John

Just a quick thought. Might it be also be worth trying to let Everton fan sites know what is going on? Given there is some respect between fans of the 2 clubs and that this is currently the most played league fixture (and we want to keep it that way) they might even offer some encouragement on 74 minutes rather than sing "we can see you sneaking out" if they are aware of why it is happening.

I hope that we don't see that line up or anything like it. I agree it is too soon to know with any certainty what sort of team we will have next August or possibly who will be released or have at least a short term future with us.

6 minutes.

1874.

A potential starting line-up at Burton for our first game: Steer, Hutton, Donacien, Baker, Kinsella, Lyden, Westwood, Gardner, Gabby, Robinson, Gestede. We could add the likes of Bentley (Southend £2m) and Clough (Bolton £2m) although that would cost money and we would not want to "throw money at it". Some players might be prepared to stick around until January to see how we go such as possibly Clark, Amavi, Gana, Veretout, Gil, Grealish and Ayew. We could then fill the gaps with loan signings from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Liverpool and West Ham (if they would like to give us Samuelsen) along with those players who might want to go but find themselves short of offers from other clubs.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03gtlz7 Its on now. Very well done Mike!

"Once players could be expected to share common values with all of us; to rub shoulders with the plebs in public houses and on public transport. Now, amid widespread protests over the exorbitant ticket prices charged to ordinary fans, a footballer like Lescott can aspire legitimately to becoming a 1%-er, living the life and enjoying luxuries generally restricted to bankers, rappers and the international rich. To put it another way, modern football has become a working-class game performed by multi-millionaires" I think that says it all. Lescott is not alone in this at Villa Park or in football in general but his reaction was a very poor one and straight after a game like this one he should have kept a very, very low profile. I think he tried to make things right by then saying he was sorry about his and the team's performance but the wording of that message just inflamed the situation. He was not our worst player on the day and that has been the case in recent games. There are other players who have given less, care less and who as a result have played less. I thought the team showed Liverpool too much respect and unlike say Sunderland when they played the same team they were not prepared to press or to bust a gut to try to get something out of the game given they felt defeat was inevitable once they went behind because they were up against a better team. That in itself is not acceptable from any football team professional or otherwise.

I hope Ken is very soon recovered and feeling 110% to quote his old boss. What a great central defender he was and he deserved a lot more Scotland caps to add to the honours that he earned with us.

Thanks its always a pleasure but I guess it is more of a pleasure to do one after a win, a draw or even after a defeat by less than six goals.

Our 27th league game of this awful season will be at Stoke on Saturday 27/2 (15.00 kick-off). Stoke have become another of our bogey sides since their return to the top flight and we have won only 2 of the 15 league games we have played against them since 2008. The last of those wins came in The Potteries 2 years ago. It could be argued that neither team is now left with much to play for this season. If we play anything like as badly as we did against Liverpool another very uncomfortable afternoon awaits us and Bunn is likely to be picking the ball out of the net on a regular basis once again. For me our players do still have something left to play for on Saturday week. They have the club's pride as well as the fans who have supported the club through thick, thin and thinner to play for (as well as their wages). I hope our players will appreciate that this has now become a "must win" game. They owe us this one and more! Lets see if they are bothered enough to show that they care about the club they play for, their professional pride or their fans by turning up for this one and fighting for the points.

This was a shambolic, embarrassing and disappointingly rancid performance. The light we had thought we had spotted at the end of a long dark tunnel was all too easily extinguished as was our recent run of improved performances and fragile confidence yesterday. We started this game with a better goal difference than Newcastle and level with Norwich. We had an opportunity to move to being a slender 5 points from safety with a win. Given our dire home record against yesterday’s visitors most of us would have taken a point although we really knew we needed all three but to lose and to concede 6 goals without reply in the process was beyond our very worst fears. This was our heaviest home league defeat in 81 years. Back in season 1935-36 we conceded 7 goals twice at Villa Park losing 0-7 to WBA and then 1-7 to Arsenal with Ted Drake scoring all 7 goals of their goals. We were relegated that season and yesterday’s appalling performance had relegation written all over it. We started well enough but our heads dropped when we conceded two goals in 9 first half minutes. At half-time the game could have gone one of two ways. We could have shown some fight and pulled a goal back or at the very least kept the score down to a two or three goal deficit or we could throw in the towel and become demoralised as we did in another abject display in the FA Cup against Manchester City. We took the later option conceding 4 goals in 13 second half minutes shamefully. Football does not get worse than this at Villa Park. Liverpool were languishing in the bottom half of the table when they arrived at Villa Park yesterday. This was not the Liverpool of the 70s and as we showed in last season’s FA Cup semi-final they can be beaten. But we failed to turn up, treated them with too much respect and made them look better than they actually are. If only our players had shown anything near the spirit that the Holte End did near the end of this sad game! We did not want this game enough to battle, press and challenge our visitors and instead surrendered meekly. We now have 12 games left in which to bridge the 8 point gap that stands between us and safety. Three points at Stoke might repair some of the damage but after this humiliating defeat it is hard to see any way back for us! My player ratings from a game after which my “bright future” scarf looked increasingly ridiculous are: Mark Bunn – 4 – Acted as merely a spectator when neither a forward nor a defender made any contact with Milner’s 25th minute free-kick that went straight in at his far post. Kept out Clyne’s first shot after Firmino had found him but was left grounded along with Veretout when the same player was first to get to the rebound to score their penultimate goal. Mark was then left flat footed when Touré’s unchallenged header from a Henderson corner found the net to his right for their sixth on 71 minutes. Beat Sturridge to the ball after Coutinho had tried to set him up on 54 minutes having earlier saved well from Moreno at his near post on 33 minutes and from Sturridge again on 44 minutes. Michah Richards – 4 – Made a couple of moves forward and was not the worst of our defenders yesterday. Joleon Lescott – 3 – Almost turned in a Henderson cross to make it 7 in the 86th minute but Bunn got down to keep it out. Jores Okore – 3 – Origi got in behind him on 63 minutes and neither he nor Lescott were able to get back to do anything to stop him adding a fourth goal. Aly Cissokho – 3 – Neither he nor Lescott took responsibility for Sturridge who was therefore unchallenged when heading in their first. Leandro Bacuna – 2 – Made a half hearted attempt if that to close down Coutinho whose cross was headed home past a static Bunn for their 16th minute opener. He then conceded the free-kick that led to their second although there was little contact with Coutinho who went to ground all too readily for me if not for the referee. Failed to bring the ball under control on 58 minutes losing the ball to Can who hit the ball home from the edge of the box for their third. Had a 60th minute shot pushed away which was cleared before Gana who had found him on the edge of the box could get to the loose ball having had another effort fumbled by the keeper when he cut into the box after 47 minutes. Jordan Veretout - 3 – Failed to cover Clyne’s run on 65 minutes which led to their fifth. Ashley Westwood – 3 – Can do more than this as can the rest of the team. Idrissa Gana – 5 – MOTM – Shaded it as the best of a bad bunch for me yesterday. Carles Gil – 4 – Has had much better and more influential games than this but he had little to nothing to work with yesterday. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 2 – Had a reasonable first 10 minutes or so but soon faded badly and looked so much more like his recent lack lustre self than he had during his last Villa Park appearance. Substituted on 57 minutes. Substitutes: Scott Sinclair – 5 – Replaced Gabby after 57 minutes. Scott actually ran at their defenders a couple of times and was unlucky when his measured 80th minute shot hit the angler of crossbar and post. Jordan Lyden – 5 - Replaced Bacuna on 66 minutes and it was a little harsh to make him play any part in this debacle. Alan Hutton – Replaced Richards on 85 minutes so was not on long enough to earn any rating. Stay Up Villa! John Lewis

This was a shambolic, embarrassing and disappointingly rancid performance. The light we had thought we had spotted at the end of a long dark tunnel was all too easily extinguished as was our recent run of improved performances and fragile confidence yesterday. We started this game with a better goal difference than Newcastle and level with Norwich. We had an opportunity to move to being a slender 5 points from safety with a win. Given our dire home record against yesterday’s visitors most of us would have taken a point although we really knew we needed all three but to lose and to concede 6 goals without reply in the process was beyond our very worst fears. This was our heaviest home league defeat in 81 years. Back in season 1935-36 we conceded 7 goals twice at Villa Park losing 0-7 to WBA and then 1-7 to Arsenal with Ted Drake scoring all 7 goals of their goals. We were relegated that season and yesterday’s appalling performance had relegation written all over it. We started well enough but our heads dropped when we conceded two goals in 9 first half minutes. At half-time the game could have gone one of two ways. We could have shown some fight and pulled a goal back or at the very least kept the score down to a two or three goal deficit or we could throw in the towel and become demoralised as we did in another abject display in the FA Cup against Manchester City. We took the later option conceding 4 goals in 13 second half minutes shamefully. Football does not get worse than this at Villa Park. Liverpool were languishing in the bottom half of the table when they arrived at Villa Park yesterday. This was not the Liverpool of the 70s and as we showed in last season’s FA Cup semi-final they can be beaten. But we failed to turn up, treated them with too much respect and made them look better than they actually are. If only our players had shown anything near the spirit that the Holte End did near the end of this sad game! We did not want this game enough to battle, press and challenge our visitors and instead surrendered meekly. We now have 12 games left in which to bridge the 8 point gap that stands between us and safety. Three points at Stoke might repair some of the damage but after this humiliating defeat it is hard to see any way back for us! My player ratings from a game after which my “bright future” scarf looked increasingly ridiculous are: Mark Bunn – 4 – Acted as merely a spectator when neither a forward nor a defender made any contact with Milner’s 25th minute free-kick that went straight in at his far post. Kept out Clyne’s first shot after Firmino had found him but was left grounded along with Veretout when the same player was first to get to the rebound to score their penultimate goal. Mark was then left flat footed when Touré’s unchallenged header from a Henderson corner found the net to his right for their sixth on 71 minutes. Beat Sturridge to the ball after Coutinho had tried to set him up on 54 minutes having earlier saved well from Moreno at his near post on 33 minutes and from Sturridge again on 44 minutes. Michah Richards – 4 – Made a couple of moves forward and was not the worst of our defenders yesterday. Joleon Lescott – 3 – Almost turned in a Henderson cross to make it 7 in the 86th minute but Bunn got down to keep it out. Jores Okore – 3 – Origi got in behind him on 63 minutes and neither he nor Lescott were able to get back to do anything to stop him adding a fourth goal. Aly Cissokho – 3 – Neither he nor Lescott took responsibility for Sturridge who was therefore unchallenged when heading in their first. Leandro Bacuna – 2 – Made a half hearted attempt if that to close down Coutinho whose cross was headed home past a static Bunn for their 16th minute opener. He then conceded the free-kick that led to their second although there was little contact with Coutinho who went to ground all too readily for me if not for the referee. Failed to bring the ball under control on 58 minutes losing the ball to Can who hit the ball home from the edge of the box for their third. Had a 60th minute shot pushed away which was cleared before Gana who had found him on the edge of the box could get to the loose ball having had another effort fumbled by the keeper when he cut into the box after 47 minutes. Jordan Veretout - 3 – Failed to cover Clyne’s run on 65 minutes which led to their fifth. Ashley Westwood – 3 – Can do more than this as can the rest of the team. Idrissa Gana – 5 – MOTM – Shaded it as the best of a bad bunch for me yesterday. Carles Gil – 4 – Has had much better and more influential games than this but he had little to nothing to work with yesterday. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 2 – Had a reasonable first 10 minutes or so but soon faded badly and looked so much more like his recent lack lustre self than he had during his last Villa Park appearance. Substituted on 57 minutes. Substitutes: Scott Sinclair – 5 – Replaced Gabby after 57 minutes. Scott actually ran at their defenders a couple of times and was unlucky when his measured 80th minute shot hit the angler of crossbar and post. Jordan Lyden – 5 - Replaced Bacuna on 66 minutes and it was a little harsh to make him play any part in this debacle. Alan Hutton – Replaced Richards on 85 minutes so was not on long enough to earn any rating. Stay Up Villa! John Lewis

If Benteke scores does anyone think he will celebrate doing so or even do a Yorke new badge kiss? I trust not and I hope he does not have the opportunity to prove me wrong (the same also applies to Milner & Sturridge).

Well Wenger might rest his first team with another FA Cup Final to play the following week if the title is secured or by then beyond them or he might do his mate Remi a favour or we could lose but still get the job done (like in 80/81) by the teams below us not getting the right result to get above us for example Swansea at home to Manchester City, Sunderland at Watford, Newcastle at home to Spurs, Norwich at Everton, WBA at home to Liverpool and Bournemouth at home to Stoke.....

I guess we will never really know. It would be nice if he was asked that question though. I would dock them 6 points for playing him in any case!

I think that is what he is saying here "Aston Villa is a prestigious club in England on the exterior. But inside, there are lots of things that need to be done". Sadly I doubt he will get either.

Do I not like that.

Fair play. Sunday may be his opportunity to prove he still is (a performance similar to the one given by another Villa fan Nathan Redmond (albeit booed by us due to the old blue nose in his closet) on Saturday would be sufficient proof for me)!

I thought it was said he was a Villa fan? If so, it is a funny way to show it.

Sturridge hardly ever plays what has he got against us? His two goals did for us at Anfield earlier this season. Surely he needs a few more days before he attempts another comeback.

The Villa lion showed the visiting canaries that there is still some life and fight left in him yesterday. A defeat would have left us doomed to relegation but this was a 6-pointer that we won due to hard work and determination on the pitch. There was not too much to choose between the two teams in the first half. Norwich are currently on the crest of a slump having now lost their last five games and the first goal was always going to be crucial given the brittle confidence of both teams. It was thankfully Villa that got it and crucially it arrived on the stroke of half time. We added another early in the second half and then showed a steely resolve to hold onto that two goal cushion. We took our chances, achieved a rare clean sheet and claimed our biggest league win of the season yesterday. We now live to fight another day, if we must go down it seems we might at least go down fighting and all hope is not yet quite lost! We have now won two of our last three home league games and drew the other one. We have taken 8 points from our last 5 league games which is a points ratio which if repeated in our remaining 13 games might yet see us avoid the drop. Those 8 points from 5 games have also doubled the number of points we had to our name after our first 20 games. Survival continues to appear to be a mission impossible but like Ethan Hunt is able to do on the big screen we might yet beat the odds as well. Each win like this one makes a great escape look a little more possible and a tad less far fetched. We are now just 4 points behind Sunderland and 7 points behind yesterday’s opponents. We are also now 8 points away from 17th place and safety which is currently occupied by Newcastle. The three clubs that are currently in front of us will now start to look over their shoulders at us. We have been written off by the press, pundits, opponents, our board and our “custodian” alike. They all might have to think again if we can add another home win next weekend. My player ratings from a game in which the result was more important than the performance and that took us up to 16 points which is a figure many of us had doubts that we could achieve in the whole of this season are: Mark Bunn – 5 – Parried away a strong Mbokani shot on 19 minutes and half came for a cross on 89 minutes only to be left in no man’s land as Martin’s header flew past him. Michah Richards – 7 – Dependable at the back and also made some strong runs forward. Joleon Lescott – 7 – MOTM – Gave us the lead on the stroke of half time which deflated our opponents and gave us some much needed confidence to take into the second half. Joleon got a downward header on Veretout’s 45th minute free kick at the far post which took a slight deflection before going through Rudd’s legs and into the net. He organised us well at the back and was determined to win each and every ball. Joleon also cleared an 89th minute Mbokani shot off the line. Jores Okore – 7 – Jores was so very reliable again in the heart of our defence and was in the right place at the right time to head a Martin header from a cross that Bunn came for but did not get to clear of the line. Aly Cissokho – 6 – Solid and committed at the back. This was his best performance since his return to Villa Park for me. Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Hit a first time shot from a nice Cissokho cross to the far post wide on 56 minutes. Leo might have put this game beyond any doubt 14 minutes later when Veretout found him on the edge of the box and he beat a defender before blasting the ball over the bar. Jordan Veretout - 7 – Did some good work at the back in breaking down their attacks when we were under some pressure in the last quarter of the game having dropped back too deep as a team. Played some nice passes. Ashley Westwood – 6 – Played his part in holding things together. Idrissa Gana – 7 – A very, very much improved display on his last Villa Park outing. He did give the ball away on 29 minutes in his own half and will have been very relieved to see Bassong’s header at the end of their move go over the bar. He worked very hard throughout and did very well to block Mbokani’s attempt to force home a rebound at the far post after Lescott had kept his shot out on 89 minutes. Carles Gil – 6 – His first thought is to move the ball forwards and to create chances up front. Another good display and he got through a fair bit of work yesterday and hit the free kick that gave us our opener. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Turned a Bacuna cross wide on 11 minutes and then having been found by Gana ran on to the edge of the box before hitting his shot straight at the keeper on 51 minutes. He then gave us a vital two-goal cushion seconds later. Veretout hit a lovely ball between 2 defenders which he ran onto before hitting the ball past Rudd who had advanced to the edge of the box and into the corner of the net. His goal celebration was muted at best which suggests the criticism he has received has stung but it also seems to have had a positive impact on his performance doesn’t it? Gabby filled the lone striker role which he has often struggled with in the past surprisingly well yesterday. He showed signs of the player he had been for us in the distant past and that he still has the capacity to do a job for us when he is up for it. He could yet have an unexpected but welcome impact on our survival hopes in our remaining games. His task is now to maintain this work rate, to show a willingness to run and to look for the ball in our next game, then in the one after that and consistently for the rest of this season as and when called upon. Substitutes: Ciaran Clark – Replaced Richards on 91 minutes so was not on long enough to earn a rating. Stay Up Villa! John Lewis

The Villa lion showed the visiting canaries that there is still some life and fight left in him yesterday. A defeat would have left us doomed to relegation but this was a 6-pointer that we won due to hard work and determination on the pitch. There was not too much to choose between the two teams in the first half. Norwich are currently on the crest of a slump having now lost their last five games and the first goal was always going to be crucial given the brittle confidence of both teams. It was thankfully Villa that got it and crucially it arrived on the stroke of half time. We added another early in the second half and then showed a steely resolve to hold onto that two goal cushion. We took our chances, achieved a rare clean sheet and claimed our biggest league win of the season yesterday. We now live to fight another day, if we must go down it seems we might at least go down fighting and all hope is not yet quite lost! We have now won two of our last three home league games and drew the other one. We have taken 8 points from our last 5 league games which is a points ratio which if repeated in our remaining 13 games might yet see us avoid the drop. Those 8 points from 5 games have also doubled the number of points we had to our name after our first 20 games. Survival continues to appear to be a mission impossible but like Ethan Hunt is able to do on the big screen we might yet beat the odds as well. Each win like this one makes a great escape look a little more possible and a tad less far fetched. We are now just 4 points behind Sunderland and 7 points behind yesterday’s opponents. We are also now 8 points away from 17th place and safety which is currently occupied by Newcastle. The three clubs that are currently in front of us will now start to look over their shoulders at us. We have been written off by the press, pundits, opponents, our board and our “custodian” alike. They all might have to think again if we can add another home win next weekend. My player ratings from a game in which the result was more important than the performance and that took us up to 16 points which is a figure many of us had doubts that we could achieve in the whole of this season are: Mark Bunn – 5 – Parried away a strong Mbokani shot on 19 minutes and half came for a cross on 89 minutes only to be left in no man’s land as Martin’s header flew past him. Michah Richards – 7 – Dependable at the back and also made some strong runs forward. Joleon Lescott – 7 – MOTM – Gave us the lead on the stroke of half time which deflated our opponents and gave us some much needed confidence to take into the second half. Joleon got a downward header on Veretout’s 45th minute free kick at the far post which took a slight deflection before going through Rudd’s legs and into the net. He organised us well at the back and was determined to win each and every ball. Joleon also cleared an 89th minute Mbokani shot off the line. Jores Okore – 7 – Jores was so very reliable again in the heart of our defence and was in the right place at the right time to head a Martin header from a cross that Bunn came for but did not get to clear of the line. Aly Cissokho – 6 – Solid and committed at the back. This was his best performance since his return to Villa Park for me. Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Hit a first time shot from a nice Cissokho cross to the far post wide on 56 minutes. Leo might have put this game beyond any doubt 14 minutes later when Veretout found him on the edge of the box and he beat a defender before blasting the ball over the bar. Jordan Veretout - 7 – Did some good work at the back in breaking down their attacks when we were under some pressure in the last quarter of the game having dropped back too deep as a team. Played some nice passes. Ashley Westwood – 6 – Played his part in holding things together. Idrissa Gana – 7 – A very, very much improved display on his last Villa Park outing. He did give the ball away on 29 minutes in his own half and will have been very relieved to see Bassong’s header at the end of their move go over the bar. He worked very hard throughout and did very well to block Mbokani’s attempt to force home a rebound at the far post after Lescott had kept his shot out on 89 minutes. Carles Gil – 6 – His first thought is to move the ball forwards and to create chances up front. Another good display and he got through a fair bit of work yesterday and hit the free kick that gave us our opener. . Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Turned a Bacuna cross wide on 11 minutes and then having been found by Gana ran on to the edge of the box before hitting his shot straight at the keeper on 51 minutes. He then gave us a vital two-goal cushion seconds later. Veretout hit a lovely ball between 2 defenders which he ran onto before hitting the ball past Rudd who had advanced to the edge of the box and into the corner of the net. His goal celebration was muted at best which suggests the criticism he has received has stung but it also seems to have had a positive impact on his performance doesn’t it? Gabby filled the lone striker role which he has often struggled with in the past surprisingly well yesterday. He showed signs of the player he had been for us in the distant past and that he still has the capacity to do a job for us when he is up for it. He could yet have an unexpected but welcome impact on our survival hopes in our remaining games. His task is now to maintain this work rate, to show a willingness to run and to look for the ball in our next game, then in the one after that and consistently for the rest of this season as and when called upon. Substitutes: Ciaran Clark – Replaced Richards on 91 minutes so was not on long enough to earn a rating. Stay Up Villa! John Lewis

We welcome (I think that is the word for it) last season's beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Liverpool to Villa Park next Sunday at 14.05. We have lost our last 4 home league games against them and our 1-0 win back in May 2011 was our first against them at Villa Park since 1998. Liverpool dropped 2 points at home to our relegation rivals Sunderland (having led 2-0) most recently having previously lost at Sunderland and drawn at home with Norwich, so it might be argued that they owe us a similarly lack lustre performance on Sunday. Benteke and Milner will be welcomed back to Villa Park although I trust if they play they will have very, very off days to prove on this of all days that they still love the Villa. This will no doubt be a tough one and it is one that I would usually be happy enough to share the points in. But games are slipping away fast now and we really need points on the board quickly. So this is pretty much a must-win game for us now and as we proved at Wembley we can beat our visitors once in a while. 1-0 would be very nice indeed.

I think Sunderland are catchable as are Norwich as long as we beat them on Saturday. I think we could even get above Newcastle and that our last home game of the season could yet put them down again. 35 - 38 points would give us a real shout as could have a new striker to fill in for our current injury & suspension problems up front. I just wonder where the goals to win games are going to come from particularly without Ayew.

I have no problem with Messi in a Villa shirt. Well done on that one!