villa-revolution

Con, I think this is a great thread. Also, reading through, I do not believe that Houlston has slated you. The only person he has slated is Barry Bannan, but so have I & thousands more probably. As stated previously, I believe that as interesting as your statistics are, you are misinterpreting their actual eventual & obvious outcome. If I take only one corner & a goal results from it & Bannan according to your stats takes 65 without reward surely only my corner is key. Also, the world & his dog know that until recently Aston Villa were absolutely piss poor at defending corners & were conceding them for fun. Even Bradford City were taking the piss. Does that not suggest that all of these deliverers & especially so the Bradford City deliverer are better at corners than Bannon? I suggest that the answer is undeniably & overwhelmingly yes, yes, yes. Also, it's great Con that right now even you acknowledge that the current team that played against Sunderland are a better team without Bannon. I bow to your magnanimity & wisdom in acknowledging that Aston Villa are the bigger picture here. I'm sure we'll all drink to that. Additionally, doesn't this also tell you that

LOL - I think the talent is there - but he just can't apply himself. - Time up for me though - get rid. Ireland has always been a luxery player & I agree he definitely doesn't know how to apply & unlock his undoubted attacking prowess. Sadly at Villa Park he is a fish out of water & was signed `In Limbo` . Remember he linked up so well with Robbie Keane last season because they were both on the same wavelength. He also did this famously with Robinho & Man Citeh! Most Villa fans like him because of his natural attacking flair but personally & especially so last season I preferred Chris Herd who bailed Ireland out many a time with last ditch tackles that should have been made by Ireland who has no defensive awareness &n had just switched off. Also, I believe Chris Herd is an extremely underated & versatile player who can play RB, CB & accross midfield & is exceptional as a defensive holding Midfield player & shows great potential at Centre Back which I believe would blossom alongside more experienced players & over an extended period of time. Just my opinion mind.

Our biggest danger now is complecency. QPR had 2 back to back wins before we turned them over at Villa Park. Similarly, Sunderland arrived here yesterday cock-a-hoop on the back of Mussolini's bullshit & look what happened to them. Over confidence can easily back fire & personally I will not switch off or relax until mathematical genius Sir Isaac Newton says it's safe to do so.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Lambo is actually Con? No offence intended!

You've been moaning over the last few weeks stating that we'd be relegated. I think he even went to far as to say it was a foregone conclusion at one point too After we lost 8-0 at Chelsea, 4-0 to Spurs & 3-0 to Wigan I think it would be fair to state that the majority of Villa fans thought relegation to be a foregone conclusion so there is no shame there for Richard. Let's be totally honest here, We all felt it!

As posters have mentioned The fans were absolutely absolutely immense last night. None more so than when the whole stadium (Sunderland apart) sung their hearts out singing " Villa, Villa, Villa, Villa!" as we kicked off from their equaliser. We're takin' the piss, we're taken' the piss. we're ASTON VILLA, we're takin' the piss! That was the highlight of the night for me. The role of the fans in our relegation struggle is not to be underestimated. FACT!

Con? Would love to see your corner kick stats on Westwood V Bannon. That's 2 goals from Westwood corner kicks now & none from Bannon. Also Westwood must surely have only taken about 10 corners this season whilst Bannon must be on about 200? That's a ratio of 20:1 Surely my eyes are not deceiving me here? Explanation please!

The good news now is that having wiped away the nightmare goal difference deficit, like all the other strugglers just below & above us, we are now only 1 win away from safety, instead of needing a win & a draw. That Goal Difference nightmare has been a millstone around our neck that has tormented us since that awful xmas period. Tonights result was worth 7 pts, no question. Plus we have really cranked up the pressure on Wigan now, plus Sunderland, Newcastle & Norwich know they need to get at least one more result out of their last 3 games & still with some tough fixtures to play. In a worst case scenario we should at least now go to the last game of the season to decide our fate. ( Still a scary prospect) but hopefully it won't come to that! Bottom line though is that this has been a monumental victory for us tonight.

" Bork! Bork! Bork! Bork!" Get in there!

Absolutely buzzin' Villa Park rocked tonight. Matty Lowton has really come of age & was sensational this evening. So pleased for Gabby to get our record Premiership Goalscorer record & it's fantastic that we have finally repaired our goal difference which has set us at a major disadvantage all season. Fascism has just taken a right good kick in the balls! At least, for now the arses of Newcastle, Sunderland, Wigan & Norwich fans, management & players can go into overdrive. The future of their underpants is brown.

Con, for what it is worth I don't rate Delph either. Bannan is the better footballer but Delph is a better overall player. By that I mean Bannan is better on the ball ( that's not saying a lot) but Delph is more athletic, a better tackler & all round team player. Sadly, Central Midfield is where we are extremely weak this season & I only really feel more comfortable when we play with 3 in the middle but that's another story. The problem as I see it here oncemore is that your statistics are blinding you to reality. eg. Emile Heskey scuffs & miss kicks 10 shots towards goal. According to the way your stats pan out thab would be 10n shots on target making Heskey look like a world beater. One goal all last season tells me Heskey was a total liability. That to me is the reality of how you are misinterpreting the stats reference Barry Bannan. Am off to VP now so good luck Villa & please, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE win this game hook or by crook. We love you Villa etc etc etc To be continued.....................................

I would play Ciaran Clark at LB & leave Baker alongside Vlaar. Alternatively it might have been a good match to re-introduce Enda to seeing as he stood up to Man U so well at VP previously & he looked pretty solid.

Disagree entirely. The evidence is in. Aspects of his play (movement) and the statistics. The thing that prevents a lot of people realising earlier is they have such high expectations. Out of the current outfielders only Benteke has been consistently praised. Weimann has been since the start of the year. I was promoting Weimann before he was in the team last autumn. I know what will happen. When Bannan finally does something you notice you're going to say it was impossible to tell he was going to "come good" before that point, so I'm going to be portrayed as a nutter who got lucky with a guess even when you decide he's alright. Con, your certainly not a nutter. If you see the potential in Barry Bannan via your statistics then good for you. At least there will be one Villa fan happy next time Bannan gets picked. Yes! I know that means 34,543 will be groaning their nuts off but we can't all be right or wrong all of the time. As stated before I really hope you are right & would happily be the first person to shake your hand in such an event. That said, if time proves you wrong ( & so far you are) then lets hope the movement aspect of his play results in exactly that, a move. That's not true. There have been a number of regulars posting to this thread with a different view to yours. They're just not bothering right now because it is so hard to get a reasoned point across, because some of the criticism is blanket "don't want to listen to anything good, because nothing is good." That's impossible to argue against. The point is though Con, that in reality, every single poster on this site has their own opinion about all things Aston Villa & it would be a boring world if every single one of us agreed totally about the controversial abilities of Barry Bannan. As I see it, & I concede I could be wrong, but I believe that the vast majority of Villa fans see Barry Bannan as a total liability. I hope for your sake, his sake & all our sakes that there comes a point in the nearest future whereby his potential ability really does come to fruition. Also, I would welcome that to happen because it would mean that we have a talented player on our books. If you believe your statistics suggest he is a top player that's your prerogative. However, my eyes tell me, & his inept performances tell me, that currently, Bannan is nowhere near Premiership level & as such I do not wish him to be any where near the 1st team squad thank you very much because quite simply he just isn't upto it & especially so in a relegation battle. The best solution to this debate in my opinion is to perhaps to run a poll. You say via your statistics that Bannan is a class player & I say via common sense that unless my eyes decieve me he ain't. That's 1-1 for now, so let's see how it goes.with other posters opinions or a poll if the mods decide it is appropriate. Also, if the majority back my judgement on this, that still doesn't mean that you are wrong either, but at least that way we have a democratic decision. It is a game of opinions & paradoxically I would much rather that you were right on this one because I only want class players at Villa Park as I am pretty much certain too that we all do.

The best/worst thing is Di Canio's unpredictability. Would love to see him lose it big style & do something crazy like run onto the pitch & attack the ref for awarding us a throw in. Now that would be hilarious :crylaugh:

I agree with this. If we can only just stay up there is cause for optimism next season. A new left back, two Centre halves (one to cover Vlaar's absence due to calf injuries) plus that dominant ball winning/playmaking Midfielder we all crave & another top striker to add to Benteke, Gabby & Weimann & to replace Bent who I assume will be sold & we should be fine. Then there is the added bonus of Lambo talent spotting further squad additions & hidden gems from the lower leagues. Please, please, please Villa..............JUST STAY UP!

Disagree entirely. The evidence is in. Aspects of his play (movement) and the statistics. The thing that prevents a lot of people realising earlier is they have such high expectations. Out of the current outfielders only Benteke has been consistently praised. Weimann has been since the start of the year. I was promoting Weimann before he was in the team last autumn. I know what will happen. When Bannan finally does something you notice you're going to say it was impossible to tell he was going to "come good" before that point, so I'm going to be portrayed as a nutter who got lucky with a guess even when you decide he's alright. Con, your certainly not a nutter. If you see the potential in Barry Bannan via your statistics then good for you. At least there will be one Villa fan happy next time Bannan gets picked. Yes! I know that means 34,543 will be groaning their nuts off but we can't all be right or wrong all of the time. As stated before I really hope you are right & would happily be the first person to shake your hand in such an event. That said, if time proves you wrong ( & so far you are) then lets hope the movement aspect of his play results in exactly that, a move.

In the games where Bannan has started recently (Reading, QPR) he hasn't been making any. 'Hollywood' passes - he was making simple and short passes and nearly always finding his man. He's been decent recently in my opinion I wonder if Mel Gibson has ever approached Bannon with a view to starring in a Hollywood Blockbuster at anytime soon having seen his Hollywood balls? Seeing as he his Scottish, Bannan could appear in Braveheart 2. Then again maybe Mel thought better of it when he saw Bannan's shocking SET pieces & thought to himself, Nah, I don't want this liability to appear on SET.

Off to the bookies tomorrow to collect my winnings/losings. Had a couple of quid each on Swansea, Reading & Southampton to go down. I placed the bet in August. Mathematically the saints could still go down but I doubt it. Anyone else put their money where their mouth is & have a flutter on QPR & Reading & find yourself now waiting/sweating on one other team so that you can confidently say that you have `licked up the bookies?` Or are you predominantly a loser just lime me because let's face it 1out of 3 ain't good!

It'll be easier for me to state what I do like about Bannan. He tries hard. That's all. I don't pretend that the stats are wrong, I've proven the stats are wrong. Despite that, I don't even rely on the stats (as they can be incredibly misleading) as to the main reason why I like/dislike him as a player. I dislike him as a player because everything I see of him on the pitch is rubbish. He is constantly ruining opportunities from over hitting crosses. He is constantly dispossessed in dangerous places on the pitch. He is always trying these long balls that are pointless. And his corners are an absolute joke. But on top of all of that, I then come to this site and have to read how the stats, which are flawed, are proving that the very same crosses and corners which make my blood boil, are the reason why he is the best player in the league. It's hard to take anything, and I mean anything, you say seriously when your claims are as ludicrous as a blue nose on a deliberate windup. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if you were on some elaborate bluenose mission. To claim he is the best player in the league, to claim he will be a Champions League player, to claim that the hatred on VillaTalk towards Bannan is going to relegate Villa shows that you are very close to being locked up in a mental institution. As I have said before, time will prove me right. (and whilst you are on about factless claims, why don't you show everyone where Lambert has blamed Bennett for the QPR goal? You can't... yet another made up claim you hope that people will believe) Great post! I can be shown all these stats (that favour the player) but I'm sure there are just as many stats showing the opposite. Additionally the stats are subjective, plus as VillaLion is saying what the stats are showing in terms of Fact, when you see those stats in live performances it's a totally different story. He's an average player at best and in my mind not good enough for our first team or even our bench....he's a liability at worst and over a course of a game ineffective. For the poor kids sake I hope he gets a move in the summer to a championship side as I think that's his level although I think he may struggle there as its a more aggressive style. Maybe Scottish football would suit him better. I agree with Nick 76 & villalion apart from the mental institution bit. I think Con is fair minded but also deluded by statistics. The acid test as far as i'm concerned is the mince pies test & let me tell you here & now my own mince pies tell me Bannon is a complete liability & totally out of his depth in the premier league. He definitely currently is Villa's weakest link. Who know's in time he may develop & prove us all wrong (except for Con ofcourse) & if he remains a Villa player then I hope he does, but as things stand right now he is rubbish! Absolutely dire!

Norwich are one of those bloody annoying teams who somehow conjure up a jammy & annoying result from nowhere. ie 1-0 H to Manure & Arsenal plus a jacksey last minute winner against Everton after being played offn the park. That fat clearing in the woods Dowd also helped them secure a jammy point at Villa Park by sending off Bennett when we were comfortably heading for victory. Norwich have been & are extremely jammy.

To sum up in 2 words: Barry Bannan = Complete Liability. End Of!

Great result for Newcastle today. One things for sure Big Sam Allardyce will definitely not be looking to do them any favours after the way they treated him up there. Wouldn't it be ironic if Andy Carroll wacked in a hat trick plus against them & Kevin Nolan too. Also, do you think any Magpies will be rooting for Sunderland in a warped sense of way against us on monday night? So relieved about Boyce's own goal too today. I had given up hope & switched off talkshite on 88 mins seething & cursing Spuds for cockin' the whole thing up. That was a massive blow to the pie eaters, no question. Now please PLEASE Villa, don't cock up monday night.

Wigan would not even be considered as a remarkable draw by any team currently in the Bluesquare.com. You can hear the groans of discontent & disappointment by all the minnows who battle their way to the 3rd round of the FA Cup only to be drawn against this utter shite.Now for Wigan That's a big Game. I would just love it if some non entity of a Rugby team got promoted to the Stones Bitter Championship or whatever it is called & pissed all over Wigan at the DWD so they would then know how the rest of the football world feel about this load of shite. Every one loves an under dog but not when it's shitting all over the carpet!.

We lose more games when Guzan plays. Put Bannan in goal! & get him to punch the ball onto the post!