Well, I’m truly happy to say I called this one totally wrong.
I didn’t get to the game and only got to listen to the WM commentary for the final half hour or so.
We were missing chance after chance and it seemed like it wasn’t going to be our day, as I could see Derby catching us with a sucker punch.
It wasn’t to be though and it was great to hear that McGinn had scored. Imagine my joy when the goal was soon followed by a second and then a third!
And then, to cap it all, the WM commentators were saying that this was easily our best performance this season and even our best performance in a very long time.
On the face of it, it would seem that Dean Smith can indeed get the team to produce top performances that have previously been so lacking, as much as the players look good on paper.
What excites me about that and has me licking my lips in anticipation, is if he can get us to play to the max, there’s probably more to come.
And given that we could possibly have beaten a side that were being touted as one to watch this season by six or seven goals on their own turf, that bodes really well. You would expect that this result has made the rest of the league sit up and take notice.
After the final whistle, I spoke to my Derby mate (who had called me pre-match, to wish us the best of luck for the rest of the season, “after we’ve annihilated you”).
His opinion was that the first half could have been 2-2, but in the second half they were sh*te and we played really well, fully deserving the result. He’s quite balanced when it comes to footy.
Then, I specifically asked what he thought about Grealish and the reply was interesting.
His opinion is that he’s a decent player, but goes down way too easily.
I pointed out that he gets us a lot of free kicks, but unprompted, he said “maybe, but he slows down your game far too much and ruins your impetus”. He went on to say that all our best play happened when he wasn’t actually involved and he’d probably be more suited to the Premier league.
It’s certainly a valid viewpoint and one I touched on last week, where some Villa fans would be sympathetic.
Not that I’m criticising.
How can you, after such a brilliant result?
Best of all though, is that this is a massive confidence booster, not long before the blues game, where up until now, I’d been having nagging doubts that we’d win against them.
The bonus is that we’ve moved above them in the league on goal difference.
Three goals away, to a team on a roll, with a clean sheet thrown in, has made my weekend.
It’s as simple as that.
A bit of fun if you’ve got a few minutes spare;
https://play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/92-people-cant-guess-all-50-football-clubs-from-just-a-logo-can-you?acct=00f6a7d2cf2656566c6578c8d8ce8c3a03&utm_medium=paid&utm_source=outbrain&utm_term=00ffb075d22454b2b52b350c1ee90ba844&pbid=00b8dc3665da90aa8bb4a4c55ef20f70fb&pbn=TechHive+%28IDG%29&scn=TechHive&adid=00a95ba46dfc7b73854bb6d32c314b999e&mkcpgn=5c91f8dc361543a6bb979914816a778a&sg_uid=5c91f8dc361543a6bb979914816a778a
I got 38 out of 50 🙁
i managed 45 but a handful were guesses. Good fun though.
48 with 2 silly mistakes! Grrrr
BFR, that’s really good.
You’d have to be some serious fan of footy in general to get them all correct.
Er… The answers are just above the images!!! Lol!!!!
Loads of mine were guesses!
45 is a decent score, i’d say.
47/50. Did not get USA!, Colombia, PSV. (wasn’t a light bulb or the Philips logo).
Good score!
Decided not to do the quiz as I didn’t want to show my ignorance following such high scores LOL.
Now back to the most important matter in hand here – the rum
Hitch ,go on, have a go.
The rum makes it more fun if you get a rubbish score.
Actually, most of the logos have the initials or the colours in them, so most are obvious.
OK – will do – although at the moment I’m not even sure which is the right way up!
I had ago Badger and glad to say ,…it crashed on me after forty. I did see some green .
Sadly I got to the end – let’s just say I am bottom of the league and leave it at that!
McGinn injured in training with Scotland squad – let’s hope it’s not serious as we need him against the Blues.
I was just about to post exactly the same.
It’s a calf strain, so hopefully he should be ok.
As you suggest, he’d be a massive miss against the blues, as I think he will be key to us hopefully winning.
47/50 A fun few minutes!
Blimey, we’ve got some knowledgeable world footie fans on here.
My 38 looks a bit sick now 🙂
I’ve just been thinking about FFP and how Christian Purslow says it won’t be a problem.
I find it fascinating when he says that while analysis shows we’re on circa £50 million.
It would seem to back up my opinion that you can make the books look however you want, as long as things add up in the end.
We must have bloody good accountants, I reckon.
It’s also good news that we’re definitely not flogging the stadium name.
I’d have gone with it, if it literally meant it was the only way the club could survive, but I’d have been truly gutted.
All Premier league clubs asked to cough up £250,000 as Scudamore’s leaving present;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46197761
Just another indicator of what’s wrong in the game, imo.
What annoys me is, they’ll probably do it too.
£5 mill as a bloody leaving present!
Scandalous.
Badger,
It’s my guess that they will too. Scudamore has made many of the clubs rich through all the TV deals and, to them. £5 million is small change these days.
Bit better than a clock I suppose.
Apparently, he was on £50k a week.
Show me another job where you get 2 years wages as a leaving gift?
Yes, he’s probably done a great job, if bringing in the dough, while killing the game for the working man was the aim, but that’s what he was paid stupid money for.
It’s a bloody disgrace.
If I told you that he has a £15 million pension pot, would that make any difference?
The really galling thing is he’ll probably take it too, when grass roots footy is dying on it’s arse.
Sorry Pat, but you can’t defend this, imo.
By all means reward success, but this is just pure excess.
I wasn’t supporting it and I agree that it’s excessive. Money is killing football at the moment, just saying that I’m far from surprised that’s all.
Sorry, Pat, I thought you were defending it.
And anyway, are the clubs really rich?
Man u are nearly a billion in debt.
Is this sustainable?
2 hopes, imo.
How does that work with FFP then – oh it’s Manure, how silly of me!
The whole lot bent as a 5 Bob note in my eyes, I’ve started my rebellion, kicking bt out , £700 a year for crap. Sky won’t get sweet FA from me anymore, and if anyone wants this flu I’ve had can have it for free.
I’ve got it too, Bill.
Horrible.
Chester has come off injured, while playing for Wales.
These utterly pointless international games really wind me up 🙁
Typical – just before we play Blues as well.
Badger, the worst I’ve had for many a year, had the jab in October but wondering if I hadn’t how bad would it have been . Don’t wish this on anyone wife’s down with it now.I should have been at Doug’s funeral which made me feel worse and couldn’t lift my head off the bed. Sorry to bore you all lads but be careful you don’t make contact with anyone with a cold. Hope Chester’s not to bad ,all we need to hand the scum an advantage in defensive weakness. Got my ticket for Sunday’s game meet you all in the Villa Tavern and let you buy me a drink.😊😊,Who feels the way Sky have closed the door on open viewing and now its lost fans interests in England’s games? It’s been a boring two weeks for fan’s in my mind. Down with Sky I say.
Sorry to hear that you guys are not well; best wishes from sunny Barbados and hope you all recover quickly. Best tonic would be a win Saturday but worried by injuries to two of our key players.
Or even Sunday! (Lost track of the days here!)
Oh man, I thought the game was on Saturday, so I’ve wangled the Friday and Saturday off.
How the hell can I blag Sunday too? 🙁
I have to have Friday off, because of two long-standing appointments.
So I could go in on Saturday and have Sunday off.
Except that the company I work for has introduced a “duty of care” policy, where we now have to have a consecutive 48 hr break every 21 days, even though I’m a subby.
So I miss the game or have 3 consecutive days off.
Which won’t go down well, given it’s the weekend and that’s when we’re busiest.
Throw a sicky Badger be a man you know what men are with a flu.get the wife to phone, I would.
All this talk of Scudamore’s retirement ‘gift’ and Sky’s megalomania begs the question: who is really in charge of ‘the beautiful game’? Think about it. If the fans decided to stop attending matches on a Friday evening, as one example, would Sky have a product? Can you imagine? Villa vs Leeds or Arsenal vs Leicester with completely empty Villa Park or Emirates Stadium? Tumbleweeds drifting past the cameras? All it would take is 40-60,000 individuals to say “f*** you, I want my Saturday afternoon football back, so I’m not going to a stupid o’clock match just because you decided on it.” How many weeks could Sky withstand it before they shit their pants and make a change?
Maybe I’m being idealistic, but the reason they have so much power is those who actually have it, the fans, hand it to them on a plate, then lower their pants! Apologies for my choice of words, but find it all so frustrating. Take back the power!
Perhaps it shows the power of the armchair fans – audiences of 350,000+ to watch teams like Villa and Leeds on the box.
Whilst I don’t like or support the direction the game has gone in thrall to Sky as, predominantly an armchair fan these days, would I be happy to lose the ability to watch my team regularly and do I have the right to criticise? Perhaps, more importantly, would it (lack of TV coverage) encourage me to attend games more regularly?
Having said all that, I don’t see why they can’t screen games on a Saturday afternoon. I think it’s complete nonsense that it would materially affect attendances and, even if it did so what? After all how much money are clubs getting from the Sky deal compared to money (or possible loss of it) through Saturday screenings? 3pm Saturday screenings would stop the ludicrous rearrangement of fixtures which shows scant respect for fans that want to attend games regularly and are, after all, the lifeblood of the game.
I think the EPL and EFL need to take a good look at what they’re doing; it’s not just Sky that are to blame here.
With you all the way BFR and Hitch, started my rebellious action now got VPN, it’s time to hit back we are not robotic people and made to do their begging. Give me back my Saturday sports days I say.God I feel better today watch out life I’m back. Hey Badger , do you want me to ring in for you?could give you a puncture in the panda car.
On a non-Villa topic can I say how much I’ve enjoyed the Nations league games I’ve watched (and not just because England won). For once it looks like they’ve gave some real thought to the format. Looking forward to the finals now.
Southgate is learning.
76 minutes with Delph 0-1. 14 minutes without Delph 2-0. Given the opposition quality that was probably his best game yet.
Entertainment for all that Pat57, have to admit got me worried for a while. Don’t like to see the same faces match after match, Southgate has to show more of the youth or we will go the same as the old school.I love that Modric player and half him.
Bill, I believe that Southgate has fielded one of the youngest ever England teams (since 1959 someone said) and it even got younger when Jadon Sancho came on.
Under the old regime Sancho might have got a look in when he was in his late twenties, if his face fitted that is.