Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on October 26, 2025, 03:57:37 PM
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Never in doubt, we always beat these clowns at home.
And as I said
Haaland has scored in his last 12 games for club and country, and in 19 of his last 21. So he won't score today.
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Lovely.
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You fucking beauties. 1-0 flattered them.
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Love this team and manager so much
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(https://media1.tenor.com/m/JFBGlDSduLQAAAAC/weareback-wereback.gif)
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Last 4 games at home to ManC. W3 D1 L0. Haaland 1 goal and they've led for a total of 24 mins across all 4.
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Fucking awesome performance.
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2nd statement win on the bounce. Love this team. And to think some people wanted this.manager out after a few games in.
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Up the fucking Villa! Lovely stuff
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This is what Unai does. To think we got beat at a pub outfit on Thursday ;D
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Yeeeeesssss
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
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Best performance and result of the season. Onana a monster today and justifying the money we spent to get him. If he can stay fit (big IF I fully realize) then he’s a superb partner with Kamara protecting that back 4. Everyone played really well today. Shame little Emi came off because he was looking very sharp also. Well done Matty. Cracking goal. Well done and congrats Unai on 3 wonderful years with us.
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That is a terrific result. Onana - beast.
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Best team performance of the season? No dossers out there today. Onana didn't offer much going forward but he surely put himself on the line in our 18 yd box. 6 points from Spuds and Shity...take that every time.
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Konsa and Onana magnificent. Can't remember Martinez having to make a serious save.
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Simply magnificent.
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What a fcukin win and performance! GTFI!!!
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F’n brilliant, get in!!!!!!!
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Never in doubt.
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A complete team performance.
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City hardly had an effort on goal. Unai Master class. Hopefully Small Emi is ok. He was excellent before the injury.
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That was absolutely brilliant. Lots of great performances.
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Magnificent performance. It’s fantastic to win, but genuinely, had we drawn or even lost I’d be satisfied. When we’re on form, they’re made for us.
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Cash is really shutting some people up.
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Super stuff. Dominated in places. Good football and resilient.
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
Oh, is this now legal? The one place where we are forced to survive without internet access on our phones. Now, we're more drone-like than ever.
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The defence was awesome today Konsa and Pau ( that off the line wow ) Onana looked 70 million .
Everyone put a great performance in even the subs including the Guess . Martinez had one save really from the honey monster , could have been 3 - 0 .
up to 7th and propber back now with Youri to come back.
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Massive win, up to 7th. Would happily have taken 5-7 points from this run of 4 games, we've already got 6.
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The 5Live commentator said towards the end that "The Villa fans are in full voice singing 'Unai Emery's barmy army'' :-[
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
Oh, is this now legal? The one place where we are forced to survive without internet access on our phones. Now, we're more drone-like than ever.
It has been for years, just requires the flight to offer onboard wifi.
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Massive win, up to 7th. Would happily have taken 5-7 points from this run of 4 games, we've already got 6.
I'd fancy us to win anywhere right now, even the Custard Bowl.
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And what a cameo that was from Guessand when he came on. I see Fraudiola refused to shake his hand at the end presumably because he put in a tackle which isn’t allowed. Graceless tosspot.
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I put Haaland in my FF team. I thank you.
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And what a cameo that was from Guessand when he came on. I see Fraudiola refused to shake his hand at the end presumably because he put in a tackle which isn’t allowed. Graceless tosspot.
Probably because he put an arm out to defend the ball and Gonzalez ran nose first into it. To be fair I was a little surprised the ref didn't give a free kick for it (even though he got it right) because it's the sort of thing that so often gets given as a cheap free kick for teams like them.
and yes, he was great when he came on, as was Barkley, both made us more solid and gave us some more control higher up the pitch to act as a bit of a pressure valve.
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Massive win, up to 7th. Would happily have taken 5-7 points from this run of 4 games, we've already got 6.
I'd fancy us to win anywhere right now, even the Custard Bowl.
We might even lose by less than 3 at Selhurst Park.
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Everyone who triple captained Haarland in Fantasy Football - I salute you!
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We've gone from 12 points behind Liverpool to level pegging in four games.
Monsterous performance from the Villa there. So, so good.
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Everyone who triple captained Haarland in Fantasy Football - I salute you!
*puts on AC/DC album*
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The Guardian has a 'column' every weekend entitled:
"Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend"
This is what it said yesterday, about today's game:
CASH SHOWING VALUE AT VILLA
How many times have you replayed that otherworldly Matty Cash ping? His sumptuous first-time pass to Lucas Digne proved the catalyst for Emi Buendía’s glorious winner at Tottenham last weekend; Digne’s control and layoff were equally sublime, too. When Villa have struggled, Cash has been an easy target for criticism and there has long been an expectation that Unai Emery will try to upgrade at right-back. But the Villa manager regards Cash as a reliable performer and has found it tricky to identify a realistic alternative who would represent an obvious improvement. Cash was wanted by his former club Nottingham Forest in the summer but Villa recognise his value, with the Poland full-back expected to sign a new contract in the coming months. Morgan Rogers, another player the club are keen to tie down, is the only one of Cash’s teammates to have played more league minutes this season.
Crystal ball-esque?
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Excellent performance. I have been very critical of both Cash and Onana, but they were superb today. McGinn was also very good. Massive 6 points in the last 2 games. Our season now looks in very good shape. I really fancy us to push on once we get Tielemans back because he makes us tick.
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Konsa and Onana magnificent. Can't remember Martinez having to make a serious save.
Just the one from Haaland in first half, thought in real time Silva was offside there.
Had to suffer a bit of pain in the second half when we tired. Some great blocks from likes of Barkley, Onana and Konsa. Fortunate enough clearance from Torres but we deserved a break. Thought first 60-70 mins we were very much on top but never got the second goal. Sancho aside, the rest of the subs battled well. Some response from a feckless second half display during the week and right back into the mix PL wise now.
My mate Onana had his best game for the club. Cash was outstanding I thought, Citeh kept targeting that flank but he kept them out. Only poor display was from Sancho, displayed none of the intensity and aggression required.
Martinez 7 - poor distribution at times, one fine save in first half and dominant in our box.
Cash 9 - cracking goal but bullied Savinho I thought and held out v Doku too. Fortunate with one clearing header.
Konsa 8 - far more aggression in his play, wrestling with Haaland on a couple of occasions.
Torres 7 - distribution a bit mixed but solid enough
Digne 7 - solid display at the back, sharp in possession
Kamara 7 - tired late on, lost one ball we were lucky to get away with but generally good
Onana 8 - slow start but got into it once he took ball from Haaland. Finally showed that physicality in a Villa shirt
Buendia 7/Sancho 3- Buendia was our best player first 30 mins. Hopefully not a serious injury. Bit of an eye opener with Sancho.
McGinn 8 - great really, two good chances missed but have it everything
Rogers 7 - lots of good moments when we were on touch and worked hard late on
Watkins 7 - slow start but led the line really well. But confidence around box is very low, awful effort with that header
Guessand worked very hard, Barkley some nice touches and a great block. Maatsen and Malen did fine.
Emery 9 - big challenge after the transfer window to galvinise the group and refocus. Has done that superbly. Increasing questions on the value of our summer signings. Big selection decisions (Onana, Torres, Digne) all justified and didn't bottle the Sancho call.
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Three points off second and feeling like a team in form. Burnley snatching a last minute winner at the Custard Coloured Theatre Of Unrealistic Expectations the icing on the delicious Unai cake.
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Massive win, up to 7th. Would happily have taken 5-7 points from this run of 4 games, we've already got 6.
I'd fancy us to win anywhere right now, even the Custard Bowl.
We might even lose by less than 3 at Selhurst Park.
Typical Villa fan - a few good results and you become wildly optimistic.
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I put Haaland in my FF team. I thank you.
Well done, great transfer. Thanks.
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That was a fantastic game of football, we never looked rattled, although last 10 mins was nerve racking.
On our day we can beat anyone.
MOTM for me is Onanna, his best game for us.
Kamarra solid as ever.
Defense very good, Cash and Konsa especially.
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Great performance - and another fantastic goal. Some brilliant performances - cash, onnana, McGinn and konsa the standouts
Great turnaround from our early season form - and last 2 games we’ve looked close to our best. UTV
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Fabulous result, I had a feeling for 1-0 this morning and it could have been more. Onana has had plenty of stick but today he was superb and rightly MOM. Great all round performance with the defence looking really solid just brilliant
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Fantastic win. So much hard work went into it. We didn't just defend well, we had decent chances to make it more convincing. Great stuff.
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
Oh, is this now legal? The one place where we are forced to survive without internet access on our phones. Now, we're more drone-like than ever.
It has been for years, just requires the flight to offer onboard wifi.
Yes that’s what used. My only issue was getting sky go to work when we weren’t over the sea! Never watched a match on a plane before or let out a cheer mid flight!
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Excellent performance today. They were brave in keeping the short passes going under loads of pressure and sprung the attacks when City weren't expecting it. Pure football stuff. After Thursdays debacle they proved they have the all important bouncebackability. Brilliant.
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Haaland failed to score in only his second game for club and country this season, and this win ended Citeh's nine-game unbeaten run.
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Fantastic performance from all of them.
Have liked Onana since he joined but I was starting to lose the faith. Faith fully restored today, if he stays fit he’ll be a hell of a player for us in the coming years.
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They must hate playing at Villa Park now....
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Brilliant especially Onana and Cash.
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In a parallel Universe...
John
16:34, Sun 26 Oct
WelshBlue
Typical spawny DVBs today.
City should have won at a canter and somehow they held on.
Although we're not getting the results at present we probably play the better football.
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2 wins out 10, in the second tier. What great football they play.
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A really good performance. Defensively brilliant throughout.
Cash and Onana with their best performances for the club.
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Yes, Cash was very good today, a great goal and great defensive work too.
Guessand really surprised me with his play, and hopefully his confidence will grow.
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Pep hasn’t got a clue how to play Villa at Villa Park. Far too slow on the build up play and allowing our defenders to get into a great defensive shape. Unai is also guilty of this against certain opponents.
All in all, a great performance and thoroughly deserved win.
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Honourable mention for Kamara. Mcginn is the heart and soul of the team. Onana is the energy.
But Kamara brings the brains, the savvy and the elegance of a top, top player.
Wonderful (but they all were today).
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That was one of the best performances of the past decade. So many pluses today.
Cash 10/10. I doubt Roberto Carlos played as well as Matty today.
Lovely play by Guessand when he came on.
I think we do have a player there.
Riojas and cava for Unai; tactically schooled Pep.
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We dominate ManC at home and look clueless v Palace. It's a funny old game.
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Fantastic performance, played some lovely stuff going forward in the 1st half and a superb Matty Cash goal, 2nd half was a defensive masterclass, if we play like that on Saturday, the match will have been won by half time.
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Here's The Athletic’s view of the game from a City/tactical perspective. In summary - Pep got it wrong.
ASTON VILLA 1 MANCHESTER CITY 0 – GUARDIOLA’S GRAVEYARD STRIKES AGAIN TO DENT TITLE HOPES
Manchester City’s momentum has been stalled.
A run of three consecutive Premier League wins had thrust Pep Guardiola’s side back into the thick of the title race but a limp 1-0 defeat at a stadium which is becoming City’s graveyard checked that optimism.
Matty Cash’s first-half goal proved enough as City fell six points behind leaders Arsenal.
We analyse how it happened.
WHY DO CITY STRUGGLE AT VILLA SO MUCH?
For the third year running, Manchester City struggled to cope with Villa and left this part of the west midlands with a deserved defeat.
After nine games unbeaten in all competitions, City were looking to equal the best sequence they managed last season. Guardiola felt that his new-look team have been improving every game since the 2-1 defeat to Brighton in August.
They had looked more balanced as a team and had started to rediscover their ability to dominate long periods, if not yet for 90 minutes. But there is still a fragility that undermines them compared to their title rivals Arsenal.
The reason Guardiola said on Friday that he doesn’t believe Mikel Arteta’s side will drop many points until the end of the season is that they look impenetrable in most games.
City, even with Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones all back, still endure periods in which the opposition are given encouragement to be aggressive in attack.
Even against Everton last weekend, City could have been two goals down at the break because they were unable to control their counter attacks.
City knocked after the break with Villa content to soak up pressure but the home side did their damage in the first half as Villa broke at them with pace time after time. Their victory could have been even more emphatic had they taken those opportunities.
HOW DID VILLA KEEP HAALAND QUIET?
Finally, after a run of 12 games for club and country, Erling Haaland did not make it onto the score sheet.
In the first half, Haaland had more touches inside his own penalty area than he did the Villa box — just one. It told the story of the game and how little he was involved but Villa will have known that it only takes a single touch for him to change a game.
We have seen him use his invisibility to his benefit time after time. It nearly proved the case shortly after Villa’s opener when Bernardo Silva played him clear through but he opened his body too much and telegraphed the finish, which meant Emi Martinez was able to easily hold on to the shot.
Haaland had a late effort ruled out for an offside in the build-up but his only other sight of goal came in the 70th minute when Phil Foden stood up a cross and he rose above Pau Torres. He has scored similar goals this season against Monaco and Everton, generating power despite the ball moving away from goal, but his header was straight at Martinez.
He ended the day with only four touches in the Villa area and played just seven passes in the entire 90 minutes, ranking him 23rd among players who featured in the game.
Villa did not employ quite as high a line as usual but City did not test the offside trap too often. Both Savinho and Oscar Bobb continually came towards the ball and neither Foden nor Silva ran behind Haaland.
Guardiola spoke last week about the need for others to find their shooting boots with Haaland responsible for 11 of City’s 17 goals so far. Not only did the supporting cast fail to find the net, they failed to create much the entire game.
WHY DID GUARDIOLA’S SELECTION BACKFIRE IN THE FIRST HALF?
Guardiola chose to start four small, technical players behind Erling Haaland, and a box-to-box midfielder at No 6. It was a team selection that saw Villa dominate City physically in the first half.
City tried to press high but Villa were able to play intricate combinations to break through and found themselves running at the City back four far too often. When loose balls broke City were usually second to them.
It was the same fundamental issue that saw City unable to compete last year in the 2-1 defeat, which was one of the lowest points of their decline last season.
Savinho, Foden, Silva and Bobb is a lightweight four that doesn’t possess any running power.
Stones continued his hybrid role that worked so well against Villarreal in midweek but even his presence, alongside Tijjani Reijnders, was not enough to counteract Villa’s physicality.
In the modern Premier League it is difficult to compete when players are inferior athletically one v one.
It was a reality City faced up to last season with an ageing squad but they had the profile of player on the bench — as the triple sub of Nico O’Reilly, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku showed — to ensure they could at least try and change the dynamic of the match after half-time.
WHAT DID GUARDIOLA SAY?
The Manchester City manager pinpointed his team’s first-half performance as being key to defeat at Villa Park but insisted his players would learn from the experience.
“In the first half the pressing wasn’t good, in the second half it was better,” he told Sky Sports. “We were not aggressive enough.
“We had the chances to score, we couldn’t do it. But we will improve. I am satisfied. We played really good in the Premier League mainly and we’re getting better. We will learn from that. It’s a long journey, we will try to be close at the end.”
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It's actually 4 years running if you count the Bailey 1-1 game in 2022. We outplayed them that day too if I recall rightly
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Three points from 2nd and feeling as though we're still only just beginning to find some form.
Burnley snatching a last minute winner at the Custard Coloured Theatre Of Unrealistic Expectations the icing on the Unai anniversary cake.
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What was Pep moaning to the referee about at the end?
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What was Pep moaning to the referee about at the end?
He's always a sulky ****** at villa Park...Unai does that to him.
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The proper Villa turned up today
8+s across the pitch tonight.
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And what a cameo that was from Guessand when he came on. I see Fraudiola refused to shake his hand at the end presumably because he put in a tackle which isn’t allowed. Graceless tosspot.
Genius , my arse . I really dislike the the bloke. Him and Arteta act like spoilt little kids when a team/official don't roll over for them .
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What was Pep moaning to the referee about at the end?
He was also in the ref's ear as they came out for the second half
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Great win and a great atmosphere in the closing stages. Thought we were very good in the first half and thought one of the noticeable things was how well we kept the ball under pressure. We've not always been able to do that against the top sides, but thought we did it really well in the first half today.
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Come on you Villa boys. Fantastic effort all across the pitch and discipline.
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Fantastic team performane today, hard to pick out one player as MOTM because so many were so good.
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
Oh, is this now legal? The one place where we are forced to survive without internet access on our phones. Now, we're more drone-like than ever.
It has been for years, just requires the flight to offer onboard wifi.
Norwegian Air had it on internal and EU flights all the way back in 2012. All airlines can do it, they just don’t want to.
Whatsapping friends with a pic at god knows what hour when you’re 40,000 feet over the Indian Ocean and sat on the bog will never not entertain me.
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Fantastic team performance today! Great response after Thursday’s debacle.
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
Oh, is this now legal? The one place where we are forced to survive without internet access on our phones. Now, we're more drone-like than ever.
It has been for years, just requires the flight to offer onboard wifi.
Norwegian Air had it on internal and EU flights all the way back in 2012. All airlines can do it, they just don’t want to.
Whatsapping friends with a pic at god knows what hour when you’re 40,000 feet over the Indian Ocean and sat on the bog will never not entertain me.
Yep, I moved over there just as it was rolling out and was using that airline regularly both to fly back to the UK and to travel to our other offices. I've had wifi on 3-4 other airlines since as well. I'm surprised ryanair and the like don't offer to sell it as an option like they do everything else.
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First game I’ve ever watched on a flight! Fantastic. So chuffed!
Oh, is this now legal? The one place where we are forced to survive without internet access on our phones. Now, we're more drone-like than ever.
It has been for years, just requires the flight to offer onboard wifi.
Norwegian Air had it on internal and EU flights all the way back in 2012. All airlines can do it, they just don’t want to.
Whatsapping friends with a pic at god knows what hour when you’re 40,000 feet over the Indian Ocean and sat on the bog will never not entertain me.
Yep, I moved over there just as it was rolling out and was using that airline regularly both to fly back to the UK and to travel to our other offices. I've had wifi on 3-4 other airlines since as well. I'm surprised ryanair and the like don't offer to sell it as an option like they do everything else.
Watched the match on British Airways. Fine for Sky Go and then stream although stream paused after Haaland had “scored” which was a heart wrecker.
But worried to see Emi leave on crutches. Presumably metatarsal? We will miss him although hopefully Youri back soon!
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Can't believe we're regularly beating that lot at home nowadays. In fact our home record under Emery is unbelievably good all round.
Great first half performance today and did just enough in the second. On to Liverpool now before the real test v Bournemouth.
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Villa Park to Pep, is what Crystal Palace is too Unai.
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What was Pep moaning to the referee about at the end?
He was also in the ref's ear as they came out for the second half
Yep, saw that as well. Not sure what got him irked? There weren't really any big controversies.
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What was Pep moaning to the referee about at the end?
He was also in the ref's ear as they came out for the second half
Yep, saw that as well. Not sure what got him irked? There weren't really any big controversies.
He's a whinging twat would be my guess
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Magnificent resilient performance.
Cash; wow. What a goal and defensively, brilliant. So many blocks. Motm. Superb.
Onana was also a stand out. Interceptions and blocks all over the place.
Konsa and Torres were rocks.
First half, Rodgers was outstanding.
Buendia was looking really good until he got injured. Such a shame. Sancho was not great.
Watkins did some good tackling but offensively was our weak point.
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Great team performance, with the exception of Emi’s save from Haaland in the first half they had little threat, which says a lot about how we did.
All defence was very good, Kamara and Onana a great shield and McGinn was his normal self, good to see that once he went off the level didn’t drop. Buendia was looking lively and he was finding little pockets of space so it was a pity he got injured.
Ollie, as usual, worked well but that ball that was put through by Barkley(?) was wasted. He was favourite to get there but seemed to hesitate and that handed the initiative to Donnarumma to gather.
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Some brilliant performances - cash, onnana, McGinn and konsa the standouts
The four ‘men of the match’ that I put in a reply to my mate when he text me the question on my way out.
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A mention for the subs helping get us over the line. In particular Malen and Guessand, really getting stuck in and keeping them rattled to the end.
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Some brilliant performances - cash, onnana, McGinn and konsa the standouts
The four ‘men of the match’ that I put in a reply to my mate when he text me the question on my way out.
Kamara was awesome today.
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A mention for the subs helping get us over the line. In particular Malen and Guessand, really getting stuck in and keeping them rattled to the end.
Yeah, if there was any hangover in terms of team spirit post the unsettling summer, it seems to have been firmly put to bed.
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Some brilliant performances - cash, onnana, McGinn and konsa the standouts
The four ‘men of the match’ that I put in a reply to my mate when he text me the question on my way out.
Kamara was awesome today.
Kamara is one of the best midfielders in the league. Thankfully not many have noticed.
Best piece of business we did in the summer.
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Konsa and Onana joint MotM for me today.
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Kamara nearly gifted them a goal. Apart from that was as solid as ever.
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A Small Heath view on our win today.
John
16:34, Sun 26 Oct
WelshBlue
Typical spawny DVBs today.
City should have won at a canter and somehow they held on.
Although we're not getting the results at present we probably play the better football.
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Thought man city were clueless trying to close us down leaving our fullbacks in loads of space.
Fantastic result.
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After the first few minutes there was only going to be one winner.
...and Pep is a master of projection, he pushes his and his players' inadequacies onto the officials when they lose, the twunt.
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A Small Heath view on our win today.
John
16:34, Sun 26 Oct
WelshBlue
Typical spawny DVBs today.
City should have won at a canter and somehow they held on.
Although we're not getting the results at present we probably play the better football.
That is fucking brilliant, surely a spoof Vile fan on their forum 😃
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Some brilliant performances - cash, onnana, McGinn and konsa the standouts
The four ‘men of the match’ that I put in a reply to my mate when he text me the question on my way out.
Kamara was awesome today.
Only lapse was when he got caught in possession towards the end but he’s a terrific player.
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That idiot posts regularly on there and his crayon daubs do get posted here for our amusement every now and again. I think quite a few posters on there think he’s an idiot as well.
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I was nervous before the match, and the first 10 minutes were a bit hairy, but after that, we put in our routine performance at VP vs Citeh. Held them at arm's length, and should have won by more.
Apart from the obvious candidates, I enjoyed Guessand's cameo, the way he kept knocking over Citeh players like they were bowling pins. Plus, I thought Sancho was fine, I was nowhere near as down on him as some people.
This season has suddenly become very interesting. I am not sure where our ceiling is now after that dreadful start to the season. Next week vs Liverpool will be a great barometer.
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Konsa and Onana magnificent. Can't remember Martinez having to make a serious save.
Just the one from Haaland in first half, thought in real time Silva was offside there.
Had to suffer a bit of pain in the second half when we tired. Some great blocks from likes of Barkley, Onana and Konsa. Fortunate enough clearance from Torres but we deserved a break. Thought first 60-70 mins we were very much on top but never got the second goal. Sancho aside, the rest of the subs battled well. Some response from a feckless second half display during the week and right back into the mix PL wise now.
My mate Onana had his best game for the club. Cash was outstanding I thought, Citeh kept targeting that flank but he kept them out. Only poor display was from Sancho, displayed none of the intensity and aggression required.
Martinez 7 - poor distribution at times, one fine save in first half and dominant in our box.
Cash 9 - cracking goal but bullied Savinho I thought and held out v Doku too. Fortunate with one clearing header.
Konsa 8 - far more aggression in his play, wrestling with Haaland on a couple of occasions.
Torres 7 - distribution a bit mixed but solid enough
Digne 7 - solid display at the back, sharp in possession
Kamara 7 - tired late on, lost one ball we were lucky to get away with but generally good
Onana 8 - slow start but got into it once he took ball from Haaland. Finally showed that physicality in a Villa shirt
Buendia 7/Sancho 3- Buendia was our best player first 30 mins. Hopefully not a serious injury. Bit of an eye opener with Sancho.
McGinn 8 - great really, two good chances missed but have it everything
Rogers 7 - lots of good moments when we were on touch and worked hard late on
Watkins 7 - slow start but led the line really well. But confidence around box is very low, awful effort with that header
Guessand worked very hard, Barkley some nice touches and a great block. Maatsen and Malen did fine.
Emery 9 - big challenge after the transfer window to galvinise the group and refocus. Has done that superbly. Increasing questions on the value of our summer signings. Big selection decisions (Onana, Torres, Digne) all justified and didn't bottle the Sancho call.
Sancho 3? you are clueless, your new scapegoat vote now that Cash has relinquished that role? He was involved in a number of good moves linking up with Digne in the first half and had one good run along the byline in 2nd half when he almost scored from a rebound but Donnarumma saved well. Nowhere near a 3.
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Konsa and Onana magnificent. Can't remember Martinez having to make a serious save.
Just the one from Haaland in first half, thought in real time Silva was offside there.
Had to suffer a bit of pain in the second half when we tired. Some great blocks from likes of Barkley, Onana and Konsa. Fortunate enough clearance from Torres but we deserved a break. Thought first 60-70 mins we were very much on top but never got the second goal. Sancho aside, the rest of the subs battled well. Some response from a feckless second half display during the week and right back into the mix PL wise now.
My mate Onana had his best game for the club. Cash was outstanding I thought, Citeh kept targeting that flank but he kept them out. Only poor display was from Sancho, displayed none of the intensity and aggression required.
Martinez 7 - poor distribution at times, one fine save in first half and dominant in our box.
Cash 9 - cracking goal but bullied Savinho I thought and held out v Doku too. Fortunate with one clearing header.
Konsa 8 - far more aggression in his play, wrestling with Haaland on a couple of occasions.
Torres 7 - distribution a bit mixed but solid enough
Digne 7 - solid display at the back, sharp in possession
Kamara 7 - tired late on, lost one ball we were lucky to get away with but generally good
Onana 8 - slow start but got into it once he took ball from Haaland. Finally showed that physicality in a Villa shirt
Buendia 7/Sancho 3- Buendia was our best player first 30 mins. Hopefully not a serious injury. Bit of an eye opener with Sancho.
McGinn 8 - great really, two good chances missed but have it everything
Rogers 7 - lots of good moments when we were on touch and worked hard late on
Watkins 7 - slow start but led the line really well. But confidence around box is very low, awful effort with that header
Guessand worked very hard, Barkley some nice touches and a great block. Maatsen and Malen did fine.
Emery 9 - big challenge after the transfer window to galvinise the group and refocus. Has done that superbly. Increasing questions on the value of our summer signings. Big selection decisions (Onana, Torres, Digne) all justified and didn't bottle the Sancho call.
Sancho 3? you are clueless, your new scapegoat vote now that Cash has relinquished that role? He was involved in a number of good moves linking up with Digne in the first half and had one good run along the byline in 2nd half when he almost scored from a rebound but Donnarumma saved well. Nowhere near a 3.
You must be mixing me with up someone else re Cash. Sancho was ok in the first half but didn't want to know when City came back into it.
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That was bloody brilliant!! Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a game like that!
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Now that capped off a brilliant weekend in Brum. Family loved it. Brilliant performance throughout the team, subs included, no drop off in quality when Buendia went off.
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Now that capped off a brilliant weekend in Brum. Family loved it. Brilliant performance throughout the team, subs included, no drop off in quality when Buendia went off.
Hell of a game for your lad's first. Imagine you'll be badgered back a few times now.
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Anyone wanting some entertainment the bluemoon forum post match thread is hilarious…we get a bit of credit but mostly it’s nonsense about how bad they are, how bad Oliver is & a few saying Pep out. Entitled pricks :-)
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Now that capped off a brilliant weekend in Brum. Family loved it. Brilliant performance throughout the team, subs included, no drop off in quality when Buendia went off.
Hell of a game for your lad's first. Imagine you'll be badgered back a few times now.
Yeah, he is still buzzing from the game.... He's already lining up a few fixtures.
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A Small Heath view on our win today.
John
16:34, Sun 26 Oct
WelshBlue
Typical spawny DVBs today.
City should have won at a canter and somehow they held on.
Although we're not getting the results at present we probably play the better football.
Brother went down the Greenlands social club after the game and they were fuming
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The MOTD higthlights have been released.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/videos/c9d6gyql13xo
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Some brilliant performances - cash, onnana, McGinn and konsa the standouts
The four ‘men of the match’ that I put in a reply to my mate when he text me the question on my way out.
Kamara was awesome today.
Late mistake aside, thought he was the standout midfielder on the pitch today.
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He was good, thought Onana was our best player.
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He was good, thought Onana was our best player.
Agree Paul, Onana was fantastic, though virtually all of them were great.
For once I agree with Bronte Billy re Sancho, dreadful. But a masterclass from Unai and great performance.
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He was good, thought Onana was our best player.
I would love to compare heat maps and whilst Onana had a very good game Kamara was everywhere, incredible work rate. He did everything today.
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Great win today. Lots of excellent individual battles won to make it a fantastic team win. Best game I've seen either Onana or Konsa have in Villa colours. Kamara, Ollie, Rogers, Cash, Digne, Torres, all put a shift in and then Barkley, Malen and Guessand came on and carried on the hard work. Every player had a good game. I was a tad disappointed with Sancho for his greedy play and sulking off when he was subbed. Not sure he has the temperament for Unai Emery. I know that there is a player in their somewhere but he has to show more. Great to keep a clean sheet and thought we deserved it. I can only recall a couple of heart in the mouth moments from City, but Martinez and Torres dealt with those. Table looking much better.
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I did not think Sancho was that bad. Definitely not a 3.
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I did not think Sancho was that bad. Definitely not a 3.
You can't mark any Villa player that low today. It was a brilliant team performance.
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Just for the move where McGinn had his effort deflected wide I'd be giving sancho more than a 3 because he made 3-4 really important contributions in that (and it was the best bit of football from either team all game). He did really well for his own chance as well, just a shame he didn't try to lift it over the keeper.
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I did not think Sancho was that bad. Definitely not a 3.
Nor me.
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Just for the move where McGinn had his effort deflected wide I'd be giving sancho more than a 3 because he made 3-4 really important contributions in that (and it was the best bit of football from either team all game). He did really well for his own chance as well, just a shame he didn't try to lift it over the keeper.
Even more of the shame he didn't square it after the initial spill, but I expect most players would have gone for it in the position.
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Just a really great team performance. A well honed Emery plan and everyone played their part. 1-0 flattered Citeh.
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Man City fan commentates on Villa goal. Enjoy! https://x.com/JayVtid/status/1982497120176455952
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I wasn't overly impressed by Sancho, he seemed very reluctant to run at Nunes - but it wouldn't surprise me if that was under instruction.
I think he also suffered by not being as dynamic as Buendia was before he came on, and not as involved in seeing out the result as Guessand was when he went off. He was there for the middle "manage the game" bit rather than the bits that got everyone on their feet. And they all managed the game really well, so...job done I guess.
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Great all round team performance.
And for us that is the key to success.
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Great game to watch, albeit on the telly. Only disappointment was we didn't win by more.
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A Small Heath view on our win today.
John
16:34, Sun 26 Oct
WelshBlue
Typical spawny DVBs today.
City should have won at a canter and somehow they held on.
Although we're not getting the results at present we probably play the better football.
Brother went down the Greenlands social club after the game and they were fuming
is that the greenlands in longbridge ? used to go loads as a kid with dad and grandad
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First game of season I’ve not watched as was driving to Bristol to watch my lad play “American Football”. Perhaps I should do so more often.
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A number of superb performances and the rest were merely exceptional. A week ago I felt we were in for a statement two week period. We are well on the way. Onwards and upwards!!!
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One of the most pleasing things about today is that Rogers is back to his best form. He linked up well with Ollie and always appeared to be looking for the ball. Much, much better from him.
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A Small Heath view on our win today.
John
16:34, Sun 26 Oct
WelshBlue
Typical spawny DVBs today.
City should have won at a canter and somehow they held on.
Although we're not getting the results at present we probably play the better football.
Brother went down the Greenlands social club after the game and they were fuming
is that the greenlands in longbridge ? used to go loads as a kid with dad and grandad
👍
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Brilliant result and brilliant day.
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I wasn't overly impressed by Sancho, he seemed very reluctant to run at Nunes - but it wouldn't surprise me if that was under instruction.
I think he also suffered by not being as dynamic as Buendia was before he came on, and not as involved in seeing out the result as Guessand was when he went off. He was there for the middle "manage the game" bit rather than the bits that got everyone on their feet. And they all managed the game really well, so...job done I guess.
How did your young fella enjoy the atmosphere in the Holte ?
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A master class in how to beat Citeh for the third successive time at home. Outstanding tactics by Unai. Onana was brilliant and deservedly got Man-of-the-Match. I refuse to use the term 'player of the match' !
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I refuse to use the term 'player of the match' !
An interesting choice of hill to die on.
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A master class in how to beat Citeh for the third successive time at home. Outstanding tactics by Unai. Onana was brilliant and deservedly got Man-of-the-Match. I refuse to use the term 'player of the match' !
What a brave soldier!
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What hasn’t been mentioned is Citeh rotation fouling.
Every time we tried to break they fouled us, of course Oliver let them get away with it.
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What hasn’t been mentioned is Citeh rotation fouling.
Every time we tried to break they fouled us, of course Oliver let them get away with it.
I think he did end up booking 5/6 of their players
don’t think we got 1 booking but can’t be certain
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Yes, noticed the persistent fouling in rotation too.
Top performances across the park. Special mention in my view for Konsa, who seems to have found another level.
Agree with others that Sancho looked a bit timid going forward, but felt his performance was OK.
From a more neutral perspective, our games with City these past few seasons have been very absorbing, very high quality matches.
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What hasn’t been mentioned is Citeh rotation fouling.
Every time we tried to break they fouled us, of course Oliver let them get away with it.
I think he did end up booking 5/6 of their players
don’t think we got 1 booking but can’t be certain
Kamara (for a non foul).
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I thought the ref did well against their rotation fouling. 4 bookings for them and just Kamara for us for a much needed foul as they were on the break.
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I thought Kamara didn’t touch him for that booking.
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Was that the Doku dive? If so, agreed.
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Buendia 7/Sancho 3- Buendia was our best player first 30 mins. Hopefully not a serious injury. Bit of an eye opener with Sancho.
Yes agree on Emi but our best period attacking and chance creation was when Sancho came on and up to HT.
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Yes, noticed the persistent fouling in rotation too.
Top performances across the park. Special mention in my view for Konsa, who seems to have found another level.
Agree with others that Sancho looked a bit timid going forward, but felt his performance was OK.
From a more neutral perspective, our games with City these past few seasons have been very absorbing, very high quality matches.
Totally agree with this, absorbing and high quality sums it up nicely. I feel I really have to concentrate to watch what’s going on and how each team is counteracting the other and how yesterday we managed to break their press with ease which gave Rogers, Buendia and McGinn so much room to work in.
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What hasn’t been mentioned is Citeh rotation fouling.
Every time we tried to break they fouled us, of course Oliver let them get away with it.
I think he did end up booking 5/6 of their players
don’t think we got 1 booking but can’t be certain
not until the second half, Guardiolfor his 8th offence.
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I thought Kamara didn’t touch him for that booking.
He pulled him back. Took one for the team.
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After Thursday and then the first 10 yesterday I was questioning the selection of Onana over Bogarde but he certainly proved me wrong. Every player played their part including Sancho, subbing a sub always looks odd but I think Emery has done this before and the result is all important.
I also thoroughly enjoy bawling and shouting at Stockport 115, all that money and all that cheating and they still expect everything to be given to them by the ref.
The only downside was my mistake in opting for a light jacket because it was freezing on the Holte.
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After Thursday and then the first 10 yesterday I was questioning the selection of Onana over Bogarde but he certainly proved me wrong. Every player played their part including Sancho, subbing a sub always looks odd but I think Emery has done this before and the result is all important.
I also thoroughly enjoy bawling and shouting at Stockport 115, all that money and all that cheating and they still expect everything to be given to them by the ref.
The only downside was my mistake in opting for a light jacket because it was freezing on the Holte.
First 10 minutes was really strange I think everyone was soo nervous . But everyone grew into the game !
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Pleased with that result and the performance.
It is typical of Villa to lose a relatively easy match and then win a difficult one. I have a sneaking suspicion that as a group we get quite complacent in some of the cup games, as it is happening too often. We also seem to bottle big games too often. Not sure how you fix that without turning the squad over more than we are able to.
Anyway, after a lacklustre start to the season Emery is starting to get a tune out of the squad at his disposal.
It was nice to see a better performance from Onana, and if he can play like that more often he will start to justify his hefty price tag. Pleased for Cash who is playing a lot better now he has Guessand in front of him rather than Bailey. Good to see Torres and Konsa show they can work as a partnership.
Very odd that Elliott is both getting any game time, at this rate I can see him being packed off back to Liverpool at the end of the season. Maybe he just doesn't get on with Emery. I was quite pleased when we signed him, so hopefully he turns it around.
Another couple of tricky games coming up, but on this form we have to have a good chance of winning them.
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Very odd that Elliott is both getting any game time, at this rate I can see him being packed off back to Liverpool at the end of the season. Maybe he just doesn't get on with Emery. I was quite pleased when we signed him, so hopefully he turns it around.
Hopefully its like the Malen thing because there is a really good player there and we will need these players through the season.
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Why were the City fans on Cash's back even before the goal? "Twatty Cash"? Really? Spurs I get (sort of) but ManCity?
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I don’t think it’s complacency. It’s just that we have more space to play our game against sides who have a go. We struggle to breaks sides who park the bus.
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He bought on for his pace, he did okay but looked as if he was a new player getting used to his teammates, I think Emery will get a lot out of him, give him time.
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We play better and match up to sides who don’t play with a low block
we really have to find a way of breaking down teams who employ that system, we dominate possession we have all our attacking players on but we don’t create the chances we need to win games, and then against Go Ahead we did create chances in the first half but decided to balls them all up including a pen
Playing against a low block is still our Achilles heel
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Not sure I was there.
The Times reporter from B6 was the well named Tom Allnutt. He had the pleasure of reporting on a very different game than the one most of us thought we saw.
In the first 5 paragraphs Arsenal, you read that correctly, get 4 namechecks, the winning team have to do with 2. As he develops his story the domination of one of the greedy six is there for all to read and we make up the numbers.
I am sure the match I watched had Kamara booked and one of the “big clubs” had 4 booked but in his report Tom does not mention this.
My conclusion can only be that we were the luckiest club to have ever dared to beat a proper club, thanks Tom for your objective reporting.
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I sometimes think the interns are given carte blanche as editors at the weekend of such periodicals.
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From the Telegraph, copied the bits that are mostly about city but some mention of the other team. I have not pasted the other 3/4 that is all about city.
Operation ‘Stop Haaland’ works as Villa spike City’s biggest gun
Defeat at Aston Villa exposes over-reliance on Norwegian striker. Plus: Bernardo Silva slams team for being ‘really bad defensively’
Jason Burt
Chief Football Correspondent, at Villa Park
There was only one chance for him. It came soon after Villa took their first-half lead, with Matty Cash scoring from a smartly-worked corner routine, but he shot too close to goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. It was an opportunity he would have expected to take and maybe should have taken. But it cannot all be on him.
Afterwards Unai Emery was asked how Haaland can be stopped. “Tactically and individual performances to get duels with him, with the power we showed. And then some help, cover, and the goalkeeper. We needed everything to stop him,” the Villa manager said.
Interestingly, he chose Amadou Onana alongside Boubacar Kamara in central midfield to add more height and power in that bid to stop Haaland with centre-halves Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres doubling up on him. Haaland had just four touches in the Villa penalty area.
But that should create more space for City’s other attacking players and, Foden apart, they struggled. It was no surprise that Guardiola substituted both wingers with Oscar Bobb and Savinho failing to make an impact. Jérémy Doku provided more of a threat but, again, it was not enough.
City will point to some last-ditch vital blocks to prevent goal-bound shots, with Foden and substitute Nico González denied by Onana and replacement Ross Barkley. There was also a remarkable goal-line clearance from Torres who somehow turned a Savinho volley over the crossbar. Konsa puffed out his cheeks to show how close it was while Torres punched the air.
City had 16 shots but, in truth, did not do enough. Too often they played in front of a disciplined Villa side who defended compactly and broke swiftly and intelligently.
The reliance on Haaland is almost rivalled by their dependence on Rodri. Without him, and with González not fit enough to start after a foot problem, Reijnders was asked to play as the defensive midfielder. It did not work.
Neither did asking John Stones to step into midfield from centre-half as that left Rúben Dias exposed, especially as Ollie Watkins had one of those hard-running, quicksilver games that has made him an England international. He did not score but his contribution, like that of former City player Morgan Rogers, was outstanding.
It enabled Villa to beat City here for the third season in a row and, in doing so, they won a fourth top-flight league game in succession for the first time since 1936. That achievement is all the more remarkable given they had not won any of their first five fixtures and having lost so disappointingly away to Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League. Suddenly they are up to eighth.
But this was the best of the lot, capped by a goal from Cash – fresh from signing a new contract. They call him the “Polish Cafu” and it was a strike the Brazilian would have been proud of as the ball was played short from a corner and the right-back ran in on the edge of the area to sweep a left foot shot back across Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It was the goalkeeper’s first defeat since joining City. In the dugout Villa’s set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, on crutches and back after three games following knee surgery, smiled broadly – even if Cash later admitted the pull-back was not meant for him.
City protested the corner should not have been awarded but they had time to respond. Worryingly for them they could not do so. They cannot keep expecting Haaland to do it for them.
However the City manager did also criticise his side. “In the first-half the pressing wasn’t good, in the second half it was better. We were not aggressive enough,” he admitted.
Villa manager Unai Emery celebrated his team’s fourth successive league win – having failed to win any of their first five games. “We started pretty poor this season and we had doubts. And how we are reacting against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend [winning 2-1] and especially today has been really fantastic.”
Emery also substituted a substitute, Jadon Sancho, but said: “It’s not a punishment. It’s a plan.”
He added that the winger’s minutes were being managed as he works his way back to fitness.
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Foden is a whiney, dirty little shit.
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Foden is a whiney, dirty little shit.
He's just a shit Morgan Rogers.
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Foden is a whiney, dirty little shit.
He's just a shit Morgan Rogers.
Highlight of the second half. It came over so loud on TV, like the whole ground were singing it.
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Amazing performance. I think it will come as a surprise as I feel like most predictions would favour a man city win (https://www.theyscored.com/football/match-summary/aston-villa-vs-manchester-city/3682416). But we've been having an extremely great record at them at home in recent times!
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The Guardian's "10 Talking Points From the Weekend's Action" chose to devote its entire section on the Villa game to discussing Harvey Elliott, a player who did not feature in the match at all:
Elliott must wait for a chance
Aston Villa earned a statement victory against Manchester City to make it four straight top-flight wins but Harvey Elliott, who joined from Liverpool last month in search of game time, was a high profile absentee. Unai Emery explained Elliott’s performances across a total of 167 minutes in a Villa shirt simply did not warrant a place in the matchday squad, particularly given the return to form of Morgan Rogers and the rebirth of Emiliano Buendía, who was forced off against City approaching the half-hour and left Villa Park on crutches. Elliott was withdrawn at half-time on his sole league start for Villa, against his former club Fulham last month, and last featured as a 86th-minute substitute at Feyenoord at the start of October. Elliott left Anfield in search of regular minutes but has found them hard to come by. “I spoke with him about it,” Emery said. “My advice was: keep going. He is a very good player. Our demands are on a high level. He needs time to work and wait for his moment.
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I wasn't overly impressed by Sancho, he seemed very reluctant to run at Nunes - but it wouldn't surprise me if that was under instruction.
I think he also suffered by not being as dynamic as Buendia was before he came on, and not as involved in seeing out the result as Guessand was when he went off. He was there for the middle "manage the game" bit rather than the bits that got everyone on their feet. And they all managed the game really well, so...job done I guess.
How did your young fella enjoy the atmosphere in the Holte ?
He had a lovely time thanks eamonn. Picked up plenty of choice chants to repeat back to his grandparents over dinner.
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And folk think we are paranoid when we say the established media do not like us - it is obvious they do not
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Other than the win and three points, the real delight was our first half performance. Okay, we a a dodgy first ten minutes but thereafter it was fluid, one touch football with Man City chasing shadows as we added pace to possession. The movement was constant and intelligent, if the through ball wasn't there just keep the ball moving, quick sharp passes, keep looking for options but above all keep it moving. It was brilliant to watch.
We've shown signs previously that we can play some beautiful football but it's always been in short spells rather than a prolonged period like yesterday. It was certainly the best half of the season and what made it better was all the players were comfortable with it. Pep certainly noticed it and was highly impressed given his post match comments, and he wasn't wrong.
I'd love us to score more goals, something we've failed to do so far this season but right now I'll take us winning games, it's a lovely habit to have. Play like we did in the first half and Pep may have a point about us being "a Champions League team, a top, top team".
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
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The Guardian's "10 Talking Points From the Weekend's Action" chose to devote its entire section on the Villa game to discussing Harvey Elliott, a player who did not feature in the match at all:
Elliott must wait for a chance
Aston Villa earned a statement victory against Manchester City to make it four straight top-flight wins but Harvey Elliott, who joined from Liverpool last month in search of game time, was a high profile absentee. Unai Emery explained Elliott’s performances across a total of 167 minutes in a Villa shirt simply did not warrant a place in the matchday squad, particularly given the return to form of Morgan Rogers and the rebirth of Emiliano Buendía, who was forced off against City approaching the half-hour and left Villa Park on crutches. Elliott was withdrawn at half-time on his sole league start for Villa, against his former club Fulham last month, and last featured as a 86th-minute substitute at Feyenoord at the start of October. Elliott left Anfield in search of regular minutes but has found them hard to come by. “I spoke with him about it,” Emery said. “My advice was: keep going. He is a very good player. Our demands are on a high level. He needs time to work and wait for his moment.
I know but he's on Loan from Liverpool which is much more interesting than anything Villa coudl ever do
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
Ha! You may have a point, his own fans don't seem to like him anymore so he must be feeling very unloved. I thought his assessment was very honest plus any any visiting fans to Villa Park expecting their team to win haven't done their homework.*
*Obviously that doesn't include Crystal Palace fans.
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Man City fan commentates on Villa goal. Enjoy! https://x.com/JayVtid/status/1982497120176455952
Comedy gold - a great find!
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Man City fan commentates on Villa goal. Enjoy! https://x.com/JayVtid/status/1982497120176455952
Comedy gold - a great find!
As someone mentioned earlier I’m not sure of why they dislike Cash. Obviously Matty rhymes with Twatty but moneybags? Yeah he earns good money but it’s not as if their players are on minimum wage and to my knowledge he doesn’t flaunt it.
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I assume Twatty Moneybags is a play on Matty Cash rather than any kind of dislike for him.
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It's cringeworthy. Do people really watch that shite? The human race is doomed.
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
Like Fergie with his mind games
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
Like Fergie with his mind games
Fergie was a patronising ******.
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It's cringeworthy. Do people really watch that shite? The human race is doomed.
Made worse by him sounding like Mark Goldbridge.
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Foden is a whiney, dirty little shit.
He's just a shit Morgan Rogers.
Highlight of the second half. It came over so loud on TV, like the whole ground were singing it.
From where I was in the Holte, they were!
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
He knows that just like the ski instructor, SUE just out coaches them with tactics.
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It's cringeworthy. Do people really watch that shite? The human race is doomed.
Made worse by him sounding like Mark Goldbridge.
I was thinking the same as well. Obviously they think Goldbridge has the formula so just copy it down to using almost the exact terminology when they concede.
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Other than the win and three points, the real delight was our first half performance. Okay, we a a dodgy first ten minutes but thereafter it was fluid, one touch football with Man City chasing shadows as we added pace to possession. The movement was constant and intelligent, if the through ball wasn't there just keep the ball moving, quick sharp passes, keep looking for options but above all keep it moving. It was brilliant to watch.
We've shown signs previously that we can play some beautiful football but it's always been in short spells rather than a prolonged period like yesterday. It was certainly the best half of the season and what made it better was all the players were comfortable with it. Pep certainly noticed it and was highly impressed given his post match comments, and he wasn't wrong.
I'd love us to score more goals, something we've failed to do so far this season but right now I'll take us winning games, it's a lovely habit to have. Play like we did in the first half and Pep may have a point about us being "a Champions League team, a top, top team".
Yep. Thought it was very encouraging that we were able to keep possession and get out of tight spaces so easily against a team like that.
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Man City fan commentates on Villa goal. Enjoy! https://x.com/JayVtid/status/1982497120176455952
Comedy gold - a great find!
As someone mentioned earlier I’m not sure of why they dislike Cash. Obviously Matty rhymes with Twatty but moneybags? Yeah he earns good money but it’s not as if their players are on minimum wage and to my knowledge he doesn’t flaunt it.
I assume they boo Cash after he was the one who was the one who gave Jack a kick or two at VP last season that got Jack waving his arms about & our crowds pantomime booing amplified
As for that knob in his mums spare room in his computer chair pretending he is on the bench….despair at what football at this level has become sometimes…tho it is piss funny watching those numpties when they lose
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It enabled Villa to beat City here for the third season in a row and, in doing so, they won a fourth top-flight league game in succession for the first time since 1936. That achievement is all the more remarkable given they had not won any of their first five fixtures and having lost so disappointingly away to Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League. Suddenly they are up to eighth.
So we haven't won four league games in a row in the top division in almost a century? Hardly...what sort of losers would follow a team like that? Seems like he mangled the relevant stat going round after the game - "Villa became the only team in top-flight history to have a five-game winless start in the league and then win the next four games since Preston in 1936-37."
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
Like Fergie with his mind games
Fergie was a patronising ******.
Be that as it may, but cast your mind back to 1st game of 23/24 season (5-1 pummelling at Newcastle), Fergie was asked which team impressed him - who did say ? Yes, Villa and we went on to get CL football for last season.
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That bastard keeps showering us with praise in a clear attempt to make me like him a bit.
Like Fergie with his mind games
Fergie was a patronising ******.
Be that as it may, but cast your mind back to 1st game of 23/24 season (5-1 pummelling at Newcastle), Fergie was asked which team impressed him - who did say ? Yes, Villa and we went on to get CL football for last season.
I took that as a continuation of the mind games, to be honest, as though he couldn’t let it lie!
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Now you're just being silly
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Other than the win and three points, the real delight was our first half performance. Okay, we a a dodgy first ten minutes but thereafter it was fluid, one touch football with Man City chasing shadows as we added pace to possession. The movement was constant and intelligent, if the through ball wasn't there just keep the ball moving, quick sharp passes, keep looking for options but above all keep it moving. It was brilliant to watch.
We've shown signs previously that we can play some beautiful football but it's always been in short spells rather than a prolonged period like yesterday. It was certainly the best half of the season and what made it better was all the players were comfortable with it. Pep certainly noticed it and was highly impressed given his post match comments, and he wasn't wrong.
I'd love us to score more goals, something we've failed to do so far this season but right now I'll take us winning games, it's a lovely habit to have. Play like we did in the first half and Pep may have a point about us being "a Champions League team, a top, top team".
Yep. Thought it was very encouraging that we were able to keep possession and get out of tight spaces so easily against a team like that.
I was shocked but it did demonstrate we can do it. I'd love to see our pass completion stats for the first half. Pretty sure they'd be on another level.