AValon

Thats three......in the bloody net Villa!

Hope Bentley tires quickly.

Wooooooooo!!!!

Come on Villa, these look very dodgy at the back.

Christ Gabby!!!!! bury the thing next time!

Oh well, Dwights obviously clocked Makouns jumper :shock:

Same old sky though.

Albrighton will win the game.....if he stays on the pitch. They won't be able to handle him.

2-1 Villa. Downing, Gabby.

This just does'nt look like a match made in heaven..........shame, but probably time to cut our losses.

In a freaky kind of way the fact that its sha is irrelevant........the 3 points are all I'm concerned about.

Torquay away sounds good......and right on my doorstep.

Makes you wonder how he would play under someone other than Houllier now? I can't quite believe that a players ability just leaves him like that.

I'd play him and keep playing him, at least as long as we're paying his wages! Besides, his teamates have'nt exactly been setting the place alight and the same questions are starting to be asked of them.

I've never subscribed to the 'throwaway game' theory myself. Whatever game the Villa are involved in, from friendlies to cup finals, I want them to win every time. And, like others have said, we start winning games and the confidence and belief will soar.......just because its sheff utd does'nt mean the victory will mean anything less IMO.

Saying that, tough match, but utd might just catch a bit of a backlash.

A draw would'nt be the ideal result, but looking more likely than a win against a awkward Sunderland side.

No injury worries, so expect to see the same team again and sundays fightback should give them the momentum to at least turn up. I thought Gabby tired quite early on against chelsea but on the whole the team looked more solid than it has for a while now. Friedel will have to his wits about him for this one though.

1-1........we'll do it the hard way again, behind to a early goal and then Heskey or Downing with a late equaliser.

Better performance all round today and probably showed that the fighting spirit has'nt entirely deserted the team. Defensively we seemed stronger early on, but Collins did'nt have to make that challenge at all and Clark, despite his enthusiasm to get to everything, was always going to be done at left back. Second half we rode our luck a lot and too many times they tried to do the fancy, get-out-of-jail stuff again instead of doing the obvious and putting it in row Z. And why on earth did they all stand off as Chelsea came forward for their 3rd? But, all in all, the commitment and confidence was there in heaps and can only get better.

Friedel and Heskey definitely shared the honours for me......superb saves by Brad and Emile held it up brilliantly (is it me or does he spend a lot more time ON his feet these days?). Anyway, for two old-timers, they certainly kept us in the game with their colossal effort.

In conclusion: should have taken all 3 points, but when it looked lost the lads showed a great deal of character to get back in it. Maybe we can look back at this match as a corner turned?

Love the Chelsea guys take on their pen...

'We'll take it, but what was it for?'

Wilkins is a boring git anyway. Soon as I saw him on the box I turned the sound off till the game started!

Would'nt expect anything less from a Villa fan.........well put Stanley!

A group effort sadly.

Mon certainly started the rot off by walking away and that is unforgiveable in the light of this seasons inept showing (a decision which very possibly does haunt him). But Randy Lerner has to shoulder the lions share of the blame because he has shown a considerable lack of understanding about the game and how it works. He's already the owner of one major outfit, surely he ought to know its a case of serious pay-out for very little return?

Houllier, I'm afraid, is'nt the answer to our problems. Fanciful ideas, poor application and you can't instigate radical changes with players who are totally set in their ways. We should have gone for someone with more passion and belief in Aston Villa, not their own past.

And last, but certainly not least, the players themselves have to stand up and be counted. When that whistle goes, they are in command of their own destiny and whatever the outcome shall be. They might have issues with the manager, but ultimately their responsibility is to the club and its legions of supporters who blindly follow them, to great personal expense in each case. You expect desire, effort and emotion........which is why its hard to watch individuals coming up short. If WE hurt, I expect them to hurt too and I suspect there are those who do not?

On the plus side, Everton exposed some considerable flaws in Citys defence and showed they can definitely be got at.

On the minus side, our lot will want to do it the hard way and walk the ball into the net........when our forte of recent times was to hit teams hard and fast and direct on the break. So frustrating.

3-0 to the blue side of manchester I'm afraid.

Friedel: 6.....was ok, but showing definite signs of wear now.

Warnock: 5.....positives beginning to be outweighed by the negatives.

Cuellar: 5.....could have cost us unfortunately.

Collins: 6.....plays his heart out but goes missing at crucial moments.

Lichaj: 8/9.....like him a lot!

Downing: 6.....delivery was below par.

Albrighton: 7.....rakes of enthusiasm. Needs to think about his final ball and finishing.

Delph: 7.....looked the most 'intelligent' footballer on the pitch. Amazed he played from the off though.

Hogg 5.....unconvincing.

Gabby: 6.....held the ball up well, but need to see him bothering the keeper some more.

Heskey: 7.....puts some of the younger 'stars' to shame sometimes.

subs:

Delfouneso: 7.....still waiting for him to live up to the hype, but not afraid to gave a crack.

Petrov: 7.....needs game time obviously.

Pires: 6.....not the impact player we all wanted, too old now.

Thought we totally lost our shape for a long time once Heskey went off. There seems to be a lot of pretty passing around the 18yd box, but no-one wants to make the run or have a shot. Need some lucky breaks and fast.

Can't imagine us getting much out of Chelsea, but Spuds are definitely beatable at the moment. As for Citeh, pretty impressive going forward but got a sneaky we'll turn them over with a couple of breakaway 'specials'.

This is all weather permitting, of course.

C'est la vie.

Shame though, back to back wins might have settled the nerves.

This game always depends on which Wigan side actually turn up. One week they'll roll over and the next they're upsetting the odds and beating the likes of Chelsea off the pitch!!

Whichever it is, I think we need our talisman to start.......go on Emile.

Thats my lot.

Theres another twenty minutes of this!