Only2McInallys

I was lucky enough to witness the Ron Saunders era and we played strong effective football.Yes we ground out results when needed. Lets not forget after we were promoted in 75 we just avoided relegation in 76 so it was lucky nobody Villa talk didn’t exist then as I am sure some would be suggesting he should be sacked. I think our big problem is central midfield we need a strong physical presence here to keep us in games when we are playing away and not playing well.The return of Mings I think is crucial .

Nothing surprises me on Villatalk. We are playing badly with little confidence and losing games.Sack all the players except Grealish and a few others,sack the manager and the board ...that’s a good idea. Do we stand by people that have brought us success in the past?No let’s see who doing well in the premier league at the moment...Steve Bruce is doing well with a similar team to us let’s get him....No no he’s terrible because that’s what a lot of fans said on here last year. Look at Burnley I hate the football they play but Dyce is good premier league manager.Burnley were relegated 4 years ago but the club stuck by him.It wouldn’t happen at Villa because some fans would insist there is somebody better ...like Remi Garde Somebody suggested on here we should drop Mings because he is prone to errors...be careful what you wish for... This is the time to be a true Villa fan ,when things are going badly to stick with the team and the manager.The easy option is let’s get rid of that player,that manager,etc the difficult bit is not overreacting when things get difficult. Let’s look at Bournemouth they are on a terrible run Let’s sack Eddie Howe and all their players. People talk about Smith having no plan b ,does pep have a plan b?

Hasn’t there been a statistic that we have conceded the most headed goals this season ? We are missing defensive headers that Tammy was so good at.Does Wesley win any headers ? I think Southampton are weak in central defence so game tomorrow could be high scoring.

This is a really good analysis of why we are struggling at the moment.Although I love McGinn as a player,a person and his never say die attitude I think the combination of him and Grealish has flaws.He is too forward minded and it leaves us too open when we lose the ball. I don’t think having both of them gives us enough protection especially when El gazi is playing.We are a very strong force going forward with these players and at home this combination works especially against weaker opposition but away it leaves us too open.

Someone mentioned above 11 strangers on the pitch. From the game we played in feb against Sheffield united only 2 of our players featured in that match whereas 8 of their players did. I think we need to be more understanding about the job Smith has had to do.I am not aware of any team in the top flight that has had to do such a transformation.We are in a unique situation. I think smiths plan today was to keep it tight and play for a draw.We are low in confidence and not playing well ...it happens. There are some extreme reactions on here.We need to keep calm( and carry on )(we go again) etc We have lost 7 of last 9 and are still not in the bottom 3 ,that gives me hope.These next 4 fixtures are going to define our season let’s think positive.

Without doubt the best Villa manager in my lifetime. Took us from Division 2 (as it was known then )won 2 league cups,won title and respectable finishes in league in other years. Entertaining to watch and was able to let our best players go (Gray ,Gidman )etc and replace them with better players for less money. Reminds me of Smith in many ways especially being honest and straightforward.I remember him being interviewed when we were near to winning the title and interviewer saying there was a lot of pressure on him and the team he replied there is much more pressure being at the bottom . As long as players gave 110% He was happy.That title winning side was one of the great sides and its a shame he left and wasn’t able to maintain it. I think tomorrow fans will give him a fitting tribute.

Their team looks very strong and their bench players cost £40 million plus Weakness perhaps in central defence with Zouma and Christensen .Good set piece delivery from HOURIHANE needed.

It’s funny how memory plays tricks on you. I can still remember that goal and his defiant celebration.Strange how some goals remain in the memory and it was a draw! I think that goal was memorable because we were still in contention for the title? Now that shows how long ago that was.

Our record against Manu is atrocious. In many years I can only remember 2 victories Staunton goal in 1992and Agbolahor In MON era.Infact I can’t remember us scoring any goals at old Trafford .I would bet in Premier league era last 27 years if we added all the goals we have scored there it would add up to no more than 5. Manu are weaker than they have been since pre fergie days but Rashford and James could cause us a lot of problems. I would play Nakamba for this one instead of Luiz or Hourihane 2-2 late equaliser from us for a change.

Very impressed with Sheffield Utd for 75 mins their movement ,passing and energy. Very similar to us in that they played well dominated most of the game but almost lost. Wonder if they are going to be able to maintain those energy levels for whole season.This league has shown us that if you have a spell of 10 mins where you drop off the pace you can lose the game. I hope Fred and Phil Jones are playing against us next week.

A few mistakes first half but second half looked solid. I felt maguire and rice were giving him the ball because they didn’t want to be responsible for losing it at the back. Maguire is supposed to be £80 million he should be bringing the ball forward and rice rarely took the ball from Mings and began a move . He just seemed to pass it back to Mings. Got to help his confidence for coming games as he becomes an England regular.

Watford winning not good for us .Think they have the potential to move out of relegation zone. With so many top 6teams underperforming Manu,Spurs and Arsenal difficult to predict results.It would be better for us if we could guarantee they would beat our relegation rivals but it isn’t the case .Also teams like Bournemouth and Burnley are incredibly inconsistent. Newcastle play Bournemouth at home and I’m not sure of the result. We really need to string some results together and not rely on teams being worse than us.

We seem to fade in the second half of games so essential we keep it tight until half time. This hopefully will keep our fans in good voice. I would start El gazi and bring Trezeguet on in 2nd half. Dont think Grealish should be risked if he is not fit -he is too important to us.

Totally agree with sentiment above ,certainly the best villa player I have seen in my lifetime. He was a midfield player who could do it all; tackling,free kicks, long passes with a huge amount of running. Closest comparison with modern football would be Gerrard.

This is so right. Over the years there has been some dreadful football played at Villa park.Trying to think of the worst periods Gregory’s team after a couple of years ,Lambert later years etc etc .Smith has us playing some of the best football I have seen at Villa park.Yes we look very open when we lose the ball and we will concede more than most but we play positive football.Even the games we have lost this season I have been entertained by our football at times .Our first goal against Arsenal came after we moved the ball from our defence and crossed sides,something like 25 passes. I would rather us be involved in entertaining games even if it means relegation.I have watched too much turgid football over the years. Maybe we could start a discussion about when we had the worst football at Villa park?

Just been looking at their transfer dealings in last 3 years 19/ 20 net spend 60 million 18/19 net spend 80 million 17/18 net spend 60 million They have spent a a lot of money on players I have never heard of which may suggest they have wasted a lot of money. This summer they bought Maupay for 20 million and Webster for 20 million .Both of these players we were heavily linked with I hope they don’t prove we have made a mistake. This may not be the walk over many fans might expect. I expect a tight game maybe Mings to score winner late on??

I totally agree about discussing all aspects but I feel sometimes we focus too much on negative things especially when so much was good.The game yesterday was unique and following our recent run where we have lost games or dropped points I just felt why not appreciate an amazing win.I also think we have a young and inexperienced team and finding faults may have impact on team morale.If we were an established side fault finding is more acceptable.Some fans have begun to suggest that Smith is out of his depth in this league which I feel is unjustified.We are playing some of the best football I have seen many ,many years and maybe some people are taking it for granted. With regards to Heaton as some have already suggested that was a 50/50 ball if he had contested the ball it might have injured him or he might have been sent off .At 5-0 it probably wasn’t worth the risk.

I think only Villa fans could somehow focus on a negative when they have scored 5 goals away from home and won their first away game in prem for 4 years. From my point of view I think McGinn is the main culprit.We are 5-0 up why does he need to take it so quickly and his ball to Mings is waist high and difficult to control.

I am wary of teams that are injury ravaged.Whenever we play these teams we seem to lose and the new players play out of their skin. Its a bit like going down to 10 men ,it puts pressure on us and we are expected to win.For some reason our players don’t react well to this type of pressure. Lets not forget Norwich lost only 6 games last season and won the league.We finished 5th.Any talk of an easy win is misguided. We are playing very well in patches but unable to finish off teams.Maybe time for Nakamba and Luiz to play together ,I see Luiz as a more offensive player anyway rather than a DM. 1-1 late equaliser from us for a change.

We are playing some of the best football in the premier league that we have played for years.Our first goal against Arsenal last week was a work of art. Unfortunately we are being out muscled and out thought at key times in games that is costing us wins.We either need to learn quickly some of the darker arts of how to close games out or we need to recruit some older more experienced premier league players in Jan. I know we have a transfer policy of buying mostly young players who can be sold on but I think there needs to be some flexibility and some wise old heads may need to be recruited.

Some posters on here have said they could have taken defeat better yesterday if we had played poorly and lost 3-0. I disagree I thought there were many positives from yesterday especially in the first half ; Grealish is getting back his form of last year,McGinn being McGinn,Marvellous steady performance and Trezeguet and Elgazi both showing good touches. There were negatives but I feel more confident over that performance compared to Palace game.We lack some steel but this is early days (Marvelous 2nd game,Guillbert 3rd etc) Completely overhauling the squad and trying to establish ourselves in Premier league is going to be a huge task.I am pleasantly surprised about how many of our signings are settling in quickly and I think Smith is on the right track. I will not be surprised if we are in the bottom 3 at Christmas but hope fans stay patient.A few additions up front will help us to survive.

Painful ending. First half in my opinion was the best we have played all season.Mings had a free header to make it 2-0 and that miss has cost us. Second half we sat back too much and individual errors from defenders have led to defeat. They had a defender sent off but because we were hardly attacking they didn’t miss him. We are struggling to close out games against the top sides hopefully with experience that will come.We need to be able to hold on to the ball in the final third to relieve pressure on the defence. We need to give Smith time and avoid overreacting so early in the season.

Going to this game as I have a friend who shares 2 Arsenal season tickets. Not optimistic as their home form is generally very good and their attacking players are world class. Our formation is not working away from home ,maybe Luiz and Marvellous play and push Grealish further up to support Wesley might help. In the unlikely event that we score not sure if can contain myself in the Arsenal end and may lead to verbal and physical abuse but it will be worth it.

I just wonder if it wasn’t wanting us to lose but wanting Palace to win .Palace have some wealthy backers .

It really is too early to make definitive judgements on our summer signings. 7 of our players who started the game against Palace are new signings.That is unusual . Most of the teams we are playing have mostly settled sides and this means we are going to have to be patient.The biggest problem at the moment is our away form ,we look a bit lightweight and maybe a different formation away from home with 2 holding midfielders maybe the answer.