After our very encouraging showing against Liverpool, I set a lot of store in the fact that we had to keep up the same kind of performance, if we were to show any signs of improvement over the previous few weeks.
I’d have been happy with a draw in what I was expecting to be a typically dour derby, to be honest and although that might make it seem that my expectations have been massively lowered, it wasn’t the case here. I just know how many derbies tend to go.
It was always more about the performance for me, as long as we didn’t lose, of course.
Well, we certainly didn’t disappoint today, did we?
It was quite simply one of the best derbies I can recall (a certain nose thrashing apart) and it had pretty much everything from early goals, own goals, flukey goals and penalty calls.
Just the way I like it.
Albion helped matters in playing a high line, but it was also the case that (and it gives me great pleasure in saying it again) Lambert went for it.
My attitude has always been that if you’re going to lose, at least go down trying to win.
So after us going 2-0 down to a frankly very good first goal and an unlucky one from Delph, I must admit I panicked a bit and wondered if we were going to bottle it. There was no need though, as the lads were resolute today and I applaud them.
I’ve constantly beaten the drum that we should take advantage of our biggest asset, which is our youth and use it to outwork the opposition. We did that in spades tonight, just as we did against Pool and it caught Albion out, in my opinion.
We pressured them and never allowed them time to play, with many second balls dropping to us, which is always a good sign.
Of course, with both sides being somewhat gung-ho, there were always going to be goals and it was no major surprise when we pulled two back, although it could have easily gone the other way, with a very open game being played.
I really thought it would be a different game in the second half, but it wasn’t. It was still very open and I was thinking after about an hour that Albion might actually have enough to deserve to edge the game, but who cares? We got the result, simple.
Not that we didn’t deserve it; we did.
The truth is, I forgot what the score was and was just enjoying a game that could have gone either way, depending on luck. Again, just the way I like it.
It probably wasn’t one for the purists, as there was some shocking defending on both sides, but that doesn’t bother me.
Entertainment value = 10 out of 10
A big win against the Albion = 10 out of 10
What more could you want?
Big shouts for Vlaar, Benteke and Delph, who edged MOTM for me.
Comments
158 responses to “Aston Villa 4 – 3 WBA; Great game and result!”
Ianrobo is a no show again after a win, the negative (edited).
Less of that mate, please.
He expresses an opinion and that’s what we’re about.
Just because you don’t like that opinion, it doesn’t justify that sort of comment and you’re bang out of order.
I’m not sure this forum needs two Foxies!
Yes, I thought so.
Albion fans being knobs mate.
Albion fans being knobs? Looks like you delete people’s comments and throw insults back at them you keyboard warrior. No wonder this site lacks numbers you fucking homo
And now Bill has a doppelganger too. 3:49am eh? That result must really have hurt.
Badger ‘ foxy not me mates just check the icon to see its not me.
Yeah, we know Bill. If someone’s trolling an opposition forum at 3:49am they’ve got bigger issues than supporting the wrong team!
My money’s on OohAhh.
But thing is badger he’s right, knobbo is conspicuous by his absence after any good result so why you are busy blowing smoke up is arse is beyond me.
So do we all think we can qualify for the Champions League on this bargain basement showing?
Europa league is a given. UTV
Lambert out
Hmm, I see what Ian means about Albion fans.
They’re posting derogatory comments aimed at other Villa fans, using Villa fans usernames.
Quite pathetic and even the noses don’t resort to that, which says a lot.
Clarke and Lowton shocking, Vlaar, Delph, Benteke and Weimann different gravy. Let the “but the baggies are shit” comments commence from the negatives….. Lambert’s claret blue army!! What a night!!!!!
Badger, summed up superbly, and as I sit right next to the away fans what a trophy………….
We had moments with doggy defending, and moments of good defending.
3pts thank you very much UTV
Just watched it on MOTD, Delph’s strike went in at 72mph. Two nice goals from them but Andi’s and especially Delph’s were absolute crackers. Andi appears to have his mojo back, long may it continue.
Very, very proud of our young guns tonight. They wore the famous claret and blue shirt with great pride! Great effort. Lets win the next 2 or 3 home games.
Nice write up Badger…100% agree with every word.
Have to say “what another great performance from the villa side” delph, vlaar, guzan, Clark, Bertrand, weimann and benteke all get 8s and 9s for performance. Yeah the baggies played well but we played better the second half was more tactical but Lambert was up to it especially with the barker substitution to negate there subs
UTV
Bertrand seems to have picked this side up. The things he said (as a loan player) about villa being a big club with lots of history when he signed ON LOAN speaks volumes for the man and the respect he deserves.
If he signs for us at the end of the season then I for one will be one happy villain if he keeps his performances up. He looked class to me tonight.
Wiemann also looked different player.
Bob why did we have it go 2 down yet again to start paying. Did exactly tge same at hawthorns.
the first two goal were against the run off play. 1st goal was a wild strike and the second was a cross turned in by delph. villa were moving throught the gears and were caught buy two lucky goals but as you saw they had the stones to keep playing the same way and get the win
We outscored them tonight so we done a job. Yes we were shit for the first 10 minutes but we turned it around so we showed a never say die attitude.
Could not understand a word of Lamberts post match interview but 3 points is 3 points and what a goal by Fabian coming into form just at the right time, and Tekkers apart from his miss he played well so lots to be positive about.
We now play an Everton side who lost 4-0 to Liverpool last night and have no Lukaku so let’s go for it……..
Lamberk has gone back to playing like last season now we are safe. As wev nothing to lose now it dosnt matter if we get stuffed occasionally as we are safe anyway. Defensively we won’t be as good but better going forward. Whatever we are still nothing more than a mid table team at best and will never be anything but that under Lerner.
Every silver lining has its cloud!
We’re not safe yet!
I think Lambert gets some tactics and selections very wrong but I don’t think he doesn’t care. Did anyone read Mourinho’s comments about West Ham not playing the game and defending all match? I agree with him completely, Big Sam did what he thought he had to do to survive but the mindset is the same as Lambert’s sometimes, it’s as if they forget that we go to the Villa to have some fun and be entertained, and pay top dollar to do so.
Look at it this way in say 5 years are team could be pretty much the same and they will be challenging for Europe at the very least. We can archive this maybe Lambert does have a plan after all
UTV
Has anyone else noticed that when lambert has that navy padded jacket (changed it tonight i think at half time for a villa one) on it always brings us shit luck. KEEP IT OFF FOR F***s sake
For Villas 3rd Goal did you see Lambert push that villa fan back in the stands who went out to congratulate him!!!
He is a man of the people lol 🙂
Yes mark and he must have been in his 60s 🙂
I think he did that to protect the fan from getting removed by the stewards.
I agree Bencey, plus Lambert doesn’t know if he’s friend or foe. Does the club get fined if fans come onto the pitch?
Well done lads. Great to see Tekkers and Weimann hitting a bit of form. Plus we didn’t have Gabby today, who has looked our biggest threat lately. Have to say, Vlaar was ball watching for West Brom’s third goal and then ran into Clarke! Clarke and Lowton are poor defensively. Bacuna’s not really a right back, but is possibly the best one we have at the moment! Get Bertrand signed up permanently, get Jenkinson in from Arsenal, and Okore back fit alongside Vlaar and we’ll have a decent defence for the first time in years.
I’m not sure I’m getting that carried away Bob, it was encouraging.
Picking up on a few points mentioned;
Wiemann, totally different player compared to the last few weeks, great.
Benteke, won pretty much everything again. The commentator loved him, but for me, he just did what he always does when he’s on song. Also great and good to have him back at his best.
Delph edged it for me though. His work rate was superb and him and Bertrand look a good pairing on the left.
I doubt we’ll be targeted in the way we have been in that area. That’s a big plus.
I agree with comments about lowton who sadly after showing so much promise last yr simply doesn’t have the quality needed at this level (think Hutton would do a better job in this side). Bertrand easy decision. Need a quality midfielder, simple as that!
Come on Girls put the handbags down We Win We Win We Win Bagged the Baggies.Better than what i expected still say though Lambert should go and Lerner sell the club as he is never going to be able to pick a manager to take this club to a level where we are challenging for top honours.
SJS24, agreed, bin the coat.
I didn’t think Lowton was too bad today.
I don’t think he’s much good as a defender, but his threat going forward made them think, imo.
Mark, Yep, a good time to play Everton.
Bencey, I’ve had my eye on Jenkinson for a while. Reminds me of a Sagna type, in that he’s rarely outstanding, but very consistent overall.
The big point is, I wonder how much Gabby not starting made a difference to Albion’s tactics?
If he’d have played in that game today, he’d have caused them a world of hurt, imo.
Great game, it could have gone either way which is why I don’t think we should get carried away, I thought Vlaar and Delph were exceptional, and a very important 3 points, great comeback, but should we really be happy allowing a team as awful as the Baggies to score 3 goals ….
Bertrand was MOTM for me, held onto the ball well, was able to judge timing, crossing, passing, tackling well. I cant remember a LB doing this since Bouma. Did not panic on the ball either
Vlaar looked like he got an injury in the first half and struggled with the ball, I hope he is alright as he is important for team morale.
One thing i noticed was Holt, did not realise what a clever footballer he is, his positioning was very good, he challenged for the ball a lot, was able to direct the other players, he also supported Benteke for a ball although nothing came of it, he will benefit this squad. I think he will also help Bentke mature. I saw some critics of him for last nights game but in all fairness at times our players look static and dont support the other players in the team.
We are crying out for another CB and AM and both need to be experienced in this league as this will help the youngsters develop and learn to stay calm on the ball.
Have to say the baggies were no where near the side we played at the Hawthorns or the team that came to Villa Park last season the players looked at times dis interested and unable to put us under any kind of pressure, they are in real trouble.
So Holt is bringing an experienced head? I wonder what Hoolahan will do in midfield knowing Holt and Lambert and how things have worked in the past?
We’ve lacked decent movement for ages, Wiemann is the one who makes the dashes into space and a lot of the time no one lets him loose or thinks to play into space for him to run into. Benteke coming back to life has given Wiemann someone to go and play with and they work well together. Gabby gives a lot of strength and pace, Holt brings a bit of cunning and guile with a lot of experience? Should be interesting to see where it goes.
Well that’s the best nights sleep I’ve had for ages, and thanks to Bob giving me a chance to see the game, albeit it was in Russian I think, lads going two down made me start to look hard at why, it to me was a mixture of midfield and defence, couldn’t make out it it was Delf or El -k , got to say Clarke and Lowton have got to sort themselves out , slack defending, motm, Vlaar for me Oohah player come good and to think we slated him at first, makes you wonder if we should give the rest more time. PS you’ll nerve get me up till 3_47 am in the morning playing silly sods.
Im a wanker too over to you vaze. 😀
Can’t disagree with you there Giddy 😉
Nice to beat the Albion though, give them some shit mate.
Lol 😉
proud as punch of our lads
seems we all can’t agree on a clear MOTM, stand outs were benteke,vlaar also delph not far behind, but my 10/10 was weimann the guy is improving with every game. even with his bad scoring drought, he never stopped working hard 4 team. now hes found his mojo in front of goal.
2 put the last 2 games in 2 perspective, we played pool of the park which. all u need 2 do is look at their team and their current form . baggies av just changed manager and those who dabble in football coupon know. no matter how shit the team is and form when a new leader arrives so does a upturn in form.
everton play a game which suits out natural style of counter attacking, along with our new found belief this is a game that we can go into with confidence. their main striker went of injured against pool aswell
Thoroughly enjoyed last night, a great atmosphere at VP.
Looking forward to a trip to Goodison now, fancy us to give them a really good game.
I’m still not letting the neg heads convince me we’re definitely going down lol !
Get off your idle arse and cheer the lads on rather than watching some fucking hooky Russian link. You people sicken me, bloody armchair sky pundits!
With you to some extent there Geoff.
Some of those with the strongest views and most passionate posts prefer to fish, watch other teams, or look for internet feeds rather than supporting the side in a local derby.
I’m sure I’ll catch some abuse for being one of those idiots who goes to the games.
the problem is not all of us can get to villa park these days some due to cash flow problems,age or ill health if there was a legal way of watching the game on TV via a TV season ticket or similar i am sure that would support the club also before you make those sort of comments walk a mile in someone else s shoes that way you can be a mile away before he realizes you’ve stolen his shoes
it cost me roughly 2 grand to get to one villa game last season .. so i will stick with subscription/ tsn.ca and watching games in pubs thanks
Billyboots, don’t bother mate a right twit. The man has no knowledge that the people he’s knocking spent more money at the Villa, than he will for the rest of his life, get your arse of and support fuck me flown with the Villa , been to all games played abroad, last one was Iceland, have a car with Villa plates, Geoff get stuffed you don’t know who is who, think before you open your mouth. Oh I also have 4 seats in the Doug Ellis twat.
Were you in the pub where they were making the banner in Iceland Bill ? Reallt enjoyed that trip but it was easy for me as I have a mate that lives there.
Don’t think that Geoff was knocking people that have no chance of getting to the match but there are a lot (Ian Robo and Ooh Ah amongst them) that state they are not going to support Villa as they’re shyte but post constantly.
That can be as irritating to fans that go and cheer the lads on as Geoff’s post saying get down the ground.
Bit of a sore point 50 people on the plane with the team and they was told to stay away from the fans, we had a banner it was the villa tavern one, right in the bottom corner of the ground, they didn’t even come over to thank the 50 that travelled with them. We should have won that game.
Cheers Vaze, no as Billyboots saying I’ve moved on don’t live in Brum no more and weekdays is a no no, back to that game in Iceland remember the pub and how packed it got and the 4 goals apart from that drank a lot even at them prices, and nice people them locals. But it did get to us that the team totally blanked the fans out even after the game, M.o.n must have told them to not talk to anyone, but 50 fans in the corner with banners you would have thought they would have acknowledged the fans that spent money to travel over.bad PR that.
holier than thou nonsense lmao
I av a bigger **** than u wanna flop
Its a wednesday night in jan. People have work commitments. Believe it or not, there are thousands of villa fans across the world like myself who don’t live within a commutable distance to the ground. But that’s right in your narrow minded head we’re all armchair sky pundits. Stupid comment trying to points score.
Geoff hill you talk utter bollox,maybe your living on an inheritence.some of us have to work & struggle to pay the bills.are you one of these arseholes whose got this im a better fucking fan syndrome.you make me fucking sick who the fuck are you to point the finger twat.
Saracens have bid for Tonev