Relegation Watch

[RamboandBruno]

It’s amazing that we’re still in with a chance. Win 2 games and stay up. Sadly I just can’t see us changing the habit we’ve had all season of bottling things.
But please just do something extraordinary Villa!

It really isn't, given the number of points we've got and the quality of teams around us it's entirely expected for us to have a decent chance to stay up. This is what I meant earlier, people comment about us being 'lucky' to still be in the mix and clubs doing us favours as if it's only us in the fight that have problems.

Which is fine, as long as we acknowledge - should it come to pass - that we weren't unlucky to go down.

My viewpoint has always been that in the league you pretty much always deserve to finish where you finish. Even if it does come down to West Ham and something mad say like a last minute winner for us, if we finish 4th bottom that’s what our seasons results have meant we deserved. Likewise we go down we deserve it.

[dave.woodhall]

I'd normally say that the table doesn't lie, but this season whoever finishes wherever they don't want to has got a case for saying that it's not exactly telling the truth. We haven't all been treated equally and you can't get round that fact.

[RamboandBruno]

I'd normally say that the table doesn't lie, but this season whoever finishes wherever they don't want to has got a case for saying that it's not exactly telling the truth. We haven't all been treated equally and you can't get round that fact.

VAR does feel like that although we’ve had a couple of decisions go our way post lockdown and one or two against. The 5 sub rule has impacted all of us further down the table, agreed in that.

[ChicagoLion]

It's starting to feel that some people want us to fail just so they are proven right on a supporters forum...sad.

The narrative with some will all be about how lucky we were to stay up if we do

So some supporters want us to go down and others Have  their excuses ready if we stay up.
Not sure where this ranks in the better supporters than you,

Pretty high me thinks.

God that must of been bugging you to actually scroll through the last 6 or 7 pages to seek it out.
If some people want to be perennially negative including yourself good luck, it has been crap enough for most of the season to induce negativity in most of us including me. If I want to point out that in my opinion, if we manage to stay up, some posters will say that we are lucky, I’m entitled to do that or am I not? I’m not saying the same people won’t want us to stay up, just that they will say were lucky. I don’t think I’ve made one comment about some supporters being better than others or some supporters wanting us to get relegated, you’ve draw those conclusions yourself. Unless you want to spend some more time scrolling through pages of various threads to prove some point?

itsallaboutme.com

[RamboandBruno]

It's starting to feel that some people want us to fail just so they are proven right on a supporters forum...sad.

The narrative with some will all be about how lucky we were to stay up if we do

So some supporters want us to go down and others Have  their excuses ready if we stay up.
Not sure where this ranks in the better supporters than you,

Pretty high me thinks.

God that must of been bugging you to actually scroll through the last 6 or 7 pages to seek it out.
If some people want to be perennially negative including yourself good luck, it has been crap enough for most of the season to induce negativity in most of us including me. If I want to point out that in my opinion, if we manage to stay up, some posters will say that we are lucky, I’m entitled to do that or am I not? I’m not saying the same people won’t want us to stay up, just that they will say were lucky. I don’t think I’ve made one comment about some supporters being better than others or some supporters wanting us to get relegated, you’ve draw those conclusions yourself. Unless you want to spend some more time scrolling through pages of various threads to prove some point?

itsallaboutme.com

That took a lot of thought and insight, we’ll done you.
UTV

[Legion]

Time to get back to posts about our impending relegation / great escape.

[RamboandBruno]

Agreed.
Bizarrely feel less nervous about tonight than either Crystal Palace or Everton. Maybe because on paper it’s a less winnable game. But early in the day yet though...

[ADVILLAFAN]

in 1963/64 Liverpool won the First Division, Leeds the Second Division.

Villa finished 4th from bottom. We lost to Arsenal away but beat them at home, we drew with West Ham at home but beat them away.

Just need history to repeat itself.

Hopefully we won't go down a few seasons after, leading to a slide to the 3rd tier

[brian green]

I would normally use the expression that the table does not lie.  In normal circumstances it is indisputable reality.  These however are not normal circumstances.  The cumulative outcome of games played this season has been skewed partly by Covid 19 but that could have had compliance by the termination of the season by lockdown.  Far more damage to the fair and even handed running of the leagues has been due to the manipulation of money driven television contracts.

I used the word excruciating about this season and was taken to task for describing it as such.  In my personal opinion the slow motion, money driven car crash that the 19/20 season has become is the most painful, not least because of exclusion from it, I have ever endured.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

I'd normally say that the table doesn't lie, but this season whoever finishes wherever they don't want to has got a case for saying that it's not exactly telling the truth. We haven't all been treated equally and you can't get round that fact.

VAR does feel like that although we’ve had a couple of decisions go our way post lockdown and one or two against. The 5 sub rule has impacted all of us further down the table, agreed in that.

The 5 sub rule seems to have impacted us more than anyone, I’m thinking of the Chelsea and Liverpool games where they changed the game. Klopp wouldn’t have made a triple substitution (bringing on 3 big hitters) without the 5 sub rule.

The there’s the fact that we played less home games in front of a crowd than any other team in the bottom half.

[paul_e]

It’s amazing that we’re still in with a chance. Win 2 games and stay up. Sadly I just can’t see us changing the habit we’ve had all season of bottling things.
But please just do something extraordinary Villa!

It really isn't, given the number of points we've got and the quality of teams around us it's entirely expected for us to have a decent chance to stay up. This is what I meant earlier, people comment about us being 'lucky' to still be in the mix and clubs doing us favours as if it's only us in the fight that have problems.

Which is fine, as long as we acknowledge - should it come to pass - that we weren't unlucky to go down.

Has anyone done that? We've been on the end of some shitty luck (losing Wesley and Heaton for the season in the space of 20 minutes was a hammer blow and one any club near the bottom would struggle with) but if we go down it'll be because we've dropped so many points by conceding in the last 15minutes.  Which leads nicely to:

The 5 sub rule seems to have impacted us more than anyone, I’m thinking of the Chelsea and Liverpool games where they changed the game. Klopp wouldn’t have made a triple substitution (bringing on 3 big hitters) without the 5 sub rule.

Part of th eproblem here is that Smith hasn't adapted to it. He's making the changes in the same way and at the same times as he was when it was 3 subs. Against Everton, for example, we were on top and on course for 3 points but they made 2 double subs in the space of 10 that changed the game and we finished the game with 3 subs unused whilst we watched them overrun us in midfield. Having better players on the bench is great but sometimes you just need to break up the play and we don't use our subs well enough to do that. the change just further highlights how poor we've been at that.

[ChicagoLion]

It's starting to feel that some people want us to fail just so they are proven right on a supporters forum...sad.

The narrative with some will all be about how lucky we were to stay up if we do

So some supporters want us to go down and others Have  their excuses ready if we stay up.
Not sure where this ranks in the better supporters than you,

Pretty high me thinks.

God that must of been bugging you to actually scroll through the last 6 or 7 pages to seek it out.
If some people want to be perennially negative including yourself good luck, it has been crap enough for most of the season to induce negativity in most of us including me. If I want to point out that in my opinion, if we manage to stay up, some posters will say that we are lucky, I’m entitled to do that or am I not? I’m not saying the same people won’t want us to stay up, just that they will say were lucky. I don’t think I’ve made one comment about some supporters being better than others or some supporters wanting us to get relegated, you’ve draw those conclusions yourself. Unless you want to spend some more time scrolling through pages of various threads to prove some point?

itsallaboutme.com

That took a lot of thought and insight, we’ll done you.
UTV

you would prefer me to write paragraphs explaining why I don’t think I am a better fan than everybody else. Sad.

[The Edge]

I'd normally say that the table doesn't lie, but this season whoever finishes wherever they don't want to has got a case for saying that it's not exactly telling the truth. We haven't all been treated equally and you can't get round that fact.

VAR does feel like that although we’ve had a couple of decisions go our way post lockdown and one or two against. The 5 sub rule has impacted all of us further down the table, agreed in that.

The 5 sub rule seems to have impacted us more than anyone, I’m thinking of the Chelsea and Liverpool games where they changed the game. Klopp wouldn’t have made a triple substitution (bringing on 3 big hitters) without the 5 sub rule.

The there’s the fact that we played less home games in front of a crowd than any other team in the bottom half.

Then there's the impact var has had. Who can forget Kevin fkn Friends stitch up job?The table doesn't lie is still true but for this season several caveats need to be added. As for our plight I think Arsenal have hit a vein of form which can be good and bad for us. I think we can get a draw tonight and I fancy 2-2. Man City to beat Watford although they aren't firing on all cylinders right now. Arsenal would be desperate to go out with a bang on the last day which will hopefully do for Watford. Escape is possible so I will keep the faith. UTV.

[Nii Lamptey]

I'd normally say that the table doesn't lie, but this season whoever finishes wherever they don't want to has got a case for saying that it's not exactly telling the truth. We haven't all been treated equally and you can't get round that fact.

VAR does feel like that although we’ve had a couple of decisions go our way post lockdown and one or two against. The 5 sub rule has impacted all of us further down the table, agreed in that.

Not just VAR either. The imbalance of fixtures with and without crowds has been a massive factor too. Villa Park would have been rammed to the rafters these last few games, and it's without question that fans add a little more intensity to performances (well, sometimes in our team's case!).

Arsenal at an empty Villa Park will be a much less daunting experience for their players tonight than it could have been, whereas Bournemouth played them at their place in December, pre-lockdown and managed to get a 1-1 draw out of it.

[Mister E]

The 5 sub rule seems to have impacted us more than anyone, I’m thinking of the Chelsea and Liverpool games where they changed the game. Klopp wouldn’t have made a triple substitution (bringing on 3 big hitters) without the 5 sub rule.

Part of the problem here is that Smith hasn't adapted to it. He's making the changes in the same way and at the same times as he was when it was 3 subs. Against Everton, for example, we were on top and on course for 3 points but they made 2 double subs in the space of 10 that changed the game and we finished the game with 3 subs unused whilst we watched them overrun us in midfield. Having better players on the bench is great but sometimes you just need to break up the play and we don't use our subs well enough to do that. the change just further highlights how poor we've been at that.

Get what you're saying and in no way a robust defence of Smith but:
- breaking up the play cuts both ways sometimes
- the paucity of our on-the-bench options leaves me with little doubt that we'd be weakening the team to bring some of them on, even if the team is knackered.

I've said before, Smith has the option of having some young tyros on the bench: bringing them on to run around and disrupt the opposition would be preferable to watching Ange stroll around ...