John

We earned a rare win against Doncaster last night to set up a mouth watering tie at Everton in the Fifth Round, which should we emerge from victorious will leave us just 90 minutes away (probably at Old Trafford) from our second FA Cup semi-final appearance in 9 years. This is a competition that now surely warrants being taken seriously!

Doncaster and their fans gave a good account of themselves last night. I loved their rendition of “your ground’s too big for you” from a North Stand they packed into to bring our gate up to half its capacity. Donny rallied back on the stroke of half time after going two down within the first 20 minutes to make sure this would not be a stroll for us in the second half and they put our defence under more pressure than might have been expected for a side who have found scoring difficult to date. But, our defence coped with what they had to throw at us and showed only a minimal change in personnel for the game which again Martin adopted a rotation policy for, which worked well enough on this particular occasion. But, although the defence was solid enough a midfield missing Barry, Petrov and Milner were always likely to find it harder going and did. In attack we had Big John gingerly making his way back to full fitness after a long break and a young striker who may well follow Gabby into both the Villa and England forward line in the fullness of time.

My player ratings from a game that our win took us one step nearer ending those 52 years of FA Cup hurt are:

Brad Guzan - 7 – Looked confident and did particularly well to deny Doncaster’s Stock an equaliser on 62 minutes with a splendid save at full stretch.

Luke Young – 7 – On a couple of occasions in the first half I thought he looked a little uncomfortable to be back on the right rather than filling in on the left as he has done for much of this season. But, Luke gave another solid overall display.

Curtis Davies – 7 – Marshalled the defence well when it was placed under more threat than may have been anticipated by our plucky visitors and had time for a one man surging run up-field in the first half to put their defence under pressure in an unexpected way.

Carlos Cuellar – 7 – Looked comfortable in the centre alongside Curtis and Martin will have been looking closely at how these two worked together as a potential central pairing.

Nicky Shorey - 7 – This game will have done Nicky nothing but good. A steady performance and an excellent cross to Nathan for our third rounded off a much more encouraging performance last night.

Craig Gardner – 6 – A decent enough first half and it was his low shot that Sullivan was only able to parry into Sidwell’s path for our opener but Craig was less effective in the second.

Moustapha Salifou – 6 – Showed a couple of decent touches in the second half but very little in the first.

Steve Sidwell – 6 – Was in the right place at the right time on 15 minutes when Sullivan pushed Gardner’s shot towards him and he side footed the ball home from close range to convert a simple chance. This goal can do his confidence no harm and it is one that he needed and that we needed to give us an early advantage.

Ashley Young – 7 – A welcome return from his three match suspension, which made him one first team regular who had already had his rest before last night. Had the captain’s armband until he was substituted on 78 minutes and handed it onto Curtis Davies. This outing will have shaken off any cobwebs and made him ready for the weekend. Ashley although I thought playing at understandably less than full throttle worried Doncaster when he was on the ball as he does any defence.

John Carew – 7 – A good run out for Big John tonight and a welcome goal on 19 minutes albeit one that took a wicked deflection off a defender to leave Sullivan standing on the other side of the goal as a mere spectator as it went in. At times he looked not unsurprisingly rusty but his match fitness will come as will his challenge to Emile for that starting role.

Nathan Delfouneso – 8 – MOTM – A goal in front of the Holte End to seal an FA Cup win on the week of your 18th birthday, Nathan must wonder if things can get any better than this. They can! He has pace and showed it along with no little skill and a will to run at defenders. Got better as the game wore on and particularly after he applied a very neat headed finish to Shorey’s cross for our third on 61 minutes. Nathan’s one blemish was being beaten when trying to play his way out of defence on the edge of the box and this led to their goal. That is a lesson for him to learn as it is for the more experienced Ashley Young who in the first half was also caught in possession when trying to dribble the ball out of his own half. But in Ashley’s case the resultant opportunity did not lead to a goal.

Substitutes:

Isaiah Osbourne - 6 – Replaced Ashley on 78 minutes and showed one nice touch.

Up the Villa!

John Lewis

The booing at the end was frankly embarrassing

I agree 110% Pete. As you rightly say we have played worse since Boxing Day and won. There were shades of Boxing Day about this one as well because we played so well but had looked unlikely to get our just reward as was the case on Saturday.

Thanks Ciaran, I would have liked us to have had a look at Bullard as well but in Martin we trust. I think he might be wise to look for some cover at the back in this window with Martin having problems with injury and likely to be out for a couple of months. I had thought that Carlos had been bought to play iin the middle, but it seems Martin wants him to play at full back, at least until Bouma is back and he can possibly switch Young back there. For now Zat seems to be a lesser risk than Shorey is for Martin.

Interestingly it was MON who said a while back that we werent the type of side that can win 5 consecutive games in a row

Yes, cheltenham-villa but I would suggest he might say things like that to keep expectation levels down and to take pressure off in the run in. I would suggest he went into yesterday's game looking for the team to again prove that statement wrong as they have done others.

On my Knight marking, he was close to a 7 but as I have said before its a matter of opinion and I don't think he quite had the opportunity to earn a 7 as we were rarely under pressure. What he did he did well. As both you and whito22 have said, we were unlucky not to pick up the points and I said to one of my friends early in the second half (as whito22 also mentioned) that this looked like being one of those days when the ball just would not go in for us. But, the Achilles' heel thing was about dropped points at Villa Park in general and not just about yesterday's result or our performance.

I can't see how Wigan 'exposed our achilles' heel' whatsoever

My point is that Wigan along with other sides have taken points from us at home and the home results do not measure up to our away ones Lexicon.

To maintain our position we will need to be able to combat teams who come to sit back as we can't always expect our away results to always compensate for the home ones. Yes, we had the opportunities yesterday and on another day we could have scored 4 but unless chances are converted they don't win games.

As far as being negative, I can't see much positive about dropping points at home and as far as Milner and Knight are concerned 6 is how I called it. Your opinion rates them higher than I did and your opinion on how they did is just as valid as is my own.

We have 9 wins away from home. Had we managed the same at Villa Park by converting draws against Portsmouth, Fulham and Wigan, along with defeat to Middlesbrough into victories, we would now stand top of the league and 4 points ahead of Manchester United.

Arsenal missed an opportunity yesterday. A win would have brought them within 3 points of us. But, they could not take advantage of the points we dropped at home and may rue that when the season comes to the end of its marathon course. But, we missed an opportunity too, like we had missed the opportunity to go fourth in the past, we missed the opportunity to go second yesterday. Will that opportunity come again for us to take it as we now have fourth spot?

Wigan was never going to be an easy game for us at Villa Park. We have yet to beat them at home since they were promoted, they like us were on a good run, Bruce will have had them well prepared for this one and we struggle to break teams down at home who sit back and invite us to come onto them. We were also without Ashley Young and he does so much to get behind defences like these. We have drawn more games than we have won at Villa Park and bottom dwellers Stoke have won more home games than we have. We will now need to look to the away game at Blackburn to extend our winning away record and to once again compensate for more points dropped that could have extended the gap between Arsenal and ourselves still further.

So it is at what should be fortress Villa Park that our final placing this season is being placed in jeopardy. Our Achilles’ heel is becoming obvious and whilst teams will go to those teams whose company we now share in the top 4 the likes of Stoke, West Ham, Hull and Newcastle will be aware that putting men behind the ball can lead to bringing something back from their forthcoming games at Villa Park.

The lucky Villa tag did not apply yesterday. We have won games away from home when not playing particularly well. We knew the time would come when we failed to win a game that we played well in and deserved the points from. The first half was lack lustre, we did very little and but for two great stops from Friedel we could have gone in at half time behind. But, the second half was a different story. We pounded Wigan and were often denied by desperate goal line clearances. We also got nothing from the officials, other than a free kick from inside the box following a back pass that so rarely leads to a goal (the only one I recall seeing was one at Anfield against us). We clearly should have had a penalty for hand ball. I also thought Kirkland’s cynical time wasting merited a booking and more than 3 minutes of injury time, after all the delay in taking that free kick following the back pass must have eaten up over a minute on its own. But, in the long run, we created nothing in that extra 3 minutes and all of the action was in our half.

My player ratings from a game that we needed to win and deserved to win are:

Brad Friedel - 8 – Kept us in the game in the first half with a great save with his legs on 27 minutes after De Ridder had gone clear and particularly on the stoke of half time when he somehow when going backwards managed to push Figueroa’s goal bound effort over.

Carlos Cuellar – 6 – His distribution remains the problem and he still looks like a centre half playing full back, which of course he is.

Curtis Davies – 6 – Unlucky to see a header hit the post on 55 minutes.

Zat Knight – 6 – Steady at the back and looked confident enough.

Luke Young - 7 – Unlucky to see his excellent volley cleared off the line on 75 minutes and looked a threat when he came forward.

James Milner – 6 – Needed to step up to the plate a little more than he did in Ashley’s absence and this display would not have been the one he would have chosen to put before the watching England manager. His cross was the one that led to the hand ball that both referee and linesman missed.

Stiliyan Petrov – 7 – A very good first half and provided Barry with effective support.

Gareth Barry – 8 – MOTM – Exceptional from start to finish and deserved to be on the winning team after this whole hearted performance. A great run from inside his own half which led to a goal bound shot that was deflected away for what should clearly have been a corner on 8 minutes

Craig Gardner – 5 – Inches wide with an effort on 55 minutes but made only a limited impression prior to his replacement by Carew on 62 minutes. Needs to show more to claim a starting place ahead of Sidwell or to give Martin a headache concerning whether to play an extra forward where he might offer the alternative.

Emile Heskey – 6 – Headed a good Barry cross straight at the keeper where putting it anywhere else may have given us a lead. Did not greatly trouble his former team mates perhaps they know him too well?

Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Did not look overly happy at times out wide and his barren spell continues in front of goal. Hit a good first half cross that Garner stretched and pushed wide when he had time to take a touch first. Also had a first half header that was cleared from behind the goal line by a defender but which for some reason was disallowed for some earlier phantom infringement. Then had a header blocked on the line and deflected onto a post on 75 minutes. Needs a goal.

Substitutes:

John Carew – 6 - Replaced Craig for the last half hour of the game. Looked not unsurprisingly not quite up to the pace of the match as this was a very early return but nice to see him back and the question is will John or Emile be first choice starter for us?

Up the Villa!

John Lewis

I think Pennant is quite happy to stay where he is and to negotiate the best possible deal for himself in the summer as a free agent Ciaran. I also share your doubts about Liverpool and us coming to any agreement on a deal for a player with Rafa still at the helm. I would like to see us compete with Arsenal for the signature of Ashavin at around £14m (as I know you would also) and I would go for Joe Ledley from Cardiff for around £5m or Bentley from Spurs as a wide option. But, I'm happy to back Martin's decisions and just hope he gets someone in asap.

No Ciaran I did not get to see those games in the late 1890s but I did get to 40 of our 42 league games in 80/81 and enjoyed the ride to the title. I thought Ashley was unlucky to pick up a straight red, it was a forward's tackle but it would have been a booking at least so we would have lost him through suspension in any case and as Martin has suggested with feet off the ground we can't really complain too much. I rate Barry as a young player with real potential, but I wonder whether it might be a little unfair to put him in during such a pressured time, rather than to ease him into the first team more gently as we have done with others. So, I would hope we could sign someone with some experience in the wide roles before the league games who could supply some cover and competition for places in the future.

Lets hope your department store doesn't fall foul of the Credit Crunch.

My shops will be fine, we are very much like Kaka "never knowingly under sold" and with loadsamoney.

Yesterday’s win at Sunderland was our fifth consecutive away win, our eighth away win in the league and our twelfth away win in all competitions this season. Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you what might just become the best away Aston Villa team in our proud history!

Yesterday’s win at Sunderland equals our club record for consecutive away league wins during a season that was set back in 1998. Back in season 1997-98 wins at Chelsea (1-0), Everton (4-1), Coventry (2-1), Southampton (2-1) and Sheffield Wednesday (3-1) gave us our five consecutive wins in a season in which we finished seventh. This time it has been wins at Arsenal (2-0), Everton (3-2), West Ham (1-0), Hull (1-0) and Sunderland (2-1) that has added to our impressive away record that sees Portsmouth standing in the way of us making it six! That game also stands in the way of our equalling the club record of six consecutive victories which spreads over two seasons. On that occasion the last five away games of our 1896-97 double winning season (see below) were followed by a 3-2 win at Notts County in the first away game of the 1897-98 season. Blackburn who stood in the way of our making it seven consecutive away wins back in 1897 stand potentially and assuming we can get another win at Portsmouth, in the way of us doing this again 112 years later!

This has already been a great season to follow Villa away from home. Our five consecutive away league wins match the number of home wins we have achieved to date and that is before we add our away wins at Spurs (2-1), WBA (2-1) and Wigan (4-0). We have not been too shabby away from home in cup competitions either with wins in the UEFA Cup at Halnarfjordur (4-1), Litex Lovech (3-1) and Slavia Prague (1-0) along with our FA Cup win at Gillingham (2-1) making it twelve wins away from home this season and counting!

But, how does this compare with great Villa teams past achievements away from home? Well we still have some way to go to match the 1896-97 double winners who won 11 times away at Everton (3-2), Derby (3-1), Stoke (2-0), Sheffield Wednesday (3-1), Blackburn (5-1), Wolves (2-1), Bury (2-0), Burnley (4-3), Nottingham Forest (4-2), Bolton (2-1) and Preston (1-0) and drew two of their four other away games. But, 11 away wins is to date only our third highest total of away league wins.

Back in 1971-72 we were victorious 12 times when venturing away from Villa Park. Wins at Halifax (1-0), Barnsley (4-0), Bristol Rovers (1-0), Oldham (6-0), Swansea (2-1), Tranmere (1-0), Notts County (3-0), Rotherham (2-0), Wrexham (2-0), York (1-0), Chesterfield (4-0) and Bradford (1-0) brought us our second highest numerical number of away wins although it was achieved at a lower level and the percentage of away victories is only just above half (52%).

But, the most away games won by a Villa team during a season happened in more recent times (albeit again during one of our rare seasons which were spent in the lower reaches). In season 1987-88 we won 13 league games away from Villa Park to finish second in the old Division 2 and to return to the top flight to stay. Back then wins at Leicester (2-0), WBA (2-0), Plymouth (3-1), Leeds (3-1), Shrewsbury (2-1), Oldham (1-0), Bradford (4-2), Birmingham (2-1), Barnsley (3-1), Manchester City (2-0), Bournemouth (2-1) and Reading (2-0), produced wins in 59 % of our away league matches.

Honourable mentions are also appropriate for other teams from the past. Back in 1899-1900 our league champions won 10 of their 17 away games. Back in season 1946-47 we ended eighth but won 9 of our away games and matched that away win total in 1954-55 when we finished sixth and in our promotion season of 1974-75.

So which was the best Villa team away from home to date? The figures show it was our double winning team who hold the record for our most consecutive away league wins at six and who won 73% of their away games. I would suggest that was a greater achievement than those of 1971-72 and 1987-88 when more wins were achieved in a lower league from more games. I myself would statistics aside also place our league champions of 1980-81 above those teams from Divisions 2 & 3. Although they won less away games and had a percentage success rate than was lower than the other two teams (48%) they did so in the top flight and as champions. Were they a better team away from home than the double winners? My computer and the results say no. But, the champions of 1980-81 are the best Villa team that I have had the pleasure of seeing away from home to date and in the absence of anyone who followed Villa home and away near the end of the century before last to make the double winners case, I give that team who went on to conquer Europe the following season my vote.

In seasons 1902-03, 1904-05, 1907-08, 1913-14, 1923-24, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1937-38, 1959-60, 1989-90, 1992/93 and 1997-98 we managed 8 league wins which is where we stand now with away games to come at Portsmouth, Blackburn, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Bolton, Fulham and Middlesbrough. Six wins from these remaining eight away games would make this Villa team numerically the most successful way from home in our history with a 74% win rate. It would also I suggest all but guarantee us Champions League football next year, if not the title itself. It is without doubt a tall order but as the manager who last lifted the title for us and whose team won ten league games in 1980-81 at Leeds (2-1), Palace (1-0), Birmingham (2-1), Southampton (2-1), Norwich (3-1), Coventry (2-1), Everton (3-1), Wolves (1-0), Sunderland (2-1) and Leicester (4-2) in doing so once said, “Do you want to bet against us”?

Up the Villa!

John Lewis

I think a lot of clubs would like to see an end to these windows albeit for different reasons Ciaran. I can't see it happening soon with Blatter involved though. Jones looks decent from what I have seen of him and we have yet to deny an interest which suggests he may be one we are looking at or of course Ian may just have been weighing up forthcoming opponents.

Certainly, now is the time to strengthen our squad when we are fourth in the Premiership! Whats the point in waiting until the end of the season, when our chance may have gone to qualify for the CL

I agree 110% Ciaran. Too many times in the past we have missed the opportunity to build when in a position of strength and when players would to join us. This time we have the board in place that will not be adverse to backing the manager. The only problem may be getting the quality we need in this window as clubs may be reluctant to sell.

MON has ditched Shorey quick sharp. I guess that he simply doesn't rate him, so IMHO it's the end of the road at Vila for him. I expect to see him leave sooner rather than later

I see your point Jon. Shorey was withdrawn from the firing line very quickly after making a mistake in the same game that Sidwell did. Sidwell was given games to shake off the error but Shorey was not. I read that Martin has told Shorey to fight for his place, if he would prefer the option of a move that will say more about his being prepared to back himself to become a Villa regular as has Petrov and he may well be on his way out of the exit door this month as you suggest.

on another note i hope man u win league cup, so 6th is allso a euro place, just to be safe

Or we could qualify by winning the FA Cup ourselves? :winkold: The days of worrying who wins the cups are not for us this season. We will end the season no lower than fifth and I backed us for 4th.

The Olbiyun fans did a pretty decent impersonation of being small heath knuckledraggers

Surely they have not quite sunk to those depths?

Thanks for the kind words again Ciaran. I agree that we have rode our luck a little in recent games but Arsenal always enjoyed the "Lucky Arsenal" tag so I am happy for us to be known as "Lucky Villa" in the future if it brings us the sort of results they used to grind out week after week. I also consider good teams make their own luck and I'm happy we are getting our fair share for once. I agree on the Shorey situation. I thought that he would be a good signing and he has the potential to prove that he is in the way that Petrov has, if he works on his game and earns his place, rather than looks for a move so soon. As far as N'zogbia is concerned, I don't think that what he has said about prefering a move to Arsenal rather than to us or to Spurs will go down too well with Martin. Turning to Arshavin, he does look Arsenal bound subject to them finding the fee and meeting his wages demands. If they won't I would like to think we might But, if they do get him I'm hoping that the players we bring in will prove to be more than a match for him.

Yesterday’s win left us in third place sitting just 5 points behind leaders Liverpool and three points clear of Arsenal. We are now in the thick of things, have gone two months without a league defeat and are founder members of what must now be accepted as the new big five.

This was a proper derby. Albion started brightly and had the better of the early part of the game. But, we went in two goals up and anticipating another 5-1 derby rout. Albion might think they deserved a point. They did not. On the weight of chances created we might have scored 5. The fact that we did not and they were powder puff up front demonstrated that both sides need to sign a striker in this window albeit for different reasons. A striker who can give us 10 league goals between now and the end of the season should secure us Champions League football next season. A striker for Albion which is for them their missing link might well see them stay up to give us another 6 points next season. Let’s hope we both get what we need in this transfer window because it would be a pity for both clubs to risk failing to achieve what they have both worked so hard for, for the want of just one player.

Another local derby double was secured yesterday and that left us in third place sitting just 5 points behind leaders Liverpool. The title might be just beyond us this year and I’m still aiming for fourth. But, Arsenal now know they are in for a real battle and they only scored a late goal to prevent a 5 point gap opening up between us. We are now one game into a run of five games that could allow us to develop a healthy gap between Arsenal and ourselves before we go into UEFA Cup action again. A home game against Wigan and away games at Sunderland, Portsmouth and Blackburn are all winnable although these are also the sort of games that have proved banana skins for us in the past. But, what would we give for maximum points from these games or to extend our present unbeaten league run from two to three months?

My player ratings from a game that extended our run without home defeat against Albion beyond 30 years of hurt are:

Brad Friedel - 6 – Unfortunate to be beaten by a deflection for their goal when he appeared to have had the shot covered.

Nigel Reo Coker – 6 – Not quite at his best today, kept busy at the back which limited his opportunities to get forward.

Curtis Davies – 8 – MOTM – Our best defender today stopping everything that was thrown at him by his former side with some ease and popped up on 17 minutes to guide Barry’s cross into the corner of the net for our first. His muted celebrations did much to answer his critics from the club he once captained, as did his overall performance and his excellent headed goal

Martin Laursen – 6 –A surprise earlier than hoped for return. Nice to see him back but he will be better for this game. Beaten by Morrison’s turn on the edge of the box for their goal.

Luke Young - 7 – Another solid performance and became an increasing threat to their defence in the second half.

James Milner – 7 – More involved today and worked hard. Hit a fierce shot just over the bar on 41 minutes

Stiliyan Petrov – 8 – Another solid midfield performance and he held our midfield together when it was put under pressure by our opponents in the first half. Always has time on the ball and seldom loses possession of finds anything other than a Villa shirt.

Gareth Barry – 7 – Did not look at his best on his return from injury but he became more like his influential self as the game wore on, particularly in the second half. His crosses and intelligent passing had been much missed. Unlucky when his 52nd minute effort found the side netting.

Steve Sidwell – 6 – Might have scored a hat-trick and should really have had one on the half hour when he pushed Milner’s inviting cross wide when he needed to be on target. Twice denied by blocks off the line on 17 minutes in the lead up to our opener and was thwarted by Carson twice in 2 minutes, when a shot was blocked on 50 minutes and then our ex-keeper made a great save from an excellent top corner bound effort on 52 minutes. Does well to get into the positions to score, but having done so needs to convert more of these opportunities.

Ashley Young – 7 – Placed a shot only inches wide of Carson’s far post on 24 minutes. A constant threat to their defence and had the beating of their defenders all day. Once again faced late claims for a penalty but again was rightly adjudged to have not committed any infringement.

Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Was not match fit and this excuses some of his less than convincing moments yesterday, such as the lack of challenges and runs on some occasions when the ball was aimed forward towards him. But, he showed his value when he cut inside from a wide position on 40 minutes to find no Villa player in a position to receive a cross and so chanced his arm with a shot that Agent Carson somehow fumbled into the net. Had a shot at the end of a decent run pushed wide by Carson on 46 minutes.

Substitutes:

Carlos Cuellar – Replaced Sidwell on 86 minutes to stiffen our defence in the dying minutes. Nice to see him back but not on long enough to rate.

Up the Villa!

John Lewis

2 in & 1 if any out.

WHY IS AN ARSENAL SUPPORTER READING AND POSTING ON VILLATALK.COM???

We often get other fans posting on the site before & after games gmvillan. It is often good banter and gives a view on how others see us, as did this one. :winkold: Pity David James had such a poor game against The Gunners or we might have had more pressure on Arsenal than there already is.

The only time you're mentioned in the same sentence as 'Top 4' is when Arsenal rivals have some banter. Nobody but Villa fans believe you'll be there

Nobody but us felt we would win the title in 81 but we did.

There are many reasons why we’ll finish in the top 4. There are no reasons why we won’t. To go on dreaming you have a chance of CL football next season is sweet

I can think of 3 reasons why you will not finish top 4 Arsenal1Again. Those are the 3 points you lag behind us as we enter the second half of the season. I agree 100% that our dreams of the CL are sweet and I think you probably deep down would admit that we have a realistic chance of our dreams coming true. Let's hope Portsmouth can give you a game today... :winkold:

Last night, Arsenal fans asked us, “Who are you?” For their information we are the team that stand 3 points above them in the top four place that is usually their own, we are the team that gave them a two goal start that they still could not beat, we are the team that have taken 4 points from 6 against them in the league this season and we are the team who are having less of a laugh when we are linked with a Champions League place than you are when your manager claims you are not yet out of the title race.

This was a game that we could ill afford to lose. It was a game that it would have been a travesty had we done so and gone behind Arsenal in the battle for a top 4 spot. But, having dominated the first half and rattled the woodwork on 3 occasions as well as having one cleared off the line we inexplicably went in a goal down at half time and 3 minutes after the re-start found ourselves two goals down and with Gunners fans singing, “We’ve only had two shots”. So they had and they could not believe their luck or us our lack of it! At that point I like a lot of us began to believe this could be one of those nights where everything goes against you and you don’t get what you deserve from a game. But, this Villa side is made of sterner stuff than that.

Every point that either Arsenal or we drop between now and the end of this season will be a hammer blow to our respective hopes of Champions League qualification. As we stand fourth half way through this season we are where we are on merit. It is a top 4 place that we are now realistically aiming for and that much converted prize is now ours to take. We have a 3 point lead that Arsenal will need to peg back. Each game that passes with us in the box seat reduces the chances of them doing so and increases our chances of ending the past big 4 domination of our league. Catch us if you can Arsenal!

We were exhilarating in the first half. I can’t remember us creating so many chances at home against Arsenal for many a year but you do have to put those chances away and we failed to do so and left ourselves open to a goal on the counter attack that is always a threat against a team like Arsenal. When they added another early in the second half and hit the woodwork themselves six minutes latter it seemed our deflated and discouraged team might succumb to that home hoodoo once again. But, acting captain Gareth relished the opportunity to get us back into the game by converting a penalty that it seems Arsene did not see as clearly as Martin did and there was an amusing altercation between the two managers on the touchline following this. But, that goal led to a sustained cacophony of sound from the crowd that gave new impetus to our lion who pressed for a deserved equalizer until the end. But, that end threatened to come too soon for us until Zat scored with the aplomb of the sort of top quality striker we will need in this transfer window to put games like this out of the reach of our opponents in what is left of this season and he celebrated his great success like he was back on the terraces again rather than playing on the hallowed turf. What joy he showed and gave in that moment late in injury time.

My player ratings from a game that could have been the nightmare after Christmas are:

Brad Friedel - 6 – Twice beaten on a night that most of the action was to be found at the other end.

Nigel Reo Coker – 8 – Won the ball but then tried to play it out of defence rather than to get rid of it as most full time full backs would do as a matter of course and so he was at some fault for their first when Denilson robbed him, but he was otherwise exemplary. He was solid at the back ran forward with pace and conviction and looked nothing like a square peg in a round hole.

Curtis Davies – 8 – So solid in the centre of our defence throughout and might have had a goal on another night. Misdirected a Barry cross on 10 minutes that really needed to be on target but on 36 minutes got on the end of a ball that Knight headed on and did very well to hook the ball onto the top of the bar with Almunia beaten. Beaten when well forward in the build up to their second but coped very well overall.

Zat Knight – 8 – Did very well on a very rare league start and this was some way better than some of the displays produced in earlier cup outings this season. Did very well to take the ball from van Persie as he was about to pull the trigger on 15 minutes and was commanding in the air. I wondered why it was he who had been pushed up front as the game ebbed away from us in the closing minutes rather than say Marlon from off the bench, but what do I know? Zat hit a tremendous equalizer on 92 minutes when Petrov’s cross was flicked on by Young towards Barry and the ball dropped to him and he picked his spot and struck a lovely shot into the corner of the net to ensure no damper was put on our Christmas festivities or on our top 4 aspirations.

Luke Young - 8 – MOTM – Again playing out of position but again he looked the part. He was steady at the back and came forward with good runs and great conviction. A Millner effort cannoned off a defender into his path on 15 minutes and his shot from distance was deflected and then pushed over for a corner by Almunia. Looking to be a very good signing who is relishing the profile that playing for a top 4 club who are also in the midst of a run in Europe is giving him.

James Milner – 6 – Unlucky on 33 minutes when he stretched to reach a good cross from Young having found space inside the box and had his shot was deflected onto the near post by Almunia who then smothered the rebound on the line when it could just have easily gone in. Also hit a lovely ball through to Gabby which led to the penalty.

Stiliyan Petrov – 6 – A solid enough display and he worked hard but he was not quite as authoritive as he has been of late.

Gareth Barry – 8 – Sent Almunia the wrong way on 64 minutes for our first and was as cool as a cucumber despite what seemed an age between the kick being awarded and it being taken. He dominated the midfield in the second half and took the game by the scruff of the neck, having not been quite at his very best in the first half.

Steve Sidwell – 7 – Unlucky to see his thundering 5th minute header from a Barry corner thud against the angle of post and bar and had a shot smothered by Gallas 14 minutes later after Almunia had pushed a Gabby shot into his path. Worked hard and clearly wanted this against his old team.

Ashley Young – 7 – Kept in check for more time than is usual by this Arsenal defence but remained a threat throughout.

Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Worked hard hit a good shot after Barry had found him with a good ball on 19 minutes that Almunia could not hold and then on 42 minutes beat the keeper to Reo’s cross only to see Sagna hook his header acrobatically off the line. Was brought down by Gallas for our vital penalty.

Substitutes: None used.

Up the Villa & Happy New Year to all Villa Talkers!

John Lewis

After last night Petric & Olic have jumped to the front of the line for me. Jol sounds like he expects to lose Petric in the next window but hints that Olic might be the better player they work so well together and I hope we are looking at that option now if we were not before last night's game.

Thanks for the kind words and I love your confidence Overdubber. We are only a point in front of Arsenal and face a game against them that could either stretch our lead to the sort of point that we could really think that fourth can be ours or they could win and push past us again. I think the battle is for fourth. Anything else would be a bonus and come to think of it I was saying 4th would be a bonus at the start of the season. That we can talk seriously about a top 4 place shows how far we have come but I won't stop looking over my shoulder until we have 10 points on Arsenal but if doing that puts us above one of the present top 3 then so be it. :winkold:

Thanks Ciaran. I hope you are right about these next 3 games because with Arsenal playing Liverpool when we take on West Ham we might still have the edge on them come Boxing Day and how happy would we all be with a 7 point gap between us and them come Boxing Night? But, of course that is the perfect case scenario & most likely more than we can really expect Santa to give us but who knows?

So we did not stall at home this time and we took the opportunity to go 4th and to set up a potential 6 pointer against Arsenal on Boxing Day, which subject to our result next week at West Ham could see us pulling away from the Wenger boys to make it happy holidays for one and all at B6.

This time we followed a bright away performance with an equally dazzling home one. That is what we need to do consistently to build on our challenge to the big four and to make it a big 5, if Arsenal are good enough to stay in the leading pack!

Bolton hit an early goal and on the back of a recent winning away record would have probably backed themselves to keep a blank sheet against us at Villa Park as have Fulham among others in past weeks. But, games between there two sides often provide more goals than one would expect and yesterday the lions share of the 6 goals belonged to us. Bolton just could not cope with Ashley & Gabby’s well timed runs. But, before we opened our account they had rattled the woodwork 4 minutes after they had taken the league and would we have come back so surely from a 2 goal deficit as we did from a one goal one? But, having stung November’s Manager of the Month, Megson with our two goal reply, had it not been for referee Probert’s incompetence the game would most likely have been won before half time but he missed Cahill’s clear hand ball inside the box, as he did more than one strong challenge by desperate Bolton defenders on Ashley Young. Still no matter we can win games despite the referee’s intervention and too often need to do so.

Performances like this will have the rest of the country and particularly our opponents on Boxing Day feeling that we might just be the real deal this season. Going fourth on the back of a 4 goal thumping of The Trotters makes waves where a one nil victory would not. We now need to carry on this good run into the festive games and that game against West Ham (another side who we often share the odd goal or four with) needs to be one that we take 3 points from to keep this impetus going. But, before that we have the tasty treat of a trip to Hamburg, the result of which could go a long way to making our chances of success in the next round more likely. So, do we play an under strength team in Germany and risk defeat and a tie against a Champions League side in the next round? Or do we play our full strength team with a view to ending in the top 2 of the group and placing our performance against West Ham at risk due to tired legs? Or do we do something between these two options? I would go for option 3 myself.

My player ratings from a game that ended in a comprehensive win that put one of the so called big four under real pressure are:

Brad Friedel - 6 – Picked the ball out of the net twice but had a quiet day otherwise.

Carlos Cuellar – 7 – Seems to be becoming more familiar with this role. Likely to get another game in the centre in Hamburg I suspect and I liked his back header on 64 minutes that tested the keeper.

Curtis Davies – 7 – Placed a header wide on 23 minutes that he would have liked to have got on target and probably should have. Very solid at the back throughout.

Martin Laursen – 7 – Has had more commanding games at the back but got to work up front again and it was the strong challenge on him that led to Davies scoring once again at Villa Park (but this time for us).

Luke Young - 7 – At times shows he wants the ball to be on his other foot and I’m sure he would be more comfortable on the right but he is doing an increasingly good job on his wrong side and thus accommodating Carlos in the team at Shorey’s expense. Might be due a game on the right in midweek?

James Milner – 6 – Did well to make the side and was clearly not 100%.

Stiliyan Petrov – 7 – Another 110% display from Stiliyan.

Gareth Barry – 7 – Hit a good cross that would have found Laursen but did find Davies for our equaliser. Played his usual key role in our midfield.

Steve Sidwell – 6 – Better than of late but just failed on a couple of occasions to get that vital touch that could have produced goals, most noticeably when Marlon squared the ball late on, but the positive is that he got into the positions.

Ashley Young – 8 – Too hot for the Bolton defence to handle throughout. He worked so well with Gabby today. Hit our fourth on 78 minutes when Gabby did well to tee him up and his bullet shot from the edge of the box beat the keeper with the assistance of a deflection.

Gabriel Agbonlahor – 9 – MOTM – If he could maintain this level of performance week in and week out Villa would have the next first choice England striker on our hands. The challenge is out for you Gabby grab it! Started with an early effort into the side netting from a Ashley Young cross and then nodded the ball up and hit it on the volley when it came down into the corner of the net for our equaliser. That was some goal and some performance! Then on 35 minutes having again run through he slotted the ball through Cahill and but for the outstretched arm of Jaaskelainen would have had a second before he did. Gabby completed his brace on 67 minutes when he applied a lovely finish to Young’s terrific cross for our third.

Substitutes:

Nigel Reo Coker – 7 – Replaced Milner on 68 minutes. A very strong performance and I thought that he added something to our midfield in those last twenty odd minutes. I would start him against Hamburg but in the middle rather than at full back.

Marlon Harewood – 7 - Replaced Ashley on 81 minutes and did well to chase down the ball near the end and to beat Jaaskelainen to a ball he had no right to win. Looked like he was enjoying this brief outing.

Nicky Shorey – Replaced Gabby on 87 minutes for a rare run out but was not on long enough to earn a rating. Must be itching to get a try again in the left back slot as is Luke is to get back to the other flank.

Up the Villa!

John Lewis

Thanks for confirming that MrDuck.

This was very far from being a European night to remember it is instead one to forget. How nice it would have been to have qualified with the style we had shown against Ajax rather than in the way we did last night.

Arsenal showed it at Burnley in the League Cup as we showed it in the same competition against QPR, if you play a second string outfit you run the risk of a night like this one. There are no teams at this stage of the competition that you can field such an under strength team and expect to run out winners against. I thought our line up suggested we had underestimated the challenge we would face last night and we have now gone 4 home games without a win, which will do little to swell the gates at Villa Park.

So, another lack lustre home performance left us relying on Hamburg and our fine previous displays against Ajax and Prague to qualify for the last 32 last night. I’m sure the watching 28,000 Villa fans, the television viewers at home and the television company who paid to show the game would have hoped to see us do it with a home win and by using a team that was nearer to our usual starting line up. Squad rotation and tinkering does not seem to be working at B6!

Our best chance of progress after the group stage in this competition was to beat Zilina last night. That would have left us 3 points ahead of Hamburg and Ajax going into the last game rather than level on points as we now are. We would then have been likely to face a team who finished third in their group rather than a club who are coming in from the Champions League or possibly an away second leg against a group winner. So, when the draw for the next round is made we may well regret the points we dropped last night. A win would have allowed us to look at resting players against Hamburg in the knowledge that a top two spot was secured. We could have also considered resting players last night once we had secured a lead. But, its not all gloom and the right result against Everton at the weekend would help wipe away the memory of last night and we have already exceeded my target for the season in this competition of reaching the groups stages and anything more we have to accept would be a bonus. But, we like a bonus do we not?

Oh and there was one other thing that bothered me about last night. Can anyone tell me why on a night when so many fringe players got an outing, Shorey did not even make the bench? This would have given us a defence who were all playing in their normal positions rather than two full backs who were not. Was he injured?

My player ratings from a game that seemed lost inside the first 20 minutes are:

Brad Guzan - 6 – Would have been as disappointed as we were to have seen Leitner’s speculative cross creep in between him and the far post for their first on 16 minutes. Pushed a stinging long range effort over the bar on 50 minutes.

Nigel Reo-Coker – 6 – We could have used Reo in the middle tonight, where he would have been more comfortable and he could have done something to stop them at times running straight through us.

Zat Knight– 4 – Disappointing and looked at fault with their opener.

Carlos Cuellar – 6 – Steady enough at times his distribution looks like it may need a bit of work.

Luke Young - 6 – Once again played out of position although he was one of our more effective starters.

Craig Gardner– 6 – Hit the post late into injury time having earlier been off target with a free header inside the box and was the best of our three rare starters in the middle.

Moustapha Salifou – 5 – Failed to hold this midfield together and needs to show more as he did in Prague along with some consistency.

Isaiah Osbourne – 4 – He really needs to take one of these chances sooner rather than later to show that he can really live up to what we hear about his potential. Replaced by Milner on 65 minutes, it really needed to have been sooner.

Ashley Young – 6 – One of the few first choice players to play tonight but failed to reach his usual heights and his shooting boots seem to still be mislaid, as shown when he hit the ball wide on 54 minutes and failed to worry the keeper with free-kicks from the edge of the box.

Marlon Harewood – 5 – Produced a nice knock-down for Nathan’s goal. But, ever popular Marlon failed to take the opportunity that these 90 minutes presented to show that Martin is wrong not to be starting with him during Big John’s absence.

Nathan Delfouneso – 7 – MOTM – Hit a splendid volley from 20 yards to find the gap between keeper and post which give him a goal on his debut and offered us hope of a comeback that never materialised. Looks a real prospect, his task is now to fulfil that promise which other young talented strikers (Gabby apart) have found difficult to do in recent years.

Substitutes:

James Milner – 6 – Replaced Osbourne for the last 25 minutes but was unable to pull us away from defeat in that timescale and he and Gareth might reasonably have come on nearer to half time to give them enough time to save things.

Gareth Barry – 6 – Replaced Salifou on 68 minutes and we did huff and puff following the introduction of James and himself, but we could have played 40 rather than 4 minutes of injury time and against 9 rather than 10 men and still have not found a winner.

Gabby Agbonlahor – 6 - Replaced our debutant scorer on 76 minutes but not on long enough to get into the game and change its course.

Up the Villa!

John Lewis