Aston Villa v Arsenal Post Match Thread

[Olof's Beard]

It’s still not over and Sunday will be a nightmare, but I have to pipe up because it’s something that I’ve seen on here and has  pissed me off no end in the last few weeks.

The team might still not be good enough to stay up. Dean Smith might still be tactically naive and have not made the right decisions at the right time. But anyone who has said this team don’t have bollocks, don’t work hard enough or don’t care enough is just fucking wrong. We’ve had enough piss takers in the last ten years. and this team are not that.  So anyone who has called the manager or any of the players cowards in the last month, then it’s about time you apologised.

This. I've been shocked by the level of abuse on here, so much so that it's put me off posting. People saying they hate the team, the players are gutless, Smith is clueless, Grealish has one foot out of the door. I do think some of it is born out of desperation to stay up after a horrible decade and the effort it took to win promotion, but this team is nothing like the one that got relegated in 2016. The players are prone to error and many of them are still learning, but they all care and they all try. That's whatever happens Sunday, and I just hope there isn't another big twist to come.

[RichardBatchelor]

According to another website, we are ‘spawny vile bastards’.


Again.

Who cares?u

Not me.

[Mellin]

It’s still not over and Sunday will be a nightmare, but I have to pipe up because it’s something that I’ve seen on here and has  pissed me off no end in the last few weeks.

The team might still not be good enough to stay up. Dean Smith might still be tactically naive and have not made the right decisions at the right time. But anyone who has said this team don’t have bollocks, don’t work hard enough or don’t care enough is just fucking wrong. We’ve had enough piss takers in the last ten years. and this team are not that.  So anyone who has called the manager or any of the players cowards in the last month, then it’s about time you apologised.

Correct. Saw someone say this team was worse than 2016 the other day. Have a word.

Well done, lads. I hope we can do it on the final day. If the worst happens, it won't be due to a lack of effort.

[Damo70]

According to another website, we are ‘spawny vile bastards’.


Again.

The noses are absolutely obsessed and convinced that they were going to overtake us until the derby in which Grealish was assaulted by their fan. They put every forward step of ours and every backward step of theirs since  that game down to that game and particularly that incident.

[paul_e]

It’s still not over and Sunday will be a nightmare, but I have to pipe up because it’s something that I’ve seen on here and has  pissed me off no end in the last few weeks.

The team might still not be good enough to stay up. Dean Smith might still be tactically naive and have not made the right decisions at the right time. But anyone who has said this team don’t have bollocks, don’t work hard enough or don’t care enough is just fucking wrong. We’ve had enough piss takers in the last ten years. and this team are not that.  So anyone who has called the manager or any of the players cowards in the last month, then it’s about time you apologised.

If this was Twitter I'd reply with what I think the young people call a gif, of a standing ovation.

I agree completely, the 2 things that annoy me about football more than anything are the instant "we just need to work harder" reaction to any poor form and the idea that teams near the bottom losing games are somehow lifelines, they're not, teams near the bottom lose all the time, it's why they're there. We didn't get lucky with Watford getting spanked by Man City, that's what happens when they play that fixture because they're not a very good team.

If I could be arsed I'd take a look on the Watford and Bournemouth forums tonight because I bet they're full of people posting about how if they worked as hard as us they'd be fine and raving about the desire and work ethic of our players.

[RichardBatchelor]

Was relatively confident pre-game as our performances have been progressively getting better of late. Delighted with how we played today, failure to get the killer second nearly cost us again but we deservedly held on. Helped by a somewhat disinterested Arsenal which would worry me ahead of Sunday but that's for another day. Credit to Smith, smart subs who all contributed and even that Lansbury cameo at end killed the clock a bit.

We have brought it down to the last game so credit to all of them for the past three games but it's position after game 38 that counts, not 37.

Reina 6 - don't recall a save, just aswell because I don't fancy him making one
Elmo 6 - started well but was worried with him trying to carry on ala Mings v Leicester
Guilbert 8 - had a couple of horror show appearances before his injury but reminded us today how good a player he can be. Fast, aggressive, good on the ball
Konsa 7 - solid again, made one crucial interception after a Mings error early in the second half
Mings 5 - very good first half but two horrible errors in second half could have killed us. Embarrassing the ease he was beaten with in the air for that moment when time stood still...
Targett 6 - decent on the ball but lacks it seems confidence to stray too far from Mings, leaving huge space that their dreadful right back failed to exploit thankfully
Luiz 7 - did the cynical stuff well but didn't do enough to get us playing out from the back. That forced Grealish to drop a lot deeper than planned
Hourihane 7 - key to the goal with an excellent corner, tidy when give time and space. Less so without the ball. A good pro for us, we know what we get and don't get from him.
McGinn 7 - struggled to get involved in first half but finished the game very strongly. Could have done a lot better with that chance I thought, lashed at it
Trez 7 - humble pie for me tonight. Great finish and one of his better days in a Villa shirt aside from that
Samatta 4 - tried hard but offered very little in terms of link play or goal threat
Grealish 10 - different class throughout with the ball and best I've seen him without it. Real leader for us, Davis scores that chance and that run from Jack is showed on tv all summer long.
Davis 7 - huge improvement from Samatta when he came in but that effort was horrid and given the kind footwork of the keeper was as bad as AEGs looking back. Poor guy
Nakamba 7 - battled hard when he came in and fresh legs were needed then

With all due respect, 5 for Mings is absurd. One miscue aside, I thought he was imperious.

[robbo1874]

I’ve also rated Guilbert this season. He’s quality, you can see it. Fuck me, that was an anxious last 20 mins for me. It was like the clock was ticking backwards instead of forward! Need to beat the spammers now to properly see the job through. Fk relying on anyone else to lose.

[Mellin]

Yeah, 5 for Mings is absolutely mental. He was excellent.

[ClarrieBlue]

Now, to have a fucking heart attack.

I spent the whole of the game feeling physically sick.

I had to walk round the garden from about 75 mins with my phone.I couldn't watch the tele any longer. Anybody know how to use a defibrillator.

[RichardBatchelor]

It’s still not over and Sunday will be a nightmare, but I have to pipe up because it’s something that I’ve seen on here and has  pissed me off no end in the last few weeks.

The team might still not be good enough to stay up. Dean Smith might still be tactically naive and have not made the right decisions at the right time. But anyone who has said this team don’t have bollocks, don’t work hard enough or don’t care enough is just fucking wrong. We’ve had enough piss takers in the last ten years. and this team are not that.  So anyone who has called the manager or any of the players cowards in the last month, then it’s about time you apologised.

Well said, love this team and even in defeat we’ve seen some very good football from them at times.

[Des Little]

I’ve never walked around my flat as much as I have tonight. There’s some rather nice parts of it I’d nearly forgotten about.

[Toronto Villa]

Rusty Freddy! My cult favourite... he came on against the odds.  But the mindset,  the effort... first game in 6 months  - wauv

I agree, he looked as good as he did early in the season.  The thing with Guilbert is he is quick, and he can tackle, which seem like obvious requirements for a defender, but one which a lot of ours don't seem to have.

You could make a case that in large part our PL season, with one game to go, might have been saved with the fortuitous introduction of two different RB’s

[Risso]

I was tidying my desk at one point.  Thought I'd wasted at least 10 minutes, but was disappointed to note that 0.0000000003 nanoseconds had elapsed.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Right now, I don't give a shit what anybody else thinks, I had a phone conversation with my quarantined father, it was magical, right up there with Old Trafford 77, Highbury 81 and Rotterdam 82. All three times he warned me not to expect too much, don't get your hopes up but this season I knew we weren't as bad as we pretend to be. Tonight it was great to see the true character of Aston Villa once again shine through.

Other than that...YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

What a relief. The last 20 minutes was like 120 minutes and a penalty shoot out. Proud of every player tonight. It's all we ever ask for, the full Ron Saunders. Credit to Smith for getting organised like we haven't been all season. Onwards and upwards!

[Edvard Remberg]

Hope is arising... my fellow Faroese Lions are requesting we do a gathering for the last game