Chavski date announced

[peter w]

If you spell 'facts' backwards and use different letters it reads Classless chav tossers.

FACT.

[ozzjim]

I think it is about as bad a first week to a season as you could wish for, and could wreck confidence for weeks to come. It is piss poor.

[warleyboy]

I think you're right Peter, get them out of the way early, and before they hit their stride...as long as we hit our stride.

That's the big question though Gary, can we possible hit 6th gear for our first game.
I'd like to think PL has it all in hand, pre season is pre season but does not bode well so far

[peter w]

The point being that we might not need to.

[Goldie.7]

That takes the piss.

It most certainly does but when the Premier League view all teams outside the top 4 as cannon fodder, it comes as no surprise.

Stop it now. There is no bias here as I see it. Match has been arranged early when both teams are fresh. Really don't see how it favours one team more than the other.

I'd guess it favours them given they asked for this date and we asked it to be pushed back until after the Liverpool game.

We can ask all we want but it's the first available date and therefore the one it was going to be.

I get why you'd have that rule later in a season but does it really make sense to play 3 games in 7 days followed by 21 days without a game?

Just because that's the rule doesn't mean it's right.

The 2 week gap was always going to be there because of England playing. It's only 7 more days on top. 

[VillaAlways]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2377914/Jose-Mourinho-granted-wish-Premier-League-Chelsea-v-Aston-Villa-August-21.html


Please God let us beat them

[Matt Collins]

I hate to be fair - but this only replicates what they did last year with the corresponding fixture when Chelsea were in the Super Cup.

No. This is a big club London team bias supported by the one eyed cockney mafia press who are in the hands of the scientologists.

In all seriousness, I've a pretty bad feeling that a not particularly match fit villa squad will get nul points from the first three games. Even if we replicate the good form from the back of last season we were losing all our games against these sides.

Looking on the positive side, if we are to have a slow start I'd prefer it to be against top sides as long as we don't pick up a tonking or two and hurt our confidence. A three week spell reflecting on being bottom of the league might be a problem

One of our problems last year was that we were in our worst form in january when we had some very winnable games. If we can be in full flow in October to December this year we should rack up quite a few points

We may also catch arsenal or Liverpool a bit cold. Liverpool are the weakest but it will be tough after the previous two games and presumably they'll be fresher.

Mourinho's record at home is unbelievable so I can't see anything out of that. I'd be tempted to plan for us on having our best side fresh for Liverpool and rest some fir chelsea. Not least because people can pick up injuries easily early on. But perhaps with some good subsequent recovery time we may not need to.

[UK Redsox]

At first I thought that the Premier League wasn't going to cave (as posted in the Fixtures thread). I guess that I gave them too much credit.

A "big" club wants something and the League bends over and takes it Deliverance style.

[Ads]

I may as well take the 21st and 22nd off work.

[Meanwood Villa]

There is precedent for this, Chelsea played Reading at exactly the same time last year.

Just because that's how it's been done in the past doesn't mean it's sensible to do it that way again.

I still haven't heard a sensible rationale for why it can't be played in the 3 weeks we don't have a game. I'm sure there is one as Chelsea wanted it to be played on that middle Wednesday but I don't think it's been explained to the fans (why would the Premier League bother communicating with the fans I hear you ask!).

The sensible rationale is that there are international games on 6th & 10th September so it can't be played in those weeks.
The only other date it could be played in those 3 weeks is the midweek before the super cup game which is on a Friday so that limits it to the Tues night. What difference does 6 days make?

[JD]

Let's just get that game out of the way. I'm still having nightmares about last years game so getting it out of the way early (and hopefully unscathed) suits me.

[not3bad]

So in the space of 7 days we play Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool? How kind.

wonder what the odds would be for us getting 3 clean sheets,
 a billion to one ?

The chances of Villa keeping 3 clean sheets
Are a Billion to one he said

[UK Redsox]

So in the space of 7 days we play Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool? How kind.

wonder what the odds would be for us getting 3 clean sheets,
 a billion to one ?

The chances of Villa keeping 3 clean sheets
Are a Billion to one he said

Yep, you'd need to have been smoking the Red Weed, to think we'll manage that

[edgysatsuma89]

Do you know we are 8/1 just to beat Arsenal first game? I've only whacked a tenner on it but I couldn't ignore those odds. Lets see who is ready first.

[Pete3206]

I'll have some of that