John

I would guess she used your client reference number when buying the second ticket. If so I would anticipate that you would both be able to get a ticket.

I suggested the following semi final and final for us prior to the QF draw: SF: Villa vs Blackburn F: Villa vs Bradford (we get even and they have a nice day out) That is still on and it would do for me (although I would not grumble if we played Reading rather than Bradford or if the semi and final were the other way around).

Source: Player Match Ratings: We’re going to Wembley!

Villa fans will be heading for the Wembley arch next month after our second ding-dong derby win in a week against WBA. But the only arches that Albion fans will see are the Golden Arches at McDonald’s as they queue for their Unhappy Meals. I’m lovin’ it! We were late coming out of the traps for this game. Albion were up for it from the start this time, they had the better of the first half by some distance and we were fortunate to go into the break still level. But the second half was a different story in much the same way as was the case in the previous round. After a brief chat with the boss it was our players who had the energy and that were prepared to make runs in the second half. Our pace proved too much for our visitors to handle and so their cup run came to an abrupt end as we brushed their challenge aside. So it will be Tim Sherwood who will be leading out a team at Wembley just two months after his appointment as manager rather than the whinging Tony Pulis and Albion’s 90-year wait to knock us out of the FA Cup again continues to run and run! This second successive win and scoring two goals in each game in the process must add to our confidence for the coming league games. The same is the case at the back where a makeshift defence managed to keep a rare clean sheet for us. As the boss has said “I don’t care who the semi-final is against so long as it’s Bradford or Reading”. My growing confidence is such that I would even add Blackburn to that list! Sadly it is the pitch invasion before the end of the game that makes the news in the press today and will in the days to come rather than the team’s great second half performance. There were some mitigating factors such as the additional drinking that can be associated with the late kick-off for this derby game that was demanded for television purposes and the fact that fans who have been starved of success felt a need to take their rare celebrations onto the playing area. But we all know it is an offence to go onto the pitch. To do so after the game would be something that could be excusable although it did stop the players being able to thank and celebrate with the fans after their win. But to do so during it will lead to the Football Association investigating the incident and looking to punish our club for the action of those fans. It might even have led to the game being abandoned by the referee. The trouble caused by Albion fans in the lower Scottish Stand (DE) and the seats thrown by them will be brushed aside without a mention. The flare that was set off inside the ground will again lead to a fine for the club. But the pitch invasion before the final whistle will cost us. We should remember that there were calls for our expulsion from the European Cup in 1982 when just one supporter came onto the pitch in the semi-final and we did have to play our next home game behind closed doors as a result of that incident. The regrettable thing is that this pitch invasion was avoidable. Fans had already twice come onto the playing area in the corner between the lower Scottish Stand and Holte End to celebrate our two goals. So clearly that rather than the lower North Stand where the available stewards were out in force was the main risk area for our fans. What police there were and there were not enough inside the ground for this high risk game were gathered around the Albion fans in the lower Scottish Stand. That left just a handful of stewards who were vastly outnumbered in the corner that the fans came onto the pitch from with the impossible job of keeping fans off the pitch. This has detracted from our victory and the vast majority of supporters let those who had run onto the pitch know what they thought of them. But Pulis has already fanned the flames by calling the incident “disgraceful” and adding that “it put the players in danger”. Villa will now no doubt need to be seen to act swiftly with promises of banning orders to try to lessen the severity of the penalty they are destined to face from the FA. I have to admit though I wonder if the reaction to this would have been had it been Bradford fans on the pitch celebrating making an FA Cup semi-final trip to Wembley? My player ratings from a game that will linger in the memory for both the right and wrong reasons (but predominantly for the right ones) are: Shay Given – 7 – Shay got down well to keep out a Berahino shot on 6 minutes after a heavy touch from Lowton presented Gardner with a 50/50 challenge that he won before feeding the striker just outside of the box. Made a comfortable save from an Ideye header that deflected off a defender which took any pace off it on 33 minutes and tipped a deflected Brunt shot from the edge of the box over the bar 2 minutes later. Shay was grateful to gather an attempted Okore that deflected toward goal off Lescott on 56 minutes. He then did so well to anticipate the threat on the hour mark when he ran out to the edge of the box and spread himself on the ground sending the ball out of danger to his right to deny Berahino a goal scoring opportunity. We are fortunate to have two outstanding keepers to call upon and he deserves his semi-final appearance. Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Leo is far more confident creating goals rather than stopping them but his performance got better as the game wore on. Ciaran Clark – 7 – So very solid again alongside Jores in the heart of our defence. Jores Okore – 8 – Nothing and nobody was going to get past him last night. A solid totally committed central defensive display. Matt Lowton – 6 – A decent display again. Charles N’Zogbia – 7 – Ran at players, showed good touches and wanted the ball. His best game for us and he showed signs of the player he has been in the past. Keep it up now Charles! Ashley Westwood - 6 – Had a shot deflected wide on 72 minutes after Delph had picked up a loose pass in the middle and fed Gabby who played it wide to N’Zogbia. Charles then hit a cross past three defenders that Gabby played back to Westwood for him to hit. Ash gave us a solid midfield display. Fabian Delph – 8 – Kept us moving forward particularly after the interval and put us a goal ahead on 51 minutes. Gabby headed a Bacuna throw on to N’Zogbia who ran from just inside his own half to the edge of the penalty area before playing the ball across to the unmarked Delph who drilled a low shot through Dawson, past Myhill and into the corner of the net. Tom Cleverley – 7 – His best performance in a Villa shirt. Tom gave everything he had prior to his substitution. Hit a nice cross in for Gabby on 23 minutes but he failed to look to get in front of his marker before the ball was hit and Gabby did not therefore get to the ball. Tom could not get high enough to a 57th minute Gardner corner and his near post header flashed across the goal to Lescott whose far post header for once against us was badly off target. Scott Sinclair – 8 – MOTM – Made several strong runs into the danger areas and his move looks like being a good one for both him and us. Scott made a good jinking run into the box in first half stoppage time but his cross which was deflected towards goal by Olsson was gathered by Myhill. He was again denied by the ex-Villa keeper on 69 minutes who rushed out to the ball after N’Zogbia had played Scott in. One minute later Gabby flicked on a ball from Given that Scott ran onto before pulling his shot wide of the post. Sánchez played a nice ball to him inside the box on 77 minutes his cross was headed back towards him only for Gardner to get a foot to it that touched the ball just over and onto the roof of the net. Scott’s decisive goal came in the 85th minute when Grealish played the ball between two defenders just inside their half for him to run onto. He took the ball into the box before checking inside and hitting a sweetly curled shot past Myhill and into the corner of the net. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Gabby was quiet in the first half during which he lacked service and missed balls being played to him from Benteke to run onto. His performance in the second half improved no end as he like the team in general upped their game considerably. Substitutes: Carlos Sánchez – 6 – Replaced Cleverley on 65 minutes and did his bit to keep the midfield ticking. Jack Grealish – Replaced N’Zogbia on 74 minutes. Did not have sufficient time on the field to earn a rating but he was on long enough to claim an assist for our decisive second goal and to pick up two yellow cards from a referee who had become card happy near the end. Carles Gil – Replaced Gabby on 89 minutes so was not on long enough to gather a rating. Up for the Cup Villa! John Lewis

There is nothing not to like in that Daily Mail article. I thought there were shades of Sir Ron Saunders in the following comments from Sherwood: "We were playing Chelsea. Nearly an hour in we had them where we wanted them. Then Jan Vertonghen makes a mistake, Younes Kaboul gets sent off, and we capitulate, lose 4-0. ‘I’m hot, I’m upset. Jose Mourinho shakes hands, doesn’t say much. Steve Holland, his assistant, comes up and he’s trying to be nice. “Unlucky mate,” he says. “You played really well in the first half.” I tell him to f*** off. Lost my temper. Called him a patronising c***. I had to phone and apologise. Still fuming, but it was my mistake. He didn’t mean it as I thought." "‘People say the fans have got to get behind the team. Hold on, why must they cheer? You make them cheer. They’re the only loyal people in the game. Make the difference for them, get them on your side." "I’ve told the players, if you’re not in the team, I can find an excuse for why you’re not playing,’ he explains. ‘But you want the truth? The other 11 are better than you. If you train properly, next week it might be your turn. If you don’t, you’ll never get the chance to show me." "Then, when I was at Watford, I was playing against him (Brian Talbot) in training every day. And every day I was tackling him, flying in, didn’t care.‘The coaches used to call me Tackler Tim, or some rubbish. One day, I put one in and he said to Graham Taylor, “Why’s he keep doing that?” I have never forgotten his answer. “Brian, you know that shirt you wear on Saturday?” he said. “That’s the shirt he wants.” He was right, too."

I guess the daily order will be something like: Season ticket holders in the cup scheme. Season ticket holders who have attended cup matches. Season ticket holders. Half season ticket holders. Fans who have attended league/cup games this season starting with a full attendance record and working down on the number of games missed by say 2 games a day until our allocation runs out. The club cannot hope to please everyone and it will be worse when we make the final. But I suspect our best bet would be if we play say Blackburn in the SF and Bradford in the Final because I think the number of seats given may well be linked to average attendance and for no other reason. (honest!!)

Welcome back Stan! He will have the respect of the players as he has played at the top level for club and country recently. He will always have the support of the fans here as he also has at Celtic. The appointment is a good one for him and for us. I cannot see any negatives here and I wish him the very best on his return to first team involvement.

Given, Lowton, Clark, Okore, Bacuna, Gil, Cleverley, Delph, Sinclair, Gabby & Benteke for me. Another win would be great for our confidence and it will be a nice evening out for those Baggies who come to see us do them twice in a week. Wembley calls!

Source: Player Match Ratings: Massive club defeats little club!

Our first penalty of the season brought us our first goal in the last 15 minutes of a game this season and our first league win of 2015. It stopped the rot and brought to an end our embarrassing runs of 7 successive league defeats and of 12 league games without a win. Let us hope that league wins prove to be like London buses for us and that having waited ages for one three come along at once. We hit 2 goals for only the third time this season and took our goal tally up to 15. Our first win in 7 league games also gave our new boss his first league win and took us out of the bottom 3. Our penalty winner may have come very late but it would have been a travesty had WBA taken a point given the game could have been finished as a contest at half time had we had the rub of the green. Their equalizer came from their only shot on target. Given we scored 2, hit a post and had another 2 efforts scrambled off the line we were very worthy winners and recipients of all 3 points. We threatened to blow WBA away during a first half that we dominated with some of the best football seen at Villa Park from us or indeed from any of our visitors this season. This was a game that we showed we wanted to win the most. But in the second half no doubt stung by some choice words from their boss during the interval The Baggies pressed us more and we allowed them to come into the game. They then claimed a soft equalizer on 66 minutes and our players naturally were deflated by being pegged back having put so much into the game. But we did not surrender and emerged victorious having rallied and gone again for the win when the game having opened up looked to be drifting towards a draw. We face the same opponents at the weekend. Not only does that present us with an opportunity to appear at Wembley in an FA Cup Semi-Final it also gives us the chance to win a second ding-dong derby within a week. By putting two wins together it will also give us some level of confidence to take into our crucial next ten league games. Bring them on! My player ratings from a game that lifted us 3 points clear of the bottom 3 but left our blood pressures at a dangerously high level are: Brad Guzan – 6 – An evening when he was rarely called upon to do his stuff. Alan Hutton – 7 – Another whole hearted performance at the back and when going forward which he frequently did. Such a pity that the red mist descended on him again on 88 minutes when he earned his 10th booking of the season and a 2-game ban that we can ill afford. He followed through with his boot pushed into Berahino’s stomach and then stupidly twice went head to head with him when the forward reacted to this which left the referee with no alternative than to reach for a card. Ciaran Clark – 8 – He has become so valuable to us and this was another exemplary display of central defending at its best. Jores Okore – 7 – Might have been punished on another day for gifting the ball twice near the edge of his box to Gardner on 3 minutes and then Morrison 41 minutes later but fortunately nothing came from either mistake. His was otherwise a solid defensive display and he got an important touch on 70 minutes to a Morrison cross that was aimed for the waiting Ideye who otherwise looked likely to at least test Guzan if not to put them ahead. Matt Lowton – 6 – It was he who was felled for our late penalty by Foster when he raced off his line to offer us a late match winning opportunity and to complete what was almost a man of the match display for us from their keeper. Did well enough given he was again filling a position that is not his own through necessity but Matt is likely to get an opportunity on the right side now due to Hutton’s suspension. Charles N’Zogbia – 7 – A surprisingly good contribution particularly during the first half given some of his previous performances. Ran at defenders and looked for the ball prior to his substitution. Ashley Westwood - 6 – Worked hard throughout. Fabian Delph – 7 – Very unlucky in first half stoppage time to see a curled shot from the edge of the box that had Foster beaten strike the post. This was a solid midfield display which was his best since he signed his new contract. Fab found space as well as his man on a regular basis and kept us moving with purpose. Tom Cleverley – 7 – Hit a speculative shot from 30 yards over the bar on 20 minutes which did not trouble the keeper. But he worked hard throughout and continued to show the improvement in his game we have witnessed of late. Gabriel Agbonlahor – 8 – MOTM – Might on another day have claimed a first half hat-trick but he did score our vital opener. He ran on to receive a flick from a Guzan clearance off Benteke before outpacing Lescott and hitting the ball between the advancing Foster’s legs and into the net on the 22nd minute. Gabby had earlier been found in the centre of the penalty box by Benteke on 14 minutes. He turned well and hit a shot which Foster fumbled and allowed to run through his legs before he got a hand back to hook it off the line with most but sadly not quite the entire ball having crossed the line. Six minutes after he had scored N’Zogbia touched the ball to him and he again ran clear only to be felled by the advancing Foster inside the box a moment after clipping the ball past him. The ball had taken a slight touch off the keeper which slowed it down just enough to enable Lescott to clear it off the line. Gabby often saves his best for local derbies during which he also often scores. He repeated the trick yesterday particularly in the first half when his pace and runs proved too hot for the Albion defence to handle. It is more than a little infuriating that outstanding performances like this one demonstrate just how effective he can be for us when he is up for it but that this happens so rarely. Now is the time to reproduce something like this level of performance on a regular basis which would see him playing a big part in maintaining our top flight status. Christian Benteke – 6 – Again looked some way off his very best other of course than when he made two crucial contributions to our win with an assist for our first and a late penalty conversion of his own for our second. Christian settled the game with a second half penalty as he had done last season’s game at Villa Park. He showed his was possibly the only cool head in the ground when he made a stuttering run and stroked the ball into the right side of the net with confidence after Foster had made a move to the other side. Substitutes: Jack Grealish – 6 - Replaced N’Zogbia on 59 minutes. This was a high pressure game and one that it was always going to prove difficult for Jack to come on and make a big impression in but he did well enough in the time he had available. He was in the right place at the right time on 72 minutes when he connected with a Hutton cross but he was unable to get quite enough on the ball that went straight to a grateful Foster. But he did so well to win the ball back and was then brought down near the edge of the box for Leo’s free kick which is described below. Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Cleverley on 77 minutes. Did not have sufficient time to earn a rating but did squander a late free kick which he hit harmlessly off target with several players up and waiting for a good delivery into the box. Andreas Weimann – Replaced Gabby on 82 minutes. Andi was not on long enough to gather any rating. Up the Villa! John Lewis

I hope we can just about manage 17th on the last day. Anything above that would be a big bonus anything less would be a blight on our proud history.

Well no, not really. PSG's sponsorship deal with the QTA failed the UEFA fair value test. Laurent Blanc has been moaning about how they've been impacted by sanctions. You can't just sponsor a shit, under achieving football club, who have won nothing for pushing twenty years, to the tune of £200M and claim fair value. Manchester City managed it and given the way the World Cup bid has gone I would back our Qatari group to learn from the PSG situation and smooth things with UEFA for us. Although I do take your point and this is a bit Fantasy Island after all. You forgot to mention Wroy. A very English selection, no? What's the deal? I have every confidence in this group of players. I believe in them because these are players worthy of believing in. But it’s going to be very much a case of what those players can actually do when I show my confidence in them, tell them I think they’re the men for the job. I doubt £50m would buy us two of those players, let alone the whole list. I think we might get 3 with less than £50m (Berahino, Milner and Cahill). I also mentioned some (which I admit would be rather a lot of) spare change... I doubt £50m would buy us two of those players, let alone the whole list. I like Berahino -- who doesn't? -- but I feel Sterling is overrated. Not all that impressed with Barkley. Cahill getting old -- would be too pricey, too. I can see Cahill giving us a few more years in the way Terry has at Chelsea. I think Barkley can become a very good player following his dream move to us and that Sterling may yet prove to be more than a one season wonder although if Liverpool want silly money we could move for Bale instead. As DK82 said earlier "It does say dream".

The first thing I would say is where is the rest of the money because we will need a great deal more of that "lot of money" to compete at the top. We can forget about FFP because our new owners will find us someone to pay £200m to have naming rights for the Holte End refreshment kiosks. So I would spend my first £50m and some spare change on bringing in Ross Barkley, Gary Cahill, James Milner, Raheem Sterling and Saido Berahino.

I like many back then found the original Star Trek must see TV. Thanks for the memories Mr Spock. LLAP

This is a real must not lose for us. A point is the least we need but we could really do with all 3 points.Beat them twice in a week and it could give us the boost we need to get the points we need to stay up. It seems they might be a tad short of goal scoring strikers after today's game. If so, welcome to our world Baggies!

10 of Small Heath's Championship points.

I had not thought about the Sherwood-Spurs link. They might just help us out as long as they are not still in with a shout of a top 4 position at that point. But I guess it will be down to us winning the home games we need to and not losing games against those clubs who are in the bottom 6 with us.

John Carver when asked if there would be no love lost should Villa be relegated said "Absolutely not". I suggest that be pinned on the dressing room door today!! We go into this game having been shown the most red cards in the PL against a team that have yet to have an opponent sent off against them this season. We have also lost 6 league games in a row for the second time this season. We last won up there 10 years ago. Everything points to a win for us then albeit one in which we end the game with 10 men again!

I think to get something out of this one we really do need to have Hutton and Cissokho fit or a minimum of one of them.

As part of the deal with the former chairman he agreed to spend £20m on players as well as meet the asking price.

Agreed PaulC but he has not had as many opportunities as Andi has had. I think both can contribute in what is left of the season but Joe was never going to play every game and if he can give us a couple of good games (possibly off the bench) then I will take that.

Played a blinder against Burnley and scored. If he can do the same a couple of times this season it will do a lot to keep us up. He also offers us some creativity that we otherwise lack.

Did one of them have a beard or might one have recently shaven one off? If so could it be Conchita Wurst of Eurovision fame? After all she did sing "Rise like a Phoenix" and must therefore have a link to The Phoenix Group...

Optimistic? As ever! I thought we would beat Stoke as well. Does a draw against Swansea and a win on the last day (which would give us 33 points) sound a little more possible?

My only reference to confidence above was that "we arrived at Villa Park unusually with some level of confidence". That reference was to the fans rather than players TRO. But the players do lack confidence and given the dire run we are on that is to be expected. I agree that some are also lacking in the other areas that you have mentioned.