THE MAGNIFICENT ASTON VILLA 2-1 LIVERPOOL FA CUP SEMI FINAL POST MATCH THREAD

[KevinGage]

Didn't feel we could do it -up until I seen the teamsheet come through with no Sturridge.

And even then, I felt with the quality Liverpool possess, they would still find a way.

But as we've seen earlier in the season, take Sturridge and Sterling out of the side (and Sterling's recent form amounts to the same thing) and they look a midtable outfit.

Arsenal are different.

Sanchez and Ozil are different class -as they should be at £50 million +

But Arsenal beat us comfortably at their place minus Sanchez.   They can lose a few key players and it doesn't seem to disrupt them.

One thing we have in our favour is I can't recall too many sides retaining the FA Cup, even sides who have dominated the game during various eras.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

When the draw was made and we found we'd realistically be playing Liverpool, may son said they were the best team in the country on current form. I think they'd won their  last 8 games.

I replied the semi final is 5/6 weeks away yet, a lot can happen in that time, it'll be hard for them to maintain this form for that long. By the time we play them they may be having a bit of a wobble. That's what happened.

It's exactly the same with Arsenal now, wishful thinking perhaps, but let's see what their form is like come late May.

[rob_bridge]

Two days on and a little less light headed. What that whole day did for me was to enable me to rid myself if all the pent up anger and pain of the recent past. When the lions began that awesome, terrifying roar at the end, it all came pouring out. Right back to the Stoke 2-2, the MON premeditated strike, Houllier's Liverpool love in, TSM1, TSM2, Chelsea 0-8, Bradford, Millwall, Orient, the (alleged) bullying, the treatment of Marc Albrighton, Collins and Dunne fighting with Sid, the bomb squad - the whole lot came pouring out of me. Minutes later I was being hugged and kissed by total strangers with tears rolling down their faces and my rehabilitation was complete.

Just seeing all those painful moments listed out like that. Bloody hell. Such a horrible period of history for our club. Shambolic really.
And indeed, this is the best I've felt in years. It genuinely seems like things could turn a corner. And whatever Sherwood might lack, or lose, I don't ever see him losing that aggression and fighting spirit. He'll always want to have a go, and that's the least we should expect from our club. We've rolled over for the last 4 years. The lack of fight has been appalling at times. TSM1-2 spent the vast majority of the time here not looking remotely interested in actually winning football matches. It seemed more a crossed finger, rabbit footed hope that we might not lose on a given day (before inevitably bloody losing). An utterly pathetic footballing existence.

All agreed here as well.

We have been a club in what seems a coma for best part of 5 years. Trying different tracts every few months with little continuity or planning - strategic or tactical. A drifting listless shell of a football club. The lights were on, Just, but there was nobody home.

We'd become a footballing non entity. I though TSM season was the Nadir yet it turned out to not be the case as we had 2.5 more years+ of utter shite, honorable, usually fortunate, exception aside.

We are back. No longer should teams see us as a soft touch. We may lose against a club  which probably cost 20 times more than ours on Saturday but we will lose with dignity. We may even win and iIt would be nice to exercise another ghost this week - a win against the team of the Houllier FA Cup capitulation.

Onwards. Onwards. Onwards.

[rob_bridge]

Didn't feel we could do it -up until I seen the teamsheet come through with no Sturridge.

And even then, I felt with the quality Liverpool possess, they would still find a way.

But as we've seen earlier in the season, take Sturridge and Sterling out of the side (and Sterling's recent form amounts to the same thing) and they look a midtable outfit.

Arsenal are different.

Sanchez and Ozil are different class -as they should be at £50 million +

But Arsenal beat us comfortably at their place minus Sanchez.   They can lose a few key players and it doesn't seem to disrupt them.

One thing we have in our favour is I can't recall too many sides retaining the FA Cup, even sides who have dominated the game during various eras.

Delph, Cleverly and Westwood would need to play even better than they did on Sunday for us to be at the races.

FA Cup - strange actually in terms of retention. Arsenal 2002 & 2003. Chelsea 2009 & 2010. Spuds 1961 & 1962.

[PaulWinch again]

Didn't feel we could do it -up until I seen the teamsheet come through with no Sturridge.

And even then, I felt with the quality Liverpool possess, they would still find a way.

But as we've seen earlier in the season, take Sturridge and Sterling out of the side (and Sterling's recent form amounts to the same thing) and they look a midtable outfit.

Arsenal are different.

Sanchez and Ozil are different class -as they should be at £50 million +

But Arsenal beat us comfortably at their place minus Sanchez.   They can lose a few key players and it doesn't seem to disrupt them.

One thing we have in our favour is I can't recall too many sides retaining the FA Cup, even sides who have dominated the game during various eras.

Arsenal are favourites clearly, but I think our performances against them this season are pretty much irrelevant now. We're a completely different team.

[Villa in Denmark]

Didn't feel we could do it -up until I seen the teamsheet come through with no Sturridge.

And even then, I felt with the quality Liverpool possess, they would still find a way.

But as we've seen earlier in the season, take Sturridge and Sterling out of the side (and Sterling's recent form amounts to the same thing) and they look a midtable outfit.

Arsenal are different.

Sanchez and Ozil are different class -as they should be at £50 million +

But Arsenal beat us comfortably at their place minus Sanchez.   They can lose a few key players and it doesn't seem to disrupt them.

One thing we have in our favour is I can't recall too many sides retaining the FA Cup, even sides who have dominated the game during various eras.

I said at the start of the match thread, that apart from Coutinho they're desperately ordinary.

How many others would Arsenal / Man Utd be interested in, let alone the money doped 2?

[ozzjim]

Both would take Skrtl and Can but due to their own limitations at the back/ holding midfield areas. Coutinho, Sturridge and Sterling they would take. And probably Henderson as a squad player. The rest most likely not.

[olaftab]

Two days on and a little less light headed. What that whole day did for me was to enable me to rid myself if all the pent up anger and pain of the recent past. When the lions began that awesome, terrifying roar at the end, it all came pouring out. Right back to the Stoke 2-2, the MON premeditated strike, Houllier's Liverpool love in, TSM1, TSM2, Chelsea 0-8, Bradford, Millwall, Orient, the (alleged) bullying, the treatment of Marc Albrighton, Collins and Dunne fighting with Sid, the bomb squad - the whole lot came pouring out of me. Minutes later I was being hugged and kissed by total strangers with tears rolling down their faces and my rehabilitation was complete.

I should pay you for expresinng what I think so well!

[pauliewalnuts]

Sturridge is a good player but he's constantly injured

[Dave]

Sturridge is a good player but he's constantly injured

Fifteen different injuries since joining Liverpool in January 2013. Lots of of players would go through a career with fewer injuries than that.

[pauliewalnuts]

Sturridge is a good player but he's constantly injured

Fifteen different injuries since joining Liverpool in January 2013. Lots of of players would go through a career with fewer injuries than that.

That's it, and it's not just a recurrent single injury he struggles with, either, he seems genuinely to be fashioned of glass all over.

[Dr Butler]

quiet in the Lab today...the "Cambridge reds" give it plenty last week and now they seem to be hibernating....

UTV
The Doc

[rob_bridge]

Didn't feel we could do it -up until I seen the teamsheet come through with no Sturridge.

And even then, I felt with the quality Liverpool possess, they would still find a way.

But as we've seen earlier in the season, take Sturridge and Sterling out of the side (and Sterling's recent form amounts to the same thing) and they look a midtable outfit.

Arsenal are different.

Sanchez and Ozil are different class -as they should be at £50 million +

But Arsenal beat us comfortably at their place minus Sanchez.   They can lose a few key players and it doesn't seem to disrupt them.

One thing we have in our favour is I can't recall too many sides retaining the FA Cup, even sides who have dominated the game during various eras.

Arsenal are favourites clearly, but I think our performances against them this season are pretty much irrelevant now. We're a completely different team.

Agree - different proposition. We seem to have some coaching and motivation. Oh and at least play to the strengths we possess as opposed to farcical change of playing style part way through a season and the bullshit about false narratives that accompanied it.

[Chris Jameson]

Sturridge is a good player but he's constantly injured

Fifteen different injuries since joining Liverpool in January 2013. Lots of of players would go through a career with fewer injuries than that.

That's it, and it's not just a recurrent single injury he struggles with, either, he seems genuinely to be fashioned of glass all over.

I'd like to think that poxy goal celebration of his is causing his injuries.

[pauliewalnuts]

Sturridge is a good player but he's constantly injured

Fifteen different injuries since joining Liverpool in January 2013. Lots of of players would go through a career with fewer injuries than that.

That's it, and it's not just a recurrent single injury he struggles with, either, he seems genuinely to be fashioned of glass all over.

I'd like to think that poxy goal celebration of his is causing his injuries.

*nods*

snapped his dignity clean in half.