Ratings & Reactions: POF Villa v Derby

[Davkaus]

I got there way to late to get to a pub before the game, but did get to hug BOF when we scored, so I'm going to take that as a win. 

[StefanAVFC]

Yeah I got it the wrong way around. Stupid phone 

The ref definitely wasn't good!

Mods can you cancel my votes please?

Edited May 27, 2019 by StefanAVFC

[OutByEaster?]

1 minute ago, StefanAVFC said:

 Ouch! It was totally accidental.

If you were where I think you were in the pre-match photo with Mr Mooney and co - I was about 10 feet to your right. 

 

[StefanAVFC]

1 minute ago, OutByEaster? said:

If you were where I think you were in the pre-match photo with Mr Mooney and co - I was about 10 feet to your right. 

 

By the ice cream van at the back!

[Mantis]

15 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

Will you miss the Ding-Dong-Derby? The Albion bleating twice a year? That angry little wazzock in Bristol? Dirty Leeds? Scrimpy Steve Gibson moaning at Boro? 

Y' know, in a way, I kinda will, this division has been a blast. Ah well though, f**k em, let's make new friends.

 

 

 

I'll miss the yearly complimentary 4/6 points from SHA to be fair.

[Rob182]

1 hour ago, Davkaus said:

Dishonourable mention for the bellend that got so pissed, he was restrained by police, assaulted one of them, then got arrested outside the ground before kick off. Probably spent £100+ to get down there, to spend the day in a cell. Good job pal. 

I too witnessed the end of a bell. Up in block 535, 4-5 rows from the back, there was a complete plank that started yelling at all of our fans to sing. Considering we had been singing, and it was during a quiet spell of about 6 minutes, he was going mental. “Sing!!!!!” ..... “**** sing!!!!”.... “Come on!!!! F*ck the flags and **** sing!!!!!!!!!!”.... all with his little 7-8 year old lad next to him. What a tit.

[Talldarkandransome]

Jack's been kicked all season, punched by a blue nose and now cut by the trophy 

[CosmicVillan]

Been back a couple of hours..just letting it sink in.

Been a grand day and we ran out deserved winners..2-1 was a fair reflection...the longest 7 minutes of my life..someone tell Brucie...we're not thereabouts....we're there

[8pints]

 

Elmo had a fantastic game, really bossed it. McGinn was the storm. With Hause and Abraham scoring earlier in the season with 'other', now with El Ghazi's goal today we must be the leading scorers of 'other' I love Aston Villa Football Club.

[Pelle]

2 hours ago, Mantis said:

Funnily enough I actually missed McGinn's goal, as I just happened to be walking out of the room when he scored. As soon as El Ghazi's shot went into the air I thought "keeper's got that easily", got up and walked out and turned round to see he'd scored.

Kind of did the same thing. Thought the reflection steered it over the goal and looked and reached for my glass when I suddenly saw McGinn celebrate and the ball was in the goal. Couldn't really understand how that happened. Untill the replay, of course.

[NurembergVillan]

As I posted in the pre-match thread, I was on a flight to New York all day so would only be able to get the full time result when I landed.

As soon as I could, I turned my phone on and waited for a good enough signal to be able to get online and find out what had happened.  I'd been looking at my watch every 10 minutes from about 2.30 and trying to imagine what might be happening.

Walking towards passport control, and before I'd had chance to try VT or Twitter to get the score, I received a text from an old friend (a Swedish Arsenal fan) that was just a bunch of emojis of champagne corks and balloons.  I knew we'd done it.  Just casually started crying tears of joy.

I **** love the Villa!

[Only2McInallys]

This has been a remarkable season.

The bond between fans and players has not been better for many many years.

This group of players have given their all(110 %)and its great to see players who haven’t featured much recently caring so much.

Relegation overall has been good for us.The fans have rediscovered their love of Villa,we have played some of the best football I have seen for a long time(Brian Little team?)and we some so many players we can be proud of.

Dean Smith has done an amazing job he has taken a group of players who were struggling ,got them playing attractive attacking football and promoted to the premier league .Incredible.

[bannedfromHandV]

Just got home, loooong day, so very very worth it though, well done lads, buried the ghosts of last year.

[Only2McInallys]

This has been a remarkable season.

The bond between fans and players has not been better for many many years.

This group of players have given their all(110 %)and its great to see players who haven’t featured much recently caring so much.

Relegation overall has been good for us.The fans have rediscovered their love of Villa,we have played some of the best football I have seen for a long time(Brian Little team?)and we some so many players we can be proud of.

Dean Smith has done an amazing job he has taken a group of players who were struggling ,got them playing attractive attacking football and promoted to the premier league .Incredible.

[The Fun Factory]

Just  back from a long and wonderful day. Hasn't not sunk in but so proud of Dean and the boys today. It was not pretty but we got the result that  we were desperate for. To tired to think of anything else but thank you Dean and the team to being pride back to the Villa. 

[chappy]

I was there on the 7th of August 2016 to watch us lose 0–1 at Hillsborough. Almost 5000 villa fans given a rude awakening on a sunny Yorkshire Sunday afternoon. 

All of a sudden it didn’t seem like it was gonna be as easy to get out of this league as I had originally thought.

It didn’t get much better. Di Matteo’s side kept snatching draws from the jaws of victory and by the time I next watched us away it was at Preston on the 1st of October. We were schooled by Daniel Johnson and Callum Robinson and lost 2-0 with Ross McCormack missing a late penalty. Ciao Roberto.

 

Midweek at Reading and Steve Bruce ushered in a brave new dawn thanks to a last gasp Jordan Ayew penalty. So Sally can wait. Things picked up but despite the cavalry arriving in January (Hourihane, Lansbury, Hogan(!) and Taylor(for Ayew!)) our season fizzled out with a Jimmy Danger injury away at Blackburn. Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town somehow found themselves taking ‘our’ place in the big league.

 

In came the men. Terry, Snoddy, Elmo and Whelan: proper blokes to get us promoted. It was an old fave in Gabby that got us a point at home to Hull on the opening day of 2017/18 before we were humiliated 0-3 by Premier League bound Cardiff City the following week.

 

The season went by and we were there or thereabouts. We broke some Bristolian hearts on NYD and Snoddy stepped up in the last minute at Bramall Lane. The ‘best team ever seen in the championship’ were dismantled 4-1 at VP but we conceded 3 to QPR three days later. 

 

When all was said and done we shut Boro out over two legs to reach the play off final. I couldn’t go as I was an usher at a mate’s wedding. Blessing in disguise. The guard was about to change. Snoddy had earned his place in a premier league side, we couldn’t afford Terry and Johnstone was poached.

 

New owners crucially allowed us to  to hold on to Grealish, even though he said his goodbyes away at Hull. Another chastening afternoon in Sheffield followed and the writing was on the wall for Bruce despite a McGinn wonder goal giving us a taste of what might be to come. It all came crashing down in a whirl of cabbage and a missed Whelan penalty.

 

In came ‘one of our own’ Dean Smith and after a  good run folllowed by a bad run folllowed by an incredible run we find ourselves at today. Hutton at home to blues. 5-5. A Christmas gift to Leeds. You can’t say it wasn’t entertaining.

 

Enter Tyrone. With our defence tightened up and the return of the prodigal one (announced in style with an any-other-season-goal-of-the-season volley) we went from also rans to the ones to watch. Derby, Blues, Forest, Boro, Blackburn, Wednesday, Rotherham, Bristol City, Bolton and Millwall. Wow. Up stepped heroes old and new to make history - McGinn dragged us through at Forest and Jimmy Danger bailed us out at Rotherham. Team spirit won out repeatedly.

 

We got past the Tesco Bus and here we were at Wembley again. 

 

For me, from the first whistle, it was never in doubt today. We ‘stepped up’ as the Sky advertising hoardings had demanded and Frank Lampard’s Derby County didn’t.

 

My MOTM for the first half was El Ghazi. He probed and looked up to the occasion . He was rewarded on the stroke of half time with the most important goal of his career so far. Second half we stepped it up another gear and man of the match/ season/ my life John McGinn was everywhere. Big game performance from a big game player. 

 

Derby got a goal out of nothing but I didn’t feel overly worried. Today was our day and it didn’t seem like we’d do anything other than get back where we belong. Overall, it was a fantastic Wembley performance - something we’ve seemed unable to do over the last few years (that beautiful day against Liverpool apart). 

 

Steer was solid - has earned his place in the team come August for me, tough decision for Deano with Kalinic available though.

 

Elmo continued his impressive run of form - solid as anything and complementing attacks nicely. He seems to have forgotten how to be the liability that cost us over Christmas. Should be a decent squad option in the prem. 

 

Taylor see above. Much maligned but an important part of our end of season run. Will be replaced but can stay in the squad for me.

 

Mings and Tuanzebe. Sign them up, that is all. Great partnership.

 

The midfield was great. Hourihane justifies his inclusion and I’m excited to see him as an option off the bench next season. Grealish did what he does - many of the tears I cried at the end were for him.  Our captain! McGinn also did what he does, what a man. Tenacity personified and got a goal to boot.

 

El Ghazi should be signed, he’s ready for the Prem. Adomah will be replaced an rightly so but he put in a decent final shift today without looking overly threatening. Tammy didn’t get much of a look in but did the hold up thing well and I hope it’s not the last we see of him in claret and blue.

 

I’d like to give the final word to Dean Smith - seems a thoroughly great guy and in the midst of my happy tears at full time, the sight of a Villa fan lifting the trophy having galvanised the club and masterminded this incredible run kept them rolling down my cheeks.

 

TL;DR 

It’s been a slog in the championship. I’ve enjoyed it mostly. We deserved it today. It was one of the best days of my life. I cried a lot at full time. UTV.

 

[villaglint]

I love you all

[8pints]

3 minutes ago, villaglint said:

I love you all

 

 

[Jareth]

43 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said:

Walking towards passport control, and before I'd had chance to try VT or Twitter to get the score, I received a text from an old friend (a Swedish Arsenal fan) that was just a bunch of emojis of champagne corks and balloons.  I knew we'd done it.  Just casually started crying tears of joy.

Might have looked like a drug smuggler...

[Ponky]

One of the best posts in VT history Chappy. Well said mate.