romavillan Posted November 14, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted November 14, 2023 17 minutes ago, PaulC said: I just take each game at a time. It's a great time to play Spurs with the injuries and suspensions so I see that as a winnable game. At White Hart Lane though, at Villa Park we'll give anyone a game. Be hard to get 3 points there even with them fielding a weaker team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 12 minutes ago, romavillan said: At White Hart Lane though, at Villa Park we'll give anyone a game. Be hard to get 3 points there even with them fielding a weaker team. It'll be hard, but we managed to do it last season and will have something closer to our first choice side out than they do. No guarantees of course but I'd hope we are competitive in this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 37 minutes ago, romavillan said: At White Hart Lane though, at Villa Park we'll give anyone a game. Be hard to get 3 points there even with them fielding a weaker team. True but if we don't improve our away form we won't finish in a champions league place. We are not going win every home game I don't think and even with an 100% home record we are still outside the champions league places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duke313 Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 14 hours ago, villa89 said: Spurs, Bournemouth, City and Arsenal the next four. Realistically 4 points is the expectation. Anything more would be a bonus. If we want to finish top 4, we need to take 3 points off at least one of Spurs, City or Arsenal, preferably Spurs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareth Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 Really looking forward to these big games coming up - desperate to pick up points but if we go into these with confidence we will get close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberman Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 I'd be disappointed with less than 4 from the next 4, but think 8 is absolutely achievable (and would be amazing). Spurs aren't all that, are in dodgy form and have major injuries. City and Arsenal are not unbeatable and won't be looking forward to visiting fortress Villa Park - they will also play in a way that suits us. Bournemouth needs to be a win in the context of this tough run. I sense we'll rise to the occasion of 'big' matches and will hopefully have Moreno and JJ available for some minutes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishVilla10 Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 On 12/11/2023 at 19:39, Tayls said: It’s a massive ask this season. We are looking good at the moment but we haven’t beaten a team around us yet. We’ve lost the two games in which we have come up against top 6 rivals. I don’t think we have the squad to sustain the from for the entire season. Need another summer IMO. I wouldn’t have said Newcastle did either last season though. I think a few signings in January and we do. Having the conference is the big difference 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicRic Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 (edited) 5 minutes ago, IrishVilla10 said: I wouldn’t have said Newcastle did either last season though. I think a few signings in January and we do. Having the conference is the big difference Yeah one and two additions in a couple of months will certainly put us in a great position and we need to grab it and strike while the irons hot, Aslong as Emery can keep the steam and momentum with the boys we can keep putting in performances to get these wins, for the first time ever in my life dreaming of finishing above man united is looking possible but theres a mighty long way to go, would take 5th finish and a lift of that FA Cup trophy would be delicious, just dying to see us lift something of that magnitude. Edited November 14, 2023 by RicRic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 Really surprised how Man U have managed to snuggle behind us by 4 points and scored 13 goals as opposed to our 29.....while still conceding only 1 goal less. quite remarkable really. However, much sooner be us. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted November 14, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted November 14, 2023 1 hour ago, PaulC said: True but if we don't improve our away form we won't finish in a champions league place. We are not going win every home game I don't think and even with an 100% home record we are still outside the champions league places. Yep, we won't be doing 13 match winning runs at home forever, but this year the league is also a bit of an anomaly, averaging 2 points a game over a season should be top 4 guaranteed. Would be very harsh for us to do 2ppg and finish outside top 4 but it's a possibility this year if one/two of Spurs, Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal don't drop off the pace. We're good enough to do Spurs at WHL, but it's a big ask given how we've performed on the road. This next run for me doesn't mean make or break for CL, we could lose 3 of the 4 games and then get back on a good run for a couple of months and still be averaging 2ppg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RicRic Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, TRO said: Really surprised how Man U have managed to snuggle behind us by 4 points and scored 13 goals as opposed to our 29.....while still conceding only 1 goal less. quite remarkable really. However, much sooner be us. Shouldn’t be the case the way they have been playing, very surprising tbf … we have been the far better side and look miles better than them something i don’t think I’ve ever said in my life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted November 14, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted November 14, 2023 12 minutes ago, IrishVilla10 said: I wouldn’t have said Newcastle did either last season though. I think a few signings in January and we do. Having the conference is the big difference Hopefully we'll get 2 or 3 in, GK for Olsen, RB as we have no cover and maybe a Troare replacement (love Bertie but it looks like we won't be seeing him much). Maybe a Donk replacement... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 1 hour ago, PaulC said: True but if we don't improve our away form we won't finish in a champions league place. We are not going win every home game I don't think and even with an 100% home record we are still outside the champions league places. I don't think we can look too far in advance....We can only tackle each game as it comes, it might be a cliche, but its true. What we have done so far, is tremendous....but we can only approach games, like we have done. We are in a great position, but how many times, have teams said that. Just keep climbing and don't look down, is my motto, that way we will reach the top. We have an exciting side, who are sharp/quick on the turn over, very much a threat to opponents, but I still say our goals conceded, will still play a big part in our perceived success. Its a great time to be happy and buoyant, but getting carried away, can lead to disappoinment, until we reach the holy grail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 This team in some ways, not all ways, remind me, of the 1976-77 side, in as much as they were blowing teams away......The 1980-81 side was more resillient and durable and conceded 10 goals less. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 50 minutes ago, TRO said: This team in some ways, not all ways, remind me, of the 1976-77 side, in as much as they were blowing teams away......The 1980-81 side was more resillient and durable and conceded 10 goals less. From memory, 5-2 Ipswich, 5-1 Arsenal, 5-1, Liverpool, 4-0 West Brom but that side took some beatings away so yes. This side I think has a far superior keeper and better cbs. Saunders sorted those deficiences out in the 81 side. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 1 hour ago, TRO said: I don't think we can look too far in advance....We can only tackle each game as it comes, it might be a cliche, but its true. What we have done so far, is tremendous....but we can only approach games, like we have done. We are in a great position, but how many times, have teams said that. Just keep climbing and don't look down, is my motto, that way we will reach the top. We have an exciting side, who are sharp/quick on the turn over, very much a threat to opponents, but I still say our goals conceded, will still play a big part in our perceived success. Its a great time to be happy and buoyant, but getting carried away, can lead to disappoinment, until we reach the holy grail. Yes as wrote in a pervious post I can only look at the next game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oishiiniku_uk Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 2 hours ago, romavillan said: We're good enough to do Spurs at WHL, but it's a big ask given how we've performed on the road. I'd much rather play Spurs (especially this version without Maddison, Van der Ven, Romero, Bissouma etc.) than Liverpool or Newcastle away from home. I think our chances of winning are much better given that they either try and play Ange-ball with two ill-suited centre backs and no creative fulcrum, or they go more defensive and we get to play more of our possession game. Even with their best eleven I'd still give us better odds than at Anfield or St James' Park. Plus, outside of Forest, which away games were we expecting more from? A win against Burnley was no surprise and 4pts from Chelsea and Wolves is more than we managed last season. I expect our away PPG will be back above 1.5 after some more favourable away games. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBOB Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 It will be interesting to see what Unai does for the next set of 4. Opponents with different styles and high degrees of difficulty all around. We've been favored in every league game beside Newcastle, Liverpool, and Chelsea. Now we're going to be underdogs for 3/4 matches and it's going to be critical to get points if we want champions league. I think 6 points out of 4 matches would be a fair trade of things since we have been performing well against the bottom half of the league. We need to trade home/away splits if we want a chance at champions league this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colhint Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 I suppose Afcon will have some impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 14, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted November 14, 2023 9 hours ago, Delphinho123 said: I wonder if we'll mix it up against them. We played more long ball tactics against Brighton. I wonder if we're planning that at all or something different at least. I do worry about how good City are at pressing and us losing it in our own third. Will be fascinating to see how he takes both on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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