Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on November 09, 2025, 03:58:54 PM
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Never in doubt. 7th in the league.
Current league run W5 D2 L1
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Great result. We are still class.
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Decent. Very. The most all round team display we have seen in a long time. This was like when we played Brighton or Newcastle where we never seemed to stop attacking. Got exactly what we deserved.
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Result and performance to match. Great all over the pitch.
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Set piece specialists again.
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Love this team. Love this manager. Love these last 3 years. Up the Villa!
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One of the best performances this season. I’ll take that. And although he didn’t score Ollie was excellent. As were the whole team and subs.
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We're quite good.
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Was actually expecting this to be a bloody hard game. Great Result!
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Top,top,top performance
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Bloody international break.
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I think that performance has been coming for a while, our record since the transfer window closed is superb.
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malen looks bloody happy .
great result.
excellent first half and when they ran out of energy we killed them off.
The pen save was important and Buendia MOM with SJM close .
should have been the result last season so very happy.
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Bloody international break.
That is pissing me off as well. Really annoying but we needed the first one tbf.
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Better goal difference than Man Utd now.
Brilliant performance. We can still score goals and keep clean sheets!
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Reminds me of Sunderland at home 1980-81.
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Was actually expecting this to be a bloody hard game. Great Result!
I thought it would be 5-0. Obviously, I kept what I thought was my insanity to myself.
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Enjoyed that.
Not many sides will do that to Bournemouth this season.
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4-0.
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Love this team and manager, everyone inc subs played well today.
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Great performance; well done to all!
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Great performance; well done to all!
Thanks.
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Bostin'. Well done Villa.
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Subs were made, two scored and two setup the 4th.
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Marvellous. Who'd have thought it!?
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Leeds and Wolves next with YB in Europe. Could be a few more thrashings dished out.
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Bloody great that. Battled hard, won the duals. 2nd half rode their patch at the start and kicked on.
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Statement win.
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That's Erection Section stuff Villa
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
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Nice to hear Emi’s song again. Vital save I reckon.
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The bench somehow still looks decent despite players we lost in the summer. Not bad at all. Not bloody bad!!
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It was one of those games where you just knew everything was.going for us. I said to the missus Buendia was going to score the free kick. I knew Emi was going to save the penalty. If only I could predict lottery numbers.
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Loved that, what a performance!
Brilliant free kick from Lil Emi and what a save from big Emi!
Made a very good side look bang average.
UTV!!!!
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Top performance from front to back. Really enjoyable. UTFV.
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A performance and result to remembrance
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Andy Reid
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Fan dabby dozy
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He played well, but man of the match, no way. Mcginn, Buendia or Martinez who made two world class saves were more deserving.
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Another one!!!!!
Will watch MOTD2 tonight.
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Andy Reid
Ta.
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Nice to hear Emi’s song again. Vital save I reckon.
huge, they started the second half well - and if it had gone 2-1 at that point, well, you know what was likely to happen.
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Just in case no one else mentions, Bogarde was ace in his cameo.
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I must not know the rule but how did we make six subs today?
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Concussion sub.
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Just in case no one else mentions, Bogarde was ace in his cameo.
He was as were all the other 5 subs which is hugely encouraging.
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Andy Reid
AKA Bronte.
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
You were all magnificent. Lessons? As well as permanently banning CDBF, Villa need to get paul_e and pelty on comms in their own little box. Like Statler and Waldorf.
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I must not know the rule but how did we make six subs today?
one of theirs must have been a concussion sub. Which means we can make another sub also
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Nice to hear Emi’s song again. Vital save I reckon.
The timing was absolutely perfect. They'd had a solid 5-10 minutes, a few chances, and were in the ascendancy. Emi makes that save to stop it going to 2-1, the wind is knocked out of them, and we get our second-wind and run away from them.
Plus it was an absolutely brilliant save, low, hard, and to his side. No shame for the keeper in that going in, if it does.
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Concussion sub.
Oh right thanks
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
You were all magnificent. Lessons? As well as permanently banning CDBF, Villa need to get paul_e and pelty on comms in their own little box. Like Statler and Waldorf.
What did I do? Other than my fairly normal moan about the ref (because I hate how football is officiated) I don't think I said anything all that odd.
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It’s incredible that we are 2 points off second place. We didn’t score a goal in our first 4 games.
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I must not know the rule but how did we make six subs today?
To expand, if a player has to be subbed off due to a head injury for a concussion check then it isn't counted in the 5 subs and the opposition get another 1 to even things up. Good rule for me, all they need to do now is a small amendment that it can be used to bring a subbed player back on (for the team with the injury) and it'll be the rule that should've been there for years since concussion started to actually be taken seriously.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G5UkF6WWYAAqDIa?format=jpg&name=small)
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Great win, thought we had a superb spell before half time where we ran all over them. Watkins was very good, McGinn and Buendia outstanding. We got very sloppy after half time, particularly with our passing and decision making. Penalty was huge obviously, that brilliant save killed Bournemouth. Very good header from Barkley made the points safe.
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
You were all magnificent. Lessons? As well as permanently banning CDBF, Villa need to get paul_e and pelty on comms in their own little box. Like Statler and Waldorf.
What did I do? Other than my fairly normal moan about the ref (because I hate how football is officiated) I don't think I said anything all that odd.
Oh nothing, I thought you predicted X just before Y happened. I could well be wrong, but either way it was just light hearted. I'm feeling a bit giddy after that.
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
You were all magnificent. Lessons? As well as permanently banning CDBF, Villa need to get paul_e and pelty on comms in their own little box. Like Statler and Waldorf.
What did I do? Other than my fairly normal moan about the ref (because I hate how football is officiated) I don't think I said anything all that odd.
Oh nothing, I thought you predicted X just before Y happened. I could well be wrong, but either way it was just light hearted. I'm feeling a bit giddy after that.
Ah ok, I don't think I did but maybe BV quoting me but changing it made it come across that way. I wasn't offended, I just wasn't sure what I could've said that stood out.
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We would have beaten any team in the world today.
On fire.
Just need the players to stay fit and Ollie to find his scoring boots.
And it will be a great season.
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Just seen the match stats and I'm not sure how our XG was lower than theirs. Ok they had a penalty but we could have had 5 or 6.
We played really well in the first half, but i do think we sat back too much for the first half the second half before sorting it all out again.
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Lovely stuff - my missed all of this as I was at a soft play thing with my kids. Terrific result.
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Just seen the match stats and I'm not sure how our XG was lower than theirs. Ok they had a penalty but we could have had 5 or 6.
We played really well in the first half, but i do think we sat back too much for the first half the second half before sorting it all out again.
A penalty is about 0.9 on its own.
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Just seen the match stats and I'm not sure how our XG was lower than theirs. Ok they had a penalty but we could have had 5 or 6.
We played really well in the first half, but i do think we sat back too much for the first half the second half before sorting it all out again.
XG is aids.
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Just seen the match stats and I'm not sure how our XG was lower than theirs. Ok they had a penalty but we could have had 5 or 6.
We played really well in the first half, but i do think we sat back too much for the first half the second half before sorting it all out again.
because xG isn't designed to be used to judge an individual game, it's a probability thing but unless the underlying data is perfect the stat is never going to be accurate enough to encompass the whole match. Over longer periods though it balances out the quirks and you get data that is actually useful. Also worth noting that xG values the quality of the chance not the quality of the finish so a pretty poorly taken penalty that Emi saved easily is counted as being 10times "better" than Malen deflecting a shot into the opposite corner making it impossible for the keeper to get anywhere near it.
More than half of their xG came from the penalty and from Evanilson playing on when Smith and Adams poleaxed each other and the ref should've stopped play immediately. Given the first 2 players to check on them were Villa players that would've been contentious if he'd scored.
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Evanilson was given offside wasn't he?
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Just seen the match stats and I'm not sure how our XG was lower than theirs. Ok they had a penalty but we could have had 5 or 6.
We played really well in the first half, but i do think we sat back too much for the first half the second half before sorting it all out again.
A penalty is about 0.9 on its own.
0.79 because over years of data from all over the world penalty conversion rates (not including shootouts) is 79%.
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Just seen the match stats and I'm not sure how our XG was lower than theirs. Ok they had a penalty but we could have had 5 or 6.
We played really well in the first half, but i do think we sat back too much for the first half the second half before sorting it all out again.
XG is aids.
This.
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XG to the Bournemouth, XG to the Bournemouth, XG to the Bournemouth. You think it will catch on?
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As Paul says it's only over a period of time that xG becomes useful, for a single game it's just amusing to batter someone and yet have a lower xG.
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Evanilson was given offside wasn't he?
Not for that one I don't think, if I'm honest I wasn't really paying attention because of the injuries. Most important thing is he never should've been allowed to carry on because the ref should've stopped play immediately. That's a big part of why I was pissed off with the twat in the first half.
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The ref didn't want to book any of their players did he?
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The ref didn't want to book any of their players did he?
I just found how he was handling the game in general to be weird, each decision in isolation is probably fine but it leads to silly things like Truffert being booked for a bit of a nothing foul on the wing but then only getting a warning for a much worse one in the middle of the pitch later on. I wish they'd review the whole concept really because yellow cards are utterly meaningless right now until you get a 2nd one but that creates a weird situation where the offence to get a 2nd yellow has to be an 'orange' offence in a lot of cases so you get this weird inconsistency where yellow cards aren't all equal.
Add a sinbin and add the concept of a team booking, much like they do in rugby, and I think it'd work much better.
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As the song goes.
"Legion's on fire..." normal service is resumed.
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Just in case no one else mentions, Bogarde was ace in his cameo.
Agreed, he was excellent.
I thought all the subs were good, Barkley particularly.
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Bogarde is going to a top player in a year or 2, he looks so composed on the ball.
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The Bournemouth Lions that travelled up today are going to enjoy the usual pit stop at Warwick services just that bit more tonight. It's hard to dislike the Cherries but they have become a slightly annoying fan base since becoming a Prem team. We really battered them today. Very good performance all round. We are so good at home under Unai..
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Unai bringing us to the boil very nicely. Onwards and upwards!!!
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G5UkF6WWYAAqDIa?format=jpg&name=small)
Totes emosh!
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Special appreciation to Digne and Torres for shutting down Semenyo - was very quiet today.
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Bogarde is going to a top player in a year or 2, he looks so composed on the ball.
I agree. He looks like a fine prospect.
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Great win and a very good performance. It should have been more than 4.
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We withstood the physical challenge of their high press and then played some VillaBall.
You love to see it.
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Yep Bogarde is soooooo calm and rolls Royce esque!
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Great team performance. Did well to keep Semenyo and Kluivert quiet, two of their better players and they hardly had a kick.
Special mention to Emi’s free kick and Big Emi’s flying tip over the bar from the deflected shot.
Bournemouth should have been down to 10 men before they finally dubbed the left back to stop him being sent off. Thought Onana was very good as he drove us forward a lot today carrying the ball.
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I am just amazed to see us with a better goal difference than nearly all the teams in the same points as us! That's witchcraft!
Gone above Liverpool into 6th now too!
I've got Semenyo in my fantasy team but happy to take the hit today!
Great to be back at Villa Park today.
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The Bournemouth Lions that travelled up today are going to enjoy the usual pit stop at Warwick services just that bit more tonight. It's hard to dislike the Cherries but they have become a slightly annoying fan base since becoming a Prem team. We really battered them today. Very good performance all round. We are so good at home under Unai..
Lovely, have a safe trip back and enjoy the next few days amongst them.
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Well I didn't expect that margin of victory.
As an added bonus it was my kid's first game today, and managed to last around two-thirds of the game before the Nintendo came out.
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As an added bonus it was my kid's first game today, and managed to last around two-thirds of the game before the Nintendo came out.
And what about your kid?
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
You were all magnificent. Lessons? As well as permanently banning CDBF, Villa need to get paul_e and pelty on comms in their own little box. Like Statler and Waldorf.
What did I do? Other than my fairly normal moan about the ref (because I hate how football is officiated) I don't think I said anything all that odd.
Thought you dealt quickly and effectively with the most stupid comment of the day!
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Great win, thought we had a superb spell before half time where we ran all over them. Watkins was very good, McGinn and Buendia outstanding. We got very sloppy after half time, particularly with our passing and decision making. Penalty was huge obviously, that brilliant save killed Bournemouth. Very good header from Barkley made the points safe.
I think some of that was Bournemouth having a bollocking at half time and upping their game . We should have been out of site at halftime, they are no mugs so this is a very good win
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Unai possibly left the subs a little bit late after we lost the midfield but what a day otherwise. If only we can get Watkins and Rogers operating effectively we will be unstoppable!
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I've seen a few folks mention Semenyo. Admittedly I don't watch the opposition but I didn't even know he was playing.
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Never in doubt. 7th in the league.
Current league run W5 D2 L1
6th
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As an added bonus it was my kid's first game today, and managed to last around two-thirds of the game before the Nintendo came out.
And what about your kid?
Badum'tishhhhhhhh.
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I've always liked Money C115ty.
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I've seen a few folks mention Semenyo. Admittedly I don't watch the opposition but I didn't even know he was playing.
It was certainly that way today but he’s been one of the players in the division so far so kudos to us.
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Brilliant performance from the Villa boys, I've been waiting a long time to see us score direct from a free kick, but that was worth the wait, superb stuff Emi. We go above Liverpool to 6th now.
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A really enjoyable watch other than the first bit of the second half. I was desperate for Watkins to get his goal and hopefully set him off on one of his scoring runs.
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An impeccably observed minutes silence as well.
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Great performance that sets us up nicely for the break. Looks like our challengers for 5th this year will be Liverpool, Jaudis and possibly United and Spudz. So it was nice to make up ground on all of them. If we can somehow get back on a run in the lead up to the Arsenal double header in December (is it just me that finds it weird our fixtures are so close together?), then we might even get a free hit at the very big boys.
Only player slightly subpar today, I felt, was Konsa (distribution errors and invited a bit of unnecessary pressure on a few occasions) - but he is forgiven given his imperious form over the past month.
Top marks for Martinez, a game changing performance.
Honourable mentions for SJM, Buendia, Kamara and Rogers. Everyone else a 7.
Felt a bit sorry for Ollie, you couldn’t fault him for effort but he couldn’t buy a goal right now.
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Emphatic win against a side that a lot of people really fancy.
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"Chef's kiss emoji" performance today!
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Only player slightly subpar today, I felt, was Konsa (distribution errors and invited a bit of unnecessary pressure on a few occasions) - but he is forgiven given his imperious form over the past month.
They were specifically targetting him for the press when he had the ball, including pushing on the easy passes to try to force mistakes. He has shown in the past that he can beat it, but also he will turn into trouble more as well so tbf, he was better getting rid for throw-ins.
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Worth watching Back of the Net on YouTube - it's a Bournemouth video thing which is really well made and usually pretty even handed, for their take on the match.
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One or two more sloppy passes once SJM and Co. went off, but otherwise, a top performance. It's a shame the break's come.
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Very noticeable the players seem to be a unit again. The way they celebrated the goals together and were all over Emi for the saves.
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Villa hit four past Bournemouth to move up to seventh
https://www.skysports.com/share/13467409
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Just in case no one else mentions, Bogarde was ace in his cameo.
Wasn’t he just. It’s reaching the point where we need to find ways to get him in the pitch. He looks classy.
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Well I didn't expect that margin of victory.
As an added bonus it was my kid's first game today, and managed to last around two-thirds of the game before the Nintendo came out.
Were you at the very back of the north stand in the corner.
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One or two more sloppy passes once SJM and Co. went off, but otherwise, a top performance. It's a shame the break's come.
It's funny as Emery took a lot of uninformed criticism at start of season for playing McGinn as a "winger". I've always thought it's his best position. Completely dominated their left back.
Seemed early to be taking off Buendia and McGinn but Barkley and Tielemans made a big impact off the bench.
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Well I didn't expect that margin of victory.
As an added bonus it was my kid's first game today, and managed to last around two-thirds of the game before the Nintendo came out.
Were you at the very back of the north stand in the corner.
No, was in the family area.
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One or two more sloppy passes once SJM and Co. went off, but otherwise, a top performance. It's a shame the break's come.
It's funny as Emery took a lot of uninformed criticism at start of season for playing McGinn as a "winger". I've always thought it's his best position. Completely dominated their left back.
Seemed early to be taking off Buendia and McGinn but Barkley and Tielemans made a big impact off the bench.
It really depends who was doing the criticism but I think most of the complaints were about us being too narrow because McGinn was tucking into much rather than him being a winger. He's holding his position better again now, same with Buendia on the other side and with Rogers when he moves wider to allow for Barkley to go at 10.
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…another kid on his Nintendo then.
Tut kids these days.
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It was closer to the 4222 that worked well in Unai’s first season. No real wingers as such.
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The noise in the Holte End for the penalty save was louder than when we scored the goals.
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The noise in the Holte End for the penalty save was louder than when we scored the goals.
I thought that but it was probably the key moment in the game.
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It just gelled, fantastic performance, playing like that we look top 4, seems irrelevant to pick individual moments from all that, but the goals, all superb, that save from Emi in the 55th what a save, bloody hell, world class, and of course the penalty save.
Absolute stunner from Unai and the team, great work on a very creditable team, push on in the next couple of games and we are in to top 4.
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I know we should play to the whistle, but still proud both Buendia and Onana were straight across and checking on the player who got crocked.
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The noise in the Holte End for the penalty save was louder than when we scored the goals.
I thought that but it was probably the key moment in the game.
And Emi egged on the noise just before the penalty which had a big reaction.
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Our players, fans and bench all reacted quicker than the dozy ref to the clash of heads.
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Aston Villa see off Bournemouth in impressive win - https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/videos/c2052lvgljwo
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The noise in the Holte End for the penalty save was louder than when we scored the goals.
I thought that but it was probably the key moment in the game.
Yeah, agreed. The sound when Onana cleared the second ball was something else too.
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The noise in the Holte End for the penalty save was louder than when we scored the goals.
I thought that but it was probably the key moment in the game.
Yeah, agreed. The sound when Onana cleared the second ball was something else too.
Where previously in our bad seasons the players would just have stood there
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He deserves credit as he made sure he was first there.
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So,
City beat Liverpool today
Liverpool beat Villa last week
Villa beat City the week before that.
And that's why the TV companies pay the big bucks to televise the Prem.
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Unai possibly left the subs a little bit late after we lost the midfield but what a day otherwise. If only we can get Watkins and Rogers operating effectively we will be unstoppable!
I think sometimes the subs are a game of chicken. Today Emery waited to see what the changes the opposition made, then used his subs to counteract them.
I know Bournemouth got the penalty after their three changes, but they barely did anything of note after we’d made our subs.
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It’s incredible that we are 2 points off second place. We didn’t score a goal in our first 4 games.
Driving back I thought of this as a pretty ludicrous way to see it - at the end of September, Liverpool were top and we were 16th.
At the start of November, we're sixth, Liverpool are eighth and we still managed to lose a league game to Liverpool in that time.
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So,
City beat Liverpool today
Liverpool beat Villa last week
Villa beat City the week before that.
And that's why the TV companies pay the big bucks to televise the Prem.
And as we beat 115y 1-0, they beat Bmouth 3-1 so it's fitting that Bmouth get whipped 4-0 at Villa park.
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It’s incredible that we are 2 points off second place. We didn’t score a goal in our first 4 games.
Driving back I thought of this as a pretty ludicrous way to see it - at the end of September, Liverpool were top and we were 16th.
At the start of November, we're sixth, Liverpool are eighth and we still managed to lose a league game to Liverpool in that time.
Yeah it’s bonkers how much ground we’ve made up, and that’s with our usually very consistent striker being off form.
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It’s incredible that we are 2 points off second place. We didn’t score a goal in our first 4 games.
Driving back I thought of this as a pretty ludicrous way to see it - at the end of September, Liverpool were top and we were 16th.
At the start of November, we're sixth, Liverpool are eighth and we still managed to lose a league game to Liverpool in that time.
Yeah it’s bonkers how much ground we’ve made up, and that’s with our usually very consistent striker being off form.
And without our 24/25 player of the year.
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Another great afternoon at Villa Park. Fingers firmly crossed that we have some luck with injuries over the next couple of months as we're starting to see a settled side emerge now.
Thought Bournemouth were a proper bunch of shithouses. I still don't know how their left-back stayed on the pitch after that foul in the second half. Thought the ref was very lenient on them to be honest. Haven't seen a replay of it yet, but the penalty decision looked harsh in the ground, especially after the push directly leading up to it.
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They made 20 fouls and two yellows to show for it.
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Aston Villa vanquish ragged Bournemouth to continue Unai Emery resurgence
Emiliano Martinez saves a penalty and compatriot Emi Buendia scores sumptuous free-kick at fortress Villa Park
Telegraph Sport
Unai Emery is confident Aston Villa are back on track after thrashing Bournemouth to move within a point of the Premier League’s top four.
Villa failed to score in their first four league games this season but managed four in one afternoon to leapfrog the visitors on goal difference.
Emi Buendía’s superb free-kick opened the scoring before Amadou Onana drilled in a second from 20 yards.
Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez stopped Antoine Semenyo’s second-half penalty before Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen came off the bench to round off the hosts’ fourth straight home league win.
Emiliano Martinez atoned for his mistake at Liverpool with an outstanding penalty save Credit: Getty Images/Marc Atkins
Emery said: “[I am] happy. After a poor start we are progressively getting better.
“We were sending messages inside to increase our demands, consistency and working every day. A fantastic month, getting points and getting a good balance. Now we are going to rest, but happy about getting a good balance.
“We wanted to improve, we wanted to build up the team and now how we did over the last month, even before the last break with points against Everton and Sunderland, we have been playing in a higher level. I’m so happy.”
Emery believes his side’s performance against Bournemouth has set a benchmark.
“The players need to play the way we did today,” the Villa manager added. “Getting the challenges and duels, being brave and the high press, we did fantastic.”
Adam Smith was taken off in the ninth minute following a head clash with Tyler Adams, which forced Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola to tweak his game plan early.
But the Spaniard did not want to use that as an excuse and admitted the Villa were the better side.
“It’s a deserved win for Villa,” he said. “Two different halves from our side, I’m a bit worried about the first half because it is coming after a [Manchester] City game where we were not at our level, so that’s two games.
“I think the collision of Adam and Tyler we had to make a sub, but we cannot use this as an excuse. They were much better than us, more aggressive, pressing us well and deservedly went 2-0 up at half-time.
“After half-time, the second 45 was much better but we had the chances, have the penalty, hit the post, didn’t take them. That could have changed the game at 2-1.
“You want to win the last game before an international break because it is two weeks before the next match. To finish with this feeling is not good, but we cannot change it. We have to prepare better for West Ham.”
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They made 20 fouls and two yellows to show for it.
The decision not to give the left-back a 2nd yellow in the second half was a shocker. Not only was the player away, it was a bad foul as well. Inexplicable decision really.
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Marvellous. Who'd have thought it!?
You, clearly !
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Outstanding performance.
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Glad they didn’t go down to 10 men, we’d have struggled.
Penalty was harsh, but justice was served, and it was the turning point of the game.
Just need Watkins to score now, and what’s happening with Elliot?
Great performance and result. UTV
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This game reminded me so much of Brighton 6-1 in September 2023.
Played an in form high press team and completely smothered them.
Very pleased we won this by four clear goals as feels too often we have these sort of games where we create plenty of chances and yet are clinging on to a 2-1 at the end so good to finally get a game that significantly boosts the GD as that impeded us in the run in last year.
That ten minute spell we had before Onana's strikeforce was our best spell of attacking football all season. A real joy to watch and Bournemouth couldn't get out of their own half. I was watching that thinking to myself why can't we ever really do that v Man. United?! Hoping for something like this against them next month.
Anyway on this form Buendia wins POTY and what a story that will be. Brilliant first half from him today.
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We are a bloody good team when we play with intensity, pace and attacking intent.
When we play like today, we can blow teams away, any team.
I wish we would do it more often. I think this team is good enough to win the league, if we played like we believed it.
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I'm in Shanghai and after being on the go for 36 hours after leaving home at 8.30 Saturday morning i just couldn't stay up till 10pm and go to a bar. Absolutely chuffed to see the score when i woke up earlier and also surprised I was able to see the highlights on the BBC site, as they are usually restricted here.
A nice positive mood going into the international break.
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Great win against a Bournmouth side that played an attacking game allowing us the space to operate in. Apart from theit constant fouling they are an attractive side going forward, pity they will lose players soon enough as the buzzards circle. The penalty save was crucial as we had dropped off the pace a little and if they had scored who knows. Buendia is playing like a man who knows he has to perform to keep his spot, all credit too him he has surpassed all my expectations. Our subs were a class above theirs.
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Bournemouth are strong in midfield, lively in attack but all over the place defensively.
Our game plan was very effective against this particularly in the first half.
The 2 saves by Martinez were critical at the time when they were at their most dominant, their heads went down after the penalty.
Any contact with your arm now in the box is a penalty less it is by your side or behind your back , it was a ridiculous decision but that is now the law.
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Great performance; well done to all!
Thanks.
You were especially on it, PWS! MOTM!
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Great performance; well done to all!
thanks.
I tried my best.
You were all magnificent. Lessons? As well as permanently banning CDBF, Villa need to get paul_e and pelty on comms in their own little box. Like Statler and Waldorf.
What did I do? Other than my fairly normal moan about the ref (because I hate how football is officiated) I don't think I said anything all that odd.
Neither did I. But can I be Waldorf?
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Oh my!
What an absolute fantastic performance by the team to deliver a heart pumping, skipping round the house, joyous victory!
Take a bow SUE and all the coaching staff.
Impeccably observed remembrance.
Day before, my little manure supporting nephew smirked when I said we’d give the cherries a pasting. Wish I had money on it now.
I haven’t been happy with the world’s number one compounded by the error at the Liverpool. Today I’m singing his name again as TWO magnificent saves reminded me why!
Buendia ! Oh Buendia the man is on fire and playing some elite stuff complemented by spectacular goals. Where is the national media wank-fest? Oh wait we’re in the Midlands.
To a man the whole team was superb. They started well and we were starting to let them back in it at 2-0 which was getting annoying.
Our bench is so strong!
Have to wait 2 weeks now for the next game and pray any of the Villa boys don’t get injured.
Also fortress Villa Park ! Not many teams will relish coming to us now and the dingles may be shitting bricks.
I’m now reading replaying the goals over and over, watching loads of reviews, reading loads of comments and match reports and thinking which players name to get on my 3rd kit top purchase for crimbo.
Happy days!
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Only noticed on the highlights why Evanilson seemed to be in space twice at the back post when they hit the post and the penalty, it was because he pushes his marker in the back with both hands each time but the useless twats with VAR would if course miss that
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Only noticed on the highlights why Evanilson seemed to be in space twice at the back post when they hit the post and the penalty, it was because he pushes his marker in the back with both hands each time but the useless twats with VAR would if course miss that
Agreed Lee. I thought it was an obvious push on Rogers for the penalty.
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I felt we looked so much bigger, quicker and critically stronger than them, especially in the first half. Totally smothered them and won the ball high up the pitch, while danced around their lukewarm press. We owed them that hammering after last season.
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I felt we looked so much bigger, quicker and critically stronger than them, especially in the first half. Totally smothered them and won the ball high up the pitch, while danced around their lukewarm press. We owed them that hammering after last season.
I was browing a Bournemouth post-match thread and they said that Scott and Adams always tend to get bullied by bigger, stronger midfields. And while Onana hasn't had a perfect start to his Villa career, if we can get the most out of his size and strength there shouldn't be many opposition midfields that we don't bully.
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Great day. Great performance from the boys. Looking at the table and before yesterday we had scored just 9 goals and conceded 10. It boggles my mind to think that we are now in 6th place. Unai Emery is some kind of sorcerer. I don't know how long his contract is but I hope it's really long and very well paid. That man deserves it.
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I felt we looked so much bigger, quicker and critically stronger than them, especially in the first half. Totally smothered them and won the ball high up the pitch, while danced around their lukewarm press. We owed them that hammering after last season.
I was browing a Bournemouth post-match thread and they said that Scott and Adams always tend to get bullied by bigger, stronger midfields. And while Onana hasn't had a perfect start to his Villa career, if we can get the most out of his size and strength there shouldn't be many opposition midfields that we don't bully.
Buendia turning over Scott at one point in the first half wasnt a great look for them or him. I didn't see all the game yesterday but from what I did it wasn't a complete 4-0 hammering. They were well on top early in the second half up to the penalty. Repeating myself but Tielemans and Barkley really helped us retain possession better when they came in. The third finished it and it could have been any score for a finish.
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Going into the last 4 games, I was concerned we might not win any of them, now I'm thinking there is a good chance we're gonna beat Arsenal twice next month.
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I felt we looked so much bigger, quicker and critically stronger than them, especially in the first half. Totally smothered them and won the ball high up the pitch, while danced around their lukewarm press. We owed them that hammering after last season.
I was browing a Bournemouth post-match thread and they said that Scott and Adams always tend to get bullied by bigger, stronger midfields. And while Onana hasn't had a perfect start to his Villa career, if we can get the most out of his size and strength there shouldn't be many opposition midfields that we don't bully.
Buendia turning over Scott at one point in the first half wasnt a great look for them or him. I didn't see all the game yesterday but from what I did it wasn't a complete 4-0 hammering. They were well on top early in the second half up to the penalty. Repeating myself but Tielemans and Barkley really helped us retain possession better when they came in. The third finished it and it could have been any score for a finish.
Yup, that's all pretty accurate. As has been said on the Martinez thread, if he doesn't make those saves and it's suddenly 2-1 with them on top, I'm not sure I'd have been completely confident we'd have seen the game out.
I think on seeing the game out, Tielemans and Barkley (and I'll Malen as well running and stretching them) obviously did help - but I think it was more about belief at that point. Once the penalty is saved, both teams clearly knew who was winning from that point and the game was more or less allowed to play out.
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Among the subs, I thought Barkley and Bogarde made the standout contributions and that Sancho was quite involved up the left. Tielemans, after a spectacular 15 minutes on Thursday, looked slightly rusty to me. Fresh legs were important though; Kamara in particular was looking a bit leggy, I thought.
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Among the subs, I thought Barkley and Bogarde made the standout contributions and that Sancho was quite involved up the left. Tielemans, after a spectacular 15 minutes on Thursday, looked slightly rusty to me. Fresh legs were important though; Kamara in particular was looking a bit leggy, I thought.
Yep, thought the same about Youri. Looked off the pace when he came on, but I thought he got up to speed as it went on.
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Only noticed on the highlights why Evanilson seemed to be in space twice at the back post when they hit the post and the penalty, it was because he pushes his marker in the back with both hands each time but the useless twats with VAR would if course miss that
Yeah, looked like a tactic to find him at the back post, for as you say they did it a couple of times. I wonder if their analysis on us showed that Rogers covers that space and they fancied Evanilson against him.
From my view in the Holte I thought the penalty looked harsh, but it looked a little more obvious on TV. That said, it was a blatant push though, which probably made Rogers' arms go up into that position.
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Bournemouth are strong in midfield, lively in attack but all over the place defensively.
Our game plan was very effective against this particularly in the first half.
The 2 saves by Martinez were critical at the time when they were at their most dominant, their heads went down after the penalty.
Any contact with your arm now in the box is a penalty less it is by your side or behind your back , it was a ridiculous decision but that is now the law.
Yep and there is very little chance it will be overturned by VAR after it has been awarded.
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Second half they replaced the (replaced) fullback with a specific central defensive midfielder as we weren't using the wings as much and it gave them the platform to pressure us more in the center.
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Great win and great performance.
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Great result and performance against a very well drilled side. Thought we matched them physically which was key. Emi B was like a man possessed in the first half. Some nice cameo's especially Ross B yet again proving he will be an asset this season especially as his confidence grows.
Emi's pen save was crucial as they would have been lifted had it gone in.
We play some great football at times and are a pleasure to watch - all kudos to the staff and players for turning the season round dramatically. Onwards and upwards.
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First game I attended since Palace so very happy for me an my 6 year old son.
Martinez fantastic in 2nd half each time required.
Thought Cash had a solid game overall - some good timed runs.
Konsa I actually struggled quite a lot but they do have good forwards
Torres some nice football and good match
Digne - generally sound
The midfield trio were absolutely outstanding all match. Lost count of how many fouls they won during transition. Nod to Amadou for the superb strike. I think Kamara makes him look very good and also the centre of defence really sound.
Buendia - it has been a pleasure to see him prove many of us (including me wron). He was brilliant for first hour and the goal was magical Zicoesque. Hard to chose between him and Onana for MOTM.
Rogers I thought had some great moments though decision making in final third wasn't always quite there. Unlucky for penalty but I had no complaints with decision in all honesty.
Watkins - defo lacks confidence in penalty area - did win the corner for key 3rd goal after some good work. His goal v Fulham kick started our season but not his as yet.
Subs - Bogarde, Malen and Barley again were all very good. The other 3 all did ok. Loved Guessand's run when it took about 4 to stop him.
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Thumping win against a top team. Brilliant performance all round.
We have the most settled squad in the league and a top manager. Almost every player in the squad knows their job within the team, the demands, patterns, press etc. We can afford to ease players back from injury and ease new blood in (Guessand/Elliot).
Continuity is the key. Won Liverpool the league last season but 400 million spent has f*cked them up this season. :)
Perhaps for the 2025 - 2026 season, FFP and PSR has done us a favour. Not by design but by accident.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
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Top performance important win
Just think if we hadn’t have totally fucked up the summer transfer window we might have been in with a title shout
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Top performance important win
Just think if we hadn’t have totally fucked up the summer transfer window we might have been in with a title shout
If Arsenal do what they normally do, I reckon we are in with a title shout.
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Top performance important win
Just think if we hadn’t have totally fucked up the summer transfer window we might have been in with a title shout
If Arsenal do what they normally do, I reckon we are in with a title shout.
Not if Man City do what they often do
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Top performance important win
Just think if we hadn’t have totally fucked up the summer transfer window we might have been in with a title shout
If Arsenal do what they normally do, I reckon we are in with a title shout.
Not if Man City do what they often do
We beat them recently. Be positive.
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Anyone talking of winning the league is certifiably insane. We just don’t (yet) have the cojones or mentality to win at Old Trafford, Anfield and the Etihad in the same season. It’s all the more bizarre when you consider our record in London at the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane. Still after a very good win yesterday I’m upbeat on our chances of top 4.
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Anyone talking of winning the league is certifiably insane. We just don’t (yet) have the cojones or mentality to win at Old Trafford, Anfield and the Etihad in the same season. It’s all the more bizarre when you consider our record in London at the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane. Still after a very good win yesterday I’m upbeat on our chances of top 4.
And it's likely to be top 5 again judging by the European results so far.
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Yep the coefficient is working well for the PL currently. All 6 CL clubs contributing then us and Palace with only really Forest not pulling up trees.
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4th is the realistic highest position imo, I can't see us, or anyone else, catching the top 3. Most likely a battle between us, Spurs and Liverpool for the 2 other spots with a few other clubs keeping a keen eye on us three.
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Alas, I fear that United might be part of the fight for 4/5th place. We're well positioned to have a good go, as we have been the last two seasons.
We could also be "part of the title conversation" if we can get back on a run between now and the first Arsenal game, even if only temporarily.
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There is absolutely no way we’re in the title picture - if we qualified for Champions League that would be tremendous.
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Alas, I fear that United might be part of the fight for 4/5th place. We're well positioned to have a good go, as we have been the last two seasons.
We could also be "part of the title conversation" if we can get back on a run between now and the first Arsenal game, even if only temporarily.
I don't sweat Man Utd, no way are they finishing above us.
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Neither do I, and yet… every time I look, Cash always plays the ball a bit short, Emi always takes out their donkey, the ref always blows the whistle prematurely…
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Chelsea are probably three bad results away from self-destruct. Their manager isn't universally popular and half the squad must be on the edge of mutiny given how bloated it is.
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F365's winners of the weekend
Aston Villa
An emphatic response to a difficult afternoon against Liverpool, above whom they have leapt in the Premier League table.
Emi Martinez was the perfect pantomime villain to epitomise the “madness” of their approach at Anfield, then part of the inspiration behind a stirring win against a similar style of team a week later.
His penalty save – and prior stops – helped invigorate Villa and give them a far more stable foundation upon which to build. Unai Emery righted some tactical wrongs in terms of passing out and nullifying an opponent’s strength instead of playing to them. And the Emi Buendia redemption arc and Donyell Malen goalscoring streak continues apace.
Villa kindly gave everyone a month-long head start but do appear to be very much back. They are in the form of title contenders if not the position.
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Loved watching this yesterday. You can tell Villa were up for it right from the start and that Bournemouth were going to have problems containing us. Some moments of liquid football and again, the players showing how comfortable they are on the ball. It's a pity the international break has come along to interrupt our flow but I head Emi Buendia has been picked for Argentina which is richly deserved. Now Buendia and Tielemans are back and Bogarde is coming through what a squad we have from a midfield viewpoint.
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Neither of the Emis are in the squad are they?
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Loved watching this yesterday. You can tell Villa were up for it right from the start and that Bournemouth were going to have problems containing us. Some moments of liquid football and again, the players showing how comfortable they are on the ball. It's a pity the international break has come along to interrupt our flow but I head Emi Buendia has been picked for Argentina which is richly deserved. Now Buendia and Tielemans are back and Bogarde is coming through what a squad we have from a midfield viewpoint.
I said earlier midfield 3 and Buendia more advanced were absolutely brilliant yesterday. When Bogarde was ovelooked for Onana v Suprs I thought it harsh. What do I know.
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Neither of the Emis are in the squad are they?
Buendia has today because several others are missing for various reasons.
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Was expecting a difficult match, but pleasantly surprised to see that we gave Bournemouth the hiding they deserved!
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Alas, I fear that United might be part of the fight for 4/5th place.
All 4 of them are behind us.
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4th is the realistic highest position imo, I can't see us, or anyone else, catching the top 3. Most likely a battle between us, Spurs and Liverpool for the 2 other spots with a few other clubs keeping a keen eye on us three.
Who's the third of your top three? Chelsea? Sunderland?
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The side that's 3rd surprisingly.
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The side that's 3rd surprisingly.
I agree with your top 3, I do wonder though if Chelsea's lack of rest following their World Club exploits might have an impact as the season progresses.
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Unai possibly left the subs a little bit late after we lost the midfield but what a day otherwise. If only we can get Watkins and Rogers operating effectively we will be unstoppable!
I think sometimes the subs are a game of chicken. Today Emery waited to see what the changes the opposition made, then used his subs to counteract them.
I know Bournemouth got the penalty after their three changes, but they barely did anything of note after we’d made our subs.
I was just thinking we'd rode out their attacking, when they got the penalty.
We did seem to struggle to defend their corners to the back post. Something to work on in training.
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The side that's 3rd surprisingly.
I agree with your top 3, I do wonder though if Chelsea's lack of rest following their World Club exploits might have an impact as the season progresses.
They'll be ok - buy another 15 players in January
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Injuries are always the unknown. I think we're very much in the hunt for 4th/5th, but say Konsa and Pau are out for 2 months from tomorrow then i'd switch to us being very much outsiders. Same kind of things applies to most of the hopefuls.
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Injuries are always the unknown. I think we're very much in the hunt for 4th/5th, but say Konsa and Pau are out for 2 months from tomorrow then i'd switch to us being very much outsiders. Same kind of things applies to most of the hopefuls.
Ollie is key for me, we can't afford for him to continue his dry spell for much longer. Two more goals from outside the box v Bournemouth, three really with Tielemans deflected shot. Still think Ollie will turn it around.
Right back the other real worry, if our backup to Cash is Lindelof then we would be screwed if Cash was injured.
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What you might call a variable game!
We looked a bit slow out of the blocks. I wondered whether their first shot, taken after their two lads had been laid out, would have counted had it not been for Emi's excellent first save?
We then took more or less complete control and thoroughly deserved the HT lead.
The first third of the second half was all them and the only outlet was McGinn, who was severely fouled for his trouble, without punishment. Then followed the Martinez Show x2, after which some really good subs took the game away from Bournemouth -and we could have had even more!
What a game!!
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Have told CD he's not allowed back into the country, as Villa doing really well since he's been gone.
Due back today.