Ratings and reactions: Villa 3-2 Norwich

[Harry]

Great to see three points secured but I do hate those buttock clenching last 10 minutes at Villa Park.

Overall we played very well and to be honest if our finishing was a little sharper we would have scored a couple more. I did smile when MotD picked up on an (accidental) handball in the build up to one of our goals whilst failing to point out Hutton being fouled in the build up to their second which meant he was hobbled back and out of position.

Special mentions:

Gabby - truly awesome and I can't see him leaving, Villa through and through.

Bent - did his job very well today.

Herd - he is seriously starting to impress me as a player. Clearly has been told to calm down by AMcL. Funnily he is not the one of that crop of young players who I thought would make it.

N'Zogbia - best game so far in a Villa shirt, still work in progress, but getting there.

Jenas - was never a fan but a sublime little cameo today. Looking forward to seeing more and I think he may turn out to be a clever signing.

Bad points:

Too much hoofing from defence, our passing on the ground is good so there is no need.

Substitutions: We should have brought on Clark as when Petrov went off Ireland severely weakened our defensive capabilities although he showed some nice touches going forward.

Poor crowd yet again but those of us who were there were well entertained.

Overall I can see what the manager is trying to do but the real test is the next few games.

[cheltenham_villa]

Bent 7 - Getting more goals thanks to a little bit more cohesion with the team

Bent 7 - Getting more goals because hes decided to score some sitters.

[leevilla]

a very welcome 3 points,talk about a nervous last 10 minutes. thought Gabby played brilliant and Nzogbia seems to be getting better at last.

[chappy]

Enjoyed the game yesterday, far too tense at the end though, is it just me who thinks a goal is inevitable every time the opposition has the ball around our box?

Gabby was sensational yesterday, terrorised their defence. He is in the form of his life and I hope it continues. If he is indeed on four bookings already it might be worth him picking up a silly yellow against Spurs and therefore missing the Swansea game rather than risking getting one in that match and missing the Man Utd game because he will cause Vidic all sorts of problems again.

Great partnership with Bent developing too, and he will score 20+ this season if Zog starts looking up more and putting the balls in which Gabby is doing from the other side.

Nzogbia is improving and there were signs of what he can do but he was being too selfish, I think once he gets his first goal for us he might start crossing more, seems to really want to get over that hurdle.

Herd and Petrov work really well together, very impressed with Herd for the third week running, motm after Gabby.

Hutton looked his best so far but I'm always uneasy when he's on the ball or they are attacking his flank, don't think he's good enough still but hope he proves me wrong.

I thought Warnock was very good again. Dunne was solid. Collins shouldn't be in the team if he is going to keep hoofing the ball, would much rather develop Clark.

Heskey did a few things right but I don't think he should be in the team. Especially not left midfield, in the first half he kept drifting inside out of position and Stan had to keep going to cover for him. That was when we were defending and when we were attacking he was drifting inside too so their was no outlet for Warnock.

Jenas looked very good when he came on, never been a fan but he was great so more of the same please.

Biggest attendance so far, and best atmosphere at home so far too.

One note on the club's advertising, not muc of a morale booster for the players to have 'Man Utd, Liverpool & Arsenal to come in December' all around the pitch when we are struggling to defend a narrow lead!

[wedge]

We actually played some very good attacking football and we could have scored more than three. I expected us to sit-back when we went 2-1 up but fair play to us we went and got a third which was very important. Some of the moves we put together were a joy to watch which is not something you expect from Alex McLeish's teams. Gabby was sensational, Herd was very good, N'Zogbia looked very bright and Jenas added a touch of composure when it was especially needed. Many people have said Bent's two goals were sitters but it's his movement that a lot of people don't notice, Gabby did fantastic to set them both up but Bent is a master at losing his marker at the crucial time and that's why he scores as many as he does. 3-2 flattered Norwich a bit which is nice and it gives us a bit more of an insurance policy going into a tough run of games to end the year. I certainly didn't think we'd be as high as eighth at this stage of the season.

[brummybloke]

bent? sitters? lol

lost his marker and used his instinct to know where to be, it isnt as if he was just standing leaning against a post waiting for the ball.

he was darting all around the box, checking, turning and anticipating the delivery.

that is why he scores more goals than most other players, it is why we paid £18 million ( still dont know how people seem to think we paid £24 million?) it is why he is in the england team and it is why he got 2 goals yesterday.

give him service and he gets goals

he had 4 or 5 chances and put 2 away which is a good ratio

heskey had a very simular chance and hit it wide, torres hit his over list goes on

infact pretty all of bents "missing a sitter" chances have still been on target but they have been saved by the keeper.

so not exactly a miss then!

[CI]

It was a cracking game, both teams all out attack. Very entertaining

[barry'sboots]

bent? sitters? lol

lost his marker and used his instinct to know where to be, it isnt as if he was just standing leaning against a post waiting for the ball.

he was darting all around the box, checking, turning and anticipating the delivery.

that is why he scores more goals than most other players, it is why we paid £18 million ( still dont know how people seem to think we paid £24 million?) it is why he is in the england team and it is why he got 2 goals yesterday.

give him service and he gets goals

he had 4 or 5 chances and put 2 away which is a good ratio

heskey had a very simular chance and hit it wide, torres hit his over list goes on

infact pretty all of bents "missing a sitter" chances have still been on target but they have been saved by the keeper.

so not exactly a miss then!

Spot on BB (liking your initials as well :winkold:). Can't understand these people that continue to criticize our striker with as good a strike record as anybody in the Premier League over the last few years.

If it was that easy we should have saved ourselves the £18m and just stuck the Fonz in there to score the sitters (only joking SGC before you take this and run with it).

I don't remember Lineker scoring too many spectacular goals but he worked his socks off as well to find space and opportunities.

[Woodytom]

HAs anyone mentioned the space created by Heskey for Bents 2nd goal?

[SonicVillan]

Gabby was absolutely out of this world.

[CI]

Slight aside, but how on earth is Steve Kean still in a job

That guy gives hope to anyone without an ounce of talent

[VillaAndLoyal]

Massive win, the three points are crucial with the run of fixtures we have coming up.

Bent did well to score two, but should have scored five on another day. N'Zogbia is looking more lively but really needs to learn, and quick, that he's not the star of the show anymore (like he was at Wigan) and should play in his teammates instead of being selfish on the ball. He could have had two or three assists if he'd have released the ball at the right time.

Warnock seems to love living up to his tag of being a liability. I actually thought he played quite well generally but he's always prone to at least one major ****-up per game and, had Norwich been more clinical, it could have cost us. Also lost his man for their second.

I must have been watching a different game because how the hell did Hutton look better yesterday? He's one of the worst right-backs we've had at this club in recent years in my opinion. He gave away the free-kick for their opener and Norwich were deliberately playing down that wing in the first half to exploit our main weakness (Hutton). I fear he will get battered at WHL against their quick attacking players.

Herd and Petrov looked good and seem to be forming a partnership with each other which is positive. Jenas looked very sharp when he came on and I'm excited about what he can bring to our midfield.

Gabby was unplayable and is in the form of his career. There's nothing this boy can't do at the moment. It's great that he and Bent are proving they can play together at last.

[Ponky]

Gabby vs Kyle Walker should be interesting. Possibly the only RB in the league as fast as, if not faster than Gabby.

[GarethRDR]

Woo-hoo! Just got back home after a long, tiring weekend. Dead chuffed with the win, but we don't half make things **** difficult for ourselves, eh?

[Richard]

Needed a win, glad we got one. I do not expect many more between now and the end of the year.

[Morpheus]

Needed the win and just got there. Interesting to see how we will fair against the better teams. Our midfield looked even better when Jenny came on and if he can stay free of the usual injuries he will be a welcome addition to the team.

[norton65ca]

travelled 7,000 miles to see the Villa perform and they didn't disappoint me. Great game, great win, UTV!!!