Bristol Rovers v Aston Villa (F.A. Cup 3rd round): Post-Match Thread

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

We are very much a confidence team and Mcleish has got to recognise that Warnock has become a liability. He is like a bull in a china shop. Either get Delph back there or Lichaj to replace him before he drains the team of all the progress what has been made. Clarky excellent along with Petrov, Ireland, Albrighton and a powerhouse perfomance from Gabby ..........

[ktvillan]

Warnock is managing the not insignificant achievement of making Hutton look composed, intelligent and talented by comparison.  Most coaches agree that it's important for defenders to stay on their feet if possible.  Warnock dives into challenges like a runaway exocet.  Barking.

[TimTheVillain]

Job done at the end of the day, we were fully in control. I was suprised that Bristol did'nt give us more of a game. I thought it was a mistake from the off to start with Heskey, him or Bent did'nt trouble there back line at all, it needed pace and Gabby should have started.

Warnock looks shot of confidence, he was dreadful again yesterday. It's too early for Edna so i'd consider playing Delph there, he can't be any worse.

It was nice to be on terracing again, even if it did feel like there was too many in there.

What was it like Clampy - watching on ESPN Villa fans made no noise at all !! ?

[Pete3206]

What a plus Stephen Ireland is...we should all be full of humble pie!

The improvement is most welcome, but humble pie? I don't think so. Just a case of him finally pulling his socks up.

[Clampy]

Job done at the end of the day, we were fully in control. I was suprised that Bristol did'nt give us more of a game. I thought it was a mistake from the off to start with Heskey, him or Bent did'nt trouble there back line at all, it needed pace and Gabby should have started.

Warnock looks shot of confidence, he was dreadful again yesterday. It's too early for Edna so i'd consider playing Delph there, he can't be any worse.

It was nice to be on terracing again, even if it did feel like there was too many in there.

What was it like Clampy - watching on ESPN Villa fans made no noise at all !! ?

No it was'nt the loudest that we've been but whether it was because we were all expecting a routine win, i don't know. We were right behind the away dug out and Eck did'nt get as much abuse as i thought he would, although god knows what would have happened had we lost.

[stubbsyandy]

What a plus Stephen Ireland is...we should all be full of humble pie!

The improvement is most welcome, but humble pie? I don't think so. Just a case of him finally pulling his socks up.

I agree it was up to the player, but I suspect I am not on my own in thinking he would never be the player we thought we had got and I was wrong. He looks like he could be a real star, and altho we have wasted 18 months wages on him, we could be seeing payback time.

[Legion]

Match highlights

[paul_e]

Really suprised so many people think Ireland was MotM.  He did ok but didn't have any real cutting edge.  Albrighton was the only difference between the teams in the first half and rightly got the vote on ESPN.  I thought Clark was a bigger influence than Ireland as well.

In the role that Ireland is playing, for me, he has to create 1-2 chances a game, particularly against lower league opponents.  I can't recall him actually creating anything yesterday so whilst he did play a tidy game and keep the ball moving he didn't do what he was there for.

[UK Redsox]

Yesterday only increased my dislike of standing terracing. Too many people crammed in to the Villa area, especially that one narrow sections that's normally used as stairs or for segregation.
Its no wonder that there was some animosity between some Villa fans and the stewards.

Add to that, there was the normal batch of dickheads with their stupid songs (even the "Tracy Andrews" ones had an outing yesterday).

Finally, I can't believe that all the "your brother's a c***" chants will make Gary Gardner feel like he wants to stay at Villa for the long haul.

[PaulTheVillan]

Warnock was dreadful.
Sloppy from Dunne after what was an easy day.
Still can't stand the sight of James Collins, I really don't like him.
Thought Ireland, Clark & Petrov were very good. Even though Ireland had spells out on the left.
Bent? Was he playing?
Three very good finishes, all calm & well placed.
Hutton has had a good couple of games, hopefully his form continues to improve.
I seriously would consider throwing Enda Stevens straight in, he surely can't be any worse than Warnock.

[Dave Clark Five]

We were in the seats in the tent. Nobody sat down. Decided to stand and watch from the side of the tea hut in the second half. I wish we could go to grounds like that every week.

[olaftab]

I wish we could go to grounds like that every week.

Careful what you wish for! With Eck in charge ......

[He wears a magic hat]

Yesterday only increased my dislike of standing terracing. Too many people crammed in to the Villa area, especially that one narrow sections that's normally used as stairs or for segregation

surprised at this. i was only commenting to my mate how much room there was. years ago there would have been loads more in that end. not that that would be a good thing.

[JUAN PABLO]

What a plus Stephen Ireland is...we should all be full of humble pie!

The improvement is most welcome, but humble pie? I don't think so. Just a case of him finally pulling his socks up.

I agree it was up to the player, but I suspect I am not on my own in thinking he would never be the player we thought we had got and I was wrong. He looks like he could be a real star, and altho we have wasted 18 months wages on him, we could be seeing payback time.

We were all hoping he would come good , I was worried but there is  a good chance now  and he looks happy .and nowhere  near as bad as wasted 29 mth's wages on Beye 

[UK Redsox]

Yesterday only increased my dislike of standing terracing. Too many people crammed in to the Villa area, especially that one narrow sections that's normally used as stairs or for segregation

surprised at this. i was only commenting to my mate how much room there was. years ago there would have been loads more in that end. not that that would be a good thing.

The away area at Rovers is made up of several smaller sections that can be opened/closed to allow for varying numbers of away fans. This means that their are various fences/barriers that create some very confined spaces. I guess that other areas weren't as cramped as the one I was in and certainly not as the narrow stairway section I described above.