Villa – Fulham; Er, we can win this, can’t we?

So what to think here then?
After what I think was a total debacle against Wolves, I’ve decided to let it go and think we should just move on.

I’ve seen it said in quite a few places that we can’t beat teams above us and while at a glance that’s true, I’m not convinced that’s quite fair.
Ok, Wolves beat us easily and they’re not currently top of the table for no reason.
Cardiff beat us quite easily too and they’re currently second.
Reading beat us and they’re currently struggling.
We got a point against Bristol City.

Er, so what’s my point?
Well, while our record looks bad on paper as it stands, all of those games were away.
But if we beat them at home, it puts things in a slightly better light, doesn’t it?

As for the rest of the clubs above us, we haven’t played them yet, so we can’t really comment.

What I’m saying is if we’d played those sides at home and won, we’d be top of the table now, sitting very pretty.
Whilst perhaps not immediately realising that we’d have to face them away later in the season.
Things can and definitely will change over the course of this season and we’ve got some very tough fixtures out of the way quite early.

Which leads us to Fulham. At home.
Where I think this is much more of a “must win” than last week.

Fulham are sat just a point below us and play a pretty open game, with the same sort of threat that Wolves presented, in quick passing and pace.
There’s no doubt it’ll be another tough test, but I think it’ll be a much better representation of our credentials for promotion.
Win this and we’ll all no doubt be happy for another week.
And we really should, as we all know our home record is much better than the away one.

So what do we know?
Grealish, Lansbury, Jedinak aren’t quite ready.
Gabby is injured. Again? Hmm, read permanently out of the frame and rightly so, although expect him to miraculously recover to make the squad against Blues.
Otherwise, I don’t see much changing, except maybe Onomah coming in to give Davis a rest? Or perhaps just an early substitution if the game’s going well?
There’s a very good case that says Whelan and Hourihane are too slow, so maybe Conor will sit it out with Onomah in his place?
I can’t see Bruce dropping Whelan at all.
Taylor is of course, still suspended.

As for Fulham, Ryan Fredericks is a doubt, but Aboubakar Kamara,
Captain Tom Cairney and ex-Villan Jordan Graham are all available.

All in all, we’re very decent at home and Fulham are very decent away, which should make it a good game, you’d think.

I’m going for that home advantage to give us an edge.
2-1, to us then.
And I dread to think of the repercussions if we don’t get the result.
The pressure on Bruce is about as strong as I can recall in recent times. I don’t envy him in the slightest.

28 Comments

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  1. owen
    owen October 20, 2017 at 7:46 pm . Reply

    I think we’ll sneak a 1-0 win, that I will definitely celebrate…..

    Same team that lost to fulham will play for me – if Elmohamady doesn’t fuck up we could have maybe hung on for a very lucky 0-0. Second goal a result of pushing forward and a definite handball.

    Fulham are good but we always get a result at home, – 3 defeats at Villa park in 18 months – 1 defeat in 14 games at home , fact. I think we’ll be okay tomorrow – opinion.

  2. owen
    owen October 20, 2017 at 7:46 pm . Reply

    Against Wolves i mean, hung on against Wolves

  3. Villain1
    Villain1 October 21, 2017 at 1:29 pm . Reply

    Must win after last weeks debacle, but we struggle against teams with technically superior players and its usually when Bruce’s non-existant tactical ability get shown up. With that in mind id be pleasantly surprised if we pull of a result

  4. jvillan
    jvillan October 21, 2017 at 2:29 pm . Reply

    last week we should went 1 up front ,not today at home to fulham bruce still doesnt realise we should not be afraid of any team in this league,defeat today and he has togo

    1. Andrew
      Andrew October 21, 2017 at 6:19 pm . Reply

      Nope, we should always play a 4-3-3. That is the formation that continuously works for us.

      1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
        OohAhPaulMcGrath October 22, 2017 at 1:37 am . Reply

        That means playing 5 in midfield every week which is good in some games when we are overpowered in midfield but sometimes better to have 2 up front

        1. Andrew
          Andrew October 22, 2017 at 7:10 am . Reply

          Not always 5 in midfield. 2 wingers that should be pushing forward/inter changing. Kinda like Milner and Young did under O’Neill. Something Adomah and Snodgrass don’t do. 2 up front works against teams like Burton but they’re not gonna work against top 12 sides. Don’t think 4-3-3 as defensive as it doesn’t have to be. Napoli are the most attack minded side in the world right now, bar maybe City, and they play a 4-3-3, they just have an attacking midfielder who is willing to drop back.

  5. B6
    B6 October 21, 2017 at 2:43 pm . Reply

    3-1 Villa meaning Andrew and JV both have crappy weekends.

    IN BRUCE I TRUST.

    UTV.

    1. DSVilla
      DSVilla October 21, 2017 at 3:12 pm . Reply

      Maybe a draw. Good luck with placing your trust in Bruce๐Ÿ˜Ÿ

      1. B6
        B6 October 21, 2017 at 4:53 pm . Reply

        Good luck in supporting the club. ๐Ÿ™‚

    2. Andrew
      Andrew October 21, 2017 at 6:12 pm . Reply

      Why would I have a crappy weekend as we won? Right…. You actually think I’m happy when we lose. Clueless.

    3. jvillan
      jvillan October 21, 2017 at 6:38 pm . Reply

      i take it you are langford or one of his 4 amigos who have disappeared after last horror show ,

  6. DSVilla
    DSVilla October 21, 2017 at 3:14 pm . Reply

    Oh forgot. Another crap performance whatever the result

  7. Adam
    Adam October 21, 2017 at 5:48 pm . Reply

    Quiet this afternoon ๐Ÿ˜‚.. 3 points up to 5th, having a great season so far, long may it continue.

    1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
      OohAhPaulMcGrath October 21, 2017 at 5:51 pm . Reply

      Good result today and we played well overall. I think itโ€™s fair to say itโ€™s away from home where Bruce hasnโ€™t cracked it. We will be bullied all over the place next week. I would start with Davies as Kodja gets bullied to easily away from home

      1. Adam
        Adam October 21, 2017 at 6:18 pm . Reply

        Yeah It is just the away form we need to crack. It will come though, id agree, maybe Davis and Hogan? With Grealish picking up the knock downs and feeding the intelligent runs of Hogan?

        1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
          OohAhPaulMcGrath October 22, 2017 at 1:35 am . Reply

          Hope so away Form is the real worry now. Iโ€™m not convinced that away form is top 12 let alone top 6

  8. Andrew
    Andrew October 21, 2017 at 7:04 pm . Reply

    4-3-3 works best for us, especially away. Davis or Kodjia up top, Grealish in behind them. If need be we can take a midfielder off and put Hogan or one of the other two on, but 4-3-3 is still our best formation where we get the best results.

    1. Owen
      Owen October 21, 2017 at 11:26 pm . Reply

      You’re insane, 442 has just got us in to the playoffs with 5 wins in 6 and loads of goals scored- what planet are you on? I think you’re a Blues fan – on here for a wind up.

      1. Andrew
        Andrew October 22, 2017 at 7:05 am . Reply

        Seeing we just played 4-3-3 against Fulham and won, you’d as per usual be wrong. We also played 4-3-3 during that run of wins where Kodjia kept us up before getting injured. I know you like to think you’re smart when you make said comments, but you’re not.

      2. Andrew
        Andrew October 22, 2017 at 7:06 am . Reply

        Plus, why would I be a Blues Fan? I could pick any team in the entire world… I would have better options. I’ve been on this site for 9 years now, but you keep telling yourself I’m not the Villa fan. I’ve argued with more intelligent trolls on here before.

        1. Owen
          Owen October 22, 2017 at 10:30 am . Reply

          I’m pretty sure it was 442 or 4411 yesterday. Onomah far too close to Kodjia to suggest he was playing in midfield as he was not next to Whelan and Hourihane who in my opinion were in the centre of a 4 man midfield with Snodgraas and Adomah on the flanks. 433 worked last year when our midfield was shit I will concede. But this year we’ve only won when we’ve had Kodjia and Davis up top or yesterday Onomah just behind Kodjia. Onomah was in the box and attacking far too much to have been part of a conventional 433.

          1. Owen
            Owen October 22, 2017 at 10:41 am . Reply

            This is what the Birmingham Mail thought, just their opinion but…..”Onomah played almost as a second striker and was the difference”. The article is on the website in the match report if you would like to check the reference.

            As a History teacher with an MA in Military History, I doubt you’ve been trolled by someone like me before. Have a great weekend…

            1. OohAhPaulMcGrath
              OohAhPaulMcGrath October 23, 2017 at 7:09 pm . Reply

              ๐Ÿ˜„๐Ÿ˜ƒ

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