Champions League Contention

[Demitri_C]

Althought its unlikely for both bit im gonna be absolutely heart broken if we go out the cup and finish 5th.

That would be proper deflating

It would be gutting - particularly given that 5 would have been enough if any of the other clubs had turned up in Europe this year.

We only need to grind out one more "normal" performance to secure either a final or UCL.

Whats disappointing is that i think had we got a point yesterday that would have been enough.  Now we have to play strongest players and could afford to rest some players for liverpool. I have  a feeling we wont go strong against olympiakos

[Nii Lamptey]

No way will Unai field a weakened side against Olympiacos. You don't throw away a chance at a European final, when you've put SO much into it, 90 minutes before the end.

We'll get both the final place and 4th place in the league. Trust the process. UTV

[stevo_st]

I think we need to snap out of this ‘typical villa’ way of think as a club / fans / plays. And start to all be believe like Emi. We need a winning mentality throughout the club.
Unai always talked about the importance of the fans getting onside, being patient, with our new way of playing out the back. Now we need to appreciate how good we are and our potential to go up even further levels.

Caveating that I wasn’t at VP for the game, but the most disappointing thing I felt after Thursdays match was the atmosphere we created during the match - yes things didn’t go our way - but we should be outsinging the away fans, the eerie atmosphere after going 2 goals down and missing the pen isn’t the best way to support and encourage our team.

[Monty]

I would say that it's a good thing we got ourselves into an incompetence-off with actual Tottenham Hotspur.

[Risso]

I would say that it's a good thing we got ourselves into an incompetence-off with actual Tottenham Hotspur.

The trouble is, the most likely league results in the next round of games are a Spurs win and a Villa defeat. If that happens, it really is going to be twitchy arse syndrome. We then absolutely need Man City to beat Spurs away. If they don't, well then I think we'd have fucked it as I can't see us beating Palace the form we're in. The goal difference could very easily disappear as well.

[Drummond]

The disappointment for me is that had we won and clinched the Champions League place, we really could have gone all out on Thursday, and not had to worry at all about the Liverpool or Palace games. Now we've still got to manage all three very carefully. Finishing 5th and going out in the semis is looking more likely than it did a few days ago.

More likely, suggests that it is likely.

Whilst I agree we have an uphill battle against Olympiakos, 4th is ours barring an unlikely turn around in form and performance from Spurs.

I think we can do both but it's likely that we will just achieve one of the two. ☺

I don't mean to be pedantic, but can't help it.

[Proposition Joe]

I would say that it's a good thing we got ourselves into an incompetence-off with actual Tottenham Hotspur.

I remember back in the summer 1993 I bought me a Match or Shoot with a "Villa Thrillers" special. In it the first line was "what a great season it's been for Aston Villa" and I remember thinking that is NOT how I saw it at all. We blew the title and worse of let ManUre win it, thus keeping Fergie in a job. Typical Villa, settling for second best when something genuinely special was within reach.

Times have changed, but for me 5th place would be as disappointing as that second place. The way it looks is that we have this tiny window of opportunity to get into the CL, next season I expect the usual closed shop at the top, and so to blow it after being so close would be nothing less than a crushing disappointment.

This is what makes yesterday so annoying - we had the chance to not rely on Spurs being Spursy, and we didn't take it.

[Monty]

I would say that it's a good thing we got ourselves into an incompetence-off with actual Tottenham Hotspur.

The trouble is, the most likely league results in the next round of games are a Spurs win and a Villa defeat. If that happens, it really is going to be twitchy arse syndrome. We then absolutely need Man City to beat Spurs away. If they don't, well then I think we'd have fucked it as I can't see us beating Palace the form we're in. The goal difference could very easily disappear as well.

Believe me, I know. It's all absolutely hideous. It's just that, even if Spurs get a creditable point against City, a scratchy, desperate, skin-of-our-arse point against Palace would be enough too. There are more probable permutations in our favour still. Just. JUST.

[Risso]

The disappointment for me is that had we won and clinched the Champions League place, we really could have gone all out on Thursday, and not had to worry at all about the Liverpool or Palace games. Now we've still got to manage all three very carefully. Finishing 5th and going out in the semis is looking more likely than it did a few days ago.

More likely, suggests that it is likely.

Whilst I agree we have an uphill battle against Olympiakos, 4th is ours barring an unlikely turn around in form and performance from Spurs.

I think we can do both but it's likely that we will just achieve one of the two. ☺

I don't mean to be pedantic, but can't help it.

You're not being pedantic, you're just being incorrect. "More likely than it did a few days ago" could technically still be highly unlikely if it is one in a million now, where a few days ago it was like one in a billion.

[lovejoy]

The chat on here that Brighton are shot and we’ve never lost at their place for 49 years virtually guaranteeing us victory has dried up hasn’t it.
I just wish people would think before posting such garbage.

[Tom_Mc9?]

I think, despite mounting evidence to suggest otherwise, we’ll beat Liverpool.

[Monty]

The chat on here that Brighton are shot and we’ve never lost at their place for 49 years virtually guaranteeing us victory has dried up hasn’t it.
I just wish people would think before posting such garbage.

On balance, I don't think that was the deciding factor in the result.

[Risso]

Believe me, I know. It's all absolutely hideous. It's just that, even if Spurs get a creditable point against City, a scratchy, desperate, skin-of-our-arse point against Palace would be enough too. There are more probable permutations in our favour still. Just. JUST.

Well, I might bung £500 on Spurs while it's still 16/1. That way, if we do scrape over the line, I'll be ecstatic, and if we don't, I'll have enough for a great holiday instead to cheer myself up.

[Ads]

The chat on here that Brighton are shot and we’ve never lost at their place for 49 years virtually guaranteeing us victory has dried up hasn’t it.
I just wish people would think before posting such garbage.

Why would people predict a result in a game that's already happened? I do wish people would think before they etc etc.

[VillaTim]

I'd rest a few on Thursday now as the Liverpool / Palace games are the absolute priority. If we miss out on 4th it's going to feel like a poor end to the season .