bose

Positives: We didn't concede. Ciaran Clark was by far the biggest positive. Looked very composed on the ball, played things simple and looks a real player. Negatives: Non-existant attack. Reo-Coker's low IQ. Ashley Young trying way to much. James Collins and his long balls. And his pointless runs forward. No Carlos Cuellar. Sidwell. Dunne having his moment of madness as per usual.

Bannan in - Sidwell out, good to see.

Barry Banana for Sidwell please.

Wooohooo shot from Villa!!!

According to the stats 0 shots on target and 0 shots on target! At home that is simply unacceptable.

That's my main gripe with Collins, he plays too many long balls. He's not a bad passer but he should play more short passes. On a another note, we're not going to score in a hundred years, have we even mustered a shot on goal?

Yeah definitely, we've looked very sterile in attack this season. Either way I don't see sha scoring either so one goal will probably be enough.

Heskey :notworthy:

You really are obsessed with O'neill.

Heskey MOTM for me, should have scored from Downing's cross though but maybe there was a touch on the ball beforehand. Both subs were good IMO and probably the best game Sidwell has had for Villa. It's clear to me that Ireland needs time, just like Downing and Petrov did and to a lesser extent Milner as well. Hopefully we'll see his real ability in the new year. Good game from Reo-Coker again and Beye kept up his level of performance from the Chelsea game. Poor first half though and a dreadful mistake from Dunne who has been poor all season. In fact the entire left side of our defense looked very shaky. Friedel - 7 - Made a couple of good saves. Beye - 7 - Very assured at right back. Warnock - 5 - Looked uncomfortable in the first half but was better in the second. Collins - 6 - Solid enough Dunne - 4 - Dreadful mistake and very poor performance in the first half. Looked better after half time. Petrov - 6 - Injured early on. Could have done better in the build up to their goal. Reo Coker - 7 - Solid game and some good runs and passes. A.Young - 6 - The first half passed him by but when he played behind Heskey in the second half he was much better, always looking for space to get the ball. Ireland - 5 - Did nothing all game. Will come good in time... hopefully. Downing - 7 - Another good game from Downing, one of the better performers this season. Heskey - 7 - Won every header in the first half and some excellent link up play. Should have scored in the second half and his confidence dropped after that. Didn't help him that Ireland didn't show up. Needs a player like Young playing in the hole to be of proper use. Sidwell - 7 - Best game in a Villa shirt. Albrighton - 7 - Lively yet again.

Heskey by far our best today.

Missed the first 10 minutes of the game but other than that I thought that a draw was a pretty fair reflection of the game. We really need Heskey and Gabby back though because Carew is finished. Nobody really had a standout game for Villa but I thought Beye was pretty decent. Reo-Coker was poor and Carew once again didn't turn up.

Carew ahead of Heskey? :? That was earlier in the day when we believed Sky Sports who said that Heskey was injured. Keep up! Sorry :oops:

Carew ahead of Heskey? :?

Bannan. :notworthy:

It's very impressive that Iceland have gotten to the cusp of qualifying for a finals tournament so they must be a great set of youngsters Who are the stars in that side that are worth keeping an eye on? The main star is definitely Gylfi Sigurdsson, who signed for Hoffenheim this summer from Reading. His set pieces are absolutely deadly and he's already scored from two free kicks for Hoffenheim. He's also got great vision and technique. If he applies himself he can go very far. Then there are Johann Gudmundsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson from AZ Alkmaar. Gudmundsson is a tricky left winger and Sigthorsson is striker, tall, powerful and good finisher. Both are in the starting lineup for AZ. I would also mention Rurik Gislason who plays for OB in Denmark. He's a right winger and already a key player in the senior international side. Then there are players like Eggert Jonsson (Hearts), Aron Gunnarson (Coventry) and Birkir Bjarnason (Viking).

I'll probably be going to the game, looking forward to seeing Bannan in action. Certainly promising words from Houllier. This is being treated as a really important game for Iceland because this is the best generation of footballers we have ever produced so it's not going to be easy for the Scots.

Friedel - 7 - Couldn't do anything about the goals L. Young - 7 - Solid display. Collins - 6 - Was OK but his long balls are getting a bit on my nerve. Dunne - 6 - Made some good blocks but his positioning was off at times. Don't understand why Cuellar didn't play. Warnock - 7 - Seems like he's getting back to the form he showed when he first signed. Albrighton - 7 - Some lively runs and a few good crosses. Reo Coker - 8 - Great game from Nigel today. Not a big fan but he's playing better and better by each game. Petrov - 7 - Played well today but should have done more with his run in the second half. Downing - 7 - Calm and composed with the ball and he's finally looking like a player. A. Young - 6 - Not his day. Can do so much better. Heskey - 8 - Brilliant build up for the goal, changed the game when he came off. Hope he's not out for long. Carew - 4 - Abysmal. Definitely his last season for us. Bannan - Not enough time. Ireland - Not enough time. I'm not to downhearted though. We played well today and were a bit unlucky to lose. Bright times ahead I think.

Jesus Christ I can't believe he put Cuellar on the **** bench!

Yeah I noticed that. Very weird. I'm a bit worried about the knocks and injuries he's been getting because he's usually never injured. Hopefully he just has to get match fit.

Heskey gets MOTM from me for scoring the winner with a fantastic header but Cuellar was a beast today.

Downing, Heskey, NRC and Cuellar impressed so far. Albrighton's been good but he really needs learn when to take his man on and when to pass it.

3-1 Young again!!!!! SUperb assist by Heskey!!! YEEEESSSSS

ASSSSHHHHLEY!!!!!

:? Heskey really can't do anything right, can he?