Colchester, Amavi gone, Bacuna about to be and a tough game against Cardiff

I had said I was going to do a post about the Colchester game, but unfortunately I just didn’t get time.
Suffice to say, I wasn’t happy at what I saw with us making so many changes.
My thinking was that we needed to continue to get the “top” eleven playing together and basically just get to know each other more.
But having bitten my tongue while reading comments from on here and many other sites, I began to doubt myself, as it seems many fans thought changing things up was definitely the way to go.
So I asked my Stokie mate what he thought and he was totally in agreement with me.
Indeed, he said all the things I was thinking without me having to prompt him; particularly “why do players need resting when they’ve just come back from three months off?”

Let’s look at the facts of the game.
We scored two goals. One an own goal and at least one probably offside. Steer saved a penalty.
And they scored a cracker.
Ok, we won and it’s alright in the end. But my opinion says while we were possibly the better team overall, Colchester were easily the better team to watch when attacking, as they were far more incisive.
You don’t agree? Maybe you’re right. But they have a directness about them that we just don’t and our lack in this area will see us dropping points, as things stand, in my opinion.
Consider Colchester are a league two side and ask yourself if a club that’s supposed to be amongst the favourites to win the championship really ought to have stamped their authority on that game.
Frankly, you could even say we were lucky to win and that isn’t good enough for where I want us to be.

I can see that view causing some debate, but it’s just how I see things.
Bruce should have played his best side and looked for a decent, dominant win.
Ok, these games are always a potential banana skin, but does he have faith in what he’s got or not?
I wonder.
And I also wonder what John Terry thought?
Oh, didn’t he go to meet his old mates at Chelsea, or something?

Anyway, Amavi has gone then and it’s interesting that Villa seem to have been quite happy to defer the payment until next season. I can’t quite get my head around that, but it’s no doubt to do with FFP, where Wyness suggests we’re ok this season. Just as I knew we would be.
It’s a shame he’s had to go, but we all knew it was going to happen.

Bacuna is almost certainly a goner after he’s apparently got the hump about the fans scapegoating him.
Well, sorry Leandro, but if you were any good in your proper position, you’d have been playing there.
The fact that you were used all over the place sums up what you were for Villa. A dead average player who won’t take us anywhere. Bye and don’t let the door smack you on the arse on your way out.
Good luck in the Champion’s league too.
Except you won’t be playing there, because no doubt the mighty Reading pay more than even the top Dutch or Belgian clubs, don’t they?
Good riddance.

And then, there’s another tricky game tomorrow, against Cardiff.
Neil Warnock has been on a charm offensive, in saying he loves us and “there’s always been an aura about the Villa”.
He’s dead right there, but you can can bet your boots (or should that be slippers these days?) that he’ll send his team out to stop us anyway he can.
The thought that I considered him as a pragmatic decent bet for us before Bruce came, makes me shudder.
But I was far from alone at the time, when we just needed someone to stem the negative tide of what was going on.

I’m not going to go into details about anything regarding the game, but my thoughts are that if we come away with a point, we’ll have done reasonably well, albeit conforming with the “we’ll draw too many games” mindset that some of us have.
And I have the nagging feeling that if we’re really going to challenge for the title, we have to be looking to take all three points in this sort of game.
I just don’t see that happening, I’m afraid.

1-1 is the prediction.

UTV!