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I don't think it's worrying at all. This year is one of those strange seasons where everyone is taking points off everyone else. We're 3 points off 17th (not the drop, because our goal difference is so superior to everyone else's in the bottom half), but we're also 3 points off 10th. Look at the 'big' teams we've played (Spurs, Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd & Arsenal) and how close we came to getting 1-3 points in those games. Liverpool was the only game at Villa Park. The rest have been away. We've basically played 4/5 of the toughest games we'll play this season, with only Liverpool away the remaining tough fixture. We've got a good chance of taking points off the remaining 'big' teams to come to Villa Park, and then after that we can beat anyone else in the league. Slowly things have been coming together. Don't forget that the majority of this team hasn't even played 15 Premier League career games yet. There are way, way, way more positive signs than negative.

This is the thing. It’s not “we were away from home”, or “it’s Man U” or whatever. It was “how do we try and win”, and then putting that into practice. The whole point is trying to win. We might not, we might, but we tried, and we wanted to. Not “let’s see if we can sneak it”. A football team trying to do what football teams are supposed to do. Playing to win, playing to be entertaining, representing the club and fans. Getting better at it, too. It’s a joy.

A couple of things that occurred to me about Jack during the night! Firstly McGinn - he started the season in a cape, absolutely dominating games and looking a huge threat going forward, his more recent efforts, whilst still decent haven't hit those heights, he's looked more like a good footballer than a superhero with a hobby. What's changed during that period is that Grealish has moved away from being next to him in midfield to being out on the left and I wonder if we underestimate the positive effect Grealish has on McGinn when he's in the middle; his intelligence on the ball, his ability to move it and his ability to find space for others all serve to make McGinn a better player. I think they have a positive effect on Targett too down the left, but I don't think we should underestimate the effect Jack has on McGinn's form, nor ignore what that should tell us about just how good Jack is. Secondly, the media - the poles are shifting, on TV, in the papers, everywhere you look, Jack has moved from being the "floppy-haired-talented-but-divey-short-socked-novelty" to being something that's altogether more respected or admired - pundits and journalists have undergone a sea change in the last few weeks and have finally picked up on the change that happened at the beginning of the year where Jack the lad became Jack the man. They're seeing what we've seen for a while, a maturity a talent and an ability to hugely influence game. He's now a star across the country, not just at Villa Park. That comes with a risk in how it will affect him, but I'm quietly confident he can deal with it. More importantly for our immediate fortunes, I think it will have an effect on the way he's refereed - last night on match of the day, they weren't talking about how easily he goes down, they were talking about teams having to foul him because it's the only way they can deal with him - that's a subtle but huge change in the way he's talked about and it's reflected in lots of parts of the media - referees live in the same world as the rest of us (except Kevin Friend obviously) and they'll see that, they'll read it, it'll affect them, they'll go into games thinking they have to protect this bright young star of English football rather than go into them thinking they have to keep an eye out for the antics of the kid with the silly hair. I think it'll make a difference. Look out for a plethora (thank you) of cards for fouls on him in upcoming games and a suddenly more protected Jack Grealish working with a tiny bit more room, it'll happen.

I became a grandad for the 3rd time yesterday. New baby girl (Riley Jo) in the crew. She was born yesterday in Perth Australia. My mrs went to Australia to be at the birth last week. My daughter went for a check up on her own at hospital yesterday. Whilst there and luckily enough, she had the baby in 35 minutes. It just sort of came out, bit small but she is fine and home already. It was a 40 minute drive to the hospital so everybody missed it (Son in Law also). My daughter rang them on the way and said "All done".

When Baker used to blast those away from danger people (rightly, ultimately) complained that he was a 'hoof merchant' and unfavourably compared him to defenders who held on to the ball under pressure in order to pass from the back. Now we have a defender who actually has some skill on the ball and can bring the ball from the back well, and people are complaining that he doesn't lump it wherever. I lean much more towards the 'he's a central defender, he'll make mistakes' line here. He did lots and lots well in that game, if you watch it back. Lee Dixon on the commentary I was watching was full of praise for him, and highlighted a number of times he defended very smartly. And he made one big mistake. I'll take my chances on those odds for now.

It's always worth voting - whatever your views and your constituency. Even voting against a huge majority shows that there is opposition and different views (and can help save their deposit). The choices are pretty grim currently but IMO you need to grit your teeth and vote tactically to stop the Tories wrecking the country for generations to come. As mentioned up thread, probably the least worst outcome is another hung parliament that should force another referendum and maybe a way out of this. Whatever happens we are going to have years more of this mess.

On top of the relief of having four wins at this stage, I like the fact we've now got four of the 'big six' away games out of the way just 14 games into the season. And with Stamford Bridge coming up next that will be five out of six just 15 games in. We wouldn't want those five games towards the end of the season in a relegation battle!

Why do people who have a problem with homosexuality also have a fixation with things being “rammed down their throats”?

Or alternatively - look at where our ceiling could be with a bit of tightening up.

Brilliant day yesterday, paying for it today with a headache and a hangover after getting back fairly late from Manchester. Highlight of the day was singing 'You're not famous anymore' to the United fans leaving Old Trafford early. Once again we pulled a performance out of the bag; first half we were magnificent, second half a combination of showing them too much respect and tiring let them back into the game. However pulling ourselves back into the game after conceding was a massive statement for the team. Defensively I was a little worried in the second half, notably Mings made a few errors but then made up for it with his goal. The full backs and Konsa were fairly solid throughout, and Heaton was brilliant once again. The midfield worked hard, Luiz was good, Hourihane was good in patches, McGinn looks like he needs a rest. If we can get McGinn back to his best the midfield could really start clicking this month. Both El Ghazi and Trezeguet are proving to be dangerous, and Wesley did enough yesterday to prove there some potential there, he just really needs another goal. And once again Jack Grealish was majestic. He is now the complete the footballer that so many thought he could become when he first become known about in the youth team. He drags the team by the scuff of its neck and creates things out of nothing to get us results. Absolutely phenomenal footballer and a privilege to watch each week. Bring on Wednesday!

I don’t even agree that his mistake led to the goal. It led to a corner. Less than 10% of corners lead to goals. I think it’s stretching it to say his mistake led to the goal.....could just as easily say it was the pass from Jack that led to his mistake that led to the corner etc.....or leaving the guy free on the edge of the box after the corner...or Konsa and Guilbert leaving Rashford free. Or we could just accept that the opposition will score goals .... I simply can’t comprehend the stick he gets. I’m starting to think I need to watch a different sport.

"OK boomer".

Even the players who have only visited have improved while they were here. Tammy Abraham is a better striker than the one Chelsea sent to us, Robert Snodgrass returned to West Ham completely reinvigorated and a better player. The work that Smith and the team are doing on the training ground is improving players technically and seemingly reminding them that they love the game. Long may it continue.

Pair of Window-lickers.

You know the rules. Pics or gtfo.

Just change the offside rule so the line is drawn against feet. Peter Crouch v Alan Wright as an example of course someone taller is going to have parts of their body running in a forward motion further forward. Is it fair to penalise people who are taller? All this shoulder knee bollocks pisses me off.

If you like black men as a sexual preference, then that’s being attracted to someone because of their skin colour, and is also racist. Please subject yourself to thirty days of woke education by reading: The Guardian opinion section, Buzzfeed, and Vice.

Wasted?!

You can't get more Posh than Peterborough.

A foul was given against him yesterday when James I think ran into him and bounced off like Wesley has Berettas in his nipples.

Biggest problem with jack, on form........it makes most of your other players look shite

Well if you insist Villatalk prediction according to Electoral Calculus National Prediction: Labour majority 444 Party 2017 Votes 2017 Seats Pred Votes Gains Losses Net Change Pred Seats CON 43.5% 318 18.0% 0 305 -305 13 LAB 41.0% 262 45.1% 288 3 +285 547 LIB 7.6% 12 19.7% 43 0 +43 55 Brexit 0.0% 0 1.6% 0 0 +0 0 Green 1.7% 1 8.2% 0 0 +0 1 SNP 3.1% 35 3.4% 7 28 -21 14 PlaidC 0.5% 4 0.6% 0 3 -3 1 UKIP 1.9% 0 0.0% 0 0 +0 0 Other 0.7% 0 3.5% 1 0 +1 1 N.Ire 18 0 0 +0 18 Based on votes to the nearest .1% at time of writing - someone else must have voted for the Tories after your post @wazzap24. Also doesn't include Scotland as not sure of % etc of Villatalk in Scotland and their share of votes etc... So SNP could be skewed somewhat.

52 minutes ago, LAPAL_FAN said:

Fancy him to score at Stamford Bridge, everything else about his game seems to be improving game on game. Bang one in Wednesday Wes shut the neysayers up for a bit

He had a shot in the first half against Manchester United. So yesterday.

I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't win. Not disappointed with the players or Smith, they did a good job. Especially in the first half. It's just that I feel that with the margins more on our side we could've won it. We were at least as good as they were. Mings clearance were abysmal, but it got even worse that it by chance landed on a manure player on his own. Then he was too far down and played Rashford onside. And after that Rashford's header hit the post then Heaton and then in. Grealish's f**king heel was offside. Correct call, but by a very small margin. Grealish is inches away from scoring giving us the lead again, and moments after Wes can't really reach the ball but the touch makes it go to a free standing VNL. Great header, btw. Unfortunately. Those small margins took the win away from us. That's what makes me a bit disappointed. Thought we played really well in the first half. Sat a bit deep in the 2nd, but it's a strength that we still got back from being 2-1 down. Grealish was really, really good in the first half, didn't get that many balls in the 2nd half. I think it says something that they got 3 or 4 yellows and we didn't get anyone, IIRC. Most of those cards were after fouling Grealish. Guilbert got my vote for MotM as he was a bit more consistant than Grealish IMO. Thought he was really good. Wes is getting better and better. Would've got an assist if it wasn't for Jack's heel. He stands his ground better and better and makes it hard for the opponents defenders. He needs to get more into scoring positiones, though, but I think he'll get there. Needs to get more balls in those positions too, so it's not a one way street. Apart from Mings lapse of concentration, or perhaps stroke of arrogance, I think all players were at least good. Trez is a kind of his own. He's not as fast as I thought, he sometimes looks out of his depth, but he works hard and he's dangerous. Scored one goal, though disallowed, hit the bar with a cracker that could've put Grealish's goal to no 2 this weekend, and set up Grealish for what should've been a goal. And he was just behind Mings when he scored. Given time I think he will surprise a few. But I can see why AEG is preferred. Hope his injury isn't too bad. All in all a good performance and I think we deserved at least a point. And I would take it beforehand if offered. But... We could've won that game. Let's take on chelsea.

I mean, players make errors. He's not Virgil van Dijk. Sometimes they lead to something, sometimes they don't. The way he plays the game will occasionally lead to errors. It's worth it.

Wesley is rubbish blah blah blah! Championship player at best blah blah blah! Touch of a donkey blah blah blah. Never gonna be good enough blah blah blah! Alternatively, Wesley is a young kid doing an amazing job in ploughing a lone furrow for a newly promoted team who are the sixth highest scorers in the league. If he is so rubbish why are we scoring so many goals? Lay off the kid ffs. We are finally on an upward trajectory and we need to back and support the players. He can become a top player but it will take a bit of time.

Heaton - played very well Guilbert - superb, some very well timed slide tackles, and generally showed good decision making throughout. Didn't do a lot going forward. Konsa - mostly excellent. Need to rewatch the goals to see who exactly was at fault. Mings - besides one very stupid pair of mistakes which cost us a goal, he was superb, and redeemed himself with a well taken goal. Targett - excellent Douglas Luiz - his best game in a Villa shirt I think Hourihane - played fairly well, but we didn't exploit his set piece delivery at all. Why isn't he on all corners? When he did take a corner, he played it short and got caught offside. McGinn - excellent work rate, looked dangerous on the transition, never really got in a shooting position though El Ghazi - I think he would have been very dangerous in the second half if he hadn't got injured. A shame to lose him. Hope nothing too serious. Grealish - absolutely brilliant goal, and won a lot of fouls, which helped us control the pace of the game. Ironically, not one of his best games, but the match highlights will get opposition fans interested in him. Wesley - his best game in a Villa shirt IMO. He won a lot of headers, both in attack and defence, which I haven't really seen from him before. Some lovely flicks. Still needs to show better movement when we're attacking the box, but this was a much improved performance. Trezeguet - a downgrade on AEG from an attacking perspective, but his work rate helped us stay in the game in the second half. Nearly scored a world class goal. Lansbury - can see why Smith doesn't like making subs Overall, not a bad performance, and a deserved point. However, Man Utd looked crap and were there for the taking. We need to sort out our set pieces. We have a genuine threat on set pieces, but it all looks like it's improvised on the spot.

My grandson has done some child modelling, one for a Mothercare and he has also appeared in an ad for Smyths. This week he has got a part in an Amazon Prime series The Spanish Princess. I suspect it ain’t Richard III as he is three and a half.

We doing poop stories, cos I have a cracker. Some of you may question why I share this so readily, given the embarassement factor but it's just one of those stories where it'd be selfish to keep it to yourself only. So I met a girl (not gonna lie, on Tinder) back in 2015, think it was around June time we started meeting up and dating. Anyway, got quite serious quite quickly and perhaps 3 or 4 months later I think it was, we were invited to her family's annual get together at a relatively posh Italian place in Newton-le-Willows (posh for me anyway, considering my background). So I figured ya know, be like close family, usual kind of shit.........we arrived and there was about 40 of them there, cousins, second cousins, old neighbours......a lot of people. I get a little bit uncomfortable in these kind of situations anyway so it was already a stressful kind of evening but it was okay, we started the meal, all was good, smashed through two courses and had a couple of beers and a glass of wine or two. Everything was going swimmingly, chatting away with her Mum and Dad who we were sat next to and who I'd met a few times already, hadn't met anyone else though really before. So after the main meal, I needed a slash, headed off to the toilet which was right on the opposite side of this fairly large restaurant, we were positioned about as far away from the toilets as possible anyway. So off I go - now I have to add at this stage, I felt absolutely fine, in fact after a few drinks I felt better than fine. So I go to the toilet, walk in and there's a few little kids messing about but they quickly exited leaving me alone, toilets were quite small, couple of urinals and one cubicle. So I start pissing in one of the urinals and halfway through, as often happens I needed to fart, so fart I did - and to this day, it will haunt me as one of my worst ever decisions. From nowhere came an avalanche of diarrhoea, it was horrendous, right down my legs - the works. I actually laughed initially but then after a second or two the realisation set in. I hopped into the cubicle quickly to assess the situation and it was about as bad as you can picture. I was wearing jeans (my favourite jeans) and they were caked in it, my pants were obviously a write off but there wasn't even a bin in there so I had to just roll them up and 'hide' them behind the toilet (they weren't hidden whatsoever). I realised I didn't have my phone with me, absolute panic stations. In the end I just had to wipe up what I could, put my jeans back on and then had to walk across the breadth of the restaurant to get back to my girlfriend, pulling my shirt down over the back of my jeans in some attempt to hide the carnage (oh and by the way, the restaurant was packed). Told her I had a problem and we had to go outside, explained the situation and showed her the damage. We talked for a while about what to do, before settling on my having had a crazy bad migraine from nowhere an needed to leave, which we did, me remaining outside whilst waiting for a taxi. I then had to hover over the seat in the taxi as best possible, all the while trying me best not to have a total breakdown. To compound it all, when we got back to her house, I cried. She's still with me to this day believe it or not. ***apologies if I've shared this previously on here***

Deserves his own thread, in my opinion. Might be my favorite non-Villa player at the moment. Tenacious, quick and clever. Elegant on the ball. Joy to watch. The kind of player Villa should be aspiring to sign.

He was causing Man U all sorts of problems yesterday and by doing so creating space and time for our midfield. Of course you want to see him score but that was a really good AND IMPROVED performace. Worked very hard and made a big contribution to the point earned. Also cant remember which Man U player it was that bounced off Wes...very funny though lol

VAR is like when people spray a dog in the face with water to stop it barking. The celebration is a spontaneous thing, but after a while when you've been sprayed in the face by VAR enough times you just hesitate or stop. The impulse is changed. And yes I think the fact you look a bit silly celebrating a goal that's scratched off also comes into it.

I think some of these comments are unfair, it’s his first full season of Premier League football, he will makes mistakes but I think he has the mental strength to recover from them. It was a fine finish yesterday for a centre back, I found his celebration quite funny, it was almost like what am I doing here? He will adapt to Premier League football and go on to better things in my opinion

I drink my coffee like I like my men, extremely strong and black HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I won't mention penis size though, because I know that is very racist (God bless VT and it's educational value). Only messing. Yes @Genie coffee makes me poop, and if I mix a cup of black coffee and orange juice, it's almost instantaneous, like coke and mentos.

Everyone makes errors. But he makes silly, unnecessary errors. That is what is so annoying.

why? contracts mean nothing, him signing a new deal wouldn't make him more likely to stay or to deter potential buyers, probably wouldn't even increase his price tag all it does is make him richer and potentially change the wage structure of the club, he gets £200k a week and the 2nd best paid player gets £60k? that doesn't work, its more likely to piss everyone else off if his agent isn't making noises then leave it as it is

Quite right! Pardon me - I've clearly underestimated the motivational powers of Steve Bruce.

Needs to seriously think about playing Mcginn up front. He’d hold the ball up better than Wesley. He’d shoot better than Wesley. He’d dribble better than Wesley and he passes better than Wesley. Genuinely think we’d be a better side with him up top and Nakamba in midfield alongside Hourihane and Luiz.

I think Chilwell is an excellent player, and probably a level or two above Targett, so I don't expect Targett to be getting into the England team on a regular basis at any point in the forseeable. It wouldn't be completely unthinkable for him to get a chance in a low-stakes friendly at some point if he keeps his good form going.

He might have been offside. He knew it. I didn't even celebrate either because he looked like he was miles offside. Turns out he wasn't and the correct call was made within a minute. I rather this than an incorrect call being made by the linesman on something so easily verifiable.

I’ve said previously that the only two teams I fear playing are Liverpool and Man City. I truly believe that we can take points from anyone in this league when we play at our best and concentrate for 90 minutes. I think the sloppy goals conceded are down to naivety and inexperience perhaps, but boy this current group is a joy to watch. How often have we gone to Old Trafford and given it a real go? Not often enough in my lifetime. So pleased that Smith is here now and hopefully for the long haul, because this group he’s assembling is just the tip of the iceberg. A mid table or top half finish would be amazing.

I suppose I run the risk of sounding like a stuck record and an apologist, but...... ....as I’ve repeatedly said about individuals, the Coach, and the Team overall.... ....mistakes are simply part and parcel of the games, especially in this League, especially for a newly promoted team ,especially for one that came up vis Play Offs, and especially for a Team that’s been together just over a dozen games. Of course he makes mistakes, and being a defender the outcome is magnified......and being a newly promoted side means he will be doing more defending than, say, McGuire ( who looked vastly inferior to Mings today), and hence more chance to make mistakes. Additionally, that “ dwelling on the ball” is the exact same thing as that “composure on the ball” that so often means we deal with pressure well and even build attacks from it.

We went to Old Trafford and dominated the first half with wonderful football. How many times have we done that over the years? Our second half performances aren't quite the same which will be something Smith will have to try and fix as they cost us but that's still a fantastic point. We have to remember how quite frankly embarrassing our record is away at Old Trafford, our first point since 2009 so I'm very pleased. Smith continues to do a brilliant job.

Come the end of the season outside of Liverpool and Man City, United will have one of the best home records the division, I think some people just look at all the stick that Ole has been getting and just imagine that we should be beating them, but he gets the criticism because they're not as good as the standards set in the Ferguson years, not because they're total rubbish. Today was a very good point.

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