newhavenhibby

Well done Villa.......great result Martinez superb Great penalty Ref absolute sh**e........competitive game but not that dirty........you would never guess that from looking at the card count. Now, FFS, beat Burnley.

Good luck Villa.........................got to beat that shower from Wolverhampton. 'mon Villa

Alex Cropley just been diagnosed with dementia. Had the pleasure of seeing him play in both Hibs green and white and Villas claret and blue. Spent the latter years driving a black cab around Edinburgh. A different era from the prima donnas of the modern game! Fantastic player and wish him and his family all the best.

Spot on He is one of the best penalty takers I have seen. He takes a good free kick also. Defensively he can be suspect.

To get a certain 2 further goals Villa need to get Stephen and Paul McGinn. lol. All three McGinn brothers scored for St Mirren and with Stephens goal for Hibs today , all three have now scored for us.

Very good poignant article. These were different times to be a supporter and the terracing, although exciting, could be a dangerous place to be in a packed stand. I have many memories of a packed Holte End, and with the crowd movement and sway, you got carried along and soon ended up yards away from where you started and got separated from friends at passionate moments in the game. Certainly many grounds of that era had similar steep stairs like Ibrox straight off the back of the terrace........I know those at the back of Easter Roads old East bank did. Unfortunately after the Ibrox disaster nothing much changed in fan safety and it had to take another disaster ( caused by different scenario) at Hillsborough for major changes to be implemented. Having always attended games in England and Scotland to watch my football, I am not a fan of all-seater stadia as, to me, a good deal of excitement and atmosphere is lost. Celtic Park have had a section of "safe standing" for some seasons now which works well despite holding "the Green Brigade" who are the most vocal and boisterous members of their support. I hope more clubs can implement this. Ibrox was a terrible tragedy and I remember watching the events unfold on the TV just as I did 18 years later in Sheffield. Its a pity it took another disaster to force major changes into fan safety to be implemented. I would imagine Ibrox was not all ticket and in those days just packed as many in as possible whereas the semi final would have been. It just shows that that wasn't the answer when a gate mistakenly gets opened and a crush ensues. Thanks for posting and thoughts are with Rangers FC and any families who lost loved ones on that fateful afternoon.

They need to sort VAR in your league. Fans are more annoyed by it then they ever were by the ref or linesman missing something in a split second. Last night was as bad as the disallowed Leeds goal from a couple of weeks back plus Watkins was fouled which actually pushed his arm / shoulder "off". Why didn't VAR pick this up if they were looking so closely and for so long at the incident? ( only look at certain infringements I suppose which again is daft if they get their slide rules out for offside!) Other sports Cricket, Rugby, NFL etc all use video to the advantage of decision making and if there is a close decision where it is debatable, will let the original call stand. There needs to be common sense. This is not a computer game. Certainly didn't deserve to lose last night.

As if on cue why we hate the uglies.........Smeltic have just moved our next fixture from the Saturday to Monday night , agreed by the SPFL (arses) BUT have not even had the common decency to ask anyone at our club. They want a couple of extra days in Dubai after the xmas break apparently. Imagine us moving a fixture without asking them. .....................and the SPFL and the SFA wonder what is wrong with Scottish football

Agreed, but we love it especially when the uglies are getting it tough ( well done Staggies ) At least when our Boyle misses a sitter he is only on about £1000 a week. ..........and we don't have to deal with VAR Scottish Football has given me the best day of my life as a football supporter ever, surpassing a certain evening in Rotterdam. ( first went to Villa Park in 1970 so 50 years of attending games) Tight at the top of the Premier League so far this season but I fully expect Liverpool to rise well above the rest again, having been Man City before that. This season is throwing up unusual results both sides of the border much of which is to do with no fans in the stadia I think. Once normal service resumes it will settle out to the one or two clubs that have spent more money than the rest with everyone else desperate to stay on the gravy train.

Blimey, you are on a real rollercoaster this season. Must wonder each game which team is going to turn up Great results against Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal but lose to Southampton and Leeds Now hope Smith et al can keep this momentum and confidence going This season is throwing up some unusual scorelines in the Premier League and wonder how much having no crowds in is affecting the results? Looks like the title challenge is back on

Its still a funny old game. Got to try and look at the positives from the season so far. 12 points from the first 5 games is brilliant so I think one has to take the punishment and move on. The most concerning thing was that after going a goal down there did not seem to be much fight and belief to get back into the game? There have been some unusual results in the Premier League so far, Liverpool 7 . 2 , Man Utd 6 . 1 etc but the most important game is the one after and how the players react so heres hoping they dust themselves down and in the next game and show this was just one of those blips. In these situations the next game cannot come fast enough.

Another great result villains. Team looking much stronger and more balanced than last year with some great additions. Testament to this is in the player ratings at the start of the thread more players are getting votes throughout the side, whereas last year there would only be 2 or 3 warranting a vote. Keep it up

.......................speechless........................ Have a good night lads and lasses

Cracking signing for you..........especially if an option to buy

Great result and fully deserved. Fulham could not have complained if you had scored five or six. Another plus was SJM looking much better and getting back his fitness and form. Keep it up

Your best chance is if Smeltic get knocked out by Riga tonight or don't make the group stages. With no Euro money and no fans they will be open to offers. Mind you with Traore it might be Odsonne who?

At times for us he was frustrating, especially some of his passing. Putting him into a league higher and things show up even more. He seems to have concentrated too much in the gym to do weights and bulk the muscle obviously to try to deal with stronger players in the English Premier League..........but he needs to concentrate more on his cardio as his greatest strength was always getting about the pitch for 90 minutes and going box to box.............................he now looks done very quickly. Looks better when in more of a DM role but even there he should be breaking up play more and still be able to get forward more and make positive runs towards the opposing goal. Opposing coaches have realised what he is all about and now seem to nullify his game. Smith should be looking for another midfielder and jolt McGinn to work harder to try and get a starting position back. ....................especially on his cardio. At present he is a good squad player but shouldn't be a guaranteed starter. Didn't need to bulk up so much with his arse shielding anyway.

3 points are the most important thing, although it was a struggle. If you have to win ugly, take it. Need someone to replace McGinn as a starter.............looks too slow for 90 minutes in the Premier League. Take the 3 points and move on......build from here.

Lennon just said......... on talking to Edouard yesterday that he was tired having played for France and then against St Mirren on Wednesday night. He wanted him fresh for their Europa game against Riga next week. He also didn't rule out that he would be staying at Celtic Park this transfer window.............so you never know.

Lennon would have rested him for more difficult opposition. Most of the second half they were comfortably 2 goals to the good and coasting so no need to bring him on in Lennons eyes. Livvy have some tough "tacklers" at the back so not worth the risk.

Always an exciting time as the first match looms. Wondering how the new signings will perform and gel with what is already there. Here's hoping the new boys work out and Villa can get off to a winning start. Playing catch up and games in hand are never as good a scenario as having points on the table. 'mon Villa

How true.....................even up here, once opposition coaches watched him for a while it was obvious that they would instruct a second player to close the space down . Even if they don't get the ball cleanly a subtle foul can stop any sort of momentum. Add then the extra power and strength in the English Premiership and his trademark arse roll and turn away doesn't become anywhere near as effective. I am also hoping as I am sure you are, once 100% fit then he can step up the extra gear to make him more of a dominating player in your League. If this doesn't happen and Smith brings in another box to box midfielder I can see John back to the bench and mainly used as a sub.

Aye...........we don't need an Academy ..........we've got Mrs McGinn

Great news lads ...................and lassies