Middlesbrough v Aston Villa pre-match thread

[john e]

I am a bit too young to comment with authority on 1991-92 but the consensus is we should have won the FA Cup that season.

We queued for 4 hours for tickets to the quarter final at Anfield. We really had a good chance that day, maybe not quite as much so as the other night at Old Trafford but it was certainly a good chance to beat them on their own turf, but they won 1-0. The atmosphere was electric from our end and they had empty seats. I think we were the 2 best teams still in it from memory so yes, had we been better on the day we could well have gone on to win the trophy which they actually did by beating 2nd division Sunderland in the final.

I was living in Coventry at the time and Queued up for a few hours right around VP they ran out of tickets as I was about 50 or so from the front
I did get the yellow shirt though which I thought was super cool at the time but now seems a bit garish

[Clark W Griswold]

I am a bit too young to comment with authority on 1991-92 but the consensus is we should have won the FA Cup that season.

We queued for 4 hours for tickets to the quarter final at Anfield. We really had a good chance that day, maybe not quite as much so as the other night at Old Trafford but it was certainly a good chance to beat them on their own turf, but they won 1-0. The atmosphere was electric from our end and they had empty seats. I think we were the 2 best teams still in it from memory so yes, had we been better on the day we could well have gone on to win the trophy which they actually did by beating 2nd division Sunderland in the final.

I was living in Coventry at the time and Queued up for a few hours right around VP they ran out of tickets as I was about 50 or so from the front
I did get the yellow shirt though which I thought was super cool at the time but now seems a bit garish

Yeah the queue was all around the stadium, I’d have been miffed if they’d sold out for us ! I’ll admit that I liked the shirt too.

[not3bad]

Emery must play a strong side for this.

Sod everything else, I want to get to the 4th round of the cup (and then further than that if possible).

[ADVILLAFAN]

Think we will play a similar side to our Europa Conference games.

Mix of first teamers and reserves.

[VillaTim]

our bench is pretty strong nowadays , can people stop fretting

[Behind Bluenose Lines]

I want to get to the 4th round of the cup

For once!

[BC Villain]

Take it seriously this time please Unai

He took it seriously last time.

Shame the team he picked didn't

[Paul.S]

Can’t see us losing this, 3-0 Villa.

[pauliewalnuts]

I remember thinking at the time it was very "Villa" to get a new manager in who is seen as an absolute fucking magician in cup competitions, only to get knocked out of one in his second game, and then a month or so later, another one, against a bunch of postmen and plumbers you'd expect Small Heath to beat.

[eamonn]

Just watched the MOTD extended highlights of Liverpool v Villa FA Cup Quarter Final 1991/92 here:

Some observations:

- Two well-matched sides. As shown in the final league standings that season. Home advantage probably the marginal difference helping Liverpool win through. Seems that they missed important players like John Barnes and Ronnie Whelan for most of that season through injury. Both played in this game and in the post-match interview Souness said that it was the first time all season he had been able to play something like his strongest XI.

- I was surprised to see back-passes still allowed. I was sure they had been outlawed the previous year.

 - McGrath helped instigate two of our best opportunities to score. Grobbelar was the busier of the goalkeepers. Thomas, before his goal, and Atkinson later, had the two best chances outside of the winning goal. Froggatt, young and eager to impress as a sub, over-hit the cross to Dalian. A little less pace on the ball and he would (probably) have buried it.

- Grobbelaar gave the Villa fans behind his goal applause at the end, fair play.

- Barnes looked a class above anyone else, his pass made the winning goal.

[Axl Rose]

Anfield was still a shithole back then, I see.

[Perthvillan]

Gotta say as an old fart that I also would love to see us win the FA Cup before I leave this world.
So would like too see us field a pretty strong starting line up.
It has been a bit of an obsession of mine since I saw us lose at home to Rotherham in Round 4 in 1968.
I travelled from Australia to be at the 2015 final.
I know it doesn't mean as much these days but I would take it over the Europa Conference.

[LeeS]

A question for the "holy grail" contingent - if we did finally win it again (this year or any other year) would that scratch the itch? Would that shift your view and place the cup's importance further back? I'd love to go back to the old days when cup final day was really special. But those days are (sadly) long gone.

[Perthvillan]

Yes Lee I think so.

[Towser]

A question for the "holy grail" contingent - if we did finally win it again (this year or any other year) would that scratch the itch? Would that shift your view and place the cup's importance further back? I'd love to go back to the old days when cup final day was really special. But those days are (sadly) long gone.

For me, its not something we have won in my lifetime (I am 64 this year) If I could see us win this before I go, it would complete my Villa supporting lifetime, then in whatever years I have left, we can win Premier League and Champions League, then maybe FA Cup again (dont want much do I?) Plus, the way we are going as a club, why not another League and Cup double with a European Trophy thrown in for good measure. I would love cup final day to be like it used to be, the whole Saturday, Watching Grandstand with Road to Wembley, Players Wives etc etc early start, late finish and whilst you always wanted it to be 'your club' participating, it was still special as a neutral, but this is never going to come back