Re: Championship rivals thread 2017/18

[Guest]

If the twitter fans are anywhere as thick as the Villa fans on Facebook, I pity Xia

[Villa_Dan]

People don't seem to realise that if we gambled and knowingly broke FFP this season chasing promotion but failed we'd be fucked. Transfer embargo or even starting on a points deduction.

Wolves are pretty much guaranteed to go up so it's not a gamble for them. Whereas we are still paying £6.5m a year in wages for Gabby and Richards!!

[deadbuzzardalive]

If Wolves were to break FFP rules they could still be punished regardless of whether they got promoted or not, as happened to Bournemouth and Queens Park Rangers, they only received a fine, but the sanctions are now potentially much harsher with a points deduction or even a demotion an option.

If they really are signing Silva, then I suspect it will be an initial loan and then a permanent deal once they secure the Premier league money.

[AstonThriller]

Well Stoke fans seem to be hanging off Alan Nixon's every word on twitter, which probably isn't very wise to be honest, given his track record, but he's said that Stoke's first choice target isn't Rowett, the club he's at wouldn't put up a big effort to stop leaving, it's an 'ok' name, and he's not managing a Premier league team but has in the past, based on that a lot of their fans are now worrying that it is going to be Bruce.

I think if any Premier team was to go for Bruce it would be Stoke, but I doubt he'd be interested in leaving us for them, unless we advised him that it's best  if both parties moved on.

LOL with Bruce's constant sniping at the fans? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to piss off...and I'd be more than happy for him to do so .

[AstonThriller]

If Wolves were to break FFP rules they could still be punished regardless of whether they got promoted or not, as happened to Bournemouth and Queens Park Rangers, they only received a fine, but the sanctions are now potentially much harsher with a points deduction or even a demotion an option.

If they really are signing Silva, then I suspect it will be an initial loan and then a permanent deal once they secure the Premier league money.

Do you really believe that bollox? It's just a typical Portuguese link because of Mendes. Silva is in a world cup year and he's gonna leave a champions league team to go to that dump? I mean come on, do the maths . It's funny seeing those cretin Wolves fans actually believe that story though!!!..They are gonna be in for a rude awakening when they realize Mendes's sending them his clients won't be enough to challenge in the Premiership.

[achilles]

Reports that Wolves have bid £30m+ for Andre Silva, a lot of Villa fans having a meltdown about it on twitter and questioning Xia.

Reports is the right word, lets wait and see because noway can they afford it if they are following FFP!

[Villa_Dan]

Thing is they probably can.

Their new owners only started spending 18 months ago, before that the club was run tighter than a ducks arse. And FFP is based over 3 year spending.

So while Xia had the fucking huge wage bill, on top of costs in paying off managers, plus £80m in transfer fees to account for. The Wolves owners don't. They have only 18 months of spending and wages, which means they probably are safe from FFP for the next 12 months, by which time they'll be getting that sweet sweet Premier League Sky money.

[Guest]

It doesn't even bother me. We could sign Lionel Messi and we would still play shit hoofball with Bruce in charge. Guess those of you who live close to Molineux have other feels about the matter though.

[Dazzle]

I might be in a minority, but I really couldn’t give two fucks about wolves and what they might be doing. Ditto the Villa hating, slum-dwelling, 12-toed, inbred freaks. If and when they start putting offers in for Villa players then it becomes relevant. As long as Aston Villa FC get their shit in order then it matters not a jot what others do as we are the biggest sleeping lion in the division. Functioning correctly the top 2 should comfortably be a minimum for this football club.

[deadbuzzardalive]

I was bothered about what Wolves were doing at the start of the season, because they were a competitor, but now they're so far ahead of us, that they're gone now, so it doesn't really matter what they do between now until the end of the season, in fact it's probably better for us that they do well, and beat some of our rivals for us.

A lot of the meltdown from Villa fans came from the fact that as there were rumours that we couldn't afford to maintain our pitch properly they were being linked with a thirty million plus footballer, which obviously paints two very different pictures of fortune of two clubs bought by Chinese owners, but neither is probably true (or at least I hope we can afford to maintain the pitch).

[De Kuip]

Right, well a good result for us in the Sheffield derby means we really need a favour from East Anglia as Ipswich could do us a favour against Leeds and Norwich ditto against Brizzle. I'm torn regarding the Derby game as if they lose we're that much closer to second but if they win I can enjoy the bedwetters from the sty getting their sorry noses rubbed in it. I'm not expecting Blunderland to do anything at Cardiff but that might be one of those "givens" that throws up a victory for the hopeless.
Of course none of this matters if we fail to beat Forest - If we do so we want fecking shooting.
Tomorrow could be a superb day or one where yet again we blow a chance to.make real gains.

[deadbuzzardalive]

I want Derby to lose, depending on how results go we could be two points behind them tomorrow or eight points, and I know which scenario I prefer; small heath will have plenty of time to lose other games, hopefully Hull and Burton who are both at home, pick up wins, to keep the pressure on them.

To be honest I don't have a good feeling about the Forest game, they will have new manager bounce and will have momentum from beating Arsenal, so hoping all the earlier kick-offs go our way at least, if we can't close the gap, then it not getting any bigger is the next best thing.

[deadbuzzardalive]

So Cardiff are back in second place despite having lost four of the last five, shows how poor this division is. This evenings game has now become a must win.

[achilles]

So Cardiff are back in second place despite having lost four of the last five, shows how poor this division is. This evenings game has now become a must win.

Exactly the standard this season apart from Wolves is really bad, not a good reflection on us is it?

Keep on saying that we are better than this but you can only say that for so long before accepting the reality of the situation!

[AstonThriller]

So we got the job done and it was crucial. Cardiff and Derby were playing the bottom two, whilst we had to travel to a side who has won plenty of games this season, just beat Arsenal and have a new manager aswell. So we definitely had the short straw this week and we've passed with flying colors. The Sheff U, Preston, Bristol, Leeds and Boro results were just perfect as it meant we'd have stayed in 5th place regardless of the result tonight.

Anyway, next weeks games look very interesting.

Derby vs Bristol (Friday game)
Villa vs Barnsley
Bolton vs Ipswich
Fulham vs Burton
Leeds vs Millwall
Norwich vs Sheff U
Preston vs Birmingham
QPR vs Boro
Reading vs Brentford
Sunderland vs Hull
Wolves vs Forest
Wednesday vs Cardiff

That Derby game is MASSIVE!!...Bristol have come off the rails big time so they will be under huge pressure to get it right. Whilst Derby need to keep winning to stay in second place. And then Cardiff have to go to Wednesday with their new manager having his first game at home. So I see that being a tough game aswell. Leeds also have a tricky little game against Millwall themselves. And we all know how tough QPR away is so Boro could have their hands full. The one team I do worry a little about is Fulham though, they've won four of their last five games and have some easy games coming up so we'll have to keep an eye on them.

All in all we might have a big chance to make a move next Saturday and hopefully go within two or three points of second spot.

[achilles]

The one team I do worry a little about is Fulham though, they've won four of their last five games and have some easy games coming up so we'll have to keep an eye on them.

I think Fulham are definitely riding their luck, how on earth they didn't have a penalty awarded against them when Kalas man-handled the Middlesbrough player to the floor right in front of the referee and then they get a very soft penalty right at the end!

The referees in this league are abysmal, although I heard Darren Ferguson going on about the referee in his game in League 1 so perhaps they are just as bad!

[Guest]

I don't really pay attention to the EPL without Villa there, but out of interest. Wasn't both Hull and Sunderland relegated last season? It isn't often to see two newly relegated EPL teams in the bottom of the championship is it?

[smetro]

I don't really pay attention to the EPL without Villa there, but out of interest. Wasn't both Hull and Sunderland relegated last season? It isn't often to see two newly relegated EPL teams in the bottom of the championship is it?

No - It also makes you wonder despite all the jaw bashing, that how well we have recovered - only Newcastle have done better of the six sides related with us and the season after - and of the six sides I would say we were in the poorest state when we got relegated.

I am often a glass half empty man - and feel that the form we have now should have come earlier, that said if you look at Sunderland and Hull we have recovered much better.

Whilst I want promotion this season I think for the first time in years the club has upward momentum - if we don't go up this year I still think we will be pretty strong next year.

[Guest]

Good post. I agree on that.

My only gripe with Villa atm. is that our football is so shite to watch. It's improved under Agnew, but against Blades we returned to the same hoofball shite. We simply got to improve on that. Having players like Hogan, Grealish, Adomah etc. and hoofing it makes absolutely no sense, and if you observe the result of the hoofing, it most of the time leads to us inviting pressure back on.

[smetro]

Good post. I agree on that.

My only gripe with Villa atm. is that our football is so shite to watch. It's improved under Agnew, but against Blades we returned to the same hoofball shite. We simply got to improve on that. Having players like Hogan, Grealish, Adomah etc. and hoofing it makes absolutely no sense, and if you observe the result of the hoofing, it most of the time leads to us inviting pressure back on.

I can see your point - I won't pretend the football is great. But we are in the championship and I haven't missed a championship home match since we have been relegated - The only side that has looked quality in that time was wolves last season. You don't have to be stylish and play good football to ride high in this division - not many teams are.

[achilles]

An interesting article about Fulham, I know they are doing well, just didn't realise just how well!

05 February 2018, 14:31
Fulham remain hottest team in Championship
The old betting cliché is to always bet on black. Perhaps a new cliché should be created that states you should always bet on Fulham in the Championship.

The Cottagers stretched their winning run to five matches on Saturday with a commanding 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The win pushed Fulham to fifth in the Championship table on 51 points. The white and black are three points above seventh place Preston and now six points back of automatic promotion.

Fulham haven't lost in the Championship since December 16th. The team is on a run of eight matches unbeaten, and seven of those fixtures have ended in Fulham wins. Slavisa Jokanovic's side has scored freely this term. Fulham have tallied the second most goal in the league (51). It is just three goals off of league leader Wolverhampton Wanderers goal total this term. Fulham have conceded just 35 goals. Over the course of their last five games, Fulham have given up just two goals.

Teenage sensation Ryan Sessegnon leads the Cottages in goals with 11. It has been a break out season for the English 17-year-old. His performances at Craven Cottage have made many compare Sessegnon to Real Madrid star Gareth Bale. Both started as left-backs, but like Bale, Sessegnon has shown his attributes are far more useful in attack.

Fulham have 13 players who have scored goals this term. The team's scoring diversity makes them a difficult side to beat. Jokanovic's tactics have allowed a number of players to find the back of the net, and Fulham are peaking currently. The secret is for the side to keep things going as the promotion playoffs get nearer.

Fulham's upcoming fixture list will challenge the Cottagers. Just as good as the team has been and moved up into the top six, a few bad results and Fulham could find themselves going the opposite direction. After visiting Bolton on February 10th, Fulham will play Aston Villa, Bristol City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Derby in consecutive matches. All four sides are in the top six and are playing good football. After playing Derby away, Fulham will take on Sheffield United and Preston, two clubs just outside the playoff spots. It is an incredibly unenviable set of fixtures for Fulham. It is also unbelievable that the club's fixtures would line up six consecutive matches against top teams in the table.

Fulham are the best team in the Championship currently. But with the team's set of fixtures on the horizon, it may not be wise to always bet on black – or Fulham. If Fulham can take 10 or more points from the 18 possible over their six-match gauntlet, then the Cottagers should be seen as a realistic club for Premier League promotion.

[Guest]

Ryan Sessegnon is the perfect example. He'd never get a look in at Villa. Never ever.

[Dazzle]

Fulham are on a fantastic run for sure, but so are Villa. I think they’ll face a really tough fixture away at Bolton, it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t win there. Should we pick up an expected win at home to the blue noses we could be more than a couple of wins in front of Fulham going into the fixture at their place, and that would be welcome breathing space. Derby remain the biggest obstacle, they have the position and they continue picking up wins. A surprise defeat or couple of draws here and there for Derby wouldn’t go amiss! As always, though, we have to keep winning ourselves. It’s clearly vital that we keep Grealish fit and on form, ditto Hogan. I’d prefer to see a more balanced bench than we have seen in the last fixture or two, and if that means dropping Whelan or Jedinak, or both, then so be it. We have to assume that Grabban will come into the next match day squad, I’m going to assume that’ll see Davis left out. I’d really prefer to see O’Hare on that bench in place of either Whelan or Jedinak, with Axel in the squad and expecting games we surely have to drop one of the two old men? If we line up as we have done the last few games then I’d hope to see a bench of Bunn, Axel, Taylor, O’Hare, Grabban, Green, Jedinak.
Axel, we’re told, can cover RB, CB, DM. That should give us plenty of scope to include a good deal more attacking options on the bench, though there is a part of me that thinks Whelan could rise to the occasion of a Villa vs Birmingham fixture

[De Kuip]

Bolton just equalised against Fulham, Norwich equalised against derby. Please please can it at least stay like this, although I'd love even better!!

[De Kuip]

Bloody hell Sunderland have come back from 3-0 down to 3-3!!

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