Re: Promotion discussion thread

[DelboyVilla]

This is why Bruce needs time. The team was shredded to pieces when three loanees (two outfield and one goalie) were returned at the end of last season. No one could have predicted this, nor planned for it by actually playing the players we had in a planned way while we were under transfer embargo over the summer and through the pre-season friendlies. No one could have predicted we could play Tuanzebe at CB when we had the obvious choice of a perfectly old DM to put there instead, or even use the likes of Adomah and Green on the wings. None of this could have been predicted, none of this could have been planned for, which is why we're playing one of our strikers on one wing and our number 10 and best player on the left wing.

This is why we need to have different players in different positions every week!

Come on Potato Head planned to play 5 at the back and that got scuppered by Potato Head changing his mind as we were playing shite!

[deadbuzzardalive]

Nice to see one of our rivals drop points at last, as Brentford get an injury time equalizer. Albion should have had the match won in the first half, but weren't as impressive in the second half. Smith, O'Kelly and Terry in the stands.

[VillaBill]

A long way to go I know but have you noticed all the top 12 teams I think still have to come to villla Park?

[Saunders82]

A long way to go I know but have you noticed all the top 12 teams I think still have to come to villla Park?

That will make it interesting on our present form.

[DelboyVilla]

Well if we start to defend at home like we do away then we have the capability to give any team in this league a damn good thrashing!

[FoxyAV]

It's interesting how doing the basics (which, frankly, we were calling out to Bruce to try) have worked for us. Deano's come in and settled everyone down and moved the team's centre of gravity away from Bruce's DM (Whelan, sometimes Bjarnason) to AM (Grealish/McGinn). We're no longer hanging back to support and compensate for Whelan and his immobility but are centred around the attacking half, allowing us to have a bit more freedom to stick Hourihane in front of the defence where it looks like he's been having a great time these last couple of matches. Sure, defensively it didn't work against Forest but early days. I wonder too if El Ghazi and Bolasie have been left to stew a little bit longer so they're chomping at the bit to get out there and show what they can do - both in attack and defence. Of course it might just be that Deano wanted them to spend more time on the training pitch but we could soon be looking at two of the best right wingers in the Championship - and easily the best left winger. The defence is getting there and I think giving them the time to bed in and play as a unit (that isn't chopped and changed every match) has settled everything. Sure, Chester had a blip when he came back from an injury but so did McGinn. Chester's doing a sterling job on the wrong side at CB and Tuanzebe is belying his age. I like the goalie, he's going through a complete baptism of fire and he's making mistakes but he's also making some cracking saves. Sadly I think we won't get to see him develop (and quite right too, we need promotion and need a goalie who'll earn us points) but I still find it hard to understand (even in the circumstances of no money in the summer) who thought taking a punt on an unknown and untested goalie was a better idea than using Steer.

I ramble. We look superb, we're setting down, we're playing as a team, we have the best and most expensive squad in the Championship, let's smash it.

[deadbuzzardalive]

The fixtures aren't looking kind for us tomorrow, Leeds are at home to QPR, Norwich at home to Bolton, Middlesbrough have Blackburn at home, Forest are at home to Preston, Birmingham who are only a point behind us, are at home to Bristol City... Derby and Sheffield United are away, but to two clubs near the bottom of the table in Wigan and Reading... It feels like we're never going to get a day where results go our way for once.

We have two massive home games coming up now though, win both those and we should start seeing the gap close. Hopefully we can get into top six before new year, and take it from there.

[VTID85]

It's frustrating that after the vast improvement in our play and some good results, we've not leapt up the table as much as you'd perhaps think. But, having said that, for all of the plaudits thrown at Leeds through the early weeks of the season there is still no runaway team.

1st place is achievable as it stands right now, 2nd place also and even if other team's results go against us the playoffs are absolutely in touching distance and if we have to go via playoffs I really don't think it matters much whether it's in 3rd or 6th.

[deadbuzzardalive]

I'm still seeing people talking about Fulham, comparing our situatoin to theirs, with the suggestion being that they went on an amazing run, and still didn't go up automatically, so what chance do we have... But after 21 games last season they were fifteen points adrift of top two, whereas we are only seven, it will probably be ten after today, but we'll still be five points closer to top two than they were at this stage last season...

We need to get back on track though, we've dropped four points in the last three games, so need to go on a bit of a winning run to make up for it.

[VillaBill]

I’m thankful we’ve become good to watch once more for the first time in years, and in Smith we have a manager who is brave enough to encourage our players to go out and try and win games rather than settling up not to lose.
This season may be too late, who knows, but under Smith it’s just a question of when not if . UTV

[deadbuzzardalive]

Leeds, score an injury time winner last week, Norwich get one today, and we concede an injury time equaliser to an handball. Our luck isn't going well at all. Stoke and Leeds, won't be easy matches either, six points needed, but it's easier said than done.

[Dazzle]

Leeds, score an injury time winner last week, Norwich get one today, and we concede an injury time equaliser to an handball. Our luck isn't going well at all. Stoke and Leeds, won't be easy matches either, six points needed, but it's easier said than done.

Norwich have gotten added time winners more than once in the last few games, I’d hope that fortune deserts them soon. Bottom line is that Villa have to keep churning out wins, keep getting better. We should have beaten WBA & we should have beaten Forest, 4pts dropped. We must win games at Villa Park, the next two especially.

[deadbuzzardalive]

The table is a bit dispiriting at the moment, we're no closer to top two or top six than we were after we lost to Millwall when MacDonald was in charge. In some ways we've probably done well not to fall further behind, because we've had by far the toughest run of fixtures.

Leeds and Norwich have two away games coming up, whilst we have two home games, hopefully that's our chance to close some ground on them, after their two away games, Norwich then have to play Forest and Derby, so I can see them dropping some points before January, but with us playing Stoke (H), Leeds (H), Swanse (A), and Preston (A), you could say the same about us... Just have to see where we are come January, then hopefully bring in a few players... a decent goalkeeper could be worth a lot of points to us and make the difference.

[VTID85]

a decent goalkeeper could be worth a lot of points to us and make the difference.

Agreed. As an aside (but related), it was amusing to see Johnstone looking absolutely bang average on Friday night, especially considering what a high opinion of him many Villa fans have.

[FoxyAV]

a decent goalkeeper could be worth a lot of points to us and make the difference.

Agreed. As an aside (but related), it was amusing to see Johnstone looking absolutely bang average on Friday night, especially considering what a high opinion of him many Villa fans have.

We have the best attack in the league, I'm not surprised he had trouble dealing with it.

[De Kuip]

The table is a bit dispiriting at the moment, we're no closer to top two or top six than we were after we lost to Millwall when MacDonald was in charge. In some ways we've probably done well not to fall further behind, because we've had by far the toughest run of fixtures.

Leeds and Norwich have two away games coming up, whilst we have two home games, hopefully that's our chance to close some ground on them, after their two away games, Norwich then have to play Forest and Derby, so I can see them dropping some points before January, but with us playing Stoke (H), Leeds (H), Swanse (A), and Preston (A), you could say the same about us... Just have to see where we are come January, then hopefully bring in a few players... a decent goalkeeper could be worth a lot of points to us and make the difference.

Have you seen our last 2 games of the season!!!

[deadbuzzardalive]

Would be nice if we're already promoted by then, or one of those games ends up being a title decider... Looking through past championship seasons, for some examples of teams who have come from a similar position to us to get promoted, in the 2011-2012 season, Reading after 21 games were in tenth place, ten points from second, and thirteen points from first, they ended up winning the league with 89 points... So it can be done.

[Dions_Bald_Head]

After these last few weeks, it's runs like this that make me NOT want to go up to the PL.

[Dazzle]

The way things have improved I’m quite relaxed about each and every game. We have gone from being a group of individuals incapable of controlling any one half of a game, to a team that generally controls 60-70% of all games and looks like winning most of them. Will we finish top 6? Absolutely. Can we make top 2? Yes. But if we don’t make top 2 who will want to play us in any play off match? No one. A lot of football to be played but if we can maintain our improvement trajectory we can be one hell of a force over the next 5 months. Let’s be honest, most of us thought we would have basically lost touch of the top teams by now the way things were going into mid October, yet here we are as the team everyone is now talking about and doesn’t want to come up against. It’s been a massive turnaround of our fortunes. Long may it continue. Let’s just ride this wave

[DelboyVilla]

True I cannot see Deano sending out his team at Wembley and saying try not to let them score and hope we can knick one!

Negative tactics are a thing of the past it seems!

[achilles]

After these last few weeks, it's runs like this that make me NOT want to go up to the PL.

I detest the PL, unfortunately that is where the money is but I just enjoy seeing us win, it makes such a refreshing change playing good attacking football as well! UTV

[deadbuzzardalive]

I think that rules us out of top two, we've dropped four points from our last two home games, only have one win in our last four. It's not just the massive gap between us and top two, a gap that's actually getting bigger, but the fact that we don't even look like putting a run of consistently winning games together.

I wouldn't be overly confident in the play-offs either, Forest, Albion, and Stoke all teams who will be in and around the top six that we've failed to beat.

It's not all doom and gloom though, at least we're not losing games, and I'd fancy our chances in the play-offs with Smith in charge more than I would with Bruce... But I think we're starting to realise that Smith isn't a miracle worker and we're not suddenly the Barcelona of the Championship... So top two, is looking virtually unrealistic, and if we get top six, the play-offs won't the walkover that some seem to envisage.

[Dions_Bald_Head]

I think much of it will depend on whether we can stop conceding (whether that be in the transfer window or magic fairy dust) because there's still time. How we can score 17 goals in six games (have I got that right?) & still be outside the top six is a real bum note amongst the entertainment.

[FoxyAV]

We was robbed last time out (and Tammy uncharacteristically failed to score) and today it seems we missed Jack. I always think Whelan holds us back and doesn't have the energy to get forwards or back quickly enough - how did he do today?

We haven't lost in a while, we keep scoring, if we can bring in some kind of defensive support (or a really really good midfielder to sit behind Jack and McGinn) we have all the tools necessary and a manager good enough. Norwich just drew with Bristol and Boro lost to QPR - we're still in it. Remember we lost out on the easy games through Agent Bruce and are in the middle of a tough run of matches.

[Saunders82]

Lets not give up too easily, it aint over till its over, lots of points to p[lay for yet.

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