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I just wanna see us playing entertaining football, with a team that's full of spirit, endeavor and commitment, wherever that may be.

A bold statement in this day and age. I'm not quite so sure. If he does care, it's not showing.

Well Rooney was just substituted for not scoring that sitter.

It all depends on the definition of a 'threat' I suppose. To me these last few years clearly show he isn't a 'threat' anymore. He was never that big of threat anyhow, not even in his prime, and I'm not just talking about his goal scoring record. I wonder how much is enough game time? Another 30 games without a goal?

Disappointing again. I think Grealish is mainly suffering from our lack of game plan, and he isn't the only one. He is neither mature or clever enough to simply 'roam freely' and be effective at the same time.

First time I've seen him play, and now I see why he hasn't been picked. Looked a little clueless to me, and low on confidence. Offers a tad more energy and endeavour than our usual suspects, but ultimately just too slow and sloppy with the ball. He isn't the answer, at least not short term, we still need a new midfield.

Another uninspiring and tired performance again tonight. Granted service was poor, but honestly I dont't see what he has to offer anymore. I'd rather see some of our youngsters get a chance.

Cannot be any worse than Bunn. Competition for Gollini. It's all good. Now sign some midfielders please.

It sure was, as I had my sarcasm detector off then too.

Awfully quiet on the incoming side, it is after all already the 4th of January. A tweet from the Doctor would be welcome right about now.

It's pretty clear we need him alright, regardless of said limitations. At least we have one midfielder with some sort of presence on the pitch. Age is problem though, as he probably won't be able to play every game.

Fair enough. I get where you are coming from, I really do. It's all about opinions, and everyone is of course entitled to their opinion. At times things get lost in translation though, or you just read too much into something, or draw conclusions that aren't necessarily there. Also it's impossible at all times to exactly know what someone means by the term 'excellent', even though the general meaning of it most likely is the same for a lot of people. I like to think that I judge every player the same and without prejudice. Especially since I no longer have any favorite player(s). Most of our squad is so terrible, I'm more or less indifferent nowadays. But when it comes to Gabby, I think my judgement might be somewhat clouded tbh, due to the way he's treated the club. I still stand by my initial viewpoints though, but perhaps I could've (and should've) expressed them a little less harshly.

I'm rather skeptical about Lansbury. He's clearly better than what we've got in the middle of the park, but if rumors regarding his billy big bollocks attitude are true, do we really want another one of those?

Yes, and you revised your assessment, so it's all good pal. Lighten up.

We are more or less debating semantics now. Sadly I didn't see the game. I've only seen the highlights and read some match reports. Based on that, he did okay for the 45 minutes he played. Thus I came to the conclusion he must've had a 'good game'.

With you, nothing.

Okay.

That's fine, but no, that's not what I actually meant. I personally tend to judge strikers (such as Gabby) first and foremost on goals. Also I never questioned he had a good game. I just thought he couldn't have possibly had an excellent game, considering the opposition, the result, and the fact that he didn't score.

I really find the general hatred towards Westwood odd tbh. He's a very limited footballer, without question, and of course I'd also prefer to see him replaced with a better player. But it's not like he's ever taken a piss at the club like so many others. He clearly plays better with some more muscle besides him, as he had a decent game against Leeds imho. Then he hit rock bottom again with Gardner, which was to be expected.

Gabby most definitely made an impact, at least from the highlights I've seen, as he had two good shots that where saved. But he still didn't score, and as a result we lost the game. Some on here clearly think it's enough when players run the channels, put themselves about, and what not, whereas others apparently judge by a different standard. There's really no point in debating this further. I hope he scores against Wolves and we win the game.

Sure it's possible for individual players to be excellent, even in games we play poorly, and loose. And vice versa. I suppose being 'excellent' is often highly subjective, dependent upon the viewer in question. For instance when we lost 8-0 to Chelsea, I'd argue that Lamps was excellent, as he scored 4 times. Others might argue that Guzan was excellent. Some might even argue that they both were excellent that day. Each to his own I guess. Chester has been good this season IMHO. I would say he's been excellent, no. I sincerely apologize for not being on your level.

Strangely I feel a sudden urge to defend poor little Westwood. Please don't shoot me. FWIW I don't rate him as footballer. But part of me still thinks he might have been a 'victim' of some rather poor footballing advice/education all the years he's been at Villa. I'm guessing someone (Lambo?) quickly identified his prime asset, which IMHO is to retain possession, and keep the game flowing by making these simple passes to the nearest teammate. I'm sure Lambo had a grand vision at an early stage, and thought we'd emulate Barca or whatever in the years to come. Fact is we've been piss poor at the possession game ever since Houllier left, and arguably even before that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually saying I believe they've told him to solely focus on this one minor part of being a footballer. But it's only natural to keep doing what 'you're good at', and never take any unnecessary risks. It's always nice and easy to just keep within one's comfort zone. Naturally, you'd have hoped Westwood himself would've had more determination and ambition to also develop other aspects of his game, sadly this hasn't happened. He is quite good at keeping possession though, and I would argue that he'd flourish in a 'great team' built upon a possession game, e.g. Arsenal, Liverpool, etc. I guess that makes him sort of a luxury player, but it's certainly a luxury we no longer can afford.

It's not just about spending another £50M or more. We were 'outplayed' by Burton ffs. At some point you have to start developing an actual game plan as well.

OMG. That is incredible.

Obviously I disagree, and find it quite unbelievable how anyone could think he was excellent, given we lost the game, and managed only 3 shots on target.