Aston Villa 2-2 Stoke City Post Match Thread

[SashasGrandad]

Horrible weather. Started off brightly but then we were below average for the rest of the first half. Defensive frailties continue to dog us - Hutton was at fault for their first and Elmo for their second. Thought Bolasie and El Ghazi had a poor day at the office. And we missed Jack in the middle big time - would have liked to see Callum O'Hare given a shot there rather than circulating Hourihane and McGinn, and Whelan offers very little other than recycling the ball. But playing below par and still scoring 2 against a pretty decent Stoke squad can't be sniffed at, and a point apiece was probably a fair result. Maybe it would all have been different if Ince had been given a deserved second yellow for an outrageous dive, but, as we know all too well in this division, the officiating is inconsistent at best and generally poor. With other results going against us I think we're a safe bet for the playoffs but feel automatic promotion is slipping away

Ref must have seen it as a dive because of the way he allowed us the advantage - but should have booked Ince (for 2nd time) as soon as the next time the game stopped.

Bottled it as he knew he was on a yellow.

[eamonn]

Play offs at very best this season if we can sort the defence out in January

Yes that's my take on it as well.

Why? We just beat Derby and Boro away 6-0.

[XXVilla]

Play offs at very best this season if we can sort the defence out in January

Yes that's my take on it as well.

Why? We just beat Derby and Boro away 6-0.

The gap is getting bigger. Our defence is still a liability. We should be winning all these home games to even begin catching up.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Highlights

Looks like another Hutton masterclass i've missed this afternoon 

Jesus Fucking Wept.

Hutton was at fault on at least 4 occasions, one of which lead to their goal so yes, Jesus is probably shedding a tear right now.

HOUSE!

[adrenachrome]

Highlights

Looks like another Hutton masterclass i've missed this afternoon 

Jesus Fucking Wept.

Hutton was at fault on at least 4 occasions, one of which lead to their goal so yes, Jesus is probably shedding a tear right now.

HOUSE!

Bingo!

[mr underhill]

I can't see us getting close to the top two positions but if we beat Leeds and are in touch with fifth and sixth come the end of the month then we stand an excellent chance of the play offs providing we strengthen the defense. Hutton's becoming a liability again and Nyland is a total liability. Occasional decent saves, like one today early on, but so indecisive in his distribution from feet and hands. We really missed Grealish today.

[Tayls_7]

Highlights

Looks like another Hutton masterclass i've missed this afternoon 

Jesus Fucking Wept.

Hutton was at fault on at least 4 occasions, one of which lead to their goal so yes, Jesus is probably shedding a tear right now.

HOUSE!

Bingo!

And his goal against SHA had an element of luck about it which stopped me enjoying it as much as I wanted to .  Merry Christmas.

[PeterWithesShin]

Play offs at very best this season if we can sort the defence out in January

Yes that's my take on it as well.

Why? We just beat Derby and Boro away 6-0.

And conceded 9 in our last 3 home games.

[Risso]

Hutton is getting torn apart by nippy, younger wingers.  Both Barnes the other night and Ince today made him look well past it. Other managers can clearly see it as they're obviously targeting him.  He's been directly at fault for at least two of the last four goals we've conceded.

[kippaxvilla2]

We are not going up automatically.  How are 6 other teams going to fail and let us in.  Besides, 48 points minimum will get us to 81 points.  I cannot see that being enough for 2nd.  Top 6 yes.

[Legion]

Play-offs will do nicely and is the most realistic option at the moment.

[mr underhill]

Well it will as long as we win them

[four fornicholl]

I've been drinking, but with our firepower, and Mr Smiths nous, it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't lose again all season 

[Toronto Villa]

Play-offs will do nicely and is the most realistic option at the moment.

If we can finish the season on a really good run there are not going to be any side we will fear in the playoffs. Even that numpty Bruce got us to final. If we get there this time I’m pretty sure we won’t play for extra time and penalties.

[four fornicholl]

Apart from in the cup.