The dirty word that is work means I probably won’t be able to get to see this game, unless I can somehow wangle an early finish. Fingers crossed.
The big story is Covid. The recent Omicron variant has wiped out half of the Premier league games. We have players out, as do Burnley, because of it, but what’s confusing me is that there are no set rules as to what justifies cancelling a fixture.
I suspect I’m just like anybody else and don’t have a clue what the rules surrounding Covid are anymore. Fans attending the game will have to produce proof of their Covid jab status unless they’ve shown the pass online beforehand. I think players are having to do Covid tests every day.
And then there is a Premier league manager’s meeting on Monday. You have to wonder what that’s about and although all the noises are that everybody wants the game to carry on, I suspect it’s been called to ask the managers what they think about their being able to contain the virus in their club.
What we think of the jab is not important, but either way it’s probably sensible to think that the takeup rate amongst players is on the low side. Hence I think the Christmas period of games stands every chance of being wiped out totally and the managers meeting might well be a case of them being told “if your players don’t get vaccinated, forget it.”
In other words, tomorrow’s game might be the last for a while.
Still, I love a bit of conjecture and have been known to be wrong. Let’s hope I am again here.
Covid apart, the next big news is that Nakamba has gone under the knife for his knee problem and is likely to be out for 12-16 weeks. That’s probably him written off for the rest of the season then. That’s a shame and a big loss.
As for other squad news, Steven gerrard had this to say;
“Ashley Young is 50/50. Keinan Davis, Sicknote Sanson and Anwar El Ghazi are out, Leon Bailey, Bertrand Traore and Marvelous Nakamba are still out.
You can work out who is out with what.”
Actually he didn’t call Sanson “sicknote”. That’s my (most likely poor) joke.
As for working it out, I’m assuming the first three have Covid.
Where all this leaves Jed Steer, I don’t know. Perhaps he tested positive for Covid earlier and is now okay to play?
Burnley have an unnamed player who has tested positive for Covid. Ashley Barnes is out through injury and Connor Roberts and Dale Stephens face late fitness tests.
Maxwel Cornet should be available.
I think it’s all a bit academic because (fingers crossed again) we have this one in the bag, even though we have a poor record against them and we’ve only won one in the last six.
There’s only one proviso to my over-confidence and that is that we have to get stuck in and not let them physically dominate us. Gerrard alludes to this himself;
“I went to watch Burnley against West Ham at the weekend and it’s very clear in terms of their style and what they want to do.
They want to make the game extremely uncomfortable for you from start to finish. We have to make sure we’re ready for the challenge, the battle and the fight. Hopefully we can make the game look how we want it to look, in terms of the style of the game.
We’re going to have to be at it, we’re going to have to play like men, in terms of standing up to the physical challenge. We have to be as strong as we can across the pitch, and we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
In other words, they’ll try to bully us into their way of killing the game and stopping us playing. We all know what they’re about.
Fortunately, Gerrard has already been on the case and we are slowly moving towards having a more er, dubious edge to our game that more follows his nature than Dean Smith’s. I reckon Burnley can look forward to a bit of their own medicine.
If we can compete in the physical side of things, just like Norwich, I think we’ll have too much for them.
There is one last thing.
I mentioned last week that there was talk about some players not playing the game and accepting the way Gerrard and his team were applying their methods. The good news is that Gerrard has come out and said the opposite, meaning that basically I was talking out of my other orifice.
“Every player, to a man, has gone above and beyond, and been really open and engaging.
They’ve been wanting to take our identity on board and go and show It. Against Norwich in the last game was certainly the best we’ve looked, in terms of what we’re trying to create here.”
This is excellent news and while I’ve posted a lot of quotes there, it all adds up to one thing.
Everybody seems happy and that only bodes well on the results front.
I’m going for another 2-1 win prediction.
I have a sneaky feeling that it won’t be particularly convincing , just like the Norwich game and we’ll all find things that we could have done a lot better.
But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?
If we think we’re not firing fully, yet are still getting results, how encouraging is that?
UTV!
Comments
80 responses to “Villa – Burnley; A win, but it’s all about Covid”
Another win should see us move up the table.
Dare we dream of Europe after all?
Yes and no!
We are no where near good enough for Europe are we?
After 5 straight losses we were heading for the Championship and after 4 wins in 6, Europe is back on the table. Neither is a rational response but then we’re football fans so rational thinking isn’t part of the Psyche is it?
What’s important from Monday’s meeting is that the clubs agree a sensible set of rules within which to decide whether a game should be postponed or not due to Covid – at present it seems to be random and determined by how loud a (Sky Six) club shouts. It has to be fair to all clubs.
Gerrard recently implied that vaccine take up at Villa was high which is a positive. He also talked about whether only vaccinated players should be considered in the January transfer window which is interesting.
Anyway, back to the game which was my yes.
We need to be beating the Burnley’s but historically we seem incapable of doing this. As you say Badger, with more steel and belief in themselves under Gerrard I have to go with your win prediction.
Famous last words.
We should be aiming for Europe.
Whether we are as good (man-for-man) as say, WHam, Arsenal.ManUre, Spurs, etc., is a matter of opinion, but that’s at least the level we ought to be playing at now.
As it happens, while I don’t think we’re up to the levels of L’pool, ManCity or Chelsea (at least not in depth of squad), I do believe that we’ve got players at least as good as the other teams above us at the moment. I also believe that the arrival of GS & co means we now have coaches who can take our squad much further forward.
I don’t believe there are any easy games in the PL, but at the same time we should be able to stop losing to teams who have nowhere near the quality of individual players that we have and who rely on simple effort and physicality to stay in this division.
So I don’t expect us to ‘thrash’ Burnley, but we shouldn’t be worried about losing to them, either.
So i’m going say 2-0 tomorrow!
Sounds like a game for the skipper to stamp on someone’s face again (preferable one of the opposition). Can big Tyrone go for the hat-trick? All tongue in cheek of course, as I would never advocate deliberately hurting an opponent.
I hope Mr Dyche’s team-talk will go like this: “OK boys, I don’t want any of you stamping, lunging, kicking, nutting or shitting on any member of the opposition. We’ve got a bad reputation for being shit players who only get results by trying to maim the opponent. We can’t have this, so play nice…” As if.
Go on skipper, do it for Wesley. (just kidding, again, of course – no really).
UTV
Personally, if he’s going to do it to anyone, I’d like it to be to Dyche.
Not, that I’d ever suggest such a thing, really…
It’s going to be a very short MOTD tomorrow night. Shame we’re not having the game televised with Sky not being able to show their usual fawning guff.
2 nil to the Villa as long as we bring extra shine pads along.
I’d be sending them out looking like elite BMXers, Bum Bum, never mind shin pads!
Burnley without Cornet are a much weaker side. Thankfully he won’t be playing as he has a thigh injury and given how long Traore has been out with his thigh injury there’s no chance Cornet can make this game. Burnley are sound defensively but man for man we are better so I do expect a win, particularly as we are at home. We may just need to be patient to get that first goal as Burnely will get everyone behind the ball and that’s been our downfall in the past. I have a feeling Buendia may be instrumental in this game and it may spark a good run of form for him. Looking forward to this, I really hope covid doesn’t spoil the Xmas football, a win tomorrow and I’d fancy getting a result from Chelsea with the confidence we will have.
Come on lads, we’re Villa and gentlemen. Stamping on heads and kicking shins, we never do that would we ?ho go on then I’ll join you what time and when.😂 just think how many fans around the country will be watching us and saying !! Is that Aston Villa? Gosh there’s a team to watch think they may be in Europe games soon. Ok I’ll put my drink down and stop dreaming again. Poor old Badger having to work ,only policemen and shops work Saturdays? don’t they..
And career criminals. Didn’t you know Badger is a cat burglar?
He nicked our puss last summer!!!
It’s off,lads just been announced
Oh no!!!!!
The EPL have to sort this out.
I can see all games called off until the New Year to allow the current Covid problem to subside through isolating for 10 days.
It’s unfair on the fans for late postponements like this – not blaming Villa as they can only deal with issues like this in real time.
How long no football?
With today’s postponement due to Covid in the Villa camp, I think it unlikely we will have another match this year. This is pure speculation, but 10 days isolation takes us to 26, without anymore players contracting the virus(very unlikely). Players would then need time to train for some sort of fitness. The earliest I think possible is FA Cup V Man Utd 10th January. However, I think even date maybe wishful thinking.
How could we fare with another shut down? Amazingly our fixture list until 10th January only includes one team – Chelsea who play in Europe. That should make rearranging fixtures easier. As the European competitions severely impact when matches can be played. This should help ease out fixture congestion. Even if the league did not start again until the end of the first week in March, only Man Utd FA Cup & League would add to difficult fixtures to rearrange. This could really benefit us, as other teams may have a sudden overload of fixtures. I do not expect matches to be distributed evenly for re-arrangement, hence it advantaging us.
Longer term impact. Can the league finish later this year, yet have to start earlier due to the World Cup? If it did, then I fancy a potential upset in final league places next year. Is the ideal team one that has the highest quality players not going to the World Cup? I am working on the theory a player returning from this tournament will struggle, many players do and they have a rest after it.
Maybe FIFA and EUAFA need to review the fixture list and build in capacity. To date we have had 3 wasted weekends, where Villa could not play due to international matches. Perhaps try and stop milking this cash cow at the expense of the product. A slim chance as both appear to put money at the heart of their decisions and both have recent problems with financial corruption.
Sidforever, that may well be the case, it’s also highlight the issue of clubs financial problems in the lower league and lower divisions throughout the country. I just cannot believe that its took uptill now knowing this pandemic would take hold of sporting event’s. Night Clubs , pub, will go broke , what a state we’re in. and its getting worse.
I half expected the game to be called off. If the clubs can’t get the players jabbed (and they won’t) there is no way the game is going to be able to continue.
And I believe the government is hinting at a two week lockdown anyway, although I think that’ll be straight after xmas.
I see very little chance of any footy over xmas 🙁
With £100m transfer fees you would think the premier league clubs could fast track the results of PCR tests! The tests were taken yesterday and results came back today! That’s a disgrace with fans already travelling to the game. I had a PCR test late morning and got my positive result back early evening the same day, so it is possible.
It’s not quite that simple Holte.
The club doesn’t make the decision and has to ask the Prem board, who then say yay or nay. It takes time.
Whilst there is no Football to discuss, and we don’t know for how long, I thought I would take the liberty to seek some help.
I am looking at collecting the complete programme run for Villa’s European Cup triumph in the 1981-82 season.
Does anyone know how,and where, I could purchase a copy of the away leg programme for the first round tie against FC Valur of Iceland ?
I believe it was a newspaper style programme.
I have tried e-bay but nothing doing. I am willing to pay a reasonable, but sensible price.
Thanks for allowing me this post
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1981-82-european-cup-fc-valur-aston-532453676
Try here Mark …
The opinion is that the omicron variant is a watered down version of Coronavirus and South Africa, a country with low vaccination uptake is seeing small amounts of hospitalisation. Are we going overboard with Covid now? Should we stop the self isolating? There has to be a time when we go down the route of living our lives depending on how we feel. If we feel okay carry on as normal. If you are visiting frail or elderly relatives, take a lateral flow test before you go and wear a mask to be sure. I totally understand the precautions before vaccinations were available but now we are in a different place.
Holte, I’m inclined to agree with you.
There is insufficient real data to accurately predict the level of hospitalisation which is the only critical point. Sage is giving advice based on modelling making all sorts of assumptions and if you look back at the modelling done a year ago all of it significantly over estimated the level of hospitalisation and death – that’s not to say the reality was grim.
As you say with vaccinations and the superb rollout of boosters I’m not convinced we are in any way in the same situation – if we are then heaven help us in the future.
The other (latest) evidence from SA is that, whilst the infection rate rises rapidly it also subsides as quickly and the point has been made that all lockdowns do is prolong the agony.
Apparently if infections are doubling every two days then we’ll all have it by Christmas anyway 🙂
*wasn’t grim
If I made a model of my cock, it would be at least a metre long…
Exactly BFR
Isn’t it 🙂
A good tool for measuring social distance,perhaps. Is it inflatable or does it fold into your pocket like a Rabone ruler?
Play-doh and PVA glue. I tried chicken wire and papier-mâché but the wire kept tearing my smalls.
Right, I have the following to unload about COVID’s destruction of the Christmas football program. A month ago we lost a friend to COVID – he was 44 years old with 3 young children, fit and healthy. Shocking and incredibly sad. So I fully understand the dangers.
However, like Holte, Hitch and many others, I just can’t fathom why everything has to grind to a halt. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t we hear EVERY winter that the NHS is on its knees due to winter bugs? And don’t people, in their hundreds, maybe thousands, die of flu every winter but without making the front pages? Oh and if there’s another lock-down, how many more children will get abused and killed when stuck in doors with sick sons (and daughters) of bitches? Not to mention all the cancelled operations and failure to treat everything else that kills people but no one bats an eyelid. It just doesn’t add up.
Anyway, I want my footy over Christmas and even paid Amazon for a month’s Prime, which I’m ashamed of, such is my loathing of them.
These are seriously f**** up times and I just hope there’s a way back!
Omicron is supposed to be very mild.
But it’s about percentages. Previusly it might have been 5% of 40,000 hospitalised.
Now they’re worries about 5% of 400,000 hospitalised.
And anything is apparently better than that sort of number hitting the NHS at once.
I’m sure that as much as it wrankles, we all agree that the NHS has to come first.
Agreed Badger but the scientists don’t actually know and in the absence of real data they go for the ‘scare everyone shitless’ scenario.
Heard of the boy crying wolf with his finger stuck in the dyke?
Forgive the mixed metaphors.
The Shirky principle: An institution has a vested interest in maintaining the problem to which it is the solution.
We see that daily with the excess of news outlets.
Bingo.
And thank you OLL for enlightening me/us on The Shirky Principle. Until now, I thought that principle was called being a lying, cheating, c***.who is as bent as the day is long.
Best recent examples other than the police for whom crime pays [their salaries] are child psychologists and Vets. The former sell excuses and pills and have exploded demand because they alone identify the problem and offer the solution. The latter sell pills and insurance after convincing the gullible their pet will be in mortal danger as soon as it reaches the park.
Now – who would really see a career nosedive if Covid disappeared?
Thanks William. I did see that website but unfortunately what was on offer has already been sold. Thanks for trying though
Mark, this may sound daft so feel free to laugh but have you tried contacting FC Valur?
Good luck with chasing one down Mark. I guess watching ebay day and night is the only solution.
Just imagine how many went in the bin all those years ago…Ouch!
What when we won 5-0, all the Villa fans have saved them I bet.. good shout Hitch that would be a chance, sorry I never bought one ..
Thanks Hitch. I did actually have a quick look on Google with a view to contacting FC Valur. However, I tried the link on Wikipedia which took me to, what I believe is, their website but it is in Icelandic ( no stating the obvious please ). I am going to have to translate in order to find a point of contact.
Just wanted to thank all those for the advice. I know it is trivial in light of what is going on.
Mark don’t know if you seen this site , bit bloody dear if you ask me £49 .
https://www.shpock.com/en-gb/i/Xir3WHC8cmLAPYcV/aston-villa-v-f-c-valur-1981-82-european-cup
Mark, Google translate is your friend;
https://www-valur-is.translate.goog/um-val/starfsfolk.aspx?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB
Thanks Bill but it is the away leg I am after. You ‘re right though. I only paid £2.95 plus postage on ebay for the one you showed.
Tried this site Mark.
Birmingham based auctioneers specialising in football programmes.
https://www.footy-progs.com/
Let me get this right, Xhaka didn’t see red for almost snapping Raphinha’s ankle this afternoon, despite the existence of VAR?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Pass me the f****** whisky.
Single malt – cask strength I hope!
The World’s gone mad – Sodom & Gomorrah.
Don’t look back or you’ll be turned into a pillar of salt.
Hitch, don’t go there. There is is something frighteningly true in that conclusion. The word ‘Biblical’ can comfortably be used when describing the mess we’re experiencing today, and dare I say it’s going to get worse…
Now, where’s that f***** whisky…
Bent as a five Bob note…
Just been reading about the current EPL protocols around Covid testing which were followed to the letter by Villa yesterday leading to the postponement just two and half hours before kick off.
It seems Burnley’s midweek game against Watford was postponed at a similar time before kick off.
The EPL have to seriously review their protocols because postponing games so close to kick off isn’t right and isn’t fair on fans already travelling to matches.
Let’s hope they come up with something more sensible tomorrow even if it means postponing all games over Christmas although I can’t see that happening given the pressure from the TV companies over prime time viewing.
No pun intended!
The EPL / Clubs have decided to carry on as normal then. If there are 13 fit players plus a GK then they must fulfil fixture.
Wonder how that might skew results and ultimately affect both ends of the table – bit of a lottery?
That shows you what they know about football , sit there and take the money seems to be the trend . A club spends millions o players for them to tell a football club you must play what you have, effing stupid in my eyes.
Bill, according to the report there were clubs pushing for fixtures on 28th to be postponed – I suspect they would be the clubs most affected by Covid and with European and Cup games to consider.
Those clubs broadly clear of Covid see an opportunity to profit in terms of potential points!
Then add into this potent mix TV revenue and the outcome is hardly surprising.
A year ago, without vaccinations, Covid was a scary threat and lockdowns and restrictions on freedom were the only weapon – now I’m not convinced.
Scientists, on one hand, talk about relying on data and then, on the other, produce doomsday predictions having admitted they have little, or no, empirical data to go on.
In my book it’s time to move on – otherwise why did we support the greatest and, possibly,most successful vaccination programme in history?
Just to add – in fairness to the players,
The EPL statement suggests that vaccination rates amongst EPL players is in line with those generally across the country for people in their age groups. This seems to be markedly different from the EFL
I welcome the chance to use our young guns Hitch, in my youth I trained young soldiers at 18 to be able to fight for the country, so why class 18 year olds as not able to match a twenty odd year old person, or even older, It’s all in the mindset what you want in life. it’s skill against skill give them that change to play..