Aston Villa v West Ham United Post-Match Thread

[Big Dick Edwards]

For once our defence to a man showed real desire to get their heads on the ball ahead of the opposition. Baker may not be too convincing as a left back but the lad has guts and isn't afraid of getting hurt. He was able supported by Vlaar and Clark and the reassuring Guzan who came and collected crosses whenever possible. I can only think Bowery was selected for his physical presence defending corners and free kicks. His contribution was valuable in that respect.
All in all a spirited performance, a deserved win and a vital three points.

[john e]

It amazes me that the West Ham fans put up with that shite every week. Aren't they supposed to be all about the academy and something approaching football?

After seeing that is anyone still insane enough to want Allardyce anywhere near B6?

i dont think they do want to put up with it, but its a bit like us with TSM you dont get a chioce and you  still want to support the team
i suppose his name gets mentioned on here because he knows how to keep a team up, lets face it WH are poor but they wont go down because big sams football does produce points

i like you cant stand that sort of stuf though, and if thats what football was all about i would walk away from watching the game, thankfully its not

Them singing "Big Fat Sam's claret and blue army" indicates they don't hate it though. What they produced today was as bad as anything Stoke have ever produced. Made the stuff we played under MON look like Brazil '70.

like i say he will keep them up, so its difficult for them to complain to much,
 but the chances are he could be gone at the seasons end, and that wll not be because of the owners only, but because of the fans,

there are plenty of people on here who would rather put up with Big Sam football as long as we stayed in the prem with all its limitations and awfullness to watch, than drop down and rebuild from the championship, so thats the position the WH fans are in,
 its crap but hey were in the prem

[Oscar Arce]

Nathan Baker was outstanding today, true commitment from the lad.

[PaulWinch again]

Nathan Baker was outstanding today, true commitment from the lad.

Not sure on that, he did well when he was in the box and the ball went in the box. However when he was on the left he was pretty horrible, giving away stupid fouls and letting far too many crosses come in.

[leylandalbion]

Just drove 200 miles after spur of moment decision to suppport the boys. My lads were crying cold and wet. But my god I feel good now! What a last 20 mins after 70 mins of dross.  What a ride!

[Mortimer's Bear]

Nathan Baker was outstanding today, true commitment from the lad.

Not sure on that, he did well when he was in the box and the ball went in the box. However when he was on the left he was pretty horrible, giving away stupid fouls and letting far too many crosses come in.

I must admit I thought he had a great game.

[PaulWinch again]

We'll have to disagree but at the end of the day we won and only a flukey own goal breached our defence so good overall display. If Clark can play like that every week we'll be much better. Bowery offered a physical presence today and served a purpose, but he shouldn't be anywhere near starting in future games..

[Matt Collins]

That was not an enjoyable experience, until the end at least. Big Sam is deluded, saying the West Ham performance was excellent. I thought they were a complete shower of shite in the first half.

Much better defensively for the most part, though still too ragged at times. Top marks to Guzan, Clark and to a slightly lesser extent Vlaar and Baker.

Delph was really very good for about 70% of the game. Quite headless for the other bits though - too eager to run at pace. But (despite what some on here say) you could say what he could be about today. Very quick feet.

Thought Westwtood was pretty mediocre - hopefully the illness - and Benteke quite a way off his best. N'Zogbia flitted in and out, but scored, got an assist, and nearly scored another. I've said for a while that he's going to be crucial over the rest of the season.

Weimann really let his (horrendous) miss go to him. He really fell apart after that. The less said about Bowery's performance the better really. Clearly not his position to be fair.

I thought Dawkins looked very eager, if a little harem skarem. Bent did quite well I thought. But I can't see us playing 442 too often.

Forthcoming games against Reading and QPR are huge. We need to start winning some of these games against rivals.

[PeterWithesShin]

Thanks feck we played the early game. Weather is far worse now. Can't tell if it's snow or rain but it's absolutely smashing it down.

[Legion]

[Brian Taylor]

Phheee-hew..up up and away!!

[Toronto Villa]

That's your Aston Villa keeper for the next ten years lads and lasses.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Sam Allardyce has made me laugh out loud a lot. The guy is a grade A ******. Shit manager. Shit football. And fat. What game was he watching:

""Apart from the Aston Villa fans, anyone who watched this afternoon knows we deserved something. The sad thing is, after not converting our chances, we have paid the price by conceding from a free-kick and a penalty.
"Apart from Jussi Jaaskelainen spilling an early shot which fell to Weimann, Aston Villa created and contributed nothing.
"We were waiting to see what Villa had to throw at us in the first half and we coped with that. Then our plan was to go at them in the second half and we created chance after chance.
"We completely dominated the second half and we've ended up losing 2-1. Even at the end their goalkeeper was the hero."

[PaulWinch again]

Bent deserves to start after that display, we made some great runs which allowed N'Zog to become a threat and his hold up play led to the free kick for the second. Also great clearance off the line. For a player who has been much criticised I thought he did very well.

[olaftab]

Hi folks just got and will read and post later but can those of you who watched it on telly  tell me abouts Charles' injury and was that a penalty when Dawkins was tripped but he tried to keep going?