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02 Dec 2025 11:13:48
Afternoon all.
When Villa sign a new player, I want that player to succeed with every bone in my body. I realise that it might take time for that to happen, there may be mistakes and disappointment along the way. But i'll cheer them on regardless. I also want them to feel loved and indeed wanted by the club and the fans. To feel welcome, to be met with kindness.
This is the principle I apply to Evann Guessand. And as such, I find it unfathomable that fans on this forum and at Villa Park are so quick to rip into him. Last week at the YB game all I heard was F this or F that directed towards him. If you want a player to succeed at your club, or at our club, help him, don't abuse him, moan about him or endlessly swear at him. How will that make him play better? How will that make him feel part of our club? He's only been playing for us for 4 months for christ sake.
I simply don't get it. I'm sure this will get the usual responses of 'they get paid enough' or 'i've been going to Villa for XX years so i'm entitled to say what I think' or 'this is what forums are for'. Which is nonsense. I'm talking about being supportive and decent to another human being - one who wears claret and blue.
We have three weeks of midweek and weekend fixtures. This will mean all players in the squad will get minutes. Guessand, Sancho, Maatsen, Bogarde etc. They need our full backing. All the time.
1.) 02 Dec 2025 17:09:23
Spot on Syston some are quick to jump on a bandwagon never ever looking at the bigger picture.
2.) 02 Dec 2025 20:44:39
Syston I was saying to Tom, when Guessand was at Nice, he was a completely different player, some need time to settle in, some just try to impress, but try to hard and that’s where it goes wrong UTV
25 Nov 2025 21:46:35
Sorry, bit late to the post Leeds party.
Good thoughts shared below. Sundays game was a bit of a grind, but, a win none the less. Not a game that suited Buendia, so all credit for Emery for recognising we needed changes at half time and introducing some pace and urgency in the dynamic Dutch duo. Malen rapidly becoming a fan favourite by making something happen each game, regardless of starting or coming on as sub. Good to see Rogers continue to make more meaningful contributions as well. Beautiful freekick, almost a copy and paste of Buendias against Bournemouth.
Feel for Onana - in the build up to the international break he was getting better and better - against Bournemouth in particular we saw plenty of those powerful driving runs. But he's made of glass it seems, hope this is just a small knock and we see him back in the squad on Thursday.
Much discussion about Ollie - for what it's worth i'm not convinced he's been fully fit at any point this season. But that said, completely justified to speculate on additional striker firepower in January. Much will depend on our financial predicament (of which I have no idea). Suspect it might be a case of another loan signing or two - maybe not at the Rashford or Ascensio level. If we did have some cash, and felt brave, i'd love to see Mateta at Villa. Think he'd suit us perfectly (and it would stop him scoring against us for Palace at least twice a season).
Anyway, on to Thursday night. No idea how i'm going to get home from work, get my son from school, and then get into VP for 5:45pm kick off. Here's hoping the M6 and A38M are kind.
07 Nov 2025 07:31:41
Morning.
Really odd evening. As many have said, focus ended up being far more on politics than on 90 minutes of action on the pitch. Never seen so many police at a football game, but they were very friendly and chatty. Protesting I saw was peaceful and engaging. But a really quiet and flat atmosphere both outside and inside the ground.
As for the game. Largely flat tempo and slow play. You could see, especially in the last 10 mins of the first half, that when we put our foot down, we could cut through them at ease. Shame we only did that in fits and starts. But, that said, in what was an incredibly awkward fixture for all sorts of reasons, we still won.
Shout out to the Dutch lads - Malen, Maatsen and Bogarde were the best players on the pitch for me. And we got to see a rare thing - a Villa penalty scored!
There is a player somewhere within Guessand. I can understand the critique he gets, but I feel that he will come good. This is based more on hope than evidence admittedly, but fingers crossed.
Lindelhof is not a RB. Far too exposed with him playing there against pace.
Poor Harvey Elliott. If he can't get a kick in that game then we've clearly given up on him. I wonder if there is something in the 'once he's played 10 games we have to buy him' rumour? Clearly Emery does not fancy him.
On to Sunday. Flat tempo and slow play will get picked off for fun by Bournemouth with their energy and non stop press. I'd expect to see a starting line up something like this.
Martinez
Cash / Konsa / Torres (fit?) / Digne
Onana / Kamara
Buendia / Rogers / McGinn
Watkins
Also Malen might start?
Great to see Youri back.
1.) 07 Nov 2025 07:57:36
Great post.
Highlighting the positives and also identifying some of the issues, eg. slow play.
Guessand is surely a better player than we've seen so far and for £23m we should expect a lot more from him. Sometimes players struggle to settle at a club and this might be one of those.
The 'Elliott' question is an interesting one. Only Emery knows the truth, at the moment.
Sancho looked a bit better last night.
Bournemouth will provide an altogether different proposition.
UTV
23 Oct 2025 20:39:56
Evening. Bit of a reality check I guess. Not sure I'd point a finger at the changes to the starting 11. We created plenty of chances in the first half to be comfortably ahead. But didn't take them. And got punished for it. A risk against any team in any competition. Any team who wins a domestic cup competition cannot be mugs.
Hopefully a healthy dose of humility will present itself in the post match interviews.
Then reset.and be ready and up for City.
05 Oct 2025 19:50:49
So, four wins from four and an improving mood in the fanbase and, by the looks of it at Villa Park as well. It would drive a person mad to try and work out what's changed pre and post the Bologna game. In truth it doesn't really matter. Drive, zip and energy are back. Or at least coming back. Not perfect but plenty of improvement.
Regards to today, 100% agree that we could and should have been out of sight by the time they scored. But we saw it out and that's what matters. Shout out to Malen, two cracking finishes. Shout out to Bogarde for continuing to grow into being a starter. And shout out to Rogers, our second goal was him at his best. Find him in space, let him run at them, then pick the key pass.
Good to see Barkley back.he is very underrated for us (injuries have not been kind). And Onana as well.wrap him in bubble wrap between now and the Spurs game.
Hopefully the next two weeks will get Mings, Youri and Garcia back.
Was Sancho left out because he was still sick / ill? Does anyone know?
1.) 05 Oct 2025 21:15:03
Don’t want to see mings anywhere near the squad makes the whole team negative. Keep super pau at the heart of defence stepping into midfield spraying those passes around.
2.) 05 Oct 2025 21:15:44
Probably threw his dollies out SV and how long is Elliott going to keep quiet.
3.) 05 Oct 2025 22:37:33
Tom you hate of Mings and love affair with Pau, is becoming very embarrassing. Personally Iv always been in the Mings camp, but even so Iv stated how well Pau has played, the last couple of games UTV
4.) 05 Oct 2025 22:57:34
Hi Tom didn't you say sell Torres andMcGinn a few weeks into the season?
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30 Nov 2025 16:35:00
Fair comments. Today's performance was a grind. Local derbies can often play out like that. We did look flat and huffed and puffed without much end product. That said, we won, and there have been numerous games in recent seasons (Utd 0-0 at home last year, also the 1-1 vs ten man Ipswich) where we didn't take three points from this sort of game. Today we did. If you can't win pretty, win ugly.
I think we played some decent stuff on Thursday. Our issue is plain to see, we're missing a striker who can finish off chances within 18 yards of goal. We have that striker in Watkins but it isn't working out at the moment.hence why the Jan window is important to us.what loan magic can we come up with. Thursday went flat when we took Youri, Malen and Rogers off as they were ripping YB apart at will.
The gold standard this season, in my opinion, was Bournemouth at home. I'd love to see us play like that every match. But when we don't, I just want us to win.
23 Aug 2025 18:47:37
A very frustrated banter page this evening. I'd say it's as much the players as it is the manager. Yes he selects the team and the tactics, but the team still kick it around the pitch for 90 mins.they can up the pace themselves, overlap runs, turn from pedestrian to energised and direct.
There are two standouts for me at the moment.
1. Rashford and Ascensio were far more valuable and impactful to this team than I realised. Their goals and assists aside they clearly lifted the performances of the team. They helped raise the bar. Dragged better performances out of players.
2. As many have said, we are two narrow. We seem to have far too many 10s and no width. Qualifying for the champs league was in a large way down to the contributions of Bailey and Diaby.wide pacey players. With plenty of goals and assists.
I can see what we're trying to do in breaking the lines through the middle, but have an 11 that can do both that and offer width.
The sun will still rise tomorrow and the hens will still lay. This result will sting and next week vs Palace will be (has to be) better.
No moaning about PSR because nobody can change that. Use some guile, get some players in, and come out fighting vs Palace.
15 Aug 2025 15:21:34
Good question SC.
I'd expect the defense and two holding mids to be pretty much locked down.
Bizot
Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne
Tamara, Tielemans
Then it depends on fitness. If we assume MR is fit i think he'll go.
Rogers, McGinn, Malen
Watkins
Can't see Rogers and Buendia both starting as they both want to be through the middle as 10's so we'll have no width. Also can't see Bailey starting IF rumours of his departure to Roma are true.
Leaves a decent bench of Mings, Bogarde, Maatsen, Onana, Garcia (if fit), Bartley (if fit), SIJ, Buendia and Guessard. Plus a keeper (who is 4th choice? ) . Might have space on the bench for a few young uns as well.
28 May 2025 07:31:46
Assuming this mornings news is correct (Wiki page says he's signed) then the young Dutch lad is a prime example of Dazs 'buy young' comment. He has a whiff of Duran about him. And, were he to become a first team regular in the seasons ahead, would return a tidy profit given he cost nowt. It is very clinical but that will be Villas thinking.
25 May 2025 18:08:14
A tough day. Similar emotions to the Cup semi against Palace. Hard to stand back with perspective when you feel really cheesed off.
The reality is, in the time Emery has led Villa we are much improved and competitive across multiple competitions. We've got into the top 7 three seasons running, qualified for Europe three seasons running and got to Cup semi finals.
What we are lacking is the ability to 9 times out of 10 win the games that matter (like today) .
Be interesting to see the ins and outs over the Summer. The future is still bright.