Indigo

Some people are staggeringly miserable. What's the point in football if you can't celebrate something like last night. Genuinely surprised by how WBA approached the two legs (when they had 11 men on the pitch anyway), naturally I've not seen as much of them this season but I'd associated them with being a decent attacking side with some talented players, especially at this level. There's a balance to be struck between pragmatism and negatively and they strayed too much into the latter I think, they could have easily set out to maintain a lead but give us something to think about on the break at the same time, but outside of the the occasional flashes it was largely the stereotypical West Brom. Wouldn't be too critical of our tactics, ultimately once they nicked a goal it was always going to be a struggle to break them down. When you're parking the bus as they did you tend to overload the middle, so the attacking team usually rely on width where unfortunately we're lacking in quality relative to Jack/Tammy/McGinn/Hourihane. They're our most effective players but easiest to stifle when you're playing the way WBA did. Whatever the case we won't be presented with the same problems in the final, whoever we play. Will still be shitting it either way mind, but for now I'm just enjoying the moment while it lasts. That was some night.

I've nothing insightful to say other than what a beautiful fella he is. Thank you Jed

It was mentioned in the commentary at the time but even Hourihane's goal shows you some of the subtle differences in quality that just have him a class (or ten) above others. McGinn - for how good he's been this season really struggled yesterday I thought - tries to lay the ball off for Jack at the edge of the box, but despite shaping to hit it first time there's too much pace on the ball and it's played between his feet, so he's instead force to control it. He then carries the ball into a similar position to where the pass he received was played from and then puts it on a plate for Hourihane, perfectly weighted and right on his left foot. Seems simple only because he makes it look so.

Just short of 20 total goals and assists from midfield this season now isn't it? There are definitely critiques to be made of him as a player but after that truly embarrassing shite he had to put up with earlier in the season (and dealt with very admirably also) there isn't a player I'm happier to see score for us. Fair play Conor.

Genuinely think he gets underrated in comparison to Jack/Mings/Tammy/McGinn. They're the main 4 and Tuanzebe is probably regarded as the best of the rest but he's right up there in his own right. It's such a shame that he's spent so much of the past two seasons injured as he's improved at a staggering rate with every game he's played. Desperately hope United will go big on a centre back or two in the summer and there's a chance we can keep hold of him. Complete class act.

As in he'll literally be standing out of the team, hopefully.

I think if we've learned anything from our transfer policy (or lack thereof) down the years it's that it's about signing the right players rather than just making broad brush stroke signings based purely on criteria like "up and coming" or "proven and experienced". Tonev and Lescott are two signings on the opposite ends of the spectrum that show how disastrous either approach can be when a lack of nuanced thought goes into it. There's a balance to be struck between youth and experience. I understand that it's a good idea to on the whole prioritise younger players, but ultimately if an obviously option who happens to be in their late 20s+ comes up then it'd be careless to turn our noses up in favour of signing the potential next Ashley Westwood. The vast, vast majority of top clubs around the world have at least a couple of players in this mould, and though we might not be anywhere near one of those sides at the moment, if we have aspirations of climbing the ladder to eventually even being in contention for the top 7 of the Premier League then a few mature heads will be absolutely necessary. Speaking hypothetically, if there was any realistic chance of Milner coming back next season in the event of us getting promoted (*furiously knocks on wood*) we'd be mad to turn it down.

Villa View's podcast is very good, the three lads that rotate presenting duties (well the the two regulars of Dan and Tom and occasional stand-in Chris) are all really likable and level-headed. Their other stuff can be hit and miss, gave up on all the stuff done by the camera man and that Rushton bloke a good while ago though, nothing against them I just can't get into it at all. The young lad that does Villa on Tour makes some good stuff too, very well done for someone his age that's working with very modest means. Offers something different from the Villa View too. That's about it for me in terms of extra-curricular Villa media.

Thought outside the Mings-Tuanzebe partnership he was our best player on the pitch. Was great in the first half until the game obviously drifted into madness in the second.

He was brilliant today. I was critical of him after the Rotherham game when many weren't, but I think that made me more impressed by him given how he managed to hold his cool when everything was descending around him, when previously I'd have thought he'd be one of the first to go the other way. The first half in particular he was unbelievable, alongside Tuanzebe who deserves the same amount of credit. Been said already but they're a ready made Premier League partnership, Axel I could see us getting on loan again but at this stage Bournemouth would be mad to let him leave for us unless we stayed in the Championship and they were willing to drop £20 million+ on a defender.

He's out of form at the moment but fortunately enough it's come at a time where the rest of the team are compensating for it by playing out of their skin, as opposed to earlier in the season where he really was carrying us at times. Kodjia's last couple of showings have definitely given him a fair shout of getting in the side, but I've no doubt Tammy will come good again sooner rather than later. He's too good at this level not to.

Another important cameo tonight, he really has been coming in for some undeserved stick recently in my opinion but he put in such a shift tonight as well as the usual you'd expect from him that nobody can deny him that performance. Definitely benefited from playing down the middle and probably from having a partner alongside him too. He just isn't a winger, as much as I understand why people wouldn't necessary trust him to lead the line by himself he just has to play centrally to be at his most effective. May well have earned his chance of getting in over Tammy but it's a tough decision to make that.

He's just a phenomenal player at this level and far too good for it. He was quiet by his standards in the first half (though still played objectively well) but as said above he really, really turned it on when it mattered most. Needless to say I'm praying we go up anyway, but aside from the obvious also because if not I think we'll regret not appreciating every moment we've had him for over the past couple of seasons.

He was unbelievably good tonight. Stepped up and absolutely dominated the game once we went down to 10 men which says a lot about him. Think it's probably his best performance yet given the circumstances.

SUPER JACK

King Kodj getting one over on the doubters again.

He leans in with his arm and the ball strikes it - by the book it's a yellow card and completely his own fault.

If a less popular player got two yellows for the same thing Mings has he'd be getting slaughtered. He's had an absolute shocker there. He's stuck his arm towards the ball and it's connected - there's really nothing to complain about there in terms of the ref's decision.

...what is Mings playing at?

Not to say it's the sole reason but I genuinely don't think it's a coincidence that this run of wins has come during his absence.

He's only 20 and has already had his progress massively held back by injuries, think under the circumstances he's done quite well, especially as he got chucked back into things quite quickly given he was recalled from his loan and thrown into what at the time was a very much struggling team. He's young and he's a winger, two things which in and of themselves usually lead to some inconsistent performances. The worrying thing would be if he wasn't showing anything in his performances but that's clearly not been the case, so there's enough to be encouraged by with him. The last few games he's looked very dangerous early on and linked well with Elmo, but they've passed him by after a certain period and he's struggled to get back into them thereafter, hence usually being substituted eventually. As of right now I think he's very capable at this level.

Two football players being injured at the same time is too ridiculous to be true apparently.

I know it's the done thing to slate him now but he made a demonstrably positive impact once he came on. I was surprised he came on rather than Hourihane as we were struggling in midfield, but even with his unnecessary volley Kodjia came on and offered an outlet that El Ghazi was failing to do, and ultimately played a big part in the second goal through forcing the save from Westwood. He'll always be a frustrating player, and injuries have certainly taken their toll on his overall ability, but some of the stick he gets seems unjust to me.

I'm watching on a feed that has a man screaming that Villa are cheats because El Ghazi was down injured, I don't think we're talking about the same person.

Wouldn't mind Hourihane for Whelan, we need to find more of a foothold on the ball. Also who is this numpty on the co-commentary? He's abandoning actually doing his job and just cheerleading Wednesday, it's amazing.