Raver50032

We've won everything else in my lifetime - I just want to see us lift the FA Cup and I can die a happy man. I feel pretty optimistic about our chances of staying up this month - better than at any time this season (apart from the first month of the season). I'm just nervous though... The last 20 minutes in the Cup Semi Final and I was a jbbering wreck of nerves. Let's do this mo-fos...

On current form and performances of late, this is a game I would expect us to win... I would be bitterly disappointed if we lost this one and not sure how I would feel if we drew. Hopefully we can do the biz... So come you on Villa Boys... raise the main sail and cast off ye rapscallions...

Bacuna's pass and Cleverley's goal gave me a 'happy ending...' Clattenburg - meh. Bitter Geordie innit... Great performance again with some super interplay and passing once more. And Benteke, Beneteke, Benteke's on fire... Not sure about the bobble on Richardson's head, but we won, so really don't care... I would buy them all a nice tall glass of orange juice this week. How long can we keep this going?

No shame in defeat at the Etihad for me - and remarkably, a fine overall performance in a game that if you had offered me a one goal defeat beforehand in this perennial dead rubber, I would have taken it. For the third week running, we put in a performance befitting a top six side - yes we actually did. I mean come on - away at Spurs did we realistically think we would really win that before the game? Last week at Wembley was as magical a performance as I have seen any Villa side produce in the last half decade. **** it, the last decade. But for a major howler early on, we gradually grew into the game and shaded the overall match at City. But we didn't score enough... or at least, we let in too many. For me, the defeat actually kind of felt like a win. The way we clawed back a gift of a 2-0 deficit and went on to look the more likely winners with that Benteke/Hart moment. We showed a lot of character in that game and I take my hat off to the manager and the team for having the spunk to have a go... it was a dead rubber... a free hit. Any team can have a purple patch, which is why I won't be tipping us for top six any time soon. But if we play like that for the rest of the season, I am sure we will be okay. With good custodianship and transfer management, we should be capably of a 10th place finish at least. What worries me is that we have the possibility of playing dog shit now in a fixture we might have pinned a lot of expectation in winning... So, I fear for us at home this weekend being honest. Big plus for me - we got all our howlers and errors out of the way in a fixture that we didn't expect anything from before the game. In Tim I trust... COME ON!!!

Is Cartridge a player though? I thought that was the muscly shit that covers the knee cap bone?

5 days on... I'm still delerious with joy... I'd like to share a tub of ice cream with you Tim... You can even pick the flavour...

I didn't have an ST this season as I had grown disillusioned with how things were going with the whole Lerner/Lambert thing... Been to a couple of games this season and found that I didn't really miss the whole thing... But with the recent change of management and the prospect of renewing my time with my very good Villa friends... I'm back next season, whichever league we are in. Lower Holte Block L4... looking forward to the roller coaster again...

I think it would carry more weight if we teamed up with Arsenal and sung it at the final itself...

As others have intimated, I am struggling to think of any other recent performance by a Villa team that was so complete and entertaining. I was 3 rows from the back up in Block 552 (behind the dugouts) and very close to the black netting that segregated us from the scousers. It was always going to be an 'interesting' afternoon sat there. From way up high in the sky like a hardened Holte Ender, I was overjoyed to see Villa put on a majestic (yes RAWK, we were majestic - just once, we **** were)... with crisp, measured passing, and midfield control... and with real quality going forward into attack. It was, a joy to behold. My heart sank slightly when Coutinho scored for them - a seemingly brief spell after losing Baker culminated in a goal that silenced us for a moment or two. But unlike if we had conceded in the first 10 minutes, I didn't think that the game was over - and so it proved. With renewed vigour and recent rejuvenated spirit - a gorgeous move purveyed a sweet finish for Benteke. 1-1 and game on. Still Villa looked the better side - amazing stuff given our very recent history of no goals, no fight, no spirit. But it all came together... Half time came and went and the positivity continued into the second half... Benteke back healed (just like he did at Anfield once), Grealish remained involved and Delph - THE Fabian Delph... oh my god, made my crotch tingle and my knees go weak. A goal... Another Villa goal in a Wembley Semi Final against 'top opposition.' I couldn't quite believe it... My hands up at my face, praying and kicking every ball and singing myself hoarse... The remainder of the game actually went quite quickly - normally in that position, it tends to go very slow. THAT goal line clearance from Richardson - a match winning clearance... and that Balotelli moment - yeah, he was onside, but we'd kind of stopped playing, and the ref blew and disallowed it and there is **** all we or they can do about it. Final whistle - amazing scenes in the crowd and from the Villa players/management on the pitch. It was emotional... even I was lumpy throated and misty eyed. I would give them all 10... it was that 'perfect' a display from us. Richardson was going to get a lower mark I'm afraid, I just felt he was kind of our weakest link if there was such a thing in our team on the day. But, for that winning goal line clearance - straight back up to 10 son... you helped make my day, and then some. Big shouts for Grealish... Cleverley (probably MOTM - he was inspired)... Benteke... Delph... **** it, the whole lot of 'em. And thank you Tim... Somehow, being a Villa fan is enjoyable again... not a badge of shame and misery... The best bit is, I've still got an FA Cup final to go to AND, Star Wars Episode 7 at Christmas. Win or lose in the final, nobody can take that semi-final magical performance and atmosphere away from me... 2015 is going to be a magical, memerable year. Thank you Aston Villa - the magnificent, Aston Villa.

I thought we played like the Semi was our final... and immense performance... We somehow need to do that again... Will Arsenal really look like chokers for another game? Let's hope so... Come on you Villa boys... get some in!

I thought the 'Flying Scotsman' (or 4472 club as it's known on the railway) was at Euston? Not sure, as I have never been in there... Really, I haven't...

'Browns' is quite an eye opening venue along the Shoreditch High Street (Liverpool Street station, turn left upon exit and keep walking)... Take plenty of pound coins though... to put in the glass...

Spirit of 1957... Come on Villa, come on...

Who on earth names their child after a flaming cinema chain? Second thoughts, I don't even wanna know where he was conceived thanks...

I won't be sorry to see his tenure end I will be brutally honest with you all. But if I see him at Wembley and I get to shake his hand, I would do... and if he pops up on the big screen, I won't boo him. Hell, if I could afford Wembley prices on match day, I'd even buy him a beer. Thanks Randy... it's time to go... thank you for what you tried to do, shame it didn't work out...

Baker's treat... <get it?> Surely he's due a goal from defence... Sorry Troon - I missed your post lol

You just know that Gerrard is going to pop up with an injury time penalty or direct free kick... We need to make sure we are two goals up by then. Never forgiven him for that horror show tackle he did on George Boateng - IIRC he even admitted in his autobiography that he was trying to break his leg?

Well, that 'cheer up' wank did me and Villa a lot of good after Tuesday night... As promised in the pre-match thread, twenty full English pounds to Villa Talk if nicked it... And by gosh, Villa come up trumps... Lovely stuff, it really is... And do you know what? What an amazing confidence booster going into next week's Semi... Well done today Villa, and a shake of the hand to Sherwood (washed since Tuesday night). Get the crocodile hat in!!! Wooooo-hooooo!

If it goes to the last day against Burnley for us to stay up, I am buying my mum a ticket in the Holte with me and I am going to hold her hand the entire time... It will be that scary...

Twenty full English pounds to VT if we can nick this one...

If we stay up, I am going to drive along the A5 through Cannock at 100mph... on the nose... **** it.

I was convinced beyond tame hoping that we would win that... Shame we couldn't get that win... We never make life easy for ourselves. The only positives really are that - a) we didn't lose. we came from behind twice instead; shows some character. c) we scored the final goal i.e. we are more 'elated' for that instead of 'deflated.' A hand shandy in the shower should see me right.

Surprised (given how long both clubs have been languishing at the bottom echelons of the league) that as soon as it was moved to a midweek slot, that Sky didn't decide to show it... This is exactly the sort of game that Alan Parry or Rob Hawthorn would get all melodramatic about jostling their foreskins back and forth in some kind of frothy eulogy... Big club on the verge of relegation... little QPR doing it against all the odds etc... This match is ripe for another late winner - sadly, we've already used ours up for this season. 3 points please Villa, and bucket full of goals. Raaaaaaah!

The thing is - as a club now, we get like one big win against each top team roughly every 5 to 10 years. We had out last wn at Old Trafford in December 2009. We won't win there again for another 10 to 15 years... <maybe next year though te-he> We ain't got the status or the players to do it any more regular. Simples \o/ Clubs like Blackburn, Stoke and even Hull occasionally give the bigger teams a good game. We do it too occasionally. It's just where we are.

Expected nothing and wasn't disappointed, apart from the 3-1 scoreline. The Benteke goal kind of teased me into thinking we might smash and grab something. Hey-ho... QPR is massive - though one article about us on BBC website claims that we're away from home for that game. How can anybody trust anything the BBC reports? All the text-talking-tippy-tappy-tablet-touching 'meeeja' graduates rife now in the BBC? Sky is just as bad with it's totally pointless Twitter monitoring screen. Pointless television. Who cares what Joey Barton thinks of his manager's socks? Let's go grab that win on Tuesday now y'all... sharmoan... and that's what I'm talking about...