I’m getting a bit bored of saying it, to be honest, but it is, isn’t it?
You can’t count your chickens, certainly not this early, but Norwich are beginning to look out of it to me.
Otherwise, it’s still really tight at the bottom and our once superior goal difference is practically neck and neck with the other teams around us.
We can score goals; that’s not a problem, but we concede far too many too. Even if you take out the Man City spanking we’ve still conceded the second highest in the league and it’s that which might be our undoing if we’re not very careful.
Squad news and little has changed. Borja was signed too late to be able to play in this one and I don’t think it makes much difference anyway as he’d be nowhere near the first team.
He seems a very strange signing to me and I’d rather have Rushian Hepburn-Murphy as backup, but I suppose it’s about him getting games and he’d have been unlikely to do that for us.
The good news is that Reina has got over his calf strain and will surely start, as much as Nyland did well against Leicester.
Samatta will no doubt start, although Dean Smith said he tired midweek, so we’ll probably see Davis come on too.
The other question is about Danny Drinkwater and will he start?
I’m guessing he will.
As for Bournemouth, they expect Jefferson Lerma and Diego Rico to be available, but it’s too early for Junior Stanislas, Jack Stacey and Joshua King.
So how do I see the game going?
Well, I definitely think we’re good enough to beat them on our day, but I’ve said many times that the way we play isn’t at all convincing and it worries me.
Even though we beat Leicester, our defence was atrocious again, but we’ve demonstrated that we can drag results from games where we look inferior. That’s a massive plus for a side in our position and it wouldn’t surprise me if our doggedness comes into play today.
I don’t see many goals because it’s going to be too cagey, I reckon, but I’m hoping we have enough to get the points.
A win would be massive, as it opens a gap on Bournemouth, but conversely, they’d go above us if they win.
So basically, its a “must win” and I think we will.
Villa 1-0.
I hope!
COYL!
A poor midfield, who cannot do anything constructive with the ball. No point in 5 across the middle if the central 3 cannot get it under control. Hause cannot pass the ball 15 yards to a colleague and has been absent fro the left back position from which Cherries scored both. To think we have parted with Chester and kept him – blimey!
Our threat is all one sided – Grealish on the left, nothing down our right – but Trézéguet isn’t playing, again.
Our biggest concern is that we totally rely on Grealish to make things happen. Trezeguet has quality in possession so why not throw him on. Nothing to lose now.
Engels on for Konsa
Messing about again!!!!!
Lermer off!
Looked like he barged Grealish to me, but comms saying he couldn’t get out of the way.
Engels punched in the head by their goalie. Pen???
No.
Definitely looked it to me.
Davis on for El Ghazi
My god, our passing is absolutely useless today.
Bournemouth nearly score again.
Sorry, but we are total rubbish.
Targett goes close though.
Why didn’t they keep nyland in goal Reina not so good today this result was going to happen anyway because they put everything into the Leicester match need winter break to reassess and get back to the basics and sort defence out looks like championship next season. And why let Hogan and Hepburn leave?
It’s about games for Murphy.
Samatta scores!
Our first headed goal this season!
That’s a disgraceful stat with the likes of Mings, Engels, and Wesley having plenty of game time this season.
Mings cannot head a ball like a forward. He is still rising from the jump when the ball hits his head (and it is that way round) so the ball goes up and away, or over the bar. A forward tries to get up earlier and meet the ball just above the eyebrows. So heading it down or level.
Fair point OLL, but can’t he learn how to win attacking headers? Can’t that be practised and coached? Terry wasn’t bad at scoring the odd one or two in his time. All the top CBs are capable of up to half a dozen goals a season, or at least they were, traditionally. A certain Mr Potato Head is right up there with the best of them, both for defensive and attacking headers. Ah well, times have changed, eh? We’ll have to rely on the strikers to score the headers, instead. Oh, wait…shit…
Come on Villa!
Now we’re turning the screw.
Trez on for Nakamba. About time.
Our non-existent midfield has cost us this, imo.
Why haven’t villa played hourehan today especially after the hard game the midfield had on Tuesday bad management again
Would have to agree totally with that, Roy. And Trez could’ve started in place of El Ghazi.
This one could be a very damaging defeat.
Again can’t beat a team with 10men.should have brought tres on earlier and what’s wrong with the defence maybe we should get rid of Terry because he supposed be coaching the defence should have got franke with smith.not looking good now glad for sammata though and Davis played well time to go 2up top I think
And that’s it.
Now I’m really worried because we just looked so, so poor.
Well – I would say that’s us for the drop.
If we can’t at least draw with Bournemouth then we really are in a poor way. Our defence is a real problem and there’s no consistency from Nakamba and Luiz.
We should be 15th with daylight between Watford and Bournemouth. Instead, we’re still in deep shit. Massive missed opportunity.
very disappointing result and performance, we got what we deserved that was nothing, Bournemouth outfought villa first half and they continued to work harder second half with just 10 men. can not hide the fact that this result will come back to haunt us. looking very grim now allowing your rivals to beat you and leapfrog you. this is not the way to go about escaping relegation.
From early on all we did was launch it…then in last quarter we tapped it around like it was a day out at the beach…..joke.