bannedfromHandV

I don’t think the first one is a penalty, but they’ve been given often, somewhat reminiscent of the Duran one at home to Burnley earlier this season. The handball, who knows anymore, sometimes they’re given, sometimes not, was it any more or less handball than the one Coventry got on the weekend? The final one though, clear penalty (and perhaps a red card), Young was never going to get to the ball cleanly through the back of the player, but okay, things can be missed in real time, this is what VAR is supposed to be there for, a clear and obvious mistake. I remember us being denied three penalties against Sheff United at home, two of which were stonewall for me (Watkins being pushed and the handball), if it came out afterwards that the VAR official was a SHA fan I can imagine all of us being pissed off and calling foul on it. To be honest though, whoever he supports is irrelevant because all it highlights for me is that Attwell is shit at his job, as we all knew. Let’s not forget that shortly before being fast tracked into the premier league he was the one who awarded the ‘ghost goal’ in a Watford match (it’s absolutely unbelievable, look it up if you don’t recall it).

The transformation in Bailey is astounding when you consider how he struggled to adapt over the first 18-24 months here, admittedly held back by injuries but his entire persona is different now, truly one of the leaders on the pitch both in terms of ability but also application. And you know what, I think he loves it here (now).

F**k VAR, absolutely detest it, a moment like that in a semi final ruled out for a minor infraction that had no bearing on the ultimate outcome. The jubilation and the emotions those Cov fans will have experienced should have been something to remember for all the right reasons, now it will only be remembered for the wrong reasons, clinical accuracy isn’t football, emotion and the eruption of those emotions is what football is about, and VAR kills it.

Great result and good performance, at times we overplayed in and around the box, probably should have scored more but given the efforts of the same XI (by and large) just three days ago in France this was a remarkable showing. I’ve long run out of superlatives to describe Unai and this team, part of me is still waiting for it all to go wrong but holy moly folks, it (whatever it is), may well just be bloody happening! What a time to be a Villa fan.

If we can find a win today it practically renders the chances of anyone other than spurs overtaking us to zero, we can go 16 clear of United and castle with both having 18 points to play for, they have to play eachother soon too. What an incredible position we can put ourselves into, my worry is that when we’ve had games like this (opportunities to put ourselves into strong positions, like Sheff Utd at home, United away etc) we’ve tended to choke somewhat. I’m hoping the euphoria from Thursday will help the players psychologically in this regard.

Shake and bake

I think we’ll aim to start fast and try to blow them away first half as we did to sides earlier in the season. I don’t see us rotating much because simply, we have no real options for it (aside from in defence).

So is this Truss’ new grift then, setting herself up as the ‘UK Trump’? What total waste of oxygen she is.

3 body problem = 8 Hours wasted. Save yourself and don’t bother in case you’re considering giving it a go.

If Wednesday can win their game in hand and they lose to Huddersfield next week they’re gone IMO

Let’s assume that we don’t have to sell one of our top players in the summer, and let’s also assume that none ask to leave and/or are the subject of a crazy bid that we just can’t turn down. What do we need in the summer? This season has been somewhat helpful in that regard as we know where the gaps are. Definitely need a defensive midfielder to compete with Kamara, I think another centre midfielder (perhaps more versatile a la Tielemans) and then a forward (to play across the front positions), don’t think we need anything more with a new backup GK already here and the new RB inbound.

I think that’s a bit harsh, without admittedly knowing the details of the current tv deal but it’s not exactly simple to sell tv rights for the lower divisions, there’ll be close to zero international interest so you’re relying on a domestic market that’s already paying obscene amounts for the top flight package. Part of me thinks they’d be better off arranging something with the terrestrial channels for the exposure it might bring.

Loved Luiz telling the ref to just get out of his face and blow the whistle for his penalty last night, and then still doing his customary thing of waiting until he was ready to start his run up - that pause he does after the refs whistle seems to me to be psychological and all about him taking it when he’s ready, not anyone else. Watkins’ effort, I’ve rewatched it a few times to see if the slip affected the trajectory of the shot, it’s hard to tell as the slip seems largely to occur after the strike but who knows, I wrote in the match thread that I wondered if whether he scored or not would have a bearing on his selection for the Euros and it’s a shame he slipped as it may cloud safegates (already clouded) judgement. What a buzz it was though to win that way, Martinez is such a character and such a good keeper, we are so so fortunate to have him, long may it continue.

But SD was never this bad?!

Duran played well, good discipline off the ball, decent on the few occasions he had possession, competed well in the air and was somewhat unlucky with the effort on goal (which required really good technique to be fair). I feel like he’s maturing in his play and approach, he’s much less of a hothead lately.

Anyone watching the fenerbahce game on TNT through the red button? Why da fuq is the picture so bad?!

Yeah poor performance generally, though I thought Duran did well coming on. That being said we still missed the chance of the game through Luiz. Absolutely buzzing with the win, who’d have thought we’d be the last English club standing in Europe?! Martinez is an absolute legend, sincerely hope he goes on to see at least the majority of his career out here, top, top goalkeeper. Do we dare to dream?

I wonder if whether Watkins scores or not will impact much on safegate’s selection for the euros?

Oh Dougie, that was the game right there buddy. When was our last penalty shootout? Seems like a long time ago

It’s hard sometimes to not think we’re intentionally understated in the media, sky sports app right now, Villa in a euro cup final and what’s the headline story? Emma Raducanu playing tennis. Yeah okay.

No real intensity to our play, they have space whereas we’re closed down quickly every time it reaches one of ours. They get away with quite a lot to be honest in the contact, always grabbing shirts etc. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Martinez not return for the second half. Need a big effort this half to get back on top.

The irony, I haven’t given a shit about European results for English teams since as long as I can remember to be honest, the one year I/we have a vested interest in them doing well and they all have a bloody mare. Oh well, extra incentive and impetus for us to try and make sure we finish fourth now!

He’s just settled in really well hasn’t he? Looks a Villa player already, some of his showings have been a bit iffy but that’s been in line with team performances during that time, he’s drifted out of matches but I thought it was an incredibly mature performance yesterday. The early indications on this one is that we’ve done well, fingers crossed he’s got another few levels in him for Unai to unlock because on top of what we’ve seen so far, plus his raw attributes, any improvement would see him become a real player.

Outstanding yesterday and my MoTM. Put a great shift in, was cool and calm on the ball, often receiving passes inside our own area, almost scored a worldie, perfect pass over the top to assist Watkins’ goal. I think that’s his best performance in a Villa shirt and he’s starting to look like he’s enjoying his football again.

I feel like the results yesterday gave us a lift going in to today, I thought we were close to being spent after recent showings but today we got stronger as the game went on. It’s a massive step toward securing 5th at least but fingers crossed it gives us the platform and energy to go on and match/better Spurs’ results.