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John

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  1. John
    What a difference two wins can make. Having won away for the first time in 437 days on Tuesday night we went on to win our second home game of the season yesterday and pulled five points clear of the bottom three.   
    But enough talk of the bottom three we can now look at the top six that we are within six points of. We are coming to get those clubs that currently make up the top six as well as the knuckle draggers from the dark side of the city next weekend.
    There was to be no late goal conceded by us this time and for a second time within a week it was us that claimed the three points with a late winner. We might have added another two before the final whistle was blown as we finished the game very strongly. Two more wins that would take our winning run to 4 games could well see us in the top half of the table and who would have thought that likely three weeks ago?
    This was not our best performance although we threatened to run away with the game after taking the lead. It is not a game that will live long in the memory unlike the goal that won it for us which was so well taken. I do however wonder whether it might just be a second win that proves to be a turning point in our season?  
    My player ratings from a game that brought Brucie his 7th point from his first 3 matches and our visitors their first away defeat are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – Made a decent save at his near post from Aluko on 44 minutes and tipped a cross over for a corner in the third minute of stoppage time.      
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Did a decent enough job.   
    James Chester - 7 – Looked very good alongside Baker and appeared to have enjoyed wearing the captain’s armband.       
    Nathan Baker – 7 – A solid display and Elphick may not find it too easy to displace him when he recovers from injury.
    Jordan Amavi – 7 – His best game for us since his return from injury. Looked solid enough at the back and good when coming forward.
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Did a job for us in the middle but I suspect Tshibola might be able to do a better one.    
    Gary Gardner – 6 – Has made a difference to our midfield which had been struggling badly before his introduction.
    Mile Jedinak – 5 – Played today with players alongside him that have the pace to help him see games out albeit not through to their conclusion.
    Jordan Ayew – 6 – Forced a one-handed stop from Button on 27 minutes and had a 65th minute free-kick from the edge of the box tipped over the bar by Button. Should have put the result beyond doubt on the 82nd minute when he was put clear by a nice ball from McCormack only to steer the ball wide of the post.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – MOTM - Hutton found him inside the box and his 10th minute shot from a tight angle was well kept out at the near post by Button. Scored our 80th minute winner after Button’s clearance from outside of his box went straight to Adomah who rather than have a shot himself as the keeper struggled to get back crossed for Jonathan to volley the ball at waist height into the corner of the net. What a great finish that was and it was one that was worthy of winning any game! Headed the ball just wide of the post late in injury time after Button had pushed Adomah’s shot towards him. 
    Rudy Gestede – 4 – Given another start but did little to warrant a further one next weekend for me and I think his place will now come under increased pressure from McCormack.     
    Substitutes:
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Came on for Gestede on the 55th minute and his introduction played a big part in our improved performance. Made our winner and made a nice run into the box in injury time before getting into a shooting position and forcing a save at his near post from Button. His direct approach and running at defenders makes him a player that can win games for us.       
    Ross McCormack – 6 - Replaced Jedinak on 73 minutes and looked lively.  
    Ashley Westwood – Replaced Ayew on 86 minutes and was not therefore on long enough to gather any rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  2. John
    The pride of the Black Country arrived at Villa Park yesterday expecting to record a further win. They snuck out of the ground later with their tails between their legs having been clearly outplayed on the day by the pride of the Midlands.
    Cardiff and Fulham fans would have expected Villa to drop at least a point last night. They were to be disappointed. This looked a tough game for us but perhaps we underestimated the team’s will to win a little and by doing so over-estimated the impact our visitors would be allowed to make upon the match which brought them their heaviest league defeat of the season.    
    This was a memorable game and performance. It was a game that those Villa fans who were fortunate enough to attend can tell their children and grandchildren about in future years.    
    It was the day that our players and manager made Villa Park a fortress once again. Villa produced a performance that was even better than the one that gave us victory last month against the Small Heathens and we needed to do so against what is a significantly more competent team.    
    This was a hard-fought local derby. In the first half there was little to choose between the two teams. Villa took an early lead but were pegged back by the confident visitors who looked solid and dangerous for the rest of the half. The second half was a different matter. Wolves were blitzed by three second Villa half goals that they had no answer for. Villa take the honours from the games between the two teams this season 4-3 on aggregate then!
    Our visitors will come the end of this season take the place in the top flight that their consistently impressive overall displays this season have earned them, but they might not be surprised after yesterday’s game to find Villa occupying the other automatic promotion spot alongside them to ensure that this local derby is played in the Premier League next season.      
    My player ratings from a game that gave us our tenth win from our last twelve matches are:
    Sam Johnstone – 7 – Reassuringly solid on those occasions that he was tested. Could do little to stop Jota forcing in their equalizer.        
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – A solid display.    
    James Chester - 8 – Scored our second on 57 minutes stretching to hit home a well-placed Snodgrass free-kick and wasn’t he happy about it?       
    John Terry – 8 – Was the rock on which our solid defence was built upon. Did very well to clear the ball over the bar with Bonatini waiting to get on to a ball that had been played back towards him by Doherty before their equalizer and directed a later Snodgrass free-kick towards Chester who was not quite able to connect with it. There was no way he was prepared to accept anything other than a Villa win from this game. Terrymendous!
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Looks capable of making this position his own now made a splendidly timed tackle inside the box on 78 minutes.
    Robert Snodgrass – 8 – Worked hard and did more than his fair share of tracking back. Showed he really wanted this one with a whole-hearted tenacious display.
    Mile Jedinak – 7 – We look a much more solid midfield with the bearded one in it. Got his head to    Snodgrass’s corner which led to our early opener.
    Conor Hourihane – 7 – A solid performance.    
    Albert Adomah – 8 – MOTM – Albert was a constant threat to the visitors down the flank. He scored our first after 8 minutes when he was in the right place at the right time to hit the ball in from close range, put a sweet cross over for the vital third goal which gave us a 2-goal cushion and did a solid job for us when back in his own half to stifle their forward movement.     
    Jack Grealish – 8 – He really is some player, isn’t he? Looks to be able to make the sort of immense contribution to a game that he made in that Liverpool cup semi-final week in and week out now.   
    Lewis Grabban – 7 – Scoring goals for fun, isn’t he? Added his fourth goal for us in his last four games with our third on 62 minutes. Hit the side netting at the near post on 43 minutes after turning well after Grealish has done so well to get a cross over to him. Bruce uses the loan market to great effect.     
    Substitutes:
    Birkir Bjarnason – 7 – Came on for Albert in the 75th minute and hit our fourth with a toe-poke from the edge of the box 10 minutes later having ran through their defence to reach there. 
    Henri Lansbury – Replaced Hourihane on 81 minutes so was not on quite long enough to earn a rating.  
    Scott Hogan – Replaced Grabban on 86 minutes and was not therefore on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  3. John
    Despite selling players like there is no tomorrow in the last two transfer windows and being second from bottom of the table both before and after this game our visitors have not tasted defeat in their last three games against us.
    The Bees drew at Villa Park last season and did the same yesterday. This result has put as huge a dent in our confidence and has placed similar doubts upon our promotion prospects as had our 1-1 home draw against Brentford last September. 
    We need to approach home games with a view to winning them rather than to not losing them. The onus is on us to crate chances and to put those chances away. Playing two forwards up front would be a good place to start. We were poor in the first half and were even worse in the second.
    Whilst our overall performance yesterday was unacceptable the result was no less than our visitors deserved and they were clearly the better team. We were fortunate to end the game with a point. They may still be in the bottom three but they were very well organised, looked by some way the most likely of the two teams to break the deadlock and comfortably handled a team that are only three points and five places above them.
    Brentford dictated the course of the game all too easily. They bossed the midfield, dealt comfortably with what little threat we produced up front and unlike us produced good scoring opportunities aplenty. They had a plan and we didn’t. They were well organised where we were not. We have the better squad on paper but it did not look like it on Saturday!
    Steve Bruce admitted in his post-game interview with BBC Radio WM that we “didn’t play with the energy or the spark that was required”. He also admitted that he “should have done better and freshened us up”. He went on to add that “at 3 – 4 o’clock yesterday (Davis, Green and Onomah) weren’t going to play but wanted to play this morning, unfortunately all three of them have come off injured and looked jaded and tired”. I would have hoped that Hogan, Snodgrass and Lansbury had also wanted to play having had a less arduous week. He added looking forward to our next game, “We’ll be better than what we were today”. We will need to be!   
    We dropped too many points at home last season and have now dropped 4 points from our first 3 home games of this new season. We gave ourselves too much ground to make up on the teams that ended up battling for promotion last season due to our early run of disappointing results. We are now 10 points behind leaders Cardiff, 8 points behind Leeds, 7 points behind Wolves and 4 points behind 6th placed Middlesbrough who we play next Tuesday. We are currently 18th in the league and have only 6 points from our first 6 games of the season. Our previous manager left when the club occupied 19th place having taken 10 points from the first 11 league games of last season and having been 10 points off the play-off places. Say no more!
    The 2 points that we dropped yesterday need to be made up sooner rather than later. We cannot afford to be cut adrift as we were last season with too much ground to make up on the promotion contenders. The visit of Boro provides us with an early opportunity to make some amends. They won 3-0 at Bolton yesterday to take themselves into the last of the play-off positions. Given that, a draw might have just been acceptable before we drew our second home game of the season yesterday although we do really need to win home games against the clubs that we hope to be competing with for a promotion place at the end of this season. We now cannot afford to drop further home points against Boro. A defeat on Tuesday would take the gap between the two clubs up to 7 points after only 7 games but if we perform anything like we did yesterday it is hard to see us making up any ground on them.        
    My player ratings from a game that gave us a stark and unpleasant reminder of how we fared last season are:
    Sam Johnstone – 8 – MOTM – Quite simply we would have lost this game without him. Did very well to block a 57th minute Clarke shot with his right leg after the player had run into the box having been put clear. Parried and then held a Barbet free kick from the edge of the box on the hour mark. Did well to turn a 72nd minute Watkins shot past the far post and pushed a 76th minute shot from the edge of the box from the same player past his left-hand post.
    James Bree – 6 – Did well enough at the back.               
    James Chester - 6 – Wanted too long to bring an 85th minute Snodgrass cross that had flown above Hogan to him under control which allowed Bentley the chance to smother his eventual effort.    
    John Terry – 6 – Made a 19th minute mistake that presented the ball to an opponent on the edge of the box but his blushes were spared when Whelan cleared the danger.       
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Another steady defensive display.  
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 4 – Did not make enough of an impression on the game. Headed a cross from Green well over on 52 minutes and had 79th minute appeal for a penalty rejected when Dalsgaard took the ball before he went down.
    Josh Onomah – 6 – The best of our midfield by some distance yesterday before he left the field on the hour due to injury. Snatched at a nice 9th minute Green cross hitting the ball wide of the post.         
    Glenn Whelan – 4 – Needed to try playing the ball forward instead of behind him more often.  
    Conor Hourihane – 5 – Did not get forward often enough and would have benefited from having Lansbury alongside him in my opinion.        
    Andre Green – 6 – Substituted on the hour due to a hamstring injury and he will be missed. Dropped too deep at times but he was not alone in that and he did play a couple of decent balls into the box.     
    Keinan Davis– 6 – Held the ball up well when he had the opportunity to do so but he was left very isolated up front, short of service and played with no support alongside him. Hit a 21st minute shot from the edge of the box that went just wide of the post. Onomah found him well inside the box on 26 minutes but he sliced the ball into the side netting.            
    Substitutes:
    Robert Snodgrass – 6 – Replaced Green on 60 minutes and showed signs of good things to come from him in the future.   
    Scott Hogan – 5 - Replaced Davis on 60 minutes. Made a good run inside the box and was found by a ball from Onomah on 67 minutes but his attempt to square the ball from close range but a tight angle was intercepted by Bentley’s left hand at the near post. He needs to start and to have another striker playing alongside him.   
    Gabby Agbonlahor – 4 - Replaced the injured Onomah on 71 minutes. I could not help but think that the creativity of Lansbury or the running of Bjarnason would have been a better option. He made no noticeable positive impact upon the game.       
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  5. John
    Two home defeats in four days has been very, very hard to watch. The season is in tatters and all we have left for is to secure our safety. We currently have a 7-point cushion between the bottom three and ourselves but that gap will not last forever if our results do not start improving.
    Barnsley now have as many wins away from home this season as we have wins at home and away. Yesterday’s visitors are also thirteen points above us. They play as a team. We play as a bunch of individuals. They wanted to prove something to the players they recently sold to us in the same way that Brentford and Forest did.   
    Our visitors started strongly but we then started to create chances and look the better team before referee Eltringham intervened by awarding a dubious penalty. As a team that is short of confidence and belief that was the last thing we needed. Having conceded another, we then pulled a goal back just before half time. That should have provided us with a platform and a momentum to seek a win or at the very least a draw from this game in the second half. Sadly, we gave an inept second half performance and it was the visitors who got the crucial next goal that sealed the game for them with over half an hour of the match left. Had we pulled another goal back we could have pressed for a late equalizer but we instead surrendered meekly.      
    Steve Bruce went back to four at the back for this one but our problems go beyond that. We do not play for each other as a team. Our new signings like other signings before them appear to have been swallowed up by the growing malaise that our club has been subject to over recent years. Players that have impressed and scored goals for fun at the clubs they were bought from see their form drop and their goals dry up when they join us.
    The boss has a much bigger job than he and we thought that he had when we went on that early “new manager bounce”. He has to turn this club around by the end of the season and install a positivity in the players we have that can make next season markedly different to this and the last one. We need to make a strong promotion challenge next season but that currently looks to be beyond us.     
    My player ratings from a game that was frankly nothing other than an embarrassment are:
    Sam Johnstone – 5 – Guessed the right way but Armstrong’s firmly hit 25th minute penalty beat him. Bradshaw turned a 43rd minute cross just past his outstretched hand and into the corner of the net for their second. Got down to hold a 78th minute Moncur shot near the post.       
    Alan Hutton – 5 – The last of a host of defenders to try to clear the ball out of the area on 58 minutes but only succeeded in finding Bradshaw who hit his second of the night. Headed a 67th minute Lansbury cross wide.        
    James Chester - 6 – Solid enough.  
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Our return to a back four was a return to his central pairing with Chester which is one of the few positives we have seen this season. Did well enough.     
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Made a welcome return to the first team. Started very well but he was unable to maintain that high level of performance throughout the game. Harshly adjudged to have brought down Watkins inside the area to concede the penalty that gave them their opener and needed to try to get closer to Yiadom when he crossed for their second.
    Albert Adomah – 5 – His fierce 15th minute shot from outside of the box was tipped over the bar by Davies. Lifted an 84th minute shot well over the bar.
    Conor Hourihane – 5 – Headed the ball into the arms of Davies on 32 minutes from around 8 yards. This was still some way below the form and influence on games that he had shown when he was with the visitors.      
    Henri Lansbury - 6 – Had an 11th minute shot from inside the box saved by Davies and picked up the ball and hit a 21st minute shot that took a deflection before being gathered by Davies.    
    Jack Grealish – 5 – Showed a couple of glimpses of the ability that he has but not for the first time this season let this game pass him by without looking unduly concerned that it was doing so.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – MOTM – Hit a 26th minute shot from the edge of the box that went just wide of the far post before turning in Adomah’s 44th minute cross for our only goal. He then hit a 55th minute shot from the edge of the box a couple of feet wide of the post and made a decent run into the box 10 minutes later but his attempted cross was blocked and put out for a corner off Davies’ leg. Looked likely to give us a late consolation goal on the 90th minute but he lifted the ball onto the top of the net. Needs to look up for colleagues when making runs and to work on his relationship with Hogan.
    Scott Hogan – 5 – Headed a 13th minute Amavi cross a couple of feet wide of the far post. He makes some promising runs but was again starved of service.       
    Substitutes:
    Birkir Bjarnason – 5 – Replaced Hutton on 73 minutes. Failed to make any impact following his introduction.       
    Andre Green – 6 - Replaced Lansbury on 73 minutes and looked lively unlike others around him.      
    Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Grealish on the 76th minute and was not on long enough and did not do enough to gather any rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  6. John
    An unwelcome snake slithered into Villa Park yesterday and spent most of the game sitting upon the bench which has now become its usual habitat. That greedy snake came onto the playing field on 78 minutes and received the welcome it so merited but was happily denied a victory.

    Manchester City arrived as table toppers whilst we were embarrassingly propping up the rest of the division. There could only have been one result couldn’t there?

    Many of us arrived expecting the worse as we have grown accustomed to seeing it at Villa Park this season. But we left the ground with smiles on our faces rather than frowns and for once not having tasted defeat.

    We were encouraged that the first team to be selected by the new boss contained none of the usual shocks. It was in fact unusually near to that which most of us would have selected for the game so we had little cause to question it.

    Our new manager was described as a “Wenger clone” by both Henry and Keown yesterday. That will be good enough for me on yesterday’s showing.

    We looked organised and our players seemed aware of what was expected of them. We played some very nice one and two touch football. Our defence showed a steely determination not to be breeched and achieved a very rare clean sheet. We continue to lack a cutting edge up front but did suggest that we might have it in us to play our way out of the mess we are now in.

    Manchester City were below their best in the first half and our players will have been encouraged that they went in level at the interval. Our opponents did improve in the second half and had opportunities to win it. They may claim that we rode our luck and clung onto our point. But we earned our valuable fifth point of the season yesterday along with any luck that may have been with us.

    This result will not keep us up in isolation. But it stops our run of defeats and does provide us with hope that we can turn things around in what is left of this season to finish it with three clubs below us. The new boss now has the international break to work with those players who are not away on international duty. All we ask for is a second new manager “bounce” in two seasons to rescue us from the unthinkable.                    

    My player ratings from a game that provided grounds for optimism that were missing before it are:

    Brad Guzan – 7 – Kept out a low Kolarov shot at his near post on 17 minutes which bounced off him for a corner. Brad needed to have a third player in his wall for Kolarov’s 52nd minute free-kick from the edge of the area. His shot was hit past the 2-man wall and was fumbled rather than caught by Brad keeper but fortunately Clark was on hand to clear the loose ball. Spread himself well 5 minutes later when Sterling ran between Hutton and Richards to connect with a Navas cross only to see his unchallenged close range header bounce clear off Brad’s head. Oh and I just have to mention that free-kick that he put straight out! 

    Alan Hutton – 8 – Alan worked tirelessly as he always does. He was very solid at the back.                                

    Jordan Amavi – 8 – How could he possibly not have been selected in recent games?      

    Michah Richards – 8 – He was so determined to not be on the losing side yesterday.                                 

    Ciaran Clark – 8 – Gave everything he had to keep their forwards at bay and produced a very committed performance                           

    Carles Gil – 8 – MOTM – Carles fitted into the way we played yesterday so easily. Was held back on 35 minutes when in the process of running on to a superb ball played from inside his own half by Gueye for him.

    Jordan Veretout – 8 – Looked increasingly confident during this game and can build upon this encouraging performance with a run of games.

    Carlos Sánchez - 8 – Carlos seemed much more comfortable in our midfield yesterday. He along with his colleagues seemed aware of what was expected from them and produced it.                  

    Idrissa Gana – 8 – He was a touch hesitant to begin with but soon found his feet and played a crucial role in what was a solid midfield display. Hit a 14th minute shot wide of the post from outside of the box.

    Scott Sinclair – 7 – An encouraging performance from Scott after some recent ones that had been below par. Returning to his goal-scoring early season performances would be timely.  

    Jordan Ayew – 7 – Ran himself into the ground yesterday. Given service he will get goals and he merits a run in the team for me.          

    Substitutes:

    Charles N’Zogbia – 7 - Replaced Gil on 65 minutes for his first outing since the FA Cup Final. When he is up for it he can provide the sort of measured crosses Gestede could feed on. Brought out of the cold by the new boss and needs to reward him for that with his performances for us during the rest of this season. Hit a sweet cross on 70 minutes that Sagna just got to and turned out for a corner before Sinclair was able to reach it.     

    Leandro Bacuna – 7 - Replaced Sinclair on 72 minutes. Played a nice one-two with Ayew that started in our own half and touched the ball into space past Kolarov only for Hart to come off his line and beat him to it.

    Rudy Gestede -  Replaced Ayew on 88 minutes and flicked a Veretout corner just over the bar that he had himself won in controversial circumstances. Not on long enough to claim a rating.

    Stay up Villa!

    John Lewis

  7. John
    Another late, late goal at Villa Park averted a travesty of justice last night. It gave us the very least we had deserved from a game that we had dominated until our visitors belatedly came into it during the last quarter with us by then having apparently punched ourselves out.
    This was our best display of the season by some distance, but it had appeared until Kodjia’s second equalizer of the game that we would somehow emerge pointless from it. We have shown a never say die attitude already this season though and we managed to lift ourselves up from the canvas as time was fast running out to land a heavy blow that maintained our unbeaten record.
    We have now drawn our last three home games against The Bees and this point may prove vital at the end of the season when the promotion places are decided. Our visitors have not lost at Villa Park since 1946 and they have clearly become a bogey team to us. They have made an impressive start to the season and may well end it in the top six. Whether they do or do not, they will be unlikely to be more relieved than they were last night to have emerged with a point from any of their remaining fixtures.
    Our defence does currently remain a cause for concern. Maupay was left in space for their opener and had it not been for Nyland the visitors could have had more than two goals despite Villa having enjoyed the lion’s share of the game. We need to get back to last season when our defence was a strength rather than a weakness. Signing a left back and a central defender is likely to achieve that dare I suggest JT once again for the central defensive role?    
    We started strongly, pegged them back in their own half for long periods and denied them the opportunity to put their own stamp onto the game. There were encouraging shades of our best home performances of last season about last night’s game.
    We now sit in fifth place with 8 points from our first four games. A win on Saturday will give our team which is steadily being reinforced something to build upon.  
    Maupay’s first goal was against the run of play and he should not have been on the pitch by then having cynically stamped on McGinn to have scored their second which might have won it for them. Had it done so it would have been a case of twilight robbery.
    My player ratings from a game that our visitors are likely to have been more relieved to have taken a point from than disappointed to have not taken all three from are:
    Orjan Nyland – 7 – A much improved display. This game can give him the confidence he needs. Conceded two goals but he had no chance with the first and did well to turn a 71st minute Yennaris shot around his right-hand post before Watkins beat Tuanzebe on 82 minutes and hit a shot that Orjan parried which then fell to Maupay to force home for their second on the line. Kept them within range with crucial saves on 84 and 89 minutes when blocking a Yennaris header from 6 yards out and then a close range Maupay shot.  
    Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Substituted on 70 minutes. Did very well for a central defender who was playing as a full back and put in a couple of decent crosses. Did well to rob the ball away from Maupay on 11 minutes inside of the box. May well grow into this position but more likely to do so more easily and quickly in a central role.     
    James Chester- 7 – Solid and dependable once again. Headed a McGinn free kick that took a deflection off a defender over.     
    Mile Jedinak – 5 – A wayward backward header on 49 minutes from a couple of yards inside his own half fell to Maupay who under pressure from Chester as he ran forward was unable to get a shot in before Nyland came out to claim the ball at his feet. Otherwise did well enough in his extended outing as a holding midfield player playing as an emergency central defender. Headed a 30th minute McGinn corner back across the goal but nobody was near the goal line to put it in.        
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Beaten to the ball on the line for their second. Alan was his usual reliable self.     
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Did well enough but he is playing too far forward for me.           
    Glenn Whelan – 7 – Did well tidying up at the back. Gave a good solid performance last night.    
    Jack Grealish – 8 – Was upended on a regular basis throughout the game as is too often the case. Nevertheless, Jack still showed his class and would have been able to do so more frequently had he had a modicum of protection from the match officials. Hit a 15th minute shot from the edge of the area that Bentley saved low to his right and had a shot blocked by him 4 minutes later. Jack picked up the ball and ran into the area on 56 minutes, but his cross was blocked by Bentley at the near post.    
    John McGinn – 8 – Another fine display by our Scottish Iniesta. Played a nice one two with Adomah on the 2nd minute and stretched to hit his shot just over the bar. Combines very well with Jack.  
    Albert Adomah – 6 – A better performance than of late. Couldn’t quite get a touch at the near post to a nice 19th minute Elmohamady cross.              
    Jonathan Kodjia – 9 – MOTM – Two vital goals and gave his best display by a country mile since injury interrupted his career. Showed his strength and ability to shield the ball. McGinn played a lovely ball through to him on 36 minutes and he hit a fierce shot which Bentley saved having got himself into a shooting position on the edge of the box. Hit his first on 39 minutes beating Konsa on the edge of the box having been found by Adomah and cutting inside the box from the left before pulling the trigger and hitting the ball in between Bentley and his near post.
    Turned a nice 59th minute Adomah cross straight at Bentley. Added a second equalizer in the last minute of stoppage time. Elmo played a ball into the box that took a deflection off a defender’s head before Jonathan powered a header past Bentley and into the net.   
    Substitutes:
    Andre Green – 5 – Came on for Tuanzebe in the 70th minute. Not his best 25 minutes in claret & blue but he will make bigger impressions on games this season and needs to continue to get regular game time albeit mostly now it seems from off the bench.  
    Conor Hourihane - Replaced Whelan on 83 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating. I would have him starting games.
    Rushian Hepburn-Murphy - Replaced Tuanzebe on 85 minutes. He was not on long enough to earn a rating either. 
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  8. John
    We have grown frustratingly accustomed to conceding goals and dropping valuable points during the last 5 minutes of games this season but this time we scored rather than conceded one late in a game. 
    We were really abysmal in the first half. Playing three central defenders did not work for us and our defence was shaky at best in the first 45 minutes. Our midfield was none existent and we posed a minimal threat up front. Newcastle will have been disappointed to have only been one up at the break having dominated the game and brushed us aside all too easily. Am I alone in thinking that our target was a 0-0 draw until they scored?     
    The second half was a different story. We dispensed with the formation we had started with and went to a back four replacing Baker with Tshibola. We looked better at the start of the second half although it would have been very difficult to have looked any worse. We were more competitive and positive. Newcastle thought they already had the points in the bag and took their foot off the pedal. When Diame missed a great opportunity on 64 minutes to give the visitors a two-goal cushion our belief grew and we increasingly took the game to them. In the 88th minute having hit a post, having had a goal disallowed for offside and a penalty appeal turned down we got the goal that our spirited second half comeback deserved.            
    This was our first league meeting with Newcastle outside of the top flight since 1938. It was the first time two Champions League winning managers had met outside of the top flight. Our equalizer was also our first goal from a corner since the first game of last season. This hard earned point showed Newcastle it can prove more difficult than might be anticipated to see a game out, it took us out of the bottom six and it stopped our visitors from extending the points difference between the two clubs from 7 to 10.   
    It was a positive that RDM changed things at half time but equally it was a negative that his initial choices made that necessary It was nice to see another team impatiently waiting for the final whistle at the end rather than us and this encouraging battling second half performance needs to be used as a springboard to an upturn in both our results and confidence.      
    My player ratings from a game that produced boos at the end of the first half and applause at the end of the second in what was a real game of two halves are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 7 – He is beginning to look like he could prove to be a bargain buy. Looking increasingly steady and growing in confidence he did well on 25 minutes when Elphick’s attempted headed clearance instead fell to Ritchie just inside the box who went past Baker all too easily before Pierluigi blocked his effort. Had no chance with the own goal and spared Elphick’s blushes with a good stop from Gayle on 36 minutes. Pushed a solid shot from Shelvey from outside of the box to his left where Amavi was at hand to clear on 53 minutes.      
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Inexplicably played at wing back rather than in the more forward role for which he was bought and that was occupied by Bacuna yesterday. Did a surprisingly decent job at the back but was far more effective when he got further forward. Needs to start ahead of Bacuna.   
    James Chester - 6 – The most effective of our three central defenders yesterday.       
    Tommy Elphick – 4 – This was some way off being a confident and assured performance. Tommy looked jittery more than once and turned in Yedlin’s 28th minute cross with his right foot under pressure from Gayle for their goal. At times it pays to clear the ball first time rather than to try to play it out of defence when under pressure. That time came in the 36th minute when our captain wanted too long on the ball after Jedinak had played it back to him in the middle of his own half and Gayle took it off him ran clear and was only denied by Gollini’s left leg when in a one against one situation. Headed an Ayew corner wide on 85 minutes when unmarked.
    Nathan Baker – 5 – Substituted at half time. Did well to win the ball from Gayle who had cut past Elphick when a second goal had looked on.
    Jordan Amavi – 7 – Made some very good forward runs. Hit a nice cross on 31 minutes that was just too high for Adomah to get his head to and hit another to the same player who stretched to reach it but was unable to manage to turn it towards goal.    
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Won a 9th minute challenge in the centre circle but having ran to the edge of the box delayed pulling the trigger and Gouffran got back to steal the ball away from him. If he is to play it should be at full back if he is deemed to be a better choice there than is Hutton or even Richards who unlike Leo remains persona non grata at the club.
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Substituted on 85 minutes he continues to be a long way off his best of a couple of seasons ago.
    Mile Jedinak – 5 – Marginally offside when he headed a 68th minute Ayew free kick past the keeper and into the net. Hit some misplaced passes and struggled for pace at times in a midfield that did not really get going until the last half hour or so of the game.      
    Jordan Ayew – 7 – Far too quiet in the first half but he did suffer from a lack of service. Burst into life in the second half and did a lot to make our comeback happen. He hit a number of accurate corners and free-kicks that put the visitor’s defence under increasing pressure and made some threatening runs. So unlucky on 72 minutes when he ran from a wide position to the edge of the box before curling a shot that hit the far post with the keeper beaten. Took the ball off Shelvey as he attempted to move the ball further away from his own penalty area before running into the area and playing a ball into the 6-yard box that Kodjia was so near to getting a foot to at the near post before the relieved Sels gathered it on 91 minutes.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Like Jordan he was starved of service but he kept looking for the ball and looking to make runs at defenders. Adomah played a good ball down the line to him in the 4th minute but having run into the box he delayed taking a shot which allowed Clark to get into position to make a block. Flagged offside on 43 minutes after Jedinak had played a fine ball to him from just inside the visitor’s half and his shot from near the penalty spot was saved by Sels.   
    Substitutes:
    Aaron Tshibola – 8 – MOTM - Replaced Baker for the second half and his introduction did much to change the course of this match. Played a nice one-two with Ayew on the edge of the box on 79 minutes and was booked for hitting the deck rather than awarded a penalty after a defender had made contact with him without making any serious attempt to win the ball inside of the box. Headed in our equalizer on 88 minutes at the far post which went past the keeper and in off the post. He shows a lot of promise, was our best midfield player by some distance and we can only hope he can now stay injury free.     
    Rudy Gestede – 5 - Replaced Adomah on 63 minutes. Headed wide from an Ayew cross on 70 minutes and had an effort from just outside of the area pushed around the post for a 92nd minute corner by Sels.
    Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – Came on for Westwood on 85 minutes and did not look out of place. Rushian was not on quite long enough to earn a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  10. John
    We have played better this season and lost. We have played better this season and drawn. I cannot recall us playing any worse for a very, very long time and winning. We may have won ugly at the end of what was a scrappy game but we did win it and that belatedly gave us our first win of 2017.  
    We now face what is a 6-pointer with Bristol City at Villa Park on Tuesday before travelling to bottom club Rotherham next weekend. These two clubs are now 6 and 22 points behind us respectively. Two more wins against these two clubs would give us three consecutive wins for the first time this season as well as take us to 45 points and that has been good enough to stay up in all but one of the last 6 seasons.    
    It wasn’t pretty yesterday. We had only 29% of the possession and only 2 shots on target. Steve McClaren (who could have made very good use of his trademark umbrella yesterday) said “I don’t know how we lost the game”. They lost it because they managed only one shot on target and because as we know to our own cost you don’t win games without scoring goals.      
    Derby are on the crest of their usual slump in results that appears to happen on or around this time of each season and which ruins their promotion hopes. Our season has been one long slump that was shortly interrupted by a new manager bounce.
    We never really got going yesterday and when we went ahead we seemed to spend the rest of the game trying to hold on grimly to our slender one goal lead. We managed to do so and claimed a rare clean sheet in the process although we were holding on desperately in the last 15 minutes to the extent that we looked like the away side. We defended too deep in the second half and surrendered the initiative to the visitors all too readily. Having said that, I said before the game that a dour 1-0 win would do nicely and that is just what we got!           
    My player ratings from a game that brought back that winning feeling to Villa Park after a dire run of 7 defeats from our previous 8 games are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Although our visitors had a lot of the ball Sam was only really tested once. He came through that test well touching a good Bent header over the bar on 75 minutes. This clean sheet cannot do any harm to his confidence.       
    Alan Hutton – 6 – A solid defensive performance. Someone other than Alan might have scored on 59 minutes when the ball dropped to him inside the box but he took far too much time before pulling the trigger and his eventual shot was blocked.         
    James Chester - 7 – MOTM – Solid as usual at the back. James had a 7th minute header from a Lansbury free-kick into the box touched over the bar by Carson after Jedinak had headed the ball on to him. He then went on to score what turned out to be our winner on 24 minutes. Kodjia got a touch to a Lansbury corner that took the ball into Chester’s path. The ball flicked up off our captain’s left thigh for him to then head in from close range.   
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Solid alongside Chester but was fortunate not to concede a 34th minute penalty when he brought down Bent inside the box.     
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Looks to be more comfortable when defending rather than when trying to get forward. Needs more games under his belt to show his best but he needs to show more than this to keep Amavi out of the first team reckoning by his performances alone.  
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Some way off his best yesterday and made only a limited impact up front.
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 – Surprisingly found himself playing up front as a loan striker after Kodjia was substituted on 88 minutes and was then walking off the pitch 4 minutes into stoppage time having deservedly been sent off. Might have settled things on 89 minutes when Carson’s attempted clearance when under pressure from Gardner found him near the edge of the box but his first-time effort was high, wide and far from handsome. He then reacted wildly to what looked a very poor decision by a linesman to give a throw in against him by going forehead to forehead with the official. Once he did this having lost control of himself we were left playing out the rest of this game and no doubt at least the next three games without him. Any positives he might have otherwise taken from this game were therefore undone by one moment of madness.            
    Henri Lansbury - 6 – Looked good particularly in the first half.    
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Played a major role in trying to hold us together in the middle yesterday when we were under pressure as we often were. We miss him badly when he is out of the side.  
    Andre Green – 6 – Very quiet during the first third of the game but then made a couple of decent first half runs. Andre was very unlucky not to give us a second goal on 47 minutes when he stretched to get a diving header to a Bacuna cross that struck the post.
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Lacked service and although he held up the ball well on occasions, worked hard and will claim an assist for our winner the lone striker role did not look well suited to him.
    Substitutes:
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Replaced Adomah on 72 minutes. Jordan continues to look a shadow of the player he was before he was involved in transfer speculation. I assume his reaction to this speculation led Bruce to sign another full back who is currently starting games instead of him.       
    Birkir Bjarnason – 4 - Replaced Green on 74 minutes and made little if any impact on the game.      
    Gary Gardner – Replaced Kodjia on the 88th minute. Put himself about and looked lively in the very limited time he had available to do so which was not quite long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  11. John
    It would have been fitting to have won a second successive home league game on a night when the sad passing of Dalian Atkinson was impeccably marked on the tenth minute by home and away fans alike but it was in May 2015 that we last managed to win two home league games in a row.
    Last night’s 1-1 draw mirrored the score when the two clubs last met at Villa Park in 1987. That point eventually played a part in securing automatic promotion for us and let’s hope this point can do the same but we may well need to make up for points dropped at home with away wins as we did that same season at Huddersfield.
    Huddersfield were a well organised team last night and they remain unbeaten this season following their visit to us. We played football of the like we have not seen at Villa Park for some time in the first half but only had one goal to show for our dominance at half time. Not for the first time of late this was a game of two halves. Our visitors bossed the second half and left us clinging on desperately at times to our single goal lead. The defence did not crumble under pressure as it did so often last season and our new team demonstrated a will to win that was too often absent last season. But again, not for the first time this season or last we conceded a late goal having been unable to see out a game.     
    Huddersfield’s equalizer needed a huge slice of luck because nine times out of ten a ball that strikes an opponent so far outside of the box will not end up in the back of the net as it did last night. However, it cannot really be argued that on the balance of play they deserved a point for their efforts last night and when Wells came on he gave them an edge they had been previously missing.     
    This new Villa team remains a work in progress and will no doubt be strengthened by further signings before the end of the month. Dropping two points last night will have made it clear to RDM and the Doctor that additions to the squad still need to be made if we are to challenge for promotion this season if they were ever in any doubt. The signs are positive and we will look a better team with more games under our belt. Our aim for me should now be to take a minimum of 4 points from our next 2 away games.             
    My player ratings from a game during which fleeting memories of Dalian playing for us alongside Deano came back to me are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – Got down well to save from van La Parra on 18 minutes and bravely dived at the feet of Wells to claim the ball on 57 minutes. He then saved well to his left from a Kachunga overhead shot on 63 minutes before diving at the feet of a forward 6 minutes later to prevent a goal scoring opportunity. Given this he was unlucky that this game will be remembered for an attempted clearance which for the second time in three matches led to a goal. Even the best of keepers can concede a goal like this one (I remember seeing an attempted clearance from Gordon Banks going in off the late Jeff Astle’s backside in 1970). Possibly left too much space to his right when Wells hit the bar from a free-kick on 81 minutes?   
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Not as effective as he had been on Saturday. 
    Tommy Elphick - 6 – Hit a ball that fell to him from a corner over on the second minute and headed straight at the keeper on 88 minutes. I have to wonder whether he should have taken responsibility for dealing with the ball rather than leaving it to Gollini to clear it under some pressure.    
    James Chester – 6 – Solid enough.  
    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Put under some defensive pressure in the second half but he was not alone in that.  
    Ashley Westwood – 6 – Hit a couple of passes off target and for me would have benefited from having a defensive minded midfielder alongside Aaron and himself when Huddersfield took hold of the game in the second half.
    Aaron Tshibola – 7 – Looked promising again and can surely only get better with a run of first team games.    
    Jack Grealish – 7 – MOTM - Nice to see him tracking back when they had possession last night as well as looking a significant threat when he had the ball himself.
    Jordan Ayew – 7 – Looked sharp last night and gave the Huddersfield defence a torrid time without being able to open his goal scoring account. Hit a well struck shot in the first minute that forced a save from Ward before heading a Gestede cross wide of the far post on 29 minutes. Took a second touch on 45 minutes after Jack had unselfishly played the ball to him inside of the box but had his effort cleared off the line near the post by a defender. 
    Ross McCormack – 7 – Headed home his first goal for Villa on the 25th minute. Jack did so well to bring a Bacuna cross under control before playing the ball across goal where Ross headed in from close range. The first of many goals for us I would suggest.  
    Rudy Gestede – 7 – McCormack’s 40th minute cross was inches too high for him to be able to head downwards. Had a 71st minute header stopped by Ward and was unable to be first to the resultant loose ball. Won some balls in the air but faded in the second half.    
    Substitutes:
    Andre Green – Replaced McCormack on 79 minutes. Andre was not on long enough to gather a rating.   
    Gary Gardner – Came on for Tshibola on 86 minutes so also had insufficient time to earn a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  12. John
    This game was very, very friendly and not a lot can be deduced from it. Before the game I expected our visitors to be battling to stay in their present division this season and for us to be striving for promotion preferably without recourse to the play-off lottery. I witnessed nothing to change that opinion yesterday as this game gave little clue concerning how successful each team may or may not be in achieving those objectives.  
    It was fitting that the two football clubs that are most associated with the late Graham Taylor met in this tribute match. There was warm applause from the Hornets fans when the Holte End sang “Graham Taylor’s Claret & Blue Army” during the second half and both sets of fans showed their mutual respect for their former manager throughout. Graham would have liked that.     
    My player ratings from what was a low-key warm-up game in which our new signings shined brightly are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – I would anticipate that Jed will be our back-up keeper this season now that the injury that kept him out of first team contention is hopefully behind him. Jed looked confident when the ball was played back to him and his kicking was reliable and better than we have grown accustomed to seeing from our keepers of late. Kept out a close range 64th minute effort from substitute Isaac Success out with a little ball juggling and held a low shot on the 83rd minute.         
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Brought down inside the box in the 53rd minute by Kaboul to give us our penalty. Alan had his usual solid no-nonsense game.             
    James Chester - 7 – Looked solid at the back as he so often does.     
    John Terry – 7 – JT looked very composed and found his man on all but one occasion when he had the ball at his feet. We look less likely to concede with him organising the defence and his partnership with Chester looks very promising.      
    Neil Taylor – 6 – A solid enough display. 
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – MOTM – Looked sharp and trickier than I had anticipated he would be when making wide runs.
    Henri Lansbury – 5 – Hit our 54th minute spot kick to the keeper’s left but Gomes guessed the right way and pulled off a save that kept the score level.       
    Glenn Whelan – 6 – He likes a tackle, doesn’t he? Looks capable of adding the sort of solidity we missed when Jedinak was absent in games last season.
    Jack Grealish – 5 – Left the field on 26 minutes having appeared to have taken a blow to the ribs.  
    Andre Green – 5 – Made a couple of decent runs.
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 5 – Kept himself busy enough in the first half but lacked support alongside him and faded prior to being substituted. Should have done better on the 2nd minute when he was put clear and only had Gomes to beat but he hit his shot straight at the keeper.       
    Substitutes:
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Replaced Grealish on 26 minutes. Leo is still waiting for that Champions League club to come in for him and this sort of performance will not have changed things on that score.   
    Scott Hogan – 6 - Replaced Gabby on 54 minutes. Looked keen to make a positive impact and we will need goals from him in Kodjia’s absence.
    Birkir Bjarnason – 5 - Replaced Green on 69 minutes. Needs to make a bigger impression in games than he did in this one to start matches for us.       
    Jordan Amavi – Replaced Lansbury on 74 minutes. Jordan was not on quite long enough to earn a rating but it was nice to see him still wearing our shirt and he hit a cross that fell to him on the 76th minute just wide of the post with his first touch.      
    Conor Hourihane – Replaced Whelan on 74 minutes. Hit a firm 87th minute shot from outside of the box that Pantilimon kept out. Needs to start next week. 
    Chris Samba – Replaced JT on 74 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating but it is good to have him available to add his physical presence off the bench in games.  
    James Bree – Replaced Elmohamady on 74 minutes. Not on long enough to merit a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  13. John
    We encouragingly played like Champions-elect during the first half yesterday but failed to put enough of the chances that we created away and as was proved so often last season a one goal lead is not always enough for us.
    That Cup of Traditions tournament was made for us, wasn’t it? Villa performances are all too often games of two halves during which Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde take turns in coming out in claret & blue shirts. Those pre-season games were of only 45-minutes in duration and they did not therefore allow us the opportunity to take our foot off the pedal for half of the game as we did yesterday.
    Hull deserved their point. They had the better of the second half in much the same way that we had the best of the first 45 minutes. We fell into that nasty habit of thinking that we could hold onto a one goal lead again. We surrendered the initiative and dropped points from what was a winning position and we cannot continue to do these things if we are to achieve our promotion objective this season.
    We need to start dominating games over the full 90 minutes rather than for the first 45 and belatedly the last 10 as we did yesterday. We need to score more goals on a regular basis and to finish teams off when we have the game in our hands to win.    
    My player ratings from a game that cast some doubts upon our chances of significantly improving on last season’s points and goals tallies are:
    Sam Johnstone – 7 – Nice to see him confidently claiming balls in the air. Dived to his left-hand post to gather a header back from Taylor who was under pressure from Bowen on 10 minutes. Made a good double save on 44 minutes from Frazier Campbell with his right leg as the striker tried to turn the ball past him having run inside the box and then punched clear an effort from Grosicki from the edge of the box. Had little to no chance with their equalizer which came from Bowen who had been left totally unmarked.         
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Claimed an assist for our early goal.             
    James Chester - 7 – Solid alongside JT.     
    John Terry – 7 – MOTM - Confident and assured at the heart of our defence. Looked as disappointed as we were with the result.        
    Neil Taylor – 6 – A steady enough performance. 
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 5 – Had a decent first half but faded in the second half as did the team in general.
    Henri Lansbury – 6 –Ran between two defenders to collect a long ball from inside his own half by Taylor, took the ball from the edge of the box into it before hitting the ball across the face of the goal and wide of the far post on the 2nd minute. Chested down a 30th minute ball into the box from Elmohamady before hitting a decent shot that was gathered by McGregor.
    Glenn Whelan – 6 – A solid hard-working performance.
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 – I really do struggle to understand why Leo started yesterday instead of Conor Hourihane who spent a frustrating evening sitting on the bench. Leo put in a shift at times during the first half but his impact on the game was not marked and had become minimal at very best well before his substitution. A deflected 70th minute cross from Taylor fell to him at the far post but his last kick of the game was hurried and flew well over the bar.   
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Had a gilt-edged opportunity to open the scoring on 6 minutes when a nice ball from Lansbury put him clear wide on the left he proceeded to run into the box but he was denied by McGregor’s outstretched hand as he attempted to place the ball past the advancing keeper. Made no mistake just a minute later when Elmohamady fed Hutton who was running to his right. His low cross hurried behind Hogan and in front of Lansbury before falling to Gabby who was unmarked on the edge of the 6-yard box at the far post whose crisp well-placed finish found the far corner of the net. Tired as the game wore on and became increasingly less effective.   
    Scott Hogan – 6 – Made a good run down the left on 21 minutes before pulling the ball back for Lansbury on the edge of the box who did not manage to connect with the ball with his right foot and the ball instead hit his standing foot and was easily picked up by a defender. Dawson’s attempted 27th minute clearance hit Lansbury who found Scott who in turn beat 2 defenders before aiming to push the ball past McGregor only to see it strike his left leg before it was gratefully gathered by the keeper. Could not quite get enough contact on Elmohamady’s deflected 32nd minute cross to turn it in.        
    Substitutes:
    Andre Green – 6 – Replaced Bacuna on 70 minutes and gave us some energy. Missed a late chance which looked much harder to miss than to score from on 80 minutes. Taylor’s free kick fell to him a couple of feet out near the far post but his header was badly mistimed and went harmlessly across the face of the goal rather than into the net. He will get goals and win games for us this season.  
    Josh Onomah – 6 - Replaced Hogan on 78 minutes and looked a pacey, promising addition to our squad.
    Chris Samba – Replaced Lansbury on 90 minutes and was immediately pushed up front alongside Gabby. This desperate last toss of the dice did not lead to the late winner Steve Bruce was seeking but Chris put himself about in this unfamiliar role. He was not on long enough to gather a rating.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  14. John
    Newcastle are the only team to have not beaten us in the league this season. As a result they look likely to join us in our journey to the league below next season. It was at Villa Park that their relegation fate was decided 7 years ago and their fate was all but sealed yesterday when they failed to claim the three points they had expected to leave with. A win for their neighbours Sunderland who are at home to Everton on Wednesday will seal their fate and will see them along with Norwich visiting Villa Park again next season.
    Everyone had guessed that this would prove a straightforward win for our visitors yesterday because doesn’t everyone beat us these days? However, we avoided the shame of setting a new club record of twelve consecutive league defeats yesterday by keeping a very, very rare clean sheet.
    A goalless draw was the limit of our ambitions from the very start of this our final home game of the season so I guess this was a case of mission accomplished for our temporary manager Eric Black. His team selection did nothing to suggest we were looking to take the game to our visitors. We looked to stifle them rather than to take them on. We left creative players such as Grealish, Adama and Gil sitting on our bench throughout the game despite having a total lack of threat up front from start to finish.
    This was a game that produced a workman like performance from Villa which is a description that has rarely been associated with our team’s performances this season. For some reason our visitors chose not to press us and they looked little better than we did which is quite a condemnation these days. If anything we looked more committed than they did which was surprising given they still had a decent chance of staying up before this game. They had chances to win the game in the second half but failed to take them. Colback flashed a shot over the bar on 46 minutes, Mitrovic chipped a ball over both Bunn and the bar 15 minutes later and then headed wide of the post on 74 minutes. We didn’t have any chances at all.        
    This point moves us to 17 points from 16 at long last. It is too little too late but there was a feeling of relief at the final whistle because avoiding defeat has almost become a cause for celebration having been becalmed on 16 points for so long.
    Both Newcastle and Villa have fans that do not deserve to be relegated but I would not say the same about either of these two club’s owners.
    This game was a poor one. It will be one we will soon forget and one that Newcastle fans will try to forget but may struggle to do so. What it did show was our fans at their very best. Fans marched before the game to again show their feelings about how this club is being run. Well done to everyone who took part in this as well as in past protests and to those that have organised these protests for us. Villa fans sang loud and proud during the game and the inflatables, banners and balloons made a striking impression during the game and particularly on the 74th minute. These are the things that are worth remembering from yesterday.
    We now need to stop dithering and appoint a new manager. We cannot wait indefinitely to do so in the hope that a new owner will be in place sooner rather than later. We need to bring in players and let others who either want to leave or we want to leave go. We need to start preparing for the challenges we will face in three months from the likes of Rotherham and Leeds.           
    My player ratings from a game that brought us something other than another league defeat are:
    Mark Bunn – 6 – Could not hold a low 70th minute shot from Wijnaldum but Bacuna was first to the loose ball and cleared it with a little help from Clark’s back. A far quieter day at the office than he would have been expecting.
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Worked hard as he always does but his crosses were again woeful as was that attempted shot.
    Kevin Toner – 6 – It was asking a lot for this young prospect to fill in for the missing Cissokho. He did look solid enough at the back and he will grow in confidence the more games he gets but he unsurprisingly looked less than fluent when trying to move forward. For me his future is clearly in the centre of defence and unlike others at the club he has one.
    Joleon Lescott – 5 – One of his better performances in what has been a sorry season for him and for us both on and off the field.  
    Ciaran Clark – 7 – MOTM – Beaten too easily to a 74th minute cross by Mitrovic whose header was fortunately off target but showed courage to get his head in the way of a fierce goal bound shot from Wijnaldum in stoppage time. Our best defender by a distance yesterday and if he stays he might well get the captain’s armband next season.  
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 – Will this be Leo’s last appearance at Villa Park or will he come back in a Milan shirt in a few years?
    Carlos Sanchez – 5 – Broke up play reasonably well and made none of those glaring errors that he is prone to.
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Did his bit in keeping the midfield together but offered little to those playing in front of him.
    Idrissa Gana – 6 – Put his foot in and kept busy. I guess he will be among the few players we would like to keep but no doubt he will be one of the first that we get derisory offers for.   
    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Jordan had a quiet one. He was starved of the sort of service that players left on the bench may have provided him with. He has the ability to shine with better players around him I guess he will not get the opportunity to do so with us anytime soon.   
    Scott Sinclair – 5 - Scott showed to anyone who might have had any doubts about it that he is not comfortable in playing as a target man. He did however manage our one shot on target in the 65th minute when Ayew played a nice ball to him and he hit a shot from just inside the box that forced a save from Darlow tis a pity he had strayed just offside.   
    Substitutes:
    Rushian Hepburn-Murphy - Replaced Sinclair on 90 minutes so was not on long enough to gather a rating despite 6 minutes of Rafa time.    
    We will return – Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  15. John
    We made 11 changes from the team that won 3-0 at Barnsley on Saturday and paid the penalty for that with a cup exit (our first ever League Cup defeat against yesterday’s opponents). Not that we are alone in making significant changes in this cup competition and resting first team players at the drop of a hat as Middlesbrough made 10 changes themselves.
    The League Cup was a really important trophy for around 40 years from the mid 60’s but it’s importance has faded to the extent that only 11,197 supporters attended this game. This game reminded me of those old Central League games that were played between reserve sides comprising of players who were out of favour, coming back from injury or potential first team players of the future. Crowds did not particularly flock in to see those games either.
    Clubs mostly play teams that are pretty much unrecognisable from their first-team line ups until the last eight of the League Cup at least. We no longer have replays so that players do not face too many games in a season but those players do not play in the League Cup now anyway! The name of the competition has now become anyone’s guess with the sponsors having changed with great regularity since 1982 when the League Cup became the Milk Cup before morphing into a trophy that no club really makes a priority at the start of each season. It is a pity to see its demise.    
    This game turned on the 57th minute when we conceded a penalty and the first goal from the spot. We also lost Elphick who was given a second yellow which brought us down to ten men for the rest of the game (this referee was far less determined to even things up than the one had been last week). Up until then there had been little to choose between these two second string outfits neither of whom seemed desperate to want to win this game.
    Both teams produced a lack lustre performance last night and it could be argued that we didn’t really play much at all. The game seemed to be drifting towards a tame goalless draw, extra time and penalties until the penalty was awarded. That gave Boro the impetus and the place in the next round on a day few Villa players did anything significant to advance their case for a first team call-up. We are now left free to concentrate on the league and to bring on the first team.  
    My player ratings from a game that extended the number of years we have gone without a League Cup Final appearance and a League Cup Final win beyond 8 and 22 years respectively are:
    Jed Steer – 5 – Could only watch with relief when Bamford’s 26th minute header from a cross struck the bar with Hutton standing statuesque alongside the striker. Saved well low at his right-hand post to keep out a 30-yard shot from Forshaw on 36 minutes. Went left and Bamford struck his 58th minute spot kick down the middle. Caught in no-man’s land for their second when Bamford headed home a Tavernier cross at the near post that Bjarnason seemed to be trying to avoid making any contact with.
    Ritchie De Laet – 5 – Made a good late run from well inside this own half on 92 minutes but his finish was high, wide and not very handsome. Headed the ball off the line on 89 minutes from a Taverier header or was it already marginally over?               
    Tommy Elphick - 4 – Started comfortably enough and headed in from a Lansbury free-kick but was flagged offside. Earned a second yellow card and cost us the game on 57 minutes when he rashly brought down Bamford inside the box and reduced us to 10 men.    
    Chris Samba – 6 – Did the simple things well enough and plays to his strengths.       
    Alan Hutton - 6 – Started very well.  
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Sent off against these same opponents last Tuesday but was available to play having had his red card correctly rescinded. Went off with an injury on 41 minutes and we missed his experience.           
    Jake Doyle-Hayes - 6 – Not as effective as he was in his last cup outing but he was very, very good on that day.   
    Josh Onomah – 5 – Not at his best last night but few were. Had a 44th minute effort kept out at the far post by Konstantopoulos.
    Calum O’Hare – 6 – MOTM – Make another good impression last night. Chased down apparently lost causes such as in the 34th minute when he went after a Hutton cross that seemed destined to go out of play and turned it back towards goal to force Konstantopoulos to stretch out a hand to avert the danger. Worked hard throughout just needs to try to add a cutting edge to his game.         
    Birkir Bjarnason – 4 – Another disappointing display and he is clearly no full back.     
    Scott Hogan – 5 – Could not quite turn a ball into the box in from close range on the hour mark. More was expected from him but he did not get a lot of service. Looked understandably unhappy to be substituted as were we to see him go given the match situation.            
    Substitutes:
    Ross McCormack – 5 – Replaced Lansbury on 41 minutes. Showed a couple of nice touches and looked like he might have turned home a 65th minute Samba header from a corner. Is it time to re-think bringing him back in from the cold?
    Jordan Lyden – 5 - Replaced Hogan on 60 minutes. Made no particularly noticeable impression on the game in the time he had available.
    Corey Blackett-Taylor – Replaced Onomah on 81 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.     
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  16. John
    Another game gave us another passionless, sad, embarrassing capitulation that has brought us a game nearer to our inevitable relegation.
    This is the second time we have managed 7 consecutive defeats this season and it was our 22nd league defeat from our 32 games to date. The “Proud History, What future?” signs were there for all to see at Villa Park yesterday and well done to all that took part in that protest!  
    We were half way through the first half before we went behind yesterday and for once we did not concede another goal within a couple of minutes. This time we managed to stay only one behind until a stoppage time penalty gave the visitors a two goal cushion and they predictably added another shortly after the re-start. That third goal was well taken but we offered the same sort of resistance that you would expect a set of training cones to provide.
    This was way too easy for our visitors who were missing keys players but could have won this with their Under 21 side. Had Chelsea had the inclination or something still to play for this season we would have lost by more than the four goals that we did. The sad thing is that very few of us would have been surprised had we done so.  
    My player ratings from a game that left us potentially just one more defeat away from being mathematically certain of relegation with five dead rubbers still to play after that are:
    Brad Guzan – 3 – Spread himself well at his near post on 37 minutes to block a shot from Rahman and got down low to hold another shot 2 minutes later. He fumbled a 48th minute effort from Oscar before parrying Pato’s 59th minute shot into the path of Pedro to claim an unwanted assist for their fourth goal. These all too regular howlers have not helped the increasingly brittle confidence of the defenders in front of him or our chances of avoiding our sad fate which will soon be confirmed beyond any doubt. We cannot afford not to sign a new keeper for next season!
    Alan Hutton – 4 – We like it that Alan works hard and dropping down a division might see him find it easier when coming up against less gifted and speedy forwards as well as less accomplished defenders when he moves forward himself. He got stuck in as we expect that he will yesterday but left the game early due to gathering two yellows in 7 minutes.
    Micah Richards – 4 – Won the ball more than once when it seemed he was unlikely to do so.   
    Joleon Lescott – 3 – Shows the odd sign of the player he has been in the past but time seems to have caught up with him this season. Loftus-Cheek turned in Azpilicueta’s 23rd minute cross for their opener which took a deflection off Joleon’s leg on its way past Guzan.
    Aly Cissokho – 4 – Conceded the penalty during first half stoppage time that gave the visitors a two goal cushion when flattening Pato as he looked to get on the end of a cross from Fabregas.
    Carlos Sánchez – 3 – Started reasonably well but he always has a mistake waiting to happen in him and he failed to make any attempt to cover Pedro’s run into the box for their fourth. Prior to his substitution he had embarrassingly taken to trying to stop Chelsea players going past him by attempting to tackle them by grabbing them around the body with his arms. These half-hearted attempts at a tackle would have been bad enough in a schoolboy game of rugby but we were allegedly supposed to be playing football.   
    Ashley Westwood – 4 – Needs to make more of an impression on a game than he did on this one.
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Another decent display and he was again comfortably our best midfield player.
    Carles Gil – 5 – Started well and forced a save at the near post from Courtois on 31 minutes.
    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Had a 22nd minute effort deflected for a corner. Was unlucky to see an attempted clearance from Baba Rahman cannon off him into the arms of Courtois on 31 minutes. Got between two defenders inside the box on 41 minutes and placed his shot just wide of the far post. Hit a 30 yard shot on 50 minutes that Courtois plucked comfortably enough from the air.    
    Rudy Gestede – 4 – Failed to make any real impression on the defenders he came up against yesterday. Hit a speculative long range shot on 15 minutes which was on target but lacked the pace to pose any sort of threat to Courtois. Failed to get an outstretched leg to a ball on 79 minutes.   
    Substitutes:
    Jack Grealish – 6 – MOTM - Replaced Gil on 66 minutes. Made an encouraging impact hitting a good cross over on 68 minutes. He was then brought down inside the box by Pedro on 71 minutes but the referee chose to ignore his penalty claim. Volleyed a shot wide of the post on 88 minutes.  
    Leandro Bacuna – 3 - Replaced Sánchez as part of the double substitution on 66 minutes to a merited chorus of boos and he will not have any future in the Champions League on this sort of showing.
    Jordan Lyden – Replaced Gana on 82 minutes and was not on long enough to gain a rating. 
    Going down with a whimper Villa!

    John Lewis


     
  17. John
    There was little to choose between the team that currently sit on top of the league and the one that is rooted to the bottom of it yesterday. Leicester had the confidence that comes of being high flyers but Villa had the spirit and never say die attitude that produced this well earned point.

    Our first half performance was below par and it was Leicester who had the better of the first half. The second half was a different story we became more direct and had the better of it by some distance although our opponents always carried a goal threat. We demonstrated new found resilience by not letting our heads drop after going a goal down and at the end of the game it was the table toppers who may well have been the happiest to hear the final whistle.  

    We are now unbeaten in our last three games. We need to start winning games and when better than next weekend? We currently stand 9 points away from safety. Games will fast run out now but we have 16 left to pull off an unlikely great escape. Do you want to bet against us? If so, you will not get much of a price from your local bookmaker and we did ruin a lot of bets against us yesterday.        

    My player ratings from a game that brought us our fourth point from our last two home matches are:

    Mark Bunn – 7 – Booked on 14 minutes when he unnecessarily brought down Vardy outside of the box who had run ahead of Okore and Bacuna to get to a long Schmeichel clearance that had been headed on for him to chase. Did very well to get a hand to Vardy’s attempt to chip the ball over him on 28 minutes but was not quite able to keep Okazaki’s tap in from the rebound out. Mark did well to wait for the kick to be taken and saved Mahrez’s 32nd minute penalty with his legs. It was unlikely we would have been able to come back had we gone two behind at that point. Helped a Drinkwater shot over the bar on 58 minutes.                                                                             

    Leandro Bacuna – 6 –Ayew switched the ball nicely to him inside the box on 66 minutes but Schmeichel was on hand to save. Leo was again surprisingly solid at the back.  
    Jores Okore – 6 – Okazaki dived over his leg on the edge of the box in the build up to their penalty but the referee let play continue surely that was either a penalty or not and if it was not then should the striker not have been booked for a dive before the penalty was awarded? Might have unluckily conceded an own goal on 79 minutes when he stuck out a leg to a Fuchs cross and the ball ended up inches past the far post. Had another solid game. 

    Joleon Lescott – 5 – Had switched off and was therefore only a spectator when Okazaki ran past him to follow up on Vardy’s shot and score from the rebound. Otherwise he was generally solid enough.                                   

    Aly Cissokho – 6 – Could consider himself harshly treated by referee East when Mahrez’s shot unintentionally hit his slightly raised arm as he attempted to block it at short range and a penalty resulted. Hit a 40th minute shot from outside the box that Schmeichel gathered and forced another save with a 52nd minute effort. Solid at the back.                            

    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Not as good a performance as he produced in his last game but he keeps us moving forward and usually does so to better affect than this. Might need a game off on Tuesday to come back fresh for the weekend as I think might most of this team.    

    Carles Gil - 5 – Not at his best today and playing two games within a week may have taken its toll on a player who has often been substituted after around an hour in previous games.                   

    Idrissa Gana – 7 – MOTM - Became increasingly influential as the game wore on. Fed by Veretout on 44 minutes and ran inside the box only to hit his shot over. He is improving with each game.

    Ashley Westwood – 6 – Kept busy and looking for the ball yesterday. Got on the end of a 28th minute Bacuna cross and attempted to replicate Gil’s goal at Sunderland but he was unable to get the right connection on it hitting the ball well over. He played a nice back-heeled pass to Ayew who in turn played an inviting ball into the box which was only just in front of Ashley on 65 minutes.      

    Jordan Ayew – 7 – Jordan was not quite as threatening as he has been of late and for me he is more effective played in a more central role but he is still our main threat to opposition defences. Was correctly flagged offside having stood a couple of feet in front of the defence when he got on the end of a well measured 35th minute free kick which he headed inches wide. Jordan ran and worked himself to a standstill.    

    Libor Kozak – 7 – Libor fits the bill as a target man but he currently lacks the killer finishing touch. He does however; get into scoring positions so he may find his shooting boots with more game time. Huth presented the ball to him on 20 minutes when he under hit an intended back pass for Schmeichel but having run into the box his shot was saved by the keeper at his near post.

    Huth who found difficulty in his aerial battles with Libor was incredibly lucky to not be twice penalised for fouls on him inside the penalty area thanks to the lenience of the referee. Firstly on 61 minutes he swung an arm into Kozak’s face and then pushed him to the floor with it when struggling to be first to a Westwood cross and then on 78 minutes when he pushed his left arm into his face. Libor got under a 68th minute Veretout free kick which he headed over the bar. Had a good opportunity to win this for us on 88 minutes when a Bacuna free kick from inside his own half was nodded on by Gestede but he snatched at the chance lifting the ball harmlessly over the bar.                    

    Substitutes:

    Rudy Gestede – 7 - Replaced Gil on 67 minutes and made a difference. Won balls in the air and scored our well merited equalizer on 75 minutes. Bacuna played the ball to him near the edge of the box the ball hit his hand as he tried to bring it under control and his shot from just inside of the box when under pressure from Huth took a deflection off Morgan that helped it go past the keeper and into the net.    

    Scott Sinclair - Replaced Ayew on 95 minutes and was therefore not on long enough to merit any rating.

    Stay up Villa!

    John Lewis

  19. John
    This was not a great game or performance from us but the mark of sides that get promoted is that they are able to grind out results when not at their very best and this is what we managed to do this afternoon.
    We now stand seventh in the table having won our fourth successive league game. We are unbeaten in our last eight games and are just a point behind the three clubs immediately above us that occupy three of the four play-off positions. We are also only 4 points off Wolves who occupy the second of the automatic promotion places and we visit them next.
    Bolton fought hard for something from this game. They were uncompromising and took full advantage of the lenience the referee gave to their challenges on our two strikers. Once we went in front it could be argued that the game was won given our visitors had not scored in their last six games. Win it we did but it was a little too close for comfort towards the end of the match and the referee’s whistle was much more welcome than the referee himself was.
    Having won this battle between two founder members of the football league we now face an international break that is unwelcome as we have built a momentum that would be nice to build upon without any delay. Both teams now face a testing battle during the rest of this season at different ends of the table.
    Bolton have a bit of a mountain to climb to hold onto the Championship status they claimed back last season having had their worst start to a season in 115 years. Although we increasingly have the look of a thoroughbred moving up through the field as the winning post approaches this race is not a sprint and today’s game demonstrated that we should not start counting our chickens just yet.       
    My player ratings from a game that continued our winning and unbeaten league runs are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Got down well at his left-hand post to keep out a shot from outside of the box from Ameobe on 9 minutes. Got down again in the first minute of first half stoppage time to keep out an Armstrong effort. He looks solid.  
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – A decent all-round performance.                
    James Chester - 7 – Solid once again.    
    John Terry – 7 – He is a rock in our solid defence.       
    Neil Taylor - 6 – Made a nice 90th minute run but was fouled as he was about to pull the trigger on the edge of the box by Henry who was yellow carded as a result. Was then given a straight red 4 minutes later when a yellow seemed more appropriate for what was admittedly a rash high challenge on Le Fondre. No doubt we will be appealing this decision.  
    Robert Snodgrass – 7 – Had a very decent shot from just inside of the area well saved at his near post by Howard on 79 minutes. Worked tirelessly and will improve further with more games.           
    Glenn Whelan - 6 – Worked hard. Lost possession a couple of times but this was a steady enough display.   
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Did his job effectively but I think he is more valuable to us when given the opportunity to get forward more often.
    Albert Adomah – 6 – A very good first half.              
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – MOTM – Hit our winner from the spot on 39 minutes when Howard went left and he coolly hit the ball right. Headed a Adomah cross over the bar in the 3rd minute of first half stoppage time. Should have done better on 37 minutes when a superb long ball from Elmohamady fell to him as he moved into the box but instead of squaring the ball for the waiting unmarked Adomah to tap it into the net he hit the ball wide of the far post. Made up for that when he was brought down by Beevers for the penalty that he himself converted.      
    Keinan Davis – 6 – Held and manhandled at every available opportunity by the defenders he came up against as was Kodjia who was also given little to no protection from the match officials other than when he was brought down for the penalty.           
    Substitutes:
    Scott Hogan – 6 – Replaced Kodjia on 72 minutes. Made a nice run into the box on 78 minutes having picked up a ball from Whelan but his shot was blocked by a defender. Looked good in the time he had to do so.    
    Josh Onomah – 6 - Replaced Adomah on 73 minutes and did his bit to help steady the ship at the end.
    Chris Samba – Replaced Snodgrass on 89 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating but did play a loose ball back shortly after coming on that could have cost us the win and then bravely got his head in the way of an on-target shot from Madine in the 5th minute of stoppage time to secure our victory.     
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  20. John
    This was no way to celebrate 120 years of football at Villa Park. On Easter Saturday 1897 in our double winning season we played our first game at Villa Park beating Blackburn 3-0. On Easter Saturday 2017 at Villa Park, we lost 3-1 to promotion chasing Reading and face a second season outside of the top flight next season.    
    Reading recorded their first ever win at Villa Park yesterday after 105 years of trying yesterday. They claimed a 3-1 win which was in stark contrast to the 7-1 defeat they had suffered at Norwich last weekend.
    There was to be no sixth successive home win and clean sheet for Villa yesterday. We instead reprised several previous losing performances this season which had cost us the play-off place that yesterday’s win all but secured for our visitors.
    Reading were not really that good yesterday but they did not need to be because we gifted them three goals and missed all but one of the chances that we created. They simply wanted it more than we did. Reading had something to play for and we did not and it showed. They were quicker, first to the ball, put in stronger challenges and took full advantage of some incredibly weak refereeing.  
    For us the season is now effectively over and the unlikely dream of a late run for the play-offs has become a mathematical impossibility. Nevertheless, we need to finish this season strongly to build some impetus and confidence to bring into next season when automatic promotion will be the minimum requirement. Now is not time for us to throw in the towel. We have 4 games remaining, one of which is a ding-dong derby against our relegation threatened neighbours. A performance such as the one that we produced yesterday will not be acceptable in any of those games we have left to play and particularly when we return to Villa Park next weekend!
    Villa had that end of season look upon them from the start yesterday. Our captain gave us an equalizer on 14 minutes that cancelled out their 6th minute opener but we didn’t really kick on from there. Any lingering hope of a late comeback were expunged when Bacuna was unhesitatingly adjudged to have brought down Kelly to concede a late penalty which gave them a 2-goal cushion.
    Yesterday we lost a home game for the first time since we lost 2 in 4 days in mid-February and this was a sad return to the sort of performances that we had hoped we had put behind us. We gained only 1 point from our first 8 games of 2017 and yesterday we had the look of a team that could end the season in much the same dismal manner.  
    The Villa Park screens regularly thanked those fans who have bought season tickets for next season already. Another win would have been a better way to have shown it! Our recent home wins have been hard won and hard fought. Visiting teams have tended to leave feeling they were unlucky to have come away with nothing. Yesterday we got what our display deserved and that was nothing. We leaked goals and again found it hard to convert our chances. Games are not won or drawn by doing that.
    Our target should now be a place in the top 8. We have 4 points to make up in our remaining 4 games and it would be nice if the performances in those matches warranted an end of season “lap of appreciation” after a 4th successive league win or at the least a 2nd successive home win. Make it so Villa!              
    My player ratings from a game that brought an end to our unbeaten six game home run and gave us our third home defeat of the season are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Got down well to save a 26th minute shot from outside of the box from Swift at his right-hand post. Did well to block a 57th minute Grabban effort at the near post but guessed the wrong way when diving to his right as the ball went in on the left for their third.        
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Did most of what we have come to expect from him of late.             
    James Chester - 7 – MOTM – Solid at the back, scored and nearly claimed a late second. Headed a 14th minute Hourihane corner into the corner of the net for our equalizer and was inches wide of the post when diving full length to get on the end of a nicely weighted 87th minute ball in from Hourihane.    
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Did not seem quite as composed as he has looked of late but still gave a pretty steady central defensive display.     
    Jordan Amavi – 4 – Presented the ball to Grabban when attempting to play the ball back to either Hourihane or Baker which led to their 6th minute opener. Didn’t stay on Grabban who was therefore allowed space behind him that Baker was unable to close-down for their second. He is a much better player than he showed us yesterday on his return to a deeper role in our line-up.  
    Albert Adomah – 4 – This game passed him by.
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Got a foot to an attempted 3rd minute clearance from Al Habsi that landed near the far post and was then cleared much to the keeper’s relief. Got a touch on a 13th minute Jedinak shot from the edge of the box that needed a good reaction save from Al Habsi to keep it out.     
    Mile Jedinak - 5 – Not quite at his best yesterday but he was not alone in that.       
    Leandro Bacuna – 3 – Hit an attempted 45th minute clearance when unbalanced straight to Grabban on the edge of the box but fortunately he hit his shot straight at Johnstone as Amavi put in a challenge. Conceded the 78th minute penalty that put the game beyond us when his left arm connected with Lyden who went down like he had been hit by a sniper. This was a long way off the sort of performance that he would have needed to have produced to retain his starting place for me.    
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Hit a decent 29th minute shot from around 25 yards that flew just over the bar and hit another from the edge of the box on 83 minutes that did the same.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Given no protection whatsoever by the referee who given he hails from Newcastle surprisingly gave defenders the freedom to hold him whenever he might otherwise have had an opportunity to strike. Found inside the box by a long 6th minute ball from Amavi and hit a shot that Al Habsi got down low to save at the near post. Hit a first-time effort from a Hutton cross wide of the post on 9 minutes. Got up well but then headed a 54th minute Hourihane corner over the bar. Stretched a foot to reach a nice ball to the far post from Hourihane that he was unable to turn in and that might have been better left for Adomah who was lurking behind him. Had a 77th minute shot deflected wide. Jonathan cannot score every week and when he doesn’t our chances of winning are drastically reduced.         
    Substitutes:
    Scott Hogan – 5 - Replaced Amavi on 62 minutes. Jedinak turned the ball back to him inside the box on 68 minutes but he skied the ball over when an equalizer had looked on.       
    Jack Grealish – Replaced Baker on 76 minutes. Made little impression on the game. Curled an attempt high and wide of the far post on 93 minutes. Jack was not on long enough to merit a rating.     
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  21. John
    This was a point gained rather than a point lost because Wolves were by far the better side on the day and had the chances to have run out clear winners had they taken them. They just seemed to want it more than we did.
    We had hoped for a win, an early new manager “bounce” and for the players to want to pull out all of the stops to impress the new boss but old habits are hard to break. Although there have been significant changes in our starting line-up since last season this season’s displays have also impacted upon this team’s confidence and belief. On the plus side at least we didn’t concede yet another goal in the last 5 minutes and will hopefully have Ayew starting the next game.
    Villa started well enough in a local derby that both teams gave as good as they got before we took the lead after 15 minutes. At times we looked as if we might add a second goal in the first half but there was only one team that posed a goal threat in the second half and it was certainly not us. Not for the first time this season having gone one ahead we then gradually dropped back rather than pressed for a second. We were lucky on yesterday’s dismal second half performance to have held onto our unbeaten home record and to have hung onto a point against our Black Country visitors who dominated the second half all too easily as we ran out of gas alarmingly.            
    Steve Bruce can be in no doubt after this game of the tough task he faces in turning this Villa side who have won only once this season into a winning team. He has much work to do but he has the ability to organise us and to turn things around. That will take him more than a couple of days as this game proved but we need to start winning games sooner rather than later and a win at Reading would be most welcome.              
    My player ratings from a game that we started in the bottom 3 and ended needing a minimum of 3 points to get out of the bottom 6 as well as 9 points away from the top 6 are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – MOTM - Stood no chance with Costa’s 33rd minute penalty that was hit past him into the top right hand corner of the net. Kept us level on 73 minutes with a fine one handed save from a near post Edward’s header from a corner that would otherwise have been pounced upon by Dicko.      
    Micah Richards – 5 – Micah was re-introduced into our starting line-up by our new boss and did as well as could be expected considering his recent inactivity. He was fortunate not to concede a penalty on 52 minutes when he did well to run back into position as Costa squared the ball for Bodvarsson who had looked likely to give them the lead before Micah clattered into his back.   
    James Chester - 5 – Might have expected to collect a second yellow when he brought down Costa near the centre circle as he ran past him.       
    Tommy Elphick – 5 – Our captain was still some way off the assured sort of performances we had been looking for from him prior to his substitution due to injury.
    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Surprisingly started instead of Amavi. Dived in an attempt to try to block a 33rd minute shot from the edge of the box from the unmarked Costa but the ball hit his raised arm and the penalty that brought Wolves level was given.
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Made some good runs and did well to clear the 73rd minute corner that Gollini had got a hand to at the far post before Bodvarsson could look to force it in.    
    Aaron Tshibola – 4 – Not near his performances for us to date in a game that appeared to pass him by.
    Mile Jedinak – 5 – Showed more pace at times then he has done previously which was encouraging prior to his being substituted inside the hour having run out of steam understandably enough following his long distance international duty.
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Played a nice one-two with McCormack after Chester had found him on the 15th minute and his heel was clipped inside the box by Iorfa to bring us the penalty that Kodjia converted to give us an early lead. Jack was as lucky that a petulant stud to leg movement on Coady having been brought down by the same player was apparently not seen by any of the officials so it did not result in his receiving a card as was Coady lucky to see just a yellow for his reaction. Will Jack now face retrospective punishment?     
    Ross McCormack– 6 – Ross showed good movement throughout despite not getting the sort of service he would thrive upon. Might well have given us the lead again on the 44th minute had Kodjia fed him when he was unmarked and in a clear shooting position. Unfortunately, Kodjia having been found near the penalty spot by Adomah instead tried to score himself when his chances of finding the net were significantly less likely.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Hit his 15th minute penalty confidently past Ikeme into the lower right hand corner of the net. Might have had another on 36 minutes when a headed clearance from the edge of the box fell to him and he hit a sweet shot that Ikeme did very well to turn past the post at full stretch. Faded noticeably in the second half.     
    Substitutes:
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Came on for Jedinak on the 55th minute and made little positive impression in the time he had. His introduction fully demonstrated the lack of midfield options currently available to Brucie.     
    Alan Hutton – 5 - Replaced Richards due to injury on 66 minutes. Missed his kick on 83 minutes and the ball having previously taken a touch off Edwards therefore ran onto the unmarked Cavaleiro whose shot from near the penalty spot had just evaded the advancing Gollini. Thankfully the goal bound shot was blocked by Alan who had kept on running to cover his keeper and he made full amends for his own error.  
    Nathan Baker – Replaced Elphick who had taken a knock on 77 minutes.  Nathan was not on quite long enough to earn a rating but played his part in holding the fort as the minutes ticked by at the end.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  22. John
    A super well-placed Conor Hourihane free-kick gave Villa the win in yesterday’s game between the only two of the five English teams that have lifted the European Cup that currently play outside of the top flight. Forest won that trophy in 1979 and 1980. Villa continued the Midlands domination of that cup competition in 1982 to become the fifth consecutive winners from England with Liverpool also having won the trophy in 1977, 1978 and in 1981. These two Midland clubs have sadly fallen from grace and have a long way to go to become anything approaching the teams that they were back then.    
    Villa played well in the first half following a strong start to the game from our visitors. Our team produced some entertaining football with Adomah and Snodgrass both making some nice positive runs down each flank. Forest played their part in what was one of the better 45 minutes of football played at Villa Park in recent seasons. We scored one but the nagging thought remained that at the end of the game we might regret having not put at least one of our other first-half opportunities away.
    Forest had a little too much of the ball for my liking in the first 45 minutes and that was even more the case in the second half. They were always going to get a chance or two given the amount of possession they were enjoying and they got the equaliser that many had feared they might on the 52nd minute. Fortunately, we bounced back with the goal that won it for us from our top goal scorer Hourihane on the hour and we managed to hang onto that lead until the close.   
    The three points that we gained from yesterday’s win took us into the top half of the table. It gave us two consecutive league wins for the first time this season which took us just 2 points off the play-off places and within 7 points of the automatic promotion spots. We are still playing catch-up after our poor start to the season but we are at least in the process of catching up. Wins against Burton and Bolton next week that will put us on 4 wins from 4 games are now required to give us the momentum that we need.    
    My player ratings from a game that we might well have drawn (which we did last season) are:
    Sam Johnstone – 7 – Sealed our win when he showed his agility in pushing an 85th minute 30-yard Dowell free-kick that was played over our defensive wall and was heading for the top corner wide of the post with one hand. Had earlier been somewhat fortunate when he blocked a 55th minute Dowell shot with his right leg and it somehow deflected to safety past his left-hand post. Gathered a 57th minute Murphy header that went straight at him easily enough. Sam had the occasional wayward kick yesterday that led to a couple of throw-ins for the visitors but his confidence is there for all to see now and I hope we can make his loan into a permanent signing.
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 5 – Forest targeted his wing as being a potential weak point for us from the start and had some element of success having done so.                
    James Chester - 7 – Did well and again looked solid yesterday alongside JT.    
    John Terry – 7 – Another composed and solid defensive performance. It was nice to see how much the win meant to him when the referee blew the final whistle.       
    Neil Taylor - 7 – Comfortable at the back and looked good when moving forward. His best performance to date for us in my opinion.  
    Robert Snodgrass – 7 – He gives us a lot and was a real threat on the wing but had understandably tired well before his 88th minute substitution due no doubt to his inactivity before joining us. Hit a nice cross on 33 minutes that Smith pushed out for a corner at the far post with Kodjia in close attention. 
    Glenn Whelan - 4 – Started well enough but tired noticeably in the second half wanting to take too long on the ball at times and being caught or almost caught in possession on occasion. Claimed an unwanted assist for their equalizer when both he and Terry tried to take the ball off Murphy on the edge of the penalty area but his involuntary touch on the ball instead put the striker clear inside the box and his shot gave Johnstone no chance. Jedinak’s injury impacts on our ability to rotate Mile and Glenn as well as to bring one of them on when the other tires.   
    Conor Hourihane – 8 – Hit our winner on the hour with a superb free kick that he bent around the wall and past Smith. A very good all-round midfield display throughout.
    Albert Adomah – 8 – MOTM – Albert’s on fire, isn’t he? Hit our first goal after 15 minutes when he collected a splendidly measured ball played between two defenders into the box by Kodjia before rounding Smith and coolly slotting the ball home. Picked up a ball from Whelan just inside their half 3 minutes later and ran forward before cutting inside and hitting a shot from outside of the box that flew over the far post. Almost got on the end of a nice 56th minute ball into the box from Snodgrass that had just needed a touch at the near post. He was a constant problem to the visitors with his wide runs at their defenders.            
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Got a big assist for our opening goal with a perfect defence splitting pass that was reminiscent of the sort that Gordon Cowans used to hit at will. Hit a 36th minute shot that Smith gathered at the second attempt after Davis had found him inside of the box. We look so much more threatening with “Johnny Danger” back in the starting line-up.      
    Keinan Davis – 7 – He holds the ball up and brings others into play so very well. Was found on the edge of the area by Snodgrass on 28 minutes and then showed some nice footwork before hitting a cross towards Kodjia that went wide of the far post.           
    Substitutes:
    Josh Onomah – 5 – Replaced Davis on 72 minutes. Found settling into this game and making an impression upon it a little more difficult than he would have hoped in the time he had available to do so.    
    Scott Hogan – Replaced Kodjia on 79 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.
    Alan Hutton – Replaced Snodgrass on 88 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating but he did stiffen us up defensively as we looked to close the game out and made an early challenge that left no doubt whatsoever that he meant business.     
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  23. John
    A Villa team that seem incapable of seeing out even the last 5 minutes of a game seemed to decide last night to try to see out the entire second half. We left it to the visitors to take the game to us rather than take the game to them in the second half having gone ahead on 19 minutes. As we know a one goal advantage is not enough for us and so it proved again last night.
    We have now dropped seven points due to conceding goals during the last 5 minutes of games this season. Had we seen these games out rather than conceded goals in the 85th minute against Sheffield Wednesday, in the 86th minute against Huddersfield, in the 87th minute against Forest and now in the 88th minute we would now have had 14 points rather than 7 and would have been in 4th rather than 17th place.  
    After failing to win for a fifth successive time we are left with seven points from seven games. We now face an away game at Ipswich who for some reason still have a problem with us that dates back to season 1980-81 and in-form Newcastle at Villa Park who also have a problem or two with us of a more recent nature. So getting points on the board from these two games will if anything be harder on paper than was our last three games.         
    This was our first league meeting with Brentford since season 1946/47 when we won 5-2 at home and followed that up with a 2-0 win at Griffin Park. Since then we have met in the FA Cup in 1953 when we drew 0-0 at Villa Park before winning the replay 2-1. I think we will need to win there again to make up for the points we dropped last night if we are to sustain a promotion challenge this season as well as at a few other grounds including our own more often than not!
    To be honest Brentford deserved at least a point. They had more possession, corners, shots and shots on target. We gave a first half performance that was some way below the one we gave against Forest and were fortunate to have a one goal lead to show for it. In the second half we needed to go for a second to give us the cushion that we currently need to seal a win. Instead we dropped back, surrendered the initiative and hoped for a rare clean sheet that would see us hang on for a win. It was surprising that our visitors failed to score earlier but an equalizer looked increasingly likely and it inevitably arrived during the last five minutes of the game. Someone betting on our opponents scoring at that sort of time in games would currently have a very healthy profit for doing so by now!     
    We had injuries both before and during the game to cope with but we were unable to do so and it seemed each substitution made it less likely that we would win this one.      
    My player ratings from a game that led to a return to the boos at the final whistle with which we grew so accustomed last season and in which our home attendance fell below 30,000 for the first time this season are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 7 – Held a 44th minute Hogan shot after the striker had an opening following an Elphick error and deflected another shot from the same player into the side netting on 48 minutes after he had picked up a loose ball from an Elphick back header. A good steady performance.   
    Ritchie De Laet – 5 – Substituted on 67 minutes having sustained an injury. Needs to show a bit more than he has done to date for me.  
    Tommy Elphick - 6 – I’m not sure Egan’s 88th minute effort was going in before Tommy appeared to get the slightest of touches on it only inches from the goal line but if he had not done so Hogan was waiting unmarked to tap it in on the line in any case. Kaikai had got his cross in all too easily although both Bacuna and Gardner were on him, the ball evaded both Cissokho and the player he was marking before it fell to an unmarked Egan on the far post. Gollini moved quickly towards the striker who hit the ball across the goal towards our captain and Gardner who had left Hogan to try to keep out Egan’s cross/shot. He organises well but his own game was not quite error free today.       
    James Chester – 6 – Gave a decent overall display.  
    Aly Cissokho – 6 – Took a first half knock which had seemed likely to lead to Amavi taking his place. Solid enough at the back.   
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – A much better first half performance and he seemed to relish playing in front of the bearded one. His second half display was not near to being as effective. He along with others dropped back in the second half allowing the visitors to dictate the rest of the game and the midfield area in particular.
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Looked the steadying influence that we need in our midfield particularly in the first half but he also dropped back in the second half and was playing just in front of the back four for much of that half which allowed the visitors too much room to play unhindered in the centre of the field.       
    Jordan Ayew – 6 – His performance was some way off the excellent one he had produced against Forest but he lacked service and the ball did not quite run for him last night. Hit a nice cross towards Kodjia on the 74th minute that he was unable to quite get on the end of and then hit a shot well over a minute later.
    Rudy Gestede – 5 – He really looks a lot better coming off the bench than he does when starting a game. De Laet found him on 21 minutes but his shot was held by Bentley. Rudy was then just wide with a 37th minute header from a nice McCormack cross. Did little else of significance.       
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Substituted at half time having picked up a knock and his presence was much missed.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 8 – MOTM – The one bright light on a pretty dim night for us. Looked a significant threat to our visitor’s goal every time that he had the ball. Found by Gestede on the 5th minute but his near post shot was pushed out for a corner by Bentley. Picked up the ball near the line having been found by Jedinak just outside of the box. Jonathan than cut inside the box making an angle to shoot and not giving Bjelland an opportunity to get a challenge in before hitting an unstoppable 19th minute shot past Bentley’s outstretched hand into the top corner of the net. Made a good run across the edge of the box on 80 minutes before he forced a save from Bentley.
    Substitutes:
    Jordan Amavi –  5 - Replaced McCormack for the second half and was obviously uncomfortable playing in a role he seemed unaccustomed to playing. 
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 - Replaced De Laet on 67 minutes. Failed to get into the game and this was a sad return to the sort of level of performance that he gave us all too often last season.
    Gary Gardner – Came on for Gestede on 82 minutes so was not on quite long enough to make a sufficiently positive or negative impression to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
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