GeordieVillan

If we don’t go up, and if we lose Grealish in the summer, and if Lansbury can get fit, I think we will be a big player for us next season in the midfield with Hourihane and McGinn. He really needs to stay fit though.

We are in the territory of every game being the biggest game of the season, especially if we have won the previous game to keep ourselves in the hunt. We might feel as though we are timing are run of good form just right, but the same could be said for Preston, Sheff Wed and Forest, who are all actually in better form than us really. Its not too late for us, but I feel like we can probably only drop points in 2 games between now and the end of the season, which means we need to win 8.

Fair play to all the Villa players for stepping in and trying to protect Jack. Also, someone like Hourihane who is always accused of being soft and a bottler, his immediate instinct was to run straight over and dive in. Just makes you think what perceptions we have of these guys and what they are like in reality.

I think we should have walked off. How can the game continue if the players aren’t safe. Some things are more important than football, 3 points or a derby match. The guy could have seriously hurt Grealish. To be fair, how can the Birmingham players feel safe either. Crazy to witness that.

Looked good at half time. Blown it again.

Good day so far! Let’s not now blow it. 3 points from 4th, 6 points from 3rd, 10 points from 2nd. If you could ask only one more thing, it would be a Derby winner....we need Norwich and/or Leeds to get pulled back into the chasing pack...

It’s amazing what difference a win makes. We have 2 games in the next few days, if we can manage to win both of those, then you just would think there is a decent chance we will be in 6th place, or at least level on points with 6th. Then let’s ignore Leeds for now and focus on Norwich....they play Derby next, it’s possible that they might draw or lose, and then Brentford, who knows, maybe another draw or defeat. We then might be just 6-9 points behind 2nd place. If we can then get it back to 6 points by the end of January, well who knows. Point being - things can change quickly, but we need to win our bloody games first!

Massive game today. We are in “save our season” territory I think. This fixture also marks the beginning of the run of so called “easier games”. If we can put together a run of 4 or 5 wins on the bounce now, maybe even more than that, things might look very different by the end of January. Lose today and you’ve got to think that confidence will be shot, and for me it will feel quite a bit like Bruce’s first season where we got to January and we were hoping for a big impact from the January signings to turn the season around.

I think this is a very complex issue and people need to be careful of knee-jerk reactions. As someone who has played football at a decent level (by no means professional) for around 25 years, the landscape of what is acceptable has changed massively. Certain things have always been unacceptable eg. Sexually abusing kids, and while those things have been going on they have been brushed under the carpet or covered up, and are only now being investigated and criminal charges are rightly being brought against the perpetrators. But for other things, what was acceptable 20, 30 or even 40 years ago just wouldn’t wash these days, and again rightly so. I’m talking more broadly here about racism and homophobic comments for example - are we going back decades to bring people to task for those comments, in most cases no, because there is an acknowledgment and acceptance that society has changed and if people change with it then they can largely continue with their lives. But it is a good thing that people are held to higher standards nowadays. Specifically on this case and K-Mac, regardless of whether your view is that he has produced a load of good players or not enough, I personally don’t think it is fair to judge his behaviour and interactions 20 years ago against today’s standards for bullying, as there simply wasn’t the same level of awareness of mental health issues then as there is now. What previously may have been considered a weakness or lack of character in a sportsman may now rightly be classed as a mental health issue, and those coaching would adjust their behaviour with those individuals accordingly. So in terms of Farrelly and the way he feels he was treated 20 years ago, while ignorance isn’t an excuse K-Mac and others, I think people should think about the scale of abuses of power in general historically across the board and place these claims in that context. What would concern me is that there was an allegation in the last couple of years against K-Mac for bullying or something similar, and that would suggest that perhaps he hasn’t moved with the times and realised what is acceptable nowadays and what is not, and that is partly his fault, but ultimately partly the fault of the club for not putting steps in place to identify where management may be abusing their positions and also where players are vulnerable. That is my personal opinion, and by no means am I saying this is fact, or am I demeaning whatever mental issues Farrelly and other players have faced because of how they were treated.

Strangely my favourite bit was when he said something along the lines of “I’ve made mistakes as a manager, and I will make more mistakes in future, and the reason for that is that I take decisions, and you can’t take decisions without making some mistakes”. We need this. A manager that isn’t afraid of making mistakes, that will make decisions and try to attack games, and not play it safe. And to back it up he actually has a consistent style of play, which is what separates him from Lambert and Sherwood in recent years. I hope we as fans give him time.

He’s doing ok, not brilliant, but ok. At the risk of being given loads of grief - based on the performance of McGinn today, and the fact Adomah and Green havnt looked great so far, I would be tempted to play Grealish on the left, if it means we can still get Hourihane on the team. The way Kodjia is looking, we are going to need a lot of goals from midfield, and Hourihane will get us at least 10 if he plays regularly. I have a feeling Jack might get a bit more space playing left as well, if McGinn continues as he did today. That would then give us a choice of Jedi/Whelan/Thor as the holding midfielder, and Green/Adomah/Elmo on the right. Which would probably mean Green and Adomah on the bench! Anyway, it will never happen as I don’t think Bruce would ever even consider it.

A win for us today will put the pressure back on Cardiff for sure. We have to bounce back. If Cardiff then fail to win tomorrow, we are back to where we were prior to our defeat against QPR. As many have said, there will be plenty of twists and turns, and points will be dropped by all teams where we don’t expect.

Disagree. Psychologically Fulham dropping points can only help us.

Hope QPR carry on playing as they are. A draw would be a very decent result for us.

This is the first time I’ve sat and watched Fulham (now winning 2-0) properly. They are clinical, but they aren’t anything amazing, they are wide open at the back and QPR could easily have scored a couple of goals themselves in this game. If this is how they always play, their winning run won’t last, and I can see them dropping points sooner rather than later in the run in. Whether we can put a run together ourselves to take advantage is different matter. (now 2-1 by the way)

Ah well.

So many posts on the last few pages desperately hoping that Leeds win tonight and then we win on Saturday. Sadly it seems we all forgot just how shit Leeds are. Still, it’s somehow only 1-0 right now, maybe we should all hope for a smash and grab in the second half!

Wanted to comment on his performance today - had to go to page 4 to find the thread - unbelievable! Hutton has been great since his run at left back started, but I have to say that without Adomah playing wide left and providing the width on that side, I felt that Taylor made a big difference when he came on today. For all Hutton’s qualities, I think having two right footers playing on the left hand side means we have missed the ability for someone to put a cross in early with the their left foot, something Elmo does very well on the other side when he gets the chance. Until Adomah returns, I would seriously consider playing Taylor at left back to give us a bit more balance and attacking threat.

Big big game this one now.. 3 points and we are within 5 points of 2nd place, which I think would be pretty decent I certainly would have took that at the start of December!

I was able to go to the game today, but sat with the Boro fans. Fair play to them, they were very vocal, much more than they ever have been when I’ve observed them from the away end of my previous visits. The villa fans were in great voice as usual. A few observations - Elphick was great in terms of organising the back 4, you actually hear him shouting at Elmo and telling him what to do. In a very poor first half, Hutton was our attacking spark from left back. He offers us something different as someone who actually runs forward with the ball and tries to commit defenders. People might immediately say that Adomah, Grealish and Snodgrass do this, but there is something quite exciting when Hutton cuts inside from left back and darts into central midfield. Hogan was a passenger, we might as well have played without a striker. Struggling to control the ball and rarely posing a threat. Hepburn-Murphy looked a better option when he came on. Grealish changed the game when he came on. I’m not his biggest fan, but his ability to hold the ball and bring Adomah and Snodgrass into the game made a massive difference, that’s something which Onamah just wasn’t able to do. It was a very poor game, but you have to say a great result. A win against Bristol City and I would say it hasn’t been a disastrous festive period.

As things stand, our destiny (for automatic promotion) is almost in our own hands. We just need Cardiff to slip up once, and then it’s down to us. Obviously it assumes we win our games against Cardiff and Sheff Utd, but otherwise we would just have to match the points tally of everyone around us, no need to “better them” or “play catch-up”. I think if a couple of months ago someone told me we would be in this position, I never would have believed it. That being said, this next set of games is going to be crucial. But to be honest, unless we get into 2nd place 10 points clear of the playoffs, I’m pretty sure every “set of games” is going to be crucial. We just need to keep doing what we are doing - being solid, getting results, and bouncing back from defeats quickly.

I would say the last 20 minutes of the first half was the best I’ve seen us play this season. Direct but with a purpose, putting them under pressure, and actually creating chances and getting players in the box.

Saturday was the most deflated I've felt in a long time after a Villa game. The reason for this is that I was actually starting to get some belief and hope, something which I havn't had in 4-5 years. BUT - we are still in it - we need to put a run of wins together now and stay in contention.

Being overrun in midfield. Difficult one for Bruce - taking off Hogan and bringing on a midfielder now would be the right move, but it will destroy Hogan's confidence.

Hogan gets a chance alongside Davis, which alot of people have been asking for! If he can score a goal today and get some confidence, it will really give us some options up front going into the busy period of fixtures...