John

So much for that then!!!

Mind the Gap! The gap between the big 4 and Aston Villa became a little less cavernous yesterday. When Adebayor headed Arsenal’s second I feared this might be another Manchester United like debacle. But, this time after taking a promising lead we got to half time just one goal down and ended the game with eleven players on the pitch. We also gave Martin the opportunity to change things around dramatically for a second half, during which we harried and kept tight on Wenger’s foreign legion to deny them the room they had used to such good affect in the first 45 minutes. Arsenal were awesome in the first half and very few sides would have lived with their free flowing football. They were stung into a reaction in much the same way that Fergie’s outfit had been by an opening goal from us and their silky skills were something for the likes of us to aspire to. But, in the second half we did what seemed unlikely, we pressed them and had them spending most of the rest of the game camped in their own half. Not often will teams have the better of this Arsenal side for 45 minutes, but we can take some pride from the fact that we did and that they will have come off the field knowing that they had been in a game and feeling they had done well to hold onto all of the points. So our winning run has come to an end. But, we will not be facing Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool again at Villa Park this season (FA Cup draw permitting) so our goal should now be to stay unbeaten at home for the rest of the season. For me games like the next one against Portsmouth are our 6-pointers. This is a game against one of the teams that will be competing with us for a place between fifth and seventh that should secure a European outing next season. So this becomes a must win or certainly a must not lose game for us and a game that can be the start of another good run. We may not yet be in a position to challenge the big 4 for a Champions League place. But, a win against Chelsea and unlucky defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, along with some very encouraging away wins of late show that we are now a step above those in our league whose ambition is safety and at best mid-table security. We can now aim for a top 7 finish this season. We can also look to making the type of steady progress that Arsenal have done over the last couple of years although in our case it will be from a mid-table team to a team looking to gate crash the big 4 party rather than from a team who seemed to be at risk of falling back into the pack to one with realistic hopes of winning the league again to break Chelsea and Manchester United’s recent stranglehold on the championship. My player ratings from what was a great game of football that we played an equal part in are: Scott Carson - 7 – Pushed an Eboue effort wide on 3 minutes and got his foot to the ball 6 minutes later when Hleb looked ready to pull the trigger inside our box. Did all that was necessary and produced a solid performance in the face of the predictable and wearisome abuse that was directed at him by Arsenal supporters. Olof Mellberg – 7 – Enters what must be his last month regularly playing out of position and so might present a challenge to Zat’s position in the New Year, if Zat has by then continued to keep our £9m defender on the bench. Clearly does not enjoy this role and is much more fallible here than in the centre of our defence but once again let nobody down yesterday, although a more nimble defender may have got nearer to block Flamini’s goal bound shot. Why did his celebrations not merit a yellow by the way? Zat Knight – 6 – Needed to be closer to Adebayor for their winner and to get off the ground when the ball came over rather than stand leaden footed without making any sort of challenge for the ball. This blotted an otherwise decent performance against a sharp Arsenal attack that it is difficult to shine against. Martin Laursen – 8 – Once again the best of our defenders by a country mile and we really do need to get a contract signed as for me there can now be no lingering doubts concerning either his ability or fitness. Wilfred Bouma – 7 – Another committed performance. Stiliyan Petrov – 6 – Made a bright start before injury led to his leaving the field on 32 minutes. Craig Gardner – 7 – The ball was never going anywhere other than in the back of the net when it ran into his path on 12 minutes. A well taken goal but became less prominent in the second half. Gareth Barry – 7 – Took a while to get into the game and without Reo and then Stiliyan alongside him, Gareth was always going to face an uphill task in matching the Arsenal midfield. But, his contribution in the second half kept us in the game until the very end. Ashley Young – 7 – Faced a tough challenge from Sagna and early on was not able to give us the penetration out wide that the team have come to expect from him. But, in the second half he turned the tide and showed that he can be more than a challenge for even the best defenders. John Carew – 8 – MOTM – Excelled in the role as target man to the extent that Arsenal defenders stood back off him in the second half to try to pick up the second ball before our players did as they could not beat him in the air. So unlucky with a perfect header that beat the keeper but thudded against the crossbar rather than into the back of the net with half an hour left and it was his deflected cross that led to our goal. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Worked hard but no real sign of threat and made no real impression on the game, I wonder how fit he actually was? Substitutes: Shaun Maloney - 7 - Replaced Petrov on 32 minutes and blossomed in the second half to provide a real threat with his jinking runs and willingness to shoot. Patrik Berger – 6 – Replaced Wilf on 76 minutes in a bold tactical switch, hit a decent low shot near the end but he did not provide what Martin may have been hoping for and may find it easier to make an impression late on against other less accomplished sides. Up the Villa! John Lewis

For me they played a key role in securing the championship for us in 1981 by beating Ipswich and I will always be obliged to them for that. Boro have had their tough times in the past and were lucky to have a supporter like Gibson who was willing to invest so much into securing their future and into bringing big names to his club when we did not. I think that a lot of us had a problems with the likes of Southgate, Ugo & Boateng moving to them on grounds of ambition or money but what goes around comes around and we took Merse off them later. I think the game will not be an easy one and I back us to win by the odd goal. This is because we are hard to beat away and will be on the up after turning over our neighbours, where Boro currently are a team in need of points who seem to have at the moment lost the art of getting them. I hope Gibson will keep faith with Southgate and would say that history shows he is not into knee-jerk reactions. The years that have passed since Gareth's departure have left me thinking more about what he gave us when he played in claret & blue than the circumstances in which he left that were always more understandable than Boateng's and his reaction to us since has been much the better of these two. May the best team win and that is obviously us! :winkold:

Yes, OutByEaster, but sometimes it takes them as many as 17 years to get back up! Hope today is a great day for us all - Let the Lion loose to maul the Noses!

Great attempt at finding some reason to like them. I tried as well but could not think of any myself. If they win it might be nice for them but it would be terrible for us, so 40 years after my first derby at Villa Park (which was very nice for them but miserable for us) I am looking for a 3 or 4-0 win for us at The Porndrome with Zat or Martin to score first and with odds in the 3 & 600s for these bets I'm looking to sting the bookies - get on lads and lasses!

My first derby was at Villa Park 40 years ago in 1967 when we lost 4-2 in front of 50,067. I stood on the old Witton End on which both Villa and Small Heath fans stood together back then. We went in at half time 2-2, with goals from Godfrey & Greenhalgh (who were known as the BG's) but Barry Bridges and Vowden got two each for them. That was a dire day and I hope that 40 years later the noses will find it as grim on Sunday as I did on that day!

It was not quite rams to the slaughter but we dominated the possession and ended up worthy winners of this East versus West Midlands tie. This reminded me of the game with Watford last year. The result was the same, expectations were for a stack of Villa goals, we had the lions share of the game but we found it hard to convert this all into the end product (goals). But, win we did on that occasion as on this, and I would happily take the same score in our favour next weekend. Nice to see another 40,000 crowd which will be encouraging for both the team and for Randy. It was also important to clinch the three points to keep us solidly in the top half of the table. It was also good to see Petrov giving a display that was something nearer to those he gave at times early last season and to see a crowd willing to give him another chance. So not the 3-0 or 4-0 we might have hoped for but a solid and easy enough win on a day when we did not really play at our best. But wins from games like these are a good habit to get into. My player ratings from a game that gave us a fifth home win and set us up for our first away one (I hope) are: Scott Carson - 6 – Did not have many opportunities to impress but did what he needed to when required. Olof Mellberg – 6 – This was a game where we would have welcomed a full back that was comfortable coming forward the fact that Olof is that man is not his fault and it is to his credit that we find ourselves in the top half of the league as he enters what I expect to be the last month that he will be regularly asked to fill this unfamiliar role for us. Zat Knight – 6 – No Halloween howlers from Zat in this home performance and was a threat to Derby from corners hitting a solid effort on 2 minutes that was blocked on the line and forcing a save from a downward header 20 minutes later. Martin Laursen – 8 – MOTM – To give MOTM to a defender when the defence had so little to do is a little unusual, but what he had to do at the back he did exceptionally well and his commitment shone through throughout the game culminating in his goal celebrations on 57 minutes when he broke the deadlock having got on the end of a Barry headed cross to find himself gleefully unmarked in the 6 yard box. Wilfred Bouma – 7 – Another solid performance. Stiliyan Petrov – 7 – Got a few monkeys of his back today by producing a decent display. Worked hard, seemed to have a little more time on the ball than of late and produced a couple of very good passes. Now needs to build on this and find consistency. Nigel Reo-Coker – 7 – Held the midfield together in the midfield general role. It was his hard work on the line that led to the mistake that left Gabby running onto the box in the move that led to our second. Gareth Barry – 7 – More effective in the second half than the first. Did so well for our opener by chasing what others may have given up as a lost cause and then found Laursen unmarked inside the box with his header and Martin applied a simple finish. Ashley Young – 8 – Substituted on 69 minutes with the game won to avoid further harsh treatment from a Derby defence who could find no other way of stopping his jinking runs. Made the points safe 8 minutes earlier when he met a super ball from Reo who had picked up a rebound from a Gabby shot, Ashley did well to lift the ball high into the net to avoid the defender and goalkeeper on the line. Cut inside and shot into the side netting on 31 minutes having been just inches wide with a shot that he pulled past the keeper 10 minutes earlier. Luke Moore – 6 – A decent performance and supported Gabby well, but needs to find some end product. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – His shot on 61 minutes was blocked by their keeper in the build up to our second and a good run into the box on 81 minutes forced a stop from their keeper to prevent a third. Substitutes: Shaun Maloney - 6 - Replaced Ashley on 69 minutes to provide a similar threat to the Derby defence down that side to what they had faced before his arrival and was just wide from the edge of the area on 78 minutes. Patrik Berger – 6 – Replaced Luke on 77 minutes and kept things ticking along. Curtis Davies – Replaced Zat on 88 minutes and did not have enough time on the field to earn a marking. Might have been worth bringing on earlier at 2-0 as a confidence building measure and that might help the announcer remember who he is next time! Up the Villa! John Lewis

I always think back to 1969 when Clough's side led by Dave Mackay walked all over us at Villa Park towards the end of their promotion season. They also gave us some decent games when they had the likes of Dean Saunders in their side rather than in our own. But, like yourself I agree than even Halsey should not be able to stop us getting a win by a couple of goals, it will be interesting to get a look at Barnes as well, as he might be looking for a club soon.

It's about time we got our first away win of the season and although Megson might be hoping for a quick double over us I think a point should be the least we come away with.

For much of the second half Manchester United appeared to have one or two more men on the field than we did …oh they did didn’t they! Three goals in around 11 minutes at the end of the fist half smacks of capitulation. It also suggests what many of us think that our players are still in awe of the name Manchester United and although a goal to the good can’t accept that this is a platform for a win rather than a hurdle that their opponents will inevitably leap before once again taking all of the points that are on offer at Villa Park. This time when we took an early lead and given the evidence of our season so far, I felt we might just make a game of it and I had hoped we might end up with a point to show at least. But, there is still a gaping gap between us and the likes of them and we do not need a referee who was rested from this league because of his incompetence earlier this season to extend that gap in an effort to ingratiate himself with the likes of Fergie, as he did today. Styles killed the game as a contest and as a spectacle for not only 42,000 spectators but for the television audience. He has faced consequences for lousy performances in the past, so will he do so again or as the beneficiaries were Manchester United will things be swept under the carpet? My player ratings from a game that extended Manchester United’s long domination over us all too easily are: Scott Carson - 4 – Led with his feet rather than his hands when faced by Tevez in the clear on 67 minutes and Styles does not need that sort of invitation to send someone off rather than to book them, although most referees seem to think the penalty and a booking is enough punishment, particularly where there are defenders between the forward and the goal. He was also at fault earlier when for some inexplicable reason he picked up a Bouma back pass on 3 minutes that led to a dangerous free kick inside our box. But, he did well to stop a Tevez effort on 26 minutes that ended up as a corner after a Mellberg deflection and also blocked a goal bound shot in first half injury time from a corner that eventually through no fault of his own ended up as their third and decisive goal. Olof Mellberg – 6 – Steady enough in a difficult situation. Zat Knight – 3 – His very own passable impersonation of a pub player yesterday will hand the opportunity to a player who described himself in that way in the not too distant past to take his role in the centre of our defence on a permanent basis. So solid up until this game but this was nothing other than anathema. Left a cross well alone for some reason on 36 minutes that Rooney applied the expected finish to and gave the same player oceans of space inside the box to hit home his second unchallenged on 44 minutes. Martin Laursen – 6 – Not at his outstanding best yesterday. Wilfred Bouma – 6 – Solid enough but also did not shine as much as of late. Craig Gardner – 5 – Started pretty well but could not sustain it and this time his substitution did not lead to a chorus of boos. Sliced the ball into the roof of the net when on the line in second half injury time when Ferdinand’s relatively weak effort looked easy enough to clear given that we had two players on the line to block it. He also allowed Rooney to get in front of him to hit their second. Nigel Reo-Coker – 6 – Appeared to be enjoying the early challenge. Sent off after two strong/late challenges on Tevez and Anderson that presented them both with the opportunity to make things look worse than they were and which the Brazilian in particular leapt and rolled after to show himself to be a true thespian. Gareth Barry – 6 – Not at his best following his England outings and hit the occasional stray pass that has come to be something that Villa and England supporters don’t expect to see from him. Ashley Young – 6 – Did so well to keep a too strong cross in play on 12 minutes and then hit a wonderful cross that Gabby got on the end of for our first and only goal. Luke Moore – 5 – Found the side netting from distance on 21 minutes and really should have got some sort of connection onto Young’s cross half an hour later. More of what we have grown accustomed to this season and was as has become the rule replaced early in the second half as a result. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Forced out too wide to finish on 54 minutes following some good work but had earlier provided the perfect touch to Young’s cross for our early goal. A much brighter display. Substitutes: Shaun Maloney - 6 - Replaced Luke on 66 minutes. Hit a half chance over the bar on 83 minutes that really needed to be on target. Isaiah Osbourne – 6 – Replaced Gardner at the same time as Shaun came in for Luke and hit a firm shot on 61 minutes albeit straight down Van Der Sar’s throat. Stuart Taylor - 8 – MOTM - Replaced Scott upon his sending off and his first touch was to deny Rooney a hat-trick from the penalty spot when he got down well to save his penalty. He also produced a nice stop 4 minutes later to deny Tevez. Stuart was beaten on 75 minutes when Giggs moved past what was left of our defence for their fourth but it took two deflections to beat him and he still got fingers to the ball after that. Might reasonably see himself more likely to fill in for Carson than Sorensen after this fine if short appearance. Up the Villa! John Lewis

Spurs have bought a few John and Manchester City have a decent youth set up that is producing a couple to play alongside Sven's signings. But, I think we have may well have a fair number of players making a breakthrough into England squads over the next couple of years.

Agreed also John. Let's hope we have a lot more caps to add to our proud list over the next few years, I suspect Gareth may be the start of a deluge with Young, Carson and Reo soon to follow him into a full England shirt whilst turning out at B6.

I think the lack of England recognition for our players over the past 30 years was far from being not too bad John. Players at other clubs got call ups where the likes of Morty and Shaw did not. Only Platt and Southgate were regulars and players like Little, Gidman, Cowans and Morley deserved more caps than they got. Barry was even ignored for years as we all know. Let's hope things will change now but its not before time that it did.

No John, but he manages the U-16 team now does that count? :winkold: I think he might have had the odd game in an England shirt at U-23 and possibly B-level but back then Villa players rarely got a look in after all we had only won the league & European Cup!

John here are another three who made changes in their playing roles when with us: From the 82 team we had Kenny Swain who moved from wing to full back and Allan Evans who started as a forward before moving back to central defence. An earlier example was Con Martin who started as a centre half and then played 27 games in 51/52 as a goalkeeper before returning to play as a full back or centre half.

A well reasoned suggestion John. I wonder whether a statue that would be similar to the Boulton, Watt & Murdock one that many that live or visit Birmingham will be familiar with would prove much more costly than one that recognised one rather than three of these Villa greats? I also like GMVillan's Hall of Fame suggestion and I seem to recall the new board are looking at this sort of thing as a work in progress. We have a proud history that has not been sufficiently recognised in the past but I'm confident that this will be something that the new board will be looking at to correct in the same way that they have already acted with the 82 squad.

Please excuse my belated player ratings from Saturday’s game which are posted so late due to the sad demise of my old PC. Villa sent West Ham home with their third successive league defeat and our impressive league form continues largely unchecked. We produced a good first half and although West Ham had much of the second we managed to hold onto a goal lead much more comfortable than we had a 3-goal one in mid-week. Although our stay in fifth place will only be fleeting most of the teams up until today have played the same number of games as us so it is not a false position. Nice to see a 40,000 crowd but it was not so nice to see the reception given to our 78th minute substitute. This was not spitting Savo coming on or Steve Hodge or a badge kissing Dwight Yorke. This was a current Villa player who Martin chose to bring into the fray with Gardner tiring and to boo him questions Martin’s decision and only helps the opposition. All Petrov is guilty of is not looking like the player we had thought we had signed from Celtic this time last year. He came to us with a big reputation and looked to be money well spent during his early games last season. But, since then his form has been disappointing not just to us, but no doubt to him and to the manager that brought him here. Some might question whether he can cut it in this league which is clearly more demanding than the one he came from. The jury is still out on that, although he is an established international and might reasonably have been expected to settle in a little faster as a result than our other Celtic import. Homesickness is also not the same problem for Stiliyan as it is for a Scotsman who journeys down south; his words show nothing other than a commitment to succeed in a Villa shirt. What I would suggest is that we need is to show the same encouragement to both of these Celtic imports, who have for differing reasons found difficulty in making the change from the green hoops to the claret and blue shirts. My player ratings from a game that took us into the top 5 albeit only for 24 hours are: Scott Carson - 6 – Little to do but what he had to deal with he dealt with well, such as on 55 minutes when he stopped a close range Cole effort, when an equalizer had looked likely if anyone other than Cole had been on the end of it. Olof Mellberg – 6 – Found his makeshift role more difficult today and Etherington had him for pace more than once. A dodgy header back to Carson on 37 minutes might have caused problems but he was first to get to the loose ball to clear the danger. Zat Knight – 6 – Solid enough and works well alongside Laursen. Might have done better on 85 minutes with a free header from close range that was guided straight into Green’s hands. Martin Laursen – 8 – MOTM – Another tremendous display and a passable John Wile/Terry Butcher impersonation when he came back on after injury with a bandaged head. Wilfred Bouma – 7 – So solid again. Craig Gardner – 7 – Another goal from a free kick on 24 minutes when his shot from the edge of the box was deflected past Green and into the corner of the net by Gabbidon. Nice to see us making these free kicks pay at long last. Looked very effective in the first half. Nigel Reo-Coker – 7 – Our strongest influence in the middle yesterday and hit a decent effort on 11 minutes that Green stopped. Managed to stay focused and avoided getting involved in the squabbles that his former team and particularly Bowyer tried to tempt him into. Gareth Barry – 6 – Not quite as effective as of late and that will no doubt have been noted by the watching England manager who must be desperate for a reason to not start him. Ashley Young – 8 – Must have impressed the watching England boss. Our main threat up front by some distance hits such inviting crosses. Luke Moore – 5 – We know he has ability, he knows it and so does Martin. But, it has to be worked at and shown on a regular basis to hold onto the shirt even when competition for it is limited. Badly needs a goal or two to up his confidence level. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Hit a shot at Green’s legs on 84 minutes but was pretty well handled by their central defence. Substitutes: Shaun Maloney - 7 - Replaced Luke on 66 minutes and played his part in eating the minutes up in that corner as the game just drifted away from Curbs and his Eastenders. Made his usual good contribution when coming off the bench and may now be worth a start. Stiliyan Petrov – 6 – Did nothing wrong after he replaced Gardner on 78 minutes. Up the Villa! John Lewis

So, what had seemed to represent potentially our easiest route into Europe has now gone west and the trophy will no doubt again be left to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool’s fringe players to fight for down Wembley Way! Although Bouma and Carew’s absence were enforced, Carson, Laursen, Young and Moore’s additional absence, along with Barry’s change of role (where I think many of us had expected that Stephen O’Halloran would have been given an outing) proved too much change for us to cope with last night. Have we become blasé about this trophy in the way that many teams have who see this competition as just a distraction these days? Or, did Martin and many of us (myself included), think that we had already reached the point where we were good enough to be able to make widespread changes, give fringe players the chance to stake a claim for a first team berth and still sweep aside the challenge of a former bogey side who now managed by Megson were likely to have been as fired up for this game against us as they were when they faced us in the past when then managed by our present manager? OK Leicester are not as good a team as they were in the past but the cup is a great leveller and this time we did a little too much to help make the opportunity for this giant killing happen. I suspect this defeat will be harder for us to take than will Manchester United’s, after all they have bigger fish to fry and we do not. I think this game probably turned on pushing Barry back from the role in which he has proved to be so effective for us and England this season and in resting both Moore and Young, on a night when we were already going to miss the sort of problems that Big John would cause Leicester’s defence. It was also influenced by our substitutions being made after they had scored a goal in what became increasingly likely to be a game that would be decided by the team that scored first, if not by penalties. The substitutions when they did come gave us some urgency and made us look like scoring where before that we seldom did. So, it could also be argued that if Leicester had scored earlier then we would have been forced to make our changes earlier and this would have brought an equaliser that we were unable to fashion in the just over twenty minutes of play that was left to us after their goal last night. But, it could also be said that we are at risk of becoming an inconsistent team who follow a good win with a disappointing defeat, as was the case after our win at home to Chelsea and now Everton. What is for sure is that last night represented a reminder of the bad old days that we don’t want to see too often, fortress Villa Park was breached last night and it was not pretty! My player ratings from a game that is best forgotten and during which our ground staff may have soon wished they had eased off with the sprinklers a little are: Stuart Taylor - 5 – Very little to do but his kicking looked unsteady more than once. Olof Mellberg – 6 – Worked hard but might have done better with their goal. Zat Knight – 6 – A steady enough performance. Curtis Davies – 6 – Did not always look as comfortable as might have been anticipated, although it is early days. Will have far better games than this debut! Gareth Barry – 7 – MOTM – The one player to rise above the average last night but we missed his regular inspiration further up the field by pushing him back to cover for Bouma’s absence. Shaun Maloney – 6 – When he found his feet produced some decent forward movement and was unlucky to see a good effort go over the bar for a corner after a splendid one two with Petrov. But, Shaun has show a bit more when given opportunities like this previously this season and this display is unlikely to force Martin to look again at changing his normal starting XI. Nigel Reo-Coker – 6 – Solid but might have been expected to step up to have had a greater influence in the middle in Gareth’s absence. Stiliyan Petrov – 5 – Hit a decent free kick on 85 minutes that their keeper saved well. But, we need to see more than he has showed over the past year and last night. I would have liked to have seen more signs in his performance that being out of the side is hurting. Isaiah Osborne – 5 – Disappointing, has reached the point where he needs to show more signs of fulfilling his promise when given first team opportunities like this. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – A couple of late efforts and had a decent strike tipped over on 21 minutes but struggled to show his best last night as did the team as a whole. Gabby might reasonably been expected to have proved to be more of a handful for the Leicester defence than proved to be the case. Marlon Harewood – 6 – Did what could reasonably be expected of a squad player but less than we would have expected from Big John, another striker who might have been expected to offer more of a threat to their defence. Substitutes: Ashley Young - 6 - Replaced Osborne on 70 minutes. Looked sharp and hit a couple of good crosses, he seemed most likely to bring us back into it but needed longer to make it happen. Luke Moore – 5 – Replaced Marlon on 75 minutes and made little impression. Patrik Berger– 6 – A welcome return, showed some urgency that had been lacking when coming on for Curtis on 79 minutes. Up the Villa! John Lewis

What a sad and long journey back to the pleasantries of Liverpool this must have been for those Evertonian’s no wonder so many of them decided to set off early! Gabby earned a yellow card today for his goal celebrations in front of The Holte End. If players were booked for this back when Andy Gray was doing the same in the 70s he would have spent most of his time suspended. Haven’t referees got better things to be doing these days and is it not time that players were allowed to celebrate scoring goals in front of their own fans, as this is punished where the hand to the ear of players who score in front of opposition fans is not? Perhaps this was not quite as impressive a performance as was our thrilling defeat of Chelsea three weeks ago but this was a big improvement on our display at Manchester City last week. I think most of us would have been happy with 6 points from 9 from these three games and 2 wins brings more points than 3 draws. So although we might lose the odd game that we drew last season if we convert more of last season’s draws into wins then we should end the season in the top half and that would be the sort of improvement we should realistically be looking for this season. Everton are a tight ship and won’t concede two or more goals too often this season. They would have been happy with a point today but once we scored they looked to be out of ideas and Gabby’s well taken second finished the game as a contest. This fixture is the most played in the top division and after today’s win we have won 70 times as have Everton, we have scored 284 goals as have they. But, where they had mostly looked to be the side on the up in recent seasons and we had seemed to be treading water at best we are now looking to challenge for their European place next season and to overtake them in the way the likes of Chelsea have us in the past and it might just have started today when we leapt above them in the league with what ended up a comfortable enough win. Going to Villa Park is fast becoming something to look forward to once again. Where we were going to games in the past because that’s just what we do, we are now beginning to look forward to games with a passion that has not been seen at Villa Park for many a year. This really is the green shoots of recovery folks! We are playing it tight at the back, we are solid in the middle and we are creating chances. Villa Park is fast becoming a ground that other teams will see as a fortress and that we will walk away from with smiles on our faces after 90 minutes more often than not! My player ratings from a game that took us back into the top half of the table and back above the team from the dark side of the city are: Scott Carson - 7 – Got down well to prevent a late consolation goal on 89 minutes and when tested looked very solid. Olof Mellberg – 7 – I know he’s probably not, but his performance today suggested he was beginning to enjoy his new role or is it the glimpses of the bright future at the club he has graced over the years and the opportunity to play any part in this that is enthusing him? He even found the time to have a crack at goal that went wide on 58 minutes. Zat Knight – 7 – Literally dwarfed that blue nose Johnson who got no change from either of our central defenders today. The fact that he’s keeping out a player like Curtis Davies says it all and it proves that if you continue to do the business Martin will keep playing you. Martin Laursen – 8 – Won everything in the air as he always does and has become an impenetrable wall for opposition strikers. Well worth another contract! Wilfred Bouma – 7 – Solid and is an increasingly important cog in our defensive machine. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Got on the end of a through ball and applied a sweet instinctive finish to claim all 3 points on 62 minutes, more involved than of late and enjoyed performing in the centre in the second half. Gareth Barry – 9 – MOTM – We always knew he was an England player and now everyone else has joined his fan club his confidence has risen to the extent that we now have a Gerrard like midfield general. He was immense today. Nigel Reo-Coker – 7 – Played the holding role today and his industrious efforts did much to counter what is a strong Everton midfield and to help us to a well deserved win. Ashley Young – 7 – More effective in the second half when he got used to the weight of numbers that Everton were putting in front of him. Loves to take on players and hits a nice cross as he demonstrated with a superb run and cross on 72 minutes that Luke was not able to reach to get the touch that was needed to make it three. Luke Moore – 6 –Replaced by Marlon on 80 minutes and I think he needs to realise that he has to show more of what we know he is capable of to hold onto his place. John Carew – 7 – He does score goals after all then! Big John applied a super finish to beat their keeper on 13 minutes and scored the all important first goal today. John is a great target man who will in a full season get 10 – 15 goals and who through his hard work makes opportunities for others who may be more prolific but who need the service that he provides to show it. John needed this goal and I hope that the injury that led to a 53rd minute substitution does not keep him out for too long as we would miss what he gives us more than many might suspect. Substitutes: Craig Gardner - 6 - Replaced Big John with more than half an hour left. Did a reasonable job and will be looking forward to the opportunity that a cup game at home to Leicester should provide for a full 90 minute outing in our midfield. Marlon Harewood – 6 – Did well to get his head to a Young cross on 89 minutes but was wide with his effort. Must have been disappointed to not get the call when Big John came off and let’s hope he has 90 minutes to show Martin that he can fill in for the big man. Up the Villa! John Lewis

Chelsea remain winless against us at Villa Park this Millennium and did anyone else enjoy seeing Roman trying to sneak out before the end but being unable to avoid shaking the outstretched hand of our smirking former chairman? As Martin promised we did not cower or surrender meekly today. We worked very hard and although Chelsea had a lot of possession our defence remained resolute. The statistics that matter are that we scored two goals and they scored none. This result shows how far we have come already and for once we did not try to sit on a lead but went for the second and got it! Yes, we have beaten one of the top four at long last and we did not sneak the win there was two goals between the sides at the finish despite the referee who saw fir to book Gabby when he commented on Carew’s booking but was happy to take heated advice from Terry throughout without showing a card to him. My player ratings from a game after which Roman might just have needed a Vodka or three are: Scott Carson - 6 – Might need to consider whether catching instead of punching might sometimes be the better option and at times looked less commanding than would be expected but at the end of the day Scott is able to point to another clean sheet. Olof Mellberg – 7 – Did well in a role that he would no doubt not choose to fill. Zat Knight – 7 – Got his second goal for Villa in two matches winning a header from a corner on 47 minutes and looked solid on his debut at the back. Martin Laursen – 8 – Won everything in the air as usual and had Drogba in his pocket most of the time and on the one occasion he was left for dead by him on 58 minutes Olof was on hand to tidy up. Wilfred Bouma – 7 – A solid performance against SWP. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Did some good work at the back and got into the game more as the game wore on capping this off by applying a crisp finish to a great cross from Young on 88 minutes. Might have done better on the stroke of half time when he failed to connect with an inviting cross. Gareth Barry – 7 – Became more prominent as the game wore on and worked well with NRC to give us a hard running central midfield. Luke Moore – 7 – Turned well on 6 minutes to force a good stop by their keeper and gave a good performance against strong opponents today. Nigel Reo-Coker – 9 – MOTM – A hard running and whole hearted performance. Seems to be enjoying life at Villa Park and showed some good pace against Ashley Cole. Ashley Young – 8 – Our main threat and did so well with that flick, run and cross to set up our second. Martin spent our money well and he deserves a run out against Israel but I doubt the manager has the bottle to try him out. Hit a terrific shot from a wide position that forced a finger tip and the corner that resulted in our opening goal. John Carew – 7 – Worked very hard and had no help from the referee throughout. Substitutes: Stiliyan Petrov - 6 - Replaced John on 79 minutes and picked up the pace of the game pretty well. Up the Villa and bring on Sven’s boys! John Lewis

Might this just show that we have a capable scouting network that have unearthed a gem that other clubs might regret not having checked out themselves in a season or two? Arsenal have done it in the past as we did with a certain player that went on to sign for Manchester United. I would guess he did not cost Curtis money and we have given him a season to show he has what it takes. Martin might even have noticed himself when he was at The World Cup. He looks half decent on the You Tube clip but most players do now he has the opportunity to look good in our shirt. Welcome to Villa Park Moustapha!

Thanks Bicks sorry I posted this in the wrong spot.

A good attendance, a good win - bring on Chelsea! This was a very important 3 points that puts us in mid-table and leaves Manchester United needing to win today to retain their one point lead over us (although we do have a game in hand)! I thought we did well to comeback from a goal down again after Dempsey had slotted home after being left unmarked in the area by ball watching defenders. Fulham were less effective as the game wore and we created enough opportunities to have won at a canter, which is why a lot of us still think we need a fifth striker. Bouma’s injury brought about the substitution that gave us our winner, but injuries also expose the lack of depth in our squad, as does the absence of a right back and lets hope these and other things can be rectified in the coming week. Nice to see Martin being so involved as to have to spend the second half in the stands. Clearly Bennett played 2 minutes less than he should at the end of the first half (injuries both inside the 45 minutes and in injury time count by the way ref), he should also have played advantage rather than blew his whistle in his haste to get Baird off the pitch and that hasty decision might well have cost us the win. Not a good game for the ref overall then and any repercussions from yesterday should be his to face other than Martin’s. My player ratings from a game after which we had climbed into the top half of the league are: Scott Carson - 6 – Pulled off a great stop on 86 minutes getting down on his line to stop a goal bound header that would have given Fulham a result that they did not deserve. Not much else to do other than on 5 minutes when he was left with little chance by his defenders. Craig Gardner – 6 – Doing as well as can be expected playing out of position, Craig must be hoping that signing comes next week so he can return to boost our midfield options. Olof Mellberg – 6 – Not at his best today. Martin Laursen – 7 – Won everything in the air as we have come to expect but distribution was occasionally less effective. Wilfred Bouma – 6 – Can do better but he was solid enough. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Put a good opportunity wide on 35 minutes when put under pressure by a defender. Not at his best today needs to be more involved. Gareth Barry – 7 – More prominent in the second half and some immaculate passes from distance. Stiliyan Petrov – 5 – Substituted at half time after a half in which he had failed to make any impression again. The time has come for him to show us what he showed in the early games of last season on a consistent basis or was that a flash in the pan and what we have had since is what we should now expect? Nigel Reo-Coker – 7 – Bossed the midfield and demanded more from his team mates, looks a great signing. Ashley Young – 8 – MOTM – A constant threat to Fulham from wide positions. Ran at defenders all day and they had no answer to him. Capped a fine display with his equaliser on 50 minutes cutting inside and hitting the ball past Keller into the far corner of the net. John Carew – 7 – Unlucky to see a header hit the woodwork on the stroke of half time but should have done better on 25 minutes when the ball was taken from his feet when he was about to pull the trigger after having been put clear and then 7 minutes later when he hit a weak shot at the keeper, seemed short of pace at times today. Substitutes: Luke Moore - 7 - Replaced Petrov for the second half and played like he had a point to prove to the manager. Keller pulled off a great finger tip save to deny him on 58 minutes and hit a good shot after a great turn on 46 minutes that went just wide. Marlon Harewood – 6 – Replaced Carew on 78 minutes to offer strength up front but had limited opportunity in the time available to stake a claim for a starting role. Shaun Maloney – 7 - Replaced the injured Bouma on 83 minutes, if it had been a tactical rather than an injury substitution it would have been hailed as a master stroke because in the first minute of injury time he had the cool head to slot the ball past their keeper to give us a much needed and deserved victory. Up the Villa! John Lewis

NEITS said: I don't think that "challenging ManU day in and day out" is the same as the UEFA Cup being achievable in season 2 or 3 NEITS. We are aiming to improve each season. 10 - 7 would represent that in this year 2 and that might just give us UEFA Cup qualification, further progress in year 3 surely would give us that qualification and by the end of year 5 we would hope to be "challenging ManU day in and day out". It won't be easy and there will be times when the task looks more than we can manage but I trust Martin, Randy and the staff at B6 to get us back up where we belong, we just need to hold our nerve and enjoy the white knuckle ride! :winkold:

Well said 306. Not every signing will be in the superstar or NRC category. We will buy the odd player like Harewood who will not put bums on seats or excite but who will improve the squad, do a decent job when needed (in Marlon's case on those occasions Big John is out or rested). Marlon and John would not very often start a game as our two strikers and if we now add a player like Defoe to the striking options then I think few would complain about Marlon's name being added to the squad. In Martin & Randy I still trust. :notworthy: