I’m still on a high, as the game did become entertaining in the last few minutes, but I can’t say the same for probably the previous eighty minutes.
I believe Steve Bruce was playing this one with view not to lose, as was suggested by his “we’re tough to beat” comments of late.
And it was working well, as we subdued them, while not causing any real threat on our part.
But wow, it was tedious for the most part.
We created nothing in all and when Leeds had a chance from a set piece, so they scored.
You might think it was only fair that we reciprocated and indeed we did, as Gestede threatened in the box and caused a penalty via a handball, just after he’d come on.
Kodjia duly converted to give us a point, but I have to hold my hands up and say I don’t think we deserved it.
In what was a canny game on both sides, I feel Leeds were overall better, as they hit the woodwork twice, with the second effort being almost miraculous that they didn’t score.
I have to think harder about Bruce’s tactics for this game, but the truth is I think he got it wrong every way you care to think.
Players seemed to be played out of position and I’m sure it was some kind of a test to see if they can apply his instructions.
If that’s so, I can live with it.
But that wasn’t pleasant viewing and after that, Leeds will finish above us comfortably.
I’m not impressed, as you might tell.
fair and balanced view their badger
We all wanted that win, but be honest not with the likes of Westwood, Ayew, its been like that for weeks if not months, not able to change because we don’t have that player or player’s, Grealish pissed me off going off, its like surrender in a game, ok wimp if you like, that game was a must to us fans, still that candle still flickers and the chance is still possible. Monday next game hopefully new news for our team.
MOTM?
Amavi, who gave nothing away.
A class apart and rarely put a foot wrong, imo.
Contrary to some views I’ve seen?????
Tell me that you are joking Badger!
Which part Hitch?
Second MOTM?
Hutton.
Hard;y put a foot wrong.
he did his two feet went out on field
??? Amarvi motm are u in drugs badger😄
In isolation a draw against Leeds is okay, but we’ve simply had too many draws already. Its going to be hard to make 6th now. The other teams are more consistent than us and in order for us to overtake them we’re going to have to win 5 or 6 in a row at some point and I just dont think this team has got that in them.
Badger. You think Amavi was MOTM !!!!!!! I don’t know what you’re drinking mate but can I have some. First half, he tried to let the ball run out of play for a goal kick but was caught out which nearly led to a goal and as for his second half performance, he was constantly caught out of position and couldn’t pass the ball to save his life. Until he went off injured, Grealish was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch. Hutton was one of the few players to put the effort in 2nd half and Adomah put in a great 20 minutes when he came on.
The players were there to do a job today.
The main thing was to not lose.
And they didn’t, which is what Bruce pointed at.
Trust me, he’ll be patting them on the back, as they did their job, regardless of what you or I thought about the game.
And he’s quite simply right, imo.
We can pick faults out of every player on both sides, as the quality is awful at this level.
I suspect Bruce knows this better than all of us.
“Grealish was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.” – Really??
I’ve just come back from the game, and ever since half-time I’ve been complaining to anyone who’ll listen that Grealish was completely ‘missing’ after a a few interesting touches in the first few minutes. To me he was basically a waste of a shirt and I was glad when he came off.
I will agree with you about Hutton though – as usual he put in a full shift and was one of the few Villa players who wanted to go forwards, rather than passing back or sideways whenever we had a chance to break quickly
Spot on.
As for the match. I do feel that we got out of jail but that was due to the lateness of the equaliser. We bossed the first half and could’ve scored a couple. Kodjia’s shit which was saved and Chesters header which just went past the post. Granted, Leeds improved immensely second half and did create chances for themselves. We got lucky with their efforts that hit the crossbar but, after Adomah and Gestede came on, created more than enough to win it ourselves. Kodjia had a couple of late chances, one if which was well saved by Green so, yes, I think a draw was a fair result.
Kodja should of passed to Mcormack at the end if he had we would of won
I’ve mentioned this before, Kodjia is far too greedy and has no intention of building a partnership with McCormack, moments like that cost points, and that has happened 3 times so far that i’ve seen this season.
Kodjia had a SHOT saved first half, not a SHIT LOL 🙂
I honestly taught we would win tonight, Leeds where the better team and should of taking 3pts.
Bruce will know that the players he has will be lucky to make top six. Transfer window needs to be busy if we are going to challenge for top six.
It was actually quite an entertaining game to watch at VP, although exasperating at times – and bloody cold oustide the ground when we came out!
Leeds were better – classier- but having said that, we didn’t deserve to lose either.
IMO our basic problem is that the team is disjointed: there’s a big gap between ‘defensive midfield’ and forwards where several creative midfielders should be.
And that’s one reason why I’m so disappointed with Grealish. He’s supposed to be creative, but almost every time I watch a game, he’s all ‘promise’ but no ‘delivery’; he seems to expect defenders to step back and give him a free run into the box, and he can’t tackle.
We need to find a midfielder who’s solid when defending, but who actually knows how to provide service to the forwards – and do it early in the January window.
Big problem with Grealish is he’s always looking to show off by dribbling around players and then he loses the ball. Sometimes a simple pass is all that’s needed.
Because we had no mid-field we resorted to the long balls and crosses from upfield and TBH it paid dividends in the end. If we had a mid-field we could be bloody dangerous. We just need a couple of players with reasonable pass selection and I think that we could easily make the top six…
…oh if we had a goalkeeper too of course.
Bunn seems ‘adequate’ to me at this level.
Mind you, I’m more than a little curious what we’re going to do when some of these players go to the African cup competetion next month; maybe then we’ll see what position McCormack actually plays best in – assuming that he’s moved out as soon as the window opens?
* NOT moved out!
Checking in to B6 will be goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi from Reading and striker Jelle Vossen from Club Brugge.
Hope not both crap
While no doubt BS, have you even heard of Vossen before? Because he’s not crap.
Was at the game and Amavi was too cocky on at least three ocaissions, two of which nearly gifted Leeds a goal – specifically the late second half chance which hit the bar. Hutton played as well as anyone on the pitch as did Westwood – it’s pointless just rubbishing players for the sake of it.
Ayes was a complete waste of space and contributed absolutely zero – we looked a lot better when Adomah came on and gave us an out along the wing.
Baker and Bunn were at fault for the goal – both should have done better. Kodjia generally holds the ball too long – quick release at times would have helped.
Imho there was no real stand out player for us but, objectively, I thought it was a decent enough team performance against a form team. Once again the difference was in the mid field – we have no one that can control the game and after Leeds scored it got very frenetic. I enjoyed the game fwiw.
as per burton hutton was standing marking noone leeds jumped up headed ball
if hutton played well we may go play league 1 cant pass cross or tackle but runs about like a dog chasing his tail
It was Baker that lost him what game were you watching?
yes baker lost him but hutton stood by let him jump free.
as for westwood oohah hiis best game hahahahahahahahah
i can understand most fans,they know we lack creativity and still surprised we struggle against the better sides. i totally agree with hitchens, westy and hutton had solid games and fans should stop rubbishing players for the sake of it.
the match was entertaining, i dont think bruce set up to draw, but will be happy with it. i feel leeds were the better TEAM and that was the difference between the sides. villa were individuals trying to win the game on their own and leeds they did this but collectively. defended together and attacked as one.
villa wasted good chances, leeds gifted us early on. also the kodjia incident highlights my point at the death. had he squared the ball to mccormack it was a tap in and we win. grealish is not ready to play that role behind striker. he does nothing creative unless its deep and he fresh and comes on late.
don’t be downbeat about this. bruce will now have his chance to improve the team. a few signings will make all the difference.
westwood solid game what did he do for central midfield player its was only when we threw kitchen sink at did we create anything
sorry i cant go through the game for you. westy had a solid game. nothing special, but also by far not the worst performer. i remember he tracked a leeds break in first half. putting the ball out for a throw. look instead of bitching watch the game you won’t miss stuff. if you want next game i will write down he contribution minute by minute. he was solid but thats his problem.
you want a stand out player like amavi. he was below solid, he very nearly gave the game away on numerous occasions, one was in same position westy put the ball out for a throw, i just mentioned. well amavi was in same position and he dilly dallied and allow them to keep the ball in and put in a dangerous ball,
westy is covering players like amavi and hutton when they are dashing forwards. learn to watch this and not just the ball .
.
it was westwood cross that led to leeds break watch the game
you also said hutton had good game ,now westwood was covering for him ,what game where you watching
JVillan – we now know you don’t like Bruce, Hutton and Westwood as you repeat it obsessively and endlessly. You need to find a new tune to sing 🙂
Draw was a fair result.
Leeds midfield a lot stronger than ours.
Westwood bacuna and gardner are too lightweight.
If bruce can address this in january will will continue to get better and easily make the playoffs.
Amavi has been getting better but last night gave the ball away too many times one that should have cost us at the end.
Strange game on reflection. Leeds were the better team yet we could have scored four or five if we’d taken our chances.
I honestly don’t think we’re a million miles away but whoever we get in mid-field will be crucial to our progressing further up the table. Personally I hope we can nick Brady from Norwich, he’s energetic and always looking to pass forward, plus one more.
We definitely need a GK I reckon we’d be just about in the top six if we hadn’t dropped valuable points due to GK errors.
Hutton played well but we still need another RB.
Good luck Stevie with the January shopping list.
Most exciting year coming up that we’ve had for ages.
UTV
omg you are obsessed. do you ever shut up. do you ever consider your posts. mine are b/s but i don’t just post nonsense based on fiction.
players you are bitching about daily, are players wearing aston villa colors. they also have nothing to do with steve bruce, yet you were bitching about him. like hes some kind of a magician. turning water into wine & crap players into world beaters.
lastly for record i never mentioned hutten other than westy was covering amavi and hutton. was just a example. but i will say ON LAST NIGHTS GAME. hutton was better than amavi. because he was less of a accident waiting to happen. he tried to see the ball out and allowed leeds to get the ball inside our box. he got takled just outside the box, he misplaced on a few passes.
but you don’t see this cos ur obsessed, you should watch the game and not just look for the mistakes by the players you loath. all players make mistakes the better players make fewer.
Nath – you’re wasting your breath mate.
For the record I enjoyed the game and thought Hutton and Westwood played as well as any other Villa player last night and the track back and tackle by Westwood in the first half was a great piece of mid field play. Both of them were looking to go forward but I thought we lacked some movement up front and failed to create enough space – Ayew, I thought was particularly poor. It was noticeable when Adomah came on how he managed to create himself more space and thus provide an out ball.
It was an OK team performance but Leeds definitely moved the ball around much better than us – particularly for 25 minutes or so mid second half. The real plus points for me are that we never gave up, looked like we wanted the win rather than trying to defend the draw and SB willing to go for it with his substitutions. All of those represent a massive improvement on last season.
i agree with your assessment totally. also like how you acknowledge our downfalls, but you look at the positives, which quite rightly you pointed out. we never gave in against what was a very good team effort by leeds. bruce i don’t believe sent his team to get the point. but like you said once they got the equalizer they still pressed on for the win.
i honestly think we are not that far away, leeds had a better team in they were together, they hunted the ball in packs, they also attacked in 3 and 4’s. this minute difference, was a major factor in why we never created much from open play. when we did create we were over committing
i believe a few astute signings in key areas, will improve us, the team will grow and steve bruce is no fool he knows what we are lacking, also areas we lack.
Good post Hitchens. One of the best games Westwood has played and that tracking back he did was world class. If Pogba had done it the Media would be having a hand fest well into next year!
Looks like some movement on the GK front –
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/2503800/aston-villa-target-sam-johnstone-manchester-united-goalkeeper-set-to-be-steve-bruces-first-january-signing-after-agreeing-a-loan-move/
Loan move for Sam Johnstone – any thoughts?
Well we do need a top keeper although tbf Bunn hasn’t really let the side down. Could probably have done better with the header last night but he kept us in a winning position agains Burton. Don’t know anything about Johnstone but he clearly has Championship experience and is rated as a decent prospect. Will Gollini go back to Italy?
Sick of us taking Loan deals sod all has changed since Lerner left
Another loan move smacks of small club syndrome no thanks sick of us being finishing school for sky four players
Thing is though Oohah the majority of clubs make use of the loan system and it seems perverse to me to ignore it. I understand your point in that loans don’t improve the team in the long term and would endorse a general criticism of the loan system as it now operates (the original intention has been completely lost).
Leeds goal scorer (and top class CB) is on loan from Torino – we have to compete and comply with FFP so, on balance, we have to use the loan system to our best advantage.
Pretty much Hitchens, nor are we exactly well known for taking on loans from teams. Not sure the last youth player we made really good. Maybe bar Walker, but he couldn’t defend for crap for us. Believe we had Jenas at one point on loan. But we’re not exactly one’s that use it often. We’ve seldom taken advantage of it and we definitely should. If they were good enough, which johnstone isn’t.
Heard a rumor at the match last night that Snodgrass from Hull could be on in the window?
Never heard of Sam Johnstone, wouldn’t want an untried United reject! Although I personally like the untried United reject we have – Gollini but as a number 2 due to his lack of experience. Bunn only good when he has nothing to do. Green was the difference in us drawing or beating Leeds last night IMO!
Fair result overall though! I can see us playing them at Wembley in May!!
Hope not they will hammer us
watch what a bruce team looks like tonight hull v everton
so around 12 games into steve bruce’s reign,we gone from 3rd bottom to top ten, with a squad not his own. now jvillan doesn’t rate him. forget 4 promotions on his record
most fans want players of messi caliber wearing their shirts, we have been relegated, we need to dust our self off and start to rebuild. i can think of very few managers, capable of handling the pressures at VP the expectations at VP. we was in freefall before bruce arrived. he has only just started the task of rebuilding.
but Jvillan isnt happy. tell us all who you think should be our manager and ideally your players you want him to buy. then will you not be slagging him or his players down weekly. i doubt it
2 promotion with blues after taking down once
two promotions with hull after taking them down spending over 50m in process and his last promotion with hull i would say safe bet for relegation
warnock has more promotions but wouldnt want him but as long as your happy watching that shite i am happy bruce is king
Put Messi in a Villa shirt and he would be crap. That’s just the way it is at the moment. Bruce has done an excellent job imo but we can judge him better in next month or so when he’s bought a couple of players in
@JVillan FFS Shut the f*** up about Bruce until he’s brought in some players of his own. All this sniping is just being childish.
You can only judge a manager once he’s brought in his own players so wait a bit and actually see what happens.
So far so good as far as I can see. As for loans I have no problem if its the right player and I believe with Johnstone that there’s an option to buy so what’s the problem?
I’d really love to have a time machine and take all the moaners back to the end of last season, a season where we accrued just 17 points and were a total bloody shambles.
We’ve thankfully come a long way since then and mostly due to SB.
Next year will be claret and blue!
Agree entirely.
Can’t understand why anyone’s moaning about a manager who’s taken a squad that he had nothing to do with, and who were totally clueless when RDM was ‘in charge’, and in less than 3 months has managed to transform them at least into a team who don’t give up fighting and who’ve become very difficult to beat even when not playing particulalrly spectacularly.
After several poor seasons, and then the last one in frefall, it was always going to take time to turn the playing side around; Bruce has done that part and while we’re all desperate to see Villa shooting up the table, realistically he’s got to have at least some transfer activity on his own watch so that he can shape his own team.
Everton snatched a draw at the death. Your point is?
i am prepared to say iam happy with bruce, yeah i guess he is the king whiles he doing a good job. now your not happy, tell us your choice warnock is currently employed, but you said you wouldn’t have him. its easy saying this player is shit and that manager is rubbish. much harder to stick your neck out and grow balls and say who you much rather have. because ppl might just throw this back at you ??? don’t be shy just one name of a manager so we can see your taste. throw in a couple of players your you much rather see as well maybe we can ask santa for a late delivery
Nath – I admire your tenacity but you’re wasting your time trying to have an adult debate with JV
Yes the initials JV are the give away (Junior Villan)
back to our childish name calling just because my points are true and yousein dreamland about bruce hutton westwood
we are only 8th best since bruce took over and his first signing is another keeper bruce bit like captain titanic can t see we need a midfield westwood and gg never be one even in your dreams
In fairness, JV, we don’t know who Bruce is after, the same as the press.
A goalie makes sense, as Gollini was a mistake in that he should never be number one at the moment, imo.
But that’s the easy one, as Maureen wants Sam to go on loan.
I’ll bet money we have two mids coming in.
Who? God knows, but Bruce can pick them ocasionally and very well too.
He’ll bring some duds in too. All managers do.
8th best???
Please explain, as I’m confused by that comment.
We’re currently 9th in the league and I suspect that if you look at the record since Bruce came in he might be higher??
Either way, I’d suggest that’s not too shabby, given that none of our players are his.
Comments like these are baffling. JVillan, you do realize we can sign more than one player, correct? And it’s highly likely we’re in talks for more than one. I agree, Johnstone is a waste of a transfer, but this one doesn’t stop us from more…
Bruce or big fat San are the only two managers that would get us up. Neither are good enough for prem but they would keep us up but not much more. I think it would be a blessing in disguise if we don’t go up this season as we are still miles away from being even a poor prem team and would go straight back down. Best we take another year and rebuild and come up a much stronger team with more confidence imo
Just popping in to wish you all a happy New year, mine will be crap as the missis in hospital since boxing day. Giddy get it down you mate.
Happy new year to you both mate hope she’s feeling better today whenever you can GET IT DOWN YER 🍻 PS send her my best wishes
@Bill
Hope she gets well soon, not a great time of year to be visiting the hospital is it?
Hopefully the lads will do the business on Monday and cheer us all up.
Bill, sorry to hear your missus not well; best wishes for a speedy recovery and to you both for 2017
OOHA did you delete one of my posts last night??? Badger didn’t if so why??
It’s because you were really drunk and asked both Badger and OhAhh to marry you.
Don’t worry about it Giddy! 🙂
Lol 😁 what a tart I am
Furthermore, you said you’d get down on one knee in the centre circle at half time at the next home game wearing a Bloose kit!!!!!
Never never I must of been possessed the thought I’ll never touch a drop again 😂
badger
after today fixtures we can go as low as 13th,
8th best run some papers had during week only preston norwich are on bad runs
explain the difference in gollina and johnson
if take fisrt couple matches for gollina only one mistake v leeds and seen the best make that
FFS JV lighten up man.
To try and answer your question – Johnstone has experience in the Championship and is well regarded. Gollini has very little experience and none in the UK. Bruce has said he’s ‘young for his age’ or more brutally immature and is struggling with starting in goal.
I don’t suppose it will make a jot of difference to you but I gave tried!
Nontheless best wishes for 2017.
22 appearances for pne seasoned pro compared to gollina
but i suppose no childish name calling
as above best wishes for2017
dembele and roberts both starred for celtic this morning at 20 19 years of age in probably most hostile match
While Gollini may have little experience, he at least did it in the top flight, and was a starter. Johnstone has the same amount of experience in the Championship and League One experience. I’d take Gollini’s experience over Johnstone’s all day. Johnstone only played 4 games for Preston last season in the Championship, he played for them in League one. He did play for Doncaster for 18 games but that was it.
Nice to see we’re keeping it civil, gents, thanks.
Funnily enough, I’ve just posted about form and progress.
As for the goalies, I’m not convinced by Johnson either and we could easily be going from the frying pan to the fire, imo.
It doesn’t make sense to go from a young, inexperienced goalie to another one as an alternative.
But wtf do I know?
And I’ve never been keen on loans anyway.
As for Celtic, I could probably start for them and be part of a winning side in that league, so I’m not sure I see your point?