Will we qualify for the CL?

[Monty]

Don't really know where to put this. Like, to answer the thread title, obviously not. The top five will be the top five, who could have possibly imagined otherwise.

I just don't think I like football anymore. The only thing keeping me following this horrible, hideous, degraded, suppurating zombie of a sport was the thought that, maybe, at some point, the Villa might reward my long stupid patience with some random one-off success that I could enjoy enough to let my stupid interest die in peace.

But honestly, all those things that make the sport horrible have coagulated into a great big embolism right in the lungs of even our modest ambitions. Chelsea lose a billion quid? Ah, but it's the right sort of losses! Man Utd have more debt than your average post-Soviet pseudo-democracy? Ah, but we don't count debt!

And the compliant, acquiescent media, really just what journalists so often are, giddy mediocrities just overwhelmed with glee to even be near power. Of course we'll intimidate refs on behalf of the chosen clubs by scrutinising every tiny decision that goes against them. Of course we'll ignore every decision in their favour. Of course we'll act as (one assumes) unpaid marketing departments to help them fluff their fucking Brands. Of course, we may tut when the chairman of Man City does something awkward like fund genocide, but Man City play such good football, wow they're just so elite, really we're so lucky we let our country and its culture and its institutions be flogged off to foreign dictators like this, we should be honoured to have the eyes of the Americans on the PremEar League.

Football as it is sums up everything to hate about our modern world perhaps most perfectly because it's such a grotesque perversion of the thing it was, the thing that oligarchs bought like they buy everything from us to sell back to us as engagement, luxury, status, CONTENT (also, all football CONTENT CREATORS, with their BANTZ and their utter slavishness to just the idea of the Powerful and their divine right to win everything, can get in the re-education camp where they belong, fascist running dogs). The Villa is my link to my late grandfather and to his grandfather. That kind of thing used to mean something. Now, it's just Legacy Branding.

So, fuck football. It's sad, but it's dead. Maybe I'll take up croquet, or woodwork, or fishing. You know, while there are still fish.

[PeterWithesShin]

W2 D3 L4 is our last 9. Unless something happens fast, no.

[Halfway to Moseley]

Football’s not dead, it’s the premier league. Other than that, great post!

[curiousorange]

I don't give a fuck about the Champions League. I only have to care about it because somehow football has got itself into this ridiculous situation where you're either in it or you're dead.

But the answer is no, and so we have to start all over again, with a coach we haven't burnt out yet and a squad depleted of players who will undoubtedly be getting laurels within weeks of us having to sell them at a discount.

[PaulWinch again]

W2 D3 L4 is our last 9. Unless something happens fast, no.

And it’s getting progressively worse.

[Meanwood Villa]

Great post Monty

[DC1874]

No chance vial eague and we dont win cups -  we're the new Spurs

[MalcolmP]

Don't really know where to put this. Like, to answer the thread title, obviously not. The top five will be the top five, who could have possibly imagined otherwise.

I just don't think I like football anymore. The only thing keeping me following this horrible, hideous, degraded, suppurating zombie of a sport was the thought that, maybe, at some point, the Villa might reward my long stupid patience with some random one-off success that I could enjoy enough to let my stupid interest die in peace.

But honestly, all those things that make the sport horrible have coagulated into a great big embolism right in the lungs of even our modest ambitions. Chelsea lose a billion quid? Ah, but it's the right sort of losses! Man Utd have more debt than your average post-Soviet pseudo-democracy? Ah, but we don't count debt!

And the compliant, acquiescent media, really just what journalists so often are, giddy mediocrities just overwhelmed with glee to even be near power. Of course we'll intimidate refs on behalf of the chosen clubs by scrutinising every tiny decision that goes against them. Of course we'll ignore every decision in their favour. Of course we'll act as (one assumes) unpaid marketing departments to help them fluff their fucking Brands. Of course, we may tut when the chairman of Man City does something awkward like fund genocide, but Man City play such good football, wow they're just so elite, really we're so lucky we let our country and its culture and its institutions be flogged off to foreign dictators like this, we should be honoured to have the eyes of the Americans on the PremEar League.

Football as it is sums up everything to hate about our modern world perhaps most perfectly because it's such a grotesque perversion of the thing it was, the thing that oligarchs bought like they buy everything from us to sell back to us as engagement, luxury, status, CONTENT (also, all football CONTENT CREATORS, with their BANTZ and their utter slavishness to just the idea of the Powerful and their divine right to win everything, can get in the re-education camp where they belong, fascist running dogs). The Villa is my link to my late grandfather and to his grandfather. That kind of thing used to mean something. Now, it's just Legacy Branding.

So, fuck football. It's sad, but it's dead. Maybe I'll take up croquet, or woodwork, or fishing. You know, while there are still fish.

Couldn't put it better myself. Been going down Villa Park for 62 years and 57 as a ST holders and it just isn't football or a sport anymore. Corruption from top to bottom to prevent fair competition. Just focuses on big six and their money which nobody is allowed to compete with.  Chelsea, FFS, got nearly 100m for playing in an invitation Micky Mouse cup, how fair is that. Football as a sport is dead.

[DC1874]

Fuck them all - I hate the people running this world and our "sport"

[Tony Daleys Shorts]

Yep, hate football nowadays, I only follow Villa as it’s like a bad habit I can’t kick.

[Max Villan]

Lads, i think i agree. The biased, corrupt officiating is one thing, but the amount of blatant Chelsea fans in our end today aswell was almost the final straw.

Why are paying money for stewards to do fuck all? Why are allowing PGMOL to dictate the 14/20 clubs it works to disadvantage?

Im here for the love of Villa and pure spite, but the games a fucking mess.

[PaulWinch again]

In spite of all the wrongs of football - we are absolutely turning this in. We are playing much worse than we should and if we don’t make it then it’s our fault.

[Aldridge Villa]

At this rate even if we do we’re going to be the whipping boys Grasshopperesque.

[Mellin]

I'm trying to look for positives tonight and the best I can come up with is that, worst case scenario, after Old Trafford we'll be sixth on goal difference. Then there's an international break, which is basically the bell to our punch drunk boxer, and after that McGinn and Tielemans may be back.

At which point we have a run of six winnable (lol) fixtures and could maybe, just maybe, get ourselves back ahead of one of them before the final two games against Liverpool and Man City.

[Beard82]

If we dont make it we only have ourselves to blame.  With the buffer we had we should be ok with all but the most persistent loss of form.  But, fuck me, were putting that hypothesis to the test.