18/19 Race for Promotion

[TRO]

1 minute ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

We need a proper Brute midfielder, who can also play.

JV we have one in JM but one is not enough....Others just stand off or just pick up loose passes.

When the opposition gets better, the loose balls are less frequent.....We need more players to press, with vigour and fire in their bellies and turn over aerial balls to start attacks...like Gareth Barry used to do.

[Made In Aston]

We are 4 points better off than fulham were at the same stage last season. Incidentally the 23rd game was the start of their long unbeaten run that lasted until the final day of the season. 

To get top 2 we can't afford to drop any more then 17 points for the remainder of the campaign. Tough ask, but still possible... Just! 

[KMitch]

I feel incredibly sorry for Brentford...  Since Smith left, they've won once, drawn once, and lost eight...  They've gone from playing some of the best football in the league to relegation candidates.

[VillaChris]

31 minutes ago, KMitch said:

I feel incredibly sorry for Brentford...  Since Smith left, they've won once, drawn once, and lost eight...  They've gone from playing some of the best football in the league to relegation candidates.

I chuckle at that as didn't a visiting Brentford fan on here say it didn't matter who was manager/head coach of them as their behind the scenes set up was so good it wouldn't matter.

Just shows you can invest in all the stats machines you like but you still need a figurehead who can work with players well which Thomas Franks is obviously struggling to.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

4 minutes ago, VillaChris said:

I chuckle at that as didn't a visiting Brentford fan on here say it didn't matter who was manager/head coach of them as their behind the scenes set up was so good it wouldn't matter.

Just shows you can invest in all the stats machines you like but you still need a figurehead who can work with players well which Thomas Franks is obviously struggling to.

Not just the visiting fan.

Many of our own started to believe that hype as well.

That being said, could just be a transition period for them, who knows.

[VillaChris]

Very long transition! At least under DS we got our defeats out of the way early on.

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

It still really irks me how our momentum got stifled at Hawthornes. That try and losing Grealish . Really hope we can pull it out the bag Sunday

[A'Villan]

Didn't get to see the Stoke game and yet to watch the highlights so don't know how we played but I was saying weeks back that our run against the top sides starting with Derby would be a good indicator of where we're at in terms of being serious contenders for a promotion push.

We are undefeated in 7 with over 50% win rate in those games. Hard for any supporter to turn their nose up at that, especially considering our form and start under Bruce.

I think Leeds will be our toughest challenge yet and fully expect Pablo to cause our defense some problems. It would be great to have Grealish available but it will also be interesting to see how we stack up against a top side without him. As I said I think Leeds will be our toughest test and will go on to occupy one of the two automatic promotion places.

Consistency will be crucial to our promotion hopes from here. If we can maintain the standard of play we have seen in our better performances for most of the remainder we are serious contenders. Once we reach mid-January and our fixtures see us play teams at the bottom end of the table once more there will be no room for complacency. We have fairly successfully faced the challenge of our tough run so far, but once it ceases there will be the hurdle of getting the wins we need in order to make up for lost ground.

[Rob182]

On 18/12/2018 at 07:55, Demitri_C said:

I agree. Also axels been bloody superb this year. This kids going to be very good. As crap as bruce was he knew how to find good players. Just he didn't know how to use them.

"Are there any youngsters at Top 6 clubs that aren't getting a game?"

"Yeah, a couple.."

"Get them. Job done. I'm off to Neelams for some Masala Fish"

[Vive_La_Villa]

23 hours ago, Rob182 said:

"Are there any youngsters at Top 6 clubs that aren't getting a game?"

"Yeah, a couple.."

"Get them. Job done. I'm off to Neelams for some Masala Fish"

This just isn’t true about the last manager. 

Everybody knows he preferred a Donna Kebab. 

[Vive_La_Villa]

Did you know in 2012/13 season Hull finished 2nd with 78 points. They even lost 15 games that season. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Vive_La_Villa

[hippo]

On 18/12/2018 at 19:31, Made In Aston said:

We are 4 points better off than fulham were at the same stage last season. Incidentally the 23rd game was the start of their long unbeaten run that lasted until the final day of the season. 

To get top 2 we can't afford to drop any more then 17 points for the remainder of the campaign. Tough ask, but still possible... Just! 

Yep they signed a decent striker ......we might have misunderstood the blueprint ....as we may lose one ! 

[Zatman]

On 18/12/2018 at 15:19, Merson08 said:

Below is a table for the next 6 games for the top 6 teams plus our next six games, it also includes home or away fixture and currently league position. Purely information purposes but teams in the top 6 will be playing each other often over the next 6 games and we should hopefully be able to take advantage of this.

Blackburn appears a lot over the next 4 games, there run while not directly impacting us is worth noting. They play Norwich (2nd), Leeds (1st), Sheff Utd (5th) and West Brom (3rd) as their next 4 games.

 

Leeds	AV (A) 8th	Blackburn (H) 12th	Hull (H) 17th	Notts Forest (A) 7th	Derby (H) 4th	Stoke (A) 11th
Norwich	Blackburn (A) 12th	Notts Forest (H) 7th	Derby (H) 4th	Brentford (A) 19th	West Brom (A) 3rd	Birmingham (H) 10th
West Brom	Rotherham (A) 20th	Wigan (H) 16th	Sheff Wed (H) 18th	Blackburn (A) 12th	Norwich (H) 2nd	Bolton (A) 23rd
Derby	Bristol C (H) 14th	Sheffield Utd (A) 5th	Norwich (A) 2nd	Middlesbrough (H) 6th	Leeds (A) 1st	Reading (H) 21st
Sheff Utd	Ipswich (A) 24th	Derby (H) 4th	Blackburn (H) 12th	Wigan (A) 16th	QPR (H) 13th	Swansea (A) 9th
Middlesbrough	Reading (A) 21st	Sheff Wed (H) 18th	Ipswich (H) 24th	Derby (A) 4th	Birmingham (A) 10th	Millwall (H) 22nd
Aston Villa	Leeds (H) 1st	Swansea (A) 9th	Preston (A) 15th	QPR (H) 13th	Wigan (A) 16th	Hull (H) 17th

Lot of contenders facing each other too. We have a good 6 games and a lot of big games are draws then we will be very close

[Delphinho123]

15 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Lot of contenders facing each other too. We have a good 6 games and a lot of big games are draws then we will be very close

Should be looking at 14 points from that lot...

[villalad21]

We also don't have a natural replacement when Grealish get injured. Anybody else worried about that?

Whelan, Jedinak and Birkir are all fine players but they aren't creative, so we lose alot when Grealish is out

Edited December 21, 2018 by villalad21

[Sam3773]

16 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

We also don't have a natural replacement when Grealish get injured. Anybody else worried about that?

Whelan, Jedinak and Birkir are all fine players but they aren't creative, so we lose alot when Grealish is out

Cal. 

[villalad21]

53 minutes ago, Sam3773 said:

Cal. 

Have you actually seen him play? What makes you think he will take the level?

[hippo]

2 hours ago, villalad21 said:

We also don't have a natural replacement when Grealish get injured. Anybody else worried about that?

Whelan, Jedinak and Birkir are all fine players but they aren't creative, so we lose alot when Grealish is out

were going to get injuries though - Kjodia was out all last season - and Grealish didn't return until November. Great as the never say die attitude is - always chasing a game takes its toll - you could see it against forest the Villa players collapsed at the final whistle.

[Vive_La_Villa]

Just now, hippo said:

were going to get injuries though - Kjodia was out all last season - and Grealish didn't return until November. Great as the never say die attitude is - always chasing a game takes its toll - you could see it against forest the Villa players collapsed at the final whistle.

So does wearing children’s shinpads! 

[Sam3773]

4 hours ago, villalad21 said:

Have you actually seen him play? What makes you think he will take the level?

Certainly have. Slight OT on the thread but I'll answer. Watch a lot of the PL2 and he's brilliant. Slotted in a couple of times last season in the Championship too. Got an assist I seem to recall for not a lot of game time. I think he's as close to a like for like replacement we've got currently and I have no concerns he'll hold his own in this league.