Aston Villa v West Ham Post-Match Thread

[Rigadon]

Just a bit of praise here

Praise but Hargreaves was talking out of his fucking arse.

Some of his comments were good, however we bought Luiz and Martinez before Emery showed up Owen. He has improved them since though.

I turned off when he said Ramsey could be a 'top 4' player.  He's right, but just not in the way he thinks. 

I get why some of us like being under the radar, but I'm equally sensitive to shit like this in the Guardian's match report:

"Unai Emery can celebrate his first anniversary in charge of Aston Villa on Tuesday safe in the knowledge that he has turned his team into contenders to be considered among the best of the rest."

I think it's clear that we're already more than that. 

Depends what's included with 'the rest' really. If they mean Abu Dhabi FC and then 19 others, then maybe!

They mean 7th or 8th.  Maybe, if we're lucky.

[Somniloquism]

I’ve always thought Antonio was over rated and yesterday proved it, he was absolute mince.

I like him, seems a nice person and he's made the most of the talent he has. He's also getting on for 34, so it's probably about time they upgraded him.

I don't know if Bowen through the middle and Kudus in his position would be better or worse, but definitely worth trying. However Moyes seems to be very reluctant to start Kudus. Maybe because he isn't English and a player he wanted.

[lovejoy]

Currently having a walk around the fine city of Bergerac and it's full of cockney-sounding English people. I have my Aston Villa woolly hat on and my Villa golf brolly to hand.

My regards to Cyrano and his big nose. A glass of Pecharmant later perhaps?

[rob_bridge]

Just a bit of praise here

Praise but Hargreaves was talking out of his fucking arse.

Some of his comments were good, however we bought Luiz and Martinez before Emery showed up Owen. He has improved them since though.

I turned off when he said Ramsey could be a 'top 4' player.  He's right, but just not in the way he thinks. 

I get why some of us like being under the radar, but I'm equally sensitive to shit like this in the Guardian's match report:

"Unai Emery can celebrate his first anniversary in charge of Aston Villa on Tuesday safe in the knowledge that he has turned his team into contenders to be considered among the best of the rest."

I think it's clear that we're already more than that. 

Depends what's included with 'the rest' really. If they mean Abu Dhabi FC and then 19 others, then maybe!

They mean 7th or 8th.  Maybe, if we're lucky.

Contenders be 7th or 8th - best case. Or 10th-11th would be par for course if we have business as usual season?

[Monty]

I think, given the article mentions Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool in the next paragraph, that those clubs are considered the shoo-ins for top 3 by many. But it's ambiguously worded.

[pablo_picasso]

Fabulous stuff.

Apart from that flukey as fuck goal & a 15 minute spell where we wobbled a bit afterwards, we dominated that game.

Great to see Watkins score & assists. Bailey looks like he is offering something this season, compared to last. Douglas Luiz fantastic as usual.

The most interesting thing for me after the game though was Emery talking about how he wants more from Douglas Luiz. He highlighted a spell where it looked like he took his foot off the gas, to Emery.

This demanding of excellence is why Emery is an elite coach.

[rob_bridge]

I think, given the article mentions Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool in the next paragraph, that those clubs are considered the shoo-ins for top 3 by many. But it's ambiguously worded.

I don't expect us to finish above City or Liverpool being brutally honest. If we carry on as is then we'd be in the mix with Arsenal, Spurs and the Biggies below us, depending on how they turn.

[Meanwood Villa]

Just watched the Sky extended highlights. Some of the comments really pricked my ears. Quoting our old songs (When You’re Smiling, The Bells are Ringing), talking about Spaghetti Junction… it’s almost as if there’s a bit of re-branding of us as one of their favourites.

watching the sky highlights I noticed that that myself

Was it Peter Drury on commentary? I didn't realise he was with Sky. I used to find him intensely annoying back in his ITV days but I guess I don't mind if he's blowing smoke up our arse.

[john e]

Top 3 will be Man City arsenal Liverpool imo

4/5 will be a bun fight and up for grabs for a few teams including us

[LeeB]

I think, given the article mentions Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool in the next paragraph, that those clubs are considered the shoo-ins for top 3 by many. But it's ambiguously worded.

I don't expect us to finish above City or Liverpool being brutally honest. If we carry on as is then we'd be in the mix with Arsenal, Spurs and the Biggies below us, depending on how they turn.

I think it would take a big injury to Rodri or Salah to pull either of those in.

[85kota]

Not convinced about Arsenal. They spent a lot of money but haven't impoved and I think Arteta's ego is too big.

[Toronto Villa]

Top 3 will be Man City arsenal Liverpool imo

4/5 will be a bun fight and up for grabs for a few teams including us

Love a good bun fight. You want to choose one with decent density so that it hits harder on impact.

[Brend'Watkins]

It was a fabulous result given that West Ham are no mugs.  All over the pitch we had great play but for a spell of intermittent poor passing in the 2nd half.  We executed the passing out from the back very well.  It's now got to the stage that I don't have kittens when we start doing it.  I might not be so confident if we have to play some of the other squad members in those back positions mind.  A special shout out to Tielemans and Bailey who both played their part for the amount of time they had on. I'm still undecided which goal I liked the best between Ollie's and Bailey's.  I love seeing the ball being smashed/leathered/whacked into the net in that fashion and that step over by Bailey was filth.

[LeeB]

Not convinced about Arsenal. They spent a lot of money but haven't impoved and I think Arteta's ego is too big.

Same here.

[Toronto Villa]

And the almost £100m they lashed out on Havertz and Raya is just mind bogglingly bad business.