Aston Villa v Olympiacos - Post-Match Thread

[Demitri_C]

One thing I haven't seen being mentioned, but Villa Park was loud last night - particularly pre-kick off.

I might be biased but one of the best away fans too.

They were very good, might have been swayed by my position in the upper north but I was thinking, fuck me if a couple of thousand are like this, it’s going to be mayhem with 30/40k in the away leg.

I spoke to a mate who’s been to all the Euro games and he said the atmosphere in Warsaw was the best he can remember, so it’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on Athens.

They are very loud and passionate  but they can turn on their team very quickly too.  Their fans were going mental when they also almost blew a 3  goal lead. against fenebache. They ca  get very nervy. There is a lot of pressure on the side as they are now expected to finish the job and withe final in greece there is that extra expectation

Honestly they do have a the capability of crumbling which gives me a slight glimmer of hope. But we would have to score early.

If our players ignore the noise and really want it they can make up for that shit show. Also our fans going to be loud noisy ans make themselves heard. We hardly heard them in lille. The players will need your support

[algy]

Bozzie watching the game last night

https://x.com/iantaylor7/status/1786476531021230158?s=46

We felt the same joy and mostly anguish

Nice to see, but if he cares that much he could always have not left. I was a goalkeeper as a kid and him leaving hit me harder than Yorke, without a doubt.

Man U at the peak of their powers came calling as they did with Yorke. We as we have for numerous other players couldn’t provide an environment for sustained success. He can still care deeply even if he addressed his career by leaving us.

Joe? ..... Joe Grealish? ...... Is that you?

[Risso]

Bozzie watching the game last night

https://x.com/iantaylor7/status/1786476531021230158?s=46

We felt the same joy and mostly anguish

I thought it was Eamonn Holmes.

You've got a point, blimey he's piled it on a bit!

[Risso]

I'm only fucking angels at the moment, sorry chief.

The famous line from the Robbie Williams song that didn't make the final edit.

[RamboandBruno]

I’m still flat after last night too, but we had a good chat on the drive back to London last night.

Haven’t seen any highlights yet - haven’t seen a link - but a few points that come to mind:

Disappointed Torres didn’t start - presumably he can’t do two games in a few days so needs to be managed
Our passing was woeful and inconsistent, starting with that horror pass across his own box by Dougie after 2 minutes
Our high line didn’t feel fine tuned last night. Similar to Lille at home, who could have had 3 goals in first half
We were slow and indecisive in our passing, and struggled to move the ball through the middle
Errors, errors - Ollie losing the ball for their second, Lenglet for some reason shepherding the ball out for the corner that lead to their third, Dougie’s handball, giving the ball away cheaply for their fourth, falling for niggly stuff to delay our penalty…..

If we finish 5th and go out in Athens we would still have had a brilliant season, so I’m not whinging, but I think the autumn Villa would have done much better against Olympiacos last night. Given our away performances in Europe I’m not expecting a turnaround, but that 10-20% hope is still there. I was in Warsaw and reckon the game next week will be a madder atmosphere. It would be one of the greatest nights in our history if we turned this around.

Agree with a lot of that Pat.
Also, didn’t think this when i was at the match (just a bit stunned to take it all in), but watched the goals back last night, and taking on board the poor play that led to them, Martinez still would of saved the 2nd and 4th goals.  Also on the pen Olsen left a massive space to his right and its exactly where their player put it, whilst he dived the other way.

Im not saying Olsens to blame for everything, but Emi would of got us out of jail and I think we go on and draw or win the game.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

One thing I haven't seen being mentioned, but Villa Park was loud last night - particularly pre-kick off.

I might be biased but one of the best away fans too.

They were very good, might have been swayed by my position in the upper north but I was thinking, fuck me if a couple of thousand are like this, it’s going to be mayhem with 30/40k in the away leg.

I spoke to a mate who’s been to all the Euro games and he said the atmosphere in Warsaw was the best he can remember, so it’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on Athens.

They are very loud and passionate  but they can turn on their team very quickly too.  Their fans were going mental when they also almost blew a 3  goal lead. against fenebache. They ca  get very nervy. There is a lot of pressure on the side as they are now expected to finish the job and withe final in greece there is that extra expectation

Honestly they do have a the capability of crumbling which gives me a slight glimmer of hope. But we would have to score early.

If our players ignore the noise and really want it they can make up for that shit show. Also our fans going to be loud noisy ans make themselves heard. We hardly heard them in lille. The players will need your support

Interesting that you say they can be quick to turn and I agree an early goal to get them nervous would be great but as long as it’s 0-0 we’re quite capable of scoring a couple of quick goals. What will be more important will be not conceding early.

There’s some optimism, rightly so imo, if Torres, Martinez and Tielemans are back but how likely is it? I’d say only Pau looks likely currently.

[Meanwood Villa]

He was 27 when he fucked off and he barely played again, fuck him.

Yep, fuck everyone who has ever chosen to leave us when we still want them. Players come and go; I support Aston Villa.

But Bosnich fucking off was tough for me, as a kid.

Were you any good as a keeper as a kid? My older brother was a keeper, just Saturday/Sunday stuff, but you need to be a bit tapped. I was a rapid right back, think Kyle Walker but paler and less likely to get his cock out in pubs.

At first I was just the fat kid stuck in goal, but I was okay. I had decent reflexes and was good at closing down space and defending one-on-ones. But I couldn't catch a ball to save my life.

Better than Olsen then

[Pat McMahon]

One thing I haven't seen being mentioned, but Villa Park was loud last night - particularly pre-kick off.

I might be biased but one of the best away fans too.

They were very good, might have been swayed by my position in the upper north but I was thinking, fuck me if a couple of thousand are like this, it’s going to be mayhem with 30/40k in the away leg.

I spoke to a mate who’s been to all the Euro games and he said the atmosphere in Warsaw was the best he can remember, so it’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on Athens.

They are very loud and passionate  but they can turn on their team very quickly too.  Their fans were going mental when they also almost blew a 3  goal lead. against fenebache. They ca  get very nervy. There is a lot of pressure on the side as they are now expected to finish the job and withe final in greece there is that extra expectation

Honestly they do have a the capability of crumbling which gives me a slight glimmer of hope. But we would have to score early.

If our players ignore the noise and really want it they can make up for that shit show. Also our fans going to be loud noisy ans make themselves heard. We hardly heard them in lille. The players will need your support

We were sat near the Villa fans in Lille and they weren’t too loud after the first goal but were better in the second half. They were really good in extra time.

I don’t know who your Greek team is but the Olympiacos fans we met were really decent, though only about half spoke English. I was expecting more “look at us we’re mad choreographed ultras “ behaviour but they were just noisy without aggression.

[The Edge]

When we got to 2-2, I thought we’d win 4 or 5 but we have really lost any kind of solidity defending for a long time. Weird really as it was a real strength in Unai’s first 12 months.

I thought they were very average, no better than Legia, and we’d have beaten them easily earlier in the season.

Lots of comments on the ref I agree with, but the one that really got me was in the first half when we were breaking down the right and he called it back to give free kick for us in our half and wagged his finger at their player without booking him.

I know it's almost treading into conspiracy theory territory and that is never good, but something still doesn't sit right with me about that officiating the other night.  I could understand if he'd been incompetent and as equally bad for both sides, but he clearly wasn't.  He just seemed to almost manage them through the game, giving them favourable decisions when they most needed them. 

That decision to not play advantage that you mention only to then not book the player was awful and it just kept happening at times when they needed something during the game.  Was it really wise to have Italian officials in a game when there is still an Italian team in the competition and Italian football benefits in general from that team doing well in that competition?  I doubt very much we would see an English referee appointed to a game in those circumstances to be totally honest.

Unfortunately, I fear that officiating in the 2nd leg is going to be even worse.

Normally I am the same, but I looked who was the referee during  the match and guessed it was Italian looking at the name, there were other incidents during the game, I am not into the Eurovision song contest thing but it had vibes of it, you could stick Adele in it and we still wouldn't win, although that was no excuse for the performance

Luckily the officials are Italian and we all know how honest and trustworthy they are and they have never been involved in any scandals involving brown envelopes. My cousin Tony who lives in Naples has sent them his "best wishes" We've got this chaps.

[martin o`who??]

One thing I haven't seen being mentioned, but Villa Park was loud last night - particularly pre-kick off.

I might be biased but one of the best away fans too.

They were very good, might have been swayed by my position in the upper north but I was thinking, fuck me if a couple of thousand are like this, it’s going to be mayhem with 30/40k in the away leg.

I spoke to a mate who’s been to all the Euro games and he said the atmosphere in Warsaw was the best he can remember, so it’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on Athens.

They are very loud and passionate  but they can turn on their team very quickly too.  Their fans were going mental when they also almost blew a 3  goal lead. against fenebache. They ca  get very nervy. There is a lot of pressure on the side as they are now expected to finish the job and withe final in greece there is that extra expectation

Honestly they do have a the capability of crumbling which gives me a slight glimmer of hope. But we would have to score early.

If our players ignore the noise and really want it they can make up for that shit show. Also our fans going to be loud noisy ans make themselves heard. We hardly heard them in lille. The players will need your support

We were sat near the Villa fans in Lille and they weren’t too loud after the first goal but were better in the second half. They were really good in extra time.

I don’t know who your Greek team is but the Olympiacos fans we met were really decent, though only about half spoke English. I was expecting more “look at us we’re mad choreographed ultras “ behaviour but they were just noisy without aggression.

i've travelled all over Greece and theyre a lovely race of people and i have a lot of affection for them.

[algy]

One thing I haven't seen being mentioned, but Villa Park was loud last night - particularly pre-kick off.

I might be biased but one of the best away fans too.

They were very good, might have been swayed by my position in the upper north but I was thinking, fuck me if a couple of thousand are like this, it’s going to be mayhem with 30/40k in the away leg.

I spoke to a mate who’s been to all the Euro games and he said the atmosphere in Warsaw was the best he can remember, so it’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on Athens.

They are very loud and passionate  but they can turn on their team very quickly too.  Their fans were going mental when they also almost blew a 3  goal lead. against fenebache. They ca  get very nervy. There is a lot of pressure on the side as they are now expected to finish the job and withe final in greece there is that extra expectation

Honestly they do have a the capability of crumbling which gives me a slight glimmer of hope. But we would have to score early.

If our players ignore the noise and really want it they can make up for that shit show. Also our fans going to be loud noisy ans make themselves heard. We hardly heard them in lille. The players will need your support

We were sat near the Villa fans in Lille and they weren’t too loud after the first goal but were better in the second half. They were really good in extra time.

I don’t know who your Greek team is but the Olympiacos fans we met were really decent, though only about half spoke English. I was expecting more “look at us we’re mad choreographed ultras “ behaviour but they were just noisy without aggression.

Same, spoke with 2 separate bunches of Olympiacos supporters and they were lovely.

[Demitri_C]

One thing I haven't seen being mentioned, but Villa Park was loud last night - particularly pre-kick off.

I might be biased but one of the best away fans too.

They were very good, might have been swayed by my position in the upper north but I was thinking, fuck me if a couple of thousand are like this, it’s going to be mayhem with 30/40k in the away leg.

I spoke to a mate who’s been to all the Euro games and he said the atmosphere in Warsaw was the best he can remember, so it’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts on Athens.

They are very loud and passionate  but they can turn on their team very quickly too.  Their fans were going mental when they also almost blew a 3  goal lead. against fenebache. They ca  get very nervy. There is a lot of pressure on the side as they are now expected to finish the job and withe final in greece there is that extra expectation

Honestly they do have a the capability of crumbling which gives me a slight glimmer of hope. But we would have to score early.

If our players ignore the noise and really want it they can make up for that shit show. Also our fans going to be loud noisy ans make themselves heard. We hardly heard them in lille. The players will need your support

We were sat near the Villa fans in Lille and they weren’t too loud after the first goal but were better in the second half. They were really good in extra time.

I don’t know who your Greek team is but the Olympiacos fans we met were really decent, though only about half spoke English. I was expecting more “look at us we’re mad choreographed ultras “ behaviour but they were just noisy without aggression.

Same, spoke with 2 separate bunches of Olympiacos supporters and they were lovely.

Most of their fans are like us just love their club but as any fanbase you have clowns

[Beard82]

Bozzie watching the game last night

https://x.com/iantaylor7/status/1786476531021230158?s=46

We felt the same joy and mostly anguish

I thought it was Eamonn Holmes.

Next season David Platt will be seen at VP with a half and half scarf.

He still needs to apologise for that April fools stunt in Shoot in 1995.

Fuck me - I was thinking about that the other week.  I fell for it hook and line (I have never been the sharpest).  To this day it still makes my blood boil.