MarkLillis

With all due respect a raw 22 year old striker should not have bare the responsibility of being our main goal getter in the fight against relegation. its an oversight I’m sure will be rectified in the coming transfer window. UTV

This was in truth I one of his better games. He actually controlled the ball and held defenders off. I would like to see this from him more often.

We have been given a massive opportunity. Promotion wasn’t in the plan last year when DS took over....there is no way anyone at the club was expecting this year to be a PL season. Now we have to give ourselves the best chance of staying here instead of the alternative which is fighting for promotion in the quicksand of the Championship. That will require us as fans to get behind the team. The team can do their part and start showing the fight that was missing from the last three performances. Combine both points above with some shrewd January signings and all is not lost. UTV

1. FA Cup final - not a shot on goal.....pathetic 2.Bolton at home under McLeish, atmosphere was toxic and it was then I realised we were not just having a bad patch. 3.Chelsea 4.Bradford 5.The Albion defeats. Hard to take at the time.....although we have now recovered some pride.

It was only two weeks ago that we were playing Newcastle off the Park and getting a very creditable draw at Old Trafford. I am sure we will get upwards of 4 points from the next 3. We have good players, its only matter of time before that manifests itself into points. UTV

Agreed. What is annoying about this is the media are not taking it into consideration. Also annoying was the almost overwhelming absence of understanding on the Holte End yesterday that we were playing a Leicester team that were very good , they MADE us look bad. We can be well beaten...….as a newly promoted side I was expecting it to happen more often.

Games are won by good players....but of course you need a good manager. I think we have a more than generous amount of good players in our squad. Dean is a good manager. Therefore I am confident we will be ok

A forward is a must. We cant carry on relying on Wes. It is vital we have someone who can hold the ball up even just for 5 months. The ball needs to stick up there for a while so either teach the Brazilian to control the ball(cant believe I just said that, feel free to disagree though!) or buy a man who can.

Far to casual at times. With the ball at his feet outside our own penalty area he has to be more alert. He makes great last ditch challenges I just wish they weren't sometimes because he gave the ball away in dangerous situations. However.....that said his contribution to our club since he arrived has been immense!

I can see why we have the discussion about a new striker (even though it only is six months since we signed one). First of all we need to be able to shake it up a little with a Maupay type striker to come off the bench either as a replacement or supplement. I also think Wesley gets to much stick, the blokes around me seem to dislike him simply because of his mannerisms (I honestly how can a professional footballer be lazy - would Dean Smith even select him if he had this trait?) For me his ability will shine through once he has settled down, but I agree that he hasn't set the world on fire yet and maybe some time coming off the bench would do him good.

Judging by what I overheard on the train back last night,being the “next Man City” is very much still how’s they see themselves! Two seasons above the Villa and they already think they have left us behind forever....

I can think of one game this year where we have actually "got lucky". The Everton match was very even and could, if they had taken their chances ended up the other way. However our other results could easily have been more positive. There is a lot to be thankful for here we are in the Premier League, we have a squad full of good young up and coming players and a good (youngish) up and coming manager. Yes yesterday is disappointing and to an extent hard to take. But this time last year we lost at home to Sheff Wednesday and this was soon followed by the awful Preston match and cabbage gate. If someone had told me then that in a years time ill be disappointed with a tight defeat at the Arsenal after outplaying them for long periods it would have been hard to believe. The green shoots of recovery are most definitely there

There must be a reason for this. Harry Kane can go down regularly when he feels "contact" some times he wins the decision sometimes not. However he is not vilified in the way Jack is either by refs of other supporters. Is it because Harry Kane is an England star, so fans of other teams see him in a different light? Is it because Harry Kane conducts himself in a more professional manner around referees? Whatever it is Jack could learn from Harry because they are both kicked and fouled and both go down a lot, but only one has a unjustified reputation for diving.

Yes they missed a couple of really decent chances, but apart from that was there really much of a difference between the two sides?. They could justify saying that we were lucky in the way that we could justify saying that Bournemouth were lucky.... But can they really justify saying we will go down on the back of that performance? I would say Everton fans do not fully recognise what relegation fodder really is!

This will not change. those 'characters' will not get a sense of perspective unfortunately. I saw a good performance that went unrewarded for various reasons. The bloke behind me shouted about not playing out from the back because "yow ay good enough" and when we had a brief discussion at half time about how the second half might go, no one around shared my opinion that we could definitely win this game. Like it or not people love to spout doom and gloom and seem almost to enjoy being proven right!

This Spurs side has been assembled gradually over the ten years of our decline. They are a product of good transfer deals and excellent managerial choices. Hopefully we are now on the start of a journey that can allow us to compete on a level playing field with them again. As for yesterday then we didn’t get embarrassed and for that we can be grateful. UTV

I think it possible that we view Elmo and Taylor as starters in games such as yesterday when we know we won’t be getting much possession?

I agree to a certain extent. Its been a long time since Villa have been competitive in the top division.I think as fans we have forgotten what it takes but I am sure that Dean Smith and JT know more about it than Daniel Farke. Norwich decided to take Liverpool on tonight and at times passed the ball very well creating good chances. I think we also will play similarly at Spurs tomorrow but I believe without the naive forward runs which left Origi and Salah so much space tonight.

You do hear this arrogance thing coming from supporters all of the midlands clubs. The way I see it is that they want us to be humble and forget about the status the club has held over the vast majority of its history. Forget about the past they say......you're a championship club now and we are Premier. You are arrogant if you expect to get back quickly...….but we did (relatively) Now we are arrogant because we think we can stay up!! You don't understand how difficult the Premier league is they say...…..to fans of the club who have mounted a number of credible title challenges since the Premier league started (and in fact I think until very recently Villas average PL finish was 6th!) We are not arrogant we have had a lot of (RELATIVE!) success over the years and that leads us to expect a certain standard. I guess if Wolves performed as well as Villa have done in the next 20/30 Years they will have an arrogant fanbase too.

Preston are a good club,they will Be good for him and he will be good for them Can see this being a permanent move in the future. Andre will be a better player with less pressure on him to deliver.

Risky? What is your suggestion otherwise then.. If and it’s a big if.....this all goes tits up then so be it. We had to leave behind the deadwood from previous seasons and look to the future. Try to stop listening to outsiders that don’t know the full facts and take confidence that if only half these signings work out we will still be a very good team with super rich owners and a great management team. UTV

Heaton is a top keeper and more than worthy of being our No1. Jed Steer is a number 2 who is a more than able understudy (hence the great job he did for us last year),I am very glad we have him available to us but give me Heaton every time.

They seem to be being discussed as on a par with Leicester in the media and I wouldn't disagree. One of two or three (Everton?) who could crack into the top six this year. Wouldn't it be funny if we turned them over heavily at VP just like last time though

I can say that after watching both of them a number of times last year that Benrahma and Maupay at the right price would be great business for a club in our position. I am also sure that there may well be similar or better value out there. But I don’t know who they are or who they play for.

A couple of decent games?