striker

I know Hourihane has scored a few but for me he has been Villa’s most disappointing signing. Expecting a lot more from him than this and when you pair him with Whelan no wonder very little is created. I also think teams have worked Grealish out now so has become less effective. Not using the U23s more is one of Bruce’s biggest mistakes.

Anybody getting sound interference through their Sky coverage? Apart from the first five minutes Villa have been awful again with Cardiff only slightly better.

Not surprisingly Kodjia has looked well short of match fitness when he has come on so I wouldn't play him in this game. Cardiff's centre backs will be expecting an easy evening marshaling Hogan so I'd play the more physical Davis to hold the ball up allowing the Villa midfielders to run beyond him.

I think in bold that will be Bruce's epitaph from the most kind hearted Villa fans when he leaves but if Villa are not promoted it falls short of what was initially expected.

Bree hasn’t looked out of place to me when played so I don’t know why he hasn’t been given more game time to get a foothold in the side. But you could also say that about O’Hare and a few others from the U23s. I guess Bruce has put all his eggs in one basket by preferring his experienced players so Elmo will probably continue at RB until the end of the season.

Since Villa seem shy of performing wide men I’d push Elmo further forward and give Bree a run at RB. A bit more energy down that side of the pitch wouldn’t go amiss. I’m also one of the few who think Elmo has been good business at 1m. That would barely pay for a years supply of condoms for Gabby

It seems to me the Villa way is to foul up when expected to win and win when the expectations are to lose so I’m going for an emphatic Villa win with Warnock sent to the stands. That in itself would be sweet.

This rest business is a bit baffling to me. There have been several international breaks, the latest most recently so I’m not sure fatigue is the main cause of Villa’s inconsistency? Yesterday rather than getting into Norwich from the start Villa sat off them preferring to pass the ball around, or hoofing it forward (when they had it) at walking pace. It looked to me the Villa players were out for a wee stroll in the sun with the ball getting in the way and that invited Norwich onto them. The mentality of the Villa players wasn’t right from the start and it’s only the better teams that can go up a gear winning a game (Man U yesterday for instance). There have been too many lacklustre performances like this even going back to the start of the season where fatigue shouldn’t be an issue so imo it’s either the manager’s inability to motivate the players, the players choking under pressure or the players giving 100% only when they want to? If it’s the latter then the players do not respect the manager, fans or themselves enough to put the effort in and that would be a terrible indictment of the current squad. That is why I’ve been banging on for some time now for Bruce to bring in one or two of the U23s particularly in midfield who would bust a gut rather than what we’re seeing at the moment which is a total lack of pride in wearing the shirt.

Game over. Absolute rocket polishers.

One back.

Villa starting to show a bit more urgency after going two down. Really can’t understand the mentality of this.

You called it from the start. Right from the first minute Villa have strolled around the pitch like a charity game with no motivation at all. So surprised to see a team captained by John Terry play like that. Bruce needs to get into them at half time because due to what’s at stake that first half performance was simply not good enough.

Shit. Was just about to post Villa need a goal against to wake the **** up and it’s happened.

At the moment it looks like both teams are playing an end of season game with nothing to play for which certainly isn’t the case. Villa need to up the tempo as Norwich are there for the taking.

High balls up to Hogan.

Good play there and nearly a goal.

Norwich started better. Villa haven’t got out of bed yet.

I would agree with you but the players have already been rested after the international break.

No need to change anything from the game against Reading. Same team Bruce (no tinkering) then Villa will increase the pressure on Cardiff and Fulham with a narrow win.

Just a word of caution. Villa haven’t secured a playoff position yet and considering present form, should not be taken for granted. Lose against Reading with other results going against Villa I really don’t think at the present time Villa have the right mentality for a scrap.

Yes he was excellent, the best player on the pitch but if Villa don’t gain promotion through the playoffs then I feel it would be better to start bringing in the likes of Suliman rather than giving yet another contract to a player nearing the end of his career. Villa must start to build for the future and not under the present manager if the club are to move forward.

On that performance I now worry if Villa can still secure a playoff spot. Players look dead on their feet even after the international break. No pace, no movement, no ideas and consequently no cutting edge. Time and time again particularly in the second half Villa went for the Hollywood ball out of defence instead of keeping possession and moving forward as a team. You cannot continually rely on individual brilliance to pull you out of a tight spot because more often than not it doesn’t happen. I said some time ago that Bruce should be utilising the U23s more to get that youthful exuberance especially through the middle to revitalise the team. At the moment his reliance on experienced is back firing at the business end of the season and that was always a worry of mine for Villa.

Team looks generally flat in that first half devoid of any spark. Hull are awful so if Villa fail to beat these it will be a terrible result.

Another great opportunity goes amiss.

Been generally poor so far against a very average Hull side.