Newcastle United v Aston Villa Pre Match thread

[VillaAlways]

I feel the same way. I almost dread match days now and I can't quite explain it. There have been arguably worse Villa sides than this but I don't remember having less confidence in one.

Ditto. We are a team very much playing in the reflection of the people that run us.

Pretty clueless, with zero ambition. Very sad.

[Clampy]

I always look forward to match days, the Villa are playing, what's not to like? I'm not keen on watching us on the box but i'll grin and bear it today for once.

[Deano's Mullet]

I hope just for once we can put in a decent display to impress the nation who are all sat in the pubs or at home watching it. When was the last time we won a televised match? 6-2 vs Sunderland I reckon.

[Mazrim]

I think the key terms for me are frustration and stupidity. Frustration that I believe that even this team are capable of far more than our points tally suggest and stupidity in the sense that we have one way of playing that works for us: aggressive, and too often pussyfoot around trying to play a way we are not suited to.

Take the first half against Liverpool away as an example. When we play like that, which is basically all out assault, good things happen. The fans respond to it. It's just better. As soon as we try anything else, we look utterly incapable. So why try anything else? We're going to concede, it's almost inevitable, so just keep attacking. It was the same during our good form towards the end of last season. We went for it.

We don't have the tools to keep teams at bay because we can't keep the ball. We don't seem to know how to. The one thing we do well is attack at speed. So do that, and hang the consequences.

[Matt Collins]

Trust me, if the internet and wall to wall football coverage had been the same in the McNeill, venglos, BFR final season and even Gregory years, we'd have been just as depressed

[SoccerHQ]

I hope just for once we can put in a decent display to impress the nation who are all sat in the pubs or at home watching it. When was the last time we won a televised match? 6-2 vs Sunderland I reckon.

Norwich.

[Irish villain]

I have a rare Sunday off today and used to get excited about match days but today I will watch the game but have lost that excitement i used to feel about a villa game - that saddens me.

Me too. The sense of excitement is gone. The usual ritual of waiting to see the team line-ups and then all that possibility at kick-off. I tend to just expect the worst now.

Maybe we can nick one of our smash 'n grabs, that's been the highlight of the season. Our ability to defend a bit better when we sit back than we did last season.

[Clampy]

The thing with the Liverpool game was not only did we attack, we didn't give their midfield any time on the ball. Two weeks later, we sat back and let Everton have as much of the ball as they wanted and it cost us the game.

[Mazrim]

Trust me, if the internet and wall to wall football coverage had been the same in the McNeill, venglos, BFR final season and even Gregory years, we'd have been just as depressed

I remember all those eras and the first two for sure, the last two I can't agree with. I do take your point though, and this team has far more about it than McLeish's for instance, so I don't know what exactly the main reason fohr the despondency is. Maybe it's just the cumulative effect of 4 years of desperate struggling. Maybe I've just had enough of it. If something keeps causing you pain and ruining your day or week or year, it's only natural to start avoiding or resenting it.

I feel a bit ashamed to be honest.

[Mazrim]

The thing with the Liverpool game was not only did we attack, we didn't give their midfield any time on the ball. Two weeks later, we sat back and let Everton have as much of the ball as they wanted and it cost us the game.

Precisely. Stupidity. Not learning from your success or mistakes.

[richard moore]

I have a rare Sunday off today and used to get excited about match days but today I will watch the game but have lost that excitement i used to feel about a villa game - that saddens me.

Me too. The sense of excitement is gone. The usual ritual of waiting to see the team line-ups and then all that possibility at kick-off. I tend to just expect the worst now.

Maybe we can nick one of our smash 'n grabs, that's been the highlight of the season. Our ability to defend a bit better when we sit back than we did last season.

Absolutely. You get the feeling that if we won today, it would have absolutely no bearing on the result of the next game which we could just as easily win or lose 6-0 regardless. There's no sustainability, no sense of overall improvement, just a week in, week out diet of disconnected results which don't ever make me feel very attached to the team or as if I want to really care as much as I should...

[OzVilla]

I have a rare Sunday off today and used to get excited about match days but today I will watch the game but have lost that excitement i used to feel about a villa game - that saddens me.

Me too. The sense of excitement is gone. The usual ritual of waiting to see the team line-ups and then all that possibility at kick-off. I tend to just expect the worst now.

Maybe we can nick one of our smash 'n grabs, that's been the highlight of the season. Our ability to defend a bit better when we sit back than we did last season.

Absolutely. You get the feeling that if we won today, it would have absolutely no bearing on the result of the next game which we could just as easily win or lose 6-0 regardless. There's no sustainability, no sense of overall improvement, just a week in, week out diet of disconnected results which don't ever make me feel very attached to the team or as if I want to really care as much as I should...

This is so true.  I now expect to lose every game and then everything else is a bonus.  I have no faith in them whatsoever as we can battle one week and then roll over the next and the Club doesn't seem to bat an eyelid anymore - or that's how it feels.

They are on a terrible run though.  But you also just now we're the team that they all love to play when in this situation.  We are Sheffield Wednesday circa 1998.

[Virgil Caine]

The problem is that even if we lose today we will still be 13th and that fact will only help to support the current in denial mentality shared by Lambert, the coaches and players. It is this coasting and acceptance that if we are not in the bottom three 'what's the worry' mindset that is getting to me. The positive way of think would be a win at Newcastle means that we can increase the distance between us and the bottom 3 and decrease the gap with the top 8.

[JUAN PABLO]

well the last  villa Newcastle game I went to was one of the worse displays I have ever seen , my son even said I dont want to come down for a while , its rubbish .  so Im hoping Villa owe every one of us and put a fine performance in and give us 3 pts.

I never get the preditions right , I say we are gonna hammer the like of Palace and Fulham and they say the like of Liverpool will spank us .

Which Villa win turn up , I just dont know. The jeckyl and hyde of the Prem , more hyde at times.

[Brian Taylor]

Come on Aaah-stone Veelaah! Off t'pub to watch in Red Lion or maybe The Flying Horse in Side. Red Lion will almost certainly be showing the 'other' lot.
Villa win..have put the dosh on with the Iddaa what ever that means..local bookies that only do football games.