wedge

My thoughts exactly mate, we're all pulling in the same direction and the atmosphere is so much better off for it. We've done a lot of soul-searching in the mirror as a fanbase this season about the Villa Park atmosphere but credit to the fans we've made improvements within ourselves and also the performances on the pitch have taken the roof off the place to be honest in the second half of the season.

Fair point, I agree, and for Unai's entrance too of course.

Plenty of positive comments in the 'Villa Park - Atmosphere' thread but I must specifically shout out PB6 for the streamers and flags for Spurs on Saturday that I for one thought were a brilliant touch. They've apparently got even more planned for Brighton which along with the new badge launch from the club themselves should make for a very impressive spectacle.

Voted for Tyrone. I think along with Luiz and Martinez he's been the most consistent this season, Ollie has had brilliant purple patches but then has a dry/quiet run. Moreno would have been in with a shout if he'd have been here since the start of the season.

S*** or bust. UTV

SOLD OUT

Thanks mate, with the Bank Holiday I completely forgot it was Monday today so nearly missed the boat, I managed to get one of the last tickets!!!

Does anyone know when these go on sale to members?

I can hear the commentator's voice now at ten to five on Saturday evening: "and it's the reaction Julien Lopetegui would have wanted after last week's disaster on the south coast, the perfect response from Wolverhampton Wanderers!"

SOLD OUT

A lot of Villa fans were quick to slate MacPhee under both Dean Smith and Gerrard, I think he's been brilliant for us, we try different and clever things from attacking set-pieces (we won the game via one last night and it's not the first time we've won points from them) and look (touch wood) solid defending them. We were for decades the worst team in the country (opinion not a statistic) at throw-ins, it used to drive me nuts how long we'd take and then just waft the ball over the heads of everyone after an age of posturing on the touchline, we now just find one of our own player's feet quickly, what a novelty! I think he deserves huge credit.

Are you surprised by that? I've never known them take the upper tier at VP and I can guarantee there were hundreds upon hundreds of Villa in their end for that horrid play-off final defeat in 2018 at Wem-ber-lee. It's a fixture the home side usually wins in the Premier League era, let's hope that continues tomorrow night.

You could copy and paste this statement and put it in any of our pre-match threads this season really as you hinted, I don't give a stuff what fans of other clubs thing. As for tomorrow, I'm gripped by the usual pre-match nerves which will be slightly calmed if the name E. Martinez is present on our team-sheet!

That's the day I pack it in, I think. Will signal that most of what I enjoy about going to the Villa has had its day.

Mate I'm ready to go to Azerbaijan in August!

Only a very limited number of tickets left for this one in the area of the upper Doug Ellis that usually houses away fans! Hopefully a repeat of the Newcastle atmosphere.

Any danger of seeing any of our injured players back in contention do we reckon?

Shhh, it's been the (unmentioned) secret to our recent success!!!

It's a protection mechanism, I do it, prepare yourself for the worst so anything else is a fantastic bonus! Therefore, we'll lose Saturday...

Concerned about his face, looks like he's got some sort of swelling around his jaw and cheeks? Aside from that, even if we'd have ended up not winning that today, my old man and I at HT in the Holte concourse both said if this is the mentality we're going to have under Unai, then sign us right up for the ride!

VP on fire today, brilliant

We need it to be like a SHA home game atmosphere which are of course always early kick-offs.

Speak for yourself!

Just seen on Twitter they haven't even sold out their 2,900 allocation for Saturday yet...very surprising!

For the avoidance of doubt, and so that 'TheFish' can relay this back to his colleagues on the Newcastle forum he posts on, this is my two pennies worth: What's always driven me nuts about Newcastle even pre-Saudi takeover is perhaps not the fault of any NUFC supporter or player themselves totally, it's more the sickening media fawning over them, implying that somehow 'it means more up there' - because the fans take their shirts off in the stands I presume - (the definition of 'it' remains incredibly vague!) and to me since the takeover by the murdering Saudis (despite one of the reasons many of the Newcastle fans were against Mike Ashley was apparently because of the way he treated staff at Sports Direct for example yet were rushing to affix tea-towels to their heads and wave Saudi flags - ironically a huge insult not only to Saudi people but to Muslims in general especially considering the obligatory can of Newcastle Brown Ale or Carling planted firmly in the hands of said tea-towel wearing Geordie) the majority of Newcastle fans I see online (again I admit this probably not reflective of the entire fanbase) have become so arrogant and obnoxious despite the fact the club hasn't won anything since the 50s/60s! Don't portray to have wanted Ashley out because of the way his company supposedly treated some staff members then run to buy tea-towels when the Saudis buy the club from him, human rights concerns from the fans went right out of the window then! It just proves that because the club is likely to be more successful now that is all that seemingly matters and the fans will accept any regime or ownership and effectively sell out the club's principles (the Saudi-flag coloured away kit is nauseating and personally I'd rather Villa play non-league than have that incorporated into our away kit) as long as the men's senior team is winning football matches on the pitch. The sickening and fawning media coverage surrounding Newcastle since the Saudi takeover has increased to unbearable levels, the reaction to the frankly limp League Cup final performance against Man United being a prime example of this, tweets from Sky Sports stating 'this is just the beginning' etc surely have never been seen before with regards to the League Cup runners up and for a club who hasn't won a major trophy since when, 1959? For a so-called 'massive' club as Sky Sports have told us for years and years (big crowds yes but it's a one-club large city!) this is absolutely embarrassing to have gone this long without winning a major trophy, so I've no idea how these entitled, obnoxious, arrogant Newcastle fans I see (mainly online it must be said) that act as if they're going for La Decima in Champions League trophies have the nerve to have this mindset! I must state - please don't think I am tarring all Newcastle fans with this brush just as you cannot generalise any large group of human beings, Newcastle is a cracking city and I've loved visiting St James's Park every time I've been, it is a magnificent stadium right bang in the city centre and Geordies I've met at games or on nights out up there have been absolutely bang on - and I'm sure there are plenty of decent, measured fans of the club that I think if success does come under these owners then fair play they deserve it and in addition I'm sure there are many that have wrangled with their conscious regarding selling the club's soul to a murderous and corrupt regime, I just don't ever seem to come across any of these online! As for on the pitch and to Saturday, the job Eddie Howe has done since taking over has been superb, a manager I've always admired and rated and I've no doubt he'll have a great career with NUFC, and I do really think they'll beat us on Saturday unfortunately!