to go but we cannot keep doing this away from VP.
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He's a tit, but Lansbury would have been a better replacement for Grealish.
If you have injuries, keep the style the same if possible.
This is going to be a nerve fucking couple of months.
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With such a conservative starting eleven why not have Green or RHM on the bench? Why have Whelan there for example. Bruce can it get out of his own way at times.
And yes let’s hope this is a game he wanted a point and didn’t get it, and goes for it from the off ve Preston. Long way to go but we cannot keep doing this away from VP.
In fairness a few of us have pointed out the negative bench selections before games in the past few weeks but of course we win and it all gets forgotten.
First two pages from last week had many querying it.
http://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=58301.15
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With such a conservative starting eleven why not have Green or RHM on the bench? Why have Whelan there for example. Bruce can it get out of his own way at times.
And yes let’s hope this is a game he wanted a point and didn’t get it, and goes for it from the off ve Preston. Long way to go but we cannot keep doing this away from VP.
In fairness a few of us have pointed out the negative bench selections before games in the past few weeks but of course we win and it all gets forgotten.
First two pages from last week had many querying it.
http://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=58301.15
It was going to bite us in the arse at some point.
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2 key players out today can give an excuse. We now need to beat a confident Preston on Tuesday. The thing that really worries me is if we don't secure automatic promotion how will Bruce approach the ay off games. To conservative approach in the play offs could mean another season in the championship.
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Not good today specially second half. Let’s beat Preston and get going again.
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I wouldn't bet on us through the play-offs. It seems to me the only "cup final" type game we've played well in was against Blues. Against stiff opposition who actually want it, we've been pap.
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Fulham's second goal (http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/11255132/fulhams-long-range-stunner)
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Highlights (http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/11255085/fulham-2-0-aston-villa)
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Post-match interview https://www.facebook.com/avfcofficial/videos/1838671209510273
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Back at the pub well that was fcukin shit. Axel played okay Hutton at times. Rest were awful but particularly Hourihhane and Thor. I’m sure there were more than 5k Villa here as well.
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So Albert unlikely for Tues and Jack is "we'll have to wait and see".
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Having been at the game I can only agree that we were second best. First half, I thought we were disciplined, and the players worked really hard. Fulham then upped their game and showed that they have a decent team and a very good manager.
Axel played very well. Hutton did alright. Hogan worked his knackers off. Snodgrass did okay.
Hourihane and Bjarni were generally poor; Onomah is not much use; Johnstone was poor.
Fans were fantastic.
Over and out.
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Bollocks
That is all
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I hope Onomah doesn't play much for the rest of the season. He's not very good.
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That 2nd goal was a fuckin shocker...An Aston villa gift..ffs
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Tight game where you felt the first goal would be key. Poor to let Sessignon have so much room for the goal.
The 2nd was an absolute gift and ended it, where they felt a bit more comfortable and exploited the space vacated when Jedinak went off.
Disappointing, but we missed Grealish today with Snoddy not on it and the midfield two being largely anonymous, Hourihane in particular.
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We had won 7 running playing decent football .....
Injuries today to 2 key players but why not simply replace them with players in the same position .... eg Andre Green
We could have kept the same shape ...we may not have won but would it have been worse
Trouble with Bruce is he has to chance too many things around when simple changes can be made
Lets get the right shape back on Tuesday and get a good win !
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I hope Onomah doesn't play much for the rest of the season. He's not very good.
Awful in fact. I could be wrong on this but I would be extremely surprised if he ever starts a game for Spurs in future. His attitude since he came to Villa has been fucking woeful.
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I hope Onomah doesn't play much for the rest of the season. He's not very good.
Awful in fact. I could be wrong on this but I would be extremely surprised if he ever starts a game for Spurs in future. On the basis of his Villa performances he looks L1 standard at best.
He started to tail off when there was talk of him going back to Spurs, and now he hasn't he just can't be arsed.
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One of the changes was excellent. He made Sessingon look mince. So much so he'd been instructed to drift central.
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According to Matt Maher at the E+S, Albert out for a while, Jack nowhere near starting today and Green has a hamstring issue.
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One of the changes was excellent. He made Sessingon look mince. So much so he'd been instructed to drift central.
Sessegnon had a field day. Did we watch the same game?
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Tuanzebe was very good to be fair.
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Our injury record is ridiculous.
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Just on train back to Kingston......poor 2nd half but OK 1st. Hogan ran his bollocks off with no service. All midfield poor. Gift of goal and a homer of a ref. Fans at least 6k there great but even we went quiet after the 2nd. Their game vs Wolves next Saturday will be worth watching.
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Our injury record is ridiculous.
We share fitness and conditioning coaches with Arsenal FC.
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I think the midfield two let Bruce down second half. Too deep and too slow in pressing or moving the ball.
I'd change them both for Preston, with Grealish hopefully fit enough to start.
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Oh well.
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Disappointing but not entirely unexpected. Need to bounce back on Tuesday.
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Going to be a tough game Tues, didn't realise Preston had only lost 1 league game since bonfire night.
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Surprising given they've lost Hugil. A man sent off today too for them.
Important we bounce back.
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Today, Bruce's ultra-negative bench policy finally bit us on the backside.
Why bring through highly-talented players like RHM and O'Hare if they can't even make the bench during an injury crisis?
Still, at least he picked all his senior players...
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Today, Bruce's ultra-negative bench policy finally bit us on the backside.
Why bring through highly-talented players like RHM and O'Hare if they can't even make the bench during an injury crisis?
Still, at least he picked all his senior players...
It's clear that Bruce doesn't rate RHM at all, and it's beginning to look like the same is the case with Green. With O'Hare, I get the impression Bruce wants him to develop a bit more. I agree though, and it fucks me off to see him using Onomah instead of that lot.
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Green has injured his other hamstring apparently.
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I am a Jonah and I pledge to never watch that shower of spineless twats in person again.
Me too - my 2 games in 2018 have been Peterborough and Fulham.
Actually, it might be the fault of my 12 yr old son...
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It's only one match. We've just won seven in a row. Loads of football left. Let's get over and it win next week.
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Going to be a tough game Tues, didn't realise Preston had only lost 1 league game since bonfire night.
We played them at a good time. They could barely put out a defence at Deepdale and we punished them for it.
I could see them sneaking into the top 6 as they are a tough team to beat and have pace on the break.
If we're under-strength again I can see them nicking a point. An early goal would settle things down for us of course like against Bristol.
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Our injuries have been horrendous this season. Latest injuries to Jack & Albert could derail this push for second place...
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More than a blip but not a crisis. First half did well, axel outstanding
Individual mistakes second half and heads dropped.
We need grealish playiing even if 70% fit
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Surprising given they've lost Hugil. A man sent off today too for them.
Important we bounce back.
Not replacing him surprised me more. They played Calum Robinson upfront today and had Barkhusien who is also rapid alongside him.
Clear they'll sit back and hit us on the counter so important we get the first goal and ideally an early one as we could then pick them off like Bristol game.
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Don’t mind a defeat so much
More concerned that Fulham are now only four points behind us with real momentum. Hopefully their tough fixtures will see them lose a couple
And suddenly with jack “nowhere near” for today and Adomah “our for a while” plus green injured our attack looks weak down the left side and in terms of pace
Preston game now very big. Need a win but I’m not that confident
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Our injuries have been horrendous this season. Latest injuries to Jack & Albert could derail this push for second place...
With the money we have spent our squad depth should be second to non in the championship
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Today showed how much we need Grealish and Adomah.
In the first half we were comfortable without creating too much, but they clearly came out of the blocks faster after the break and we didn't respond.
Losing Elmo was a blow as all the shape went to pieces as well and the full backs got little support.
The midfield in the second half was woeful and Fulham didn't have to play that well.
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Our winning run had to come to an end sometime - thank goodness it wasn't last weekend!
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Probably the game we were most likely to come unstuck in, given their home form and their good run themselves. Big worry is that - once again - we suffer from missing any of the first eleven. Take Grealish and Adomah out and we lose a huge chuck of our creativity - particularly Grealish, as he's a game-changer, which the squad isn't blessed with. The same when Terry was out before Christmas, we went on that dreadful run.
When everyones's fit, we have a very good side, but take players out, and its concerning that we don't have effective cover.
Need to bounce back against Preston, which won't be easy.
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Today showed squad depth is still deceptively poor when you put it in terms of quality and flexibility of approach, made much worse by Bruce’s tactical limitations.
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Today showed the manager isn’t making best use of his squad rather than a commentary on squad depth. Bruce showed that when faced with a specific level of competition he too often lacks faith in himself and his team.
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Today showed squad depth is still deceptively poor when you put it in terms of quality and flexibility of approach, made much worse by Bruce’s tactical limitations.
Not the depth just plagued by injuries. I can understand Bruce setting up for a draw today when we're light on attacking options. Tuesday is must win though
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Today showed the manager isn’t making best use of his squad rather than a commentary on squad depth. Bruce showed that when faced with a specific level of competition he too often lacks faith in himself and his team.
Dunno, he put a similar line up out v Peterbrough and they were rubbish.
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Nothing to worry about, Fulham were better (going by radio commentary).
We had injuries to key players, we didn't win. Oh well.
We still have a great chance to finish 2nd and go up automatically.
We can't win them all. The team is still doing really well.
UTV
This for me.
Beat Preston !
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There are still a lot of points to play for. Okay we missed Albert & Jack, and the team is a squad, and we shouldn't have to rely on them.
That said, if they had played, their injuries could have been more prolonged, and they could be back on Tuesday now.
We did beat Sheff. Utd, when we could have lost.
Lets be positive.
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One defeat isn't a problem but today, for me, highlighted why the bench for the last 3-4 games was so wrong. If o'hare, green or rhm had been given time on the bench, been around the first team and had a few cameos we'd have been able to replace Grealish and Adomah with like for like players (in style not talent). By flooding the bench with defensive players we had no one ready to come in and ended up with a midfield that looked defensive on paper and surprised no one on the pitch.
Bruce's natural conservatism needs to be challenged by people like Agnew to make sure that we don't fall back on plans like today.
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Had a great day, saw people I hadn’t seen for ages, but the game was a bit meh! Shame really, would have taken a draw, let’s hope Tuesday gives us a win.
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Today showed the manager isn’t making best use of his squad rather than a commentary on squad depth. Bruce showed that when faced with a specific level of competition he too often lacks faith in himself and his team.
I think it also shows that there is no real plan B. Over the last month or so we have picked up wins away from home by being solid and relying on someone to produce a moment of magic to win us the game. It has worked well for us recently, but it is very much reliant on us keeping a clean sheet. If the opposition score, particularly in the second half, I always feel we are going to struggle to get anything out of the game.
Tuesday is going to be important now.
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Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Bolton and Hull all coming up away from home. Got to be won. I can't see us beating Preston but hope for the best. Poor today but hope it's just a blip against a rival.
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Let hope SB will get a bullocking for defensive approach from Villa board.
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Solid first half, but never going in the second. The loss of Elmo was crucial as almost all of the danger came down the right. Thought Adel was superb in the first half. Would be intrigued to see him as a holding midfielder though, as look to me like he could be superb there.
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My main worry is if we get promoted who is going to be the manager and how are we going to move these players on. Because Steve Bruce is not a premier league manager and three quarters of this squad are not premier league quality.
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My main worry is if we get promoted who is going to be the manager and how are we going to move these players on. Because Steve Bruce is not a premier league manager and three quarters of this squad are not premier league quality.
Bruce is okay as a Premier League manager if you take into account the two-bob shithouse clubs he’s managed in it. You wouldn’t call any of them PL clubs with the possible exception of Sunderland, and that’s debatable.
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Lesson 1 Snoddy is our best player (Jack close) don’t fuck about with his position
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Just home. Pity the poor sods going home via Euston.
First half we looked uninspiring but comfortable. The second half was as bad as anything I have seen all season. All the vices came back to haunt us. Lying too deep, unable to win the second ball, hoofing it long and over Hogan's head, conceded a comedy goal, sloppy passing, unforced errors, substitutions made far too late. Nearly a third of the crowd Villa and in he second half we did not have a single thing to cheer. Referee what we have come to expect in this division. Bitterly disappointing. Tiny, tiny glimmer of comfort was Axel Tuesday looks the business.
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Christ, will we ever win at Fulham again! The great day out is always spoilt by the footy. I thought at half time we were so comfortable and Fulham had no idea. Hutton fell asleep for the first goal and well the second was just crazy. We didn't have a plan B. Bruce seems great at closing a game out when winning. Chasing a game is a very different story. Tues night is now so important.
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Nearly a third of the crowd Villa and in he second half we did not have a single thing to cheer.
Tiny, tiny glimmer of comfort was Axel Tuesday looks the business.
It was only when our fans stopped singing in the second half that I heard the booing of Terry by the home fans. Presumably that had gone on all through the game.
I agree about Tuanzebe. He was strong, composed and confident. Whether right back is the best position for him remains to be seen but he's certainly worth a starting place somewhere in the team on Tuesday.
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7 wins on the bounce,2nd in the league, we had 2 important players out granted,but we approached that game with utter fear. This is what pisses me off about Bruce.
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Well we go again. Need an immediate bounce back vs Preston. Right from the off we need to be into them. That’s starts with the manager and the squad he picks and the attitude we set out with. There’s lots to suggest at VP he will play positively. So let’s get back on the horse and win on Tuesday. We can be in second again as Derby and Cardiff both play on Wednesday.
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Agree TV but he must learn to be positive. We must set out to dominate not to contain.
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Agree TV but he must learn to be positive. We must set out to dominate not to contain.
Yes Brian and especially away from home and against all opposition. Can’t just do it at Villa Park.
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We had won seven on the trot we should have gone there with a lot of confidence even with two good players out, he set up the team as if we were the underdogs it is typical Bruce. Surely the way to approach the game was to replace the missing players with the nearest like for like we have and leave the rest of the players in the positions they had been playing well in.
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Agree TV but he must learn to be positive. We must set out to dominate not to contain.
Yes Brian and especially away from home and against all opposition. Can’t just do it at Villa Park.
We have won plenty away in recent times and given we're playing mostly bottom half I'd expect us to win more in the run in.
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Gents, what kind of formation were we playing today? Missing Grealish and AA were obviously huge blows but the replacements weren't exactly like for like.
Comedy second goal, obviously not our day. Need to get back on track Tuesday night. Cardiff getting a second wind, though they would have fallen away by now.
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I'm still positive despite today. First half looked like two good sides cancelling each other out a bit. We were off the pace 2nd half, they smelled blood and punished us. I was quite happy with the gameplan against a team like that who love to dominate the ball, we just didn't execute it well enough 2nd half and the first goal was always going to be key in a tight game like that. Got to get back on track on Tuesday and I think we will. UTV
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Very disappointed. But losing sometimes is inevitable. It is how you react that counts. We need to get behind the team on Tuesday.
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For the love of God, we are a solid Championship team - that is all - we have been fortunate on our recent run, but in a play-off final any one of a dozen teams could beat us (as we could them - meaning it will be down to luck rather than much else). Please, wake-up and smell the coffee, we have little in depth of squad, we have a manager that has made poor financial decisions and left us in a position that if we did get promoted, we would have to replace half of our first team squad anyway.
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For the love of God, we are a solid Championship team - that is all - we have been fortunate on our recent run, but in a play-off final any one of a dozen teams could beat us (as we could them - meaning it will be down to luck rather than much else). Please, wake-up and smell the coffee, we have little in depth of squad, we have a manager that has made poor financial decisions and left us in a position that if we did get promoted, we would have to replace half of our first team squad anyway.
Let’s worry about next season when we get there.
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First half we produced the better opportunities and couldn’t ask for more considering Albert n Jack out.
Then they secored a good goal.
Then they were gifted a goal.
Normally I’d be fuming but it was just one of those days.
Our fans were brill today. Could hear them crossing Putney Bridge at 2.30 almost half a mile away. We still going up.
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For the love of God, we are a solid Championship team - that is all - we have been fortunate on our recent run, but in a play-off final any one of a dozen teams could beat us (as we could them - meaning it will be down to luck rather than much else). Please, wake-up and smell the coffee, we have little in depth of squad, we have a manager that has made poor financial decisions and left us in a position that if we did get promoted, we would have to replace half of our first team squad anyway.
With respect what a load of bollix.
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My tuppence, as unoriginal as it is: I think we are a well-constructed if average team who are quite dependent on a few players to make the difference in terms of quality. Even when he's not playing brilliantly, someone like Grealish makes little spaces on the field which enable us to escape from pressure, push up, start attacks in better positions, that sort of thing. Today we were unable to do that, and our limitations showed.
One loss doesn't mean our automatic push is over though! We've done really well to put ourselves in the mix, and we'll need to be luckier than everyone else to come out of it, but one bad result - indeed bad performance - doesn't mean we have nothing to offer. I'm not saying today was awesome, nor that it didn't expose the limits of Bruce-ism - it did - but that doesn't mean we can't still get up.
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My take is this. That we are more than capable of getting automatic promotion because between now and the end of the season most of the games against top teams will be at VP where we are very good. And most games away from home are against mid table and lower teams.
Steve Bruce mentally has a difficult time playing good teams away from home. It’s what will get him fired in the end. But in the Championship, playing to win specific games will be enough to get promoted. It’s precisely how he’s done it in the past.
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We had won seven on the trot we should have gone there with a lot of confidence even with two good players out, he set up the team as if we were the underdogs it is typical Bruce. Surely the way to approach the game was to replace the missing players with the nearest like for like we have and leave the rest of the players in the positions they had been playing well in.
Agree, instead he changed too much.
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McDonald and Johansen - what a pair of fucking ******.
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We didn’t play well today and lost ,however Fulham away was always going to be difficult ,no matter how we played ,hopefully that’s our last poor performance for a few games.
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For the love of God, we are a solid Championship team - that is all - we have been fortunate on our recent run, but in a play-off final any one of a dozen teams could beat us (as we could them - meaning it will be down to luck rather than much else). Please, wake-up and smell the coffee, we have little in depth of squad, we have a manager that has made poor financial decisions and left us in a position that if we did get promoted, we would have to replace half of our first team squad anyway.
With respect what a load of bollix.
With more respect, totally agree with olaf
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With additional respect, I agree with Steve and Aftab.
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Does anyone know what kept Jack and Bert out of yesterday’s game?
They both looked ok after the Blues game. If they have got injured in training that is absolutely infuriating.
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Does anyone know what kept Jack and Bert out of yesterday’s game?
They both looked ok after the Blues game. If they have got injured in training that is absolutely infuriating.
They were both kicked from pillar to post in the blues game and both came off. I imagine adrenaline got them through the game and the true extent of their injuries got them on the Monday or Tuesday.
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Does anyone know what kept Jack and Bert out of yesterday’s game?
They both looked ok after the Blues game. If they have got injured in training that is absolutely infuriating.
They were both kicked from pillar to post in the blues game and both came off. I imagine adrenaline got them through the game and the true extent of their injuries got them on the Monday or Tuesday.
Calf injury for Jack and Hamstring for Albert
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Disappointing but results over the last few weeks mean that we can deal with the occasional setback. The important thing now is to respond in the right way. We have an opportunity on Tuesday to start another winning run and keep the pressure on.
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If Elmo stays on then Snoddy may well have done a better job in helping stop the attack.
2nd goal was a freak mistake at a time when Fulham were starting to sit back. It was disappointing to pick up yet another injury that disrupted our shape.
Sure they came out a bit quicker and clearly Sessingon was told to get out of Axel's pocket, but our defensive shape first half was excellent and they'd not have scored if they'd played all month.
We're a good side though and will bounce back.
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Disappointed obviously. I was surprised with the 2 replacements for jack and Albert at ko. I certainly wouldn't have swopped players around to accommodate them and I certainly would rather our own up and coming young players on the bench rather than another club's (O Hare for Onomah).After our poor start Bruce eventually acted, brought in Agnew and won 7 on the bounce to get us in the mix for 2nd place. Now we need another run of 5, 6 or 7 wins to help cement 2nd place for us, but we need good decisions, good team selections and formations going forward and just as importantly positivity because that's what got us the 7 consequetive wins. Its almost like the season starts here again. Let's go for it Villa!
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so what was the starting formation yesterday as the 4141 has worked so well recently ?
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Like a few have already said, Bruce made more changes than he probably needed to yesterday and it didn't help that everyone apart from probably Axel were poor. Still, we were bound to lose at some point and the aim is to bounce back on Tuesday.
Good day apart the result though. Fulham is still a decent away day so hopefully if we do go up, they'll come up as well.
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After yesterday's howler i can't see Man U wanting to keep Sam Johnstone. What the was he thinking? If a keeper is going to go that wide to take a free kick he's
obviously leaving his goal unguarded so the only option is to aim the ball long and high. What he opted to do was monumentally dumb!
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I can forgive him a cock-up. It happens.
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For the love of God, we are a solid Championship team - that is all
WON’T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?
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A very disappointing defeat, but I don't think many of us would've been quite so optimistic during the week: had we known Jack & Albert would be sidelined. I can't say it came as a major surprise - since it was the only way those small heath cloggers were gonna leave their (no)mark at VP. As we - and other sides - have already found out, it'll be hard for Fulham to keep their winning run going in this division. My post-match mood was further disaffected when I saw that Colin & his hoofers had gone into 2nd spot. Hopefully we'll have some positive news about Grealish & Adomah asap, so we can give PNE a better game in the week.
Keep the faith all & UTV
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Actually, it might be the fault of my 12 yr old son...
Disown him now for Villa sake.
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I can forgive him a cock-up. It happens.
Absolutely. I just wanted to comment on the bizzare nature of yesterday's cock up.
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7 wins on the bounce,2nd in the league, we had 2 important players out granted,but we approached that game with utter fear. This is what pisses me off about Bruce.
This is what makes Bruce a restricted manager and why he has never achieved more than 1.8 average points per game in his successful season.
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It's restricted him to four promotions.
We weren't fearful or negative, just crap in the second half.
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I thought Taunzebe was excellent. I can see him making it into their first team squad very soon but hoping they will think he is not good enough and we can sign him at the end of his loan spell.
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Wishful thinking on Axel, Olaftab. If we're looking for a new right back and Fulham fail to go up, Ryan Fredericks would certainly top of my list.
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Extended highlights
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Extended highlights
Watched that earlier. It’s all I’ve seen of the game but gives the impression that it was pretty even, with us improving, until the goal. Then a mad fuck-up. So that’s left me not too disheartened.
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First half we comfortably contained them whilst creating a couple of half chances. Second half Fulham played with a lot more urgency and we struggled to cope. They're a very good side who had the best XI all fit and a bench to support it. Worst possible time to have played them. They're a very good footballing side.
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First half we comfortably contained them whilst creating a couple of half chances. Second half Fulham played with a lot more urgency and we struggled to cope. They're a very good side who had the best XI all fit and a bench to support it. Worst possible time to have played them. They're a very good footballing side.
Yes. We were very disciplined and energetic in the first half; Tuanzebe played really well against Sessegnon and we restricted Fulham to a couple of chances. Second half they not only upped their game, they also had much more movement from Sessegnon and their #11. Hourihane and Bjarni just faded out of the game; Onomah amde no impact whatsoever and Fulham could have scored more.
As others have said, despite losing Adomah and Grealish before the game, I think the manager could have given himself more options off the bench because once we were 1-0 down, there was very little to bring on to chase the game with.
The results away against Fulham, Derby, Wolves and Cardiff do paint a concerning picture of conservatism, caution and lack of imagination. If we are in the play-offs, will this guy really have the balls to win a two-leg competition?
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Away Games against the “better” teams in this division have been a worry. Playoffs not sure we will get the result(s) we need, but we have enough home games v teams by us to sort this. I do think it’s in our hands. Win Tuesday & we go with confidence to Sheffield.
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Small margins. The Johnstone error did it for us. If that had not happened and Hogan had shown a bit more composure game would have ended 1-1.
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Wishful thinking on Axel, Olaftab. If we're looking for a new right back and Fulham fail to go up, Ryan Fredericks would certainly top of my list.
Yes probably. And we need their Manager as well if both teams fail to go up.
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Small margins. The Johnstone error did it for us. If that had not happened and Hogan had shown a bit more composure game would have ended 1-1.
Apart from without the Johnstone error that Hogan chance would never have happened as the whole game would have been different from that point onwards :P
The error did kill us though.
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Yes true. Games take a different path after crucial incidents. The ball can end up anywhere as Sam found out.
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Stupid mistakes destroy morale on the pitch. Stupid mistakes by your goalkeeper are the worst kind. Kept to 0-1 we could have thrown the kitchen sink at them for the draw. Once Johnstone gifted them the cushion of the second goal heads went down and we were a beaten side.
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One defeat isn't a problem but today, for me, highlighted why the bench for the last 3-4 games was so wrong. If o'hare, green or rhm had been given time on the bench, been around the first team and had a few cameos we'd have been able to replace Grealish and Adomah with like for like players (in style not talent). By flooding the bench with defensive players we had no one ready to come in and ended up with a midfield that looked defensive on paper and surprised no one on the pitch.
Agreed.
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Good day out and a understandable first 45 minutes from a changed team missing its creative spark and main creator, but it would have been nice to see Bruce go for it in the second half with Grabban being the sub and move Barney back, this is what is so annoying about Bruce, he reverts to type and that is what scares me if we do go up and he stays as boss, his mentality away from home against teams around us is disgraceful.
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As i sat there watching plane after plane fly over - this was far more interesting than the football played by our lot
Thought Axel did well first half, second half they pushed on their full backs who were too quick for the likes of Hutton.
i said to my wife (who enjoyed watching the planes) that if we had to play Fulham in the play off final that with their pace and style of passing football they will beat us at Wembley.
We created zero, their goal keeper did not have a save to make, very disappointing, just hope we beat Preston.
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I bet you miss the Bovril Sid.
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I can forgive him a cock-up. It happens.
Certainly happened to one of his predecessors quite a lot, Mr Stefan Postma.
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Not read the thread but basically thought we were crap. We missed Grealish a lot and I’m hoping he’s going to be back sooner rather than later.
What was going on with a small amount of our fans? I thought compared to other seasons at Craven Cottage we had a small following of knob heads. This started at a pub in Fulham Broadway when I was chatting to a Chelsea fan about John Terry, after I had said to the Chelsea fan I live in Cornwall I had two Villa fans give me evil looks followed by derogatory comments aimed at my wife. We then headed to Putney and the attitude and rudeness from some fans in the pub was embarrassing. I’ve since heard that a group of Villa fans who again don’t live in Brum were verbally abused. Also while waiting for a pint at HT two lads openly snorting a substance off there bank cards.
On a plus side I had a great night out in Hammersmith in Saturday night. We really need to bounce back tomorrow and get nothing but 3 points.
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I've only just seen Fulhams second goal - that was extremely poor from the keeper.Many have commented this season on how his kicking has not been that good - you would think the coaching staff would be working on this defficiency. I accept that mistakes do happen but at this level you would think the keeper would be able to kick long and accurately or play it short and work the flanks- one of the basics taught at an early level is not to play the ball across the face of the goal mouth, particularly when the goal is open
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If you are going to lose a game , it might have well be away against with fuham with your two of your main men out .
Not sure what SB plan B's ever are , he needs to get some of our youngsters bloodied on the bench .
If Thor had scored earlier it might have been different and he put a lovely ball through to Hogan who should have hit the target .
Houriane looks slow at tracking back .
axel was in the right place most of the time which shows he will be a top player just not ours , not sure Odamah ever will be.
oh and at least that might knock a million off Johnstone . He still made some decent saves after I thought.
Need a win tomorrow , hope Jack is back . Not sure I like Elmo where he was and Snodgrass .
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For me, this game reminded me too much of what we were like in much of the first half of the season. We just about did enough first half but once we went a goal down, there didn't seem much likelihood of us getting back into the game.
I know there's been a lot made of our run coinciding with Agnew joining us (and it has indeed been a positive move), my own feeling is that it was Grealish's return to the side and the form that he's been in that has made all of the difference. Without him on the pitch, we looked devoid of ideas or ability to trouble Fulham.
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Not read the thread but basically thought we were crap. We missed Grealish a lot and I’m hoping he’s going to be back sooner rather than later.
What was going on with a small amount of our fans? I thought compared to other seasons at Craven Cottage we had a small following of knob heads. This started at a pub in Fulham Broadway when I was chatting to a Chelsea fan about John Terry, after I had said to the Chelsea fan I live in Cornwall I had two Villa fans give me evil looks followed by derogatory comments aimed at my wife. We then headed to Putney and the attitude and rudeness from some fans in the pub was embarrassing. I’ve since heard that a group of Villa fans who again don’t live in Brum were verbally abused. Also while waiting for a pint at HT two lads openly snorting a substance off there bank cards.
On a plus side I had a great night out in Hammersmith in Saturday night. We really need to bounce back tomorrow and get nothing but 3 points.
Hi St A AVFC - I have sent you a message - cheers VCTM
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Not read the thread but basically thought we were crap. We missed Grealish a lot and I’m hoping he’s going to be back sooner rather than later.
What was going on with a small amount of our fans? I thought compared to other seasons at Craven Cottage we had a small following of knob heads. This started at a pub in Fulham Broadway when I was chatting to a Chelsea fan about John Terry, after I had said to the Chelsea fan I live in Cornwall I had two Villa fans give me evil looks followed by derogatory comments aimed at my wife. We then headed to Putney and the attitude and rudeness from some fans in the pub was embarrassing. I’ve since heard that a group of Villa fans who again don’t live in Brum were verbally abused. Also while waiting for a pint at HT two lads openly snorting a substance off there bank cards.
On a plus side I had a great night out in Hammersmith in Saturday night. We really need to bounce back tomorrow and get nothing but 3 points.
Hi St A AVFC - I have sent you a message - cheers VCTM
Thanks, agree alot.
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Not read the thread but basically thought we were crap. We missed Grealish a lot and I’m hoping he’s going to be back sooner rather than later.
What was going on with a small amount of our fans? I thought compared to other seasons at Craven Cottage we had a small following of knob heads. This started at a pub in Fulham Broadway when I was chatting to a Chelsea fan about John Terry, after I had said to the Chelsea fan I live in Cornwall I had two Villa fans give me evil looks followed by derogatory comments aimed at my wife. We then headed to Putney and the attitude and rudeness from some fans in the pub was embarrassing. I’ve since heard that a group of Villa fans who again don’t live in Brum were verbally abused. Also while waiting for a pint at HT two lads openly snorting a substance off there bank cards.
On a plus side I had a great night out in Hammersmith in Saturday night. We really need to bounce back tomorrow and get nothing but 3 points.
Hi St A AVFC - I have sent you a message - cheers VCTM
Thanks, agree alot.
sorry to hear this, we had a few beers in East Putney and the atmosphere was great, just a few old men enjoying some very expensive beer :)
and yes we do have some clowns following us away from home, that is why we usually as a group have a few beers and food away from the main drag.
UTV
The Doc