17/18 Promotion Charge

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Just now, TheAuthority said:

No - I want us to still have a chance of going up automatically however slim. I also didn't like the way Fulham were acting like c*^ts at the end of the game (Mitrovich time wasting and the blatant foul.) I also thought Brentford deserved something from the game.  

Keeps it exciting for the next few games.

THIS.

Not sure at peoples resignation, as "unrealistic" as it seems.

Cardiff OR Fulham drawing/losing still gives us a chance if we winn all our games.

If  either draw or lose the next game, or 2, it gets interesting.

If they both keep winning, we could still end up playing Fulham anyway so resignation would be daft.

[Farlz]

I'm past the point of caring who we come up against in the playoffs now really. If we play as well as we know we can, we'll beat any of them. Bring it on. 

[terrytini]

52 minutes ago, TRO said:

Fulham.....look better with Mitrovic in.

Inspired signing....made a big difference to their season.

I’m surprised you e not mentioned it before ......

[markavfc40]

I have no real preference in terms of who we face in the play offs. I wanted the second leg at home and that is what we will now almost certainly have and I would fancy us against anyone at VP even going in a goal or two down. Then in a Wembley final we have more match winners in our squad than any other team we could face.

We have shown this season in the biggest games in front of big crowds with the biggest hype against Sha, Wolves and even Cardiff that we aren't daunted by playing in pressure situations in front of big expectant crowds and the crowds won't come bigger than in the play offs and the hype and expectation more intense.

I also don't really think any playing style in terms of opposition suits us more than any other. We recently beat both Wolves and Cardiff and you can't get much different in terms of playing style.

Bring on whoever and let them worry about us. I know if I was in any other teams shoes I would be desperate to avoid us.

Edited April 14, 2018 by markavfc40

[wilko154]

Bit of a blow that, realistically we aren't going to be getting 2nd and it would have been nice to put it to bed today and rest players for the next three weeks now. Also would have preferred Fulham to Cardiff in the playoff final.

Cardiff now have to lose two games and draw one for us to get 2nd... after the season they have had it's not happening.

[Mark Albrighton]

10 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

No - I want us to still have a chance of going up automatically however slim. I also didn't like the way Fulham were acting like c*^ts at the end of the game (Mitrovich time wasting and the blatant foul.) I also thought Brentford deserved something from the game.  

Keeps it exciting for the next few games.

Fair enough.

I think it’s too much of an ask, but I guess if Fulham slip up against Millwall next Friday the chances increase. Go from there.

[markavfc40]

8 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Indeed it was a rubbish prediction and I shall never let you forget it - already dusting down a similarly pointless debate ready for next year lol.

I can’t recall if it was a fiver or a tenner ? I’d like to say forget it but a buts a bet .....whichever it was please kindly donate to either VT or your favourite charity..

We can debate how many points it will take for us to finish in a European place hopefully mate 

I just went back and checked and it was a £20 wager to charity and as you won then please let me know who you would like me to donate it to.

 

[NeilS]

14 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I have no real preference in terms of who we face in the play offs. I wanted the second leg at home and that is what we will now almost certainly have and I would fancy us against anyone at VP even going in a goal or two down. Then in a Wembley final we have more match winners in our squad than any other team we could face.

We have shown this season in the biggest games in front of big crowds with the biggest hype against Sha, Wolves and even Cardiff that we aren't daunted by playing in pressure situations in front of big expectant crowds and the crowds won't come bigger than in the play offs and the hype/expectation more intense.

I also don't really think any playing style in terms of opposition suits us more than any other. We recently beat both Wolves and Cardiff and you can't get much different in terms of playing style.

Bring on whoever and let them worry about us. I know if I was in any other teams shoes I would be desperate to avoid us.

Agree, this fear of Fulham is ridiculous. Yes they have done very well and are a good team, but we have shown we can beat some of the best teams on our day as well. We beat Fulham at VP and should have been by more if the referee had given the most blatant penalty you will see when Kodjia was rugby tackled to the floor. I won’t be supremely confident of promotion, but we have as good a chance as any in a play off situation. So I am not worrying at the moment, just enjoying winning some games and being within touching distance of success for once.

Edited April 14, 2018 by NeilS

[Sam3773]

I've just realised the final fixtures are on my birthday... If it comes down to them, I'm gonna have a hell of a birthday. 

I only want one thing this year, god..

[TheAuthority]

Overall, I've enjoyed this season more than any other since O'Neil took us to the league cup final. So as long as there is still something to fight for I'm right behind them and I couldn't care less who we meet in the playoffs.

I also can't get excited about scrapping around 16/17th next year in the PL* getting dicked every few weeks by a team whose owners were allowed to invest before FPP.  

*The Greatest League in the WorldTM SkySports

[terrytini]

47 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Brilliant goal from Fulham.

Watching these 2 teams play football actually makes me childishly jealous.

I really don’t want to sound like a dog with a bone but what have you seen that makes you feel that ?

I watched the game and saw nothing I don’t see at Villa other than Fulham spend more time knocking the ball around at the back.

I genuinely don’t see what the massive difference is.

I saw defenders hoof it sometimes, play it others, I saw some decent passing and some poor passing. I saw some good tackles and a couple of very poor ones.

Keepers booting the ball out, throwing it well, throwing it not so well. Some corners hit well, several too deep. Some fine individual skill.

A few shots blazed over the bar. Some decent movement off the ball, some good defending. I saw the balance shift to and fro a bit.

Now.......which game was I describing ? Today’s or yesterday’s ?

Not being funny but far from seeing a huge difference I see practically none.

[MessiWillSignForVilla]

12 minutes ago, Shropshire Lad said:

Fair enough.

I think it’s too much of an ask, but I guess if Fulham slip up against Millwall next Friday the chances increase. Go from there.

1

I reckon there's a pretty good chance of that. It's at Millwall and their form is just as good Fulham's recently. Also, Fulham have Blues on the last day, I wouldn't put it past Blues to go into the last day needing something to stay up and getting it.

[terrytini]

8 minutes ago, NeilS said:

Agree, this fear of Fulham is ridiculous. Yes they have done very well and are a good team, but we have shown we can beat some of the best teams on our day as well. We beat Fulham at VP and should have been by more if the referee had given the most blatant penalty you will see when Kodjia was rugby tackled to the floor. I won’t be supremely confident of promotion, but we have as good a chance as any in a play off situation. So I am not worrying at the moment, just enjoying winning some games and being within touching distance of success for once.

Agree.

Its been too easily forgotten we beat them at home, and were comfortable away ( other than in the possession stats)  - without key players - until we gifted them a goal. 

Personally i think we are good enough to beat anyone....as results have shown.....although interestingly we’ve not beaten Millwall or Derby yet ......

Edited April 14, 2018 by terrytini

[Mark Albrighton]

10 minutes ago, MessiWillSignForVilla said:

I reckon there's a pretty good chance of that. It's at Millwall and their form is just as good Fulham's recently. Also, Fulham have Blues on the last day, I wouldn't put it past Blues to go into the last day needing something to stay up and getting it.

Absolutely.

I agree that there’s a good chance of Fulham slipping up against Millwall.

I also think there is a reasonable chance that Cardiff will slip up twice, most likely against Derby and Hull. 

And I’d say it’s likely we’ll beat Ipswich and Derby. Possibly Millwall too if we knew we had to win it.

I just think there isn’t a good chance of ALL of those outcomes happening. I just said the Millwall-Fulham game as it’s next up and if Fulham do win that, I think our chances for second are all but over.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

19 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I really don’t want to sound like a dog with a bone but what have you seen that makes you feel that ?

I watched the game and saw nothing I don’t see at Villa other than Fulham spend more time knocking the ball around at the back.

I genuinely don’t see what the massive difference is.

I saw defenders hoof it sometimes, play it others, I saw some decent passing and some poor passing. I saw some good tackles and a couple of very poor ones.

Keepers booting the ball out, throwing it well, throwing it not so well. Some corners hit well, several too deep. Some fine individual skill.

A few shots blazed over the bar. Some decent movement off the ball, some good defending. I saw the balance shift to and fro a bit.

Now.......which game was I describing ? Today’s or yesterday’s ?

Not being funny but far from seeing a huge difference I see practically none.

Was going to do a short tongue in cheek rebuttal but let me just try to sum it up.

- Quick, accurate passing. (Alot of the time we struggle to make the most basic passes to our team mates, i'm sure you know how terrible our ball retention is. We also tend to dilly dally with the ball and slow stroke it like we are at a practice match. We often telegraph our moves)

- Quick switching of play from wing to wing. (We would usually prefer to pass it about in a corner until we lose it, as a pose to quickly switching play to the other wing, or even simpler, midfield)

- Different modes of both attack and defense. (We seem to have ONE mode of attack, get it down the wings, cross and repeat, even when it is evident it is not, and WILL not work, fresh example which comes to mind is Hull)

- Intense pressing. (We often fall asleep to the point where i'm shouting at the TV screen as I watch opposition players roam into acres of space)

So adding to what you have said, there is alot MORE of the positive stuff you "saw today" and alot LESS of the negative stuff you saw today, in these teams.

Vice versa with us. 

I'm sure there are other people on here who could more eloquently describe what I'm trying to say in depth.

They just play better football than us overall, in Brentfords case, I feel it is just the extra quality they lack.

You can tell they are well drilled, and know what they are doing.

Throw team selections, subs and so on into the mix for a more complete picture.

Edited April 14, 2018 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[Sam3773]

It would be interesting to see how Fulham handle pressure in the play offs. 

This weekend was arguably the first time they've had any real pressure on them and they drew, albeit to a solid Brentford side. 

It's going to be a very interesting run in.. 

[romavillan]

Derby certainly have more to play for now they lost against Burton, makes their game against Cardiff a must win really to ge them a playoffs place. We need to win three more games and hope for hte best, if we do win them all we'll be there or there abouts and take great momentum into the playoffs. Trouble is we played horribly second half against Leeds, so again we can't be certain which Villa is going to be turning up.

That's really the story of our season. The shit start, the very forseeable dip in form after our results were not in keeping with the turd performances, then we did actually sort it out, play good football (largely - at least not look like total strangers all the time) and win 7 on the spin, then the inexplicable crash after beating the top of the table team... Without either 1. the shit start, 2. the crash in form before xmas or 3. the crash in form after doing Wolves handsomely we'd be sitting in second.

If we could be sure the Villa from the first half against Leeds or even better the Wolves game would be playing the next 3 then I'd be more confident. Thing is we can't. Still, it's still all to play for and it's pretty exciting even though we're most likely out of the running...

[HanoiVillan]

I have to say, I'd rather have our points total than Brentford's style of play. 

[terrytini]

Thanks @JAMAICAN-VILLAN for taking the trouble to answer at least I know now !!

In my view...

..Quick accurate passing...in the opposition half I see little difference, in their own half it is irrelevant....also from Fulham I see an awful lot of dull, slow, accurate passing.

Switching....in my view we do that quite a bit. Additionally I’m not sure why that’s a good thing anyway.....it does my head in..looks great but inevitably cover gets across at the same time...

Mode of attack....I just disagree....I think we do a decent variety....for a start our most potent creator is Jack and he is rarely down the wing. Secondly, I like wing play, and find it far far more enjoyable to watch than teams passing it through crowded middles.

Pressing.... we do it sometimes but not others....not sure that I find it “ exciting” in itself though...it’s just a tool for the job against passing sides.

Team selection and Subs ? Not sure what is intrinsically more enjoyable or watchable about their selection over Jack, Snoddy, Kodja, Albert....

The last 45 minutes ive rewatched it in the interests of scientific research.....and I rewatched last nights game when I got back from the game.

I still don’t see a difference, or a minute one at that.

Mind you I never saw what was supposed to be so special about the Ipswich team of 1981 either.

Also I’m puzzled....if they really do pass better, create better, adjust better, vary things better....if they do all that better... why aren’t they scoring tons more goals and getting tons more points ? But I appreciate  that’s a different topic in a way.

 

Edited April 14, 2018 by terrytini

[romavillan]

7 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

I have to say, I'd rather have our points total than Brentford's style of play. 

I'd rather have Wolves' points total and the Brentford/Wolves/Fulham style of play to be honest.