HanoiVillan

I agree that some of the positivity for absent players goes overboard, but he really wasn't that bad.

Good news for American fans, hope we actually put in a decent performance for you all!

Oh no, the chance of relegation has gone up 0.1%, oh NOOOOOES!

This year, according to Transfermarkt. Think it's very obvious he won't be getting a new contract, but I hope he finds his level, and soon. Also hope he finds some way to get around whatever personal issues he's been having, he always gave his all on the pitch, even if he isn't good enough for a permanent role at the club. Fun fact! He's the third-longest serving member of the first team - only Gabby and Clark have been in the first team at the club for longer.

Would probably start him, because Gabby and especially Weimann have been a bit off-colour. Don't expect anything too positive though.

Tottenham want to sign Caulker back again. He will certainly be moving for more money than we can afford.

He really wasn't as bad as some of you are making out . . . he made some positioning errors, but none of the goals were solely his fault. He also made a few crucial tackles, which is easy to forget after a big defeat. Both Clark and Baker are good enough as 3rd or 4th choice centre backs. We're not going to be able to get anybody else better in the price range we're talking about.

They're Man Utd . . . They're 7th in the table, we're 11th . . . They're at home . . . etc etc. Get a sense of perspective. Did you watch them get raped by Liverpool and Man City? Man United have the worst home record that they have had for a quarter of a century. You seem to think that just because they are Man United they are untouchable and little Aston Villa have no right to be breathing the same air. You have a small minded attitude just like Lambert and the players. Yes, how could I forgot our title-challenge? We truly are just like Liverpool and Man City! I mean, I don't think Suarez or Toure would even improve our team.

They're Man Utd . . . They're 7th in the table, we're 11th . . . They're at home . . . etc etc. Get a sense of perspective.

Some people on here seem to be truly expecting us to be winning this game . . . on the contrary, we're playing a fired-up team in their home stadium in front of twice our capacity, and we're giving it a go. Nobody has complained more about our capitulation against them at home than me, but we're giving our all today. Ultimately, they're a bit better than we are, and they haven't made the mistakes we have. Players falling over is unfortunate though. Hope Lambert's put a rocket up a few of them. UTV.

Agree with everything said so far. On paper, a great tie for us, given their hopeless recent home form, our excellent record against the top 6, and the fact that they'll have to come at us and attack, which is what we love. Still, it's impossible to avoid acknowledging that we always hand them 6 points without ever putting up a fight. Out at them fast from the start is key. This game represents (or at least should represent) unfinished business. What was annoying about the loss earlier in the season wasn't the result, but the manner of the performance. Luna was atrocious, but nobody played well. They were on a poor run of form, in a season in which everyone has given them a game, and we rolled over without a fight. One of the three most disappointing performances of the season (also, Fulham away and last weekend). Thinking about tactics, they will revert to 4-2-3-1 after 4-3-3 went so badly for them yesterday. This means we need to be extra vigilant about closing down space (something we didn't do at all against Stoke, almost as if it wasn't part of the game), and that El Ahmadi is pretty much the first name on the teamsheet if he's fit. The formation change won't help us - Cleverley, Carrick and Fellaini are all having horrible seasons, the larger %age of the team they make up the better, and it'll be reduced by a third from last night. For us, Clark should replace Baker on point of principle, with no further changes possible or desirable due to our paper-thin squad. Need to pray KEA and Weimann are available. Guzan Bacuna Vlaar Clark Bertrand El Ahmadi Westwood Delph Weimann Benteke Agbonlahor Won't cry if we lose, but we must not capitulate!

You can't blame Lambert for this. He set us up right and we were a goal up after 5 minutes. Our defense has been daydreaming. Agree 100%. Lambert gets things wrong, fair enough, of course he does and we can all think of occasions. On this one, though, he chose the right team, and sent them out with the right spirit. All that's happened was 2 dreadful, give-away goals caused by total defensive nightmares. Then the third goes in because we're still shell-shocked and haven't recovered. Both Baker and Bacuna have been playing well recently, their utter ineptitude in the first half was not predictable before the game. It's sad, though, that this half we've headed back to the days of big-shoed, horn-honking clown car defending that defined so much of last season. Time for the hairdryer, and a number of radical rethinks.

Do you remember, about 48 hours ago, when people were suggesting selling Bacuna for £10 m to Arsenal?

Bacuna and Baker again. Dreadful game from the pair of them. Need to be dropped for the next game.

Oh great, Sylla for an hour.

Calamitous defending from a third of the team. Baker simply trying to push Crouch away from the ball for the first goal, without even looking at the ball, and then Bacuna and Weimann auditioning for the Villa diving team on the edge of the penalty area. Time to get the big shoes and red noses out again guys.

^This. Come the end of the season, Gardner will turn 22, which means if he's given a new contract he'll be one of the 25-man squad. He's currently in roughly this place in the pecking order: Delph Westwood El Ahmadi Bacuna-as-CM-and-Lowton-as-RB N'Zogbia? Sylla Gardner? . . . and that's just if we don't sign anyone who can play in central midfield in the summer. He needs game time if he's going to make it as a footballer. If we know, really know, that there's a team who'll take him on a season long loan, including a full pre-season, and will play him most of the time, then maybe. But we need to consider whether a 7th choice CM who hasn't played a PL minute in 2 years is a sensible choice in a 25-man squad. I like him, and I hope he succeeds in his career. That might mean that it's best pursued somewhere else.

Arsenal are going to want to sign a right-back who's an improvement on Sagna, if a) Sagna does leave, and they don't think Jenkinson can step up. As much as I love Bacuna, he's not CL-quality yet.

It won't be a surprise if we lose that game - then again I said that before Chelsea - but we need to put up a fight. We rolled over for them at home, we should be looking to give them a real game now. The performance is more important than the result.

I'm pretty sure I remember Pat Murphy using more or less exactly these words in his post-match interview.

Those numbers certainly don't average to 47,000 per week . . . only 2 of them are over that amount! Those numbers actually average to slightly less than 19,000. Personally suspect both numbers are miles from the truth.

Useful fact: Albrighton creates more chances per game (2.1) than anyone else in the team. I know Lambert is allergic to stats, but this is an actually useful one, that measures something important, not like yards-run-per-game or whatever. He creates more than anyone else at the club, and I can confirm this because I can see, with my eyes, him doing it, with his feet. What's Lambert's excuse? (again, if true)

I agree, even though I'm not quite sure what unimpeachable means. I don't even know if it's good or bad. I think it means that if he diddled an intern, no-one would want to sack him as captain.

So is this guy ITK or what? It doesn't seem logical to me - why bring him back from the loan list, watch him put in several good performances, including 2 performances where he was the best player in a claret & blue shirt, only to let him go for a free? Would be very disappointing if true.

He's as good as gone. He was bought as a replacement, but the guy he replaced has replaced him. It's a shame - I quite liked him - but his time with us is clearly done.