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John

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  2. John
    Aston Villa with nothing to play for save their pride and their fans played their part in defending the integrity of the EFL by not surrendering meekly to a team that needed a win as had Huddersfield last weekend for example.  
    We were reduced to ten men in the 63rd minute when the referee decided the penalty they converted was not quite enough punishment for Baker so it then appeared Brighton were set for the win that they needed to clinch the title. However, their wild goal celebrations proved to be somewhat premature because 10-man Villa kept at it and Grealish hit a late equalizer that handed the trophy to Newcastle.
    The sorrowful reaction of the Brighton players at the end showed how much the game had mattered to them. No doubt Newcastle fans will accept that we played a major role in bringing them the trophy they collected yesterday and will stop whingeing about our football club for a short time as a result?   
    We finished the season with a plucky point but in the bottom half of the table, albeit top of that bottom half. We now face a vitally important summer during which Steve Bruce will need to make the changes necessary to gather the extra thirtysomething points we will need to secure automatic promotion next season.
    What yesterday’s game did prove is that in games against Brighton this season there has not been a great deal to choose between the two teams (although it is arguable that we produced our two best performances of the season against them). Brighton who have been promoted have had the consistency that we have lacked and have not had the runs of bad results and poor performances that have blighted our season and cost us any hope we once had of joining them in the top flight next season.   
    Respect is also due to the Seagulls fans who applauded at the right moments, showed appropriate respect and resisted any temptation there may have been to remind us of our under-achievement during this season. Enjoy your return to the top flight and I hope we will join you next season.     
    The highlight of yesterday for me was the half-time appearance of Villa heroes’ Peter McParland and Nigel Sims 60 years on from their 1957 FA Cup win against the Busby Babes. I really hope that we can lift that trophy again for them soon as this is the longest time our club has gone without winning it by some distance.
    On a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to add my late friend Peter Wyper to the list of Villains that we have sadly lost during this season. Pete was a life-long Villa fan who was among those that cheered the 57 cup winners on their return to the city from Wembley. Pete passed away yesterday evening following a lengthy battle with illness. He will be much missed by his family and friends – HEITS.
    My player ratings from our last game of this disappointing season are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Was sent the wrong way from the spot but had earlier did very well on the 58th minute to block a shot from Baldock with his legs after the forward had got the better of Baker. Sam also did well to keep out a 77th minute shot from Bruno. If that was to be his last game for us it was a decent one but will it prove to be given he has now found his confidence with us?        
    James Bree – 6 – Was found on the edge of the box by Bacuna on 78 minutes and his shot was deflected just over the bar.             
    James Chester - 7 – Solid enough at the back as usual and is becoming a threat up front.     
    Nathan Baker – 5 – Given his marching orders a little too readily for me in the 63rd minute when he clipped the heel of Baldock as he was pulling the trigger having reacted slower to a header on than the forward had.      
    Neil Taylor – 7 – A good solid overall performance that was his best for us to date for me. 
    Albert Adomah – 4 – Did the best of what work he did when they had the ball. His impact up front was once again only minimal prior to his 61st minute substitution. He is capable of doing a lot more than he did yesterday and than he has done of late.
    Henri Lansbury – 6 –  Hit a decent 13th minute shot from around 30 yards that Stockdale pushed wide for a corner low at his left-hand post. He really should have put us ahead 7 minutes later when Pocognoli chested a Taylor cross back across the face of the goal to him but he turned his header inches wide of the far post with the goal gaping before him. Nice to see both Henri and Hourihane getting forward more often than has recently been the case and they can become a very effective midfield pairing with a pre-season behind them.       
    Conor Hourihane - 7 – MOTM - Bent a free-kick around the wall in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time which Stockdale did well to turn around his post. Hit a 56th minute shot from outside of the box that Stockdale got down low at his left-hand post to keep out and 2 minutes later Davis played the ball back to him inside the box and his shot was again saved by the keeper low at the far post. Eventually took an 85th minute free-kick from the edge of the box following Bacuna’s shenanigans that forced a save from Stockdale.        
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Showed the same lack of discipline that led to his recent suspension for getting in the face of a linesman again yesterday when twice forcibly demanding the ball at free-kicks from Hourihane. When did he last score from a free-kick and what leads him to think that he should be in line to take a free-kick ahead of Conor (who tends to force a save rather than prod the ball into the defensive wall)? His petulance was more striking for me than what impact he otherwise had on the game yesterday. Will his name still be found on the team sheet next season or will his long-awaited move to a Champions League team actually happen?     
    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Did well enough playing once again in an advanced role. 
    Scott Hogan – 5 – Pounced on a sloppy half-hit 34th minute back pass from Pocognoli hitting a shot from inside of the box that was deflected just wide by Stockdale’s outstretched leg. Worryingly limped off the field following a clumsy challenge by Sidwell that the referee chose not to show any card for.         
    Substitutes:
    Keinan Davis – 7 – Replaced Hogan in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time and showed some promise for the future during the second half. Lansbury played a ball into the box for him to run onto on 50 minutes but penalty appeals were ignored by both the referee and his assistant when Dunk slid in to take Davis rather than the ball. He was not quite able to force the ball home near the goal line after Amavi had headed the resulting corner towards Chester at the far post who in turn had headed the ball goalward. Grealish hit a 69th minute cross and having turned nicely he hit a shot that forced a save from Stockdale. Had an opportunity to win the game when the ball fell to him off a defender with a minute of stoppage time remaining. Keinan ran to the edge of the box but his shot was a weak one and was easily held by a relieved Stockdale.      
    Jack Grealish – 7 - Replaced Adomah on 61 minutes. Hit our late equalizer on the 89th minute. Taylor played the ball to him near the edge of the box and his curled shot went past a couple of defenders as well as remarkably keeper Stockdale who was left on his knees having failed to get anything on the ball as it went past him. This was a clear step up on some recent displays from Jack.      
    Tommy Elphick – 5 - Replaced Amavi on 65 minutes. Half hit a 68th minute back pass that Murray ran onto before playing the ball unselfishly back to Baldock who saved Tommy’s blushes by making a hash of the scoring opportunity which left the ball being played clear after it hit Chester’s leg rather than the back of the net.  
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  3. John
    We scored four goals at Villa Park for the first time in three years yesterday. Conor Hourihane scored our first hat-trick for two years and his own first. This our first win of the season took us from the bottom of the table up to 16th place. We also left the ground with smiles on our faces rather than frowns after this goal fest.  
    We conceded two goals and at times looked too shaky for comfort at the back. That is enough of negativity which was far outweighed by the positives yesterday. We scored four, could easily had another two and we played positive, flowing, attacking football. Each time they scored and threatened to peg us back we responded with a goal of our own to ease our fraying nerves.  
    Let us hope that this result marks a turning point in our season. An away win at Bristol City on Friday looks far less unlikely than it did on Saturday morning and that would take us into the top half of the table and within reach of the top six. Make it so Villa!
    My player ratings from a game that demonstrated that you can win games with kids are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Had hearts in mouths when he raced outside of his box on the 38th minute when attempting to intercept a ball that had gone past our defenders but narrowed the angle well on the 50th minute when Naismith’s near post shot hit the side netting. Had little chance with both of their goals.         
    Alan Hutton – 4 – Given a tough afternoon particularly in the minutes prior to his 64th minute substitution by the lively and pacey Murphy. Hutton allowed him to get goal side of him for their first on the hour mark and was beaten easily 2 minutes later by the same player whose cross led to a goalmouth melee that was settled by a clearance from Johnstone. Difficult to see a reason for him to continue to start games instead of either Bree or De Laet given his current form.             
    James Chester - 6 – Really should have been on target with an unchallenged diving header from a 55th minute Hourihane free kick that flew harmlessly over the bar.     
    John Terry – 6 – Neither he nor Taylor picked up Oliveira in the 79th minute when the forward was left unmarked to hit their second.        
    Neil Taylor – 6 – A solid enough defensive display and he also got forward well at times. 
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Hit the bar in the 4th minute of stoppage time after Bree had switched the ball back to him inside of the box.
    Josh Onomah – 6 – Substituted on the half hour having sustained an injury.          
    Glenn Whelan – 7 – Much more involved yesterday and this played a part in Conor and Henri having the opportunity to move forward more often than they had been doing previously. Hit an on-target effort from the edge of the box on 37 minutes which was inadvertently blocked by Davis.
    Conor Hourihane – 9 – MOTM – As the late Bruce Forsyth often said, “Didn’t he do well?” It is not often that a midfield player gets a hat-trick but Conor did so yesterday producing the sort of performance he regularly gave for Barnsley which led us to sign him. He needs to have licence to get forward where he can be so dangerous from now onwards. Davis threaded the ball between 2 defenders on the 19th minute to Conor but he hit his shot across the face of goal and inches wide. Onomah then won the ball near the half way line before hitting a nice ball for Davis to run onto. Keinan proceeded to hit a low cross that went between the goalkeeper and a defender before reaching Conor near the far post who hit home our 22nd minute opener with assurance. Lansbury fed Conor from a Taylor free-kick and his 68th minute 30-yard shot took a deflection off a defender on its way past the keeper and into the corner of the net. He completed his hat-trick on the 85th minute when Elmohamady found him in a central position a couple of yards outside of the box and he struck the ball low into the right-hand corner of the net. Almost turned home a fourth goal on 89 minutes but that effort was blocked.      
    Andre Green – 8 – Lansbury found him on the edge of the box on the 42nd minute and he then picked his spot curling the ball around a defender and into the top right-hand corner of the net to give us our second goal of the afternoon. He will do well to score a better goal than this one for us! Hit a 70th minute shot from the edge of the box just wide of the post and should have had a second goal to his name on the 94th minute when Elmohamady’s shot bounced to him off the bar only for his header to find Gunn’s hands rather than the back of the net.     
    Keinan Davis – 9 – Looked very, very promising yesterday. Held the ball up and led the line very well. Refused to be knocked off the ball and utilised his strength and determination throughout to give the central defenders he was up against a very difficult afternoon. Won the ball from Zimmermann on the 2nd minute and ran inside the box before hitting a shot which was blocked by the advancing Gunn’s legs. Taylor then found Green on the edge of the box whose inch perfect 16th minute cross was met by Davis but Gunn did well to get a hand to his header to keep it out. Ran onto a strong 24th minute header from inside his own half by Whelan and having got the better of a defender hit an effort from the edge of the box that struck the top of the crossbar. Denied by Gunn on the 64th minute when he ran onto a ball from Lansbury but could not turn the ball past the keeper.           
    Substitutes:
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Replaced Onomah on 30 minutes. Was not quite able to slide in to make contact with a good 35th minute Hourihane cross into the box. Looked to be belatedly in the process of forming a decent partnership alongside Conor today and he has surely done enough to start games from now on? 
    James Bree – 6 - Replaced Hutton on 64 minutes and we looked more secure after that.
    Chris Samba – Replaced Davis on 87 minutes. Was not on long enough to earn a rating.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  4. John
    This performance or should I say lack of it was simply not good enough. We were as bad yesterday as we had been good twice at Villa Park against the same opponents last season. This game meant something to us but it seemed to pass our players by unnoticed. We carried too many passengers yesterday and you really cannot afford to not have everyone up for it in games like these.    

    Albion got their revenge all too easily yesterday. They clearly wanted it much more than we did and bossed the game from start to finish playing the sort of football that we expect from a Tony Pulis team. They were uncompromising but effective and could not be described as being pretty to watch. Their winner which could not have been described as having come against the run of play came from a striker who wanted away from the club but that did not stop the Baggies celebrating it.

    We did not impose ourselves early. In the continued absence of Gueye we lost the midfield almost without a fight. We also posed no sort of threat up front without the pace of Traore and with Gabby unsurprisingly looking like a fish out of water in attempting to lead the line. We did get a little better in the second half but it would have been hard to have become any worse and we did not improve enough to ever really look like pulling this one out of the fire. The referee made two decisions that went against us on 64 and 71 minutes that might have given us something from this lack lustre performance but that was never going to happen was it?

     The team have the opportunity to make some sort of amends on Tuesday night. But a performance that is anything like the one that they produced yesterday could even against such limited opponents produce the unthinkable and unpalatable that evening. Make sure it does not happen!    

     My player ratings from a sorry game that has left us still without a league win at Villa Park and occupying the same lowly league position that we finished last season in are:
    Brad Guzan – 7 – A much better display and Brad did much to keep our deficit down to a single goal. Made a good reaction save to keep out a Rondon header in the second minute and was grateful Berahino was unable to get a firmer touch when gathering his 19th minute effort. Did well to push a Fletcher shot past the post on 31 minutes but was left on his knees when Berahino deflected a Morrison shot past him 8 minutes later for their winner. Brad made a save at the second attempt from Rondon on the hour mark and held a far post Rondon header on 83 minutes.                           
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Solid enough at the back but although he got plenty of the ball when moving forward he was not able to do as much with it as he would have wanted. Alan was possibly unlucky not to have gained a penalty when Berahino appeared to handle his 64th minute cross just inside rather than outside the area.                             

    Michah Richards – 6 – Found the back of the net with a header from a Lescott ball into the box but with the ball on its way to him the referee blew his whistle rather than played the advantage on 71 minutes.    

    Joleon Lescott – 6 – Looks like he can form a solid partnership with our captain when they have had the time to work on it as did Clark and Okore last season.                                 

    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Needed to produce a stronger challenge on Dawson in the build up to their winner. Made a nice run into the box on 52 minutes prior to a Sánchez shot from the edge of the box being easily held by Myhill.                          

    Carles Gil – 6 – Looked decent enough when he had the ball at his feet. Had an effort on goal deflected after Gabby had had pulled the ball back to him inside of the box on 26 minutes.            

    Ashley Westwood - 4 – Flashed a shot wide of the post on 24 minutes but made little positive impression yesterday. He can and needs to do so much better than this.                                        

    Jack Grealish – 5 – He was not at his best yesterday and came up against a side who allowed him little to no room to play in. He will learn from games like this. Jack did not make the sort of impact we and I am sure he has become accustomed to making which was disappointing given he is a local lad and so was fully aware of the importance of this game to us. He will have much better days such as on Tuesday night I trust.                  

    Carlos Sánchez – 7 – MOTM – Carlos is a rare player who can hold his head high after this game. He was very solid and tidied up very well when in defensive positions. Sadly he did not have enough support alongside him to turn the tide in midfield but this was a very encouraging display from him.      

    Scott Sinclair – 4 – We could have done with one of his goals yesterday but his contribution had been minimal before his half time substitution.      

    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 4 – Gabby was never going to win balls in the air against Albion’s towering defenders but that did not stop us putting ball after ball to him in the air particularly in the first half. He surprisingly did win one or two, occasionally looked interested by chasing after the ball and did produce a 69th minute cross that Myhill gathered at the second attempt. But this was not a derby day for him to remember and he caused very little concern to the defenders he came up against. If selected on Tuesday he will need to show a lot more if he is to retain a starting place albeit the queue to replace him is a short one.                

    Substitutes:

    Rudy Gestede – 4 - Replaced Sinclair at half time but failed to provide the spark we were looking for up front. Was unchallenged when he connected with a Bacuna cross on 91 minutes but his header sailed harmlessly over the bar.    

    Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Gil on 76 minutes and was not on long enough to merit a rating.   

    Jordan Veretout - Replaced Sánchez on 82 minutes. Jordan was not given long enough on the field to earn a rating. 

    Up the Villa!

    John Lewis

  5. John
    This forgettable game was settled by an unforgettable winning goal from Jack Grealish in the 88th minute.
    Wigan came to Villa Park with limited ambition. They came to frustrate and to claim a point as will other teams as we climb further up the table this season. We started the game well and finished it even better but for over an hour this match appeared to have goalless draw written all over it until Jack struck with his stunning late goal. It is so nice to be scoring late goals rather than conceding them now!   
    We lacked movement up front from forwards who were starved of service by a midfield that lacked creativity. Wigan worked hard, got men behind the ball and on those occasions when this did not prove sufficient resorted to making strong/illegal challenges particularly on Jack Grealish and Jonathan Kodjia in an attempt to keep them both quiet. That worked pretty effectively for them during the first 87 minutes until we went ahead and claimed our fourth successive home win to move just 3 points off the play-off places.       
    We bounced back from defeat at Leeds as we so needed to do yesterday. We did not win with a swagger but successful teams win games when they are some way off their very best and this we did. I hope we also began another lengthy unbeaten or dare we hope a winning run yesterday? That will be put to the test at Norwich in midweek and at QPR next weekend.  
    My player ratings from a game that we collected only our second home win in nine league games against yesterday’s visitors are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – A very, very quiet day at the office. Could have sat on a deck chair in the goalmouth for most of this game but it was not really the weather for that.     
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Worked hard and looked solid at the back if something less than a threat when moving into the Wigan half.   
    James Chester - 6 – Another solid and composed performance on a day when our defence was seldom tested.       
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Tommy eased through this game with little cause for concern being provided by the visitors. That might not have been the case had Wigan been a little more adventurous and started the game with or introduced late substitute Will Grigg earlier than they did.
    Jordan Amavi – 7 – Another encouraging display. He looks so confident and effective defensively of late and poses a threat when getting forward as he has always done. Clipped an effort just past the post on 7 minutes from inside of the box and Jaaskelainen dived low to his right to gather a shot from outside of the box 4 minutes later after he had picked up a loose ball from a corner.
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Failed to make the same sort of positive impression on this game that he has done in others lately.    
    Gary Gardner - 5 – Put in a shift as he always does prior to his substitution but he has it in him to impose himself more upon opponents.
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Another solid midfield display. Opponents must feel like they have run into a brick wall when they are challenged by Mile. Hit a shot from the edge of the box on 72 minutes straight at Jaaskelainen who gathered the ball easily enough.  
    Jack Grealish – 7 – MOTM – Hit a spectacular winner to claim all three points for us in the 88th minute. A McCormack cross was headed out by a defender and picked up by Jack just outside the box. He then hit an unstoppable shot past Jaaskelainen and into the top right hand corner of the net.
    Jordan Ayew – 4 – Jordan was disappointingly quiet again yesterday and needs to make a bigger impact on games like this. Lost the ball more than once and noticeably a couple of times near the end when we particularly needed to keep possession.
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Might have opened the scoring for us in the 14th minute when Adomah found him nicely inside the box but his attempted chip over Jaaskelainen was kept out by the keeper’s outstretched arm.        
    Substitutes:
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Replaced Gardner on the hour and introduced a bit of much needed energy.  
    Rudy Gestede – 4 - Replaced Adomah on 73 minutes. Rudy provided no threat up front and made little if any positive impression after coming off the bench.      
    Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Jack in the 4th minute of stoppage time so he was not on long enough to gather any rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  6. John
    This was our first Boxing Day win since 2005 and the first time we have won 5 successive home league games since season 1992-93 when we won 7 on the trot and Villa Park was a fortress, as it now threatens to become again.
    Burton arrived for the first ever game between the two teams to face an all but full Villa Park. We opened the scoring after 15 minutes but instead of pressing for a decisive second goal we then surrendered too much space in the midfield to our visitors.
    Burton came increasingly into the game and scored a spectacular equalizer 16 minutes after we had gone ahead. For much of the rest of the game they had looked the more likely of the two sides to get a winner and they were perhaps unlucky to leave Villa Park with nothing to show for their efforts. But our first two substitutions made a real impact on this game and rather than concede as the end of a game neared we continued with our new-found habit of clinching a late winner.      
    This was not the sort of game that will have the extra visitors to Villa Park wanting to rush back to see more of the same but it again demonstrated that under Steve Bruce we have found the happy habit of winning games when we are below par. That gets teams promoted but we may need more than that later this week to win a sixth successive home game against high flying Leeds United. We owe them one after our recent defeat at Elland Road and we need to cut the gap between us and them sooner rather than later.        
    My player ratings from a Boxing Day game that 41,337 fans attended and which took us above the club that dwell on the dark side of the city are:
    Mark Bunn – 7 – Reacted very well to get a hand to a Brayford header in the fourth minute of stoppage time having got down low to save a shot from the edge of the box from the same player on 25 minutes. Had no chance with Ward’s 31st minute equalizer from a Brayford cross but although the finish was sublime he was allowed too much space with both Hutton and Gardner staying static some way off him. Mark was relieved to see Dyer’s shot hit the post on 73 minutes when beaten. Made decent saves from Ward on 35 minutes and from O’Grady on 77 minutes.    
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Not the easiest of afternoons for Alan and he found some difficulty in coping with Dyer at times.   
    James Chester - 6 – Solid when he needed to be.      
    Nathan Baker – 7 – A rock in our defence who did the simple things right without any unnecessary frills.
    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Seemed to have his mind elsewhere early on but got more into the game as it wore on.
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Hit the ball harmlessly over on 62 minutes after a Bacuna cross had fallen to him after Kodjia had failed to connect with it.    
    Gary Gardner - 5 – Substituted at half time having picked up a knock on 43 minutes.
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Solid as a barrier in front of our defence which is what he is there for but he cannot be expected to do the whole of our midfield’s job on his own.  
    Leandro Bacuna – 7 –  MOTM - A good hard working all round display if still a little bit below the Champions League standard that he set for himself last year! Scored our opener on 15 minutes. He started and finished the move playing the ball out wide to Adomah who hit an inviting cross into the box which Leo headed home powerfully having run on into the box. Hit an effort just wide of the post 4 minutes earlier after the keeper had pushed out a Hutton cross to him inside of the box and McCormack had not got a touch to help the ball in as it sailed past him.
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Hit our late winner on 78 minutes. Adomah fed Ayew on the right who hit a nice low cross that evaded both McLaughlin and Brayford before Ross controlled the ball at the far post with his left foot and hit it home with his right. I hope he will take confidence from this goal as we will need him to have his shooting boots on next month.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Hit a fierce shot from the left on the 80th minute that was off target. Some way off his excellent penetrative best yesterday.        
    Substitutes:
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Replaced Gardner at half time and brought us some needed creativity. Played a one-two with McCormack before jinking into the box and hitting the ball with his left foot which deflected off McLaughlin into the path of Kodjia who tapped the ball in on the 52nd minute only to be adjudged to have been offside.    
    Jordan Ayew – 7 - Replaced Jedinak on 75 minutes and looked keen to make a positive impression in the short time that he had available to do so. Claimed an assist with the low cross that produced our winner and proved a significant threat to Burton following his introduction. An impressive few minutes and a marked improvement on what he had produced in recent games that he has started.      
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – Replaced Kodjia on the 86th minute and showed some energy by chasing down opponents but was not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa & A Happy Promotion New Year to all readers!
    John Lewis
  7. John
    This turned out to be something other than the result that our visitors had hoped for when arriving at Villa Park yesterday. They lost 2-0 to dent their promotion hopes and had both a player and their manager sent off.
    We claimed a third successive home win yesterday and by doing so moved into the top half of the table. We were informed “you can only win by cheating” on exiting the ground by a couple of unhappy visiting fans who must have mistaken us for the match officials. We must have been cheating on a regular basis of late given we have now won 4 of our last 5 games!    
    This win has brought Sheffield Wednesday’s advantage over us down to 14 points with 9 games left to play and with a maximum of 27 points achievable for us. They will now begin to look increasingly anxiously over their shoulders at Fulham if not quite far enough down the table to us as the race for the play-off places goes down to the wire.       
    There was not a lot between the teams yesterday and given we had lost Lansbury in the warm-up and Baker on 25 minutes due to injury that was quite an achievement for our injury hit side. Things changed when Sasso deservedly took an early bath after a wild 48th minute lunging challenge in the middle of the field on Hourihane in which he left his foot dangerously high. There was no cause for complaint at his dismissal although Carlos Carvalhal found plenty and his histrionics earned him a place in the stands rather than the place on our bench that he had tried to occupy before he made his increasingly amusing exit.
    Kodjia put the result beyond any reasonable doubt with his second goal in the 79th minute. We had again dropped too deep and invited 10-man Wednesday to make a late comeback either side of that decisive goal. Nevertheless, our defence stood firm to achieve another welcome clean sheet and we may yet find ourselves finishing surprisingly close to sixth place at the end of this season.                
    My player ratings from a game during which Barry Bannan gave a solid performance before warmly applauding the Holte End at the end of it are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Not too busy an afternoon for Sam who got down well to hold an 89th minute shot from Hunt having earlier done well to block a 17th minute effort from Winnall following a rare Chester error.       
    James Bree – 6 – Took a few minutes to fully appreciate what his role was on Hutton’s introduction but soon looked comfortable. He looked very promising yesterday. Got on the end of a 27th minute cross from Amavi hitting the side netting at the far post.             
    James Chester - 7 – Inexplicably passed the ball directly to Reach who ran on gratefully before feeding Winnall inside the box whose 17th minute shot was kept out well by the outstretched right leg of Johnstone. Other than that, his defending was impeccable as usual.    
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Substituted on 25 minutes following a clash of heads after being all too readily booked by referee Lee Probert in the 4th minute.     
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Got forward more than he has done in a Villa shirt so far and this was his best performance for us to date. 
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Made a nice run into the box on 51 minutes before finding Hutton who hit the ball wide of the post applying a defender’s finish when a goal had looked on. His good run gave him an assist for our second.  
    Gary Gardner – 5 – Got an unexpected start when Lansbury picked up an injury during the warm-up. Kept busy but was unable to put his stamp on the game in a midfield supplemented by full backs.
    Conor Hourihane - 7 – Held the makeshift midfield together as well as could be hoped for from his central role. Placed a ball that had run on to him inside of the box just wide of the post on 69 minutes. Claimed an assist for our opener with his well hit cross.     
    Mile Jedinak – 8 – MOTM – Mile had strong claims to being our best midfield player as well as our best defender yesterday. Adapted very well in central defence when we lost Baker mid-way through the first half and looked both comfortable as well as untroubled. Got on the end of a ball into the box from Hourihane on 19 minutes but his header flew over the bar. Won everything in the air and kept Rhodes in check. Narrowly beat two goal hero Kodjia to the MOTM award in my opinion.    
    Jordan Amavi – 6 – For me Jordan possesses the ability to play further up front than in his more familiar full or wing back roles but he does not quite seem to appreciate that himself at the moment. Hunt went down very easily inside the box claiming a penalty having felt Amavi’s arm on his shoulder but fortunately the referee gave the decision our way. Did a decent job.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – 8 – Scored the two goals that gave us our welcome win and held the ball up well at times. Tried to turn in a bouncing ball from wide of the goal but his effort was gathered by Westwood on the 17th minute. Failed to quite get a touch to the ball on the 65th minute when a shooting opportunity would have been there for the taking had he been able to do so as had also been the case some minutes earlier. Jonathan made no mistake on the 34th minute when Hourihane played a one-two with Bree from a corner before hitting a pinpoint cross that Johnathan climbed above Hunt and headed sweetly past Westwood into the net to finish a move that came from the training ground at either Barnsley or Bodymoor Heath. Scored his second after Adomah had found him nicely following a good run into the box on 79 minutes. Jonathan took the ball past Westwood and hit the ball into the net for his 15th goal of the season job done.    
    Substitutes:
    Alan Hutton – 7 – Surprisingly Alan was the player chosen to replace Baker on 25 minutes rather than central defender Elphick. Gave a very solid performance. Alan spent a fair bit of time waving that he was free for a pass that might give him a goal-scoring opportunity but having had such an opportunity and having screwed the ball wide on 51 minutes it was perhaps not unsurprising that players mostly looked for other options. Did very well in an unfamiliar role yesterday and could yet land another contract for next season given his present form, determination and work rate.          
    Tommy Elphick – Replaced Adomah on 82 minutes and was not on long enough to earn a rating.      
    Keinan Davis – Replaced match-winner Kodjia on the 86th minute so he was also not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  8. John
    Our unlikely hopes of automatic promotion were finally extinguished beyond any doubt yesterday. We will end the season in fourth place but will hopefully end it with a Wembley win to show for our efforts this season.
    Ex Blue-Nose Cameron Jerome gave Derby County a 14th minute lead yesterday that despite Villa enjoying the lion’s share of the possession they had looked increasingly like holding onto until Lewis Grabban hit our late equalizer and put their invitation to the playoff lottery on hold for another week.
    Villa deserved a point from this game at the very least and can now move on towards the playoffs having lost only two of our twenty-three home league games this season.
    The East Midlander’s arrived hoping to win their first game at Villa Park since 1988. Having gone a goal up they resolved to keep what they had by means of a dogged well organised defence. On another day we might have scored four but on this occasion, we had to be content with one and with keeping our powder dry for the three playoff games on which the success or otherwise of our promotion campaign will be dependant.     
    Who knows we may meet our visitors again in those playoffs. On 26th May (a date of great significance in our club’s proud history already) a Wembley appearance may propel one of these two clubs back into the top flight. I for one would rather like that that meeting to happen, and I would back us to breech their defence more than once on that occasion to claim that final promotion place.
    We are now able to rest players who may benefit from that in our final game of the season at The Den. Of those players that started yesterday I would wrap Elmohamady, Terry, Chester, Snodgrass, Adomah and Jack in cotton wool next weekend.             
    My player ratings from a game after which Gabby made his final Villa Park appearance as a current Villa squad member are:        
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Kept out a 51st minute shot from the edge of the box from Lawrence.
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Did well to get back to block Weimann’s 73rd minute shot.  
    James Chester - 7 – Dependable and solid as ever.        
    John Terry – 7 – Welcome back! JT and Chester are such an effective central defensive pairing.  
    Neil Taylor – 4 – Substituted on 23 minutes due to injury. Should have just ran the ball out for a corner but instead gifted the ball to Weimann who then played the ball to Jerome for their goal. May well struggle to dislodge Hutton from the starting line-up now that he is recovered from injury himself.
    Robert Snodgrass – 7 – Hit a fierce 75th minute shot from the edge of the box after his free-kick had come back to him which Carson tipped over unseen by the referee apparently. Worked tirelessly and kept trying to move Derby’s parked bus aside.
    Glen Whelan – 6 – Had a decent game yesterday.      
    Jack Grealish – 8 – MOTM – Played a nice one-two with Grabban on 31 minutes chested the ball down well but his shot was kept out by Carson’s right foot. Hit a shot over the bar from the edge of the area on 61 minutes and another one wide 15 minutes later. He simply makes us tick.         
    Conor Hourihane – 6 –Tried to curl a 32nd minute shot from the edge of the box inside the far post but it was safely gathered by Carson. The ex-Villa keeper also was on hand at his right-hand post to save another 67th minute effort from him from the edge of the area. Somehow hit a 70th minute header from Snodgrass that fell to him at the far post wide.  
    Albert Adomah– 5 – Hit a nice cross that looked destined to be turned in by Grabban on the line just before the interval after Jack had found him with an inch perfect ball. Looks in need of a couple of weeks rest after having been a big player for us to date this season. Albert was substituted inside an hour.  
    Lewis Grabban – 7 – Curtis Davies had him in his pocket for a fair bit of this game, but he did what goal scorer’s do and hit home our equalizer and his 20th goal of the season on 84 minutes. Hourihane hit a powerful shot that Carson blocked but the ball rebounded to Terry who coolly played it along to Lewis who applied the required finish. Headed an Adomah cross harmlessly over the bar on 25 minutes when he should have been on target also headed a ball from Elmohamady onto the post in first half stoppage time.  
    Substitutes:
    Alan Hutton – 7 – A very welcome return. Alan came on for Taylor in the 23rd minute. Made some decent runs forward and had a 79th minute header which went just wide of the post.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – Replaced Adomah on 59 minutes. He is increasing his match fitness with each appearance following his long injury lay off but would benefit from the confidence that a goal brings and almost got one in the 74th minute when he hit the post from a Snodgrass cross.  
    Josh Onomah - Replaced Whelan on 81 minutes. Josh was not on long enough to gather a rating.  
    Get Up Villa!
    John Lewis
  9. John
    This game had offered us an opportunity to climb out of the bottom three. But we do not beat Stoke at home do we?

    A third successive defeat at Villa Park against yesterday’s visitors has seen us go into the international break with just the two hapless North Eastern clubs keeping us off the bottom. We cannot rely on those two teams losing each week and at one point yesterday it seemed they might not.

    A worrying four point gap has also now opened between Villa and the three teams who are now directly above us. Our much changed team needs to gel together quickly to stop it growing any wider.      

    We chose to start the game with the creativity of both Grealish and Gil sitting on the bench. No doubt that decision was made to try to avoid defeat by attempting to match our visitor’s rugged midfield. But this was a game that we needed to be trying to win and it was Stoke we were playing not Barcelona!

    This might well prove to have been a 6-pointer at the end of the season and you really have to beat the teams that are around you to stay up. I guess we also started with three central defenders to try to strengthen what has been a leaky back four. But playing five at the back left our midfield under pressure against a team that are strong in that area. Changing to a four at the back half way through the game also created the hole in the centre of our defence that led to their winner ten minutes after the re-start.  

    Our first half performance yesterday was a passable interpretation of those grim ones that we had given against WBA and Small Heath recently. We again improved in the second half (it would have been difficult to have not done so) but we did not improve enough to ever really look like winning or drawing or scoring in this one.

    Since winning on the first day of the season at newly promoted Bournemouth we have only beaten teams from the lower leagues in the cup. We could only manage a draw against Sunderland who are one of the two teams that have gathered fewer points than we have to date. We really need to start winning the odd game before 40 points begins to look a very big end of season point target if it does not already.

    My player ratings from a game that has left us still on just four points and on a run of four successive defeats are:

    Brad Guzan – 6 – So nearly became another keeper to be embarrassingly caught off his line by Adam whose 18th minute effort from inside his own area was pushed away with one hand as Brad scrambled back from the edge of the box. Amautovic was nicely found by wing-back Johnson and ran into the gaping hole between Crespo and Richards before putting his shot into the net off the post and past Brad’s left hand for their 55th minute winner. Other than that a quiet afternoon against visitors that I think would have happily settled for a point at 3pm.                                                                      

    Alan Hutton – 5 – Surely Bacuna would have been the choice here had we been looking to play wing backs to get forward? Alan worked hard as he always does but he looked uncomfortable in this more forward role that exposed his difficulty in getting enough good crosses over. Alan was left for dead by Amautovic in the build up to their goal.                              

    Jose Angel Crespo – 5 – Made his debut following injury and looked solid enough given this was his first full game. Jose was given the benefit of the doubt when it appeared he was at best an inch or two behind Amautovic when his 33rd minute effort was ruled offside. 

    Joleon Lescott – 4 – Joleon was substituted at half time as he was against Small Heath. He gave some cause for concern before he made way for Jack and did not seem particularly at-ease playing as part of a back three. He has not had the sort of solid start he would have hoped to have made with the club he supports and needs our support to try to get over what has been a surprisingly shaky start.     

    Michah Richards – 7 – MOTM - Micah gave another solid defensive performance and must surely soon come into England consideration again given the strong start he has had with us. Got a vital block in on Diouf as he was about to pull the trigger inside the box on 4 minutes. Really should have done better when he was free at the far post on 56 minutes but headed Vertout’s cross wide. Gana played the ball back to Micah on 77 minutes who twice played one-twos with Ayew before going down inside the box the ball ran to Ayew and then to Veretout both of whom had their efforts blocked.                                

    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Jordan’s pace got him out of trouble a couple of times. He posed a threat when getting forward and was solid enough in defence.                    

    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Picked up the ball near the centre circle on 39 minutes ran between two opponents on his way and nearly did the same on the edge of the box before going down inside the box when possibly unfairly challenged by Cameron.  

    Ashley Westwood - 6 – The best of our midfield performers for me yesterday.                  

    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Became more effective as the game wore on after a slow start. Hit a shot from the edge of the box on 40 minutes which went harmlessly wide. He does get into some decent shooting positions but his shots are too often inaccurate.

    Scott Sinclair – 4 – Has lost his earlier goal touch and can be much more effective than this.      

    Rudy Gestede – 5 – Did not get the sort of service that he needs to get us goals. Made a good run to the edge of the box from just inside his own half but his shot was routinely gathered by Butland.                 

    Substitutes:

    Jack Grealish – 6 – His belated introduction at half time did not quite spark an upturn in performance of the magnitude that we needed to claim the points yesterday. He has had better games for us and has been more influential in games for us but we are without doubt a better team with him than without him.  

    Carles Gil – 6 - Replaced Sinclair on 58 minutes. Ran at players and is a player that can create chances given the opportunity to do so. Made a difference when he came on giving Stoke some causes for concern as did Jack that were few and far between prior to their introduction.   

    Jordan Ayew – Replaced Westwood on 75 minutes and was not on the field long enough to gather a rating but was on long enough to show he should have been. Gil found him nicely inside the box but his shot hit the side netting rather than the back of the net. No doubt had Gabby been fit a place would have been found for him. I think we need to start doing the same for Jordan because he offers us something we are lacking up front and threatens to make things happen.  

    Stay up Villa!
    John Lewis


  10. John
    Harry Kane will miss playing at Villa Park next season. He has now scored three goals in his two games at B6. His two goals either side of half-time did for us yesterday and left us having lost two thirds of the league games we have played so far this season.
    Villa could still have had a slender chance of staying up had they played with the same sort of spirit that they showed particularly in the first half yesterday in some of our previous games and of course if our defence did not have more holes in it that a colander does!
    Yesterday we came up against a team that could well end this season as league champions. Had they gone for the jugular in the second half rather than been content to come away with a comfortable two goal win we could have suffered another embarrassingly heavy home defeat despite the effort that our team put in. Once again after conceding the first goal we then let in another one shortly afterwards that ended the game as a contest but we were also denied a consolation goal three times by the woodwork near the end.
    Our club have taken some rare positive steps this week by introducing a football man to the board and in appointing a Villa legend as a consultant to it.
    More is now needed. For me there is no point whatsoever in retaining the services of those whose decisions have left the club in the position we now find ourselves in until this embarrassing season is over. If they (and they know who they are) are not prepared to do the decent thing and fall on their swords their contracts should be terminated forthwith.
    I would add that some heavy handed stewarding did nothing to improve relations between the “custodian” and the club’s supporters last night. The sight of banners being ripped away from supporters and fans that have paid for their admission being ejected for exercising their right to free speech in the form of those protest banners was an over reaction for me. The club need to work to heal wounds rather than to open up any new ones!
    All is now lost on the pitch and we must very reluctantly accept that at the very least a season outside of the top flight for the first time in 29 seasons is what awaits us. It would need Harry Houdini if not Harry Kane to get us out of the mess we now find ourselves in and more realistic targets than survival are now required. Let us instead aim to break the 20 point barrier and win a third home game before this season reaches its sad conclusion.
    Let’s also try not to break some more unwanted club records. For example we need another 4 wins to equal our lowest ever number of league wins in a season, 14 more goals are required to equal the lowest number of goals we have scored in a season and we need 2 more points to equal the lowest number of points we have ever managed in a season (when we only played 22 games and only 2 points were awarded for a win by the way).   
    My player ratings from a game that gave us our 9th home league defeat of the season are:
    Brad Guzan – 9 – MOTM – This was a return to the Brad we knew of old and it was he who stood between us and a heavy defeat. He came out well to face Kane who had ran between Okore and Lescott to reach a ball from Lamela and deserved his slice of luck when the striker’s chip from the edge of the box struck the bar after 4 minutes rather than the back of the net. He held a low shot from the edge of the area from Alli 5 minutes later and then kept out another effort from Kane from a Rose cross with his right leg as he moved to the left on 24 minutes.
    Brad was again called upon after 26 minutes when he saved a Kane shot at his near post after Okore had gone for a ball wide on the right but failed to connect with it leaving the striker free to run towards goal. He then managed to touch a 30th minute Lamela shot from a Walker cross onto the post before Hutton cleared the loose ball away to safety near the goal line. Brad got down well to hold a solid well struck Walker shot after 33 minutes but was finally beaten after 45 minutes when Hutton was unable to make up ground on Kane as he ran onto a quickly taken free-kick to hit home their opener. He stood no chance with their second but did well to block a 59th minute Walker shot at his near post to prevent a third.
    Alan Hutton – 4 – Failed to cover Alli’s run for their decisive second goal.
    Jores Okore – 4 – May not have as many Champions League clubs battling for his services on this sort of showing as he allegedly anticipated. 
    Joleon Lescott – 4 – Turned the ball onto a post on the 88th minute after Gestede had headed a Green corner wide but into his path. Both Jores and he were unable to get near to Kane whose pace left them both standing.  
    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Found Walker a handful and failed to get a challenge in on Kane whose run into the box for their second was inexplicably not covered by any of our players.
    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Did very well to reach a 12th minute ball played forward by Hutton before it crossed the line and to pull it back for Gestede who was unable to turn the ball towards goal.  
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Spent the game trying to combat the grip on the midfield that Spurs mostly enjoyed throughout.
    Idrissa Gana – 7 – Picked up loose balls, made a couple of decent forward runs and worked hard. He was our most effective outfield player by some distance.
    Carles Gil – 6 – Had a good first half and put in a shift prior to his substitution.
    Jordan Ayew – 6 – Made a great run into the box from a wide position on 84 minutes but his shot from a tight angle thudded against the post and Gestede was unable to put away the rebound instead hitting the crossbar with a rising shot from close range. Jordan needs to play as a striker for me it is not as if we are over burdened with them is it?  
    Rudy Gestede – 5 – Hit a 39th minute free-kick from Gil that dropped invitingly to him straight at Lloris that if directed to either side would have given us the lead. Hit the bar late in the game when he really needed to get the ball on target. Works better as a target man that the player who was unavailable for selection yesterday but his weakness on the floor is as noticeable as is his strength in the air.
    Substitutes:
    Andre Green – 6 - Replaced Veretout on 62 minutes. Did not look out of place on his debut and showed some ability in what time he had available. He along with other youngsters can expect to get a look in during the course of our final eight games.
    Scott Sinclair – Replaced Gil on 70 minutes but failed to make enough of an impression in the time he had available to merit a rating. 
    Go down with some fight Villa!

    John Lewis

  11. John
    We still await our first win in 2017. Any lingering promotion hopes that might still have persisted in the most optimistic of Villa fans minds (my own included) were extinguished along with our unbeaten home record yesterday.
    This was a game that we had hoped to win albeit not with any great confidence but it was one we had not expected to lose. It was the first of four home games in our next five matches that could have begun a run of home wins. Ipswich were in as miserable a run as we were when they arrived at Villa Park but as Forest found last weekend Villa are currently the team to play when you are a football club on the crest of a slump and looking for a rare win. 
    We started the game brightly but had nothing to show for that at half-time and if you fail to find the net when you are on top as we were in the first half then the thought persists that you may well have missed the boat. The second half was a different story. We were not so dominant as we had been in the first half and did not create chances or half chances in the same way as we had during the first 45 minutes. One stumble gave Ipswich an opportunity to win a game and it was a chance that they took to win a game that up until then neither team had really looked like winning.
    The visitors scored with their only on target shot during the whole game. We seem to have rediscovered the habit of losing games in the last few minutes having done so against Forest and now Ipswich. We are also crying out for goals because you need them to win matches. We have an average of under a goal a game from our 30 league games to date and have lost 2 more games than we have won.
    We are now 16 points off sixth spot but only 7 points clear of the bottom 3 so it is now sadly clear where a focus needs to be. We were unfortunate that one mistake cost us so dearly yesterday but you don’t always get the rub of the green when you are losing games as often as we are at present. This team may well look better when they have had chance to dwell but as I recall we were saying the same thing at the start of this season!
    For me this three at the back system is not working for us and it was not the way to go yesterday given the team we were facing had very limited ambitions outside of their own half. Four at the back would surely have been enough. Hutton is no attacking wing back and Taylor looks more of a defensive back than a wing back that will run at people. By bringing Elphick back we are also disrupting a central defensive pairing that had been working well. The onus was on us to bring the game to them, to make chances (which we did) and to put one or more of them away (which we did not). We already have a changed team that are short of confidence so are we asking a bit too much of them to also ask them to adapt to a different way of playing?    
    My player ratings from a game which we resigned ourselves to another season in the Championship are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Held onto a near post shot from Ward on the 48th minute, had no real chance with their winner and that was about it for him on an otherwise untroubled afternoon.      
    Alan Hutton – 5 – A surprisingly rapid return to the starting line-up. Performed in the manner we have come to expect from him. He did hit one of his best crosses in a Villa shirt on 36 minutes that was just above Hogan and that Kodjia was not quite able to get on target despite an acrobatic attempt to do so.        
    James Chester - 6 – Solid, assured and seldom put under pressure by the visitors. Ran alongside McGoldrick and did not get a challenge in on him before he squared the ball through Baker’s legs and past Hourihane for Huws to steal the game for the Tractor Boys from close range on 83 minutes.  
    Tommy Elphick – 5 – Slipped, lost his footing and was left floundering on the ground like a fish out of water as McGoldrick collected the loose ball in the build up to their late winner.     
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Nathan has been playing so very well alongside Chester but is less comfortable on the left of three central defenders although he gets on with it and did even make the odd foray down the flank yesterday. Failed to get a header on target from a nice 79th minute Hourihane free-kick and had a header blocked a minute later.
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Looked quietly competent on his debut but I could not help thinking that if we are looking to play wing backs we had one who looks ideally suited to that role left sitting on the bench.
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Conor has not settled into the team quite as quickly and as seamlessly as we had hoped but there are some positive signs of what could grow into a good long term productive partnership with Lansbury taking shape. Hit a solid low shot from the edge of the box which produced a good one handed save at the post from Bialkowski on the 9th minute. Hits a nice dead ball and let us hope he finds the back of the net against his old club on Tuesday which could prove the making of him as a Villa player.       
    Henri Lansbury - 7 – MOTM – Our most effective player by some distance yesterday. He makes us tick on those occasions that we do so. Hit an 8th minute shot that Bialkowski pushed past the post for a corner.    
    Birkir Bjarnason – 6 – Hit a rasping shot that thudded against the crossbar on 21 minutes after Hourihane had found him unmarked just inside the box in a central position with a free-kick from the left edge of the area. Worked hard and this was his best performance for me to date in our shirt.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Was the go to guy who was fed the ball and expected to run at defenders yesterday and he did that well enough on occasions. Worked himself into a shooting position inside the box on the 42nd minute but Bialkowski got down well to save his attempt. Found by Adomah just inside the box in the last minute of stoppage time but his shot was gathered at his near post by Bialkowski. Needs to look up for others who may be in a better position more often and play alongside his new strike partner rather than behind him.   
    Scott Hogan – 6 – Placed a shot just wide of the post on 32 minutes. Did not get a lot of service and I had expected to see him look more of a threat than this but it is very early days for him.      
    Substitutes:
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Replaced Hutton on 67 minutes. Failed to make the impact we had hoped for yesterday in a game that I would have started him in to give him more time to do so.     
    Andre Green – Replaced Taylor on 77 minutes. Not on quite long enough to gather a rating.      
    Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Elphick on the 89th minute and was also not on long enough to get any sort of rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  12. John
    Villa scored four goals at home for the second time in four days yesterday despite making 11 changes from the team that defeated Norwich on Saturday.
    Our League 1 table-topping visitors also made the same number of changes. It seems clear from this that both clubs are prioritising promotion rather than cup glory this season although a visit to Wembley might yet be needed to secure promotion for both teams via the play-offs.
    This was a much better game than I had anticipated it would be and it was free for season ticket holders! It has often been said that “you don’t get anything for nothing” this phrase was recently used by the new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for example but we season ticket holders did get something for nothing last night we got to witness another goal fest at B6 for free!
    Scoring four goals in consecutive games for the first time since 2008 (when we scored 4, 6 & 5 goals in 3 successive games the first and last of which were home games) could well lead to Villa Park soon becoming known once again as fortress Villa Park. Make it so Villa!
    It was nice to see youth getting a chance in the first team again last night and it paid off once again. Most players that would be expected to be called upon on Friday for the visit to Bristol City got a game off. The young players that replaced them impressed and that can only be good for both them and for our football club.
    We might not win this cup or go much further in this competition but we have not yet embarrassed ourselves with the sort of inept performances we have produced in losing to lower league opponents in the recent past. For a second time within a week we performed well for 90 minutes and scored goals for fun. A third win on Friday might suggest that we really have turned the corner after what was an unexpectedly poor start to this season.
    My player ratings from a game that took us into the last 16 of the League Cup that we last won way back in 1996 are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Looks an able deputy for Johnstone. Was fortunate late on when an 89th minute effort from Hunt struck his legs rather than the back of the net.        
    James Bree – 6 – My primary concern with James being selected tonight as well as De Laet is that this suggests Hutton might be being saved to start on Friday night for some reason that is beyond me! James looked confident and competent last night both at full back in the first half and then when switched to the centre of our defence in the second.               
    Ritchie De Laet - 6 – Looked as adaptable as Bree did when he changed position with him from playing as a central defender alongside Elphick in the first half to playing as a full back in the second during which he made a couple of decent runs forward. Was beaten a little too easily by Colclough who then ran on to slot the ball into the corner of the net past Steer for their 43rd minute goal but he then claimed a big assist for our fourth goal.    
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Gave a steady and solid enough central defensive performance working alongside two defenders who would not be expected to feature too often in the centre of our defence. Hit a speculative 30 yard shot on 58 minutes that went wide of the post.       
    Mitchell Clark – 6 – Did well on his debut looking solid and comfortable in his role throughout. Hit a 10th minute shot from the edge of the box after an Adomah corner had been partially cleared that Jones pushed out for a corner at his right-hand post.  
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Performed at a level above what we have seen from him of late and sustained a good performance throughout the game rather than for say 45 minutes or less as has sometimes been the case previously. Hit our second goal on 36 minutes when he connected sweetly and first time with a cross from Bjarnason to send it rocketing into the roof of the net.
    Gary Gardner – 5 – Below his best last night as he has been for a while now. This may well be the last that we see of him in our shirt. Injury problems have hindered his development as I think has the holding midfield role he has often been asked to play as was the case last night. Gary looked to have a bright future with us showing an early ability to pick a pass (as he did last night in the build up to our first goal) and to find the back of the net himself but he is now looking to move on to play first team football more regularly. I hope this will soon see him performing at the sort of level he did when on loan at Forest for example (but not against us).          
    Jake Doyle-Hayes – 8 – MOTM – We might well have witnessed the emergence of a second significant young talent within less than a week yesterday. Jake did the simple things well, made some good strong challenges, has the happy habit of finding one of his own players more often than not and pretty much dominated the midfield until his 78th minute substitution. A very impressive performance that will surely see him start our next cup tie and challenge for a place on the bench in future league games in the same way as O’Hare has.  
    Birkir Bjarnason – 7 – Looked a lot more up for this game than he had done in recent appearances. Needs to get as involved in future games as he was in this one on a consistent basis in order to challenge for a starting place. Might have added a third on the 42nd minute when Hogan found him inside the box but he took a touch which enabled Jones to claim the ball. Scored our fourth on 74 minutes. De Laet made a good run from within his own half before hitting a cross that hurried behind Hogan but Bikir made a determined run that put him in front of a defender and he hit the ball home well. He also had a decent header kept out by Jones 10 minutes later.        
    Callum O’Hare – 7 – Showed signs of promise as he did in his previous appearance in this cup competition. Worked tirelessly and showed some nice touches. Got down where it hurts on the 40th minute when trying to get the ball in after a De Laet header from a corner. Hit a good cross on 45 minutes that Hogan was not quite able to stretch enough to be able to turn it into the net.     
    Scott Hogan – 8 – O’Hare played a ball to Scott on 8 minutes that he took into the box before wrong footing a defender and seeing his shot blocked by Jones at the near post. Gardner headed a 12th minute corner forward that Scott headed onto the crossbar. Opened the scoring on 19 minutes when a nicely weighted ball from Gardner found Adomah whose low cross into the box was turned in with his outstretched right foot. Scored his second and our third of the night on 44 minutes to restore our 2-goal cushion when he picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box turned and lashed the ball into the corner of the net. Headed a ball into the box from Adomah straight at Jones on 65 minutes. Scott was substituted on 81 minutes to put an end to his search for a third goal.           
    Substitutes:
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Replaced O’Hare on 73 minutes for a very rare Villa appearance. Was he in the shop window? Most likely but if so he did himself no harm showing he retains the ability to bring others into play in the final third as well as an awareness of the need to find space for himself in the box.   
    Jordan Lyden – Replaced Doyle-Hayes on 78 minutes. A welcome return to first team action but he was not on quite long enough to gather a rating.
    Easah Suliman – Replaced Hogan on 81 minutes and bravely blocked a fierce Burgess shot on 94 minutes. Our England U-19 UEFA European Championship winner was not on long enough to earn a rating.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  13. John
    They think its all over it seems it is now and it is still only November!

    It is hard to see us coming back from this sad, sad situation to retain our top flight status this time. Our absentee landlord has failed in his role as custodian of our football club and that will cost him financially and us in ways he does not or chooses not to appreciate. It looks like we are down before the Christmas decorations have gone up!  

    This was a must not lose game that we lost. Watford beat us at Villa Park in the league for the first time since 1969. We have not won a game since the first day of the season in the league and have only managed two draws since then. Will we win one in what remains of this season let alone win enough games to keep us up?   

    We are fast running out of games now let alone winnable ones. Watford was one of the games we really needed to win if we were to retain any realistic hope of adding another 27 or so points to the 5 we currently have. We are now faced with a need to gather points from games that we will start as heavy underdogs in as we did against Manchester City. Our next two games fit that description.    

    We started this game well pressing our opponents from the start and looking like the home side for once. Watford took the lead totally against the run of play but we deservedly pegged them back before half time having shown a good response to going a goal down. We clearly had the better of the first half but we did not put away enough of the chances that we made and our defence showed the usual signs of frailty when they tried to hit us on the break.

    The 8 minutes injury delay came when we were well on top. We were caught napping shortly after the re-start and the visitors took the lead again. We needed to kick on again in the second half but not for the first time this season we demonstrated the difficulty we find in performing at the same level for more than 45 minutes unless that level is an embarrassingly below par one. On the positive side we scored two goals at home. That should have produced a point at the very least but our defence conceded three to add to the four they leaked last week and you really cannot expect to win games when you are conceding goals to that extent.

    We hit a late goal which did give us some hope of a grandstand finish during the ten minutes of injury time. We deserved to get something from this game but we failed to lay a glove on our opponents in stoppage time and they spent more time in our half than we did in theirs.                   

    My player ratings from a game that has left us cast adrift from the rest of the league are:

    Brad Guzan – 7 – Did well to block a 17th minute Ighalo with his body but the same player turned the ball past him later in the same move after the ball ran to him off Clark. Brad did well to stop a Capoue shot with his legs on 24 minutes and he twice saved us from further embarrassment in stoppage time by turning Guédioura shots off target.                                                                         

    Alan Hutton – 5 – Did well going forward and was brought down for the free kick that led to our equalizer. Put the visitors back in front on 69 minutes when he turned the ball past Guzan and inside the post in the process of taking the ball off Ighalo after Deeney had threaded a ball between Clark and himself. His heavy touch on 85 minutes also led to us losing the ball in the build up to their third and ultimately decisive goal.                                 

    Kieran Richardson – 4 – Failed to get forward effectively enough and was again a cause for concern at the back.      

    Michah Richards – 7 – MOTM – Led by example and scored a tremendous goal on 41 minutes heading a well weighted Veretout free-kick into the corner of the net. His goal celebrations showed how much this game meant to him and he gives an example other players need to follow.                                  

    Ciaran Clark – 5 – Ayew touched a 39th minute Veretout corner across the face of the goal which Ciaran hesitated to move towards and could only stab wide with an outstretched foot. He really needed to go for the ball that Deeney headed in on 85 minutes to seal our defeat which had unluckily bounced off Richards into his path.                         

    Carles Gil – 7 – If only he could see out a full game. Worked hard, has a lovely touch and his creativity was much needed in Jack’s absence.

    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Hit a sweet free kick for our equalizer and had a couple of other nice touches but he needs to try to impose himself on games more.

    Carlos Sánchez - 4 – Lost the ball on the edge of his own box which led to their opening goal and was also dispossessed by Deeney on the edge of the box shortly afterwards. Not a good day overall for Carlos.                   

    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Hit a nice shot just wide of the post on 27 minutes but needs to make a bigger impact on games than this.

    Scott Sinclair – 6 – Forced a good save from Gomes on 31 minutes who turned his goal bound effort past the post. Made some decent runs yesterday and produced a better overall display than those of late.   

    Jordan Ayew – 6 – Had a decent shot saved at his near post by Gomes in the 10th minute and hit the bar with a header 3 minutes later from a Gil corner that was re-taken due to a coming together inside the box prior to the corner being taken. Really should have been on target when a 20th minute Veretout shot fell to him but he somehow managed to screw the ball wide of the post. Had a 31st minute punched away by Gomes who was grateful to see Sinclair’s header from the rebound go safely into his arms. Jordan curled a sweet shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the box on 89 minutes to give us a late second goal.            

    Substitutes:

    Adama Traore – 6 - Replaced Gil on 68 minutes. Gave us pace, urgency and a couple of decent crosses but he needs to look for a pass occasionally rather than to go it alone.      

    Rudy Gestede - Replaced Gana on 82 minutes but was not on long enough to gather a rating.

    Stay up Villa!

    John Lewis

  14. John
    A second successive home win and clean sheet has left us just 270 playoff minutes plus stoppage/extra time away from promotion.
    We did not need to be at our best last night to emerge the victors and we were not. We had by far the better of the game and ran out comfortable winners, but we took our foot off the gas noticeably in the second half and other teams might have made us pay the penalty for that. This was our third game within a week, so it might have been tired legs rather than a casual approach that brought the visitors more into the game in the second half, but we never quite killed them off and a one goal lead can often not prove quite enough. This was a night when we might have boosted our goal difference I hope that we do not regret having not done so.  
    Leeds are not the team to fear that they once were, but neither are we. They had some unfamiliar names in their starting line-up but of these their young goalkeeper Peacock-Farrell kept them in the game and their full back Pearce also looked very promising. These are two players that on this showing I suggest we would perhaps do well to keep an eye on for the future.    
    My player ratings from a game that left me thinking what might have been had we performed a little better in a couple of our recent games and not spent so much of this season without Jack, JT and Kodjia are:        
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Tipped a 3rd minute Alioski shot over the bar. Rarely called upon after that.
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – A decent enough performance.    
    James Chester - 7 – Failed to get a touch on a great ball from Onomah on 69 minutes that was all that was needed to seal our win. Dependable as always at the heart of our defence.        
    Mile Jedinak – 7 – Has done well alongside Chester in the centre of our defence as two successive clean sheets suggest. Mistimed his header on 76 minutes when Snodgrass found him with a free kick.
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Not yet quite up to the level he has given us at times in the past.
    Robert Snodgrass – 7 – Tried to curl an 18th minute shot inside the far post which Peacock-Farrell pushed out. Unusually hit a couple of free kicks harmlessly into the wall but hit some nice crosses and kept working at it.  
    Glen Whelan – 6 – Did a decent enough job as our holding midfield player. Kept things simple and did well to be in the right position to cover at the far post to head away an attempt by Phillips to turn in a cross on 50 minutes.      
    Josh Onomah – 6 – Much better than of late. Did well to work himself a 33rd minute shooting opportunity but flashed his shot wide of the near post. Kept busy throughout.         
    Jack Grealish – 8 – MOTM - Had a couple of attempts to repeat his match winning shot against Cardiff but they did not trouble the keeper. Made a nice run into the box on 69 minutes and hit the ball from just outside of the 6-yard area which Peacock-Farrell blocked with his outstretched leg.         
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Ran on towards a nice early Snodgrass ball hit from inside his own half only for Peacock-Farrell to run outside his area, beat him to it and clear it with his head on 18 minutes. Looked odds on to hit a second goal for us when he was pushed by O’Connor at the near post as he looked to get his head to a sweet Grealish cross. For some reason his penalty claim was denied. I was surprised to see him start but each minute he gets sets him up to make a bigger contribution in our playoff games. Substituted having got 67 minutes game time.     
    Lewis Grabban – 7 – Elmohamady hit an intended cross from the right so wildly across the goal that it fell to Grealish just outside the left-hand edge of the box. Jack then hit a perfectly flighted 29th minute cross which Lewis headed unchallenged into the left-hand corner of the net for our winner and his fifth goal for us. Was not quite able to turn a nice 61st minute ball from Snodgrass past Peacock-Farrell from close range and the keeper also got to Kodjia’s attempt to turn in the rebound which was ruled out for offside.         
    Substitutes:
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Came on for Kodjia in the 67th minute. Grealish chipped a lovely ball over a couple of defenders to Albert whose 75th minute shot was blocked at the near post by Peacock-Farrell. He then left a defender for dead on 84 minutes on the left flank but then hit the ball wildly across the face of the goal rather than find Snodgrass who was unmarked on the centre edge of the penalty box.          
    Scott Hogan - Replaced Grabban on 78 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.  
    Chris Samba – Replaced Onomah on 85 minutes and was not therefore on long enough to gather a rating.
    Get Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  15. John
    I actually thought we might win this one when we went a goal ahead with 28 minutes of this game left to be played. All we then needed was to do was to keep a clean sheet but we seldom do that do we?

    Up until then it had been our visitors that had looked the team most likely to break the deadlock and within 6 short minutes they were level. Inevitably our heads then dropped and we fell behind to a cruel late winner that spelt the end for our beleaguered former manager.

    This was another unusual team selection and the team selected did not really do enough to keep their manager in a job or to keep us off the bottom.

    A win or even a draw might have given Tim a chance to try to get another win at Spurs which might possibly have turned things around. But there was no guarantee of this given the poor run of results we have had this season. The parting of the ways and our relegation has looked increasingly more likely of late. Tim was not to be given as many chances to turn things around as was Lambert. Players brought in during the transfer window have yet to gel as a team so something had to change. If that change was not to be the owner it clearly had to be the manager once again.

    Another sad defeat was always going to be an ominous one for both manager and football club. So it has proved and we are back to square one and looking for someone to come in and rescue our season in the same way that Tim did 8 short months ago.

    Replacing managers is proving a costly business at Villa Park and it is certainly costing our absentee custodian more than his net outlay on players these days. In fact had we spent the money on players we have spent on paying off managers I doubt we would have been in our current sad, sad situation.

    Thanks for keeping the club up with the players you inherited last season Tim, for giving us our pride back albeit only fleetingly and for getting us to that Cup Final which is when it all began to fall apart. Good luck in the future at another club it is a pity it did not work out at this one for you and for us.

    Let us hope whoever is prepared to take over our football club given the position it currently finds itself in and the way it is being so under funded on the playing side that it faces an annual relegation battle can turn things around. Defeats like this one against a team that were themselves on a poor run before yesterday will not make the task any easier. The R word looms large at Villa Park again but is written even larger this season. We have given everyone else a head start and a point a game is unlikely to be enough to keep us up. We need clean sheets and to win games again. These are habits we have lost this season and need to regain quickly.
    My player ratings from a game that has left us with only 4 points from 10 league games and with one foot in the relegation trap door are:

    Brad Guzan – 4 – Made a splendid point blank save to deny Ayew on 62 minutes but then undid that with his poor positioning for a free kick from the edge of the box which cost us our lead. Sigurdsson lined up a free kick just outside the box and hit the ball over the wall and past Guzan who not for the first time had left too much space on the right hand side of his goal to be able to protect adequately. This cost us very dear and is a lesson he should have learned by now.                    
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Worked hard enough and was good enough up until it came to putting the ball into the box when his crosses were frankly woeful.
    Joleon Lescott – 4 – He continues to give more concern than would have been expected given his experience during games.     

    Michah Richards – 6 – Stood out again as the best of our defenders and has a will to win that others do not demonstrate as often. Michah was head-butted on 33 minutes by Fernandez which it seems all the officials missed so our opponents were not brought down to 10 men as a result.     
    Kieran Richardson – 4 – Again preferred to Amavi for a reason best known to the former manager. Wanted too much time on the ball at times and his lack of pace was exposed by the introduction of the speedy Barrow on 76 minutes.                          

    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Battled very well to hold onto the ball and hit a cross on 48 minutes that just needed a touch on it that neither Gabby nor Gestede were able to get.

    Jack Grealish – 4 – The performance he gave yesterday and the one he produced in last season’s FA Cup semi final were as different as chalk and cheese. He can be a much bigger influence on and be much more involved in games than this.

    Gabriel Agbonlahor - 4 – Inexplicably given an opportunity to walk straight back into the side following injury that his recent performances did not merit by our now departed manager. Played a nice one-two with Gestede on 46 minutes before he picked his spot but this was unfortunately a couple of yards wide of the far post.     
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – A reasonably solid performance.

    Jordan Ayew – 7 – MOTM – Got what could have proved a crucial goal on the day and one that will give him confidence for the games to come. Grealish picked the ball up inside his own half and ran forward before finding Bacuna who in turn found Gabby inside the box. His cross was met at the far post by a diving header from the unmarked Ayew that found the corner of the net on 62 minutes. Hit a shot from the edge of the box on 82 minutes that was gathered by Fabianski. Jordan looked the player most up for it during this game.          

    Rudy Gestede – 5 – Won a challenge on the edge of the box on 22 minutes but his shot was wide and posed no threat for the keeper. Climbed well to a Bacuna corner but headed over. He is a threat in the air but on the floor he is comfortably handled more often than not. He gives what it says on the tin but is not a like for like replacement for the striker we so miss.                   

    Substitutes:

    Carles Gil – Replaced Jack on 74 minutes. Should have started or come on sooner than this but was not given enough time to either turn things around or to earn a rating.     

    Adama Traore – Replaced Gabby on 85 minutes so was not on the field long enough to gather a rating or to show what we know he can do.  

    Stay up Villa!

    John Lewis

  16. John
    Our 5-game winning home run came to an end last night but we remain the only team in our division not to be beaten at home. We can thank the linesman who pointed out the hand ball from Liam Cooper that referee Roger East had missed or ignored in much the same way as had the Leeds defence and their manager for that. But justice was done when we scored our now familiar late goal to take a point.
    We refreshingly started this game by pressing our visitors during the opening minutes. We shaded the first half but Leeds then bossed the second half. The first goal always looked as though it might be crucial and it was our visitors that claimed on the 54th minute only to be pegged back by a late equalizer.   
    We needed a better performance than this one against a Leeds side that are currently on a terrific run but we failed to produce it. What we did show was resilience and the ability to get something from a game in the last few minutes of it. Leeds will claim with some justification that they were worth a win. They had looked likely to get it for most of the game but it was Villa that ended up the more likely side to find a late winner.        
    My player ratings from a game we needed to win but could not afford to lose are:
    Mark Bunn – 5 – I have always felt that he has an error in him waiting to come out and so it proved in the 54th minute when Jansson was left unmarked and unchallenged to put Leeds ahead. Bunn with Roofe’s outstretched leg nearby allowed the header to squirm through his hands and over the goal line. Was relieved to see the scorer’s shot rattle against the bar a couple of minutes later after a Chester header had fallen to him unmarked inside of the box. Did well to come out and block Sacko’s effort with his legs on the 77th minute.     
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Alan was steady at the back but he was the closest player to Jansson when he scored their goal without being challenged. Likes a cross as much as Count Dracula does.     
    James Chester - 7 – Headed a nice ball into the box from Amavi just wide of the post in the 32nd minute.      
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Another solid display.
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Was fortunate not to pay a heavy price when he lost possession inside the box when trying to let the ball go out for a goal kick on the 40th minute. Was also relieved to see Sacko’s 88th minute shot hit the bar after losing possession and being brushed aside by the striker who was a constant thorn in his side.
    Jordan Ayew – 4 – Hit a shot wide on the 74th minute. Had a couple of fleeting moments but this was a noticeable drop on the performance he gave and the energy he produced when appearing as a substitute in our last game.     
    Ashley Westwood - 6 – Had a decent game particularly in the first half.
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – A solid enough midfield performance and won more than his fair share of headers. Tired prior to his substitution and hit his usual share of stray passes.   
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Did not reach anything near the level he produced in his last outing.
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Substituted on 49 minutes having been unable to run off a first half knock. Leeds became increasingly dominant in his absence.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – MOTM - Took the ball off Phillips in the middle of their half and then beat the same player before hitting a 30-yard shot that took a deflection off a defender before Green parried the ball away to his left. Three minutes earlier he was found on the edge of the box by a poor attempted pass from Phillips but Jansson did well to get across to block his effort that deflected wide of the post. Got in a cross in first half stoppage time that was too firm for anyone to get on the end of after some good work on the edge of the box. Had a 67th minute shot pushed away by Green.  
    He was as cool as a cucumber on the 86th minute when he sent Green the wrong way from the spot for our equalizer and the ball thudded into the right-hand corner of the net. He might have gone on to win it for us in the 91st minute when the ball ran to him on the edge of the box after an aerial challenge between Gestede and a defender but his shot deflected off Green’s shoulder to safety. Jonathan might have considered the alternative of playing the ball to the unmarked McCormack who was in a great position to tap it in on his left. Will be much missed during his coming absence on international duty.        
    Substitutes:
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Replaced Jack on 49 minutes. Played his part in the build up to our penalty award.    
    Rudy Gestede – 5 - Replaced Jedinak on 78 minutes in what may prove his last appearance for us. It was his head that Cooper decided to push the ball away from with his hand to concede a late penalty after McCormack had played the ball over his head for both players to challenge for.     
    Albert Adomah – 7 - Replaced Ayew on the 78th minute and gave us pace and a threat down the flank that we had been previously missing.
    Up the Villa & A Happy Promotion New Year to all readers!
    John Lewis
  17. John
    There is to be no return to Wembley for us this season and we are now free to concentrate on the league. The earliest we can again lift this trophy for the eighth time will be a long 60 years of hurt since we proudly lifted it for a then record seventh time in 1957. We are now left with 15 Cup Finals in which to save our season!   

    Nine seasons ago we finished sixth in the table with Manchester City ending the season below us. We finished sixth again in the next two seasons and yesterday’s opponents were again below us each time. In the following year things changed. Their new owner threw oodles of money at it and our “custodian” decided to pull the purse strings as tight as they could possibly be pulled. In the seasons since Manchester City have qualified each year for the Champions League and we have never looked like finishing above them again. This season they will again qualify for the Champions League and still have a very outside chance of a quadruple whilst we face the bleak prospect of relegation.

    The results of blank cheque investment in the playing squad and of a penny-pinching lack of it were there for all to see yesterday. The game was over as a contest (if it ever actually was one) after just 4 minutes and it was put beyond any doubt from the penalty spot 20 minutes later thanks to the referee. We then gifted them two late goals to give the score a truer reflection of how the game had really gone. Although we had more possession than they did they were very comfortable about that because we seldom if ever looked like doing anything with it.

    Our opponents ran out comfortable winners yesterday. Had they wanted to they looked capable of making the score look even more embarrassing than it eventually ended up. Once they went ahead the game had the look of a pre-season friendly about it and our goal became one of damage limitation if it was ever anything else.
    My player ratings from a game that left me wondering whether we might try a cheeky loan offer to give their hat-trick scorer Kelechi Iheanacho a run of games with us this season that he will not get with them are:

    Brad Guzan – 5 – The slithery snake’s 4th minute corner was headed on by an unchallenged Sagna to Fernando whose far post header got a wafer thin touch off Guzan’s outstretched hand before Veretout cleared it off the line with his chest but Iheanacho was quickest to react to the loose ball and turned it in for their opener. He gathered a low shot from Navas on 15 minutes. He was then sent the wrong way for their penalty having committed himself to the left before it had actually been hit to his right. He used to save the odd penalty once upon a time! Blocked a 33rd minute shot from inside the 6-yard box by Fernandinho and got down well to make a save from Sterling on 56 minutes. Blocked a Fernandinho shot at his near post on 74 minutes but to no avail as the loose ball eventually ran to Sterling for their fourth.      
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Headed a cross over the bar in the 10th minute. Leo was very unlucky to have conceded the penalty that led to their second when Sterling went to ground having slipped and lost his footing when trying to get in front of him to get onto a Navas cross. He lost his head with Sterling after that as he is prone to do a little too often in games. Leo was booked on 26 minutes and might have seen red when he fouled the same player only 2 minutes later. Moving into the middle for the second half did little for us but it probably helped him stay on the field and avoid a suspension we can do without.                              

    Michah Richards – 5 – We rested our first choice central defensive pairing for this one and I guess our captain will be filling in again at full back for the West Ham game after this one.    

    Ciaran Clark – 5 – His strong challenge on the edge of the box on Iheanacho prevented what could have been an opportunity for a third on 31 minutes. Had a header from a Westwood cross that he was trying to work across the goal gathered by Caballero on 42 minutes.                                

    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Whilst solid enough at the back he does not offer a great deal up front but nor do we as a team.      
    Jordan Veretout – 4 – This game passed him by and this was a noticeable drop in his standards of late.           

    Ashley Westwood - 5 – Ash was also not at his best in the 45 minutes that he played.                                        

    Idrissa Gueye – 2 – Needs to put this surprisingly desperate performance behind him quickly as we will need him at his best next week. His 44th minute shot from outside of the box took a deflection off a defender before being gathered by Caballero. He had lost the ball more than once early in the game and appeared to have learned from that until near the end of the game when two dreadful errors doubled their lead. He got an unwanted assist for their third on 74 minutes when he played the ball back from inside their half into open space for Iheanacho to run onto and slot past Guzan. He then let a pass run past him to Sterling in the build up to their fourth only 2 minutes later and the scorer ran behind him to hit the ball home.     
    Carles Gil – 6 – MOTM – Forced a decent save from Caballero with a free-kick from the edge of the box which was on its way to the top corner on 68 minutes after Ayew had been brought down. Did well enough given those around him did not and was our most creative player by some distance yesterday although that is not saying that much really.      

    Scott Sinclair – 4 – Did very little against his former club yesterday when he could reasonably have been expected to have wanted to have raised his game against them with a view to making his case for a starting place during what is left of the season rather than a continued spell on the sidelines.      

    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Showed less strong running and spark than we have come to expect from him in this one. Without him at or near his best we have very, very little to worry opposition defences. Jordan was another player who was below par yesterday.         

    Substitutes:

    Jores Okore – 6 - Replaced Westwood at half time and was the best of our defenders in the second half.  

    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 4 – Replaced Sinclair on 65 minutes. If Gabby was the answer yesterday I’m not sure what the question was. Made little to no impression on the game and showed little to suggest he is aching for a regular opportunity to save our season.

    Jack Grealish – Replaced Gil on 80 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating and did nothing in the time he had available to press his claim for a starting place.  

    Stay Up Villa!

    John Lewis

  18. John
    No team has ever avoided relegation from the Premier League with single figure points at this stage of the season. This is being widely quoted as a reason to conclude that our fate is already sealed. That may well prove to be the case but there was football before season 1991-92!

    In season 1990-91 Sheffield United had managed only 4 points and 4 draws by mid-December after their first 17 games in Division 1. They ended the season in 13th place on 46 points and well clear of the relegation places. So history proves it has and can be done after all. A repeat of that achievement by Villa would be a very nice unexpected Christmas present for us all!      

    On 13th December 1998 we beat Arsenal at Villa Park to go top of the table. We have not beaten them in the league at Villa Park since. Yesterday precisely 17 years later to the day it was Arsenal that beat us to go top of the league themselves.

    Arsenal remain undefeated in the league at Villa Park this century and it seems the only way we will avoid their winning run at Villa Park being extended to 18 years is by our being relegated. That is something we sadly look likely to be able to achieve with some games to spare now.

    There was no festive cheer to be taken from this game for us and no Christmas gifts of much needed points from our visitors. Teams that are above us seem able to get surprisingly positive results as did Newcastle yesterday and Bournemouth on Saturday. We alone of the bottom dwellers can be relied upon to be consistent to the extent that yesterday’s defeat broke our football club’s all time record run of games without a win. I have had enough of the sort of record breaking we have been doing for far too long now!

    Our chances of extending our 29-year stay in the top flight grow less as each game passes us by. We started well enough yesterday but their early converted penalty relieved any pressure there may have been upon them given they were aware that we were likely to pose them little to no threat up front.

    Their second goal was the coup de grâce and they were able to run down the clock in the second half without shifting out of second gear. Their win was a very, very comfortable one. We did create a few half chances but we were fortunate that they were happy to come away with a 2-goal winning margin because had they had the will to have gone for victory by a wider margin our goal difference could have looked worse than it already does today.

    We now need snookers to stay up. Other teams are getting the sort of unexpectedly positive results they need which seems to be way beyond us. If we are to make some sort of a fight of this then we really need to win a couple of the three games that we have left during what remains of this sorry year.

    12 or 13 points at the half-way stage of this season could yet give us some hope of turning things around. To do that we would need to get a minimum of the same points from our next 3 games that we have managed to get from our first 16. It seems highly unlikely at the moment as we stare into the abyss that a team who have difficulty in scoring but concede goals a plenty will get anywhere near the number of points we need from these three games. 

    My player ratings from a game that has left us still without a home league win this season, with the worst goal difference in the league, with a measly 6 points from 16 games and with only 3 from our last 15 are:

    Brad Guzan – 5 –. Sent the wrong way on the 8th minute when Giroud hit their first from the penalty spot. Had little else to do during the game but played his team mates into trouble a couple of times when playing the ball out of his area such as when he gave the ball to Lescott on the edge of the box in stoppage time. Brad came out for an Ozil free kick on 20 minutes that he failed to reach but Giroud failed to take advantage and Gestede cleared his header away for a corner. He then pushed an 82nd minute Oxlade-Chamberlain shot that had taken a touch off Lescott out for a corner.                                                                          

    Alan Hutton – 4 – Started the game badly and pulled Walcott back with both arms on his shoulders after he had cut into the box in front of him for their penalty. He improved later but it would have been difficult to have got any worse. Alan also headed a 43rd minute corner harmlessly wide.                                  

    Jores Okore – 6 – MOTM – Looked solid enough on a day when the team did not.      

    Joleon Lescott – 5 – Joleon was left with 3 players to mark for their second goal after both Sánchez and Veretout failed to cover runs from Ozil and Giroud. Ozil unselfishly played the ball to Ramsey who was the first of two unmarked players inside the area and the game was over as a contest if in reality it ever was one.                                    

    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Cech parried a Sánchez cross to him on 21 minutes but he sent the ball well over. Unlucky on 62 minutes when Ayew found him wide and in a lot of space to see his measured shot go inches over the bar.                          

    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Hit a shot from the edge of the box well over the bar on 48 minutes.

    Carlos Sánchez - 4 – His 50th minute shot was gathered easily enough by Cech.                   

    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Hit a shot from the edge of the box wide of the post on 31 minutes. He appeared to have been fouled to everyone other than the referee when he lost possession of the ball near the edge of their box and they went on to add their second.

    Scott Sinclair – 5 – Gana found him with a good ball in the 6th minute but his low shot from the edge of the box went straight into the arms of Cech. Scott headed a cross onto the roof of the net on 58 minutes.   

    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Aimed a nice looking ball into the box for Sinclair which he was not quite able to bring under control on 53 minutes.  

    Rudy Gestede – 4 – Won some balls in the air but offered little to no threat of scoring himself and was much too static when we had the ball. Failed to get enough on a header from a 49th minute Hutton cross.           

    Substitutes:

    Carles Gil   6 - Replaced Gestede on 59 minutes and made a decent impact. Hit a shot just wide of the post on 82 minutes that Cech appeared to have covered.   

    Jack Grealish – Replaced Gana on 78 minutes. Did not make any impression on the game so did not merit a rating.     

    Adama Traore – Replaced Sinclair on 87 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating but he did make a powerful run from inside his own half in the first minute of stoppage time before hitting a shot from inside the area into the side netting. He offers the chance to make something from nothing as this demonstrated. Given we have nothing at the moment we have very little to lose by starting him in our next four games because we really need to get some serious points from them.

    Happy Christmas to all readers & stay up Villa!

    John Lewis


     
  19. John
    We have won more cup than league games this season and this one sets up the return of a slithering snake to Villa Park in the Fourth Round of this cup competition which we last won 59 years ago.  

    We are now three wins from a return to Wembley but after last night another semi-final seems a very much longer way off; particularly if our team against Manchester City gives anything like the same sort of inept performance that our starting eleven did last night.

    We did finally struggle into the next round but the only team to really emerge from this game with significant credit were our visitors. They seemed to want it much more than we did and the only thing that we did well was to disguise any gulf in class there may have been between the two teams.

    Some of the players who started the game last night that do not usually do so demonstrated why that is the case and did little to press their claim for a regular starting place. What they did do was show that we lack adequate cover for future injuries and suspensions to the first team in what is left of this sorry season. Will we do anything about it in what is left of the transfer window? I would guess we will not.  

    Villa’s performance was embarrassingly poor for most of this game. We did have the lion’s share of the ball but did little positive with it until late in the game when two good finishes won it for us. Our opponents had a couple of opportunities but did not really look like scoring which was fortunate for us.

    The game was heading for what seemed inevitable extra time and potentially a penalty shoot-out until the last quarter of an hour. We then scored twice which flattered us and would give anyone looking at just the result the impression that we had won the game with the minimum of fuss. But the score alone can sometimes give the wrong impression and this was anything but a comfortable win.

    Wycombe can now concentrate on the league and getting to the play-offs again this time with a happier final conclusion. Our primary objective must be to secure an unlikely further year in the top flight although an almost equally unlikely second successive Cup Final appearance would be very nice. Wins in the cup can build upon fragile confidence and a good cup run can be beneficial to survival prospects. It can give players and fans alike a break from the pressure of league games that we desperately need points from to try to pull clear of the relegation zone although last night did not feel like much of a break to me!             

    My player ratings from a game during which we stretched our unbeaten run to four games having made 9 changes from the side that shared the points with Leicester are:

    Brad Guzan –5 – Made a decent save diving to his left to keep out a Wood shot from just inside of the box after 31 minutes. Came for but missed a Jacobson cross on 45 minutes and was fortunate that Thompson’s header flew just over the bar.                                                                              

    Jordan Lyden – 6 – Hit a couple of decent crosses into the box and looked solid. A promising full debut for another Jordan!  

    Micah Richards – 5 – Showed a will to win and endeavour but continues to be prone to an occasional error or lapse of concentration.         

    Ciaran Clark – 6 – Had a decent enough game at the back alongside Micah. Ciaran also grabbed our all important and long awaited opener on 75 minutes when he headed a Gil cross past Ingram and into the corner of the net with some aplomb.                                   

    Kieran Richardson – 4 – This was not the level of performance he would have hoped to produce last night.                            

    Carlos Sánchez – 4 – Replaced at half time having picked up another knock earlier. Carlos was some way off his best last night as has regularly been the case of late. Surrendered the ball on the edge of his own box early on and this is a habit that he seems unable to shake off.     

    Jack Grealish - 4 – The player who dazzled at the FA Cup semi-final last season was unrecognisable last night. Took the safe easy option too often and rarely displayed the talent he has within him to unlock defences and make goal scoring opportunities. Another very disappointing performance from Jack that begs the questions why has it all gone wrong so quickly and when/will this be put right?                    

    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Hit a shot from inside of the box well over the bar on 63 minutes after an Ayew cross from inside of the area that Grealish had not connected with fell to him. He was the best of our starting midfield for me which is not saying as much as it should be.

    Scott Sinclair – 5 – Looked up for it at times albeit not over the full 90 minutes but for me he showed he still has it in him to do a decent enough job for us. Gestede chipped a ball into the box for him to run onto and his near post shot was deflected into the side netting by Ingram on 41 minutes. Made a nice run into the box on 68 minutes but his shot was deflected over by a defender having snatched at a shot a minute earlier that flew well off target.  

    Jordan Ayew – 7 – MOTM – His pace, hard running, willingness to try to make something happen and his class stood out last night. Jordan ran into the box purposefully and hit the side netting on 15 minutes after Gestede had played a nice ball he had received from Sinclair to him on the edge of the box. Hit a shot into Ingram’s arms on 28 minutes having been fed by Richardson. He was fed by Gana a couple of yards inside their half and ran just inside the box before hitting a 54th minute shot past the keeper but wide of the far post.    

    Rudy Gestede – 5 – Really needed to be on target when his 6th minute header from a nicely weighted and targeted Grealish cross was headed harmlessly off target. Gathered the ball near the half way line on 77 minutes before running to the edge of the box but did not have the pace to get clear both of the two defenders who pursued him, one of whom got the ball out for a corner. Claimed an assist for our second but did not really do much to show he would make the anticipated big impact in the league below should we find ourselves there next season against opponents who are currently two divisions below that level.                      

    Substitutes:

    Idrissa Gana – 7 - Replaced Sánchez at half time. Our midfield improved markedly with his introduction as it did again when Gil was introduced later. Hit a shot just wide of the post on 72 minutes and then hit his first goal for us to ensure there would be no possibility of extra time after all on 90 minutes. He played the ball out to Sinclair whose cross to Gestede was played back to him to the left of the penalty spot and he hit a measured shot into the corner of the net to seal our victory with the assuredness of someone who finishes like that every week.    

    Carles Gil – 7 - Replaced Grealish on 73 minutes. His creativity and touch did much to help us to present a more serious threat to our opponents defence than we had managed to do prior to his introduction.

    Up for the Cup Villa!

    John Lewis

  20. John
    A rare two goals at home still produced “nul points” for us because we have a defence that is as watertight as was The Titanic.
    If this was the performance of a team with the weight taken off their shoulders it was not markedly different from the performances they produced before relegation (which our “custodian” deemed inevitable after only 5 league games) became a mathematical certainty last weekend.
    Southampton scored four and could have had a couple more if the woodwork had not denied them. We all arrived expecting another defeat and that is what we got. This was our 12th home defeat of the season, our 25th loss from 35 league games and our 10th successive defeat which brings us just one more defeat from equalling the worst run of losses in the history of our football club.
    Everyone wants to play us at the moment. Even Newcastle who could well be joining us in the league below next season will anticipate getting nothing less than a win and an easy three points from our next and final home game of the season. So we had better get our chants of “Going down with the Villa” in early doors!  
    Our caretaker manager selected a team no doubt with the hope that we could keep it tight at the back. That worked well didn’t it? We scored twice but the visitors still ran out comfortable winners. There is little point in picking players like Bacuna and Richardson (who would no doubt have played had he not had a knock) that have lost the crowd and done little to nothing to warrant selection this season.
    Why not play the kids alongside Gil, Jack and Traoré? Its not as if doing so could cost us our place in the division is it? These players would enjoy the full backing of the fans in the way that Ayew does. Failing to play our more creative players along with the young players to give them some first team experience smacks of ignoring what the fans want but that is sadly not unusual at our football club.
    It was great to see those thousands of banners held up before the game and on 74 minutes to show that the vast majority of fans are unwilling to accept how our football club is being run as it lurches from bad to worse on almost a daily basis. Well done to all involved in this protest!
    My player ratings from a game that gave us another disappointing and predictable result are:
    Brad Guzan – 4 – Came out to block a Long shot with an outstretched arm on 57 minutes, kept out a Davis effort at his near post on 59 minutes and then held a Rodriguez shot from outside of the box 2 minutes later although it was hit straight at him. Brad was beaten on 71 minutes by a shot from the edge of the area from Tadic which took a slight deflection off Westwood. He then pushed away a Davis cross with one hand on 79 minutes but did less well a minute later when he pushed weakly at a cross with one hand that fell to Long who spared his blushes by hitting the ball over. Did well to take the ball away from Mané inside the box as the substitute threatened to add a fourth on 84 minutes but he again exposed his fallibilities on 89 minutes when he presented the ball to an opponent with a quick ball played just outside his own area but fortunately Cissokho was able to take the ball off Long inside the area.
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Kept trying to move us forwards. Had an 85th minute effort helped over the bar at his near post by Forster and had a header from a Grealish corner headed off the line late in second half stoppage time.
    Micah Richards – 3 – Substituted at half time. 
    Joleon Lescott – 2 – A ball was played for Long on the 2nd minute that went over the head of Richards and then bounced off Joleon and back to Long whose shot fortunately cannoned off the bar. He then left the same striker in space 12 minutes later and the ball was headed in for their opener from Bertrand’s cross. Rodriguez tried to turn in a dangerous cross on 56 minutes which was deflected wide of the post off Lescott. He was left covering space rather than the unmarked Mané when he gave them their fourth on 94 minutes.  
    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Worked hard and Aly was solid enough at the back.
    Leandro Bacuna  – 2 – Really should have been on target with a header from a nice cross from Westwood that he turned wide of the post on 22 minutes. He then gave the visitors a two-goal cushion after 39 minutes with a thoughtless as well as an aimless back pass from well within the visitor’s half. Long then easily outpaced Lescott to reach the ball first. Guzan did well to dive at Long’s feet and to push the ball away from him but the striker then squared the ball for Tadic who was unmarked when hitting the ball home. Had Richards hurried rather than ambled back he might have been able to have challenged the scorer. 
    Ashley Westwood – 7 – MOTM – You wait almost a whole season for a league goal from him and then like the Clapham omnibus two come along together. His two goals were the highlights of our performance yesterday and his second was particularly well taken. Got on the end of a 38th minute Ayew cross but the ball went straight into Forster’s hands. Ashley then scored in the first minute of first half stoppage time when a good run and cross from Ayew was missed by Gana but ran on to him and he did well to find the corner of the net. His second came on 85 minutes when Gestede was unable to connect with a Grealish cross and the ball ran on to him just inside the box. Ashley proceeded to curl a splendid measured shot into the corner of the net. 
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Appeared to lack a little of his usual interest early on but got into the game increasingly as it wore on.
    Carlos Sánchez – 3 – He has not been the rock in our midfield that we had hoped for when he signed for us and that continued to be the case yesterday prior to his substitution.
    Scott Sinclair – 4 – Made a couple of decent runs. Hit a shot wide of the post on 35 minutes from the edge of the box and he had a shot saved by Forster’s feet after the ball had run to him in stoppage time after Gestede had lost it on the edge of the box.
    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Why would anyone bring off Jordan when the team should have been chasing the game? That was clearly a view shared by many giving the resulting chant of “You don’t know what you’re doing”.  Had an 8th minute effort comfortably saved at his near post by Forster but was our biggest threat to the visitors until he was withdrawn.
    Substitutes:
    Kevin Toner – 6 – Replaced Richards at half time and gave a steady enough display that should lead to him starting our remaining games for me.
    Rudy Gestede – 4 - Replaced Ayew on 59 minutes and headed a 66th minute cross from Cissokho over which he had to stretch back to reach.
    Jack Grealish – 5 - Replaced Sánchez on 68 minutes. He needs to start our remaining games. Jack gave a couple of reminders of the player we knew from last season and was unlucky that a few of the things that he tried that did not quite come off. 
    Get straight back up next season Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  21. John
    Our first home win and only our second league win of this frankly embarrassing season left us all leaving the ground with smiles on our faces and trying to remember how we used to react to winning a home league game.

    If our players are to be heroes just for one day then at least we will have the memory of a minimum of one home league win to look back on as we face the drop at some point between now and mid May.

    Yesterday we showed that at Villa Park we can beat them, just for one day. Our task is now to build on that win and to make it the start of what would be the greatest and most unexpected of escapes. We are currently 8 points from safety and that sounds a lot better than 11.

    To stay up we would need to gather another 27 points for me which looks to be beyond us. It would not need us to show we can beat them, forever and ever but if we pulled off this miracle by getting one less point from our last 17 games than Watford did from their first 17 we can be heroes, forever and ever. It would also lead to a lot of planned street parties being cancelled in the dark side of Birmingham!

    We started last night’s game well and played some decent football throughout against a Palace team who appeared to think that turning up at Villa Park was all they would need to do to emerge with all 3 points from the club who were and are still sitting rock bottom of the league. We played as a team and worked exceptionally hard for the victory we deserved last night Fair play to Pardew who said after the game, “I hope they do (stay up) they’re a great club. The PL would not want to lose a club of this magnitude”.    

    This Villa team showed spirit, passion and a will to win. These have been rare commodities so far this season and for me the team that took us into double figures points-wise last night should have the opportunity to go again unchanged on Saturday and seek a second successive home win against Leicester. This win can give our team some much needed confidence and belief to take into our coming games.   

    Our defence after recovering from the shock of Zaha hitting the far post in the first minute and seeing Delaney get between Lescott and Okore to turn a 27th minute Cabaye free-kick just wide of the post secured a crucial clean sheet. Our midfield ran for fun and challenged for the ball like terriers. The final third continued to be an issue for us but we got the goal and as Arsenal have proven is the case that is always enough when you are able to keep a clean sheet.

    We may well still go down after this win but if we must then let us go down fighting in the way that we fought for every ball last night!   

    My player ratings from a game that provided us with a rare league win are:

    Mark Bunn – 6 – Had a surprisingly quiet evening but did what little he needed to without undue alarm for the defenders in front of him and with a minimum of fuss.                                                                          

    Leandro Bacuna – 8 – Looked very decent as well as composed and reliable at the back last night. He was his usual effective self when getting forward. 

    Jores Okore – 7 – Jores was very solid alongside his skipper last night.       

    Joleon Lescott – 8 – This was a solid defensive performance and he led by example organising the players around him very effectively. Joleon added our winner on 58 minutes when he towered above two defenders to head Veretout’s corner and Hennessey was unable to gather his header which crossed the line off both of his legs.                                   

    Aly Cissokho – 7 – Aly was very steady at the back and did well enough when going forward. Had a 53rd minute shot from the edge of the box deflected over. We looked a lot more solid in defence with him there and that is what matters for us just now.                            

    Jordan Veretout – 8 – MOTM - Didn’t stop running, closing down as well as trying to move us forward last night.   

    Carles Gil - 7 – Worked himself into the ground before his late substitution and has now surely shown he is worth a regular starting place.                   

    Idrissa Gana – 8 – Got stuck in and did a lot of good work in our midfield. For me this was his best game for us as he continues to get better with each game.

    Ashley Westwood – 7 – Did his bit in the middle and worked hard. Hit a 3rd minute shot just wide of the post from the edge of the box.    

    Jordan Ayew – 8 – Our main threat up front worked very hard as he always does and has the spark that worries defenders. Thundered a shot into the side netting on 26 minutes after Kozak had headed the ball onto him. Might have settled our nerves on 85 minutes when he did all of the hard work by cutting into the box and running between 2 defenders before hitting his shot over the bar.   

    Libor Kozak – 7 – Libor was back by popular demand and worked his socks off last night looking more comfortable and familiar in the role than the player he replaced has of late. Did all that we could have reasonably expected from him and did well to get a shot in from the edge of the box on 52 minutes that was deflected off a defender and that Hennessey fumbled wide of the post.                 

    Substitutes:

    Ciaran Clark - Replaced Gil on 91 minutes so was not on long enough to merit any rating.  

    Stay up Villa!

    John Lewis


     
  23. John
    We showed some much needed fight and spirit yesterday against a team who were no better than we were and were perhaps fortunate to leave Villa Park with a point. But when we concede the first goal this season it is very unlikely that we will win the game because try as we might we do not really pose a significant goal threat to our opponents.
    West Ham had their best moments at the end of each half. They went ahead in first half stoppage time and seemed the team most likely to score when it was us that really needed to have been pressing for a winner near the end but we had the best of the game overall.
    There are signs of improvement now and our players do seem to be settling into a system as well as into this league. We came back from being a goal down as we did at Newcastle and have now for the first time this season gone 2 games without defeat. These are positives we can take from a season where positives have been very few and far between for us.  
    So we have now gone 10 home league games without a win. We have not won in the league at Villa Park this season and have only won one of the 18 games we have played since the first day of the season. That form sadly has relegation written all over it.
    On the two previous occasions that we were bottom of the table at Christmas we were relegated and the odds are against us making it third time lucky. The two teams that were bottom of the table at Christmas 2013 and 2014 survived but to have any chance of doing the same we really need to be winning games like this one and we did not.
    A draw from a game like this would have been OK if we had say another 10 points to our name but we are playing catch-up and we will not catch up in time by drawing games.
    We are 9 points adrift of Norwich who currently sit just above the drop zone. We play them next and follow that up with Sunderland who are only 4 points clear of us. We need to win both of those games now to bring those clubs within our reach. They are 6-pointers and must win games. Make it so Villa!
    My player ratings from a game that has left us hanging onto our top flight status by our finger tips are:
    Brad Guzan – 6 – Got a hand to a 25th minute near post shot from Zárate which he turned wide and gathered a shot from Obiang on 79 minutes a little uncomfortably. Brad again left a lot of space at one side of his goal for a late stoppage time free kick but managed to scramble across his goal to turn Valencia’s shot out for a corner.                                                                          
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Alan worked very hard as he always can be relied to do but his crosses were generally poor and he left wide players in too much space on a couple of occasions. On one such occasion Valencia had oceans of space in the build up to the move that led to Kouyaté striking the woodwork. Former Villa target Cresswell then found himself with no-one anywhere near him before he cut inside and picked his spot on the edge of the box. Alan later had a far post header cleared near the line by Collins on 74 minutes.
    Jores Okore – 6 – Jores gave another solid enough display at the back.       
    Joleon Lescott – 6 – The captaincy appears to have had a positive impact upon Joleon who looks more assured now and organises those around him pretty well.                                   
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Adrián blocked his 28th minute shot from the edge of the box which bounced to Gestede who was unable to get enough on his header from the rebound to trouble the keeper. 
    Jordan Veretout – 7 – Had a 53rd minute shot pushed past the far post by Adrián after Hutton had found him on the edge of the box and he had ran into it between 2 defenders. His recent improvement in performance is being sustained.  
    Carlos Sánchez - 6 – We lost some shape when he went off through injury on 38 minutes.                   
    Idrissa Gana – 7 – An encouraging display. Put himself about yesterday and stood up to be counted.
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Hit a shot over the bar from 30 yards after Bacuna had found him in space and did the same with a volley on 71 minutes after the ball fell into his path from a corner. Might have conceded a second half penalty when the ball struck his arm but that would have been harsh on him and on us.    
    Jordan Ayew – 7 – MOTM - Jordan was as cool as a cucumber when he stepped up to slot home his 62nd minute penalty sending Adrián the wrong way. He really looks up for the fight and looks a quality forward now.   
    Rudy Gestede – 6 – Won balls in the air and was brought down for our penalty by Kouyaté as he raced onto a ball having got in front of his man. He seems to now be settling into playing in this league but he needs to find the goal touch he produced for Blackburn in the league below if we are to avoid joining them next season. Headed a Veretout cross wide of the post on 18 minutes and headed a Hutton cross over the bar on 50 minutes that he really should have headed downward. Turned well inside the box on 59 minutes following a Veretout free kick but his shot was parried away by Adrián.    
    Substitutes:
    Carles Gil -  6 - Replaced Sánchez on 38 minutes. Took a while to find his feet but he played his part in getting us moving forward in the second half. Hit a 44th minute shot wide of the near post from the edge of the box.  
    Adama Traoré – Replaced Veretout on 83 minutes but was not on the field long enough to merit a rating.  
    A Happier New Year to all readers - Stay up Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  24. John
    This was a game of two halves. We scored twice in the first half, might have put the game beyond doubt and were a constant threat to the visitors who appeared to be there for the taking but we then snatched a draw from the jaws of victory. I suspect that our players thought that they would be able to comfortably coast through the second half but Simon Grayson’s half-time words stung Preston into second half action and they dominated the second half as much as we had controlled the first.
    They got into our faces and scored the vital third goal of the match on 64 minutes which led to our players showing the anxieties and frailties that they are still prone to. Our visitors ran the show in the second half and were level on 76 minutes with their second goal in 12 minutes. We were fortunate that they did not push too hard for a winner that would have shattered our unbeaten home record. 
    Each game we play seems to put a play-off place further away from us. We are now 9 points off sixth place. Defeats for the fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs gave us an opportunity to close the gap on them further but we squandered that chance yesterday. We need to go on a run of wins now to make up the gap between us and sixth spot and to leapfrog the teams (including yesterday’s visitors) that stand between the top six and us. Sadly, we draw too many home games and lose too many games away to make us going on such a run look a realistic prospect.     
    Before the game, I along with others were left wondering why on earth Gabby was in the starting line-up yet again. We now know. He was in the team because Ross McCormack has in recent weeks developed the sort of fitness and attitude issues that he had himself displayed over recent years. It is almost amusing that the recent behaviour of McCormack which mirrors that of Gabby over a longer period has ensured Gabby’s extended run in the side at a time when we had hoped McCormack might take the opportunity that the absence of Kodjia and Ayew on international duties offered him to show he could get goals for us as regularly as he has for others in the past. 
    We now have some time available to reinforce further the team that will travel to Brentford with new signings and players potentially returning from international calls. That time will also offer McCormack an opportunity to begin to change his attitude and to try to seek the forgiveness for his misdemeanours that Gabby has been granted for his by Steve Bruce.    
    My player ratings from a game before and during which we remembered Graham Taylor are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Had the quietest of first halves. He appears to like to take the option of punching rather than trying to catch the ball when he has the choice doesn’t he? Given that, he needs to try to get some more distance on those punches on a more consistent basis if they are to become a reliable safe option. Grabbed an 82nd minute header near the goal line and has a level of confidence about him.     
    Alan Hutton – 7 – Made some decent forward runs particularly early on and this must go down as one of his better games for us.     
    James Chester - 7 – Won everything in the air. Was left flat footed on the edge of the box as Hugill took the ball to his right and hit their opener before Amavi could get a challenge in.      
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Another competent performance by what is our most improved player this season. He certainly learnt some good things during his loan to Bristol City last season and has now become one of the first names on our team sheet.
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Lost possession more often than he would be expected to and disappointingly looked less effective as the game wore on prior to his late substitution.
    Albert Adomah – 7 – MOTM – Albert scored a brace of goals which should have been enough to secure the win. His first was a tap in from around a yard when unmarked but he was in the right place at the right time to put us ahead on 22 minutes and the referee let it stand despite vociferous appeals from the visitors for a foul by Gabby on the keeper. Sent Maxwell the wrong way from the spot after 36 minutes for his second. He had been found on the edge of the box by Amavi and ran on only for McGeady to win the ball but bring him and concede a penalty that incensed the visitors. Had an 88th minute shot kept out by Maxwell at his near post.     
    Henri Lansbury - 7 – Pinged a couple of excellent passes and looked comfortable on the ball. He also takes a good corner which makes a pleasant change to what we have grown accustomed to. His lack of recent games started to tell in the second half as Preston took control of the midfield and he was substituted on 77 minutes. He will get even better with games and with another new midfield maestro alongside him shortly.    
    Ashley Westwood – 6 – Started well and looked to be enjoying playing alongside Lansbury but faded somewhat as the game wore on and the opposition found him less of a barrier to their progress through the middle than they would have the injured Jedinak. Hit the ball just over on 32 minutes after Lansbury had played a terrific ball to find Adomah.    
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Needs to try to impose himself more on games than he did yesterday and to remember as he had started to do up until yesterday that he has a role to play when the opposition have the ball as well as when we do. Given little protection from some rough treatment from opponents by a referee who appeared unconcerned that they were using this tactic to nullify his undoubted but too rarely seen talent. Hit a stoppage time cross behind Gabby when a late winner had for a fleeting moment looked possible. Might have won this one for us at times but didn’t quite produce the final touch to do so.
    Andre Green – 6 – Missed a good opportunity to open the scoring on 12 minutes when he headed Gabby’s cross wide when he really should have at least been on target. He clearly has potential and the ability to take on and beat defenders. He needs games and the increased confidence that a run of first team appearances should give him.    
    Gabby Agbonlahor – 6 – Gabby’s starting place is now unlikely to come under any serious threat until Kodjia or Ayew or both return from international duty or we sign another striker. Gabby did well enough yesterday and worked very hard. It was asking a lot of him to play as a lone striker but he did win a couple of balls in the air and pressed defenders. He does not have the pace he once had and what goal threat that he once possessed has now almost entirely been extinguished but he will no doubt claim an assist for our opening goal. Grealish chipped a ball over a defender for Gabby to run onto inside the box but his attempt to chest the ball down only led to the ball bouncing out of his reach. He tried to get his foot to the ball as he collided with the keeper and the ball ran loose to be tapped home by the unmarked Adomah near the line for our first. The ball ended up in the side netting on 33 minutes when he looked to have an opportunity to add a second. His best display for us in a long, long time but that is not saying that much, is it?    
    Substitutes:
    Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Replaced Henri on 72 minutes. Hit an 83rd minute shot from the edge of the box that Maxwell held easily enough.    
    Gary Gardner – Replaced Amavi on 89 minutes. Not on long enough to merit a rating.      
    Keinan Davis – Replaced Grealish on the 93rd minute and was also not on long enough to get any sort of rating. Perhaps he should have been given a chance earlier?
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  25. John
    We had not won since Boxing Day until we did so at Villa Park on Saturday. We added a second home win to that one yesterday. We have taken 6 points from 2 games now having only managed 2 from our previous 9. Our second win of 2017 has taken us up to 15th place and we are now 9 points clear of the drop zone. A third successive win on Saturday at Rotherham would give us 45 points and this would all but secure our safety.   
    The first half was as grim as was the weather yesterday. Our visitors had the better of the start of the game and hit the bar after 15 minutes. They were uncompromising at the back and in the middle. The ball spent a lot of time in the air during most of the first half and that suited our visitors more than it did us as all the high balls played towards Kodjia were easily won by their no-nonsense defenders. This increasingly had the look of a game between two struggling Championship teams who were busy slugging it out and I guess that is exactly what it was.
    A goalless draw had seemed to be the most likely result at the break. Happily, the second half was a different story. I guess Steve Bruce had suggested we try playing a bit of football in the second half (with or without the help of an odd flying tea cup) and we did just that during a purple patch that we scored two goals in. We also kept a second clean sheet and no doubt the visitors will point to having twice hit the woodwork but we did that as well so I think the best team won on the day by belatedly showing the quality they possess.      
    Our visitors are going through a bad patch that has left them with only 1 win to show from their last 15 league games so like Derby on Saturday they were not exactly an in-form team. But the same could have been said about us until we emerged with 6 points from 2 home games yesterday. Another win is now required against bottom of the table Rotherham who looked doomed and are now 25 points behind us for a third win on the bounce. That would be the first time this season that we have put a three-game winning run together.              
    My player ratings from a game that I endured during the first half but rather enjoyed in the second are:
    Sam Johnstone – 5 – Does not ooze assurance when attempting to claim high balls and his kicking lacked accuracy last night on occasion. Sam did do well to tip an O’Dowda header onto the bar with an outstretched hand on 55 minutes when our lead was a slender one and kept out an 89th minute shot at his right-hand post.       
    Alan Hutton – 7 – He really seems to be reacting to the competition for his starting place. Did very well at the back, got forward and even surprisingly got himself into a couple of shooting positions which less surprisingly he did not score from. Unlucky to be booked for a 42nd minute challenge given he had taken the ball.             
    James Chester - 7 – Another instance of our captain leading by his own example.   
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Very solid and commanding at the back last night.     
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Moved forward more often in the second half and was steady enough at the back. 
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Worked hard but we need to see more positivity from him in the final third of the field. Scuffed a shot after Kodjia had won the ball out wide and run into the box before pulling it back to him on 59 minutes but fortunately the ball ran onto Hourihane to hit the ball home for our second goal and to spare his blushes. Crossed for our opening goal.  
    Gary Gardner – 6 – Took a knock in the first minute and was substituted on the 38th minute due to injury. Gary earned our penalty when he chased a poor intended back pass to their keeper into the area and was felled by Giefer on the 20th minute.
    Henri Lansbury - 7 – Had a good second half and was as good as almost anyone else had been in the first. Showed clear signs that he will soon run things for us alongside Hourihane in the middle.   
    Mile Jedinak – 8 – MOTM – Won a lot of ball and showed that he can play twice in 4 days after all. His display gave Hourihane and Lansbury the freedom to get forward and play where they are most dangerous in the second half.   
    Andre Green – 7 – Hit the side netting on 14 minutes after he had turned and hit a shot from an Adomah cross that fell into his path just past the far post. Other than this he had a quiet first half but who didn’t? Andre was so unlucky to hit the woodwork for a second time in two games on 56 minutes when he hit a lovely shot from outside of the box between 2 defenders that curled and dipped before striking the crossbar. His 82nd minute booking looked debatable the referee’s decision not to show a second yellow to Giefer was even more so given his assault upon him. Andre really has a lot of promise and is rightfully getting a run of games it would be a pity if the injury that led to his late substitution halts his run of starts.
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Proved he was not “a waste of money” after all to the visiting fans when he headed home our crucial first goal on 54 minutes. Jonathan had earlier hit the centre of the bar from the spot on 20 minutes with Giefer having dived to his left. He then headed a ball into the box over the bar on 50 minutes before applying a lovely glancing header to a cross from Adomah 4 minutes later. Took some rough treatment as a lone striker and was the primary target for opposition defenders who like their supporters seem to have very little to no time for him now he has moved on but his goal demonstrated why we paid them so much money for him namely because he is worth it!   
    Substitutes:
    Conor Hourihane – 8 – Replaced Gardner on 38 minutes. Made a real difference and sealed the win with our second and his first Villa goal on 59 minutes. He needed that goal and was in the right place at the right time to hit the ball home. His confidence will be on a real high after this. Conor pinged some nice passes and hit a decent left footed shot that Giefer gathered on 94 minutes.       
    James Bree – Replaced Adomah on 77 minutes and was not on quite long enough to earn a rating.      
    Birkir Bjarnason – Replaced Green on the 86th minute. He was also not on long enough to gather any rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
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