Aston Villa (0) vs Nottm Forest (1) - EL SF 2nd leg pre match

[LeeB]

It was now or never against Man United last day of the season as well. Yet...here we are. Again.

My point is it doesn't feel sustainable, or at any rate solid. We could slide down any time (especially with performances like some we've seen this year...).

The next transfer window we need to get absolutely spot on, and the previous ones do not give me a great deal of confidence that we will.

[Monty]

It was now or never against Man United last day of the season as well. Yet...here we are. Again.

My point is it doesn't feel sustainable, or at any rate solid. We could slide down any time (especially with performances like some we've seen this year...).

Yet...here we are again, where we've been for the past 4 seasons.

Please no, I'm not going in these circles again. You know perfectly well what I'm saying.

[Ads]

It was now or never against Man United last day of the season as well. Yet...here we are. Again.

My point is it doesn't feel sustainable, or at any rate solid. We could slide down any time (especially with performances like some we've seen this year...).

Yet...here we are again, where we've been for the past 4 seasons.

Please no, I'm not going in these circles again. You know perfectly well what I'm saying.

You're articulating an irrational feeling of inferiority when Emery's facts say otherwise.

[Rigadon]

I’d imagine McGinn will play. A lot of this will come down to mental strength and bravery and who makes mistakes.  This game is era defining for the players and the manager and I think they all know it. 

Will we have the bollocks?  Will we finally have a bit of fucking luck with a referee decision?  Will we win the duels in midfield? Absolutely crucially (because we aren’t creating loads of chances at the moment) will we score goals when we should?

If the answers to those questions are yes, we will win. 

[Monty]

You're right, we're Real Madrid now. Semifinals every year forever.

[Billy Walker]

The short-sighted reaction of miserabilist, defeatist Villa fans (not a personal dig at you, Pete3206, just observing the views of podcasters etc) is certainly a bonus for Forest.  The rest, not so much.  This is sport.  If bookies make us favourites, so what? That's just noise and meaningless noise, at that.  Forest are huge favourites, going by the recent results, they have a lead to defend away from home so the pressure is entirely on them.  The Villa players won't bottle this, my concern lies with our fans some of whom seem to be hellbent on manifesting defeat. 

[Mellin]

l know we all want a trophy, but tbh it isn't the be all and end all this season. What we really need to do is win the Europa OR finish top five. Then spend what money we can sensibly and sign some actual quality attackers. Job done. On to next season.

The most embarrassing thing about yesterday for me was not the performance, but the reaction. Some perspective is needed.

[Ads]

You're right, we're Real Madrid now. Semifinals every year forever.

The direction of travel certainly seems to indicate the later. I'd very much welcome State backed rule bending to let us spend what we want, but cannot see it.

[aj2k77]

How do we appear to be choking? We've lost an away leg 1-0 and need to beat Nottingham Forest at home to qualify for a European final. It sucks passing Tottenham 3 points but Emery and surely most people can see that this is a massive and probably final opportunity for this group of players to achieve something tangible. We've fought all season, scraping 1 goal wins, average performances, last gasp winners. We haven't been great but there's a spirit about this side. We are far from choking, Emery is a master of European football management and is balancing our resources to try and achieve the ultimate. Actually winning something. Not keeping Tottenham in the bottom 3. Not making 5th mathematically safe as soon as possible. Actually winning something, which no one here has achieved in 3 decades.

If we fail on Thursday then there's no doubt in my mind that everyone has given their all and we've just come up short but fuck me will the players be switched on for it. Look at all the tight games we've come out the right side on. They want to win, this is not a group who gives up but we have to be savvy with what we have and where we are.

We can do this on Thursday. We're playing Nottingham Forest, not PSG. They are a decent team, so are we. It might just be the support that carries this group over the line.

[Monty]

You're right, we're Real Madrid now. Semifinals every year forever.

The direction of travel certainly seems to indicate the later. I'd very much welcome State backed rule bending to let us spend what we want, but cannot see it.

OK.

[RamboandBruno]

It was now or never against Man United last day of the season as well. Yet...here we are. Again.

My point is it doesn't feel sustainable, or at any rate solid. We could slide down any time (especially with performances like some we've seen this year...).

I do get that and Ive had similar conversations with my son on the way to Villa Park, he rightly tells me to get over it. One of the knock on effects of lots of supporters feeling like this, I think, is the transference into the atmosphere in the stadium, at least yesterday. I know it was a really terrible collective performance, but literally as soon as Gallaghers shot went it, there was huge anxiety in the Holte End, that transcended into quite a lot of irrational anger quite quickly. I know we need to feed off the players but I also think there needs to beca bit more calmness. We really need to be behind them inside the stadium on Thursday

[PeterWithesShin]

Win the next 2 and we're on for our best season since 1982, lose them and we could be on for the biggest choke job certainly in my 50+ years if not in the history of the club. At least it isn't boring.

[Rigadon]

Win the next 2 and we're on for our best season since 1982, lose them and we could be on for the biggest choke job certainly in my 50+ years if not in the history of the club. At least it isn't boring.

Yep.

[Billy Walker]

Ten years ago if you'd said we would have the chance of making a European final, within a scenario like this, we would have thought we were in dreamland. Absolute dreamland.  Genuinely, folks, please snap out of it, we all love this great club - the grandest of clubs. Grasp the bigger picture and do everything in your power (and our collective power) to lift our incredible Club into its second major European Final on Thursday night.  We can do it.  UTV

I think the trouble is it feels like it's now or, if not never, at least a really really long time. It's so easy to slip back into the muddle, and so extremely hard to keep competitive. Not to mention the whole system trying to stop us from progressing into a top-table club of any permanence, it's hard not to feel frustrated that every time we seem like we're about to make that extra step we piss in our own mouths.

I saw on the Newcastle thread people were saying that they sold their soul and got nothing in return. But they at least got a pot out of it. Crystal Palace, Leicester, Newcastle, Spurs, West Ham have all won something in recent years, so we know it's possible. I'm not suggesting we get all spoiled or entitled or anything, but it is saddening to think that we might come out of this really promising era with nothing to show for it.

Does it feel like "now or never"?  It certainly doesn't to me.  It feels like part of a progressive journey.  Off the pitch the Club is growing nicely and we're being invited to play international friendlies v Bayern Munich, such has our stock risen. As of today, we are six points clear with three games to go and in a European semi...why on earth is this now or never?  This is steady improvement, surely? All on one of the lowest net spends in the Premier League, too.  Does it feel like "now or never" because we've lost our last two games in the run up to this huge semi?  Genuinely, I don't get it.  Is the pressure getting to some of our fans? Are some of our fans losing all sense of perspective? 

[Monty]

I would say that our transfer situation and management of that situation is bad and getting worse, and in the last year has been borderline farcical. Look at our opponents yesterday for how easy it is to fall back if you get that side of things so badly wrong for a long while.