Aston Villa v Gloryhunters Post-Match Thread

[PeterWithe]

Nope, Dunne was off the pace again, completely missed his kick that could have led to a goal and looked shaky all through the first half, much better in the second though. Harsh on Downing, he was magnificent.

[Dave Cooper please]

Garth Crooks has Evra as the left back in his team of the week on the Beeb and does not include any Villa players, this is proof, if anymore were needed, that the bloke is a fucking cretin.

There is nothing worse than washing sieves, with the possible exception of being Garth Crooks, there is nothing worse than washing sieves.

[Archie]

Harsh on Downing, he was magnificent.

Yes, I meant 7,5 not 6,5. . .

[SoccerHQ]

So proud of the team yesterday.

Shame we couldn't hang on for the last ten minutes but we lack experience and the fantastic outlet upfront Gabby gives us, good to have him back.

On the ref, I was quite pleased with Brown only getting a yellow as he was completely hopeless trying to contain Downing all game so I think it helped us he stayed on to concede the second. I couldn't believe hernandez wasn't booked for twatting the ball into the Holte end, terrible reffing.

And Law 78.1 states Vidic can't be sent off against us, even if he murders one of our players!

I've said before, I don't expect any consistant form until the second half of the season. I get the feeling we're going to have a very good end to the season.

[black pearl of inchicore]

The young fella's put in a good shift..nice wing play,speedy attacks from midfield..but we still can't defend a lead,can't be the managers fault every time..what does he have to do ..bring on players who will defend the 18 yard line for their lives...the vidic goal came from lazy defending mainly by the Fonz..who then left l. young chasing shadows...also vidic was left to wonder into the 6 yard box..warnock should have been standing on his toes.All said 4/6 pts from 2 home games ain't bad..plenty of energy in these young fella's ,maybe keep playing them as unit of 4/5 players.Bannan and Albrighton seem to operate on the same wave length.

Great to see THE BLUEBOTTLES nick a draw at Eastlands and then fall into the bottom 3...Classic.

[Simba]

BTW to those who were there: did I hear ( via tele) Holte singing: "Same old cockneys always cheating". If so bloody briliant. If not what was it?

[flybo]

BTW to those who were there: did I hear ( via tele) Holte singing: "Same old cockneys always cheating". If so bloody briliant. If not what was it?

Yes we sing that most games v Manure

[Simba]

Thanks Flybo. I spilled my tea when I heard that. It has been a LONG time since I was abusing away fans from the Holte.

[Simba]

This debate about Gabby going off and the effect on the game.

I have watched it again and it was a turning point but I can't decide whether that is because they feared him, his pace I mean and therefore had to hold players back in case of a break. OR we simply changed our tactics and stood back -again- inviting them forward. I think the latter.

I wish we wouldn't do that. It reminds me of pre Mon, when we kept losing points in the last minutes of games.

[MoetVillan]

"You wont win anything with kids"  Famous quote following a the same fixture a number of years back.  Roles now reversed, and I feel very proud.  Disappointed that match reports seem to make more of United playing badly than us well, I think our performance dictated that.  Great entertainment.  Our one miss was Heskey.  Him on for Ag may well have made the difference.  Disappointed with the Fonz, always where the ball is not, he seems to have no pace, and just jogs around.  Otherwise great performances.  Unsung hero for me was Warnock, some great clattering tackles from him.

[Hookeysmith]

Cannot remember a game, especially 30 mins of 2nd half that i have been so engrossed, so exfcited watching - and that includes and dubbings given to the Blues
IN fact i hate these vermin more than the Blues.

I can only give them all a 8/10

apart from Gabby / Bannan / Downing and Supermarc - they all get a 10

IN fact if it was me it would be of all the returning players which one partners Bannan - not since Sid have i seen a range of passing and intelligence in a CM

Absolutely love him

[pablopicasso_10]

the referee was a disgrace, yet again, and bottled the big decisions in favour of united... not the first time, and certainly wont be the last... im not talking about pathetic little pushes and silly little blocks or slighty late challenges that both teams made throughout the 98 odd minutes, that predictably, i knew would be brought up by united fans trying to defend the indefensible... i am talking about big, game changing decisions like sending off a player for denying a goalscoring opportunity... not "last man back" as that rule is just as imaginary as some of the offences that man utd fans are whinging about and trying to compare witha  forearm smash into someones face... like looking at a player 3 times because you are irritated for not getting a decison 2 mins earlier and then smashing your forearm into the face of an opponent... or even the simpler things like having the same rules for both teams and giving the same punishment for the same offence... pushed, my arse... but tbh, its not even vidics fault, as if the ref had done his job properly in the first place, then nani cannot put the ball into the box from the dressing room...

from a few games between us recently, i could give 5 or 6 huge decisions that have changed the game in favour of utd... 3 in saturdays, 1 in the cup final, 2 ridiculous offside decisions that my dementia suffering nan would have given correct in the 3-2 game, one in particular when agbonlahor was absolutely clean through at 2-1...

but that is just par for the course in football these days... its evidently not hard enough for first choice teams to have to beat the premier league / fa / media favourites, so we have to do it against 12 men instead... that isnt going to change anytime soon...

in fairness, i fully acknowledge that manchester united werent playing well... just as we played very well... we obviously had something to do with that in terms of closing down and pressuring them, but i am not naive enough to think that we just outplayed them because we have better players...

however, our young players did brilliantly...

hogg was a little off with his passing, and some of his movement was not too disciplined on occasions, but that is being extremely harsh in terms of his overall contribution... he broke up play, and did the simple things that are needed from the holding player... when you dont really need to comment on the negatives of a holding player, then you know he has done his job reasonably well... thought he could have closed down fletcher better for the backheel for machedas lovely finish though...

bannon was simply superb... his movement, his work rate, and his eye for a pass and forward thinking play was just a joy to see... not seen play like that from a creative central villa midfielder since the likes of merson, carbone, and in glimpses, berger... his attitude and work rate are just phenominal, and i am absolutely delighted that he is making me eat my words about his size being a concern... i am always over the moon when proven wrong and it benefits the villa... top performance from really good little player...

albrighton was pick of the pair though... "deano" was the best player on the pitch by a country mile... evra really didnt know what to do with him, and that for me was down to his superb movement... he went wide, he cut in, he crossed from deep, he was always moving and working... one thing that i really like about the kid, apart from his wonderful crossing, is that he isnt afraid to get into a goalscoring area when the winger on the opposite flank has the ball... a lot of wingers will just stay out wide, and not get involved... thats what makes him stand out for me, is his excellent movement... yes, his defensive game is a little erratic, but at least he works hard and tries to help out... really happy for the lad to get his dream first goal in front of the holte end too, as i know how much it means to him...

overall, we were excellent and as ferguson said, we could have been 4, 5, or even 6 up before their comeback... i did find his comment about "definately winning the game with an extra 5 minutes" though... you had 5 mins extra, and couldnt win, you silly whiskey nosed old man... fair play though, he did give us the credit our extremely depleted side deserved though, and he is not exactly know for being gracious...

still a little concerned by some of our defending, and the fact that we continue to concede late in games, but i am just hoping that once they get used to houlliers new training methods, that fitness will improve and we can hold out more often...

but, despite dropping points, i couldnt have been happier with some of the performances on saturday, and if someone had told me before the game that the side we put out would be robbed of three points to only get one, i would have laughed at them...

[Namaste]

'pablopicasso_10' makes some very good points and I couldn't disagree at all.

I would like to recommend three players as 'MOTM' - Bannan, Albrighton and Downing.

I was really proud of the team today even if we had lost the match because that is the best we have played against Manure for a very long time. Yes we should've won but we have some very promising players coming through now and the future is still looking bright.

The irony is if we had a full strength team out we may have lost the game.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Good game and performance, shame about the fightback

I enjoyed watching Barry Bannan as I kept a special eye on him and he is brilliant. I think he is my favourite player in today squad.

Hope Gerald know which players he need to allow us to grow from a promising team to a dominating team to win trophies and be a dynasty. I hope he will get us a 30 goals season striker from somewhere and lead the line on his own.

[NorthYvillan]

quite agree dave,am i the only one who is gutted that he a jock?

As a Scotsman, I am certainly not "gutted that he a jock".

Its about time we had a Scot playing for the Villa again.