Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on April 16, 2026, 09:51:06 PM
-
Never in doubt.
-
Buenia my motm.
We're now into the juicy part of the competition.
-
A lot less stress then the last two QF second legs. Can we play them every year?
-
Satisfactory, bigger tests await.
-
Really good tonight, totally dominated it in the first half and then turned it into a training session.
-
Great result.
Fell the Foresr
-
All good.
-
Can we play them every year?
It would seem so.
-
Hopefully we'll now do the same to Forest.
-
Very good. The first was a top class team goal.
Still lots to do and a long way to go. Stay focused Villa!
-
Very good. Perfect really.
-
Absolutely solid result. Well done all concerned.
-
Forest through.
-
We are definitely a better team than Forest, have better individuals and a better manager. Please, please don't fuck this up Villa. Braga or Freiburg in the final is eminently winnable.
-
We are just a class act.
Hopefully, we will need some brasso at the end of the season.
-
Porto sabotaged themselves in both legs.
I think both Wood and Hudson-Odoi went off injured, not that they won't be fit to play against us. No yellow cards for their players either.
-
Porto looked the kind of slicksters that are capable of playing through us and then defending a lead solidly, they've beat themselves though. Forest if we match the intensity and fight we should be able to beat.
-
Would rather have had Porto.
Oh well.
Second leg at home is huge, can't see us not making the final.
-
Pretty impeccable quarter final performance all told. One step closer.
-
Brilliant effort over the two legs. Need to back it up in the semi-final now.
Our first goal was superb, and the other two were really well taken. Hope it boosts Rogers confidence again.
-
If we can replicate that 1-1 we got at the City Ground last weekend in the first leg that'd be grand lads.
-
Would have preferred Porto but bring on Nottingham Forest.
-
If we can replicate that 1-1 we got at the City Ground last weekend in the first leg that'd be grand lads.
I would hope to better that.
-
Would rather have had Porto.
Oh well.
Second leg at home is huge, can't see us not making the final.
Reckon that could go all the way to pens: God knows what time we will all get home!
-
Wasn't expecting it to be as easy and as comfortable as that. We were great.
-
Would rather have had Porto.
Oh well.
Second leg at home is huge, can't see us not making the final.
Reckon that could go all the way to pens: God knows what time we will all get home!
However long it takes pens up to the 4th round to be taken with our record at them recently as Forest do seem fine with them.
-
Some really good football today, great combinations and Buendia was outstanding. Bailey still struggling, but signs Rogers might be getting some form back (pen aside).
-
Piece of piss.
Would’ve preferred Porto but we’ll beat Forest over two legs.
UTV!
-
The first goal was a thing of beauty.
-
Couldn't have gone much better, missed pen aside
-
Easy win, didn't get out of 3rd gear. Pau was my motm. On Ana again, superb. Ref was a bit whistle happy.
Slightly ruined the evening having 2 older ladies moaning from start to finish, had a go at us for playing out from the back...20secs later we scored, they just sat there looking miserable
Why bother going?
-
Forest and Braga or Freiburg to complete our odyssey in this competition... it's a pity we haven't really played anyone sexy along the way. We need to leave this and the Conference comps behind, they're a bit crap. CL for the next 10 years in a row pls.
-
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Forest will be very difficult
-
This is still the old UEFA Cup for me.
That was always pretty sexy.
-
European football is great whatever the competition.
-
Easy win, didn't get out of 3rd gear. Pau was my motm. On Ana again, superb. Ref was a bit whistle happy.
Slightly ruined the evening having 2 older ladies moaning from start to finish, had a go at us for playing out from the back...20secs later we scored, they just sat there looking miserable
Why bother going?
they were probably expecting to see Andy Lochead heading one in from a ball smashed 75 yards upfield on a mudbath of a pitch
-
Forest and Braga or Freiburg to complete our odyssey in this competition... it's a pity we haven't really played anyone sexy along the way. We need to leave this and the Conference comps behind, they're a bit crap. CL for the next 10 years in a row pls.
Feyenoord the biggest name really.
Don't mind if we win it all though.
-
This is still the old UEFA Cup for me.
That was always pretty sexy.
Should never have rebranded it.
Such a stupid thing to do.
It had more prestige before.
-
I already feel physically sick.
-
This is still the old UEFA Cup for me.
That was always pretty sexy.
Except the teams that were good enough to challenge for the UEFA cup would be in the Champions League now, this is very much a less prestigious competition.
-
We've won fuck all for 30 years, after 1 season in 40 in the CL we shouldn't be looking down on the competition.
-
This is still the old UEFA Cup for me.
That was always pretty sexy.
Except the teams that were good enough to challenge for the UEFA cup would be in the Champions League now, this is very much a less prestigious competition.
By that definition, though (and I don't disagree), the Champions League is very much a less prestigious competition, too. That's not how it is viewed, though.
-
We've won fuck all for 30 years, after 1 season in 40 in the CL we shouldn't be looking down on the competition.
Quite right.
-
That first goal was a thing of beauty. Not sure how many passes or how many players touched the ball before we scored, but it felt like a LOT.
Anyone can win a one-off game if they get the rub of the green or a bit of luck in their favour, but over two legs, I think we beat forest 90% of the time. I'd MUCH rather face them in a two-legged semi than in the final. I'm confident, but definitely without thinking it's in the bag.
-
I think this would be brilliant and so important to win.
-
Check out the comments on the BBC match report. Lots of praise from other clubs then BluenOse1875 turns up, makes about 7 comments. Poor lad is on verge of suicide:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/live/cwydgm13v8dt
-
Yeah, we can't be spoilt twats if we haven't had so much as a Toffo in decades. That would just make us twats.
-
Liquid football
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=905863392488373
-
That first goal was a thing of beauty. Not sure how many passes or how many players touched the ball before we scored, but it felt like a LOT.
Anyone can win a one-off game if they get the rub of the green or a bit of luck in their favour, but over two legs, I think we beat forest 90% of the time. I'd MUCH rather face them in a two-legged semi than in the final. I'm confident, but definitely without thinking it's in the bag.
According to the TNT commentator, 14 passes and 9 players.
-
-
We're in a really good place at the moment, playing with freedom and confidence and the manager is happy to encourage this. You can see that when we were up against it he kept us calm, tight and cautious knowing that we wouldn't be down for too long. Bide your time and your time will come.
God, I hope this is finally ours.
-
They need to bloody hurry up and finish the building work.
There was a terrible draught in the UDE.
Well done boys. A thoroughly professional performance tonight.
Very, very proud.
-
Thought he would take McGinn off at half time seeing he was a booking away from missing next game. Why Emery still persists with Bailey is a mystery to me he is not getting any better.
Is it Forest in the semi or is there a draw?
-
Forest confirmed.
-
"Can we play you every week? Can we play you every week?". Another comfortable win against them to make it four out of four in just under 18 months. First goal was always going to be key and when we got it and early, it was tie over. Turned out to be very comfortable in the end and they hardly threatened. Really don't know what the ref was doing in the first 15 minutes - bizarre performance.
One thing I thought we did well tonight was block off the supply to Rowe and as a result he hardly had a kick.
-
Have you ever been that relaxed watching Villa in the last eight of any competition? I can’t recall one in my lifetime.
-
We're in a really good place at the moment, playing with freedom and confidence and the manager is happy to encourage this. You can see that when we were up against it he kept us calm, tight and cautious knowing that we wouldn't be down for too long. Bide your time and your time will come.
God, I hope this is finally ours.
Would be lovely if Ollie Watkins hit a rich vein of form over these next few weeks and that really could be possible. Not possible, but it would be lovely to see Kamara's name amongst the subs on Sunday - just coming back in time for the run-in.
-
Played well, Tielemans and McGinn make such a difference to the team
Let’s hope we can win on Sunday
-
Thought he would take McGinn off at half time seeing he was a booking away from missing next game. Why Emery still persists with Bailey is a mystery to me he is not getting any better.
Is it Forest in the semi or is there a draw?
Feel like I’m some sort of Bailey defender here, I’m not, but what did he actually do wrong last night compared to the other subs? I thought he was our main threat?
Anyway, great performance in a massive game. Stating the obvious but the Forest game is huge, we need to go there first leg and twat them.
Everyone played well last night, but that midfield with youri back….and Onana has grown into his destroyer role really well. Thought Watkins led the line brilliantly, Tammy really isn’t as good at the moment.
There was one moment when the crowd sang, stand up if you love Villa, and the Doug Ellis and Trinity all stood up, we had a free kick & it was all set for Rogers to smash it home…he passed it sideways and it fizzled out.
Great night….let this be the trophy…Amen
-
Extremely enjoyable evening, I’ve never felt so relaxed watching The Villa, especially in a big game.
Unai, has changed the culture, the players mentality and our expectations, the blokes incredible, long may he reign.
Several good performances, some lovely goals, a clean sheet, no injuries or yellow cards. What more could we have asked for?
Maybe a penalty taker?! I’d give Cash the next one, just lamp it in the top corner.
-
Have you ever been that relaxed watching Villa in the last eight of any competition? I can’t recall one in my lifetime.
No agreed, particularly in a knock out competition. It was nice we could be in third gear in the second half and conserve energy.
-
Have you ever been that relaxed watching Villa in the last eight of any competition? I can’t recall one in my lifetime.
No agreed, particularly in a knock out competition. It was nice we could be in third gear in the second half and conserve energy.
Leeds in the League Cup Final was quite a breeze from memory.
-
The ref was a clown, but liked the fact he didn't bother with any added time, blew up on 90.
The first goal was a stunner. Hopefully we don't shit our pants now we're nearly there. But we do tend to shit our pants when the pressure is truly on, even under lord Emery.
-
That was one of the silliest referees I’ve seen. It wasn’t all against us, we had some decisions go our way, but as we didn’t give them no time on the ball, it seemed every tackle was a foul.
Onana was excellent last night, he’s looking back to his best again and he makes a huge difference when he’s that good.
-
Extremely enjoyable evening, I’ve never felt so relaxed watching The Villa, especially in a big game.
Unai getting the deckchair out and smoking a cigar on the touchline was a bit much though.
-
What a night.
Could not have gone any better. Comfortable performance, no yellows, rogers breaks his duck and we got a chance to take players off. Absolutely delighted.
Now lets make it right and get to a european final after what happened in the conference
-
Brilliant performance and brilliant night.
-
There were many fantastic performances but a special mention to Matty Cash. After the first leg he must of had a few sleepless nights and also the threat of another yellow card hanging over his head.
Jonathon Rowe was the obvious threat but between Matty, Unai, McGinn and Konsa he never got a sniff. The supply line to him was reduced, space limited and when he did get the ball we doubled up. Our positional sense, awareness and discipline was perfect.
Matty had him in his pocket all night. Poor Rowe, probably didn't sleep well last night.
Well done lads, your homework paid off.
-
The ref was a clown, but liked the fact he didn't bother with any added time, blew up on 90.
The first goal was a stunner. Hopefully we don't shit our pants now we're nearly there. But we do tend to shit our pants when the pressure is truly on, even under lord Emery.
I think in Europe that if both captains agree they can blow on 90 if no other result is possible.
-
Has cash let rowe out his pocket yet?
-
Very comfortable from the off. In all games you expect to be under the cosh for at least part of it but they didn’t really have spell at all. Rowe did little but I was still impressed with him seeing him close up, he takes the ball on the half turn and shields it really well.
I’m glad we were so comfortable as if it was close, God knows what that ridiculously theatrical ref might have come up with to deny us. He acted like he was auditioning for a touring production of an Air You Being Served musical tribute.
MOM was tough, really tough with any of the players being in with a shout, but for me, Rogers just shades Youri.
-
What night a fantastic night, the first goal as a team goal is right up there as one of the greatest I've seen in all the time I have been watching Villa. I think I'm right in saying along with our match against FC Valur in 1981, 7 goals in an European Cup tie is the most any Villa team have scored.
-
The ref was a clown, but liked the fact he didn't bother with any added time, blew up on 90.
The first goal was a stunner. Hopefully we don't shit our pants now we're nearly there. But we do tend to shit our pants when the pressure is truly on, even under lord Emery.
I think in Europe that if both captains agree they can blow on 90 if no other result is possible.
It happened in the FA Cup when chelsea beat us a couple of years ago too.
-
8 v Hibs.
-
I believe in domestic Cup competitions that if both managers agree that the result of the tie is done, then the whistle can be blown on 90. It's in the league where goal difference can impact the whole competition that all of the added time needs to be played.
-
Stamped our class all over them from the first minute. Much needed goal for Rogers. On we go
-
Got the first goal (and what a goal it was), an from there it was a very easy night. Forest will be more tricky, but they are where they are for a good reason.
-
Oh what a night.....
Really enjoyable, and a cracking atmosphere, constant singing in the 2nd half where in the past we may have gone complacently quiet. It's just a crying shame - and this is no criticism of anyone - that a top performance like that plays out with a third of the crowd gone, it's understandable, but a shame all the same.
Nailed on we'd miss the first pen we've had all season - but good to get that out of the way in a dead rubber!
MOM - hard to say really, but I'll give it Ollie for constant running and 100 goals.
-
Oh what a night.....
Really enjoyable, and a cracking atmosphere, constant singing in the 2nd half where in the past we may have gone complacently quiet. It's just a crying shame - and this is no criticism of anyone - that a top performance like that plays out with a third of the crowd gone, it's understandable, but a shame all the same.
Nailed on we'd miss the first pen we've had all season - but good to get that out of the way in a dead rubber!
MOM - hard to say really, but I'll give it Ollie for constant running and 100 goals.
Not the first pen this season, we've still not had one in the PL though which is crazy.
-
Oh what a night.....
Really enjoyable, and a cracking atmosphere, constant singing in the 2nd half where in the past we may have gone complacently quiet. It's just a crying shame - and this is no criticism of anyone - that a top performance like that plays out with a third of the crowd gone, it's understandable, but a shame all the same.
Nailed on we'd miss the first pen we've had all season - but good to get that out of the way in a dead rubber!
MOM - hard to say really, but I'll give it Ollie for constant running and 100 goals.
Not the first pen this season, we've still not had one in the PL though which is crazy.
To be fair, we did also miss the first one that we had.
-
Ah yes, my bad! It's just been so long!!
-
Who missed that?
-
We've had 4 pens this season I think
Rogers miss
Malen v Maccabi scored
Buendia v GA Eagles miss
Ollie v Bologna miss
-
Yup I kind of remember Emi’s miss but thought it might have been last year.
-
The Bologna fans seemed to travel in big numbers, the ones about the ground all seemed a civilised, decent lot. They kept behind their team to the bitter end which does them immense credit. But I’ve never seen such a big following make so little noise, I could see them clapping away but no sound. Like they were on mute.
Some of the other teams we’ve played have bought 10% of the numbers but made 90% more noise.
-
Would have preferred Porto but bring on Nottingham Forest.
Ain't right to play a European away game somewhere you can get to for 8 quid on National Express
-
I'm a lot more confident of beating Forest over two legs than I would be in a one off final. And if we were to be in a final, of the 3 other teams Forest are the ones i'd least want.
-
The Ref was a bit weird early on. At one point he got right in Konza's face
-
8 v Hibs.
Of course silly me
-
The Ref was a bit weird early on. At one point he got right in Konza's face
That was crackers, I thought he was going to drop the nut on him.
-
McGinn seemed to work out the ref’s character and told the other players to back off from hassling him.
The Bologna fans were making noise they were just drowned out by the rest of the ground.
Sad the Santiago sarcastic chants only happened in the away match!
-
Oh what a night.....
Losing 2-0 at Blackburn, then drawing home and away to Wolves is hardly something to sing about. Mercer out.
-
Forest will be more tricky, but they are where they are for a good reason.
And that reason is Palace being demoted. Not that I would have wanted to play Palace btw
-
Forest will be more tricky, but they are where they are for a good reason.
And that reason is Palace being demoted. Not that I would have wanted to play Palace btw
Think he means that Forest are 16th in the league for a reason, not that they're in a European semi-final for a reason.
-
Tottenham were 17th last year and won the cup...
I'd say that a large part of "the reason" why Forest are so low is because they haven't had Wood for most of the season, but they do now.
-
Tottenham were 17th last year and won the cup...
I'd say that a large part of "the reason" why Forest are so low is because they haven't had Wood for most of the season, but they do now.
Not entirely convinced on that. Wood was exceptionally good last year, but had he been fit I’d be astounded if he’d repeated what he did last year. Obviously can’t prove that, but i strongly suspect.
-
The Ref was a bit weird early on. At one point he got right in Konza's face
That was crackers, I thought he was going to drop the nut on him.
Ye he started quite fussy then seemed to calm down and let things go abit more
-
Tottenham were 17th last year and won the cup...
I'd say that a large part of "the reason" why Forest are so low is because they haven't had Wood for most of the season, but they do now.
Not entirely convinced on that. Wood was exceptionally good last year, but had he been fit I’d be astounded if he’d repeated what he did last year. Obviously can’t prove that, but i strongly suspect.
No, I doubt they would have been challenging for Europe if he had stayed fit, like last season. But I doubt they would be fighting for their lives, either.
-
There were many fantastic performances but a special mention to Matty Cash. After the first leg he must of had a few sleepless nights and also the threat of another yellow card hanging over his head.
Jonathon Rowe was the obvious threat but between Matty, Unai, McGinn and Konsa he never got a sniff. The supply line to him was reduced, space limited and when he did get the ball we doubled up. Our positional sense, awareness and discipline was perfect.
Matty had him in his pocket all night. Poor Rowe, probably didn't sleep well last night.
I heard the reason for the poorer performance was he was missing the full back who plays behind him and overlaps creating space and openings. I'd still have him over Bailey, Sancho and if they want to do a swap deal for Guessand I won't stand in the way.
Great team performance, highlight was the brilliant work between Rogers and Buendia for the first goal. Liquid football.
-
But he's injured again. Rotten Wood.
-
Tottenham were 17th last year and won the cup...
I'd say that a large part of "the reason" why Forest are so low is because they haven't had Wood for most of the season, but they do now.
Not entirely convinced on that. Wood was exceptionally good last year, but had he been fit I’d be astounded if he’d repeated what he did last year. Obviously can’t prove that, but i strongly suspect.
34 year old coming back from a long injury, I don't think they'll see the best of him again but just to remove any jinx I might have placed on us he'll definitely score against us but not be as influential.
-
Would have preferred Porto but bring on Nottingham Forest.
Ain't right to play a European away game somewhere you can get to for 8 quid on National Express
It sounds wrong, it feels wrong and it is wrong.
-
He went off injured last night apparently.
-
Forest will be more tricky, but they are where they are for a good reason.
And that reason is Palace being demoted. Not that I would have wanted to play Palace btw
Think he means that Forest are 16th in the league for a reason, not that they're in a European semi-final for a reason.
Yeah, was referring to their PL position, but it wasn't absolutely clear in my post so can see how it was confusing! I think, on current form, they are probably better than their current league position, but not be much. They don't have the same pace or dynamics up front compared to last season, but being more of a domestic fixture just adds a bit of an e-factor to it all, a bit like a derby game (which this isn't).
-
Forest will be more tricky, but they are where they are for a good reason.
And that reason is Palace being demoted. Not that I would have wanted to play Palace btw
Think he means that Forest are 16th in the league for a reason, not that they're in a European semi-final for a reason.
Yeah, was referring to their PL position, but it wasn't absolutely clear in my post so can see how it was confusing! I think, on current form, they are probably better than their current league position, but not be much. They don't have the same pace or dynamics up front compared to last season, but being more of a domestic fixture just adds a bit of an e-factor to it all, a bit like a derby game (which this isn't).
I think they are whereabouits they should be and last season was a bit of an outlier for them, Nuno with his fairly unique set up and Wood having a gloden year.
-
Nuno’s tactics suited their players perfectly and they barely had an injury. They sold a few and none of those that came in have done much. Plus three (four?) different managers since Nuno.
-
Wood has been cack for over a year even when fit. He had an insane run where he was running at a conversion rate well above even elite world class strikers. He'll never get close to that run again.
-
and he's 34, if you're relying in a 34 year old striker being fit and available all season to avoid the relegation battle then you're taking a bit of a risk.
-
This was the day before the Porto game
Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood admits he will have to manage his knee injury for the rest of his life.
The New Zealand international has returned following six months out and is in line to feature in Forest's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto.
Forest host the Portuguese league leaders on Thursday following last week's 1-1 draw in Portugal, with Wood starting at Estadio do Dragao.
It was his first game since last October, having had knee surgery in December, and the forward knows his knee will never fully recover.
"It's a knee injury, it's going to take years of managing throughout my whole career and when I'm playing with kids, playing golf or doing whatever I do after football," said the 34-year-old.
"It's going be there. I'd say it's always got to be in your back of mind that I have to keep myself in top shape ready to go.
"A knee injury is always horrible, you never know what could happen in the future or how you are going to come back from it.
"So mentally, that's one of the tough things to deal with. But I had confidence I was always going to come back. I got very close to returning pre-surgery and it just didn't happen. That's just unfortunate."
Wood returned as he looks to help Forest into the last four of the Europa League - where they will face Aston Villa or Bologna - and stay in the Premier League.
He is also aiming for a World Cup spot with New Zealand, with the All Whites facing Iran, Egypt and Belgium in Group G in this summer.
"It wasn't a straightforward injury, we tried a few different avenues to get it right before having to go down the surgery route," added Wood, who did not play for Sean Dyche during the former manager's 114 days in charge of Forest.
"It didn't work out the way we wanted to. At least we got it now with a goal to come back to and luckily I have been able to come back with a decent amount of time [before the World Cup] so hopefully I'll be in the running."
Midfielder Elliot Anderson is a doubt to face Porto after he missed training on Wednesday.
"Today, he was not able to train," boss Vitor Pereira said. "He has personal problems and we have to respect [them]. We will see [about tomorrow], we need to wait."
-
Would have preferred Porto but bring on Nottingham Forest.
Ain't right to play a European away game somewhere you can get to for 8 quid on National Express
It's a place plenty of can get to for free with our bus pass.
-
We should have 40k in Nottingham easy.
-
There were many fantastic performances but a special mention to Matty Cash. After the first leg he must of had a few sleepless nights and also the threat of another yellow card hanging over his head.
Jonathon Rowe was the obvious threat but between Matty, Unai, McGinn and Konsa he never got a sniff. The supply line to him was reduced, space limited and when he did get the ball we doubled up. Our positional sense, awareness and discipline was perfect.
Matty had him in his pocket all night. Poor Rowe, probably didn't sleep well last night.
Well done lads, your homework paid off.
Thought Rowe was decent to be fair to him. Still put in some decent deliveries but wasn't getting past Cash. McGinn was much better out of possession than in the first leg. That helped massively.
-
Very good. The first was a top class team goal.
Almost nearly as good but not quite as the goals SHA were scoring regularly last season.
-
Gibbs-White is their main man, we need to keep him quiet and then hopefully sign him in the summer.
-
Wood has been cack for over a year even when fit. He had an insane run where he was running at a conversion rate well above even elite world class strikers. He'll never get close to that run again.
Wood has a specific set of attributes and Nuno set up their team up to take advantage of them - while not expecting him to be something he isn't. This was part of why is was so mad bringing in Postecoglou & trying to completely change the way of playing.
As a New Zealander, I love him (Wood), but we (NZ) are never going to be playing possessive, passing football while he's leading the line.
-
Great team performance, highlight was the brilliant work between Rogers and Buendia for the first goal.
The weight on Buendia's final pass was exquisite.
-
Great team performance, highlight was the brilliant work between Rogers and Buendia for the first goal.
The weight on Buendia's final pass was exquisite.
Oh yeah! It's only right that the build up for Watkins' goal was the highlight of the night, such brilliant interplay twice between Rogers and Buendia but the Rogers goal wasn't too shabby either. Watkins held the ball up well and found the space to play a really intelligent ball into SJM who advanced and I'm sure there were plenty who wanted him to take a shot but he slides a great ball to Rogers who thunders his shot with so much power. I've heard a few say the keeper should have saved it, shouldn't be beaten at the near post but Rogers hit it with such force and accuracy the keeper couldn't move his hand fast enough.