Ratings and reactions: Villa 1-1 Stoke

[limpid]

Your ratings and reactions please.

Keep it respectful even if you know everyone else is wrong.

[table color=#bccde9:bbd76c1adf][mrow][mcol color=#8c333c:bbd76c1adf]Aston Villa[mcol]1-1[mcol color=red:bbd76c1adf]Stoke

[row][col color=#8c333c:bbd76c1adf]Weimann 32[col][col color=red:bbd76c1adf]

[row][col color=#8c333c:bbd76c1adf][col][col color=red:bbd76c1adf]Huth 72

[/table]

[PieFacE]

Cant fault the players today, worked their socks off. Ireland was my MOTM, again.

Shit refs though.

[dudevillaisnice]

Could've done with the 3 points really.. still far from safe.

[jimmythomas]

Terrible.

[The_Steve]

Dean gave almost every 50/50 to Stoke. They get away with so many fouls in the box. We had two very good shouts for a penalty, one directly in front of Dean. Neither given. Whereas Pennant dives to win a freekick and Huth climbs so high over Collins both hands are on his shoulders, again clear foul not given. Pathetic, we had potential free kicks in dangerous areas not given.

Gabby will rue that missed chance but what a goal by young Andy. Pathetic officiating has ruined a dull game. Stoke are a horrible club.

[Mantis]

Ref was terrible.

That said, we were our typical negative selves, despite the effort given from the players. McLeish out.

[Dodgyknees]

[deeps]

Point not enough. We MUST beat Bolton.

Mike Dean must be a Stoke Fan.

Ireland MOTM

[Brumstopdogs]

Another poor result when wins are needed. Excuses and time are up.

Mcleish out.

[parisvilla]

90 minutes of absolute tripe, no attacking cohesion/understanding/movement......... check

Concede from a set piece.....check

Fail to force opposition keeper into a meaningful save...... check.

3/3 objectives achieved for McRelegation but thank god for Andy Weimann. Also a special mention to Alan Hutton for potentially his worst display in a Villa shirt, great effort.

[dudevillaisnice]

Our next few fixtures I do not see us picking any points up so we must get 3 points from somewhere otherwise we are in trouble

[coda]

Bag of shite.

McLeish out.

[ryanvilla_1994]

So poor, you'd think with players like Ireland, N'Zogbia and Gabby we would try to attack but we just don't. Gabby was so Isolated yet again.

[Daweii]

Weimann gets MOTM for me without his goal this would have been a loss.. He needs to start every game from now on he's the only striker we have right now with any quality the rest are a waste of space. Ireland was good again today and Herd put in a shift until he was KO'd.. Lichaj was solid again, though the rest of our squad need to improve rapidly.

[StanBalaban]

Great goal from Weimann, but little else to shout about. Gabby could've put us 2-0 up but a draw was all we were really worth.

Bannan was ineffective again. Liked to have seen Carruthers come on at the end instead of Heskey, but again I'm not surprised of Eck's pick.

Hope Herd is ok for Man U otherwise we'll probably see Heskey in midfield again!

Eck at the end was all claps and thumbs up. He does know that there is a result better than a draw doesn't he?

[The_Steve]

90 minutes of absolute tripe, no attacking cohesion/understanding/movement......... check

Concede from a set piece.....check

Fail to force opposition keeper into a meaningful save...... check.

3/3 objectives achieved for McRelegation but thank god for Andy Weimann. Also a special mention to Alan Hutton for potentially his worst display in a Villa shirt, great effort.

I don't recall Stoke forcing Given into any meaningful saves either. Stoke were rescued by Mike Dean today. Bad game sure, but the odds were stacked against us with the poor officiating.

[Keyblade]

Can't really fault the players or even McLeish, good performance. Ireland ran the show again. If McLeish is going to stay on, he needs to bring in an offensive coach b because we are lacking any real attacking thrust or penetration. Other than that, lovely to see our academy players holding their own in the premier league. Baker in particular was exceptional against a very physical (and sometimes unfairly so) team.

[StanBalaban]

Good display from Nathan Baker today I thought. Hutton was absolute gash.

[mjmooney]

Two VTers say Ireland MOTM, but he has no votes. WTF?

McLeish walked off at the end beaming, like he was delighted to have pulled back a 1-0 to a 1-1 AGAIN.

Here's a selection of comments from the BBC thread:

The players are out on the pitch at Villa Park, where there are a LOT of empty seats.

A reason for the empty seats at Villa Park? Villa v Stoke has potential to be an INCREDIBLY BORING GAME. From a bored Villa fan.

With a starting line-up and subs bench like that I'm intrigued to know how Randy Lerner is hoping to trim Villa's wage bill

The reason Villa Park is so empty is because Villa fans, including me, refuse to PAY to watch the dull, defensive hoofball Mcleish gets us playing

Scott Cowley on Twitter: "Re 1745. Villa should have just about enough to stay up but this season but its been painful. We're too predictable."

Howard Hodgson on Twitter: "Villa will stay up by default. Still our worst Prem season though. Lambert would turn us around. Great positive football."

Sean Sonneus on Twitter: "Villa will be fine. Need a more attacking manager next year for the talent they've got but they'll stay up. Draw too many."

"Fans seem to be blaming McLeish for all our problems and our constant drawing. This was our problem under O'Neill as well! Has no one considered that the team simply isn't good enough?"

Still, judging from some of the texts and Tweets that Villa fans are sending in, even if their side do stay up (as appears likely), then you would not use the word 'safe' to describe Alex McLeish's job either...

Benji in London, via text: "I don't understand those who have constantly criticised Villa. They've had a poor season, but if they win only half of their remaining fixtures and some mid-table teams have a bad couple of results, then they really do have a shot of finishing near the top half of the table!! It's just ridiculous to say that they are a club being threatened by relegation."

Nick, a Villa fan from Solihull, via text: "Would prefer Allardyce at Villa to McLeish, but would really like a gamble on Slaven Bilic - the man has always impressed me in interviews and when he was on MOTD. I think he said something recently about wanting to manage in England?"

Max in Surrey, via text:"Everyone is very quick to criticise Aston Villa this season, and whilst they have not exactly been top quality, they are only two points behind Swansea, who have apparently been the premier league's outstanding performers."

Geoff, via text: "Villa have had a poor season. With Downing and Young gone we had hoped players like Agbonlahor & Albrighton, Delph and Delfouneso might make their mark. They haven't . Our signing haven't set the world alight either - N'Zogbia hasn't the application or workrate, Hutton is a joke and Bent has been injured."

"Probably the two worst teams to watch play football this season Stoke & Aston Villa... I'm a Gillingham fan."

"Playing like the away side and being bossed around by Stoke who've had one point from last 5 away games #impressive #avfc"

KP in Yorkshire, via text: "Unbelievable to think that 30 years ago Villa became champions of Europe! Now they struggle to be the best Midlands team!"

"Conceding from a set piece, blowing a lead and drawing - Eck's 3 favourite things based on the frequency of them this season."

The attendance at Villa Park today is 30,100 - meaning this is their lowest league crowd of the season. It is the Stoke fans who are making all the noise at the moment too, singing 'Swing low, sweet chariot'.

"Been a Villa fan 36 years this is the worst we have been,even when we went down in the late eighties we were better than this. Gutted but I have a tenner on 1-1."

"Four years ago with Barry, Milner, Young, Friedel etc Villa were looking at top 4. I hardly recognise any if them anymore."

[packoman]

Getting fed up with Bannan on the wing, not his fault. But he cant play on the wing.