WakefieldVillan

Sorry lads I put the word "WEDDING" in search tool and it brought me to this thread so I am bringing it back off-topic 

Hoping you guys can give me some suggestions (re-route me to another thread if need be) -

I am getting married next year and my fiancee was discussing the seating arrangements (amongst everything else ) and apparently some people have table names addressed for each table (usually things like the couples fave holiday destinations, or fave bands, films ETC) - 

It was new to me TBH, but anyway she has suggested to name the tables with villa themed names - Which I was A ) very shocked she would consider that on her big day and B )  delighted about, because I have been Villa fan for 30+ years, her family know that, my mates all know that etc - But now I am wondering if any of you guys can help with any names ? And if anyone has come across anything like this before? 

My immediate thought were things such as "The Holte End" or "1982" - But then I was struggling ha - Basically I want references to our great club, whether it be trophies won, major players, ETC

Any help would be much appreciated, need about 8 - 10.

cheers

38 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

I wouldn't mind seeing him come on as a sub, but he just isn't as good as McGinn, Jack or Marvelous. 

It's great with his goals and all, but I don't think scoring in cup games against sub par opposition leads to him doing this in the PL. 

I think you're right in terms of him being inferior to Jack and John, not so sure about Marvelous (who's had a solid enough start) but they are a different type of player - well to be honest Conor is different to all 3.

We have seen before that Smith will pick players on performances and I think Conor has earned a starting berth on Saturday and it's up to him to make it his own. 

2 hours ago, zab6359 said:

Was keen on this one but signed a new 5 year contract earlier this month.

I don't think that will make any difference to be honest, it really is a case of if Leeds get promoted he will stay and vice versa.

If the rumours are true that we offered £20 million and they were holding out for £25 million then I wish we had stumped up the cash, that said I have been reasonably impressed with Nakamba and Luiz so not the end of the world.

 My worst nightmare would be our two clubs swapping places next season and them sniffing around our better players, but far from an impossible scenario.

Received my claret membership card last week too - Is it for anything other than a reminder of your fan ID, which I always forget?

On a side note, I tried purchasing 2 x tickets for Burnley beginning of last week, not sure why I thought I would be OK to get them at such late notice but I missed out, our support has been second to none this season (to be fair it's been like that for a few seasons).

Anyway, used the membership today to get tickets for Brighton at home instead, even then it was hard to pick a seat where I would have liked! UTV

1 hour ago, zab6359 said:

I actually like the look of that team but Trez ahead of Al Ghazi all day long for me.

Can't really argue and TBH I was split with this one, Trezeguet by all accounts played well last night and has been the better of the two this season performance wise (sending off aside) but I was probably swayed by El Ghazi having a longer rest period.

Either way I hope we see a massive performance from whichever one gets the nod, it could be key to us gaining the 3 points  

The manager has said he likes competition for places and selection headaches, well the victory last night and by all accounts some good performances by many involved has given him food for thought for this Saturday - The way it should be, players performing, competing with others for the shirt and I think Smith's main choices are whether to start with the likes of Targett and Hourihane.

I personally feel that Conor should be given a start, he has done the business in both cup games and I think it sends out the wrong signals dropping him back onto the bench regardless of him performing well - he has a habit of scoring goals and his set piece credentials give us something extra. The conundrum I suppose is where you play him? - Well I must say, I prefer to see Jack in the middle dictating play, but I think maybe Saturday we play him slightly wider (giving him license to drift in-field) to accommodate Conor.  I think we still need to keep the energy levels provided by the likes of McGinn, Nakamba and/or Luiz.  

I am hoping Targett eventually displaces Taylor at LB, but I think at this stage Taylor hasn't been that bad and I would keep our back 5 as settled as possible (for now). 

My starting XI would be;

                             Heaton

Guilbert        Engels       Mings            Taylor 

                          Nakamba

               McGinn       Hourihane

El Ghazi                                    Grealish

                           Wesley

Subs; Steer, Elmo, Konsa, Luiz, Trezeguet, Jota, Davis    

Prediction 2-1 Conor and Jack for us, Wood for them to make it a nervy finish (we wouldn't have it any other way, would we?!)

Home game - check 

Rivals - check 

Sell out - check 

Chance of progression - check 

I think it's a perfect draw to be honest, they will be away in Bratislava the Thursday night, then they face the Toon on the Sunday before our game on the Tuesday or Wednesday night, no way will they be fielding the big guns and our squad players have shown that we are more than capable of producing decent performances and much like the tie with Brighton I really fancy us under the lights with a big crowd of reaching the quarters. The rest of the draw is favourable too. Two potential big hitters will be gone. Not going to lie.. I can smell the 

4 hours ago, wilko154 said:

Against Crewe I argued the case for us to play a strong team and try to go for a decent cup run this season.

However I am now firmly back in the play a second string camp. The way the season has gone so far we need to be looking ahead to Saturday's game, the cup is no longer important right now. Hopefully by January we will be in a position to give the FA Cup a good go. In saying this I think the team we put out should still be able to win the game, as no doubt Brighton will also play a weakened side.

Some of our players are crying out for a rest, this showed in the last 20 minutes against Arsenal. Nakamba, Grealish and McGinn should be nowhere near this for me.

The only players I would be tempted by would be Trezeguet as he has only played one game recently and Wesley who has now scored and would take some confidence with another goal.

 

I am not necessarily disagreeing with you here and am more than happy with that midfield 3 starting tomorrow, but since our away game at Palace prior to tomorrow's fixture, they will have played twice in 25 days, they really shouldn't be knackered!

Maybe with McGinn it's the amount of running he does, Nakamba 2 games in, adjusting to the league ETC, but (probably for another thread) aren't footballers mollycoddled! Us average footballers will do a 9 hour shift at work then go straight for a game then, repeat week-in-week-out!

Anyway, I like the team above, just feel that the game is important for building momentum & confidence.

56 minutes ago, screwdriver said:

a)atrocious subs - subs killed any momentum Villa have against spurs, palace and arsenal.

Could easily argue that the sending off killed us at Palace, and his substitutions actually improved us and it was the referee that basically cost us a point (with the equalizer being from one of Smith's substitutes), I think regardless of who entered the field at Spurs we were beaten in the end by a better team, though the subs, in particular Jota was below par. I think he should have changed things earlier against Arsenal.

b) tactically poor - always the same set up 4-3-3 doesn't know when to tweak. no retaliation when opposition flex their formation. FACT!!! we will have our botty cheeks partied dry at the ehihad!

Many teams will get destroyed at Man City if they play like they did on Saturday, a la Watford. We wont be judged on games against them. I think being new to the premier league Smith is trying to keep a settled formation which for me is better than changing formation week in week out which would be a disaster. I am sure the coaching staff are looking at different formations in training.

c) indecisive - woulda shoulda coulda make a sub????    got away with it against everton when 2nd half it was backs to the wall. got punished against spurs and arsenal.

I wouldn't say he "got away with it" against Everton, he shored things up by taking a tiring Jota off and he brought on El Ghazi who killed the game off in fine style. Unfortunately, not sure if you are aware but there are some strong teams in this league, regardless at times of subs we may just lose because we aren't quite up to it.

d) lunatics running the asylum! - he said gazi and mings sorted out their little tiff themselves. he should of left them both in no doubt who was in charge by having a press confrerence like bowyer and dyer.

No sure if you're being serious here but he handled it perfectly IMO. We don't know what was said in the dressing room, but what was said should be sorted in the dressing room and stay there. I would be surprised to see this happen again under Smith's management.

e) questionable purchases in the transfer market - lambert-esque foreign gambles with a couple of brentford boys thrown in. Where are the marquee signings with prem experience? Who's going to score the goals to keep us up? midfielders?

So your basically writing off all his signings after 6 games? I think more are looking like hits rather than misses right now, regardless of our points tally. I have been impressed with Engels, Guilbert, Nakamba, Mings, Heaton thus far, Luiz and Wesley I think will come good with a bit of patience , Targett has been injured so hard to judge, Konsa is one for the future and Jota is a definite upgrade on Gardner. We have reduced the age of the squad and will be better for it next season regardless of which division we are in.

f) bottle job changes - always winger for winger subs. never mixes it up nothing to make an impact. can't spot a tired player.

I think it's the wingers that are not quite performing at the level required so usually seem the obvious choice to swap, plus I would argue that wingers in general are likely to be swapped more than most positions (not got a stat to back it up but it wouldn't surprise me). I do feel when the likes of SJM or Jack get tired he should maybe look to his bench a little quicker - but then again, if he takes one of them two off in a game we are winning and we were to drop points, he would be crucified.

H)doesn't know how to integrate connor hourihane, the most dangerous weapon we have when it comes to set piece delivery. (either this or he doesn't think he's fast enough for prem) FACT!!! GARETH BARRY played 600 prem games despite having as much pace as a hyudai getz! in the kick and rush era of the prem.

The same Conor that has had plenty of supporters saying he goes anonymous in games and ain't good enough at this level ETC. The unfortunate thing for Conor is that CM is probably where we have most options so it is really up to him to make the position his own, that said I am sure he his pushing in training and will get his chance soon enough. We do miss his set play's and I am sure Smith is aware of this. 

Yeah but he's a decent bloke and a Villa fan so lets go down and do it all again. was so nice against rotherham wasn't it. %&*$£"%^&*&'s!!!!!!!!! 

No sane Villa fan wants us to go down this season or any season - we belong in the top flight, but we have to earn it like everybody else.

 

One last thing, no one is saying Smith should be void of criticism just because he is "one of us", far from it, but I think so far he has earned our respect and patience whilst he is in the hot seat!

Not sure if you are on the wind up but I have responded nevertheless. UTV

I feel the mindset of the players could be a factor too, it shouldn't happen at this level (or any level really) but when an opposing team go down to 10 men, certain players may feel that they don't have to work as hard whilst the team going down to 10 know that they have to dig in that little bit more and just that slight decrease in work-rate can have a big effect, especially against the top teams.

That said, and as others have alluded to, I don't think we are patient enough when we are with a man advantage, key to breaking teams down, is to keep the ball moving, retain possession, drag opposition players out of position, tire them out and then hopefully execute some chances.

Winning games breeds confidence and it gives the "squad players" a perfect opportunity to stake a claim for a starting place on Saturday, I for one hope we are bang at it on Wednesday night.

In the Championship we were playing 3 games in 7 days quite regularly therefore fitness shouldn't really be an issue, particularly coming off the back of an International break - that said I am more than happy resting a few as we have more than capable players who should be chomping at the bit!

I would be more than happy with either @Keyblade or @Czechlad's team above to be honest, I think on paper we should be good enough, however I have seen us many times go out with a whimper in these cup competitions and I really would like this year for us to have a decent cup run. We're ASTON VILLA FC, 7 FA Cups, 5 league cups ETC, it's been far too long since our last success (play off aside), let's change the mentality, it doesn't have to be lose tomorrow / win Saturday, how's about WIN tomorrow WIN Saturday, what a week that would be heading into the fixture with Norwich.

Obviously Saturday is more important than this one, but imagine what a boost of confidence it would give us to get a victory here, on our travels, against a premier league rival - it would do us the world of good.

I think it is a perfect opportunity to try a different system, give some fringe players game time and still remain competitive.

I would go 4-2-3-1 and line up with; 

                              Steer

Guilbert        Konsa       Mings          Targett

                   Luiz            Lansbury

         Jota         Grealish     Hourihane

                             Davis

Subs; Heaton, Elmo, Engels, Hause, Trezeguet, Wesley, Archer

Fancy us to win this one - 1-3!

Any talk what so ever of sacking Smith is absolutely mind blowing, it really is, thankfully I think our owners aren't that stupid. 

We all knew that this season was going to be tough and I think even the most ardent supporter would have taken a 17th place finish come the end of the season, so I really don't get all the dejection after what, six games?! 

Unless we lose 10 on the spin and he completely loses the dressing room would I then contemplate sacking him, but that is not going to happen, we are competing, we have been in contention in each game and there are positives to take for sure.

Don't get me wrong, he has made mistakes (I'm sure he's aware of this), he's not flawless, but who is? Klopp? Guardiola? Let's bring one of them in shall we.

End of the day, he's one of our own, he is a positive person, he talks a good game, he won us promotion with a 10 game winning streak and one of the main reasons we got promoted last season was due to the players, management and fans all being together and the only way we will stay in this league and progress is for us fans to get behind them again - (to be fair, at the games we are doing that and it is a pleasure to see, long may it continue).

I have only seen highlights of the Arsenal game (couldn't find a decent stream) and it seems the biggest issue amongst fans was with us sitting back and inviting pressure - However listening to his post-match analysis it seemed that this wasn't the HT instruction, therefore I think the players have to take responsibility there as much as Smith. I think the players do need to believe in themselves a little more. Another blame was laid to the lack of substitutions which I get totally, it sounded very much like the players were absolutely knackered after 60 mins, I think this is definitely something that the head coach needs to look at, freshening things up sooner - I am sure he is regretting this now but hindsight is a wonderful thing. 

With a bit of luck (we have had less than most this season) a bit more guile (when we are winning, seeing out games) and a bit more doggedness (see Sheff Utd) we would be sat on about 9-10 points - I think it's been a frustrating start to the season but not a disastrous one.

Some BIG home games coming up where I feel we will get some positive results 

4 hours ago, ferguson1 said:

Don’t think this will happen, but would love to see the side below.  4-2-3-1, with our full backs pushing forward as much as possible, almost playing as wingers:

---------------------------------Wesley----------------------------------

-------Hourihane———Grealish———-McGinn--------

--------------------- Luiz --------- Marvelous --------------------


Targett ----------- Mings ----- Engels ----------- Guilbert

------------------------------- Heaton ---------------------------------
 

Going to be tough this game, but feel we can get a point.  1-1

That's the team I would like to see at some point, but like you said it wont happen Sunday and I can see why Smith wont go changing formations just yet, we're competing ok but obviously can improve. I think the team (or even formation) above would be worth trying at Brighton in the cup. I think we would be able to get Jack and John further up the pitch and press higher, giving more support to big Wes.

Anyway, Sunday, I think same team as the West Ham game but with Trez coming in for Jota. I would be shocked if we got anything from the game but usually I am wrong so fingers crossed.

Head says 3 - 1

Heart says 1 - 2 

4 hours ago, maqroll said:

Where are the goals going to come from?

Would playing a 4-4-2 with Davis and Wesley up top be something Smith considers?

Also, if Matt Targett likes to bound forward from the back, I say get him in the side and bench Taylor. We need more attacking impetus. Hourihane needs to play and Luiz is more of a goal theat than Nakamba.

Maybe the side for the Arsenal game could look like this:

Heaton

Guilbert Engels Mings Targett

McGinn Hourihane Luiz El Ghazi

Davis Wesley

Sorry but no way do we leave Jack out 

1 hour ago, Bazmonkey said:

I agree with this..the space between the lines is either too big or to tight especially when we defend.

Last night there were lots of examples of the back four and nakamba being close then no one near..this forces it wide and west ham put the pressure on jota and el gazi.

I'd like to see

       Gilbert   engles mings  taylor (for now)

               Luiz        nakamba

Grealish         hourihane     mcginn

                 Wes or davies.

The three of grealish mcginn and hourihane rotating round.

We also need to press more. We gave too much respect last night. We seem to retreat to the 18 yard box and let them have acres of space and bring the ball forward with ease.  Had Anderson been better he would have had a field day last night

Good post.

I think with Nakamba having a solid debut and Luiz more settled in, and added to the fact that the wingers aren't quite "at it", I would definitely look to playing that team above (more so if or when Targett is fit) - I think it 'could' work well.

Newly promoted I can see why Smith is keeping to a settled formation but Brighton away in the cup would be a perfect chance to try something different IMO.

Overall he was pretty solid, but I thought he looked the weaker of the centre halves. He had a tough battle with Haller (who looks a good player),  but it was nice to keep a clean sheet and good to see a nice partnership with Engels blossoming. 

Grew into the game after a couple of misplaced passes. Showed good energy levels and a very competent debut. 

Pretty poor tonight to say the least and it's the home games like this where he needs to make an impact. When he receives the ball on the half way line I genuinely am not sure which team he's going to get the assist for!

Rather see him off the bench or maybe playing in a more central role (4-2-3-1) and I think tonight was crying out for a 'Benrahma'.  

Taking off the claret and blue specs.. oh...

I think a point was probably a fair result. We had the better chances, they looked more composed on the ball.

Tale of two halves for Jack, probably our best player in the first 45, possibly our worst in the second period.

Slightly disappointing we got worse with the man advantage, if anything it hindered our play with them sat back and hitting us on the counter.

Engels MOTM for me, had a really solid start to the season.

Realistically I would have hoped for at least 5 points after our first four games (Expected loss at Spurs, a win against Bournemouth and a point in the others), so we're 2 points off what I thought we would be, hardly catastrophic. 

Think we need to be aiming for 8-10 points in the next 5 and we will be doing just fine, won't be easy, but we never thought this league would be anything else. The crowd at VP as such a huge part to play. 

My main worry is if we go several games not picking up any points and how it will affect our confidence.

2 hours ago, HeyAnty said:

Jota plays for me at home when we are on the front foot and fans behind the team.  He shouldnt even make the bench in away games when we will be under the cosh and sitting back.  We need someone with pace and strength to hold the ball up when away from home.

I agree... to an extent. I would still have him on the bench in away games, but not as a starter. 

I like him, he is a nice, intelligent footballer and can pick out some wonderful passes just think he may be a bit of a luxury away from home when we need to dig in a bit more.

1 hour ago, TRO said:

I think it maybe add that to Jota and Trez and you have 4 who are arguably lightweight in the challenge.......its too much to bear...especially away from home.

This for me.

Jota should not be starting away games, most of the games where we are going to be up against it and playing more counter attacking. But this is probably for the Jota thread.

Will give Luiz plenty of time before judging him, but think some supporters were overrating him after 15 average minutes at Spurs. The potential is there so hope he lives up.to the hype.