John

Our makeshift defence was breeched three times last night by a QPR team that had looked destined for the drop until scoring four at WBA and taking a fourth point over the Easter period yesterday. We fell behind to them twice and defeat in this six-pointer would have seen us replace them in the third of the three relegation places. That would have been very hard to come back from with just six games remaining of the league season. A Villa team that was ravaged by injury always faced a tough test against a Rangers side that came to Villa Park with renewed belief that they might yet avoid the relegation trap door. But Villa took an early grip on the game and despite going a goal down on 7 minutes had the resilience to come back to go into the break a goal to the good. Two second half goals from our visitors left supporters fearful of a defeat that might well have gone a long way to deciding our fate for this season and it seemed the game was drifting away from us. But Benteke was not prepared to either leave the field a loser or without claiming a well deserved hat-trick. This was without doubt a must win game but having failed to secure a win it most definitely was a must not lose game. Having achieved that minimum objective we live to fight another day although winnable games are fast running out for us. I consider that we need to remain unbeaten at Villa Park in the run-in and to win two of our remaining three home games to secure our safety. That will not be easy and I really hope we have somehow got two more wins on the board before we reach the final showdown against Burnley. My player ratings from a game that has left us sitting precariously just three points clear of the three relegation places are: Brad Guzan – 6 – Brad had little to do last night but there seems to be a question mark developing concerning his confidence and conceding three again will not have helped this. He may now face increased competition from Shay for the shirt in our forthcoming league games as well as for our Wembley appearance(s). Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Leo produced some good crosses such as on 27 minutes when a defender just beat Benteke to an inviting ball and was a regular threat when coming forward. But he was also unsurprisingly often unsteady at the back which is to be expected given he is no full back. Ciaran Clark – 7 – Another solid display at the heart of our defence. Ron Vlaar – 6 – A welcome return for our former captain if a very harsh one on Jores. He was no doubt selected to add experience, organisation and some degree of coolness to our back four which unfortunately still leaked goals despite his return. Hit a fierce shot from inside the box that cannoned off Sandro on 23 minutes which Green helped over the bar. Kieran Richardson – 3 – Beaten too often and too easily on his return following injury. Effortlessly beaten on the edge of the box by Phillips on 78 minutes who then found Austin for their third. Here is another starter who would not claim to be a defensive full back Tom Cleverley – 7 – Put in a big shift last night. The work he has put in and the improvement in his overall game since the arrival of the new boss is clearly evident. Hit a sweet ball to Benteke inside the box on 6 minutes but our striker was clearly offside. Carlos Sánchez - 7 – Stood up to be counted last night and gave a midfield performance that was something near the level he had been producing regularly earlier this season. Unfortunately the frequency of his misplaced passes continues to be a cause for concern. Fabian Delph – 7 – He really wanted the win last night and gave his all for the cause producing a hard working captain’s performance. Jack Grealish – 5 – The boss took a throw of the dice by starting Jack in such a crucial game. It was always going to be tough for him to make a big impression on the game with Barton having taken a grip on the middle from the start and with opponents putting themselves about at will. He hit a 13th minute free kick that was gathered easily enough at his near post by Green and hit an effort on 53 minutes that Green also kept out at his near post with a bit more difficulty. Jack had a golden opportunity to give us the lead on 16 minutes having made a very nice run into the box. Benteke aimed the ball to him and it ran onto him off Barton but he then hit the ball at Green rather than attempted to lift it over the prone keeper. He will learn from this experience but he still has some work to do not least on getting his corners over. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – His runs troubled their defence. Gabby appeared to be clipped from behind inside the box on 25 minutes after some good work between Benteke and himself had put him in a dangerous position. He was so unlucky when a good header from a Bacuna cross sailed a foot wide of the post on 40 minutes. Christian Benteke – 9 – MOTM – Without him we would have lost this one and we are again relying on his goals saving us from the drop. He has done so before and if he stays injury free can do it again! He hit his first on 10 minutes when he cut inside the box before hitting a shot that deflected off Caulker’s leg and into the far corner of the net for a timely equalizer. Christian then gave us the lead on 33 minutes when Gabby played the ball to him before being clattered in the centre circle. The referee played a good advantage allowing Benteke to run to the edge of the box where he fooled both Hill and Green into thinking he was going to hit it right before hitting it inside the left post. Having been as cool as a cucumber with the finish that gave us our second goal he then did the same in claiming our vital equalizer on 83 minutes. Undeterred by the referee pacing out the distance for the wall and then allowing it to stand several feet in front of that Benteke hit a free kick from the edge of the box over that wall and in off the inside of the post. He should have tried to make a more determined challenge for the cross that led to their second and might just have won it for us on 88 minutes when Cole did so well to play a one-two with Lowton whose cross was just behind Benteke who was not able to get his effort on target. Substitutes: Joe Cole – 6 – Replaced Jack on 70 minutes. Made a positive impression on the game and could yet have an important role to play in our survival battle. Tried to hook a Lowton cross into the net in stoppage time but it flew behind. Matt Lowton – 6 - Replaced Bacuna on 75 minutes. Given our current paucity of choice at full back I would have started him for this one but it may be that he did not have 90 minutes in him having been out due to injury. It was perhaps a toss-up concerning which of the players who started at full back he would replace but I suspect most of us would have gone with Richardson last night. Charles N’Zogbia – Replaced Cleverley on 81 minutes. Not on long enough to merit a rating but made a positive impact during what limited time he had to do so. Stay up the Villa! John Lewis

A real 6-pointer and a must win for us. The results this weekend have made this even bigger a game than it already was for us and given them a shread of hope. I think we will need 7 - 9 points from our remaining home games and this needs to be win number one. Surely Gil will get a run out if Sinclair is missing?

"When Dennis went up to lift the European Cup we were there, we were there" also had a ring to it.

"Six foot two eyes of blue Sammy Morgan's after you" - sung to Bob Wilson by the Holte End. "Francis, Francis, I'd walk a mile & a bit to rub your face in the sh*t oh Francis" when a black cat ran onto the pitch in front of the Holte. "Brian Little walks on water". "The sun is shining for the claret & blue". "The Villa, The Villa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la" instead of "The Vikings" from the Kirk Douglas film. "Bertie Mee said to Bill Shankley, have you heard of the North Bank Highbury? Shank said no I don't think so but I've heard of the Holte End Aggro".

At this crucial stage of the season we cannot really afford to be without him for any games due to injury. But it seems the relationship between Wroy and Liverpool is much different to the rtelationship between Marc Wilmot and Aston Villa as is the desire for players to turn out for England/Belgium when they have any sort of injury concern or in the case of Pool players feel a bit tired and have a game the following Saturday. I expect him to play in one or both of the games and I just hope he returns fit to play for us after that.

Source: Player Match Ratings: One step backwards and a reality check!

We had the opportunity to win a fourth game on the trot yesterday, to win three league games in a row for the first time in 5 years and to win two successive home games for the first time in a year. We had arrived buoyed by our recent performances and with perhaps too high a level of expectation. But those records have stood for a while for a reason and Tim Sherwood had warned us that there might be days like this when he took over. Swansea had the better of the first half yesterday and we were relieved still to be level at the break. We seldom produce a good level of performance throughout a game but of late have had one good half that has made amends for a below par one. We were better in the second half but the improvement from one half to another was not as striking as it has been during our recent improved run. We did make some chances but so did Swansea and the law of averages tell us that Gomis would inevitably convert one of several opportunities that he had. The biggest surprise was that Gomis took until the 87th minute to do so. We had looked more likely than not to hold onto the point that would have edged us nearer safety when Swansea as did Stoke a month ago hit us with a cruel late blow that there was no coming back from. We now need to take the international break as an opportunity to get some of our many injured players and we can now add Benteke along with Cleverley to that list fit for the run-in. I think two more home wins might just prove enough to see us safe from the four we have coming up of which two are 6-pointers. Three wins would give us 37 points and that should be what we aim to get. Yesterday’s game however proved that we cannot take getting home wins for granted. But we should start as favourites against QPR and Burnley and have a decent shot at getting a minimum of a point against Everton and West Ham. But Villa are still a work in progress and if the new boss does manage to keep us up given how low we were when he came in then that will represent a significant achievement. My player ratings from a game during which neither Robert Madley nor his assistants did anything to assist our cause by producing one of if not the most one sided referring performance that I have ever witnessed at Villa Park are: Brad Guzan – 7 – Made a close range save with his leg from a Gomis effort after 6 minutes and kept out a shot at his near post from the same player 18 minutes later. Failed to hold a 36th minute Sigurdsson free kick that he palmed into the path of Routledge whose shot was cleared off the line by Clark. He then hit Gomis with an attempted clearance on 41 minutes that thankfully bounced wide towards Okore who was fouled by Gomis as he challenged for the ball. Brad tipped a Sigurdsson free kick over the bar on 53 minutes which had gone over the wall but had been placed too near to him to cause us any major concern. He also denied the Swans a second in stoppage time when he blocked a shot from Routledge who had ran from the half way line into our box. He had his worrying moments but these were outweighed for me by his saves that kept us in the game. Leandro Bacuna – 4 – Leo struggled when defending particularly in coping with Montero who outpaced him all too easily before finding Gomis for their winner. He also failed to produce anything like the service to our strikers that he did at Sunderland. This was a disappointing overall display. Ciaran Clark – 8 – MOTM - Did not put a foot wrong yesterday and it was tough on him that he was just unable to win the race with Gomis to Montero’s cross that led to their winner. He really looks like an established international central defender now and did well to hold what is a makeshift defence together for much of this game. Ciaran did very well to block an on-target shot from Gomis on 74 minutes that had threatened to put them ahead having already got one off the goal line. Jores Okore – 7 – Another solid defensive performance. Alan Hutton – 6 – Alan was played out of position on his return from suspension due to our lack of defensive options through injury. This was particularly noticeable when he got forward but needed to work the ball to his other foot to get crosses over. Alan was solid enough at the back and worked hard as he always does for us. Charles N’Zogbia – 7 – Charles ran well at defenders and showed just how effective he can be as a winger when his confidence is as high as it currently is. We missed his runs when he was substituted on 68 minutes and it was therefore surprising that we did not go for Gil to replace him who would have been a more like-for-like replacement. Tom Cleverley - 6 – Replaced due to injury on 25 minutes and we missed him in the middle. Fabian Delph – 8 – Another very solid midfield performance. Fab found time on the ball, rarely lost it and played some dangerous balls forward. If only his shots were on target more often. He did force a near post save from Fabianski on 34 minutes after Sinclair had done well to find him and he won a vital 77th minute challenge that would otherwise have left an opponent with just Guzan to beat. Made a threatening run towards goal on 84 minutes but his shot went well over the crossbar. Scott Sinclair – 6 – The ball just refused to run for him yesterday and although he clearly wanted to get one over on his former club he did not bring his shooting boots with him. He was just unable to stretch enough to get a touch to a cross from Gabby that then ran behind Benteke on 69 minutes and then pulled a shot wide of the post having been fed on the edge of the box by Delph. Scott had a shot gathered by Fabianski at his near post on 79 minutes and riffled an 89th minute volley over the bar which hit the far stanchion behind the net after Delph had found him well. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 5 – This was some way off the displays he has produced in his last couple of games for us. He was lacking in service but he also seemed to lack the commitment, energy and goal threat he has shown us of late. This was a frustrating return to the Gabby we have become accustomed to seeing at Villa Park for most of this season and he really does need to maintain the levels he has now shown he is capable of on a more consistent basis. Had a golden opportunity to give us the lead on 59 minutes when a Benteke header from a Hutton cross fell to him. But instead of hitting the ball with his right he waited what seemed an age to work it onto his left foot which gave defenders time to set themselves for the shot that was to come that was deflected over the bar to safety off Taylor. He also had the last chance of the game during stoppage time but he did not get enough on his header from a Westwood corner that went harmlessly wide of the post. Christian Benteke – 5 – Another player who lacked service yesterday. Nevertheless Christian can be more of a headache for defenders than this and he was too easily kept quiet before he left the field due to injury which may well have had some impact on this performance. Substitutes: Carlos Sánchez – 5 – Replaced Cleverley on 25 minutes. He remains some way off the performance level he was producing a few months ago and the improved performances he had shown up until the Arsenal debacle. Ashley Westwood – 6 - Replaced N’Zogbia on 68 minutes. Ash did well enough following his introduction and solidified our midfield. Andreas Weimann – 5 - Replaced Benteke on 75 minutes and made little impact on the game during the time he had available to do so. Stay up the Villa! John Lewis

So its going to be on Sunday at 3pm folks.

His first game at Villa Park was way back in 1923! What changes and football he will have seen at Villa Park over the years. Jack kept the Holte End and many other fans around the ground up to date with the half time scores from his scoreboard for 35 years. He has now moved on to be a HEITS. My thoughts are with his family. RIP Jack.

I guess Arsenal have yet to tell them which day they would prefer. It gives Saturday @ 18.00 when you go to book tickets although it adds the date and kick-off is not known. Great choice available for those who met the first test for tickets today (not). Tickets near the corner flag or right at the back top centre to choose from @ 12.00. Looks like they will be staggered again with batches at each price being made available every day. I will be having a dip in later when my son's booking history kicks in.

We would be in a right pickle if he took over. But if he is then bring out the Branston!

Wembley for cup wins (lots more times), somewhere to see us win a ECF or six (again) & Florida/Washington/New York round trips (again). Once is never enough...

I said 5-7 points. Never in doubt was it? I would be more than happy if a third win proved me wrong at the weekend though!

I would be more dubious if the story was from The Mirror or The Star for example. The Telegraph has continued to show an interest in our potential sale where other papers have not and I would not see any cause for them to speculate on this without any background work having been done to back up their story. I hope that if this has been in the melting pot for some time now the potential new owners have ok'd the recent new appointments so there should not be much if any change following a takeover in the backroom staff. It would be nice if the main change was in the money our manager will have available to bring in and hold on to players in coming transfer windows. Randy's passion and spending on our club was significantly reduced when his fortune was cut in half. It would be of great credit to him on departing if he left us in safe hands with owners that had money to burn whether they were from China, Qatar, the USA or from anywhere else rather than with the first person that was prepared to meet his present asking price. I hope he will choose right for himself, the club and for us.

This is a must not lose game but a win would be very acceptable which is what I thought about our last game. Burnley's unexpected win and the run of games we have to come after this one does lead me to think that 3 points would give us some distance on the bottom 4 and it is better we get another 3 wins sooner rather than later. It would also be nice to keep the winning run going! For me Hutton needs to come back. But Bacuna also deserves a start somewhere given the quality of service he provided to our forwards on Saturday.

We're Aston Villa we score when we want! Sunderland were poor but we were top notch and took full advantage. Keep those wins coming in..

Yes we should get 31,799 as Arsenal have done so. If they have told their fans I wonder why we have not got round to doing the same by now on the club's web site?

He has looked destined to move to Everton on a free from the start but he has done well for us recently. Why he might still want to leave the FA Cup winners who will be playing in Europe next season to move to a Championship team playing in Liverpool is beyond me!

It would be a good idea for us to play on Saturday as we and Liverpool/Blackburn would find the return trip easier by public transport on a Saturday rather than a Sunday evening and a minimum of one if not both of the other semi-finalists are either in or near to London so travel will be less of an issue. But this is the FA so I guess we will play on Sunday at 17.30 or later!

Defoe always scores against us. But Okore and Clark will have something to say about that. I think even if he does get his usual goal we can get one or two into their net and that is something I have not thought we might do too often this season. I would take a point but I would not say no to all three.

They will never know!

Thanks for the above ViolaVillan.

Pool did us last time we played them in a semi-final at Old Trafford. But that was then and this is now and we will not be playing them in any case we will be playing Blackburn and we do very well against them in semi-finals.

Thanks for that osmark86.

We already have! WBA are a good little club and Bournemouth are a very good Championship team.