newhavenhibby

McGrath, Withe and Evans were the harder men from when I followed Villa . McGrath was amazing with his dodgy knees and didn't really train! Cropley always got stuck in, up here, at Arsenal ( perhaps leading up to his broken leg not once but twice?) and then with Villa.

Aye, a record that is never likely to be beaten..........from Edinburgh too! Fantastic player who I watched for the latter years of his Villa career.

Agreed.....he certainly has found his niche at Luton and good luck to him. My remark was aimed at when he was up here at Hibs where he blew hot and cold so the Hibs fans gave him a mixed response...........Luton fans will love him Also , no disrespect to Luton, but his career did not take off with the promise he showed in the Villa youth set up.

Forgot about James Collins playing and being prolific for the Villa youth set up. Unfortunately never made it at top level with Villa and has had a few "lesser" clubs including us for a couple of seasons where he got a mixed response from the fans.

Aye, was also there on Boxing Day for his debut.......what a game and what a great career in the claret and blue. Andy Gray there by then from Dundee United , I had to wait till the following year for Alex Cropley to join having moved to Arsenal from Hibs and then the end of the decade Des Bremner ......great times

No religious divide anywhere else in Scotland outside the uglies in Glasgow. Just typical local rivalry as between Villa and the Alliance. Nobody, including the SPFL, know what is going on. Some sources say Dundee voted against , SPFL saying they received no such vote?, Dundee involved on social media with ICT and Partick before voting and seemingly agreeing to vote no .........? At present I cannot see a re structure of the SPL as it needs 11 out of 12 votes for this to go ahead so at present unless they can get closed doors games going soon, I feel the Leagues will end as they are now. They need a decision soon to pay out prize money to keep a lot of the smaller clubs afloat. Don't get fooled by the sevco statements taking the morale high ground in the interest of all the smaller clubs in Scotland. They purely are trying to stop the smellies winning a 9th title on the trot. If they had been top of the SPL they would have voted to end the season but since they think there is a small chance they would catch Celtic they don't wan't to concede.....idiots. Best result would be to null and void season and payout prize money as the positions stood prior to covid 19. Yet another example of the poor running of the game up here where officials consider the fortunes of only 2 clubs...........FFS they cannot even organise a simple vote, so there is no hope. However on a different level it is only a game of football and there are more important concerns in the country at present so I will take whatever they decide for next season.......just renewed my season ticket but not too sure when I will use it or indeed how many games I will see but the club needs all the help it can get at present. Stay safe all of you Villains.

Absolutely shambolic up here at present ............SPFL couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery

Agreed......a great side and none of this modern day squad system.........when you turned up to watch them you knew who would be playing barring injury.........fantastic times. Can you imagine a goalkeeper doing the Burridge warm up now

Keep it going lads. Some great memories there especially Andy Gray and Des Bremner who I had seen up here playing in Tangerine and Green respectively. Old Witton Lane walk as I remembered. Remember Peter Withe turning up on our doorstep to give us a couple of tickets for a golf tournament after playing a round with my father in law............very surprising as he was an ardent Small Heath Alliance fan. As for the night in Rotterdam........I can just about remember!

Feel for you guys. Caught the second half last night and it did not make good viewing . Cannot believe the amount of space behind the fullbacks given to Leicester on the counter. This is down to poor coaching as in the modern game the fullbacks do / have to get forward........but to leave half the pitch open behind them? Leicesters game plan with Jack was to kick him in the air ( on a rotational basis of course ) as they realised he was the one player who would show fight and passion but again was nullified last night. Most of the rest just seemed to be going through the motions. Midfield, out-muscled on nearly every 50 / 50 ball. How many of these players are on long term contracts ? Whats the compensation going to be for Smith and Terry? If the owners are thinking of anybody in particular to replace Smith then they should get the wheels in motion . If not and then they will have to persevere with him till the end of the season but I doubt survival is possible based on that showing. Have to re group in the Championship hopefully with a manager who knows how to coach the modern game and can instill some fight and passion. 'mon Villa

Unsure it would actually.........need the right attitude to survive up here which some venturing North obviously cannot cope with, so does not necessarily mean they will suddenly become Barcelona. For a couple of seasons we have had 3 from Man City, made no real impact on our side and missed more games in the end with "niggles" lol. The winger Barker whilst on Citys books was the best but nowhere near our own Martin Boyle for consistency and creating chances etc. However if it did piss off the 2 cheeks, as you say, it would be excellent..............the SFA would then introduce some rule to say the parent club could not field more than 4 Chelsea based players.

Trouble is the SFA would probably rub their hands at this.............as long as it didn't interfere with their beloved "uglies" in Glasgow, so short sighted but they are a bunch of w*****s. Hopefully UEFA will stop it.

Good luck today lads. Neutrals can only see a Man City win so a shot to nothing for the Villa............and with a little luck , you never know. For those going, enjoy your day whatever.

Agreed with what you say about the decision...........perhaps it is something to do with that they were just putting "The Rangers" U18s out of the cup.......perhaps. Not the "League Cup" but the ......."Tunnocks Caramel Wafer Cup" ............a name almost as bad as the decision.

Brilliant lads..........hopefully this and the last 2 league games will see the team gain in confidence and help the last part of the season. Enjoy your night and of course the final when it comes .

Great result lads. 4 points from last 2 games........without a recognized striker.............lets see what you can do when your new signing plays up front. Kick on from here.

Good luck tonight guys

Livi signed Schofield from Huddersfield on loan till the end of the Season so Sarkic won't be returning up here.

Stendel didn't want him / like his play, and needed to free up money for wages. Along with Naismith and Berra they were the highest paid at the Club. ( still peanuts compared to England) Stendel has got rid of Berra as well and started to bring youngsters back who were out on loan along with bringing his own targets in................. from England I expect.

I think the prestige of winning a cup ( League or FA) is still there and top teams will go for it if they get to the semi / final. However maintenance of your League position is more important in this finance run game ( certainly in England) and certainly at this time of the season ( after a busy xmas / New Year) where clubs are desperate to stay up / win their League, progress in Europe ( another gravy train with TV fees) , a chance to rest key players is a given and now a norm......unfortunately, from a neutrals point of view. Its all about the money.

Difficult for Livi and they will have to rely on another loan from somewhere. They have Ross Stewart who knows the Scottish game but not as good as Sarkic. Expect they will be looking at a loan from English Leagues as we speak.

Seen him play twice live this season and once on the telly and he looks capable and will be a good back up. Distribution and positioning were good. When Livi beat Celtic he played really well and looked confident when dealing with Eduoard et al.......not easy up here. Livi are really disappointed at the news which tells you they thought highly of him. Difference would be how he'd cope in front of 60k at Old Trafford say, as opposed to a couple of thousand at the Tony Macaroni stadium. ( except when the uglies come calling) Good luck to him.

Well done Villa . held on well and a vital 3 points. If VAR is the future we don't want it up here...........only 2 clubs would benefit. They need to sort it soon. Hoping the injuries are not too bad, especially Heaton. All the best for 2020.

I think all the comments about social media and phone access even at the games are spot on. It is very easy to make comments and say things to a screen that you probably wouldn't have had a chance to say when I started to go down Villa Park in the early 70's......except to a few friends in the boozer. In those days there was no squad system and if fit, I could name the Villa side who would play the day before and they were heroes and idolised and the odd mistake was accepted. ( no social media then to go on and rant about how poor they were that day) Now the negativity is infectious and this forum is no different to any other where the team is doing poorly. When I sit in Easter Road at least half the fans around me are watching and using their phones to be able to be within immediate touch of what else is going on and comment accordingly. Hibs.net a couple of months was full of this type of negativity when fans were unhappy with Heckingbottom and now its all peace and goodwill with Jack Ross.................these people forget that Hecky had a similar start to Ross and everybody was singing his praises especially after beating Hearts at their place.......then it all went wrong. We have just won at Tynecastle again so hope history doesn't repeat itself and we again take a nose dive...........in which case the forum will be full of......"I told you so" doom and gloom merchants. The comment on how much these players cost and earn is also relevant in that if they don't appear to be giving their all and play badly gets the fans annoyed as they can only dream of being on the wages their players are on........especially in the Premier League now. Football is now a results driven industry and fans get uneasy when things are not going for their team which is especially true of a giant of a club like Villa. This is not made any easier when you see clubs like Wolves and Leicester doing so well. Unfortunately history doesn't give any club a right to be at the top and if you look down all the Leagues , even non league, there are clubs who not that long ago were at the top and I would regularly see at Villa Park. One of my first games at Villa was against Notts County who are now below non league........again a team with a great history but now are unlikely to see top flight football ever again. It is especially hard when you are turned over by clubs who are regarded as lesser teams and on a lower budget than your own eg: Watford yesterday. This again happens now in all leagues and the same will be said up here when we are turned over by Ross, St Mirren etc and dare I say Livingston today. Money ( especially TV and satellite) has changed the game forever especially in England where clubs bust a gut, and more, to get to the Holy Grail and money pit that is the Premier League. Managers and players may come and go amid controversy etc but the one certainty is that Aston Villa Football Club will still be there and it needs your support ........whether vocally at the games or even on social media (at present, not holding my breath there though!) Keep the faith ...........and hope for a good transfer window

Well done yesterday for defending well and getting all 3 points. Next 2 games are now massive with defining your season but both are winnable even though Watford have picked up a little. 'mon Villa