Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers Pre-Match Thread

[WikiVilla]

when did SAF last name back to back unchanged team ??

[Chris Smith]

when did SAF last name back to back unchanged team ??

As I said I'm not against rotation but not everyone is as good at is Ferguson. His track record shows that he can be trusted to make the right choice more often than not; we're 16th in the league.

[WikiVilla]

When does Makouns ban kick in ?

[levico]

I fear this will be similar to Fulham - we may go into the lead but won't hold on to it. Slightest bit of resistance from the opposition and we crumble. Another draw at best I'm afraid.

[CJ]

When does Makouns ban kick in ?

Next 3 games - so Blackburn, Manc, and Bolton

[Chris Smith]

I fear this will be similar to Fulham - we may go into the lead but won't hold on to it. Slightest bit of resistance from the opposition and we crumble. Another draw at best I'm afraid.

We didn't crumble last time we played them and we didn't crumble against Man City or Wigan. We also showed a lot of grit to hold out when down to 10 men at Blackpool. We do have some frailties but is nowhere near as bad as some are suggesting.

[pauliewalnuts]

when did SAF last name back to back unchanged team ??

Rotation is fine, but if you're going to compare against another manager's rotation record, Ferguson isn't the best one - it's easy to rotate when you've such quality in depth.

[nicardinho]

The referee will be Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)

His last Villa game saw us play Spurs at home, when he dismissed Defoe for a deliberate elbow. In total, Atkinson has shown 8 red cards in 27 games, 'bettered' only by Phil Dowd and Anthony Taylor, who have shown 9 and 10 reds respectively in 26 matches.

The last time Blackburn had the pleasure of Mr Atkinson was back in January, as they lost at Stamford Bridge.

He will be assisted by Glenn Turner (yellow flag) and Gary Beswick (chequered flag). The 4th official is Lee Probert.

[Comrade Blitz]

Will win 2-1 after going behind 0-1

[myf]

This gives us a massive opportunity to push ourselves away from the relegation battle.  Wigan have Manu, Wolves have Blackpool and West Ham have Liverpool.  WBA don't play until Monday night (Stoke).  With Blues not playing we can really put pressure on teams around us with a win.

Anything less than a win and we'll be stuck in the mire for the remainder of the season.

[Jimbo]

We simply must win it, and I think we will because, well, anything else and we're really in the shit. 2-1 to Villa, Bent and Young.

[Simon Ward]

I think a 3-1 repeat of the cup score a month ago is in order.

[Holtenderinthesky]

Oh goody it's Blackburn again.      Nailed on draw this for me.  1-1. 

[l_mckay]

1-0 villa win for me! Gabby to score

[The Left Side]

Oh goody it's Blackburn again.      Nailed on draw this for me.  1-1. 

We beat them in the cups and they beat us in the league, i've gotta bad feeling about this one.