PL: Man Utd a Ratings and Reactions

[tinker]

Had a peak at RedCafe and a few were quite complimentary "We weren't that bad, Villa were just really good".

Thats my thoughts exactly and thats what makes the difference with this win, we looked in control at nearly all times and thats was away to one of the strongest teams in the world. Thought the defense played very well, but the combination of Young, Milner, Downing, Petrov, Gabby and Heskey was the difference from games in the past. They played with purpose and never panicked and with a bit more composure they could have scored quite a few more.

The ref, while brave with some shouts started to make some terrible decisions as the game wore on.

One of the best performances I have seen from the Villa for decades. I have a real feeling Its starting to really happen for us now after so many years of s**t.

:notworthy:

[justpeteash]

Awesome performance from the lads!

Petrov for me was solid in midfield, were really defending from the front nowe as well! And Milner...well as work ethic goes i don't know a better player. Sprint down attack, sprint back defend...

Went to game in (in Man U end unfortunately) and was the other end of the ground to the villa fans, but they made all the atmosphere! really proud of the villa support! Just had to try and stop my self singing along half the time.

And did well not to celebrate for the goal, but seriously some of the decisions!!!!!!!!!! OUTRAGEOUS! Carew hacked down was just ridiculous, should have been at least a yellow card, but thats what you get at old trafford though. But at leats the ref made a great decision with booking rooney for the dive! (and it really should have been atleast 4/5 mins injury time, but was funny to see Fergy complain (and hear me obviously swear on motd!lol)

Anyway, who cares bout all that, Villa beat Man U @ Old Trafford (it's good saying that!)

Now, who to support in Arsenal v Liverpool (draw i'm thinking would be good!)

[TheSufferingVilla]

[VILLAFC2000]

Its certainly Nice to see the pundits on MOTD particularly Hansen rate Villas chances on breaking in to the top four!

When asked by Gabby Yorath how far do you think villa can go he responded roughly

“ I think that game was massive for villa, he’s got a great 1-11 team, strength in depth on the bench.

Will they faultier like they did last time, I don’t think so. I think they will go from strength to strength.

I think they have got a great chance of breaking in to the top four"!

Bring on Arsenal and Liverpool!

[Pricey_1984]

still buzzing with the result, knew we'd beat them at old trafford in my lifetime one day

all the players get a 8 for me, with gabby getting motm for his goal and his general workrate and hold up play.

still cant believe with that we got the win with that atkinson as ref, i never seen such a biased referee's performance in my life... yeh he booked rooney for diving and he got that right but he was giving united everything think he gave us about 3 free kicks all game.

as for fergie moaning about the time added on... well we took a minute off for last years extra minute :winkold:

[stato]

Oh my days!!!!

I think we all, or some of us, had a feeling we might do something in this one but never really believed it would happen because of the Man Utd rule.

I drove up on there on my own as I couldn't convince anybody to fork out the cash for what was another expected defeat. I am so so glad I went anyway.

The last 10 minutes brought back all the same feelings as last season where I kept telling my mate "we're not going to win it", "we're not going to win it". Sure enough we didn't. We were all saying last night, "you know what's coming"....but it didn't. I don't think I've ever gone so mental as I did at that final whistle. I'm 25, that's the first time we've won there in my lifetime!!

I raced back to Brum to see a gig at The Flapper where my mates, brothers, cousins who are all Villa were at. What a **** night.

I've had a grin on my face since 7.15pm last night. The whole way back on the M6, the rest of the night, when I went to sleep, when I woke up and still now. I LOVE ASTON VILLA FOOTBALL CLUB!!!!

[rjw63]

[NulliSecundus]

So chuffin proud :D

Last 10 minutes especially injury time was immense. So funny seeing SAF explode because of the lack of injury time!!

[The_Lions_Roar]

I had to 'visit' the toilet 4 times in the second half becasue the clock didnt seem as if it was moving! My missus said you need to see a doctor haha.

[Pricey_1984]

Oh my days!!!!

I think we all, or some of us, had a feeling we might do something in this one but never really believed it would happen because of the Man Utd rule.

I drove up on there on my own as I couldn't convince anybody to fork out the cash for what was another expected defeat. I am so so glad I went anyway.

The last 10 minutes brought back all the same feelings as last season where I kept telling my mate "we're not going to win it", "we're not going to win it". Sure enough we didn't. We were all saying last night, "you know what's coming"....but it didn't. I don't think I've ever gone so mental as I did at that final whistle. I'm 25, that's the first time we've won there in my lifetime!!

I raced back to Brum to see a gig at The Flapper where my mates, brothers, cousins who are all Villa were at. What a **** night.

I've had a grin on my face since 7.15pm last night. The whole way back on the M6, the rest of the night, when I went to sleep, when I woke up and still now. I LOVE ASTON VILLA FOOTBALL CLUB!!!!

top post mate, im also 25, knew we'd do it one day

[Danwichmann]

Martin O'Neill wonders if Aston Villa's long-awaited win at Manchester United will mean his players finally get the wider recognition they deserve.

Gabriel Agbonlahor's first-half header ensured Villa collected their first Old Trafford victory since 1983.

More importantly, it added the scalp of the Barclays Premier League champions to those of Liverpool and Chelsea, that were collected earlier this season. And they are yet to face Arsenal.

So, rather than being painted as an industrious team full of scrappers, not afraid to launch the long ball when required, O'Neill thinks a more kind description might be in order.

"There is an ability within our squad that sometimes gets overlooked," said the Northern Irishman.

"People looked at our away results last season and decided we were a counter-attacking side. There is nothing wrong with that. Manchester United have won championships like it.

"We have also tightened up defensively.

"I know we have improved. A couple of years ago we could not have performed like we have been."

There are a number of key men - Brad Friedel for a start. The American had a quieter evening than he might have expected on Saturday, but needed to produce an excellent late save to deny Dimitar Berbatov an equaliser.

James Milner was singled out for special praise by Sir Alex Ferguson, which must make the Villa Park faithful feel slightly queasy, wondering whether it might be the first step towards a bid for the former Leeds star.

Stewart Downing's discipline has not gone unnoticed either and it was the winger who was alert enough to boot a Nemanja Vidic header off the line when the Serbian thought he was going to score.

Agbonlahor clearly likes facing United given he has now found the net against them in four successive seasons, while at the back Richard Dunne has proved to be a very astute buy from Manchester City.

Indeed, the sight of Dunne featuring in a team currently operating at a higher level than their own must have most City fans scratching their heads given his replacement at Eastlands, Joleon Lescott, was acquired at the not inconsiderable sum of £22million.

After leaving City disillusioned at the way executive chairman Garry Cook was handling a club he still has a strong attachment to, Dunne is delighted at the collective unity he has found at Villa.

"We have a really good atmosphere in the dressing room," he said.

"Everyone works hard for each other. Everyone is prepared to put their foot in.

"You could see that by the way we defended. Manchester United are champions for a reason. It is taken for granted that you will not go home with a victory without everyone doing their bit when you come under the cosh."

Ferguson was left grumbling at the amount of time added on by referee Martin Atkinson, but O'Neill claimed Villa deserved their good fortune, having had victory snatched from them in the corresponding fixture last term when Cristiano Ronaldo's late equaliser paved the way for a season-defining stoppage-time winner from Federico Macheda.

It left United to go away and lick their wounds ahead of Tuesday's crucial encounter with Wolves, and Villa to reflect on the strides they have made by coming through a bizarre weekend of results with their position enhanced considerably.

Not that O'Neill was letting an Old Trafford win go to his head.

"I have not enjoyed a game for about 20 years," he responded, when he asked whether he had enjoyed the contest.

"Maybe when we have won the number of games Manchester United have over the last half century we will have something to boast about.

"Until then, we will just try to hang in there for as long as we can because we know the teams who have tended to rise to the top positions will eventually be expected to do so.

"Ourselves, Manchester City and Tottenham are very strong and winning matches like this is bound to do our confidence good. But that could easily be eroded at Sunderland on Tuesday and we have more tough fixtures after that, so there is no point in us getting carried away."

Here

Some nice quotes in there. Typical O'Neill, keeping everyones feet on the ground and talking about the next game. Good to see our players earning some praise and I enjoyed seeing in the media what we've all been saying about Lescott replacing Dunne.

[wedge]

Brilliant, the stuff dreams are made of.

The Villa fans were brilliant, completely humiliating those dirty inbred Mancs...

The whole team played fantastically but Dunne just shone out, probably the best display of defending from an individual I have ever seen, Rooney was scared to death of him!

[Rodders]

fantastic

[Xann]

Here's the Goal...

[Jas]

I've just come back from the game - YES - just now!! That's how happy I was. Fans were fantastic. I was right next to the Man Utd fans. I gave them some right shit

One of the best days of my life. Lived in Manchester for 14 years and never seen Villa beat them. 14 years of hurt finally erased. Delighted.

The whole performance was epic. We deserved it. That is all.

[Vojskovoda]

Mods; can the original match thread go into hall of fame? It's a memory that must savored!

[leviramsey]

Mods; can the original match thread go into hall of fame? It's a memory that must savored!

Since the matchday forum doesn't prune, I'm not sure that it needs to be in the HoF.

Though perhaps a post in the HoF linking to the match thread is in order.

[barry'sboots]

Was at the match but read these ratings on Goal.com and thought that they got it pretty right.

ASTON VILLA

Brad Friedel - 7 - Enjoyed a quieter night than he would have expected. The few shots that came his way were handled with no fuss.

Luke Young - 6 - Dominated Park, but came unstuck when Evra bombed on from full-back.

Richard Dunne - 8 - Does exactly what he says on the tin. Solid, obstinate defending is his forte, and there was no sign of those standards slipping.

Carlos Cuellar - 7 - Provided the energy next to Dunne. His rangy physique was stretched to the limit a number of times to deny United.

Stephen Warnock - 7 - A stiff neck didn't stop him getting the better of Valencia. Linked up with alternating wingers Ashley Young and Stewart Downing to good effect. Collision saw him withdrawn for Collins.

Ashley Young - 7 - Stuck to his manager's orders and pumped the ball in to the United area with consistent quality. Picked out Agbonlahor to set up the opener.

James Milner - 8 - Is excelling in the close environs of centre midfield. Used his reservoirs of energy to win the ball and his winger's technique to pass the ball out wide with speed.

Stiliyan Petrov - 5 - His every involvement seem to end with Martin Atkinson blowing his whistle for a free kick. Broke up play, but tested the letter of the law.

Stewart Downing - 7 - Last involvement was to clear Vidic's header off the goal line. Put in a cultured performances before coming off for Reo-Coker.

Gabriel Agbonlahor - 8 - Drifted intelligently in to space to nod home the winner and was a constant thorn in the side of the United back line. His pace unsettles even the best of defenders and his record against the 'Big Four' is impeccable.

Emile Heskey - 5 - Ambled around the penalty box to little effect. Looked more oafish than international class. Taken off for Carew after hamstring pull.

[AVFC-Prideofbrum]

fantastic

[limpid]

Mods; can the original match thread go into hall of fame? It's a memory that must savored!

As per the first post in each match thread, your comments are kept for posterity (or prosperity if I'm not paying attention).