Written by Damian Monday, 01 March 2010 09:25
I could spend today making up some fantastic excuses but the simple fact of the matter is, Manchester United, even with a few players out, are a better team than us.
Yes, we always had a chance but we needed to be at our best and we were not. Neither were they, but they didn't have to be, so the emphasis really was on us to do the business.
So, rather than look for excuses or make them up, instead of quoting the players and manager and reading exactly what we would expect to read, I'm just going to use today to try and forget about the result yesterday.
We have some important matches coming up and we need to win a few games. Since the beginning of the year things have gone as expected but now we enter March - on paper an easy month for us, but one that Martin O'Neill has never won a match in with Aston Villa.
He will win this month and we will be going to Wembley again after we beat Reading. Getting to another final might be a little more difficult this time, but it would be fun wouldn't it.
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Graham Hunt
said:
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... Damian You got it right, Man U were just too strong for us, especially in the second half. We need to learn how to control the pace of game and retain possession, especially in midfield. If you want a positive outlook, the lads gave it their all, it was a great game (untill Rooney scored) we gave them a run for their money, and a young team have valuable experience of a Wembley final. There will be more finals and we'll be better prepared mentally for the next one. |
Andi
said:
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... Villa played well we have been undone by a "professional" ref who's interpretation of an event was incorrect. Yes that would have changed the game, we matched them. The ref gave us nothing but yellow cards and gave them gentle caressing of their over inflated ego. The standard of ref's is shockingly poor but it only seems to happen against the big four ! Coincidence I think not !!! For all those who are considering banging on about tactics, formation of playing personal save you breath everything was spot on apart from the officials and you cant beat the system when the system is flawed. Well done to all those villains that travelled down and made it to Club 2000 good pre match drink, I met gordon cowans in there Shame about the result be we can hold our heads high we didnt let our selves down. Just the FA Cup and 4th it is then boys all is not lost the Vidic incident, If the ref gave a pen which he did then Vidic had to be sent of as he was the last man and it was judged that he brought the man down hence the penalty. To the letter of the law Vidic should have walked ! I believe on Saturday a similar incident occurred and the player who committed the foul walked !! Why not Vidic ?? Because the FA, league whoever can blame inconsistent referring when the real reason is to KEEP ONE of Englands biggest attractions, football teams, institutions bunch of glory hunting tosser's in the limelight so to prevent the crippling debt they have from dragging them under. There is no other explanation Dowd has give decisions before and is not known for being on the UTD payroll so why such, in ref'ing terms, a school boy error ?? Last man foul, we know it was a foul cause we got the pen, so red card simple !! You cant win when your fighting the system |
Gavin Merriman
said:
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... United were the better team. Even with ten men they probably would of been spurred on and beaten us. It was a good day out and we can feel proud that we gave it a good go. The players would have learnt a lot and the experience will only make us better. What's more, it gives the team something to prove as they go into business end of the season and look to progress in the proper cup. |
Jamie Smith
said:
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... Chiefy u are right man u are dirty glory hunters and we got cheated cuz phil dowd was scared of sir alex ferguson |
bradz
said:
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... Chiefy is spot on!! WHY should we take it lying down? Because we are Villa? Its true and im afraid sad about the refereing bias towards the bigger teams! Chin up though Chiefy I think once MON has us up there where he wants us in the top four, thats when he would get involved more in those sort of politics. |
nicknag
said:
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... i wouldn'd say man u were better than us, its because we were playing against the ref and the football association. they rigged it for man u to win it because they arnt gonna win anything else this season, plus with world cup they want soething to hype up rooney. plus oneil turned done england job, the offside decision at the end said it all, and the penalty which didn't result in a red card. |
African Lion
said:
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... Yes, UTD were the better team on the day and would be, on paper, any day. But I am very proud of the clubs progress and right now would much rather be a Villa devotee than UTD/Norwich. We are on the up.... |
John Samuels
said:
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... Phil Dowd should be suspended for that. Absolutely inexplicable idiocy. Surely by the fact he gave a penalty the player should have been dismissed. I thought Villa played vey well indeed. Both sides were good going forward and it was refreshing to see us going all out for the win at the end with Cuellar, Collins, Dunne, Heskey and Carew all in the box for set pieces. I have no grumbles with the lads at all, they played well and put a lot of effort in. MoN was spot on with the team selection and tactics and overall I can't fault anyone. Man U played well and were a joy to watch at times and Valencia did exactly what he's been doing the last few games. Well played Man U. It was a shame to see Owen go off when he was playing so well, especially that Rooney came on, although they should only have had on striker on the field to cover the whole Vidic left when that tub of lard with a f**king whistle missed one of the most blatent reds i've seen and DIDN'T EVEN BOOK HIM!!!! We were robbed. Plain and simple. We should have had an extra man for 90 mins and we were denied because Dowd shit his pants. |
John Davis
said:
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... It may still be tinged with disappointment and there for still be more of an emotional reaction, but for me Dowds performance and decision making, particularly in the first half...Not just in THAT incident, was unacceptable. How often have we seen teams, Man Utd in particular helped along by officials? Too many to be a coincidence. However, I do think that Man U have a better side than us and a striker in Rooney who is possibly in the form of his life and maybe they would still have had too much for us, sadly thanks to some mind boggling decisions by the official, we will never know. UTV! |
Rob
said:
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... I'm not sure how and I can't really explain it but I somehow feel the loss was Heskey's fault!!  |
Andi
said:
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...I'm not sure how and I can't really explain it but I somehow feel the loss was Heskey's fault!! I feel the MULE has had his part to play allow SALIFOU must shoulder the BLAME !!! His SNOOD, being Bullet proof it just doesnt work anymore |
VillaForeverAndEver
said:
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... Disappointed yesterday. Disappointed with Dunne and Collins errors. But, we did an ok match, however ManU were all over the pitch, winning duels. I thought Milner would score when he created room for himself, ending up with a shot saved by the keeper. Ok, now we move on making March the best in history.  |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
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... It was a good game I enjoyed it. We were done proud by the players, and you can't ask for more than that. |
paul mclafferty
said:
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... why is it that a player on 80k a week and has his boots made for him can only take one pair with him, as this can be the only reason why our players looked like bamby on ice. i know the pitch was heavy but even i knew the weather was going to be bad as it was predicted as far as last week!!. i cringed every time the ball was with the back four, mistake after mistake, which hasnt been the case this season!!. i am feeling a bit let down as i did in 2000 when james had a good season then he fooked it for the chelsea goal, same as yesturday with the defence, brill all season only for the ugly head to turn up when it mattered.. anyway, i think yesturday is just the beggining and villa will be fighting for silverware on a constant level. once we win one we'll win more,the first is the hardest which i think will be the f.a cup.  |
Darragh McGeown
said:
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... I have to agree with Chiefy and JPA - it was a shocking display from the ref. Even if he had just booked him, he would still have been given his marching order for a second yellow in the second half. Unacceptable!  However, looking past the Vidic incident, I don't think we can honestly say we deserved it. We were beaten by a better team and we shouldn't be using the fact the we had to play 11 players as an excuse. |
John Jordan
said:
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... We had 3 shots on goal against Uniteds 9!....It came down to the finishing yet again!!!!!!!  |
lufbra
said:
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... They were better but it's worth looking at where they were better. I think Jimmy and Stan, with help from webcam and DJ, matched their midfield. I thought Ashley gave Evra the shits at times, while Valencia outplayed Warnock. So the teams were pretty even in terms of pentration out wide. The central defences looked pretty samey too. So the difference for me was pretty small. Basically, if they had Carlos Cuellar at right -back (why oh why does he keep playing him there when luke is a much better full back?) their distribution from the back, and support down the right, would have been as poor as ours. And if we had Wayne Rooney, and they had Emile Heskey, we'd have scored and they wouldnt. We're not far away from being a very good team.UTV! |
Andi
said:
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...We had 3 shots on goal against Uniteds 9!....It came down to the finishing yet again rubbish rubbish rubbish you can make stats look exactly how you want them to look pointless. IT CAME DOWN TO A REF BEING ON THE PAY ROLL OF THE OTHER TEAM !!!!! the system stuffed us |
Marty
said:
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... The 2-1 score line was a fair result, it could of gone either way though and we gave them a good game. It was the first time a lot of the players had been on a stage that big so fair play to them we will get better from this and it could very well spur us on to win the fa cup. Phil Dowd though was a total disgrace. To be fair I doubt any ref would reach for the red card so early in a cup final game and games are often better when the ref isnt card happy. But we picked up two bookings early on for minor fouls, yet Man U players were commiting the same types of fouls and getting nothing. And what made it worse, when the villa players spoke to the ref about it the smarmy git had a smile on his face as he waved them away |
tonky
said:
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... Very proud of our boys, just watching it again now on sky as it was a long day yesterday  . Damien I think a petition should be started and sent to the F.A to have dowd publicly disgraced and dropped into the lower leagues of football. I'm pretty sure 99% of football fans would agree that dowds decisions yesterday were shocking. I personally never want to see him reffing at the top level again. |
bobvillian
said:
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... played well but same old question crops up time and time again who the hell is going to score goals for us?we seem to have 1 plan put in crosses for gabby or heskey.yesterday young and downing were woeful;heskey spent most game in midfield; so please mon get rid of heskey;carew;petrov the gaffers pet;and buy some quality goalscorers and playmaker.if not mon should go for next season.this might seem harse to say but you saw yesterday we do not have clue how to break a defence except from corners or free kicks. |
Andi
said:
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...However, looking past the Vidic incident, I don't think we can honestly say we deserved it. We were beaten by a better team and we shouldn't be using the fact the we had to play 11 players as an excuse While i agree with you I also think that this would have changed the game completely, it can not be very uplifting for you as a player to watch a school book ref decision go against you. Yes we had errors which resulted in goals but would them errors of occurred if they would have had 10 men like they should have ? Rooney 5" our back line average 6" why did Rooney score with his head ?? Cause and effect Man Utd got away with everything we on the other hand collected yellow's for fun. The ref had a bad day and it cost us !! the system choose the winner not great football, not good goals but bad decisions |
doubledown9
said:
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... Yes utd were better second half. But we we better in the first. I have been going over the Vidic decision, even re watched the game last night and I can't understand it. He either books Gabby for simulation or gives the penalty and sends off Vidic. He can't book him, as it's not a bookable offence, it's a red card. I think the most galling thing about it is I believe Vidic was booked in the second half before Rooney scored and the fact it took a whole 40 mins to see a utd player booked. |
Faccundo
said:
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... Apoplectic with rage when Vidic wasn't sent off. It was a clearly automatic red card, and Dowd had no excuse. At the end of the day, Dowd's fear of Ferguson's wrath gave United the Cup. Say what you will about the remainder of the game and the way it played out, but I have no doubt that with an extra man (which we were justified in demanding) we would have lifted the League trophy again. I love that MON expressed the hurt and frustration that all of us felt after the match. Next time come FA Cup semi-finals, anybody officiating a Villa game will think twice before dithering. Hard to get motivated for work today given the travesty, but Sid's posting cheered me up: We are Aston Villa: We have won the league Seven times We have won the FA Cup seven times We have won the double We have won the League Cup 5 times We have won the European Cup We have European Super Cup We are a founder member of the League Aston Villa versus Everton is the most played fixture in English top-flight football. We are one of seven clubs that has played in every Premiership season We invented the league - the first ever non cup competition in world football We hold the record for goals scored by any team in the English top-flight, 128 goals We have won the FA cup and league on same day We have provided more England players than any other club We are a club with honour. The last line is the most important, we are a club with honour, and our fans and players know it. I guarantee fouth and the FA Cup. UTV |
Andi
said:
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...We are Aston Villa: Ahmen |
BobbyPark
said:
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... Let's be honest, even with 10 men United with their better movement and greater adventure (just like at VP) would still have been a match for us. Just a shame we didn't start with our best 11 which is Carew alongside Gabby, Luke Young at right back, and Cuellar and Dunne in the middle. There were occasions when Heskey got the ball with acres of space in front of him and still turned back (inexplicable !). He's a good bloke, and an honest player, but at the end of the day not good enough for AVFC, until MON realises this we'll win nothing. Good day out though, Milner and Warnock the pick of the bunch, Downing poor, Ashley annoying, and Collins starting to get found out. |
robb david
said:
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... We can moan about the vidic incident and yes it was a clear red card, and it is appauling that we have a ref that doesnt know the rules of the game, but that isnt what cost us the game. defensivly we were poor yesterday, collins had a rare poor game, and dunne made the mistake for their goal. Once again our midfield was lacking creativity against two banks of four, and we have shown we are a counter attacking side with no other means of creativity. Hesky had a poor game and offered next to nothing up front. In the last 20 as some of us predicted, milner, gabby and young all looked tired, we all know why. A poor match for us, but at least we have an excuse, If vidic went off, owen would have been replaced, no equaliser, then he wouldnt have got injured thus meaning there was no need to see rooney on the pitch, hence no second goal. |
RIchie P
said:
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... we were beaten by the better team. many will probably disagree with me but i think we didnt create enough, it was as if we were scared to counter and leave men short in defense. everytime we breaked with the ball no one seemed to be moving forward, usually there is downing, young, milner all runnning to get forward but not yesterday. man u at times made it look easy they created space for themselves by passing and moving something i thought villa did not do. |
robb david
said:
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... Rooney 5" our back line average 6" why did Rooney score with his head ?? Because Collins did a piss poor job of marking him. |
Graymo
said:
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... I reckon Milner could be our Rooney. WHy not play him up front. Brad Young Cuellar Dunne Warnock Young Delph Petrov Downing Milner Gabby Then we dont have to worry about Heskey and have a stiker that will work his arse off- exactly what we need until we spent the money on a world class striker (has to happen this summer). |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
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... Forget the ref, the shot statistics, the errors at the back. The boys done us proud, will have learned from the experience, and will move on and up. That's the taste I want in my mouth right now |
RIchie P
said:
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... ronrabbit i agree, we looked abit shakey in defense at itmes making to many errors, we gave the ball away to easily at times |
GPalmer
said:
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... I don't agree that Utd are a better team, they just have better finishers. Rooney and Owen make an attempt on goal as soon as they get a half-chance, whereas our strikers always need an extra touch, or are looking for a chance to fall over (everyone knows who I mean!). The effort was excellent yesterday. The occasion affected one or two of our players, but that's understandable. As soon as they remembered to sit deep, we ran into our usual problem of having no way to score from open play. Downing still doesn't look up to scratch, but hopefully he'll remember how to attack sooner or later. With a true goalscorer, we'd have beaten them with or without Vidic on the pitch. Having 10 men at Villa Park didn't make alot of difference to them did it? |
Graymo
said:
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...I don't agree that Utd are a better team, they just have better finishers In other words they are a better team. Talk about contradictions. |
Martin Clabon
said:
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... It was close, but they were better than us, but not by too much We made mistakes at the back (for which I won't slag individuals because those same players have been brilliant this season), ref did us no favours andd Rooney is just out of this world Let's not be too down hearted we are improving - just the opposition is tough. Next time we are at Wemberley we will do better - and it may be good enough. We will see |
RIchie P
said:
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... i think man u were the better team on the day but man for man the team they put out i would say our team matched, the difference was rooney and owen like GGGG said, owen had half a chance and put it away that is somethin we miss and hopefully in the summer o'neil will go get a 20 goal a season man to play with gab |
Madrob66
said:
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... On our day we can beat anybody, Are man u that much better than us?.out of the team that played yesterday i would have only two of thier players over ours. We can gripe all day about the ref, he bottled it would the result have been any differant?....what happened 19 days ago when we played manu with 10 players? right onto the villa team For a team with 3 supposedly world class wingers we dont seem to get that many crosses in....and when we do if often gets cut out by the first man King carlos....i think this guy is our best defender, so why do we play him at RB......he scares me evertime he goes forward although he works hard milner, downing, young....too often go walkabout or nod off Gabby.....covered every blade of grass yesterday but i dont think he is our 20 goals a season striker |
StickyAV
said:
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... Ronrabbit, Seriously mate all credibility of your opinions went out the window when you decided to slate a up and coming young talent, one that could do with support from fans at this stage in his career. Then you say heskey had a bad game? Heskey was everwhere. Defending from the front, winning everything and holding the ball up well. He did go missing for a bit in the second half but apart from that he caused the defence plenty of trouble. Gabby played very well in first half. I think if anyone was looking for critisise you would have to look at the terrible deliveries. Young put 1 ball in the box all game, the rest were keepers hands or too long. Downing the same. We had several free kicks and not one produced a clear chance because of this. Considering this is where we get most of our goals it is hugely important for us. Dunne did dissapoint me to. Should have scored at the end, and gave away the first goal even if he did recover well to get the challenge on berb. To conclude, poor ref'in and poor delivery. |
GPalmer
said:
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...Rooney 5" our back line average 6" Yeah, someone keeps putting their hand on Owen and breaking him... |
Martin Clabon
said:
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... About the "would 10 men have made any difference debate" - we were on top at start of the game and them going to 10 would I think have been decisive but who knows. I don't think there was a Centre Half on bench so it would have been either Carrick moving to CH or Gary Neville (correct me if I am wrong on this). A back 4 including Raphael, Neville and the young CH whose name I can't remember would have been well under pressure with them a man down as well. I think we would have won under these circumsatances but who knows? We should avoid moaning about it too much because what is done is done I know we (and virtually every clubs supporters in the country) say this but if we can bring in a top Centre Fwd (either creative link player or target man who scores goals) and creative midfielder we could be flying. It's always just 2 players away but in our case I think these top players would take us forward further than other clubs. They are of course, like rocking horse shit keep behind the boys |
Graymo
said:
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... Can someone please explain to me (Damian) why my posts always take about 15/20 minutes to be added to the forum whilst others seem to get preferential treatment and are added instantly. If this is ome problem with my browser I apologise in advance but I'm pretty certain its not. |
Car Frost
said:
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... I think they would of won with 10 men because like Chiefy says you can't beat the system when it is designed with the purpose of enhancing the reputation of larger clubs. Graham Poll's thoughts on the Vidic scenario Gabby was facing away from goal when he was fouled so there should not of been a red card OMFG the only reason he was facing away is because vidic tugged his shirt and twisted him round! The Manure support has grown overnight again so it's job done for the FA I suppose, this morning I have seen the milkman, corner shop owner, my receptionist, the dentist and a few illegal immigrants all wearing Utd shirts with miss-spelt names on the back. |
Vijay Daryanani
said:
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... I get so upset and angry every time we lose, but yesterday i dont know, i wasnt, it was a strange feeling, i just hope that Lerner saw yesterday that we are very near to becoming a fantastic team, we are short of maybe 2 big players who can make a difference, i hope he doesnt let the team, club, fans and management down by not giving the funds to sort it out. MON is the best, we will beat Reading and then who knows what can happen in a semi final at Wembley, come on now boys dont spoil this great season! UTV |
Phil Hodson
said:
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... Dowd was an absolute disgrace. He should look at what he did yesterday and be totally embarrassed and be a man and apologise but there is no way he will do that. We can be proud of our boys, they have gained some invaluable experience that will see us lifting the F.A Cup in May. |
Forest Hill Villan
said:
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... I am just so proud of the team and the fantastic support. To arrive at VP at 07.45 on Sunday morning and to see one hundred coaches lined up was breathtaking. And then to see car after car on the motorway with Villa scarves and flags streaming in the wind - and to know that a special train was packed out, it was pretty emotional. What a demonstrastion of faith and belief in the team and manager. |
croni
said:
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... it was a very good game Utd were extremely lucky that Vidic didn't get sent off Dowd completely bottled it, and was completely inconsistent Still, Utd were the better team, only because they had Rooney, the best player in the world at the moment We have obvious definciencies, which could be easily remedied, namely Cuellar, who is not a right back and Heskey just isn't good enough |
BobbyPark
said:
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... My mate used to coach Heskey when he was a young player in Leicester, he told Emile that when he got the ball he needed to turn quickly and run at players to worry them. Unfortunately my mate wasn't a very good coach and forget to tell Emile the other bit about which direction he should run in. |
Steve Clayton
said:
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... Refereeing incompetence and result aside it is obvious to most that Cuellar is not a right back and wasted lots of possession (when we were brave enough to give him the ball.) Milner and Petrov tired in the second half like we feared after no rest all season and Downing has no gonads and will not put his foot in on any physical challenges. |
Andi
said:
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...few illegal immigrants all wearing Utd shirts with miss-spelt names on the back  Yesterday when we was coming out of Wembley I though we was an a international convention you know I wonder what proportion of their support was actually from Manchester yesterday |
DavidC
said:
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... Positives: 1/ We had a go at them unlike our last appearance at Wembley v Chelsea 2/ We matched them in terms of possession (50% v 50%). And when was the last time we came anywhere close to those stats against Man U? 3/ We should finally put to bed any myth that we are 'longball' as I definitely did not see ANY long, aimless punts forward on Sunday 4/ We're improving. We certainly did not look out of our depth. Just lacked a little self-belief and that "winning" instinct. |
BobbyPark
said:
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... We parked in Stanmore yesterday and got the tube in, on the way back most of the United fans had got off the tube by the next staion, lazy bastards can't even walk from home to the game. |
Andi
said:
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...Downing has no gonads and will not put his foot in on any physical challenges. this is true Mr Downing has lost his balls somewhere |
Tim Hillman
said:
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... I thought it was great cup match, Dowd used the excuse that Gabby had lost control of the ball which is why he didn't send Vidic off. It shuld have at the least been a yellow!! WE played well and Man United played even better. Rooney's header was sublime and I'm glad he is English and will spear head the England team this summer. Yes we lost but I thought we gave a good account for ourselves, I have a feeling this is the start of a few finals for us over the next few years! |
Alex Glynn
said:
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... From where I was sitting Heskey was very good. As in - perhaps his best game. Cuellár wasn't great for a lot of the game imo. Agbonlahor was brilliant. And Milner was great. Wish they'd lost Vidic though, cos he had a good game. Still, was a good fun game, was standing in a train carriage FILLED with singing Villans - great atmostphere [tho my mate with me, who's not a usual Villa fan, yesterday only, was a bit scared!] |
GPalmer
said:
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...Dowd used the excuse that Gabby had lost control of the ball which is why he didn't send Vidic off. It shuld have at the least been a yellow!! I think we all know Dowd bottled it in not sending off Vidic, partly because Ferguson gave him a broadside for sending off two Utd players earlier this season. He's shown he isn't a ref for the big occasion and hopefully won't get any more finals, but we shouldn't use it as an excuse. We could still have won if we had a goalscorer. There was no gap in class anywhere else on the field. |
Andi
said:
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...He's shown he isn't a ref for the big occasion and hopefully won't get any more finals, but we shouldn't use it as an excuse. We could still have won if we had a goalscorer. There was no gap in class anywhere else on the fiel I agree although its not an excuse its reality 11 against 10 and the odds are much better, we have been cheated out of a cup to help one of Britain's largest football followings, institutions, attractions, exports, tourist destinations, global brands and glory hunting toss pots stay in business and service the crippling debt they have it can not be a coincidence that it keeps happening year after year its like ground hog day with them lot |
GPalmer
said:
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...I agree although its not an excuse its reality 11 against 10 and the odds are much better, we have been cheated out of a cup to help one of Britain's largest football followings, institutions, attractions, exports, tourist destinations, global brands and glory hunting toss pots stay in business and service the crippling debt they have it can not be a coincidence that it keeps happening year after year its like ground hog day with them lot I hate them as much as the next man, but I'm not sure it's a conspiracy! Liverpool used to be the same - they win by default half the time cuz of people's expectations, and they get subconcious favours from unprofessional refs. If we ever get to that level, I'm going to enjoy finally seeing it working for us! |
Rob
said:
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... I thought Gabby was excellent yesterday, worked very hard, looked dangerous, kept the ball well and used it well. It's pretty much guaranteed that we'll be getting a new striker in the summer. Heskey and Carew just don't cut it. For such a big guy I can't believe how much Heskey goes down and the amount of times he picks up knocks. Gabby can now do what both Heskey and Carew do but better. I'm happy with the rest of the team/squad, it's only up front where we desperately need strengthening. I can't bare to watch Heskey or Carew anymore!! |
Andi
said:
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...I hate them as much as the next man, but I'm not sure it's a conspiracy! Liverpool used to be the same - they win by default half the time cuz of people's expectations, and they get subconcious favours from unprofessional refs. If we ever get to that level, I'm going to enjoy finally seeing it working for us Maybe your right but i just think its all to regular !!! Damn DAMN DAMN we should be celebrating aaaaarrrgghhhhhhhh |
Tim Hillman
said:
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... I thought Downing had a por game, I hope he improves for the last 1/3rd of the season. Lets just go and win the FA Cup instead! |
VillaDude
said:
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... Heskey may hold the odd ball and lay it off, but as anyone seen him try and get into the box and finish a move off? He hobbles while he runs, and he never looks like beating a player to a cross.. A striker, centre mid and Luke Young at Right Back! - what we need! |
Ronan Ward
said:
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... Spot on Damien - Man U just too good. March is THE important month for Villa - League & FA progression and we got to get more goals from our front two. |
John Samuels
said:
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... ... Villa 3 shots on goal...United 9....Says it all doesnt it!! I don't think that 's quite fair. Most of our attacking play comes from out wide and what we may consider a very good piece of play and a chance might not result in a clear shot on goal. We played with intent, we mixed short and long ball and at times were passing the ball around with the zip and confidence that Man U were. People are blaming Collins. I could put together a highlight reel of many excellent headers, blocks, clearances and last ditch tackles from yesterday. He worked hard and played well. Maybe Cuellar is a better CB? I think we would have struggled in other ways as there is no one to play out from the back and distribute the ball without Collins in the side. We were unlucky, lets be honest, they hit the post twice and could have won more comfortably. We are getting closer and had the referee done his job, that may have been the little bit of luck we needed. Wasn't to be. It's easy to be judgemental in hindsight. I suggest only those who feel they could have genuinely gone out there themselves and done a better job should be allowed to criticise and the rest of us will stay positive get behind the team and make sure this is what makes us kick on and not another end of season capitulation. |
Andi
said:
|
...I suggest only those who feel they could have genuinely gone out there themselves and done a better job should be allowed to criticise come on Salfiou lets hear it |
GPalmer
said:
|
... I don't feel half as down as I did after the abject FACup final display against Chelsea. The players were up for it yesterday and it was a good game of football, and as a club we're definitely on an upward curve. We're one decent striker short of winning trophies, the Ash/Milner/Downing trio is only going to improve as they get used to playing alongside each other... and speaking as someone who remembers the Graham Turner era, life as a Villa fan is bloody good! |
Dan Scriven
said:
 |
... After going down to wembley even without a ticket and went in club 2000 to watch it with all the villa fans, which i must say was one of the best atmospoheres ive ever been to, i am still proud to be a villan. We did play well in parts of the 1st and 2nd half but uncharacteristic defending led to their goals. About the ref, BLATENT red card if the defender is taken down the attacker whilst in a goal scoring opportunity. But when we get through reading, and we have another trip to Wembley on our hands! Lets look to the future now and win some games! UTV SOTC! |
Roderick Seel
said:
 |
... Ok, the result was not what we hoped for, and i know that the day was not cheap, but, i would still loved to have been there. A cup final is a special moment in the season, especially for Villa supporters who have been starved of any sort of occasion for a long time. I dont have a problem with the result, they were the better 11 on the pitch and if we are honest it could have been more, only a superb right hand of Freidel and the woodwork prevented it. But......... The referee as usual made the headlines, overall his performance was poor but to NOT send off Vidic for the Gabby challenge.....WHY?? The laws of the game are there for everyone, every division, every player, every competition. It does not matter if it's the 3rd minute or the 93rd minute, IF its a goalscoring opportunity and the player is bought down in the box, it's a PENALTY and a RED CARD. There is no interpretation needed by the referee those are the rules. The fact that it was a penalty award is proof enough that an offence was commited. To then wait a further 30 minutes before booking a Manchester United Player after serving 3 yellow cards to Villa players was shocking! Now i am not saying we could have beaten them had they gone down to 10 men, in fact the last time they had that happen they got the draw against us, we will never know. What i am saying is that they should have gone down to 10 men, the ref needed to be strong, otherwise what is the point of having a referee on the pitch. As i'm writing this the sun is beaming in through the windows and it reminds me that life goes on, this was no more than a blip in the progression of Aston Villa. I dont intend to do a match analysis because i watched it on TV and that tends to be a little blinkered, only those there should do that. I would like to say however that we need to have a whip round and buy Ashley Young some stabalisers before he hurts himself diving! To all those supportes who went, i salute you for making the game special for people like me who could not be there. We are the mighty Villa and we'v been to Wembeley......Wembely.......Wembely And were all pissed up coz we failed to win the cup.....Wembely......Wembely Cheers boys! COYL |
VillaDude
said:
|
... We didnt utilise our wingers once Gary Neville came on... Our pace was too frightening for Man U, but we didnt use it to our advantage. I thought as soon as Gaz Nev came on we should kept pumping it to Ashley Young, similiar to when he beat clichy so many times, but we never did. Park was outstanding for Man Utd, covered so much grass and kept popping in that space infront of midfield. Actually think Petrov had a poor game, I'm not sure hes top 4 quality... |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... I thought Downing did ok yesterday, not sure the criticism particularly justified - not that it's been too over the top which is good news. Rooney was the big difference but I think we can only really hope to grow one of those not sign one - and there ain't many of them around the World. Come on Fonzi, Delph, Marcy Marc - stand up and be counted |
Keith
said:
 |
... Vidic should have been sent off, no question. He denied Gabby a goalscoring opportunity and the rules state that he should have been given a red card. Brown would probably been on instaed of either Owen or Berbatov and therefore United's first goal could not have happened. I feel cheated. I agree with Sid, Rooney was the big difference, that and errors by Dunne and Collins. Lets try again in May. UTV. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... I struggle the idea that Park is a good player for Man U, he works really hard and runs even more than most Villa player, a MON type player. His quality however is questionable and he scores and creates very few goals, luckily as far as yesterday is concerned. I personally thought Valencia was the bigger threat and did a stint in defence as well |
scott harwood
said:
 |
... still gutted but im looking at it like this.played man utd 3 times this season and all thats been between us is rooney,a couple of defensive lapses and shit reffing(remember carew being hauled down by evans!)i know u can say well theyve had the lions possession and the best chances blah,blah but what do u expect they along with chelsea are the best team in the league. what im saying is the gaps closing,before when we used to play them it would be a 3-0 loss away and a 3-1 tonking at home.now we EXPECT to get something out of the games! ok they created the better chances but the sending off decision cost us the game aswell as the team listening to damo and trying to play TOO much football,its not us and never will be.we never broke with pace and tried to be too clever.anyway im waffling on but we will be going back to wembley again soon and someones gonna get a good hiding. p.s milner to start in the world cup ahead of barry |
John Samuels
said:
|
...Actually think Petrov had a poor game, I'm not sure hes top 4 quality... I thought he was excellent, and if anything showed a little too much intent at times. Considering the guys achilles has been hanging off for three months and he was out of the game on wednesday with a nasty virus I think he did well to play and play fairly well. We stopped sending gabby and ash in behind, I agree and this took our momentum away. We were underdogs and could have lost by a larger margin. We also could have won it. I think Vidic really should have gone. I can understand Dowd's thinking, but if it had been one of our players they would have walked I'm sure. I'm still optimistic, lets just hope this is the first of many finals. We've got to go and beat Sunderland now and hang in this race for fourth. We have to keep the momentum going so we are in with a shout of CL and put us firmly in the Semi's of the FA cup. I'm glad we didn't rest anyone on wednesday and I don't think the players were tired on Sunday, they just got beat by a world class finish from a world class player. Had it gone to extra time I think we may have sneaked it. Oh, and Berbatov is AWFUL, my god I've never seen such a lacklustre performance for a player worth £30m! |
Andi
said:
|
...Spanish sources say Villa are following developments and know Hleb sees no future for himself at Stuttgart, nor parent club Barca. We are tracking Alex Hleb ????!?!??!?!?! |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
|
...Oh, and Berbatov is AWFUL, my god I've never seen such a lacklustre performance for a player worth £30m! I know, they beat us while carrying a passenger. Oh well, onwards and upwards |
tubbydunne
said:
 |
... I felt sorry for the players after the game yesterday, but it will be a big learning experience for them. Man U are the better team that's not in doubt but the gap is closing. There is a bit to go yet though. They deserved their win yesterday. As for the penalty decision and the non sending off, I was just happy that Vidic pulled Gabby down because if Gabby had got trough one on one with the keeper we all know he wouldn't have scored. To get the penalty and convert it was great, the sending off would have been a bonus. That they were able to start a cup final with their top scorer and talisman sitting on the bench shows the gulf that remains between the two squads. I thought Valencia was deserving of Man Of The Match he created the winner and put another one on Rooneys head that hit the post. He had Warnock in trouble every time he ran at him. Remember it was Warnock's slip that let him get the cross into Rooney for the winner even though everyone is intent on blaming Collins for this goal. Warnock has been ropey since he came back from injury but I thought he was class prior to that. I hope he gets back to that form. We are lacking bite in the middle of the park. Petrov does a decent job holding and has great touch and control, Milner has about three lungs and gets into dangerous positions going forward. But we are lacking a physical presence there someone who is going to go in where it hurts and win dirty ball and make the opposition think twice about putting their leg in. We are a bit timid in this department and we need someone with a bit of the devil in them. Fellanni from Everton is the type of player we need. Physically aside from the back four we are not a very intimidating outfit. I was all for Ceullar at right back before the game but unfortunately it didn't work out and even though I am not a big L.Young fan he would probably have served us better yesterday. At a critical period in the second half Carlos had the chance to put dangerous balls into the box not once but twice as the ball came back to him again and he fluffed them both. I am not blaming Carlos he is a class center half being played out of position. Everyone knows we are lacking a natural goalscorer and God knows where you get one of them from but on the plus side Gabby is strong enough and experienced enough now to play the grafter role in a front two if we do unearth the 20 plus goal a season man. Overall we competed well yesterday and if we had been really lucky could have taken it to extra time. Luck was what we were relying on in the end as we lumped ball towards their box hoping for one to fall nicely to a villa player to slot home, alas it was not to be but the story could have been a lot worse, The woodwork saved us twice and big Brad once on another day it could have been 4-1. We are improving but there is still a lot of work to be done |
Nathan Price
said:
 |
... I would have to say, they were only marginally better than us. Take away Rooney and I really dont think there was much between us yesterday, maybe they had a bit more spark around the penalty area, but basically it was a close game. So we've played them three times, won one, lost one, drawn one. I think we are very close to something special. If Rooney was playing for us, we would have won without a doubt. (nevermind the ref, he's a complete moron, but I think complaining about it is a waste of time.) Really proud of the lads, and really disapointed with the result but I think we will be back at wembley. (FA semi, FA final and Charity shield, if we win it) |
Andi
said:
|
... the rule A player is sent off if he denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free-kick or penalty |
grotty
said:
 |
... Hi lads, i thought we played very well yesterday and see it as the warm up for a FA cup final in may. Was in whisky mist with all the villa players last night! they were awesome apart from one...!!!! |
grotty
said:
|
... wont name names as they are villa players and love them all. was great to see them relaxing after a hard game. Very proud of them all. PS- marc albrighton- what a top lad. |
michael060670
said:
 |
... a hard thing to say but we are not good enuf yet. utd were the better team yest. we started very well but i think the early goal thru us a wee bit and then those couple of mistakes came from cuellar& dunne. we never really recovered from owens goal and it's a real shame. it proves to me at least that we need to spend another 40mil in the summer. we need 2 top strikers and a midfielder like stephen ireland who can make the killer pass and keep the game ticking over. we miss a player like him and it showed. when we went at utd with pace they struggled. they've never been great at handling teams who move the ball quickly. enuf about what we need and more about what we have...we have the nucleus of a very good team at villa pk now and every 1 of the squad should be proud of themselves. we can definitely get that 4th spot and this squad will go on to bigger and better things. keep the faith lads, u'r time will come. |
Damian
said:
 |
... Graymo you need to be a registered user to have your comments appear straight away .. |
GPalmer
said:
|
... When push comes to shove, Ash falls over where Rooney scores - that in a nutshell is the difference between us & Utd. We need to employ a striker-psychologist or something! |
Damian
said:
|
... You might be registered - but you also need to be logged in to leave comments that are not going to be need to be approved. |
Andi
said:
|
...We need to employ a striker-psychologist or something or maybe a goal scorer just an out an out goal getting poacher, somebody who does nothing else but shot in training practices shooting with their eyes closed and with different shape balls |
robb david
said:
|
... Overall this weekend couldnt have gone much worse for us, we lost the cup and liverpoo, spuds, and man shitty all won. Its going to ba long hard battle for that 4th place, and even if we make it im not sure how well we would do that season anyway. Would the investment come that we all know the club would need to be a force in the cmapions league? Would O-Neill actually utalise the squad of players he has? Are our current players actually good enough to play in the champions league? I fear the answer is no,no,no I think the answer is no,no,yes I wish the answer was yes,yes,yes |
John Samuels
said:
|
... ronrabbit, I think it fair to assume that a similar transfer budget will be made available this summer to those in recent years. Somewhere in the region of £30m-£50m. The difference this season is we have a decent sized squad with a fair amount of quality. Assuming we can keep our better performers and move on some of those not playing a regular part I think we could see a couple of good additions to the squad. Hleb was linked today, and while I doubt the validity of this rumour, he is exactly what we are lacking in the midfield. This link pleases me and if we were to sign a player of his flair and talent coupled with a quality striker (not necessarily high profile, just good) i believe we'll give ourselves as good a chance as any. With Delph, Fonz and MArc all likely to play a more prominent role than this season we could find the squad as a whole a bit stronger than this season anyway. Is our squad strong enough for CL as it is?? No I don't think so, but I don't believe it would take much to make it so. I have also been saying recently that CL this season might just be a bridge too far and maybe a consolidation in the league and a full tilt run at the europa next season with a bigger better team might be a realistic consolation that may give us a good grounding for a top four finish next season. |
GPalmer
said:
|
...Overall this weekend couldnt have gone much worse for us, we lost the cup and liverpoo, spuds, and man shitty all won. Its going to ba long hard battle for that 4th place, and even if we make it im not sure how well we would do that season anyway. I dunno, ronrabbit - I think winning yesterday might've made the players relax in the league a bit. This way they've still got it all to prove, and some of them still have to go some to make the World Cup. |
GPalmer
said:
|
...or maybe a goal scorer just an out an out goal getting poacher, somebody who does nothing else but shot in training practices shooting with their eyes closed and with different shape balls I was harping on about that too much last summer, but I really wish we'd bought Owen, especially when his goal went in yesterday |
Andi
said:
|
...I have also been saying recently that CL this season might just be a bridge too far and maybe a consolidation in the league and a full tilt run at the europa next season with a bigger better team might be a realistic consolation that may give us a good grounding for a top four finish next season. Hanibal love it when a plan comes together. Although teams around us will strengthen and depending on their reinforcements it depends on how hard our job becomes I dont think their is a right our wrong answer to this, I think if we was to get 4th we would see a hurried preparation for the the C/L which could work wonders our show us up. Which ever way the one thing remains we need to purchase quality come the summer not lots of it but good quality in the areas that need it. We also need to trim the dead wood of the wage bill and give MON something to play/pay with and give ourselves the best chance of signing the quality we need to take us up just one more level. We are only talking 2 or 3 players midfield, striker and orange cutter (salifou's oranges dont do it anymore) |
GPalmer
said:
|
...We are only talking 2 or 3 players midfield, striker and orange cutter (salifou's oranges dont do it anymore) Yep, often overlooked that orange cutting position. |
robb david
said:
|
... Assuming we got champions league football, adn a transfer budget of 30 million, i think we would be close, although im not sure that would be enough. 50 million, we could be a comfortable champions league team. JPA -> With Delph, Fonz and MArc all likely to play a more prominent role than this season we could find the squad as a whole a bit stronger than this season anyway. Delph and fonz i can see being more involved, and hopefully they will come good, although im not sure about Marc, i havent seen any signs that o-neill is willing to draft him in. Another consolidation year wont be good for us, City will spend big again, bringing in real quality, and eventually the money will talk. I also think we are in danger of losing milner, gabby and young. Milner has already been linked with liverpool, I think fergy will be after young when giggs finally retires. I think we had a fabulous chance last year, it is more difficult this year, but we have a chance, next year i fancy it will be even more competative. |
Andi
said:
|
...Yep, often overlooked that orange cutting position This is the most under rated position of the team, Salifou did have an excellent technique but since becoming Bullet proof he hasnt been the same. Some would say that this is the reason the cup didnt come home with us, the half time oranges had all been cut wrong !! the importance of this is often overlooked...! |
Andi
said:
|
... reports today suggest that SAF should be looking to sign Milner after the world cup, Carrick, Furyhands they all sign'd for ye old red nose after successful internationals and we all know Milner hasnt signed a new contract yet. We arent a selling club and MON will play hard ball but as we know SAF will get what he wants and Barry has showed us money talks |
John Samuels
said:
|
...Delph and fonz i can see being more involved, and hopefully they will come good, although im not sure about Marc, i havent seen any signs that o-neill is willing to draft him in. You say that, but he was on the bench nearly every game this season and he was getting runs out more regularly and then got injured during his first start in which he made an assist for the first goal. There will be more to come from that boy i'm sure. He just needs to stay fit. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Ah Grotty, you tease. I hear Marcy Marc is a bit of a lad? Probably makes him great company but might hamper his progress. I hope not as he looks really good |
GPalmer
said:
|
...I also think we are in danger of losing milner, gabby and young. Milner has already been linked with liverpool, I think fergy will be after young when giggs finally retires. If Fergie wanted to spend big on Ash, I'd quite happily lose him with Albrighton ready to step up. The money could buy someone who shoots instead of falling over when he reaches the penalty box. (Bit harsh that...slow day for me today!) |
tubbydunne
said:
|
... Has anyone out there any ideas on a decent goalscorer that would be attainable by us. It's going to be O'Neill's toughest job yet. The Hleb rumor sounds exciting but I think our biggest need in this area is a midfield enforcer, we don't have a quality one in the squad. Ya Hleb would be great but we have Downing, Young, Bannan and Albrighton how many willow the wisps do we need? I know everyone says we need a link player but if we had a finisher Gabby could do that. Moyes in my opinion has to be one of the most astute managers in the transfer market would love if we had Fellanni |
GPalmer
said:
|
...This is the most under rated position of the team, Salifou did have an excellent technique but since becoming Bullet proof he hasnt been the same. Some would say that this is the reason the cup didnt come home with us, the half time oranges had all been cut wrong !! the importance of this is often overlooked...! Yeah, you could see our players were too busy trying to get the bits of peel out of their teeth to concentrate properly in the 2nd half, and I think Carlos was unhappy cuz they obviously weren't Seville oranges. He felt it was taking the pith. |
Frankie Pimblett
said:
 |
... Knew as soon as the team was announced that a win was unlikely, I'm sure Carew would have got on the end of one or two crosses, and Luke Young would have been neater and more productive than Cuellar, who should have been partnering Dunne. I rue the day that Heskey came to the club, I just can't stand his utter ineptitude any longer, and until MON offloads him we'll win nowt. He is one of the poorest players ever to wear the shirt and that includes the 3rd division days. |
John Samuels
said:
|
...Moyes in my opinion has to be one of the most astute managers in the transfer market would love if we had Fellanni We wnt for him, but he chose Everton over us. To be honest they finished above us consistently and they were willing to stump up the £15m more readily. The Hleb rumor sounds exciting but I think our biggest need in this area is a midfield enforcer, we don't have a quality one in the squad. We have Delph and Reo Coker in the squad. A goal scorer is the biggest priority. Hleb was just a nice rumour because he is an established foreign talent with a CL pedigree. A little bit of a step up for us in terms of who we're normally linked with. |
AVFC 4 LIFE UTV
said:
 |
... you know what considering we lost i am happy with all the positivity on here. I was there and never been more proud to cheer for our lads. As for the 3 shots to their 9 bull-s*** its wrong because we crossed lots of balls in and they were just headed out. were not ready for top 4 just yet... but year after year MON will improve the squad my only problem is his love of heskey- yes i actually think heskey has played well since christmas but for no fault of his own he isnt an out and out goal scorer and gabby is young and will get 20 goals a season in 2 years trust me UTV |
kieron
said:
 |
... Damo, It was good to meet up with you on saturday mate. Cant believe you thought my brother was a scouser though, shame on you! We were both totally gutted by the result but what an experience it was for us all, its been too long. My only hope now is that this gives us the determination to get back for the FA cup final and put things right. Proud of you Villa boys! |
frem
said:
 |
... Hleb would be a good buy. He has class on the ball and finds the right pass. Defour would be nice aswell and so would be a good good striker. And if someone wanted gabi id sell him for 15mil. He wont get any better. |
tubbydunne
said:
|
... JPA I said we need a quality mid field enforcer You said we have Delph and Reo Coker If you think Reo Coker is quality we have different understandings of the word. He is very limited and you know this. Delph is a more attack minded midfielder plus he is tiny and all the aggression in the world won't make him bigger |
Marcus
said:
 |
... Yesterday just wasn't our day, 50-50 decisions, run of the ball etc...to beat a team better than you its imperative that not only the players play great but the little things fall for you. I was really impressed by Gabby and Milner yesterday though in the first half, seem capable big time players. Love him to bits, but Webcam needs to gain a bit of composure in final 3rd in these big matches. My other gripe, that i've had for much of the season, is that King Carlos is just not a RB. His distribution / crossing / ability to overlap is so woefully short for this position. Play him at CB by all means, but he is no where near as good as LY at RB. |
HolteEndHero
said:
 |
... The difference between us and United yesterday was that upfont they had the worlds best player and we had the shambles that is Emile Heskey. |
Andy Scarborough
said:
 |
... So who would we either like to sell or be forced to sell? Those we'd like to sell would raise perhaps £10 million, those we may be forced into selling could raise as much as £40 million (CC and either AY or JM). Add that to MoNs budget of say £30 million looks like a lot of money, but it would mean MoN having to rebuild again. So I don't see too much selling, at least I hope we don't get offers in which are too good to refuse. MoN has regularly talked up the Fonz and Delph. Marc, Barry Bannan and Keiran Clarke are all set to step up next year, otherwise they may be off (too cheap I bet). Somehow I just can't see much spending at all, the players we have must do the job themselves. |
VillaDude
said:
|
... We need that Modric type player in midfield, a player who rarely is off the pace, is so aware of whoever is around and comfortable on the ball with pace. The problem is MON only shops in the british market, we will struggle to find the 2 missing pieces (midfielder and striker) without going abroad... |
henrydouble
said:
 |
... No, no, no, no, no!!! How can you stab yourself in the back and say they were better than us? It's your own opinion of course, which you are entitled to... BUT they didn't have any clearcut chances, neither did we. For me, we were even on the day, and Cup Final Experience/Nous/Luck is what won it for them on the day. I was very pleased with how we played and with more experience we'll find out how to make the Big Ones swing our way. Milner and Agbonlahor were immense... the Future's VERY Bright! |
frem
said:
|
... we need to sell players like sidwell, heskey, hare, shorey etc, etc. all are rubbish needs to go. we might get 10mil or more from selling those type of players and add that to 20 mill we hopefully will get from learner and we are in a good position to get 3 or 4 good players in. id like foster defour and hleb or mountino( from lisbon) jones and someone similar to defoe jones and |
its nearly over
said:
 |
... ""On our day we can beat anybody, Are man u that much better than us?.out of the team that played yesterday i would have only two of thier players over ours. We can gripe all day about the ref, he bottled it would the result have been any differant?....what happened 19 days ago when we played manu with 10 players? "" where to start ? only two ? objectively which villa players would get a game _ possibly dunne over evans (but not ferdinand), possibly friedel over vds but not definitely, er who else ? i think gabby would be the only one ferguson might want for united lets wake up guys. united hit the post twice and had vast majority of possession - we could barely get the ball off them at times and i was frankly embarrassed at times. with 10 men at villa park they bossed us so to say we might have given them a better game if they had 10 men is a ridiculous admission of inferiority. we are a decent team and may get better but this match showed we are a long way from united standards m and they were missiing 5 internationals and had another 5 on the bench, time for realism, boys !! |
Eoin Greene
said:
 |
... I was happy enough with the performance yesterday, it was one of our better ones this season. But United didn't really have to get out of second gear to beat us - and they probably should have scored a few more. It just puts into perspective the difference between the teams. Rooney played a major part, of course he did - but he's probably worth the sum of our whole team!! We just dont look like we have any idea what to do when we are in posession. We dont create enough chances and we continue to play an excellent player out of posoition. Does anyone think its a coincidence that so much of our play goes through Cuellar?? The opposition press in such a way as for him to receive posession... I think this summer we are at a crossroads and unfortunately I think we need 4-5 real quality players...A proper midfielder enforcer would be top of my list, alongide someone to play behind Gabby. |
scott harwood
said:
|
... eoin thats a bit strong! 4-5 players is a bit o.t.t okay theres only one of him but seriously put ur hand on ur heart and say where u think wed be if we had rooney in the team.id go as far as to say that if man utd didnt have rooney we would finish above them in the league. thats how good he is and thats how much the gap is closing.id say,as long as we keep our top performers we need 2 players at the most,a lockpicker and a prolific scorer.now how does mon go about this?hes not gonna spend massive but i bet theres some young serbian kid out there going for about 5/6 million! but mon wont find him,we need arsen wenger for that |
FatKevs
said:
 |
... It was as goood day out the boys know what it is like to play at Wembley so the nerves should be under control for the next visit. Lets not look at a ref to help us out like the Reds (Arse Manc) do. Sad thing even there fans were better organised than us what was that shit holding up the mass red & white at the start so much for Green & yellow. Where was our big flag to be passed over our heads |
proxopera
said:
 |
... Not to be taking Phil Dowd's side but he was not the reason man utd won yesterday . I thought his ineptitude made for quite a flowing game which I enjoyed . Villa are no shrinking violets ,they can mix it with physical sides and more times than not come out the better. lets not forget utd hit the post twice and owen was about to pull the trigger when he pulled up with hamstring. We matched them man for man all over the pitch but we dont have a match for rooney. He was the difference. Oh and by the way , I thought Heskey had a great game yesterday. |
frem
said:
|
... i think we need 3 or 4 good players. we have so many we need to get rid of. sidwell reo coker will go shorey beye heskey harewood salifo osbourne we need 3 or 4 good players better then them lot. Defour- out the question .T o much money and he will go to united anyway. jenas -MON will go for him ozil, mountino, vandar vaart or ireland. one of them to bring flair and real quality. jones kalou |
AVFC 4 LIFE UTV
said:
|
... i feel buzzing after what scott1 said at the end of the day the gap is closing so much i would go as far as saying united arnt that much better than us yes they have a prolific striker but when we have 2 in gabby and mystery man premierleague just watch out. gabby agbonlahor is 23 and he has scored 15 goals this season not bad at all i would say his finishing will come and if we had someone that could score the same amount of goals in one season as gabby but score int he games that he dosent i really think we would easily make top 4. for the midfielder i want someone that is around 30 so in a few years delph can fill in his boots because he is going to be some player. this is the combined best team for yesterday i feel, yes united have a few players out but this is how close we are to united; friedal rafael vidic dunne evra a young milner fletcher valencia agbonlahor owen strikers are more difficult as i would have berbatov at the drop of a hat for us just look what he did at spurs, i feel though since owen scored a class finish just what we need i have to put him up there but we all know rooney would be in it if he started, 4 players isnt bad. |
cockneyvillan
said:
 |
... I Think most people on here need a touch of reality!!! Manchester utd were the better team..yess and??... they have been a top top side for years, contesting in champions league finals, cup finals..they know how to win through experience. I think most of us on here are proud because for me i thought we matched them..yeah they had a few more shots..yeah we looked a bit nervous at times..but we are a team improving all the time. We've taken 4 points off utd this season, and they have pipped us in a cup final 2-1, how terrible , we must be losers then...get a grip! I remember the team oneil took over a few years ago, we could never dream of even giving them a game, or any of the top sides. Its disappointing but lets have a little perspective!! villa are improving every year, were competing and i for one am as proud as iv ever been to be a villa supporter..we lost to man utd and wayne rooney..and with a dodgy decision going against us aswell!! Terrible!! |
Martin Clabon
said:
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... frem I'm not sure ozil, mountino, vandar vaart or ireland will be easier to sign than Defour, quite the opposite in fact unless City sign top quality and get bored with Ireland Jenas, no thanks but you may be right Jones, how many goals this season, not many Kalou, will Chelsea let him go? Funnily enough, signing top players is really hard |
Falmouth Villan
said:
 |
... Proxopera...what game were you watching? as somebody said before he is the worst player to pull on a villa shirt since the 3rd division. Dont get me wrong i am not blaming Heskey for the result but he is simply not good enough!!!fact. I was also concerned with Downings performance again time after time he pulls back inside instead of taking on the player which would open things up. Anyway proud of the lads yesterday we went down fighting. Watched the game at a mates house and must say apart from the end you guys that were there did us all proud all you could hear nearly all game was the villa singing...well done guys! Looking forward to beating reading then its all on again!! Blues in the semi or save them till the final...thoughts anyone? UTV |
Steve Oldaker
said:
 |
... would have loved to have met up with you guys but that sports cafe was full and had loads of people outside trying to get in too! nevermind, that club before the game was awesome too, carl chinn what a lovely bloke, but who was the guy singing the songs ? would like to know if anyone does oh ref was a disgrace really proud of the lads tho utv ! |
marty
said:
 |
... Man united are not better than aston villa...They are more in debt than aston villa and spend more money than villa which gives them more power. Imagine a poker game were you have 100 bucks worth of chips and wont go a penny over. Then you have some joker who mortgages his house and puts everything on this game with over 10k worth of chips. How is that even fair or legal to do? I was absolutely shocked to see Phil Dowd was the referee with the past history between him and ferguson. It was quite obvious that he was afraid of manchester united and sided with them on every call. Everyone says that manchester united was better than else but just think how they scored the first goal. If they were down to 10 men, berbatov would have never been that far up to pressure Dunne and he wouldnt have been nervous knowing his team was up a man. The game would have stayed 1-0 for a lot longer and whenever rooney has to drop back to get the ball (which he would have if they were down a man) Manchester United never look to score. The game was lost by a terrible ref and to be honest I talked to diehard Man united fans and they even said they were shocked to see vidic still on the field..... Well, at least we have a UEFA cup spot in the bag...Wish young played over collins... |
tay avfc
said:
 |
... our 2 creative players ie downing/a.young had absolute shite games couldnt beat first man with croses couldnt go past any one if ya dont create ya dont score fact.young for me has been shite all season f**k him off |
tubbydunne
said:
|
... Couldn't believe the result at Stamford Bridge at the weekend and was almost as surprised to see that Spurs beat Everton. To add to the misery Liverpool won with a goal from a fit again Torres. To be honest this made it a nightmare weekend for us. These were games Spurs and Man City were supposed to drop points in and were part of their harder run in. The pressure is back on us big time and we can't and I stress can't afford to slip up in March so hopefully the boys can shake off the disappointment of Wembley and get cracking at the League again. |
its nearly over
said:
|
... Man united are not better than aston villa...They are more in debt than aston villa and spend more money than villa which gives them more power. again, time to get real. they (united) are either better than us or they aren't (hint: they are) . not saying debt isn't a valid concern, it is, but not relevant to whether one team is better than the other. and united didn;t incur debt to buy anyone - they generate enough to buy tow world class players a year if they want to. the debt comes from the way the owners financed the acquisition. and , again, saying we would have beaten them if they had 10 men ?? come on. where is our pride ? there were large parts of the game where we couldn't get the ball off them. we HAVE improved a lot and all credit to that. but and its a big but this showed us how far we have to go. they have have very good players who have been relentlessly drilled in how to win and how to do the right thing far more often than not. here;s a question, who would you really m honestly abe in a combined team. proxopera said " we matched them all over the pitch " really ? their midfeild completely dominated. occasionally evar was beaten by young and similary gabby got better of vidic. but the look at how valencia toyed with warnock and berbatov screwed with collins and dunne. and the there is rooney and owen.. even AVC 4 LIFE only gets 4 in the team and that plays young ahead of park (on the day, no way), and there is nani or giggs to come in in case) and milner - a good player - ahead of carrick, who strolled through the game ? don;t get me wrong, gabby or milner - like valencia - would do better in their team, but isn't that l the point ? i may seem like a united admirer but one has to stand back and admire how a) they always attack, and b) they find a way to win when all say they are not as good as they were. |
Christopher Dello Russo
said:
 |
... @SidCowanslovechild and everyone.. Alexander Hleb has come out today and said he's had it at Stuttgart. Who'd pull the trigger..who wouldn't? |
Andi
said:
|
... According to reports Villa are keeping tabs on Ireland who feels he may be pushed out of Citeh after being dropped for the Chelski game liking these stories. Hleb, Ireland all we need now is Kaka, Rooney , Torres links and we are on the way |
Andi
said:
|
... The football rich list is out today anyone know where we are and if we have moved up or down compared to the last one ?? I did have it but my browser crashed twice while trying to read it |
Keith
said:
|
... Can anyone tell me if Villa_Chris is ok? I saw this and got worried. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/eng...544541.stm |
John Samuels
said:
|
...Delph is a more attack minded midfielder plus he is tiny and all the aggression in the world won't make him bigger Yeah, I wish he was massive just like Claude Makelele, Lassana Diarra, Carlos Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, etc etc etc. |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
|
... No doubt a new blog will be up in due course My final word is that I was proud of us on Sunday Proud of the way we played, the spirit, the commitment. We took on a great side in a final and competed for it all the way Many on here have offered their views as to what is needed to move on to the next level. For me it's simple We need to win the Anglo-Scottish Cup |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Anyone who doesn't realise Man U are better than us needs to check themselves. Eleven against eleven we have a chance, but in a final their ruthlessness and experience in big games is obvious. The real strength though is in the squad. Look at the players who didn't play. Our decisions were Young or Cuellar, Heskey or Carew and Brad or Brad. Players not on the field to start for Man Utd included: Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand, O'Shea, Brown, Hargreaves, Rooney, Nani. There are eight Champions league winners there several of which have won it twice. Seasoned and experienced internationals, and they can still send out Fletcher, Carrick, Park, Vidic, Valencia, Berbatov, Owen, Evra.......more winners, they have world class players making up the bench. Had we accrued the injuries they have we'd have had to put kids out. Our young inexperienced squad pales in comparison. We are a young team with tremendous talent, which if managed correctly could very well build a legacy all of our own over the next five years. We aren't there yet, but we are getting closer. If we were to sign the likes of Ireland and Hleb, i'd be over the moon. Is it any surprise that the players we're being linked with has just stepped up a gear since we had a good hard fought final with Man Utd at Wembley., I think not. |
Chris Harper
said:
 |
... Keef Im fine mate.... I don't get the joke...am I being stupid? Good day out, was proud of the lads. Couple of points: Heskey- Played really well. Its obvious that people who hated him before will always slate him regardless of his contribution. Downing- He needs to improve. He is good at keeping possession but he keeps slowing the attack down. Its already been highlighted on here. Gabby- Absolutely brilliant player, he'll keep getting better too. I would have him in the England team over Cole for the friendly. General play- We need to mix our game up. We play to get it out wide then cross it in....Its not working- The cross is either poor or nobody is getting on the end of them anymore. We look much more of a threat when we play straight through to Gabby/Heskey's feet. But this is rarely seen. |
rockyvilla
said:
 |
... Agree man u are a better team than us but on the day if the ref had done his job right think our 11 men could have beat their 10 men especially after being a goal up. They would have had to attack and im sure we could have scored on the counter. Watched the game in the 1874 suite at Villa Park, nice lunch and atmosphere! 1, Was fuming with ref not sending Vidic off. 2, Was dissappointed that Petrov didnt track Owens run. 3, Dissapointed Collins took his eye off Rooney until too late. 4, Exhasperated that Cueller could not move the ball forward like i think Luke could have done. But was Proud the lads almost matched one of the BEST teams in europe. Thought Heskey won and held the ball up well. It just seemed that no-one found any space to receive a pass. Thought all the players gave their all but some were obviusly tired having played wednesday unlike Man u. Would have liked to see Fonz on near end with Gabby and Carew to really push for extra time. |
john doyle
said:
 |
... which joker said thad ferguson would buy ashley young this man aint barmy young would never get a game at utd 1 in 30 good crosses aint good enough for them but it is for martin he thinks the sun shines out of his arse no matter how cracp he is he aint worth 10 mill and we would be lucky to get that much for him he has played 2 good games all season for 50k a week not bad |
lanceley12
said:
 |
... Proud of the lads, deserved for it to go to extra time! Atmosphere was great, us Villa fans were quality! p.s. Cuellar at right back is awful, his football skills are bad. Luke Young has to start!!!!!! p.p.s. Vidic should have gone, to have not even been booked was mental! |
Villa 4 Life (Matt Kelland)
said:
 |
... MAn Utd werent the better side they had the ref on there team vidic should of been sent off but we played well anyway. Cheating refs shouldn't be on the pitch. |
Villa fan in Oz (Matty Kelland)
said:
|
... We shouldnt get to down to the loss weve still got the FA Cup and we still have a chance to get into the Champions League. I reckon we can win the FA Cup because we have Reading and i reckon we can beat them. Cuellar played rubbish i reckon Luke young should start but Carlos can still play good football. I reckon Gabby should go to South Africa for the World Cup so should A.Young and Milner but even Warnock might even get a surprise call up. The proplem with Warnock he keeps on slipping. Brad Friedel is a very good Goalkeeper and so is Brad Guzan. It was a bit harsh on Guzan as he has played all Carling Cup matches and the main game friedel gets in but at the end of the day friedel is the better gk. Cheating Refs shouldnt be in the Final. |
VidicIsGod!!!
said:
 |
... Referee cheated for us ??? HAHAHAHAHAHAH villa fans chat shit !! 1-2 ! UNITED UNITED UNITED !! VIDIC IS GODDDDDDDDDDD |
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