Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Ads on February 18, 2018, 09:28:51 AM
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Important we bounce back.
They're a very workman like side and they don't have a centre forward. Expect them to come and sit deep and look to use Robinsons pace on the break.
They had a mare at the back last time with their injuries, but first half we overran them anyway in midfield.
With Green, Adomah and Elmo out we may well need to change our shape or see Thor shoehorned onto the right.
Axel played very well at Fulham so with a side sat deep his ridiculous pace may be interesting.
Johnstone
Hutton
Terry
Chester
Axel
Snoddy
Hourihane
Jedinak
Thor
Hogan
Grabben
Unless Grealish is back, I'd go with that with the midfield really becoming a three to press right up onto them.
2-0 Villa.
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This game will show what we're all about. Win it and we're off and running again. Lose it and the doubts will start creeping in. I'm going for a 2-0 Villa win and the ship is steady again.
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Hopefully this is where our leaders in the team take charge. We won't let one defeat consume our thoughts too much and we'll put in a decent performance - and hopefully get three points.
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This will be tough
They’ve only lost 6 games all season - fewer than us
We’ve come to rely heavily on Adomah and grealish for pace and penetration.
I agree Thor is the likely option for left mid, but that leaves two pretty slow wingers and full backs that aren’t natural overlappers (assuming Tuanzebe plays)
I’d take any sort of scrappy win here
I hope we’ve got some pace and thrust, at least on the bench (RHM, o’hare for example)
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I predict that when the line ups are announced there will be several posts bemoaning the fact Green isn’t included, ignoring the fact he’s probably injured.
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I like it when the thread title contains the full and correct name of our opponents.
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Draw all over it.
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4-1. We go on a rampage
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Ads' line up seems the most likely, and in hindsight should have been the team against Fulham. Onwards!
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I like it when the thread title contains the full and correct name of our opponents.
Poll added.
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2-0 us.
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Draw all over it.
Why does it have draw written all over it? We beat them comfortably at their place earlier in the season. And while they do have a decent away record we’re very good at Villa Park.
If we apply ourselves as we have done for the vast majority of the past 2 months we’ll win.
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Even our squad players like Taylor, Lansbury and Davis should be too much for them. A lot depends on stec Bruce geeing them up for this fixture
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Tough game, they've only lost 1 league game since bonfire night. 1-1
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It will be two by 10pm Tuesday.
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Draw unless Jack is back.
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Preston player Welsh was sent off against Wolves. I’ve no idea how good he is or which position he plays in though.
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Narrow 2-1 win
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Preston player Welsh was sent off against Wolves. I’ve no idea how good he is or which position he plays in though.
He is a central defender, reliable, first name on the team sheet according to my husband. Described him as 'a sane Alan Hutton'. He says that they will definitely miss him.
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Where are the goals coming from ?
Time for Hogan to step up to the plate
I'm predicting a scrappy 0-0
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This feels like a must win, the problem is that we must win at least half of the remaking games.
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A nerve shredding 1-0 win.
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Assuming no Albert or Grealish, I'd go for the following:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Snodgrass Hourihane O'Hare
Hogan Grabben
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Looking at the table they draw a lot of games and are the lowest scorers in the top half of the table. We have scored a lot of goals at home since the New Year so we really should be confident of 3 points.
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I'm a bit worried with jack injured. Hopefully we still have enough quality to get the job done. 1-0 win grabban to score.
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I’m never convinced when we go 442 and don’t expect that here
The left wing role is the most troublesome. I wouldn’t be gobsmacked to see gabby but expect Thor plus Onomah central
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Would take a draw after being robbed of 3 points by the dog heads.
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This will be tough. Preston don't lose many and we struggle against teams that can press our midfield with energy.
If we get an early goal we should be o.k but obviously our goalscoring threat is reduced if we're without Albert and Jack again.
1-1.
We'll get 7 points from then next three after this one though.
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Assuming no Albert or Grealish, I'd go for the following:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Snodgrass Hourihane O'Hare
Hogan Grabben
I'd go:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Lansbury Hourihane
Snodgrass Grabban O'Hare
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Preston player Welsh was sent off against Wolves. I’ve no idea how good he is or which position he plays in though.
John Welsh has been around forever, amazed he's only 33. He's not a regular for them in any case.
Their defensive midfielder is Alan Browne and he was MOTM v Wolves on Saturday. Ben Pearson is back from his ban and he's a niggly but good midfielder at this level. Third one will probably be Johnson given it's his old club and they'll want as much energy as possible in against us.
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Preston can worry about us and keeping the fucking score down.
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Assuming no Albert or Grealish, I'd go for the following:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Snodgrass Hourihane O'Hare
Hogan Grabben
I'd go:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Lansbury Hourihane
Snodgrass Grabban O'Hare
Providing we can trust Lansbury to put a shift in, no worries. We have plenty of options.
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Pearson, our best midfielder by a street is, we believe, out injured.
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Pearson, our best midfielder by a street is, we believe, out injured.
When I played the match on FIFA earlier he got booked early on and did nowt anyway, so no great loss for you.
PS You end up losing 2-0 - Snodgrass and then a peach of a finish from Hogan.
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Pearson, our best midfielder by a street is, we believe, out injured.
When I played the match on FIFA earlier he got booked early on and did nowt anyway, so no great loss for you.
PS You end up losing 2-0 - Snodgrass and then a peach of a finish from Hogan.
Totally off topic, but I played as Villa on PES online earlier and battered someone playing with Man Utd 3-0, with Hogan scoring a delightful true hat-trick. It was most satisfying.
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Assuming no Albert or Grealish, I'd go for the following:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Snodgrass Hourihane O'Hare
Hogan Grabben
I'd go:
Johnstone
Axel Chester Terry Hutton
Bjarnason
Lansbury Hourihane
Snodgrass Grabban O'Hare
Providing we can trust Lansbury to put a shift in, no worries. We have plenty of options.
I’d be intrigued about O’Hare on the left. Not his position really but needs must
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We haven’t got a natural replacement who’s fit though.
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Head says 2-1 win.
Heart says eworiwepoirsdlkgjajlewmrmdsagmsdf
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Big game but one I expect us to win. 2-0.
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Need to win and we will win
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Dont know why but Id probably give Lansburys a go.
He will have something to prove If not feck him quick in the summer.
He wasnt too bad last time he played.
thats If Jack is injured?
ps feck him off I meant :p
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Dont know why but Id probably give Lansburys a go.
He will have something to prove If not feck him quick in the summer.
He wasnt too bad last time he played.
thats If Jack is injured?
Yeah I don't disagree. As I've said elsewhere, we bought him for a reason, he was captain of Forest and scored a lot of goals for them from midfield. We'll take all the help we can get and as you say - if he doesn't perform when called upon, then it's entirely fair to ask him to find another club in summer.
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Is Angela available?
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Is Angela available?
On the bench Saturday so you'd assume so.
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Is Angela available?
Available for what?
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Hair care tips?
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Played well at Leeds in his cameo as an attacking player. Played poorly as the midfield anchor against Peterborough.
Perhaps Grabben may come in to play out wide and Angela join Thor in the middle.
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Played well at Leeds in his cameo as an attacking player. Played poorly as the midfield anchor against Peterborough.
Perhaps Grabben may come in to play out wide and Angela join Thor in the middle.
Bjarnason has done OK as a holding midfielder, as what we lose from Jedinak's height and physical presence we get back in energy and a bit more pace. Lansbury, when he has done OK needs to play further forward, as he has got a decent range of passing and is capable of scoring a goal. It sounds like we might be without Albert for a while, so it's imperative we start putting players in positions that suit them. Snodgrass looked lost on the left, Bjarnason is abysmal in any sort of advanced midfield position and Onomah shouldn't be in the squad at all, never mind playing in any sort of wide position. If Bruce keeps up with these sorts of selections I think things are going to go south pretty quickly.
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I dont see why we are helping Spurs with Odamah when he isnt actually playing that well , Id stick to Villa players thats all.
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Played well at Leeds in his cameo as an attacking player. Played poorly as the midfield anchor against Peterborough.
Perhaps Grabben may come in to play out wide and Angela join Thor in the middle.
Bjarnason has done OK as a holding midfielder, as what we lose from Jedinak's height and physical presence we get back in energy and a bit more pace. Lansbury, when he has done OK needs to play further forward, as he has got a decent range of passing and is capable of scoring a goal. It sounds like we might be without Albert for a while, so it's imperative we start putting players in positions that suit them. Snodgrass looked lost on the left, Bjarnason is abysmal in any sort of advanced midfield position and Onomah shouldn't be in the squad at all, never mind playing in any sort of wide position. If Bruce keeps up with these sorts of selections I think things are going to go south pretty quickly.
100%.
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Played well at Leeds in his cameo as an attacking player. Played poorly as the midfield anchor against Peterborough.
Perhaps Grabben may come in to play out wide and Angela join Thor in the middle.
Bjarnason has done OK as a holding midfielder, as what we lose from Jedinak's height and physical presence we get back in energy and a bit more pace. Lansbury, when he has done OK needs to play further forward, as he has got a decent range of passing and is capable of scoring a goal. It sounds like we might be without Albert for a while, so it's imperative we start putting players in positions that suit them. Snodgrass looked lost on the left, Bjarnason is abysmal in any sort of advanced midfield position and Onomah shouldn't be in the squad at all, never mind playing in any sort of wide position. If Bruce keeps up with these sorts of selections I think things are going to go south pretty quickly.
It would be easier to manage if it was Adomah and another or Grealish and another, but it creates a problem.
442 is one option, if we were to play 4141 then Hourihane and Lansbury central with Thor in behind to account for the space Angela leaves would work. Then Snoddy right and then its a headache as to who plays wide left.
Grabben has played wide before, so it could well be about keeping that shape and playing him there. Gives us a bit of flexibility to go 442 if needs be too.
I don't follow the antipathy some have over Onomah and the nonsense about attitude and not being bothered that has developed.
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The left side is the problem but if he uses Onamah or Barney for Jack the situation is exacerbated.
We dont know form fitness of Ohare RHM Green Angela but we need a performance from at least one of them.
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If both are out tomorrow i would go with the following (dont like the fact weve changed formation from the winning one)
Johnstone
Axel, Chester, Terry, Hutton
Thor
Snodgrass,Lansbury, Hourihane, Onomah
Hogan
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I don't follow the antipathy some have over Onomah and the nonsense about attitude and not being bothered that has developed.
I don't think it's an attitude thing, he just very obviously isn't suited to playing in a wide position, and he hasn't had a good game in ages.
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PNE only sold 600, surprised. Didn't they sell out last year?
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I don't follow the antipathy some have over Onomah and the nonsense about attitude and not being bothered that has developed.
I don't think it's an attitude thing, he just very obviously isn't suited to playing in a wide position, and he hasn't had a good game in ages.
If we're going to shoehorn a player, then Axel is an option. Knock a ball into the channel and I doubt there's a player in the league who is going to be quick enough to catch him.
I thin they will go 442 myself and so if we match them, quality ought to count, particularly if we can dominate territory.
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I think that Axel had an excellent game on Saturday but purely for his attacking attributes, I'd start Elmo at RB if he's fit.
Snodgrass has to play on the right so the biggest dilemma for me would be who to play on the left.
I think that without Jack and Albert, Hogan is going to be feeding on scraps for 90 minutes which isn't good enough for a team playing at home. I wonder whether there is a way of starting both Hogan and Grabban?
If we stick with 441, I'd probably go with Jedi in front of the defence with two from Lansbury, Hourihane and BB in front of him.
We've somehow got to be positive tomorrow and not simply plod along as we did in many home games in the first half of the season. I'm not suggesting we go gung ho (it would be impossible to do so with the players available) but we have no real number 10 available if Grealish is out so why not line up with a system that suits the players we have available? Either 442 or even 433 might suit the players better than persisting with a number 10 who creates very little.
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Lose or Win ?
The Darkest Hour or Three Nil Affords Offsetting Thread Fury ?
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We need to win this to get back on track so I'm going for a 2-0 win.
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PNE only sold 600, surprised. Didn't they sell out last year?
Like me, the thought of negotiating the M6 there and back is enough to put anyone off :(
Having said that I`m hopefully venturing down tomorrow
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PNE only sold 600, surprised. Didn't they sell out last year?
Like me, the thought of negotiating the M6 there and back is enough to put anyone off :(
Having said that I`m hopefully venturing down tomorrow
Yes I get that and obviously midweek hits away crowds anyway.
It's not that far though and they are just outside the play offs so thought 1k + was more likely.
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The M6 is usually fine on a week night.
You're better off sometimes leaving closer to 6 than you are 5 to avoid traffic.
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Said this in the Bruce thread, but is;
Jedinak/Thor
O'Hare
Hourihane
Lansbury
Snoddy
a better midfield 5 than the likely midfield in a 442 we may well revert to?
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I think we'll go 4-4-2 tomorrow. Grabban's first start and then replaced by Davis on the hour.
Will mean one of the central midfielders will have to take a wider position.
With Bjarni I'm pretty sure he plays wide midfield role for Iceland in any case. He's not a DM for them anyway.
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The M6 is usually fine on a week night.
You're better off sometimes leaving closer to 6 than you are 5 to avoid traffic.
Thanks Ads - I m meeting junior straight from college so we are having an early dart - get a decent parking spot and tuck into the obligatory Balti pie and chips from the chippy pre match
KFC is off the menu on the way back however, as KFC have no chicken !!!!!!
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Said this in the Bruce thread, but is;
Jedinak/Thor
O'Hare
Hourihane
Lansbury
Snoddy
a better midfield 5 than the likely midfield in a 442 we may well revert to?
I'd go with the line up you posted in post #1, be it 442 or 451 with Grabban playing on the left in place of O'Hare
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The M6 is usually fine on a week night.
You're better off sometimes leaving closer to 6 than you are 5 to avoid traffic.
Thanks Ads - I m meeting junior straight from college so we are having an early dart - get a decent parking spot and tuck into the obligatory Balti pie and chips from the chippy pre match
KFC is off the menu on the way back however, as KFC have no chicken !!!!!!
As long as there's not an accident, the roadworks from J19 to J16 actually improve the flow of traffic. I'd rather spend 18 miles driving at a guaranteed 50mph than what it was like with the chevrons.
M6 Toll into Brum can be useful too, getting off at Sutton. Depends where you park of course, I use the streets close to the Albion as that's where I used to park when I lived down there having come up the Hagley Road.
But generally in the 8 years I've been up here the only game that I have ever had a problem with was that Friday night kick off against Man United. Absolutely shocking traffic that night.
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If you lot carry on with this talk of Grabban on the wing I'll have to change my downgrade my prediction!
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If you lot carry on with this talk of Grabban on the wing I'll have to change my downgrade my prediction!
Grabban can play and has played on the wing in the past.
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They've certainly improved.
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They're a difficult side to beat and have lost less times than we have this season. They played the last 30 minutes on Saturday with 10 men so hopefully, that may have taken it's toll.
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They work really hard but we have to work harder. If we are serious about top two we simply have to win games likes this but typical Villa, we lose one and all the doubts come flooding back due to the last five years of shite. Stick with a formation that works and expect the players to perform like they were doing before the second half on Saturday.
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They were lucky to put a team out that night they had so many injuries.
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If you lot carry on with this talk of Grabban on the wing I'll have to change my downgrade my prediction!
Grabban can play and has played on the wing in the past.
If that's true then stick him out wide and play O'Hare in the middle. Certain to do a lot more than Lansbury. I really like the look of that team, hard working with plenty of goal potential:
Jedinak or Thor
Grabban
O'Hare
Hourihane
Snoddy
Hogan
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They've certainly improved.
So have we. Much more so.
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
A Preston fan of our mutual acquaintance was keen to point out that their entire defence was missing for that game.
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They were shite all over the park first half.
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They've certainly improved.
So have we. Much more so.
Oh right. 4-0 win to us so.
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They've certainly improved.
So have we. Much more so.
Oh right. 4-0 win to us so.
If Preston had won, they'd have gone a point above us that night.
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O'Hare is playing for u23s this evening so he won't be playing tomorrow.
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You can lead a horse to water..
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Hopefully Grealish will be back. It would be a massive lift.
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Is there a chance he'll be back tomorrow night?
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I dont think Albert will be fit but there is a chance Grealish will play.
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Sky Sports say:
Aston Villa's Albert Adomah, Jack Grealish and Ahmed Elmohamady are all doubts for the Sky Bet Championship home clash with Preston on Tuesday.
Adomah and Grealish missed Saturday's 2-0 loss at Fulham because of hamstring and calf problems respectively, while Elmohamady came off injured at half-time.
Andre Green remains sidelined by a hamstring issue of his own, while Jonathan Kodjia (ankle) and Jed Steer (shoulder) are also still unavailable. The fit-again Gabriel Agbonlahor could make his return to the matchday squad as third-placed Villa look to bounce back from a result at the weekend that halted a run of seven successive league wins.
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Fucking hell, all bad news. And even when they tried to inject some positive information about a player possibly returning, it's bad news.
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Left wing problem solved, The Gabbster is back.
I’ll get me coat.
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Home win by the odd goal. Probably the only goal.
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We'll bounce back.
A win and a clean sheet, not sure on # of goals scored.
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That's that Villa luck we all remember so well. Just poking its head innocuously above the parapets to whisper, "Hey there fuckers. Did you miss me?"
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We beat this lot at their place without too much fuss 3 months ago or so and without Grealish in the side. Have they improved immeasurably?
They didn't have any senior defenders available that night, they were all injured or suspended.
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I think I might try Grabban on the left wing
A bit of a square peg in a round hole, and means creativity needs to come from elsewhere. But he’s got pace and a threat. And I can envisage Snodgrass crossing an in swinger to the back post for him to score the only goal of the game
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I think I might try Grabban on the left wing
A bit of a square peg in a round hole, and means creativity needs to come from elsewhere. But he’s got pace and a threat. And I can envisage Snodgrass crossing an in swinger to the back post for him to score the only goal of the game
I think he has played out wide before and it would save us having to move Snodgrass over from the right again.
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Bring Lansbury central and then Thor or Jedi.
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28,000 tickets sold according to Twitter. We've lost 12,000 fans in 9 days. Only come to see the Small Heath...
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This will be our lowest home attendance in the run in. I expect the others to be mid to high 30s.
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28,000 tickets sold according to Twitter. We've lost 12,000 fans in 9 days. Only come to see the Small Heath...
Difference is there won't be 10K away fans in the home stands tomorrow.
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28,000 tickets sold according to Twitter. We've lost 12,000 fans in 9 days. Only come to see the Small Heath...
Or how about it's a Tuesday night vs Preston who won't fill their allocation. A lot of people simply can't afford to go, especially those who also travel away. We had something like 7000 at Fulham (if reports are accurate). Our support is outstanding, so suggesting otherwise is bollocks.
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I really think the crowd has a massive role to play
I’m expecting a flat atmosphere and boring game tomorrow so hopefully I can be proven wrong
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I really think the crowd has a massive role to play
I’m expecting a flat atmosphere and boring game tomorrow so hopefully I can be proven wrong
They do, but in the end it is the job of the team to raise the noise level in the ground. That 28k-20k whatever is Villa will make a great noise if given good reason too. Preston are decent but there is no reason for us not to feel confident about tomorrow. One defeat vs Fulham shouldn't be enough to knock us off our stride.
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While we, rightly, think getting 28K is a bit crap, Black Country Barcelona are giving each other tongue baths about averaging just under 28K and talking about how they need a 40K+ capacity.
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I really think the crowd has a massive role to play
I’m expecting a flat atmosphere and boring game tomorrow so hopefully I can be proven wrong
They do, but in the end it is the job of the team to raise the noise level in the ground. That 28k-20k whatever is Villa will make a great noise if given good reason too. Preston are decent but there is no reason for us not to feel confident about tomorrow. One defeat vs Fulham shouldn't be enough to knock us off our stride.
It is down to the fans to lift the players sometimes aswell. Leeds yesterday is a perfect example, 0-2 down and suddenly the fans started singing and the ground was rocking. You could visibly see the players got a lift from it and started to feed off it. Drew 2-2 and should have won in the end.
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28,000 tickets sold according to Twitter. We've lost 12,000 fans in 9 days. Only come to see the Small Heath...
Or how about it's a Tuesday night vs Preston who won't fill their allocation. A lot of people simply can't afford to go, especially those who also travel away. We had something like 7000 at Fulham (if reports are accurate). Our support is outstanding, so suggesting otherwise is bollocks.
I think the point being made was that these people always seem to be able to afford to go to the Blues game. I think our support is good, not outstanding. 28,000 is slightly disappointing given there is no home game this Saturday or last Saturday. I can understand it when we are at home on the Saturday and then again on the Tuesday but that isn't the case for the Preston game.
Burton had a similar amount of fans present 2 weeks ago to what Preston will have tomorrow night. We got 33,000 for that game.
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Saturday matches will also be more popular than midweeks.
We only got 33k for the midweek SHA cup game after all.
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28,000 tickets sold according to Twitter. We've lost 12,000 fans in 9 days. Only come to see the Small Heath...
Or how about it's a Tuesday night vs Preston who won't fill their allocation. A lot of people simply can't afford to go, especially those who also travel away. We had something like 7000 at Fulham (if reports are accurate). Our support is outstanding, so suggesting otherwise is bollocks.
I think the point being made was that these people always seem to be able to afford to go to the Blues game. I think our support is good, not outstanding. 28,000 is slightly disappointing given there is no home game this Saturday or last Saturday. I can understand it when we are at home on the Saturday and then again on the Tuesday but that isn't the case for the Preston game.
Burton had a similar amount of fans present 2 weeks ago to what Preston will have tomorrow night. We got 33,000 for that game.
It's a local derby. It's perfectly understandable if some fans choose that as a game to go to. We're in the Championship and we are playing Preston North End on a Tuesday evening, not Saturday like the Burton game. To expect a massive crowd isn't realistic. And as for no home game, we are travelling to Sheffield where I have no doubt many fans will be there at the cost a few hundred quid.
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I get that it's midweek, some fans can't afford every game etc but you can't tell me we haven't got at least 33k fans who can afford to go tomorrow night? Sunderland are getting 27k and they're dreadful. If they were in our position they'd be getting at least 35k tomorrow. For a club of our size sitting 3rd in the league, 28k is poor.
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While we, rightly, think getting 28K is a bit crap, Black Country Barcelona are giving each other tongue baths about averaging just under 28K and talking about how they need a 40K+ capacity.
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If PNE had sold their allocation then presumably it would have put the crowd not far the average for the season.
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Q.V., your beloved Leeds only got 28,004 yesterday, for a weekend game against a team in the top six.
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28,000 tickets sold according to Twitter. We've lost 12,000 fans in 9 days. Only come to see the Small Heath...
Or how about it's a Tuesday night vs Preston who won't fill their allocation. A lot of people simply can't afford to go, especially those who also travel away. We had something like 7000 at Fulham (if reports are accurate). Our support is outstanding, so suggesting otherwise is bollocks.
I think the point being made was that these people always seem to be able to afford to go to the Blues game. I think our support is good, not outstanding. 28,000 is slightly disappointing given there is no home game this Saturday or last Saturday. I can understand it when we are at home on the Saturday and then again on the Tuesday but that isn't the case for the Preston game.
Burton had a similar amount of fans present 2 weeks ago to what Preston will have tomorrow night. We got 33,000 for that game.
It's a local derby. It's perfectly understandable if some fans choose that as a game to go to. We're in the Championship and we are playing Preston North End on a Tuesday evening, not Saturday like the Burton game. To expect a massive crowd isn't realistic. And as for no home game, we are travelling to Sheffield where I have no doubt many fans will be there at the cost a few hundred quid.
But surely you don't think people will travel away but not go to the home games? The overwhelming majority of Sheffield tickets went to season ticket holders in any case.
There are numerous reasons why people cannot go to games, be it money, time or whatever. I accept this. I would still like to think that we could get more than 28,000 for Preston, given our position and what we are playing for. Who knows? Maybe we will see a late surge in ticket sales to push us over 30.000.
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Q.V., your beloved Leeds only got 28,004 yesterday, for a weekend game against a team in the top six.
Leeds would have took more.
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It won't be far off 30K tomorrow with walk ups.
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Leeds getting 28k is pretty poor, are they protesting about the board sacking managers again?
Edit: I suppose they would take 15k to Sunderland on a Tuesday night though.
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Q.V., your beloved Leeds only got 28,004 yesterday, for a weekend game against a team in the top six.
Leeds were 13th, on Sky and have been on a shocking run. Some of their tickets are 40 odd quid aswell.
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Marching Off Together.
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15k to Sunderland?
Leeds would take more.
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Marching Off Together.
The Hanging Sheep.
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
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It would be nice to see a few more down there tonight but if there's not then so be it. People have their reasons I suppose.
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I think after some of the stories on here there are still 3500 pissed up and aimlessly wondering around London since Saturday!
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I get that it's midweek, some fans can't afford every game etc but you can't tell me we haven't got at least 33k fans who can afford to go tomorrow night? Sunderland are getting 27k and they're dreadful. If they were in our position they'd be getting at least 35k tomorrow. For a club of our size sitting 3rd in the league, 28k is poor.
It will be reasonably higher than 28k so untwist your knickers.
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
Or I'm discussing it and giving my opinion on a forum, the same as others are. I'm not the only one saying it. How about giving your opinion on the matter rather than posting with no substance?
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My use of the word "again" gives substance to my post. Check your previous.
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Come on Villa let's get back to winning ways again tonight and give your great support another 3 points to cheer. UTV.
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Come on Villa let's get back to winning ways again tonight and give your great support another 3 points to cheer. UTV.
Totally agree mate. Any win will do tomorrow.
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
Or I'm discussing it and giving my opinion on a forum, the same as others are. I'm not the only one saying it. How about giving your opinion on the matter rather than posting with no substance?
It is your thing, though, isn't it - criticising our support?
My opinion is that you worry too much about it. Who gives a fuck what crowds Sunderland get? Really?
Just enjoy the match and the fact we're at least winning games on a regular basis.
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
Or I'm discussing it and giving my opinion on a forum, the same as others are. I'm not the only one saying it. How about giving your opinion on the matter rather than posting with no substance?
It is your thing, though, isn't it - criticising our support?
My opinion is that you worry too much about it. Who gives a fuck what crowds Sunderland get? Really?
Just enjoy the match and the fact we're at least winning games on a regular basis.
Seconded.
Also just to note, Stadium of Light capacity is up near 49,000. I've been there, sat amongst the home crowd, and can safely say even if they filled it to the brim they would still have worse support than our lot with 28,000 bums on seats at Villa Park.
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If Albert & Jack are still sidelined, I can't say I'm feeling particularly optimistic about us snaffling all 3 points this evening. With our lack of midfield creativity allied to PNE's organisation and resilience, I can envisage a game of few chances - with possibly the odd goal. A point wouldn't be the end of the world (for either side), but how we could do with hitting straight back after a disappointing weekend.
I'll go 1-1 (whilst praying for some impending good news about Grealish & Adomah), but hopefully we'll find a way of nickin' it.
UTV
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2-0
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If Albert & Jack are still sidelined, I can't say I'm feeling particularly optimistic about us snaffling all 3 points this evening. With our lack of midfield creativity allied to PNE's organisation and resilience, I can envisage a game of few chances - with possibly the odd goal. A point wouldn't be the end of the world (for either side), but how we could do with hitting straight back after a disappointing weekend.
I'll go 1-1 (whilst praying for some impending good news about Grealish & Adomah), but hopefully we'll find a way of nickin' it.
UTV
Grealish obviously makes a big difference but we have won plenty of games without him before so it is just up to the others to step up if he is not there.
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
Or I'm discussing it and giving my opinion on a forum, the same as others are. I'm not the only one saying it. How about giving your opinion on the matter rather than posting with no substance?
It is your thing, though, isn't it - criticising our support?
My opinion is that you worry too much about it. Who gives a fuck what crowds Sunderland get? Really?
Just enjoy the match and the fact we're at least winning games on a regular basis.
Seconded.
Also just to note, Stadium of Light capacity is up near 49,000. I've been there, sat amongst the home crowd, and can safely say even if they filled it to the brim they would still have worse support than our lot with 28,000 bums on seats at Villa Park.
Hmm. It's nice to have rose tinted spectacles but this is a bit much. Our away support is really good, but frankly our home support is pretty average and can be very quiet indeed. And then when we do sing it's invariably the toe curling "shit support m'Lord" Hardly anything to shout home about.
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
Or I'm discussing it and giving my opinion on a forum, the same as others are. I'm not the only one saying it. How about giving your opinion on the matter rather than posting with no substance?
It is your thing, though, isn't it - criticising our support?
My opinion is that you worry too much about it. Who gives a fuck what crowds Sunderland get? Really?
Just enjoy the match and the fact we're at least winning games on a regular basis.
Seconded.
Also just to note, Stadium of Light capacity is up near 49,000. I've been there, sat amongst the home crowd, and can safely say even if they filled it to the brim they would still have worse support than our lot with 28,000 bums on seats at Villa Park.
Hmm. It's nice to have rose tinted spectacles but this is a bit much. Our away support is really good, but frankly our home support is pretty average and can be very quiet indeed. And then when we do sing it's invariably the toe curling "shit support m'Lord" Hardly anything to shout home about.
Have you been to Sunderland though? Worst home support I've ever experienced, and that includes the City of Manchester before it was the Etihad. My point wasn't that Villa's home support is always great (I agree with part of what you're saying) but that Sunderland's is even worse. We're getting off-topic, but that was in response to QV.
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so is there any news / press conference etc?
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Fair enough ATAL. Not been there but always thought they had decent support. Maybe one of those NE myths like Newcastle being a massive club.
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I was always under the impression that they did a very generous thing and gave a lot of tickets away to local schools etc to fill some of the seats
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If Albert & Jack are still sidelined, I can't say I'm feeling particularly optimistic about us snaffling all 3 points this evening. With our lack of midfield creativity allied to PNE's organisation and resilience, I can envisage a game of few chances - with possibly the odd goal. A point wouldn't be the end of the world (for either side), but how we could do with hitting straight back after a disappointing weekend.
I'll go 1-1 (whilst praying for some impending good news about Grealish & Adomah), but hopefully we'll find a way of nickin' it.
UTV
Grealish obviously makes a big difference but we have won plenty of games without him before so it is just up to the others to step up if he is not there.
I think Grabban has played out wide before in his career, so he might be an option if Adomah is out. Grealish is a big loss of course, but we should have enough options in midfield to win games like this.
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This is the side predicted by that Gregg Evans fellow on the Birmingham Live (yikes!) site:
(https://i2-prod.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article14307830.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Villa-vs-Preston.png)
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This is the side predicted by that Gregg Evans fellow on the Birmingham Live (yikes!) site:
(https://i2-prod.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article14307830.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Villa-vs-Preston.png)
He's been on here so
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I hope he's right with that side. plenty of attacking threat there.
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This is the side predicted by that Gregg Evans fellow on the Birmingham Live (yikes!) site:
(https://i2-prod.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article14307830.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Villa-vs-Preston.png)
No real issues with that side to be honest. We are a bit short of wide players in the squad though.
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Frightening dark clouds have gathered over the city there is a bad omen obviously for someone😥
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15k to Sunderland?
Leeds would take more.
And sing louder.
Couldn't hear the Holte against Preston at all. Very poor.
OK, the game hasn't even started. But that's hardly an excuse.
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Express and Star (https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/aston-villa/2018/02/20/aston-villa-v-preston---preview/)
Aston Villa v Preston - preview
Saturday’s defeat at Fulham has Villa eager to quickly bounce back by beating Preston tonight, a result which would ensure they move – for 24 hours at least – back into second place.
But to do so they must crack one of the toughest opponents in the division.
Preston have been beaten just six times in the league this season and arrive at Villa Park fresh from holding leaders Wolves to a 1-1 draw, a game in which they played the final 31 minutes a man down following John Welsh’s sending-off.
Indeed, excusing a slump where they lost four on the bounce, the form of Alex Neil’s men has been as good as any team barring the runaway leaders.
Villa supporters will recall November’s 2-0 win at Deepdale as being among their most comfortable of the season but on that occasion the hosts were missing a number of key players, particularly in defence.
They arrive in B6 on a run of just one defeat in 16 league games and Neil said: “We need to keep believing and continue the run that we are on.
“The bigger the challenge the better for us, and the sweeter it is when you get a result in those situations.”
The result at Craven Cottage was a reminder that, no matter how good Villa’s recent form, automatic promotion is a prize not easily won. With 14 games still remaining – a relative age in Championship terms – there will inevitably be further ups and downs between now and May, though it is not like anyone within the club was expecting otherwise.
“The one thing you can’t do is get carried away with it because it kicks you in the backside,” said Bruce.
“So of course you guard against it but I’m hoping the experience I’ve got in the team and the know-how we’ve got will handle all that.
“If you think you’ve cracked it in this game you come unstuck so we’ll keep the basics right.”
Bruce’s chief dilemma is who to field on the left wing with both Albert Adomah and Andre Green absent due to hamstring injuries.
Robert Snodgrass and Josh Onomah were both utilised in that position at Fulham and neither impressed.
The visitors will welcome back Ben Pearson and Greg Cunningham after both missed the draw with Wolves through suspension, though Welsh misses out following his red card
(https://www.expressandstar.com/resizer/lpV-EsZtUpyJcqK2PeauaVmk-x0=/600x0/filters:quality(100)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-expressandstar-mna.s3.amazonaws.com/public/3LLU2PWGOVC7RGP5UQZ7ZBN3VQ.jpg)
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It sounds to me like qv is criticising the home support again. What a surprise!
Or I'm discussing it and giving my opinion on a forum, the same as others are. I'm not the only one saying it. How about giving your opinion on the matter rather than posting with no substance?
It is your thing, though, isn't it - criticising our support?
My opinion is that you worry too much about it. Who gives a fuck what crowds Sunderland get? Really?
Just enjoy the match and the fact we're at least winning games on a regular basis.
As far as I have read, he hasn't criticised our support. He has simply stated that 28,000 would be poor tonight. Villa have tried to boost the attendance (presumably knowing that it was going to be poor) by offering an incentive of tickets for £10. Still this doesn't seem to have enticed many people but they were happy to pay 3 times this amount to watch the derby. Villa want more people through the turnstiles, Bruce wants more people through the turnstiles and the team want more people through the turnstiles. Let's not pretend that this is a theatre where the audience is incidental.
The club have invested and committed massively over the past 18 months or so since Lerner left. Is it really too much to ask the fans to go that extra mile? There is much talk of Leeds fans lifting their team on Sunday to come back from the dead.
It's all very well telling QV to sit back and enjoy the match - I'm sure he will. By the same token, is there anything wrong with him wanting more fans to do the same?
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As long as we try and keep to the good things we were doing g prior to Fulham we shall be fine. Get the ball to feet. No hoof balls to Hogan. We don't need to retreat into ourselves now. I think Lansbury or Onomah can play a significant role if given the chance.
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This is the side predicted by that Gregg Evans fellow on the Birmingham Live (yikes!) site:
(https://i2-prod.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article14307830.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Villa-vs-Preston.png)
Johnstone up front on his own. Don't like that. Why's he in a different colour?
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This is the side predicted by that Gregg Evans fellow on the Birmingham Live (yikes!) site:
(https://i2-prod.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article14307830.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Villa-vs-Preston.png)
Johnstone up front on his own. Don't like that. Why's he in a different colour?
He's in a different colour so when the defense hoof it up field they know who to aim for. ;)
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Draw all over it.
Why does it have draw written all over it? We beat them comfortably at their place earlier in the season. And while they do have a decent away record we’re very good at Villa Park.
If we apply ourselves as we have done for the vast majority of the past 2 months we’ll win.
I though he was responding to BE's post directly above.
If its a draw it will only be because the atmosphere is shit.