John

Wow what a performance! 2-0 and we hit the woodwork twice! A well deserved double over Arsenal and a fine all round team performance. Three unexpected points to compensate for points unexpectedly dropped recently. Champions League? They're not laughing any more!  

I think another 7 points could give us 4th and I know Newcastle would prefer to be in our position rather than their own. You can never write off that Manchester lot, but they won't win all of their remaining games, which they would have to do, if we can somehow get those 7 points. I think that Spurs could well lose their next 3 games and Newcastle will hopefully be sobbing on the Tyne again. We just need to find it in us, to get those 7 points and the sooner the better, but I suspect that it may go to the last game. 

5 minutes ago, romavillan said:

I think we'll need to score twice over there to win the tie and looking at how well they controlled possession at VP I don't think we're going to be seeing a lot of the ball. Going to be tough.

You may well be right, or one on a good night for our defence. 

Emi will be really up for the return. He loves a big game and their fans will only increase his determination by goading him. He was at his brilliant best last night. 

I was hoping for a minimum of a two goal advantage to take to Lille and had we got the penalty we deserved, we could have got one. It will be a tough task next week, they are a decent team, I'm worried, but I was worried going to Anderlecht in 1982 and that didn't turn out to badly. The bookies are confident enough, Coral now have us 11/8 to win the cup and Lille at 10/1. UTV!

4 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said:

How sexist is that first one, telling the ladies where they can get refreshments 

Yes, I was often parched on the Witton End, but couldn't find a drop to drink! 

13 hours ago, S-Platt said:

Lovely pic when did the St George Flag replace the Union Jack is the question.  

I would hazard a guess, that there may have been a few St George's flags available from Euro 86 and it was a gradual process after then. 

3 hours ago, Talldarkandransome said:

I think we'll need more than a 2 goal lead

How about?  

Douglas is without a doubt a crucial cog in the team that has brought us to the verge of CL qualification. He would walk into a top 4 team if he left us and is arguably our most valuable player, his presence in our side is a big part of why we were ourselves in the top 4 until yesterday.    

5 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

That Archie Gray at Leeds will turn into a very, very good player. 

Agreed, but every other club knows it and he would have his choice of top clubs. He's also likely to extend his contract there, if they go up given his family's history with the club. Leeds would also want big money for him, so I doubt a cheeky bid would work.    

I sullied myself by having a look at KRO this morning, I've added the link below for those of you who want more later: 

- "People on social media are very confident about our run in. Can’t understand it. Next two home games against teams in the top half of the table. Away games against teams that are as desperate as we are. It’s not inconceivable to me that we don’t win again this season." 

- don't want to go into the last day of the season as this lot won't be able to cope with it."

- "I honestly don't think it'll go to the last game of the season......one way or the other."

- "True but if we 4 points adrift before our game weds puts a huge amount of pressure on us to win, something i dont think this bag of shit have the mentality to achieve when pressure is on tbf."

- "We have flirted with relegation for far too long and if the inevitable should happen we cannot complain.We have made more escapes than Hudini. How many of the current team would you want in the trenches to fight to the end ? Two or three maybe. The majority are second rate journeymen who know their respective P45,s are being readied and don't give a "Donald Duck" if we get relegated." Who is Hudini? 

Link: https://wewilljourneyon.proboards.com/thread/8309/run?page=1&scrollTo=151019 

9 hours ago, 479Villan said:

I'm still not convinced this toilet flushes this year....

 

But I know the Sports Gods sure would love a matchup of American Owners in League 1 next year as Wrexham and Blues match up a couple of times.

I thought that they would pull safe after unexpectedly beating Preston, but Weds and Huddersfield winning have made it great fun again, haven't they? 

 Look at that table and weep Noses. It's squeaky bum time again, it breaks your heart don't it mate?  

We can still qualify for the CL, but this game has made doing so much harder. A win would have kept us above Spurs, but now a win for them tomorrow puts them above us. A win would also have likely ended once and for all Manchester United's hopes of pipping us at the post, but we are now relying on Liverpool to beat them, to widen our gap on them. At half time I said that we needed another goal, we got it and that should really have been enough, but 9 minutes of madness left us a goal down. The point that we got back, may yet prove crucial, but it's still 2 points that we dropped. We will need to take those 2 points from our remaining games, by say winning a game, that we might otherwise have been satisfied with taking a point from. Our potential CL qualification may now not be decided until the last game, as a result of this result, so we can't take our foot off the pedal until the last kick now.   

That referee couldn't wait to book Douglas, although the game was by then almost done. I'm sure he knew a booking would lead to a suspension for him and he took the only opportunity he really had to show him that card. It made me wonder where he comes from and who he supports. He comes from Preston and has not disclosed who he supports. Surely referees should have to admit which team they favour, at least if he had I wouldn't be thinking Preston is rather too near to Manchester for my liking and clearly a Manchester United supporter would not be adverse to seeing Douglas suspended, although I'm not suggesting for one moment that he might be, after all he didn't add any Fergie time to the stoppage time at the end of the additional minutes did he? 

16 hours ago, GingerCollins29 said:

Selling Mings to Ipswich, or to Jhon Duran is an interesting prospect

It doesn't interest me. 

20 hours ago, thabucks said:

Sorry mods if it’s too general but as this relates to both us and the whole league thought I’d place this here . 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13271249/Premier-League-eyeing-ABOLISHING-points-deductions-introducing-NBA-style-luxury-tax-fears-stars-leave-rules-restrict-pay-Everton-Nottingham-Forest-lost-points.html

I wouldn't mind the luxury tax idea, as long as it didn't mean that clubs could spend really silly money. I wouldn't have a problem with clubs spending £150m in a season above what they brought in, so long as their owners put up the same amount, so the club wouldn't go out of business, if they pulled the plug later. The figure should be the same for every club though. For the likes of Luton and Citeh, as well as for every club in between them. They should have the choice of making that investment or not, but should still be penalised harshly if they spent above that figure, as should Citeh still be now. That way clubs that get promoted could spend a decent amount to stay up, clubs like us are not put in a position, where they are forced to sell players and the likes of Newcastle cannot just spend what they like, as often as they like.  

That could have been a lot worse (not as bad as those drummers before the game though). Was I the only one, that was worried, we might have Douglas sent off towards the end of the first half? UE sensibly prioritised our next two games and given the team we put out, I would have not been shocked by a three goal margin, at kick-off. As it was we gave a good account of ourselves in the first half and had them worried, until our wall collapsed for their second. Foden was the difference and playing Citeh after their draw at the weekend, was always going to be a bad time to meet them. This was always going to be a free hit and home wins from our next two games is what matters to us now. 

3 hours ago, VillaChris said:

Acuna is older than Moreno and Digne and Sevilla are actually playing him as a left winger currently.

As I've said a few times Tierney ticks plenty of boxes. Mid 20s, loads of experience at the top level, Arsenal will be happy to sell for about 25m and he can play as a LCB aswell as he does for Scotland. And yes he picks up plenty of injuries!

I know he's older, I just wonder if we will have £25m to spend on another left back, given that we will have other positions to spend, what money that we are allowed to spend on. I like Tierney as well, by the way. 

6 hours ago, Pongo Waring said:

Spurs fans have stopped caring: https://thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/threads/top-4-struggling-to-care.49116/

I think they started thinking much the same last year. Just when qualification looks to be in doubt, they don't actually want it. Looks like they are beginning to accept that it is beyond them to finish above the mighty Villa. 

2 hours ago, alexvilla4 said:

With Digne likely to be sold abroad and Moreno not rediscovering his form from last season if we were to get a starting left back from a fellow prem team which would you fancy? List below is from teams below us where the player would likely want to come if we paid the asking price 

Ait-Nouri

Robinson

Mykolenko

Estupian

Henry

Hickey

Doughty

Would be Robinson for me. Looks class a lot of the time and has a lot of pace. Would likely be the most expensive though. 

I doubt that we will sign a PL left back (money wise), if we are in the market for one, would we possibly go back in for Acuna? Or if Ipswich don't come up, Leif Davis looks an option to me. 

9 minutes ago, imavillan said:

reading the last two pages it’s confusing!!!!

can anyone tell me if we’ve a game in hand or Spurs have a game in hand or if we’ve played the same amount of matches?

 

 

No! 

2 hours ago, Follyfoot said:

I think when you take the loan fee off, we can get him for quite a bit cheaper than that. Might be wrong but I’m sure it’s something like 15 million quid

Yes, I thought the fee was below £20m (somewhere between that and £15m). Not bad for an Italian international. 

17 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

The Rotherham fixture is a huge help, they should be safe with 2 wins, pretty much definitely 2 wins and a draw. So they just need to win that, and get a win from Cardiff or Preston at home or Huddersfield away. I think they'll get what they need unfortunately. 

They have only picked up 1 point from their last 7 games, 2 wins from their last 7 is a big ask for them. Perhaps this will be their year after all?

A new Villa bus from New Street to Birmingham starts today for fans. £5 return. 

https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2024/march/28/New-express-city-centre-shuttle-buses-set-to-launch-on-matchdays/?sc_src=email_5709204&sc_lid=571397305&sc_uid=teJc9pr3Mp&sc_llid=7601&sc_customer=ddc71e91-8f12-403d-b848-bd596f230a31

Quote

Aston Villa is delighted to introduce a new city centre shuttle bus service, helping supporters to travel more easily and efficiently to and from Villa Park on matchdays.

With a nod to the club’s finest hour and our 1982 European Cup victory, the ‘AV82’ service will start on Saturday 30th March for our home Premier League fixture against Wolves. The service will run on a trial basis for all other men’s home matches until the end of the 2023/24 season, covering all Premier League and UEFA Europa Conference League fixtures.