Any regular reader on here will know that I’m inherently and massively pessimistic when it comes to how the Villa are going to do. It’s a self defence mechanism bred over decades of watching us underperform compared to the likes of Pool and Utd, where if we do poorly, I’m not so much upset and disappointed and if we do better than expected it’s a bonus.
So imagine how I feel when I say I think we’re going to beat City. On their own turf. Thinking about it, I’m terrified, because the pessimist in me knows I’m setting myself up for a very big fall and monster disappointment.
It’s all Emery’s fault. He’s got us on good form when it matters and looking incredibly strong for this stage of the season. It’s all even scarier that I think we’re finishing stronger than any other team in the league. Liverpool don’t look all that; Arsenal are doing their usual bottle job; Forest are having at least a blip, although I suspect they’ll beat a poor Spurs later and Chelsea were somewhat lucky to beat Fulham, I felt.
All in all, it just seems to me that we’re in a very good position. We beat PSG on the night and destroyed the form side in the league who had scored a boatload of goals on Saturday. What better can we do as a run-up that must give the lads supreme confidence?
Add in we have the whole squad available, with some superb options to bring on and I just feel this is as good an opportunity as we’ll get.
I said the Newcastle game was a season maker/breaker, but the truth is, this one is too. That said, if we can beat these, I feel all our remaining games are ultimately winnable and Champions League is achievable.
There’s no team news to report yet, but I don’t see that we’ll have any issues and you would imagine everybody is itching to play.
I don’t care about City’s team news, but all I can say is that they’re not the side they were a season or two ago. It just shows you can’t let a team age too quickly and I think that has caught even Pep out.
Who would I play and how would I play it? Well, I don’t have a clue. And whatever I say anyway, Unai will just make me look like a mug as he does his usual something I didn’t expect.
So all that’s left is to predict the score.
And given that I think we’re going to win, it has to be 2-1.
Blimey, I feel even worse now I’ve written it.
UTV!
I can’t see Disasi playing again for Villa. Really poor by him and cost the goal.
Now advantage Palace – I can see our season crashing down around us in the space of a week. F***ed off big time.
Disasi has been shocking from minute one! I wonder how much Chelsea paid him for this shit show! Don’t like it
Chelsea fans called him Disaster and now we know why.
Just felt that we played for a draw. OK if we achieved that but we could have done better.
Fking hell!!!!!!!!!!
Aaaaagggggggg fuckin gutted could see it coming though pissed off arrrgghhh
Torres & Digne. Total laxative. Just look where they are for that winning goal.
We did not deserve any more for a poor performance and disjointed team selection. The pairs that work best are Rogers and Watkins or Rashford and Acensio.
The reality is we weren’t good enough today.
Our midfield couldn’t match there’s and that’s fair enough. It’s how it goes.
I strongly think that will cost us CL qually, but d’you know what pissed me off the most?
Our fans were outstanding and made a right row.
While I hardly heard there’s until they scored.
Agreed Badger – but why do we concede so many goals in the 90+ minute zone.
That’s 8 this season – only Southampton are worse with 9 and it’s now cost us at least 4 points.
There must be a concentration issue.
Once again though, I think Emery made questionable calls, both in his starting line up and with his substitutions. We haven’t scored a single point from games where he’s gone three at the back?
If we fail to make the CL it wasn’t today’s result it was the sloppy performances earlier in the season.
Oh well looks like the Europey league.
There’s no guarantee of Europe at all at this stage RSS – with our poor goal difference we will probably have to rely on other results going our way.
Terrible defending all round. Disasi should have taken Doku out for a yellow card. Torres let the ball go which again suggests the lack of communication that there is when Mings doesn’t play.
And I f*****g hate Guardiola. He’s a complete arsehole. He’s waving to the empty seats the knob.
Our substitutions didn’t work today and I don’t get why we put on a CB at RB when we have a RB on the bench. We all knew Doku was going to come on.
A wasted opportunity to get a point and makes it very difficult to get top 5 now.
Let’s hope Emery can lift the players before Saturday because Roy Keane said tonight and Saturday could make or break our season.
Lose to Palace and I’d struggle to see how even Emery can gee the players up.
I’m despondent now 🙁
Still all to play for . The ones above us have to play each other or Arsenal / Liverpool
3 wins out of 4 should see us top 5 or 6 and another European campaign
Believe
When we win Saturday , Karma because Unai will slap Peps in in the final when we go 3-0 up
Believe UTV
Love the positivity JR – and what a goalkeeper he was for us.
Holte – I really don’t fancy us against Palace.
We have a terrible record against them and tonight’s last minute defeat is going to have a big negative effect on confidence.
If Palace get anything against Arsenal tomorrow it will set them up for Saturday.
I’m not that enamoured with Rashford either and can’t see why Watkins has suddenly been demoted? And it’s not about workload – Watkins has showed he can start every game without a problem and, imho, should be starting ahead of Rashford.
Agree mate, phlegm ridden Pep’s a complete bell end.
What’s that constant spitting off the end of his tongue all about? Disgusting.
MOTD intro makes me chuckle, Pep with a serious of mathematic equations. Replace them with Pound, Euro and Dollar symbols and it may be a little closer to the reality.
So that’s 15 wins out of the last 15 for Citeh at the Emptyad which I think is new record between two teams.
We showed them too much respect just like we did away to PSG.
Is it a belief thing?
Embarrassing.
We’ve only taken one point from the top seven teams away from home. Just not good enough so, as RSS says, it’s not just about tonight’s result although it typifies our season.
I’m concerned that if we don’t qualify for Europe at all how that will affect the development of the team.
I think Rashford is the type of player to come off the bench and Watkins should be the one to start.
Torres for me isn’t performing and can’t defend to the level that Mings can. Martinez too doesn’t look comfortable when Torres starts.
I think Digne did okay until the last goal and it was always our right side which looked vulnerable.
Martinez should have saved their first, not a great shot.
I’m not going to criticise the players but do I think we needed to be more on the front foot.
The second half we hardly layed a glove on them, let them come on to us and as with Fulham against Chelsea, payed the price.
Footballs about Impetus.
Very disappointed that we lost. I truly believed we had the team to beat City.
Observations:
* Martinez needs to focus on his keeping. Too many errors creeping into his game. How many times is he failing to hold the ball after a save and spilling it for the opposition to take advantage. Villa need to buy a back up who is good enough to put pressure on Martinez. It raises standards.
* Right back: We need a quality addition. Playing centre backs at right back is not working. Cash should be sold for the proverbial, he is not top class. Disasi should be released. Not sure what Garcia has done wrong, he looks to have real potential.
* Rogers can be rested whether brought off early or come in as sub.
We will be in Europe next year, but alas I feel not the champions league. There were too many points dropped earlier in the season that have comeback to bite. But I believe the team Emery is building will be capable of a top 4 finish next season.
I’ve just been looking at the table of goals conceded after 80 minutes on the BBC website. We’re the worst after Saints. The rest are all bottom half teams. We have a good reason for most of this with a decimated defence for the first half of the season. What was it? 22 centre back pairings up to January. That level of inconsistency will always cause problems.
While the jury is still out on loan Disasi, we have Konsa, Mings, Cash, Maatsen, Digne and Pau – I struggle to think of defenders around who can consistently blow these guys away.
Therefore is it an energy or coaching issue? We have been much, much better at conceding the past few weeks but it’s stupid mistakes that kill us.
I can’t blame Emi for their first last night as that ball was whacked hard and spun off his gloves. Also, how do you expect your goalie to perform well when the defence is erratic? Answers on a very big postcard please.
Massively deflated after last night.
It’s not energy, as Unai uses subs very well. It’s mental – constant focus and concentration at that level are more challenging than running around for an elite athlete. And at that level, it only takes one slip of concentration to be punished. I’ve no idea what the solution is.
A little perspective. 5th is still very much doable. We have to beat Fulham and Spurs at home and Bournemouth and United away. All those teams are beatable and we know we can win 4 in a row and we’ve just done 5. 4x ‘Newcastle style’ performances and we should be looking at 12 points from 12 – I believe that will be enough for top 5.
Apart from City (who will finish 3rd), Newcastle and Chelsea have games where points will be dropped, while Forest look to have the easier run-in but will have to deal with the pressure and also the consequences of their semi-final. All is not lost.
Random points:
Where is Garcia?
Rashford is not a ‘keeper’.
Is Ramsey still flattering to deceive? End product?
Can Mings play 3 in a week, as we are a better team with him in the starting 11?
Is Asensio too enigmatic? Surely, a player of his caliber should be making the difference in games like last night’s? Isn’t that why he was brought in?
Should Malen get more game-time, given his recent goal-scoring form (compared to Ramsey)?
Does Rogers need a rest and why is he always preferred?
Is McGinn’s attacking threat (still – after many years), wasted?
I could go on. Over to you, Unai…
As for Disasi, he’s not a right-back but he’s getting some stick now. He got rinsed against PSG when he came on cold, and the same happened against Doku, who’s no great shakes, in my opinion. When he was MOTM against Brentford, did he not play CB? Unai has to take responsibility as Disasi clearly showed he can’t play RB against high-quality opponents. It’s cost us a point and allowed City to pull away. A point would have been fine; going for the win was unnecessary and somewhat immature.
No two ways about it and I agree with Holte we lost that game with subs, what on earth was Unai thinking by putting on Disasi in untried games, I’m gutted and I did try to say Rodgers is like Marmite in games a do and don’t do player to me .I’m also with Hitch we can forget getting anything with the attitude of some that put on their football boots we needed guts and we don’t have them players, only one McGinn… a heart to win player.