If I take my positive and negative heads off, I just don’t know how to call this one.
Is it a six pointer or a must win, which can be season defining?
I’m not convinced it’s either really, as it seems to me to be too late for that sort of thinking.
Not that I want to dwell on negatives of any kind, for this game.
So if it’s neither of the above, it has to be about pride and bragging rights, which is exactly how I’m seeing it.
I’ve been browsing through the Villa news, as I always do and one of our fellow Villa supporting sites mentioned that we haven’t actually won at the Baggies’ ground in our last five attempts.
I nearly double checked that fact, but have no reason to doubt it, so didn’t.
Regardless, it surprised me, to say the least, as my recent memories of Villa-Albion encounters are very positive and we seem to have a very good record against them.
But the truth is, it made what immediately seems a tough game, look just a little more difficult.
West Brom aren’t really pulling up any trees, but they’re sat quite comfortably in 13th position in the league.
Their last six Prem games have seen them win 2, draw 3 and lose one.
While we’re on a comparative roll, in that we haven’t lost in four games, albeit two of them were against lesser competition.
Of course, I’m being very selective in saying that, but hey, it sounds good and I like it (the truth is we’ve won 1 in our last 6 in the Prem and I’m glossing over it).
So what are the main points to take from a comparison of the teams?
Albion don’t score many, but at the same time, as is typical of any Pulis team, they don’t concede many either.
While we don’t score many and concede far too much, through mostly stupid mistakes.
Which probably sums up what I’m going to say in conclusion.
In team news, Albion have Saido Berahino as a possible after a stomach bug (isn’t he almost certain to be gone soon?) and Ben Foster is also available after apparently being out all season up to now.
Chris Brunt, Darren Fletcher and Jonas Olsson are all doubts, while James Morrison is out for eight weeks.
It’s interesting to note there, that while I don’t rate any of those players massively, they all strike me as the dependable type, as an outsider.
What I’m trying to say there, I really don’t know; it’s just a thought.
As for us, Gabby seems to have a hip injury (for that, read two hopes of him playing) and Sanchez needs a fitness test.
Hutton, Traore and Amavi are all out, as we no doubt know.
The conclusion then and it’s a pure guess, but I suspect Albion will do the double over us, for the first time in 50 years.
That’s a statistic I find simply amazing and I’d never have thought it in a million years.
While it will strike another new low, I won’t hold it against the Villa, as I have the utmost respect for the Olbion.
They’re our proper local opposition, after all.
I’m going for a 1-1 as the best result, but more realistically, I think we’ll lose 2-1.
But if we could scrape a win, who knows how this season could end up?
This is exactly the sort of game we need to win, if we’re to retain any hope of staying up and as I’m fond of saying, you never know.
And we have been trying more, of late.
No, I’ve changed my mind.
We’ll lose 1-0 after we mess up and fail to break them down.
Like I said, I don’t know.
It’s in the lap of the Gods now.
UTV
Got to win the worst game and half arsed effort in a game award for this one, both teams are horrendous. Only Gana can sat he’d put in a shift
Veroote on all over them come on Villa,
Have we got any strikers left???
Did we have one then .?
That should of been 3 points in the bag what a waste.
Denied a penalty again as I understand it – so that’s possibly 4 points lost to cr*p refereeing but don’t worry Lawro will no doubt opine that we were ‘lucky’.
Game was there for the taking and we failed again. Back 4 looks solid, but 0-0s arent gonna keep us up. We have to buy a striker. Kozak and Gestede just arent good enough, Kozak looks like a pub player.
Gana quality again, but how did Bacuna start over Veretout??!!
Oh for a Charlie Austin he would of got us 3 points today no doubt about it
For a team that needs wins the tactics were crap and predictable.
It was a pen but Richards could have been sent off too. Maybe if we actually tried to throw more than one man in the box on any given attack, we would win more penalties and make our own luck as they say. I also think someone told our players today when 20 yards out kick the ball as hard as you can towards goal and eventually one will go in! Awful crossing awful shooting. Is it any wonder we have scored so little.
Look through the records for the worse ever forward we have had in living memory and get him in the team NOW.
Never thought i would say this…I feel sorry for that Saido bloke …having to be on the bench when that load of crap is on the pitch…..I know we are down but thank god we never went for Pulis……………
Remi
Tactics worse than Sherwood plenty win able matches one win if he had dropped guzan Hutton sooner we might had few more points rabbit in headlights spring to mind with remi clueless
I am hoarse from shouting……When Richards played CH all he wanted to do was run with it going passed all the opposition if he could…he would loose it most times in and around OUR area….now hes a full back he calls for the ball all day midway in their area and when he get it he stops and just plays it back….why not bloody run with it …it doesnt matter if you loose it in THEIR area………as everyone has said for years ….are there any coaches at BMH ?
none with their engines running.
I see the Blues are shitting themselves knowing we are being relegated…they are going for auto promotion.
We all know we need a striker – worst kept secret in football. Although miracles do happen the reality is we are likely to be in the Championship next season. It seems to me (given that I’m not that knowledgable on these matters) we should go all out to get Jordan Rhodes. Proven striker and with Gesteded scored a hatful of goals for Blackburn. Break the bank to get him is my view – it seems like a no brainer!
No doubt the more informed on here will ‘put me right’ 🙂
And Austin scored the winner for saints aft we r coming off the bench. They paid 4m for him compared to Gestade at 6m
We need another Darren bent type striker but Lerner too tight and rather we go down. Austin would of got us 3 points today no doubt about it. Even at 100k plus a week it would be worth it if he kept us up
I agree 100%.
We dominated the game.
Let’s all stop blaming Garde.
I would not want to manage that shower of white…
If he had a good striker things would be different
Blackburn with rudi Rhodes didn’t do to well in championship
Accepted but that’s not my point – Rhodes and Gestede scored something like 40 goals between them – add that to a solid defence and we would return in a season. Reality is rest of Blackburn’s side are worse than Villa and now they have another poor manager 🙂
Well that’s put the cat amongst the pigeon’s would you say, I bet Lerner wondering what other bullshit he can spin to his Aston Villa fans to get us to spend our good hard earn money, think its time for me to join the many thousands and find a Saturday afternoon job like fishing, that’s it lads we are doomed we needed that game, only hope is to play Man utd now and get 3 points,
We never beat manure! They could play all of the keepers in a 0-3 formation and they’d still come from behind to beat us
Played well today but lacked cutting edge. Garde is building something, with his own team we might not be in the lower leagues for as long as thought