chips'ngravy

One in the eye for all the El Ghazi haters. Not much to get excited about from the rest of them. Nice goal from Buendía and plenty of industry but needs to tidy up his ball retention. Too many hoofs from defence for my liking. Fair result but one we really needed to win with our upcoming fixture list.

Nakamba vs high press = accident waiting to happen

Young has been anonymous

It was a great result for Brentford against Arsenal on the opening day of the season but I felt the praise lavished on them in the media was a bit over the top. They weren't THAT good, and Arsenal didn't offer much either. Likewise, Toney put himself about a bit but to me he looks like a championship quality striker all day long. A big man with little technical ability. Not close to the same level as Watkins. That said, they know what they're doing, have a settled side and style of play added to a decent record against us. I expect a score draw.

Memories are quite short. There were plenty of doubters around in his early days and he was by no means the finished article. Only really became consistent when he bulked up and we were in the Championship. Prior to that his shooting was weak (still not that amazing) and he would regularly run into trouble and lose the ball.

How good was Grealish when he was 20? Certainly not good enough for a top 6 side. Young players do get better with the right coaching and application

Young may not have got torn to pieces like Targett but that was largely because the damage had been done and Watford were happy to sit back more. I was very unimpressed by Young's total lack of adventure when we needed to get up the pitch to try and claw something back. He consistently played it square or backwards. Targett may have had a tough time but I think he's allowed one off day after all the top performances he put in last season. And anyway, wasn't Young supposed to be helping Targett out with defensive duties?

Gutted he's left as he has been, undoubtedly, the best reason to watch Villa over the last few seasons. Winning might be the be all and end all when it comes down to it but to have a genuine entertainer playing for your side takes you to a higher place where your joy in the game is manifested in something that transcends the result. That said, 6 goals and 10 assists, while a decent return on a season truncated through injury, is far from irreplaceable. So while I'll miss his magic, his grace and poise on the ball the raw stats of what he has given us are not anything to get too upset about never being able to equal.

Must admit I don't know anything about Bailey other than everyone saying how good he is. Will be nice to have a few different creative sources if that is the case though.

Don't understand the hate for him from some on here. Thought he was their standout player in the home Christmas fixture a couple of seasons back. Represents the best like-for-like Jack replacement available to us at the moment, albeit not at the same level....yet

That's what gets my goat more than anything plus the commentary team dismissing any idea of an alternative reality without any serious analysis of the incident. Didn't bother to watch the studio take on it after they ignored any analysis at half-time. Can't fathom why I'm so angry given the inevitability of it all. I should know (much) better at my age.

Factually incorrect too. Ferdinand didn't cost £41m . . think it was something like £29m from memory

Perhaps we can get him on set-piece duties as without Hourihane they have been absolutely diabolical.

It felt harsh when Barkley was put straight back into the team in place of an in form El Ghazi and is proving to be one of the few mistakes Smith has made this season. Whether Barkley was ready or not he should've been made to fight his way back into the first eleven. That he wasn't has been to the detriment of the team, not only with his below par performances but also with the effect it's had on El Ghazi. El Ghazi is clearly a confidence player, as his woeful return against West Ham showed, and we perhaps could've ridden his purple patch a while longer with the added benefit of giving Jack an extended run in the middle had Barkley been pressuring him from the bench. We now have both players underperforming when if handled differently could have been making match-winning contributions. I have some sympathy with Smith as he sees Barkley as the player with the bigger skill-set, which I'd agree with, but it's hard to argue he's put it to effective use on a regular basis and his bias is an assault on the meritocracy he aspires to create within the squad.

I wouldn't fancy a replay just in case we got a proper spanking....but... there's definitely a case for the last 12mins to be replayed. Would be great viewing.

Went to the Sunderland game too. Just round the corner from where I was living at the time, as a student. Don't remember seeing any trouble but it was definitely the biggest 4-1 smash and grab I've ever witnessed. Bozzie stopped everything and we scored from every attack we had. At least that's how I remember it

Find it pretty incredible given what's happened at our club that last night the coaching staff weren't respecting social distancing rules or wearing masks.

Great effort from the young lions and a fantastic finish from Barry, but I can't help but feel aggrieved we seem to have been forced to effectively throw a tournament we had a realistic chance of going far in. I understand the fixture congestion and the lack of space to squeeze in a rearranged game but we could've played it on the day of the 4th round as has been done in the past when there were replays. The issue seemed to be Liverpool's CL commitments. That being the case it would appear that we took a hit to do Liverpool a favour as they couldn't fit the game in otherwise. If we were doing the decent thing by avoiding a headache for everyone concerned, then surely Liverpool could've agreed to not play anyone from their first team squad either? I know we had a similar situation reversed last season but that was a different set of circumstances in my view. Anyway, what's done is done but it leaves a bitter taste and will do even moreso if they end up going all the way.

Too young for that one...not often I get to say that these days ...but I think mine would be the 3-0 vs Man Utd followed up by the 2-1 vs Arsenal on New Year's Day back in 89/90. Very happy holidays indeed. More recently would be the 2-2 vs Arsenal with the last minute cracker by Knight. So deserved in a game we played some fantastic stuff in but unjustly found ourselves 2-0 down. Great memories of celebrating that comeback on the Holte.

Far too good for Scotland

Just watched the motd highlights. My initial thoughts, pre-season, were that Leeds might have a similar impact as Sheff Utd did last season. Not so sure now. Can't see Bamford keeping up his scoring rate ....and he certainly won't be outpacing many defences like he did yesterday. Fulham were all over the shop with their left sided CB at RB. The other big issue for them is the keeper. We know from our own experience how important it is to have a solid presence between the sticks. The young lad they've got looks well short of the quality they'll need. I think they'll do well to stay up.

Well done on getting it all set up

Whilst this feels like a good signing I'm a bit concerned about how little football he's actually played. Only 71 appearances since 2012....at any level. Yes, he did well for Arsenal when Leno got injured but that seems like a very small sample size to not only spend 20m on but also guarantee him the no.1 spot. Like any player, a keeper's form comes and goes but a loss of confidence from a keeper can see them go into terminal nosedives. With so few games under his belt we don't know what he's made of and so this is a big gamble, not only from the perspective of the investment but also in terms of the effect on Heaton. Fingers crossed it pays off.

Totally agree. I'm a long time listener of the pod and still think it's the best Villa related one out there, but it was a very skewed argument effectively supporting his exclusion. It started slipping into the realms of the absurd when they were suggesting that if he was that good then we should be expecting to get something out of Man City and Liverpool when we play them. By the end of the pod they'd unwittingly done at volte-face by saying perhaps he was the kind of player England might need when unable to break down stubborn sides. Well, hello...isn't that essentially the argument for having him in the squad all along? He's clearly something of a one off in the current era and would definitely offer something different if things weren't going to plan. Very disappointing analysis of the situation. I must admit it's never as good if, as is often the case of late, Dan Rodgers is not on it.

The latest 'Grounded with Louis Theroux' is a really good insight into Troy Deeney's life. I know he's not popular on here but he's articulate and comes across as a thoughtful and intelligent person. Could make an excellent pundit, I reckon.