Avcol

My teeth get tired after 70 minutes of a game too.

Love your optimism, if we manage to do that we will finish in a very high position. Need to ride our luck with injuries and rotate the midfield more than we currently are. I do worry about us burning out as we saw in the O'Neill years when he kept a mostly settled 11 and it seemed to go wrong every March.

Already failed against Burnley so impossible to beat every team at least once. Unless I'm missing a joke here.

What a horror show. Don't see where any points are coming from. Starting to hate this team. Truly shocking all over the pitch and simply not fit for purpose.

You're right, Dave-S

Premier League. Hasn't been called the Premiership in 15 years. Others have corrected you yet you still say it. Regards, Avcol

Today is the day I've finally given up. Throw the towel in on this guy and try something different, anything. I feel we have enough of a sample size to say there's very little chance of him coming good.

Beyond the work rate, such a limited player in this league

I will never forget the feeling in the Upper Holte when Carew scored that worldy, I was absolutely convinced we were going to make top 4 when that went in and me and my mate were on cloud nine. Not sure how many points clear we'd have been but it would have been quite the buffer. That last five minutes and Whelan daisy cutter squirming in was pure shellshock. I seem to remember him sliding in front of the Stoke fans as well and my world crumbled. Obviously O'Neill leaving right before the start of 10/11 was awful stuff but that Stoke game in my mind was when I knew we were never going to crack it. I was 20 at the time and I'd never seen an especially bad Villa team. Graham Taylor and O'Leary had bad seasons but that was as low as it ever got. if you'd told me that when I was 30 we'd be plodding along in our third championship season after a few years of barely staying up I'd have never believed it. Been a bad 10 years.

This is the big problem. It's really scary just how much we need him. It's almost Grealish plays or bust. Let's just hope he stays fit and we can aim to still salvage something.

Our football was better, today. And in all the other games that Grealish was present. Hardly a coincidence. For the best part of the last few months without him it hasn't been and has been highly reminiscent of Bruceball at certain times. 3 shots away at Wigan probably the low point of some of our shocking performances. Also at times we've been far from comfortable on the ball with the players treating it like a hot potato. If you can't see that I truly despair. Not sure if you've seen my other posts/getting me confused with another poster but i'm firmly in the 'Smith in' camp and have never compared him to Bruce unfavourably. I want the man to succeed. Also for context in case you didn't see the posts from a few weeks ago.. One poster had suggested we get Dunga in as head coach which many, including myself, got a good chuckle out of.

I figured him starting last week was due to maybe following some kind of concussion protocol with Kalinic, though that made little sense with Kalinic still being on the bench. The spot is now Steer's to lose it seems. I felt he was unlucky with the Stoke goal last week as it was so close to him, came through a body and a silky finish. Very little time to react and he actually got a stronger hand on it than others would. Today he had nothing to do so hard to comment, I'd have kept a clean sheet too. Happy for him to continue, seems a solid championship keeper. Competition is a good thing. 7m or not, if he's better than Kalinic he will stay next season. We've spent a lot more than that on players who were car wrecks and nowhere near the first team.

I don't believe. Too late. Make me eat my words Villa.

Rock solid, looks so in control at all times. Would love to sign him permanently and I'm sure the club will do everything they can.

What a delicious ball for Abraham's goal. This guy is a much better RM than Adomah, shame he's the only RB we have fit at the minute as i'd have him playing further forward.