Just a quick one to say I managed to watch the game via a Balkan streaming site. Which was just as well, as the AVTV audio went down just a couple of minutes before the goal. AVTV has proved to be an utter waste of time this season and I’m going to have to think hard about continuing my subscription next season.
Anyway, I think it’s hard to fault how we played today and quite simply we did everything except get the winning goal, with us hitting the bar and the post, as well as Hourihane missing one he really should have buried.
I reckon 4 or 5-1 on a better day wouldn’t have been out of order, but that’s why we love footy, isn’t it?
Does that guarantee us third place or not? I’m really not sure and to be honest, I don’t know what the difference is if we get third or fourth.
Our automatic second place is out the window, so while I rue the fact that we didn’t win, it’s not the end of the world and it was a very decent game to watch for the neutral, I’d have thought.
Did the draw kill Derby’s promotion chances yet? I’ll have to check before giving my Derby mate some banter.
Onto Millwall next then and I’d suggest that’s a very tough proposition, although I think we demonstrated today that we have plenty in our locker.
If only we can put the ball in the net often enough.
With that, I’m off for copious amounts of alcohol.
UTV!
Comments
81 responses to “Villa 1-1 Derby; How did we not win that?”
Everyone should go and watch hepburn-murhpy goals tonight on youtube. Both brilliantly taken. High hopes for him.
Having watched u23s tonight, i was disappointed in Davis. Often lost the ball and resembled a poor Heskey performance without ever getting into goal scoring positions. Hepburn Murphy on the other hand has something that no other first team player has, and that is lightning pace. He could be like Sterling is for Man City and should play against Millwall IMO. Bree looked strong down right side alongside O’Hare. Davis showed glimpses of what he is capable of but is in need of game time. Overall I was impressed and hopefully some of them will get a chance to prove themselves this weekend.
I think they play Swansea on Friday night so little chance of them being involved in the first team on Sunday.
That’s a good point Rocky, they do have a game weekend and its for promotion to the first league, its common sense they would go for that promotion.
Young lions progress
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy repeated the trick by stepping off the bench to fire Aston Villa into the Premier League 2 Division 2 play-off final.
The 19-year-old striker bagged a brilliant brace against Leicester City on Friday to send Villa into the Premier League Cup final but he was left on the bench tonight as Kevin MacDonald and Mark Delaney rotated their squad.
James Bree, Andre Green and Keinan Davis returned as Villa hosted Reading at Villa Park but it wasn’t until Hepburn-Murphy’s introduction that things really kicked off.
Reading skipper Gabriel Osho gave them the lead after the hour before Hepburn-Murphy struck back instantly.
Easah Suliman headed Villa into the lead only for Tom McIntyre to reply. Hepburn-Murphy teed up his fellow substitute Corey Blackett-Taylor to restore that lead with 15 minutes to go, but Reading weren’t done.
Teddy Howe, who scored an own goal the last time these teams met, found the right net this time with a decent left-footed finish.
With the clock ticking towards extra-time, Hepburn-Murphy found a way. He ran down the right before jinking inside and poking the ball home to send those who’d made the trip down to Villa Park home happy.
Villa will meet Brighton & Hove Albion in the final at Villa Park
I may be mistaken but isn’t Mitch Clarke a CB by trade – if so playing out of position at LB which may have influenced his performance.
When you look at the goals from the win last night we have some defensive frailties but then again we played well enough to score 4 really good goals. RHM looks as though he will step up next season as he does look some player.
The team has spirit you can tell that which is always a good sign and a togetherness.
ok guys i wasn’t having a pop at our youth. but i was just stating i don’t think many are ready this season and thats why most have been ignored, green has been injured and therefore was in this game, because he is getting match fitness, davis is also above this level and needs 1st team games. but both of these players are now too good for youth level and not consistent enough for villas first team. i think davis is behind our main three strikers. and green is behind our two wingers. i think the step up is a big one. it took grealish years to get the consistency
of the other players last night. i think they are all technically good. but what strikes me about the game last night, was how poor a standard it was. anybody saying anything different is wrong. the level is as low as non league. nobody on the field could tackle. it was like a basket ball game. you attack we attack, touch tackle rugby, so before we rave about how good attacking we was. remember how bad the opposition defending was.
another good barometer of how good our youth is. both mckirdy and suliman went on loan to division 2 and both struggled. suliman came back cause he couldnt get a game and couldnt even get in the match day squad, that was a team fighting at the bottom. mckirdy has faired better lately, but still cant get a start.
I understand that Nath, but trying to compare Grealish with what was going on in his head at the time you cannot say it took time for him, the other lads know what the score is and its first team achievement , Grealish some what had at the time other ideas.i dont want to say what i did at their age but it was to sort men from the boys, them lads need to start playing.
ok say you think they are ready, all of them played against millwall this weekends. do you really think they would make a good game of it ??? caus ei am 99% sure millwall would rip us to shreds.
what i say is grealish has been around the 1st team for years but only just recently has be stated to get the consistency, davis can cut it at championship, but he still isnt good enough to lead our attack.
green has been injured but say he hadnt i don’t think he would have kept up the high standards he set early this season. he was starting to fade before he got injured.
mcckirdy will return from crewe a much better player. he will have learnt loads and might kick on next season. or he still might have to go back out on loan that is my thoughts on the matter. i say as i see,
i like the looks of hayes but as good as he is with the ball he is terrible without it. the end if you think otherwise thats fine. i hope SB plays the kids and we will see who was right. but he will not send the kids out to be slaughtered in front of fans even if he wanted to rest the whole squad it would be a massacre
Nath, that’s silly talk to suggest we play them all. come on Nath it wouldn’t matter what the score was, but I think its time to open that door and use the young 1 or 2 at a time. You know and i do, he’s not going to do that because I believe they are concentrating on getting division 1 status. anyway im enjoying the Roma Liverpool game.
its not about they are too young bill i am not saying that. they are not good enough is more what i am saying in a nicer way. most of the players last night have played only youth football which is not like football played in 1st teams in any of the divisions. youth football matches seem to be based on technical ability. but without any pressure on the ball.they are used to having lots of time to look up and rhyme of their 12’s times table. you would get that amount of time in 1st team pro leagues
I think a few of the U23s can make the step up now but the financial pressure put on the management team to get promotion means they will keep being overlooked. It’s easier to pick experienced players because it will take some of the blame off the manager if things go wrong. Football nowadays is pretty much a non contact sport. This suits players like Hepburn Murphy, O’Hare and Green. If I had a choice between Davis or Hepburn Murphy I would go with the latter all the time. Davis is suited to football in a bygone era and offers little in the modern game. He is the new Heskey IMO. Managers these days will always go for proven over promising, but you might end up with a Taylor or a McCormack! Most promising players will never get the chance to fulfill their potential because of the money in the game. That’s just my opinion for what it’s worth. Other people might agree or disagree, and neither can be proved right or wrong.
davis new heskey proves some fans know fook all,p/s murphy is all speed and rest of his game won’t cut it yet. i like him but he is another not ready. you would have him in play offs would you instead of seasoned professionals like grabban and hogan and kodjia. don’t make me laugh its almost my bedtime
That’s your opinion nath. Not necessarily right or wrong.
You aren’t far off though Holte. He’s shocking in front of goal but his overall game is something another striker would love to play with. Which is quite similar to what every English striker has said about Heskey.
Definitely wouldn’t disagree with you about that Andrew. Owen especially loved playing alongside Heskey. For some games the opposition might suit playing Davis but when I watch teams like Man City, Spurs, Liverpool and even Wolves in this league, success seems most likely without a big target man. Players like Sterling 10 – 20 years ago would have been kicked into submission but now they are protected. Grealish is similar, and often has two men marking him. We are a little spoilt for choice up front. I hope we can hang on to Grabban and if we do I can see Hogan leaving and hopefully McCormack probably on loan again. Then we would have 4 very different types of strikers in Grabban, Kodja, Hepburn Murphy and Davis. It will be an interesting summer regardless of what league we are in.
Good points, Holte.
I like Grabban too, because he’s clever in his play.
I see a place for Davis, but he has to keep moving around and creating space.
The days where a big focal point could just hang around, conserving energy are well gone.
And that’s what Davis is miles away from, for me, as much as I like him.
That said, maybe that’s why Bruce often made him play out wide, where it seemed he was ineffectual, to me?
“Regardless of what league” will bring a whole new bag of marlies to the debate.
I’d suggest we’d need a major clear-out.
But that’s for another day, if we even get promoted 🙂
Problem with Grabban is he’s 30 and has never been successful in the Prem. I’d take him as like a 3rd/4th choice striker, but we’d need an actual good striker to replace Hogan and McCormack. Murphy is a great striker to have in front of goal. 13 in 13 for the U23’s. If we go up, I’d love a striker like Austin if we’re focused on the”experience” and loan Murphy out to the Championship for a season to get the needed playing time.
Grabban has 1 league goal in the Premier League in his career. While I’m not sold on the you need experience, which the likes of Jesus proves clearly, but he’s failed, Grabban. Championship sure, make a low bid and sign him up, but as a main striker? We need a good striker. We obviously need a couple more playmakers as well with Snodgrass only being on loan, as well as Onomah.
While I like Davis, he’s not one you’re going to rely on. He’s good at bringing other players into the game which is why Adomah went on his run of goals, but you can’t rely on him to get goals. West Bromich, Stoke etc have shown target men aren’t working. Movement and such are huge.
I just read that McCormack will receive a £1m bonus if we get promoted even though he’s contributed FA since he joined us and hasn’t even played a game this season. I would like to know who negotiated his contract as I need someone to organise a massive pay day for me without me having to work for it.
If true it’s absolutely scandalous; perhaps FFP should start by vetoing some of these ridiculous contracts.
Makes me sick thinking all these so called prima donnas getting mega rich without having to earn it. I’m sure my boss would be impressed if I don’t go into work tomorrow because I couldn’t find any WD40 to unlock the gates. Especially because I don’t have any gates 🤔
Yes, I’ve seen that Hitch and at first glance it boiled my piss.
But then I reflected and saw that it’s just part of the game these days.
I’m sure we can all name a few who have made a fortune out of the Villa for contributing nothing, after all.
And while we might be amongst the worst clubs for this type of thing, we certainly aren’t alone.
Me, I’d happily pay ten of these payments, if it means we get promoted.
That is, it then becomes small fry in the scheme of things.
That apart, some good debate about the kids.
Me, I side with Nath, in that we have to look at the level they’re playing at.
It was Reading’s second string, in the Prem 2, after all.
Davis has the best physical attributes and Bruce said he was fading quickly.
Green has the pace and guile and a couple of others have the look about them, but they’re nowhere near the rigours of the Championship, let alone the Prem.
Nath made the very good point about how they do when they go on loan and it’s frankly not that good.
It fascinates me how we, as a club, more than most, seem to have this romantic notion that we can keep turning out “one of our own”s, while the reality is that we’re bloody poor at it, as I’ve often said.
Indeed, I think it places massive pressure on any of the kids who do come through, with Grealish being the typical example of someone letting it go to his head, until recently.
I think you’re being harsh on the kids. We seem to have a problem bringing them through and keeping them fit. Murphy’s been injured off and on for the last few seasons. Green looked decent at the start of the season before getting injured. Grealish got injured. Players like O’Hare had 103 minutes in the league. What is he supposed to do with that little bit of time over a few games? They’re not gonna get better without time. Whether we loan them out or actually play them.
Sterling for all his goals is honestly one of the worst finishers in the league. If he could shoot, they’d be in the finals of the CL right now having scored 8 past Liverpool. However he’s played since he was 18, from Liverpool to City. 6 seasons scoring 49 goals. While obviously our youth won’t do that, he was given time. A 17 year old sits tied in 6th in the Championship for goals. A 17 year old. Who started as a fullback. James Maddison at 21 has 14 goals from midfield. He’s playing regularly for the first time in his career. We almost seem scared to give youth a chance. Our fans don’t seem to want to actually give them a chance. They see them play for 10 minutes and instantly think they’re not good enough. Davis came in and got to play, and he improved, and proved he was good enough as an overall target player to give teams trouble which brought Adomah and Snodgrass into the game. No as I’ve stated many a time he’s not perfect, no he’s not reliable in front of goal and no I wouldn’t start him if we go up, but he got game time. How is any of our youth going to show how good they are if they’re not given the chance? Grealish has proven given a chance he’s good enough. Hell most thought he couldn’t handle the Championship, now most think he’s far too good for it.
Another main reason we haven’t been able to bring them through is the type of manager we’ve had. Houllier was good enough to bring them through and hell, was forced too. But we looked good with them. But since then… Sherwood maybe, but he was a crap manager anyways. Get a good manager in, who has a new age thought process, and we’ll see a few good youth given time and prove themselves.
Andrew, I take all your points onboard. I really do.
But we can’t afford to gamble, is my take.
We simply don’t have the players to look after anyone who might be the slightest hint of a liability.
It’s why we paid stupid money for the likes of McCormack, without doing due diligence.
And my view of that is that, yes our expectations are far above even Wolves, this season. Even with their, no doubt to you, obviously superior manager.
Expecting the Villa to piss all over Wolves at any time, is a mindset, that you just don’t see, I’m afraid.
Yes, we are deluded at the moment, but we’ll always be bigger than them.
The point is logic goes out the window when it comes to supporting the Villa.
Always has done and always will.
We’re the biggest club in the Midlands, fact.
Even if other local clubs are a league higher.
And it’s why we wont ever mess about with kids or unknown managers (at least not until recently).
We have to be seen as trying harder, even if it proves wrong.
And it’s big pressure, as many managers have said.
Putting it shortly, don’t expect kids any time soon.
Until we’re forced.
Which as it happens, might be next season.
Hopefully not.
I don’t expect youth to be played, it’s unfortunate though. I don’t honestly think the youth need to be carried though. Grealish has confirmed he can carry the team and make something out of nothing. We have a habit of looking at youth like playing with 10 players, when we should be looking at them as an asset.
I do agree the rest of the team might not be up to scratch, but that shouldn’t falter with the kids getting a chance to prove they’re better than the current team we have.
Some very good debate about our U23’s who have stood out amongst their contemporaries this season which must be a positive. I haven’t seen them play, other than in the pre- season friendlies which doesn’t count for much.
Having said that I think both Green and Davies have acquitted themselves well when they’ve played. Green’s development and that of Hepburn-Murphy both affected by injury (remind you of anyone?). I think some of the comments about Davies are a little harsh (and, anyway, Heskey didn’t do too badly in his career!)
Of late we, as a club, seem to have let a number of promising youngsters go too early – I think it’s two now play regularly for PNE (Robinson is one) who can still edge into the play offs (I think) so they must be decent players.
Having said all that I tend to agree with your last sentiments Badger although didn’t someone once say ‘fortune favours the brave’!
I followed the under 23s from half way this season and loved the way they played, McDonald done a pleasurable job in the way they play, if we don’t move kids through to the senior side its pretty obvious they are deemed to be sold on.
We have 4 thirty year olds and 4 on 28, to 29 year olds in the senior side. The way Villa are going its buy buy again, We have the best set of fans that have followed the team away, Grealish has been a big draw and I think its time to bring in them youngsters.
you cant compare davis with murhpy they are two ends of a scale. one plays very direct, rarely gets involved in any build up play. the other plays a massive percentage outside the box,with his back to goal. strikers are judged on goals so they say. well not when they contribute in build up play and creating goals.
to answer the same old story of including more youth. i believe they should be included only on merit. why should we include a youth player, who can offer less ability then say grabban aged 30 plus. doesn’t matter if we own the players or what aged they are. snodgrass grabban onomah they all have good ability. if this is better than what we have. then its simple they get to play.
youth players need to improve to get a game,its that simple. only aim for the managers is to pick a team which is capable of beating the opposition. playing a team which includes two or three youngsters in it with less abilities than players you omit, weakens our team for that match.
you have to weight up blooding players to improve them to what you want to achieve your season goal. our aim this season was to get promoted not to blood youth players and build for future. we are down to championship rounds in boxing the rounds 10 11 12 playoffs semis and final. all season boils down to these three games. if you think players like ohare are not a downgrade on grabban or snodgrass than you wont mind bruce picking ohare and dropping of of them two. maybe drop them both and put murphy in up front,
Probably what I said previously about Davis was a bit harsh. He does offer something different to the other forwards we have. He came in when he was the only fit striker and did a great job in bringing Adomah and others into the final third. Against some teams he will be able to cause problems preferably with two up front. I don’t think he will be a prolific goal scorer though. Andrew made a good point that some fans have formed an opinion of our youngsters after playing a game or two in first team. Most players need a run of games to adapt, and that includes experienced professionals. It will always be down to the money pressures of whether it’s getting promoted or avoiding relegation that prevents youth coming through. Managers are too scared of the risks involved and would prefer safe bet of signing or loaning players. An ideal opportunity would be mid table comfort which we haven’t had for several years.
if you were the manager of the club and you had pre season you mould your squad. are you saying you wouldnt have bothered bringing in the loans we have and you would have played your youth. so say snodgrass who has played the right mid or wing all season. reliable and good consistent performer. you would have not bothered to bring snoddy in and played players like ohare and other youth, so instead of grabban being loaned in you would have played murphy give the youth the opportunity
other teams loan out their youngsters to other teams, like a finishing school where they can improve and make mistakes not detrimental to the parent club. why would we play our youth, which two of our best so called youth. failed to cut it this season at division 2 why then would we risk it blooding them with every game we played this season, very important to promotion.
we wrote off our fa cup campaign playing these youths which are quite ready. we got a hammering to a team one league below us, if we had blooded them in the league also,you can only imagine we would have dropped more points.
this season is balancing on a knife-edge. success and failure is determined in the next three games.now is not the time to even be considering dropping better players for potential players.who might never make it there are no guarantees
corey talyor is another player from the under 23 he is not ready but another player with lots of talent. i really believe they should have loaned ohare out second part of this season. we will see if that has held him back. when mckirdy returns from his less than successful loan. it will be interesting to see if hes learnt much and improved for the experience. because even bad experiences are good ones. he might come back a fair better hungrier player ready to challenge for a first team place at villa,
Bill, if you were to eat some cheese today, what type would it be?
Blue Cheese Bum bum, I’m blue to the core.
Nice choice.
Aston Villa will reportedly offer Gareth Barry an emotional career swansong if they are promoted back to the Premier League.
Our sister paper the Mirror reports today that the club will add the 37-year-old to their ranks if they can win the play-offs.
Barry is the all-time Premier League appearance holder with 653 games and is currently injured at West Brom after being sidelined with a knee operation.
The report claims that the the left-footed midfielder is keen to keep playing in the top flight and it is unlikely that he has a future at The Hawthorns.
He has a clause enabling him to quit The Hawthorns if the bottom club drop into the Championship.
Barry has reportedly put his Cheshire mansion up for sale for £4.5million and wants to relocate permanently back to the Midlands.
Villa are potentially willing to include coaching opportunities too if Barry is interested.
Barry first signed for Villa as a 16-year-old form Brighton.
He was signed in a controversial deal between the two clubs when Brighton demanded £2.5m for Barry and Michael Standing, who also joined Villa as an apprentice.
Brighton settled for a deal that would have seen them make £2.4m in the event of the two youngsters making appearances for the England national team.
Sorry to hear that Steve Bruce’s mother has now passed away having lost his Father earlier this year, our thoughts are with you and your family Steve during this sad time.
Sad News that Rock1, I wish him all the strength through his loss. May she R.I.P.
Tonights AVFC U23 game is free entry to anyone who happens to be in or around Swansea – otherwise the match is also being streamed live via Swansea City’s website from 7pm
Is it on YouTube Bill?