Harry

I had always assumed you have Warnock on the back of your shirt Warnock

Stupid thread because what use is it, whatever we thing of GH, to get someone in for 9 games and expect them to make a difference. Whatever you think of GH we are stuck with him and as ever no one on these sort of threads suggest a credible and crucially gettable alternative.

not me, I hate when we play badly whatever the result. I'd rather we play well and lose, because then you know tomorrow can be better As long as we stay up I don't really care how we play. If we were 6th and safe then yes the style of football GH is trying to make us play would be excellent. But the fact is we can not defend and we are making silly mistakes all over the pitch. Something is clearly wrong with our coaching setup. Playing hoofball under MON was unacceptable because we didn't need to but I'd give me right arm to being playing like that now if it meant getting the results needed to avoid relegation. My thoughts entirely. Who is our defensive coach? If we don't have one we should appoint one now. I like the rugby union model where there is a specific coach for each aspect of the game. This season is a total writeoff. Given our insipid form in the league I have not been too bothered by the cups (OK maybe I'm in a minority there) I have spent most of the season looking below us in the league. Personally I will be happy with just staying in the PL and that is by now means guaranteed. I just hope and pray it does not hinge on the last two games. Today's result does not help and for me was just a great big kick in the teeth and the super strength G&T I am currently drinking is not helping in the way I hoped.

And do you think we will beat Wolves because I don't. Wolves will come and park the bus at VP and try to catch us out at set pieces. I can almost see McCarthy drilling his players for those sort of chances. OK sides can miss chances and we have missed plenty. The real problems we have are: We are such a soft touch at set pieces that its untrue and every side in the PL knows that. Equally we waste our set pieces and the chief culprit is Young. Woeful deliver from corners and his free kicks are just little short of laughable. GH is licking his arse on a permanent basis to get him to stay by making him the captain and giving him the opportunity to do precisely what he wants on the pitch. He'll be off in the summer whatever happens. The only good thing is we will get a decent fee for him.

Yet again we threw away a game we should have won. We don't score enough from our from chances and we give away sloppy goals. We are in a relegation battle make no mistake.

When we won at the weekend the R&R thread was full of people running away with themselves wondering whether we could still make 6th and possibly europe that IMO is equally interesting. Indeed Fine if you don't agree with the team selection but personal attacks on Houllier are tedious to say the least. How about something a bit more constructive ... Who played badly? Where was Bradley for their third? Who should have picked up Toure? How can we improve. Annoying over reactions plague this forum, I'm sure the away fans will be able to speak for themselves when they get back. 'Houllier out 'is also 100% pointless. Totally agree with all those sentiments. Maybe this thread should be renamed the chronic over reaction thread. My take on this is quite simple. I was disappointed to see us field a weakened side but going to Man City with a full strength side and getting a result was always going to be a big ask. Our premiership survival is far from guaranteed. I simply don't subscribe to the view that we are safe and only 6 points off 6th place. We are also only 5 points above the bottom three. The bottom line being that the Bolton game and the next few games in our self styled 'easy run in' is much more important than the FA Cup. No doubt all the Boo Boys would be berating Houllier if we got a result tonight and then lost heavily to Bolton at the the weekend. The way I see is there is no parallel to the CSKA game, its simply created a further opportunity for the Houllier haters to put the boot in. Oh and for the avoidance of doubt I don't regard myself as a huge supporter of Houllier. Yes I would have loved us to progress in the FA Cup and I feel sorry for the fans who made the trip to see a pretty abject performance but I want to watch Premiership football next season.

Just my luck, on holiday so I miss Villa scoring 4 goals at VP. Worse still I had planned to be back on Saturday morning to get to the game. Duh!! A lot of people posting on here are saying Blackburn played poorly so presumably that's why we won so well. I think that is missing the point completely. Villa played very very well and buried a poor Blackburn side like any good side should have done. Added to that how many times in recent seasons have we seen poor sides come to VP and Villa not break them down and they leave with at least a point? A much needed result that showed the strength of the squad we have and are building.

This is a must win game for us. We are supposed to be on an easier run of games at the moment so we have to get the three points. Unfortunately I will miss the game as I am travelling back from holiday. I'm a bit concerned with Collins being out so that means Clark will move to CB. So who for LB? Personally I'd like to see LY there. Biggest concern is AY in the 'hole' again, very very ineffectual IMO. Much rather see him on the wing with Gabby up front with Bent or maybe a 4-5-1 with Gabby sitting just behind. Midfield will be key, NRC is a must for me maybe with Petrov too.

Nice to see Blues, whose fans have got a little to big for their 'Man at Matalan' boots, given a hiding tonight. Reality check.

My son and I have had season tickets for years and never have had an invite and I don't personally know any season ticket holder who has. If they have ended the scheme now there is no way I'm paying money to get into a pub.

I think my sarcasm detector has just exploded! I would be expecting six points off Blackpool. We are supposedly now on any easy run of games and we have taken 2 out of a possible 6 points. We have the players but played out of position they don't deliver, its that simple. i would much rather see us revert to a more conventional 4-4-2 with a strong centre midfield of two of Bradley, Makoun and NRC. Match that with wingers being two of Albrighton, Young and Downing with Gabby and Bent up front. You then have a spare winger, striker and centre midfielder on the bench at least. Posters talk of being three points off 8th. My concern is that we are three points off the relegation zone. Come the end of the season I don't want to be in the situation that we have to get points from our last two games, Arsenal away and Liverpool at home. Overall another piss poor performance in a game we could and should have won.

Dare I use the old phrase 'must win'. We are supposedly hitting our easier fixtures and after last weeks no show again Fulham we really need to deliver in this game. Its tricky but winnable IMO. Much will depend on team selection and not conceding, the latter being the biggest issue.

I agree it was two bad errors by Friedal. Could not see them clearly as we were at the other end of the ground. But as ever we failed to clear and just invited pressure. My recollection was that the first goal stemmed from a hospital pass by Petrov to Clark who was dispossessed yet again.

Very frustrating at Villa Park today. A few observations on the game: Much as I rate Clark as a player he had a nightmare at LB. Fulham were specifically targeting him, particularly in the second half. That tosser Johnson rang rings round him. Can't fault Clark's effort but he is a liability against faster players. Given all the angst about Petrov following the defeat against Man U I thought I would watch him closely today and my conclusion is that he offers so very little. Yes he gets the tackles in but he just never ever passes the ball forward. The attack is building up nicely and he passes back to Dunne. Much rather see NRC or Bradley replacing him. Gabby at left winger? How many times does the player have to be humiliated in that role before GH changes it. Ditto for Ash playing in the 'hole'. If that is a sop to keep Young happy I'd rather he was unhappy. Houllier was guilty of very poor team selection and failure to use his options on the bench. Far too little and far too late for me. The Referee. Some very baffling decisions for me. Seemingly most of the cynical fouls that broke down some of our most promising attacks went unpunished. Yet a two foot lunge from Demsey ends up with Makoun booked? I did not boo at the end, its not my style, but I left VP very disallusioned with the way the team is playing and developing. We should be burying sides like Fulham at VP not huffing and puffing and in the end, yet again, hanging on for a draw. I don't agree with GH's comments on the OS I thought we were awful.

I don't see Bannan going anywhere myself. To me its pretty clear what GH is doing, rebuilding our central midfield which has been our achilles heel for years as despite having the players we have never quite got it right. Next season our principal central midfielders will be: Makoun, Delph, Bannan, Bradley and with Gardner starting to be phased in with Hogg as back up. I like NRC but based on who we have signed I think GH has replaced him. Petrov may still be around but I think he will se seen as a safe substitute so he will probably go. Ireland will not come back to us post loan. Osbourne will not get a new contract and neither will Salifou. Pires will have retired. Herd I think is too old now and I suspect will be sold despite being an OK player. The one player we are all forgetting is Daniel Johnson who we pinched off Palace. Only 19 and deemed to be a very fine prospect but I've never seen him play. Don't even know if he is a centre midfielder. Anyway back OT I think Bannan is a key player for GH.

Two games in and I'm already starting to worry that we'll end up with a Tevez/Mascherano at West Ham scenario: that he'll want out as soon as one of the CL teams start sniffing - which they will. I missed the game (semi-deliberately, I was very pessimistic) and went to the running club. Was running with my Everton mate and I said to him: "Strikers on a dry spell always break it against us, so expect Rooney to score", and "We always go to sleep at the start and finish of each half". So you can imagine my reaction when we got back from our run at half-time and I saw the score: Utd 2 (Rooney 1, 45+1) Villa 0. Mind you, he ended up even more pissed off than me after his lot lost 2-1 at the Arse after having been one up for most of the match. To be fair that's a risk for every player that pulls on a Villa shirt at the moment. Given GH's ability to deal in the transfer market I'm sure if that happened he could find another gem. Cold comfort but we don't let our big players go cheaply either. So good I said it twice :oops:

Two games in and I'm already starting to worry that we'll end up with a Tevez/Mascherano at West Ham scenario: that he'll want out as soon as one of the CL teams start sniffing - which they will. I missed the game (semi-deliberately, I was very pessimistic) and went to the running club. Was running with my Everton mate and I said to him: "Strikers on a dry spell always break it against us, so expect Rooney to score", and "We always go to sleep at the start and finish of each half". So you can imagine my reaction when we got back from our run at half-time and I saw the score: Utd 2 (Rooney 1, 45+1) Villa 0. Mind you, he ended up even more pissed off than me after his lot lost 2-1 at the Arse after having been one up for most of the match. To be fair that's a risk for every player that pulls on a Villa shirt at the moment. Given GH's ability to deal in the transfer market I'm sure if that happened he could find another gem. Cold comfort but we don't let our big players go cheaply either.

I did not expect much from this game and only managed to see the second half on a very dodgy stream. Bit disappointed they managed to get three but the results went our way tonight which was helpful. Looks like the defence let us down although I did not see the first two goals but I thought Villa played well in the second half, they really took the game to Man U which was nice to see. Very good to see a contribution from the new signings. For me this squad is now work in progress and GH is slowly changing it for the good. I think he did as much as was conceivably possible in the window both in terms of ins and outs. As ever with Man U they win a game without really impressing but for us that's the end of Man U for this season leaving only Arsenal away and Liverpool at home as recognised difficult fixtures

Good move, this way he can be someone else's problem for the remainder of the season at least. What is so frustrating is the fantastic potential he has which at the moment is little more than potential. He had one blistering season at Man City and that's it. Ok he had injuries but you would have thought that the move to us would be a real chance to reestablish himself. Sadly I think many of his apparent problems are in his head. Much as I rate him I think we will not see him in a Villa shirt again which is probably a good thing in the longer term.

Good result and overall I thought we played well. Some very encouraging signs. The victory was spoilt a bit for me by us hanging on yet again in the last 10 minutes. The sign of a good side is that they do not have to do that. We must learn not to give possession away and end up defending on the edge of the penalty area. Collins was my MotM but why could you not vote for Downing? Very suspicious.

Massive performance yesterday at a rocking VP. An outstanding performance by our defence. MotM for me was Collins but you could have picked any of the back four pretty much. My only gripe was with Cuellar, he does drift in when he is playing RB sometimes and leaves the wing exposed but even saying that he was brilliant. Petrov has his critics but he put a big big shift in shackling Tevez. Nothing fancy just a really solid performance. Dream start for Bent who for me proved why he was worth the money, he puts away those sorts of chances. Can't be arsed to rate everyone because I think they all were at least a 7. The day was sweetened by SHA being crushed by Man U but I should not gloat too much as we have to play them next week.

Lets no forget we offered him a very good deal. I think he was on around £45k per week and it was rumoured we offered him £80-£85k. Ok he no doubt got more at City but not much. For that he gets to play on the wing when he prefers the centre and worse still he is just a squad member who gets his chances from the bench. I really rated him as a 17 year old at Leeds and was made up when we signed him. Loved him in a Villa shirt and loved his attitude and commitment even more. Sadly he made a really duff move based largely on money. Only conciliation was the crazy money City paid for him spoilt slightly by Ireland being part of the deal.

Oh and another thought. Making a marque signing like Bent makes it that much easier to attract other players this window as its a massive statement of intent. I would suspect Makoun was given some reassurance too before he signed. I suspect if we get Bent (fingers crossed) we can go and pick up Adam too whatever 'Green Arrrrmy' Holloway says about the size and statue of Villa.

Sorry to seem like I am picking on you KSV but this kind of reaction really winds me up. We have moaned as a collective for God knows how long about us needing a striker, a proven goalscorer, one who costs a lot of money and not £4m like Marlon **** Harewood and we go and show this initiative and STILL people pick faults in it! Bloody hell mate, the guy won't need time to adjust to the English Premier League like all the foreign strikers do. He's proven and I don't give a **** if he goes on to sign for us and not score a goal, this signing would be amazing for our club at this time. How many goals does the amazing Fernando Torres have in the Premier League this season? 7 in 23 games. Bent has 11 in 23 games. The career stats are Torres 170 goals in 388 games = a goal every 2.28 games. Bent's are 153 goals in 362 games = a goal every 2.36 games. Yeah Torres' stats are marginally better but he has spent his hole career at Athletico Madrid and Liverpool surrounded by top quality players. Bent spent the first 220 games of his career surrounded by average players at Ipswich and Charlton! His last 142 games at Spurs and Sunderland have seen him score 61 goals = a goal every 2.32 games. His fee may seem astronomical to some but Torres would arguably cost a hell of a lot more but would he give us a hell of a lot more in terms of goals scored? People are so blinkered and fascinated in foreign players and names and it really winds me up. Since 2005 Bent has scored 81 league goals, second only to Rooney and Drogba who have apparently scored 82 each! If we were supposed to be signing either of those tonight how much would we be paying for them? A lot more than £18m I bet and for what? one more goal? Someone said to me that Bent doesn't do much except score goals. I tell you what, I don't care if the guy sits on his arse for 85 minutes of the game just as long as he keeps that scoring record the same during his stay at the Villa! I don't want Villa to go and spend £18m on some fancy foreign "star" just because he has a fancy name. Who knows whether that type of player will settle in England or adjust to our pace of the game etc? There are so many questions to answer and I would rather we didn't take those risks. I want Villa to sign me a striker who has proven goalscoring talent and who will give us a real goal threat and in Darren Bent I believe we will have that. By the way, I think all doubters should apologise to Mysteryman. He came on here on Friday and suggested that Villa were going to make a club record signing of a striker who would be almost guaranteed to score a lot of goals every season. He was proven right and for that he deserves an apology. Too many people are quick to dismiss people as bullshitters when they don't even know them and it's unfair. Cracking post VR, my sentiments entirely. The 'no money' and 'sell to buy' posters have disappeared too.

I hate to say this but I just cannot see us winning it. The problem for me is I cannot see Houllier firing us up to win the game so my match prediction is 2-0 to the Unwashed. As ever there will be much endeavour from Villa but absolutely no end product. Albrighton will run riot against Ridgewell and luckily Dann is injured and maybe Carew can deliver one last hurrah but overall I am utterly pessimistic.