Vive_La_Villa

11 minutes ago, striker said:

Very dangerous game for Villa this. I'd expect both Carlos and Konsa to be playing at CB with Cash at FB to deal with Chelsea's pace going forward?

If Torres plays I think Chelsea will target his lack of pace!

It really depends on which Chelsea turn up so I'd gladly take a point and move on.

Why would Torres not play and if he does only one of Carlos or Konsa will play if Cash plays. We tried the back 5 thing against Spurs and it went horribly wrong.

Livescore have Olsen in goal for likely lineup. Have I missed something ?

Personally think Liverpool had overachieved this season with the team they have. Expected them to finish around 3rd and looks like that will happen. To win a league with a new midfield is a long shot.
 

They still create a lot of chances every game so hopefully they can take some of them against Spurs.

43 minutes ago, Zatman said:

If was a choice of the 2, I would rather keep the Donk

If it was the choice of the 2 it would be 2015 again.

11 hours ago, RicRic said:

Spurs will get something against either Arsenal or City, hard to call which one , but feel it will be the city game and then comically this may hand the title over to Arsenal their record against City is probably better than anyone else’s in the last few years. We need two wins before our last match as i would not prefer to be like nervous norris watching this unfold with minutes left

Why do you think that? Both Arsenal and City are fighting for the title and the most in form teams in the league. I think Spurs will lose both.

On 25/04/2024 at 18:05, punkiller1981 said:

We beat Lille even with them getting a week off. Sometimes I’m not sure it’s as much of an advantage in reality as it looks on paper especially with the way we play 

They should have won the game though.

1 hour ago, picicata said:

I was confident we would win against them in the FA Cup so I'm now nervous for this one!

Looking at some our defeats this season such as the Chelsea one  I see Lenglat has been at the back and at times with Carlos. He did a good job but I think we look a lot more solid with Tores at the back. He seems to bring the best out of his centre half partner too. 

21 minutes ago, Pongo Waring said:

If you give me the choice of a fit Eze, Olise or Mitoma, I would choose Mitoma.
Who are you taking?

Mitoma. Top player and excellent for commercial reasons too. 

I bet the other two prefer to stay in ‘Landan’ anyway. 
 

Don’t think we’ll sign any of them.

Brighton were always going to drop off this season after losing so many key players. You can only keep finding gems to replace the big players sold for so long. 
 

Credit to them for still having an ok season but it’s a game we should be looking at for 3 points regardless of the situation.

I have no issue with Archer returning. I think he’s capable in this league and will improve under Emery.

On 24/04/2024 at 18:41, useless said:

I think there's a lesson somewhere, not to judge attacking players soley on goals and assists, although as it happens Rogers stats for Middlesbrough in that regard were decent enough, he has nine goals and ten assists this season, seven of those goals and nine of those assists were for Boro, but he was also doing well in other regards, he was the top player in the Championship for increasing his team's chance of scoring, amongst other things, I think it was said he was also very good defensively

You only have to look at this highlights of his time at MIddlesbrough to see an indication that some of the good play he's been showing for us he was already showing for them

 

You’d have thought Villa fans would have learnt that lesson from Grealish.

We all think this is a great find but anybody that watches the Championship will you tell you he stood out. 
 

I think we’ve got a bargain.

I’m very confident we will win on Saturday. 

19 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said:

The point is that they won’t in any way try to box clever - it’s going to be the same stale tactic that the league is now getting used to. 

Their own fans say the same thing. They aren’t capable of playing any other way. We went very narrow without the ball in both games against Arsenal and it worked. They won’t do that. They’ll go toe to toe and leave a lot of space to be exploited.

55 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

We could just as easily lose, Spurs win, and then they are just 3 points behind with 2 games in hand.

Can't be overconfident or cocky I til the maths are concrete. We do this all the time then have a meltdown

I refuse to believe this can ever happen! 

Palace have beaten Liverpool, West Ham and Newcastle in last 3! Got a bit of a new manager bounce going on it seems. 
 

I reckon 4th will be tied up by them anyway.

Let’s just finish 4th. 

Come on lads saying we won’t catch Liverpool is not defeatist it’s being realistic. Yes we can win all our games but the chances of that happening and Liverpool losing 5 league games in a row is near impossible! 
 

If I believed this could happen I’d be all over it at the bookies !  Worth a pound bet.
 

11 hours ago, Captain_Townsend said:

No issue with commercial success  whatsoever. We need it! Badly!

However, I'm not sure we have to just tolerate being treated like idiots as part of the process. And that is what has happened since end of last season with total B.S reasons for decisions around the ditching the new  2022badge, changes to the plan for the stadium etc. Just be more upfront- we stood by the club when it was on its knees, we deserve better.

 

 

I agree with this but as long as l they are selling seats, merchandise and more importantly for them corporate deals I doubt they really care. Unfortunately just how it is. 

Yesterday’s results showed how unpredictable results are near the end of the season but I trust Emery and this team to get us over the line.

4 hours ago, GarethRDR said:

What's the current shirt fit like vs Kappa for us porky bastards? Given this will be our last season with a decent badge for the foreseeable, I'm considering plumping for the home and away. I was an XXL in Kappa but as they always run stupidly tight, hoping I can go down to an XL and it still be a nice loose fit.

I just ordered Larges for away and 3rd kit. For Kappa I also had large and it was too tight around the stomach area. 

Chancing Large again. 

Adidas will be a much better fit I’m sure.

22 minutes ago, rubberman said:

What's kind of amazing is that we couldn't care less what happens in any games apart from ours and Spurs. No other jeopardy from Man U, Chelsea, Newcastle et al, we are so far clear. Would be nice to be even closer to those above us, but that's for next season. Otherwise can just sit back and enjoy.

Points wise we’re not that far from top 3 since Emery took over but the goals difference is what shows how far ahead they from us and the rest of the league.  

2 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

People keep saying this. Mings is a completely different player to Pau and Lenglet. Mings is competition for Diego Costa. If Pau is injured for 2 months and Lenglet is not in the squad we have compromised our build up structure which is fundamental to the way we play. 

Mings is a superb defender and our poor record from set pieces defensively is because of how dominant Mings is with first contact and how weak Pau is. If you look at the two players profiles strengths and weaknesses they are completely different players. This is why I think it's critical we get another player with similar skillset as Pau and for me that's Hermoso on a free. 

With Pau, Hermoso, Mings, Costa and Konsa we have the perfect mix of player profiles for our system of one attacking FB and 3 CBs. 

I see where you coming from but surely Mings is capable of doing whatever Lenglat can do whilst being a better defender?

Emery has shown he only uses two left footed centre halves if he is out of options.

15 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

Well it's more next seasons account which pose the issue for us. We get the boost of (hopefully CL football) we also have new sponsorship deals which are kicking in. I doubt Heck will be idle either, we'll be adding additional commercial partners, hopefully sell rights to the 23/24 season. 

From there we have a good base, we will move some players on to bring in revenue and lower our costs. This headroom allows us to sign some players. I feel we need to replace Lenglet and add a CDM. Other than that I don't see any squad gaps. We might move a player on and replace them 

Mings will replace Lenglat when he returns. Apart from DM I think you’re right in terms of there being no gaps if you consider we need 2 capable players in every position although we still need to see how new RB and reserve keeper turn out..  It’s all about improving on the quality of the squad now

Expect a reaction but how much character has the Chelsea team really got? I know it’s only one incident  and two players but the penalty thing against Everton didn’t show much unity. They didn’t even celebrate the goal. 
 

Get a lead against them and how much fight will they have? Saturday night, pissed up crowd and against a team looking for top 4. Not a game they will want after losing a semi final and getting smashed to a London rival. 

4 minutes ago, RicRic said:

They got smoked 4-0 at st james park last time out, they play the biggest derby for them in the next game at their home turf they will be forced to put on a performance and will be fired up, so they will not be losing that imo and of late they always do well against Man City and i feel they will be the team to cause an upset in the title race.

Things have been going well but i cant see us winning on saturday for some strange reason, of course i hope im wrong  

If they set up and approach the game the way they always do I think Arsenal will beat them if they take their chances.