Aston Villa v Norwich- Post Match Thread

[LeeB]

I'd like to take this chance to say that I thought El Ahmadi was superb yesterday, I've been his biggest critic but he was excellent throughout, and carrying this on (it's quite cathartic) I thought Baker looked much better too, and I thought he was good last week too.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Agree with that, LeeB, both KEA and Baker (again) had good games. In fact there wasn't a poor performance from anybody. I've seen a few have a go at Gabby's display but for me he was the driving force for us in the first half, even when we were behind. It's just a shame he didn't score with his header in the second half, it was the type he normally buries.

He's probably saving his goal for the winner against Chelsea.

[Clampy]

I'd like to take this chance to say that I thought El Ahmadi was superb yesterday, I've been his biggest critic but he was excellent throughout, and carrying this on (it's quite cathartic) I thought Baker looked much better too, and I thought he was good last week too.

I said yesterday morning (I think) that one thing he does is close player's down and he did that really well yesterday. No, he's not always played well and he's not always going to, but other than Delph, he's been no worse than any of the other midfielders this season.

[brian green]

This is not really about the game but I don't want to start a new thread on a boring topic.   When I went to buy a ticket at the ticket office for my grandson I was asked to pay £2 surcharge for using my debit card.   I agreed reluctantly and the ticket sell proceeded to tap all the details of my card on a screen.   She repeated the process twice and she told me that my card had been declined twice.   I found this hard to believe because there were more than adequate funds to cover the transaction and I use the card very regularly.   I was obligewd to go down to the cash machine at Tesco and use the same card to withdraw cash to pay for the ticket.   This incident raised firstly the inconvenience of having to go to a cash machine and possibly miss some of the game, secondly why Villa can't be like every other business (including my own) and use card terminals and how secure is it to hand over a debit card and let them take all the details from it and put them into a computer?   I am not impugning anybody at Villa but it is a system which could easily be abused in the wrong hands.   I wonder if anybody else getting tickets for the Norwich game had similar problems.   I also thought KEA had his best game for us yesterday.

[oldhill_avfc]

On twitter I have seen some Villa fans who are openly disappointed we won. The usual accompanying phrases "papers over cracks", "doesnt solve the real problem".

Honestly I dont understand the point of being a fan if you cant enjoy a nice 4-1 home win.

neither do I.

Unfortunately Villa attracts some absolute planks to supporter websites.

You'll see the very same thing on here once Chelsea and City beat us. "Apart from a flukey 20 minutes against Norwich..."

I'm certainly not bemoaning a 4-1 win.  Neither do I think the 20 minute spell was flukey. 

Regarding the second half, I'm not sure how much of the 'shut out' was down to Norwich's ineptitude and how much was due our professionalism.  Seemed like more evidence to support the view that we blow alarmingly hot and cold often within the same match.

[SashasGrandad]

I thought it was a game of 2 quarters. The second half both teams settled for the end result.

First 20 minutes was all that was bad - and I was thinking this diamond in midfield will never work, then once we equalized the rest of the half the same diamond seemed to be working brilliantly.

Once Benteke decided to play after his goal, everything worked. If he can play anywhere near that in the remaining games we can stop worrying. It was at times like watching Peter Withe the way he brought others into play. Let's hope he keeps it up. I'm sure he wants to go to Brazil so that should be enough motivation.

[PeterWithesShin]

This is not really about the game but I don't want to start a new thread on a boring topic.   When I went to buy a ticket at the ticket office for my grandson I was asked to pay £2 surcharge for using my debit card.   I agreed reluctantly and the ticket sell proceeded to tap all the details of my card on a screen.   She repeated the process twice and she told me that my card had been declined twice.   I found this hard to believe because there were more than adequate funds to cover the transaction and I use the card very regularly.   I was obligewd to go down to the cash machine at Tesco and use the same card to withdraw cash to pay for the ticket.   This incident raised firstly the inconvenience of having to go to a cash machine and possibly miss some of the game, secondly why Villa can't be like every other business (including my own) and use card terminals and how secure is it to hand over a debit card and let them take all the details from it and put them into a computer?   I am not impugning anybody at Villa but it is a system which could easily be abused in the wrong hands.   I wonder if anybody else getting tickets for the Norwich game had similar problems.   I also thought KEA had his best game for us yesterday.

It was nice meeting you Brian, it was me you were telling about it on Witton Lane.

[brian green]

Hi Peter.   I was well charged up and I am sorry I blathered at you but I was bricking it that the two goes they had had with my card had screwed it up.   I needed fuel to get home and all that boring stuff.   I will be more civilized next time and speak coherently.   Great to have a face to put to the wise words I read from you.

[PeterWithesShin]

Hi Peter.   I was well charged up and I am sorry I blathered at you but I was bricking it that the two goes they had had with my card had screwed it up.   I needed fuel to get home and all that boring stuff.   I will be more civilized next time and speak coherently.   Great to have a face to put to the wise words I read from you.

It's ok Brian, I could tell you weren't happy. Wise words? I think you are mistaking me for another poster!

[eamonn]

Was there really much difference between that performance and when we beat Burnley 5-2 under O'Neill when going for foruth? Huff and puff at home as per against crap teams, blitz them with a quickfire counter-attacking salvo before sitting out the game comfortably safe in the knowledge that nothing further is required.

We are a classic reactive team. Wait til we go behind before we start playing, pretty limited at imposing ourselves in terms of possession and pressing and at our best when we career forward from defending our penalty area with loads of space to run into.

[b23]

That has gotta hurt!

Danlanza will not like that.

Way too much hair.

[Steve kirk]

I can just imagine what would have happened if we'd gone out looking for more goals and got caught on the break within five minutes.

On twitter I have seen some Villa fans who are openly disappointed we won. The usual accompanying phrases "papers over cracks", "doesnt solve the real problem".

Honestly I dont understand the point of being a fan if you cant enjoy a nice 4-1 home win.

Exactly  Around 1965/66 we lost to Spurs at home 4-1. I throughly enjoyed that match. I thought we were very good that day deserved to win in my opinion. Might have been a Cup match. We dont win that many so be grateful for small mercies!

That game was 68/69 season Ron manager and I was there as well, we did play well, for some reason I remember Charlie Aitken going on a long mazy run from our box all the way into the Spurs box, good old Charlie.

[Louzie0]

Having just read todays ' Match Tread ' , more specifically the first 10 pages , I could,nt agree with you more , there are examples there aplenty to support your arguement Louzie0.........Godzvilla! .

What on earth do you expect to find on the match thread in the early stages of a game in which we had looked utterly insipid, disorganised, more clueless than ever, and had conceded on three minutes?

You can not draw any real conclusions from a match thread, it is entirely unfair. The reason it is full of people queueing up to jump off a bridge is because at that stage we looked absolutely awful. I understand that.

It is those struggling to be happy the day after a good result in a crucial match that I don't get.

I have read the pages up to 15mins or so and the reaction there is no different from how it was in the ground and completely understandable. We must not surgically examine all words written in a match thread in a particular phase of the match and judge supporters.

I said that there were some absolute planks attracted to this website. I did not refer specifically to any thread, match or otherwise.

I stand by that assertion.

Having said that, the planks may well figure there as well as anywhere else.
They are out there.