Eastie

Long way to go yet , wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Norwich and Leeds both go a few games without a win - neither have much strength in depth - I’d still fear West Brom and stoke but no way are villa out of this automatic race yet - long way to go and things can change greatly in 3 games - Norwich and Leeds are there now but I’d be far from confident that either will be in the top 2 come May .

Fair play to the lad tonight - I thought he was lucky to keep his place but he did well and made a great save onto the bar .

Agreed , also of the 7 teams above us 6 of them have to visit villa park - we have every chance of getting a top 2 place - leeds and Norwich will struggle if they have injuries and suspensions as the season goes on - I think villa and albion will be the top 2 come May - we will only get better as the season develops

I certainly think we have every chance - we have a strong squad and will add to it defensively - we will take some stopping - the juggernaut is beginning to roll - onwards and upwards

A sensible decision and down to Collins to prove his worth before we assess options in jan

1-3 villa win

Thin lines in this league - twice we’ve let 10 men equalise against us and add in that whelan penalty miss we would have been right up there .

Publicly maybe he won’t hang him out to dry but privately I’d be very surprised if he was ok with that goalkeeping display . Didnt Bruce back him earlier this season and then drop him next game ? It might be best for nyland to be taken out of the firing line especially given the way boro play

I’d be amazed if he starts tomorrow

7-7 draw

Think Fulham fans said similar last season . the addition of a competent keeper and decent defender will make a huge difference very quickly

We are not exactly miles away now and we have a transfer window only 5 games away - any of the top 8 could realistically aim for a top 2 finish , there is no stand out team and we are not stuck with this defence and keeper until May . we have the opportunity to close the gap on boro Albion and Leeds in coming games and could be right in the mix with a transfer window to come . We are 8th with 27 games to go and we will get better defensively once smith can bring in additions . I saw enough at derby to show me this team can compete with anyone in this division

I’d have steer back as number 2 ahead of nyland or bunn - still think we need better though as number 1

It was a good strike but still close to the keeper who never moved an inch - there were some great performances last night and some poor ones - hourihane was poor and were most of the defence , keeper was shocking again - we cannot rely on needing to score 3 or more goals to win games , against poorer teams we may get away with Connor sitting deep but last night we needed a more solid defensive option - interesting to see Doyle - Hayes on the bench

Agree , bolasie did more than enough to keep his place , if el ghazi comes in it would also be for kodjia in my view but I’d stick with kodjia and bolasie for now