Aston Villa v Liverpool Post-Match Thread

[Legion]

There was a match?

[SoccerHQ]

If the back 5 had shown this level of commitment with last ditch blocks in the dark days of December and January instead of just these last two games, then we'd have finished 6th no problem this season.

I too can't quite believe we've finished 9th after some of the shite we've served up; this season but will take it.

Collins was superb today, my MOTM, infact the whole back 5 were very good.

Suarez not being able to hit a barn door all afternoon amused me no end aswell.

[PaulWinch again]

I thought we were pretty good today. It was such a departure from the misery of this season, we've signed off in a good way and the Blose are gone, brilliant.

[The Situation]

The defence today was surperb. Kyle Walker - fantastic. Dunne and Collins had great games too. Likewise with Friedel.

Downing - class act
Albrighton - battling till the end
Reo-Coker - always trying

We're are those negative nigels now who were writing off the last two games?!

Oh well, we finish 9th. What a season lol.

[CJ]

Nice touch by McAllsiter to take Ash off towards the end to give him his standing ovation. Pretty much confirmed he's off.

[KevinGage]

Considering this season has largely been arse cakes, just another four wins would probably have qualified as a good season. As weird as that seems. Just two extra wins at home, two away. Better than that and you'd be in the ballpark of CL qualification.

Makes it even more frustrating, considering some of the games thrown away from winning positions, the managers seemingly casual (almost philosophical) reaction to poor results in the first few months and so on.

But today is not a day for those kind of considerations.

[Deano's Mullet]

Amazing to think we've finished 9th with only 48 points. We finished 11th in MON's first season with 50.

[SoccerHQ]

Yeah I said to my dad before the game, if we did that, he'd be off. Same happened with Milner a few times...

I think we'll be o.k without him if we can an N'zogbia or Adam Johnson as the replacement.

[citizenDJ]

That two point difference between the two managers first seasons is quite interesting - it's not much, is it?

[gervilla]

How the fcuk have we finished 9th.
Imagine if we hadn't been absolutely crap for most of the season.
I'm not gonna get carried away what with our last 2 results but seriously how do you explain such ineptitude  for most of the season when we just picked up 6 points from the 2 games I expected nothing from.
I'm ending the season utterly confused.

[rob_bridge]

That two point difference between the two managers first seasons is quite interesting - it's not much, is it?

Indeed not - O'Neill followed a time with a small underperforming squad with previously a Bozo (DOL) in charge who underminded his players confidence and finished 16th. Houllier and co inherited the best squad in Villa's history (3 seasons in Top6 and remind me when that happened as I am 38) in the season of a comparatively average Premiership and we finished on 49 points. I am still angry as it is a wasted season.

[Matt Collins]

How the fcuk have we finished 9th.
Imagine if we hadn't been absolutely crap for most of the season.
I'm not gonna get carried away what with our last 2 results but seriously how do you explain such ineptitude  for most of the season when we just picked up 6 points from the 2 games I expected nothing from.
I'm ending the season utterly confused.

We were rarely as bad as some suggested - certainly we were worse under DOL's final season and under GT mark 2.

We had some good luck in our last two games, certainly at Arsenal, and we defended better, including set pieces.

I still maintain that the quality of most of our player has been as good, if not better, than it was last year. But we've been much worse defensively.

[gervilla]

We were cack for alot of the season.We fucked away so many points due to idiotic defending and stupid late goals.
We had a season of turmoil, an injury crisis that I have never witnessed in my nearly 30 years of following the Villa and yet we have finished only 3 places lower than the best efforts of The Blessed St. Martin the spiteful egotist.
Football, it's a funny old game.

[Apyadg]

We were rarely as bad as some suggested - certainly we were worse under DOL's final season and under GT mark 2.

Of course, the team we have now is better, but I think we've probably done worse comparatively when you consider the potential of each of the teams.

[Michel Sibble]

Looked like GH was right all along - 7th to 12th.