mikeyjavfc

Finally: a reason to watch an England qualifier!

Cheer up mate, stranger things have happened.

I'd be surprised if much stock made it onto eBay. Reminder that when the playoff final rolled around last year Villa pasted a limited edition final's 'badge' on to the unsold shirts and flogged them to fans at twice the usual price. And this was at the end of the season when shirt prices should have been discounted. Shameful.

Looks like Stoke will be following Sunderland down the leagues. What is strange about Stoke is that they have had the same ownership for years and years and we’re always seen as a well run club in the prem. I wonder what has changed which sparked the string of bad decisions which has sent them down the leagues? If I were them I would be going all out to appoint Chris Hughton on a one year contract with big bonus to stay in championship. Jones has had more than enough time to show some results even if his methods around the club seem sound. The board’s strange insistence on being seen as patient and not reactionary is going to get them relegated.

I quite like the idea of staring Wesley but taking him off at 60 mins to give Davis a run out. I think Wesley will be a good player for us but we have faded badly in second halves this season and I think the hold up play of Davis would be valuable to easing the pressure and building from the front. This would take some of the burden off Wesley and he could exert himself more knowing he didn't need to last the entire 90 mins. It must be knackering playing up top by yourself for 90 mins to be fair.

Looking forward to the next 3 games, I have seen enough from this side to think we have the ability to get points against most teams in the league barring the top 4 or 5. Time to show it and it'd be nice if we also showed it against Brighton on Wednesday.

Even if we get nothing from this game, I am looking forward to seeing Wesley throwing his weight around against their dodgy back line!

With so many new players to bed in I think it is safe to assume we will start poorly and get better as the season goes on as they get more and more minutes together. We have shown glimpses of what we can achieve but still aren't quite at the pace of the premier league yet. No need to panic and I genuinely believe we will get better and more assured with every match if we keep the faith with Deano's system. After all, if we had gotten a deserved point at Palace I think we would have been pretty happy with our total.

I disagree. The obvious criticism of Taylor is he is poor on the ball, poor at passing / crossing and poor offensively etc...but his defensive play has been excellent . In the first 3 games he has only been dribbled past once, which is the joint lowest in the league. This is the perfect game for him in my opinion: away from home and where he can legitimately hang back in a deeper position and keep an eye on Zaha, without worrying about committing forward too much. If any thing I would be more worried if Zaha was up against an attacking fullback like Targett / Gilbert who may be caught up field on a break.

To think we couldn't raise £4m to pay a crucial tax bill under Xia but NSWE have just raised £22m for beer money! #blessed

Hopefully not a bad injury. I wonder if he was carrying something all game so lacked a bit of sharpness.

Any minutes for Tish?

Let's just say...tonight's team sheet better be...Marvelous

Hopefully we'll see him tonight. We paid £14m for Targett which is still pretty decent money for an untested full back, so I can't see him being any other than first choice left back going forward.

A classy player. Absolutely rapid and I loved the interplay between him and Jota. He's got to keep the shirt against Palace.

Time for the B team to shine. Mings, Grealish and Wesley to be kept away in a different postcode. We aren’t blessed with enough depth to risk our best players in a game like this.

I think Taylor has his uses. Left side of a back three, or subbed on when we need to see out a game under the cosh. Apart from that I would be giving Targett the nod - he wasn’t a cheap purchase you know, so he was bought to be a starter surely?

All we are saying, is give Wes a chance.

Would like to see Targett introduced and Hourihane reinstated for this one. We missed Connor's set pieces last match and it was a tough match for Luiz (barring wonder goal), so I think he should be introduced from the bench a few more times before he starts. Same with Guilbert at right back. However, I can't see any reason why Targett shouldn't start over Taylor. I could stomach Taylor on the left side of a back 3 formation, but in this 4-3-3 system where full backs need to overlap the wingers it makes no sense. It's like being a man down once we have possession. Targett has prem experience and everything!

36 points would only see you safe in 11 of the last 23 seasons so might need to find a couple more points than that.

Tough game to find your feet in the league, really looking forward to seeing him against Bournemouth. Those who criticise only need to look at Kodjia's performance once he came on to see it was tough going against spurs.

There's only one professional football club in Derby...what a a waste of money!

Trust in Deano but disappointed to see Taylor get the nod ahead of either Targett or Hause. It feels destined that Spurs will score in this game from a Taylor turnover or mistake.

Now missing from the co-chairman role on the AVFC site (he was there last week when I checked): https://www.avfc.co.uk/club/whos-who However this text remains at the bottom: Aston Villa Football Club (Club) is a member of the Premier League and is subject to its rules and regulations. As required by those regulations, the Club can confirm that the following persons have a significant interest (as that term is defined in the Premier League Regulations) in the Club:Nassef SawirisWes EdensTony Xia Which must be new text as it mentions the Premier League! Is he still lurking about?

How odd. Did we really have no hope of selling him for a fee?