VillaFaninLondon

The goal against Rotherham was amazing, definitely has to be a contender for goal of the season. But his volley against Derby was also outstanding, as well as McGinn's earlier on in the season. The EFL awards was a complete joke to be honest. No Villa players in the team of the season, and Neves's goal last season voted best goal. Yes it was special, but in my opinion we've scored better this season and it actually happened in the relevant season - no point giving awards for things that happened last season.

He's come back and slotted straight back in, such a quality defender. So confident on the ball, great in the air, quick, reads the game well, strong mentally and physically. Big future ahead of him and hopefully with us.

He did well with the balls into the box, won a lot of headers against a physical team. Have to give him credit and say he did well for the team when we were up against it. But having said that, I would not want him at centre back against Bristol City, who've got a lot of pace going forward. Mings shouldn't have been sent off, so maybe they can get it rescinded. Otherwise, you'd have to hope Hause is fit to come back in alongside Tuanzebe.

Kodjia's got so much talent, it's a shame the injury has seen him go backwards for us but last night he looked like he did in his first season with us. He rolls defenders out of position so well. Completely changed the game for us. He'll be in contention to start on Saturday, but it's tricky to know how to set up. I'm not a fan of 4-4-2 and neither's Smith, but Kodj looks much better as a central forward than on the left or right. And I don't think he'd want to drop our top scorer, despite his iffy form recently.

Unbelievable stats. He has made such a big difference to this team. He's looked like he's playing within himself last few games, but still has a bigger influence than anyone else on the pitch. Just galvanises everyone around him. Magnificent player.

Amazing turnaround with 10 men, second half we just came at them and scored two quick fire goals. Held on a bit at the end but saw the game out professionally. Kodj had a great 45 mins and really changed the game. Once again McGinn was everywhere - the man is pure class. Jack's goal was just beautiful. Hopefully they'll be ready for Bristol on Saturday. Come on Villa!

All of our players playing like **** except McGinn (as usual). Grealish yet again having a poor game, I love him but he needs to do more! We have the quality to turn the game around even with 10, but there seems lack of desire. Smith needs to absolute rollick then at half time.

I said we needed to up the performance from the last two games and it hasn’t happened. Rotherham are terrible though, even with 10 I still think we can win but being 1-0 down doesn’t help. I thought the ref was shocking to send Mings off, not even sure what he was booked for the first time? Penalty was dubious in itself, it’s not clear handball at all, looked like his shoulder.

I actually think lansbury could do a job instead of Grealish tonight. Jack looked tired on Saturday, needs to be on it for Bristol city. A fit lansbury is a very capable replacement tonight. I agree Jack's looked leggy recently, but can't say I agree on Lansbury. Lansbury has looked alright in cameos but seems to pick up injuries every time he steps on to a pitch and has barely played in the two years he's been with us. I would like to see Grealish get some rest time and I certainly don't want him picking up any more injuries, but if he's available for selection I just don't think that's possible given how crucial he is. We risk dropping points at a time when we really can't be doing so. I'd take him off after about 60 mins though so he can get some recovery for Saturday. Hopefully the game will be won by then.

Tammy, Jack and McGinn are three players I would absolutely not drop, along with Mings. They are so key for us that no one can come in and replicate them. Even if Jack has an off day, he's still capable of one moment of magic. Players like Whelan, Green etc have done well in recent weeks for us, but we have players on the bench who can come in for them without unsettling the team. The four players mentioned above, there is literally no one else in our squad who can do what they do.

The only slight concern I have is that over the last couple of games we haven't put a good 90 minutes together and for large spells of those games have been on the back foot. On Saturday we played against a side who needed a result as much as we did and we struggled to match them for much of the game. The next two games we are again up against sides who need a result as much as we do and whilst on paper we have better quality we need to match these sides in terms of intensity and make sure we are fully focused. Tonight is a really key game for me. Win and we will go into the Bristol game flying. Fail to and we go into that game under a lot of pressure. I also tonight want to see us getting back to playing on the front foot and with a high intensity for 90 minutes. If our attitude is right and we match teams in terms of effort then our superior quality will see us promoted. Agree with this 100%. We were brilliant against Blackburn for 55-60 mins but then let them back in it, against Wednesday we were poor but ground out the win. Hopefully tonight we play like we did against Boro and Derby and don't give them a sniff, giving us an opportunity to conserve some energy for Saturday in the last 30 mins or so. We need Jack back to his best tonight, he's played within himself last couple of games. When that happens we don't play as well.

Yep, Bruce didn't make changes for QPR and we were punished by losing to a team we should have been beating comfortably. Led to a poor run of form and spoiling our top 2 chances. Can't make the same mistake again and you'd expect changes to be honest. Great win against Wednesday but we were second best for most of it and the team needs freshening up. Bring Hourihane in for Whelan and Adomah for Green. Would keep El Ghazi in as Kodjia doesn't deserve a start given how he's been playing. Tuanzebe for Hause if he's injured. Possibly Tuanzebe for Taylor if Hause fit and move Hause to left back, but harsh on Taylor to be honest. I would like to see a balanced central defence though and Tuanzebe (right footed) and Mings (left footed) would fit the bill.

Jack shone at 19 but went missing for about three years after that, I'm not sure why people are forgetting this. He was rubbish in the 2015/16 season (but then so were all of them) and scored a few worldies in 2016/17 but didn't do much else. Only in the second half of last season did he start to shine for us. I even remember fans writing him off. Green has got great potential but I can understand the criticisms of him. He needs to be more direct and take players on. I think his delivery is getting better. He has all the attributes to be a top winger, but he needs to believe in himself more and work on his technique.

Rotherham battling to stay up, very good result against Forest so we will have to be at it and hopefully see a much better performance than against Wednesday. Definitely need some rotation and freshening up - Adomah likely to come in for Green and Hourihane for Whelan. Tuanzebe will start if Hause is out injured. Maybe Kodjia will play but his work rate is questionable and he tries to much to be a fancy dan, so I imagine he'll be impact sub again. Don't think those changes will make us any weaker to be honest and the way we've been playing (last 30 against Blackburn, most of the game against Sheff Wed) a few changes are needed to get us playing at our best again. Rotherham look a threat from set plays, they don't have many goalscorers in their team (think Ajayi their central defender is their top scorer), but they'll make it difficult for us. Hopefully we can come out all guns blazing first half and score a couple, then hopefully see the game out without any nerves.

Didn't play well but still won, sign of a really good team. Hoping that we get back to the level we showed against Derby and Boro on Wednesday and in the final six games, felt that we were let off the hook yesterday and on another day would have lost. That game against Bristol is huge now, win on Wednesday and next Saturday and playoffs will be looking more and more likely. If we do get to the playoffs, we need to bring our A game because whether we end up against Albion or Leeds/Sheff Utd, the semi will be really tough. But if we get to the final I feel we'll go and win it as we have more matchwinners in the team compared to last season in my view and a younger, hungrier team.

You can't keep changing keepers after every mistake they make I agree and I'm happy to give Steer the benefit of the doubt, but it was a pretty bad goalkeeping error. If Kalinic had done that he would have been slated.

After Steer's mistake last weekend you'd think that he would seriously be considering Kalinic, but something seems to be going on there. So I'd imagine Steer will be in again. Let's hope he doesn't have much to do, as he's clearly not gifted at shot stopping. This will be tough no doubt, but I am quietly confident we can make it six wins in a row. I think we are better than them, but they'll be difficult to break down. As someone said they have a great record against lower placed teams but couldn't beat Derby or Sheffield United (though against the latter neither could we) and were lucky to take a point at Stoke. We play as we have been and I'm confident we can win there and end their unbeaten run. Focus is key.

I was happy to see Bruce go when he did because it clearly wasn't working, but he did a decent job for us. The football wasn't great admittedly, but we finished 4th in his only full season here and were one game from going up. Yes we were poor in the final, yes we probably should have finished top 2 with the squad we had, but ultimately that was the first time Villa had been competitive again (albeit in the second tier) since the O'Neill days. Bruce also signed us Abraham, Tuanzebe, El Ghazi and McGinn in the summer and in the main his signings were decent I think. I hope he gets respect from the Villa fans, but I want our football to do the talking and to put in a really good performance where we play them off the park. I think we're capable of doing it the way we've been playing.

Even though Sheffield United are third and been very good I think I fancy us against them in a two legged game. They will be shaky after what happened at villa Park and we played terribly that night. Also we had no grealish in that game and that's a big difference. ....................................................................................... To be honest, I look at Sheffield United's team and am not really in awe of them. Football isn't about individuals I agree, but how many of their players would get in our side? I remember Stevens at Villa, he was absolutely awful, and he's their first choice left back. Norwood is a threat and a talented player, and Billy Sharp is capable of bundling in a goal or two, but talent-wise I see us having more players capable of causing problems. But it shows what a fantastic job Wilder has done, I don't think many expected them to be right up there. And it would be foolish to be arrogant and dismiss them, they're up there for a reason. The problem with Villa this season has been playing well below what we are capable of. In both the Sheffield United games we were absolutely shocking, as bad as I've seen us play except possibly the Wigan game. Obviously we didn't have Grealish for the home game, and for the away game we still had Bruce's negative tactics running through the team. Don't get me wrong, Sheffield are a very good side, play as a team, play good football, and it will not be easy at all. But the way we're playing now, and with so many attacking threats in our side (Grealish, Abraham, McGinn, El Ghazi) I would definitely fancy us to get through if everyone is fit and on their game.

I liked Snodgrass too but he was getting on (30/31), was pretty slow, and was very one-footed. He also played a lot of minutes. El Ghazi couldn't get a game when he first arrived so hasn't played as much, is young, quick and can use both feet. He'll definitely improve.

I'll take Snodgrass as my example. A player who was only here for one season, in a strong team. He scored 7 goals and got 14 assists. That's pretty great for a winger I'd say. Obviously he worked his socks off too, and I loved the guy. vs Anwar, he's got 4 goals and 5 assists, so a bit behind Snodgrass, but I'd argue that this is his first season in the league, we've changed managers in that time, he's in a new country and he's 8 years younger than Snodgrass and experience counts for a lot in football. ................................................................................................ Important to note that Snodgrass took basically all our free kicks and corners too. El Ghazi has got all his goals and assists from open play as he doesn't take set pieces. And he's actually got 5 goals not 4.

If promoted he would be a squad player for me. I am not convinced he is currently good enough for PL regularly. But he is still young and has potential. I would sign him regardless if the fee is 3 to 4 mill. But in the PL we need a better winger. .................................................................................... Agreed. But for me only Mings, McGinn, Jack and Tammy would be first-choice at present in a PL team. Tuanzebe maybe. We need obvious strengthening at DM, LB, GK, CB. So if we go up we'll have to be active in bringing in quality players, though it hasn't worked out so well for Fulham.

I definitely think he is worth acquiring on a permanent deal, whether we go up or not. Still young (23), has a decent return of goals and assists, skilful, pacey, strong and tall as well so could potentially play more central at times. He is still very inconsistent but I think he will add consistency, this is his first season in England. I have a lot more faith that Smith will develop young players at this club and improve them, unlike when Bruce was in charge (Jack being the exception).

Best signing we have made since Benteke. Absolute gem of a player.

Smith gives a young player like Green a chance, Bree a chance, O'Hare a chance, RHM a chance... 'Nah he's rubbish' 'He'll never make it' 'League 1 standard' ............................................. To be honest I like to think fair's fair if they're not good enough. From what I've seen of Bree, I have serious doubts if he is or will be good enough, and he's certainly not PL standard. O'Hare and RHM I'm not sure as I haven't seen enough of them - however, I have doubts whether they are given where they are in their careers and their age now (both 20 going on 21 playing in League 2). RHM has been unlucky with injuries so don't think we can rule him out, but he isn't exactly prolific for Cambridge and really should be at that level. I see Green differently though. Yes, he seems to lack confidence and definitely needs to improve his crossing, but we need to remember - he's had a serious injury already which kept him out for well over a year, he was starting to shine at just 18/19 years old in the Championship and actually looked our best player before his injury. He is an exceptional dribbler in my opinion, has loads of pace, is strong and gifted physically, he is even good in the air to be fair (certainly for a winger). I just feel if he can put the hours in on the training ground and improve his final ball, he will be some player for us. And it obviously helps that he's from our Academy, as we all want our players to come through and shine, but with him I genuinely believe he can reach a very good level. It may well be that Green needs another loan spell somewhere. I wasn't happy that he wasn't getting in the Portsmouth team regularly, but I don't think that was any fault of his own - they were flying and it wouldn't have made sense to bed in a youngster that had just missed well over a year of competitive football. We need to find him a team that will give him the minutes to build his confidence up and show what he can do, particularly if we go up as he is not ready for PL football yet.