Chelsea v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Irish villain]

The whole game is on sky at 815 tonite.

Come on you beauties!

Thanks for the heads up on that.

[sg]

Ireland, Petrov, Gabby and last but not least Clark... hats off to you.

Not said this often, but well done mcleish for having the balls to put Ireland in ahead of a semi-fit Bent. It certainly paid off. Question is, do we stick with the same starting 11 for Swansea or do we drop someone (unfairly) to put Bent back in.

Happy new year all, let the drinking commence.

[Toronto Villa]

massive, massive game now against Swansea. They're not very good on the road, and Villa Park should be buzzing after today. We must take advantage of the new momentum and good feeling. People left Villa Park generally happy and encouraged after Arsenal despite the result. Time to send Villa fans home with an even bigger smile now to start 2012 off right with a good win.

[PaulTheVillan]

Buzzing.

Warnocks best game in a Villa shirt. Ditto for Ireland.

Given might find it hard to get his place back.

[pauliewalnuts]

massive, massive game now against Swansea. They're not very good on the road, and Villa Park should be buzzing after today. We must take advantage of the new momentum and good feeling. People left Villa Park generally happy and encouraged after Arsenal despite the result. Time to send Villa fans home with an even bigger smile now to start 2012 off right with a good win.

re the Arsenal match, I can't really remember the last time I left Villa Park having picked up zero points feeling so utterly elated.

[citizenDJ]

Well that's just a superb team performance superbly rounded off with a couple of outstanding individual turns from Clark and, especially, Ireland.

To be honest, I can't quite believe the improvement in how we have played over the last three games, it's remarkable. There genuinely seems to have been a complete change in philosophy, and we look so much better for it. I'm not suggesting we're like Barcelona or anything, but we ARE playing some good stuff and getting the best out of the players we have. The difference in Collins and Dunne's distribution has been very significant in particular, and fair play to them both for 'giving it a whirl'.

And McLeish really deserves a lot of credit for all of the above. He seems to have opened his eyes to the type of football our players can produce, that we fans like to see, and has grabbed his balls and gone for it. Early days, but I reckon it's paying off! Some brave decisions today (dropping Hutton, starting with Ireland) suggest that he's not a soft touch, while his substitutions today were spot on. He also seems to have instilled a bit of belief into the players too; I really thought we'd turn to 'panic mode' today, but we kept on playing our game and got the goals on the counter. Very impressive.

I've no idea if we can keep it up, or how it will all turn out, but the last few games have shown that he does seem to have a sense of direction, and that the players are responding to it. Onwards and upwards into 2012, then!

Happy New Year, everyone!

[barrysleftfoot]

  Firstly a good day for 2 decent blokes, McL and Steve Kean.Both come across as decent blokes who over the last few weeks have shown great dignity.Good Luck to them.

  Well the Stephen Ireland Show finally turned up.A well balanced team who all played the part, with Ireland pulling the strings.All the players deserved at least 9 out of 10.We kept the ball, we tried to play football, tried to create chances, worked hard, worked hard off the ball, good management, good use of substitutions.

 If thats the way McL wants to play, then great.Compare and contrast Sturridge and N'Zog today, one worked his bollocks off, one played like a prima donna.

 The best thing about that is we deserved that today.

[Shrek]

Buzzing.
U
Warnocks best game in a Villa shirt. Ditto for Ireland.

Given might find it hard to get his place back.

Agree with this aswell. Guzan comes off his line which relieves so much pressure on the defence.

This has made my new year now!

[villa for life]

I'm glad people on here are finally giving McLeish some credit, even if it is seen as a response to criticism. He's won silverware most places before and I'm sure he will here. Shame on the people who said Ireland was a "waste of space", shame on the people who said Petrov could no longer be "carried", shame on those who contemplated selling Bent, shame on those for not backing McLeish. Believe in Aston Villa. Always.

[Toronto Villa]

massive, massive game now against Swansea. They're not very good on the road, and Villa Park should be buzzing after today. We must take advantage of the new momentum and good feeling. People left Villa Park generally happy and encouraged after Arsenal despite the result. Time to send Villa fans home with an even bigger smile now to start 2012 off right with a good win.

re the Arsenal match, I can't really remember the last time I left Villa Park having picked up zero points feeling so utterly elated.

obviously watched it on TV and it was a bizarre feeling at the end. It was like "hmmm... I shouldn't feel this way after losing but that was refreshing." McLeish has taken some stick, much of it justified, but maybe, just maybe he was right, and the players just needed a bit of confidence to play this way. Not sure you can put a value on what it will do for the players' confidence after today, but it should give them the belief that they belong in the upper echelons of the table.

[villajk]

Brilliant.  Absolutely bloody brilliant.  Walked up fulham road with a silly smile on my face.  Still can't get rid of it.  I'll certainly be celebrating that tonight.

Enjoy Pauline, I only wish I was there. Mind you, I'd be mouthing off at Chelsea fans right, left and centre and would probably get my head kicked in...

Thanks Richard.  You'd have been ok.  The Chelsea fans were subdued, obviously from shock.

[Apyadg]

I didn't even bother watching the inevitable 10 man behind the ball, and defending the 5-0 loss approach, but I'm sure we had about 0 shots on target and spent the whole game barely stringing two passes together.


...Hang on, what the fuck did I miss?

[Toronto Villa]

I'm glad people on here are finally giving McLeish some credit, even if it is seen as a response to criticism. He's won silverware most places before and I'm sure he will here. Shame on the people who said Ireland was a "waste of space", shame on the people who said Petrov could no longer be "carried", shame on those who contemplated selling Bent, shame on those for not backing McLeish. Believe in Aston Villa. Always.

I've generally supported Ireland since he joined, but the stick people have given him, and even the stick that was given to him this week has been mostly self inflicted. That said, he deserves all the credit in the world after today. What's more, McLeish could have just stuck him on the bench today as a lesson which could have been counter-productive. Fair play to him also for playing Ireland today.

[Toronto Villa]

I didn't even bother watching the inevitable 10 man behind the ball, and defending the 5-0 loss approach, but I'm sure we had about 0 shots on target and spent the whole game barely stringing two passes together.


...Hang on, what the fuck did I miss?

you missed the new Aston Villa... that's all

[PaulTheVillan]