VillaCas

That’s a huge exaggeration. We were average at worst and in no trouble until Mings error. Without Grealish we lack creativity - we all know that. We are a work in progress and will push on again this close season

Ramsey looking a player

Excellent fight back. Great impact from the subs

For me we are overworking Watkins - he’s being asked to work too hard in areas that don’t hurt the opposition and consequently he’s not got the quick acceleration for the two or three killer runs that matter. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t make runs and defend from the front but I feel that the effort needs to be balanced

We've made amazing strides but are still a work in progress. We have little real depth on the squad and it will be a couple more summer windows before we should truly be judged. I hoped for about 12th and would have very happy with that - at the moment we are doing substantially better than that. I’m happy to be patient and take the rough with the smooth On the Barkley question, it’s a delicate situation - he has issues which is the reason we were able to get him in the first place. We are unlikely to get much higher and will not be relegated - I imagine Smith will persevere because if he can get him fit and firing we may have a quality player on our hands - additionally Smith may well be obliged to start him - certainly if he drops him now he may as well send him back to Chelsea. I think he can still come good, especially when Jack is back in the side

Thought he looked great going forward but he looked out of position defensively - but early days and as you say, a real prospect

Zonal marking stops more goals than M2M, but when you concede one it looks worse - Barkley’s job was to disrupt the run but he didn’t.

Agreed. Although it relies on players (Barkley) stopping a straight run - he just looked at Wood and gave him a free run

Nice to play with confidence and a swagger but we also need to do the basics right Barkley has disappointed since his return mid-table beckons

Me too!!

Bursting with pride. Absolutely amazing! May tire in the second half but what a feeling when that goal went in! incredible performances boys - I shouted louder than the 7-2 victory

Your original point was that Smiths tactics were designed that Ramsey is more likely to score than Watkins - this is clearly wrong

You seem to have changed your point. We were talking about who would lead the scoring, you now seem to be saying that in total the five midfield positions will score more goals than the single CF There is also a question about whether wingers/forwards (Trez, AEG, Jack) should count as midfielders or as you intimated in your original post “strikers” Your point was that Smiths tactics were that Ollie was not designed to be the top scorer - this is obviously nonsense

Obviously the guy who plays at the front, in the middle, is the person you expect to lead the scoring tables. It’s the same at every team, in every league, your CF is expected to score the most goals You can argue about the quality of the striker but that’s a different point - your argument is that Smiths tactics are designed for a midfield player to outscore the CF, which is just wrong Ollie is underperforming in front of goal at the moment he has 6 but should really have 9+ based on xG ( This is a measure of finishing quality) but still outperforms everyone in mins per goal except AEG ( who has penalties in his total) If Jack does end up top scorer that will be more to do with the fact that he is a world class player rather than tactics. You’re obviously wrong, but seem very committed to your theory so I’ll leave it there

Clearly that’s not correct

Nigel Spackman on WBAs chances of staying up .....”if you want to stay in the division, you can’t afford to lose at home to the likes of Aston Villa” @*#%

Outstanding

Need a touch of luck during last ten mins Watkins - what a tremendous engine

Outstanding effort in the second half

Agreed

Hause, defensively sound but distribution very suspect

AEG not really in the game Grealish quiet game so far Traorr must defend every time not some times Missing Mings Will need to fight hard to get anything here

Incredible season so far and amazing positivity on VT - we have three massive games coming up, let’s hope we can win a few points but if luck doesn’t go with us let’s not throw our toys out the pram. We’ve witnessed a unbelievable turnaround so far - we are sure to have a few more up and downs - let’s continue to appreciate how far we’ve come

No mystery - It was him or AEG. AEG works harder and better in the air

Calm down Glenn!!