John

Source: Player Match Ratings: A five goal comeback thriller at the Villa!

A spirited, resolute display prevented this Aston Villa team becoming the first since season 1946 – 47 to lose their opening three home league fixtures bringing a rare home victory and sending fans home jubilant. Well very few if any of us had been expecting three points from this game and that was particularly the case when we went a goal down just before half time against what had been a dominant Manchester City outfit. We were like a boxer on the ropes in the first half but we kept battling and improved in the second half picking ourselves up off the canvas to land two decisive blows and produce our very own version of “rope a dope” despite only having 33% of the possession by claiming the lion’s share of the goals. We started against a Manchester City team that showed just one change from the side that had embarrassed their local rivals last weekend without Gabby, Westwood, Benteke and long term absentee Okore so there seemed little cause for optimism. Lambo played three at the back who generally kept us pretty solid and two wing backs moving forward well to support our hard working midfield three. But it seemed likely that this strategy was bound for failure should City score because we were showing little to suggest that we could be much of a threat to them up front given the lack of service we were able to provide for our forwards. But whilst there was only one goal difference between the two sides there was always the chance that we could snatch something from this one and we did just that with goals that turned probable defeat to sensational victory. The inevitable opening goal came just before half time from their ninth corner but we valiantly responded to that and to a second goal from their tenth corner to claim all three points for a second time this season when being faced by a team who are expected to qualify for the Champions League each season. Even 5 minutes stoppage time that left us with 19 minutes to see out could not bring Manchester City the equalizer they sought which proves that money can’t buy you everything! My player ratings from a game that has left us in the top half of the table are: Brad Guzan – 6 – Brad produced a couple of poor kicks that cost us possession late in the game but hit one delightful long clearance that led to our winner and showed how effective a long ball can be for a so called “long ball team”. Did well to get down to a stinging volley from Negredo on 59 minutes and produced a decent save from Kolarov after 74 minutes having earlier got down well on 9 minutes as Dzeko tried to turn a Nasri pass past him. Leandro Bacuna – 7 – MOTM – Not at his best in the first half but few were and his assist for our first and his well taken second made this win possible. Hit our second equalizer on 73 minutes when he hit a sublime free kick from the edge of the box over the wall and into the corner of the net with Hart nowhere. Nathan Baker – 7 – A solid performance alongside Ron and Ciaran. Beaten to Nasri’s 56th minute corner by Dzeko whose back brought them a second with no Villa man protecting the far post it flew in at. Ron Vlaar – 7 – Another good no-nonsense display from Concrete Ron. Ciaran Clark – 7 – Worked well as part of this new central threesome. Antonio Luna - 7 – Did very well when getting forward and did a solid job at the back. Karim El Ahmadi – 7 – A much improved performance battled hard in the midfield and scored our opener on 51 minutes when Weimann threaded the ball past two defenders to him in space in the box and he hit the ball across Hart and into the far corner of the net. Yes he had one leg offside when the ball was kicked but we were due a debatable decision having been on the wrong end of more than one this season such as at Chelsea and the law of swings and roundabouts applies here. Fabian Delph – 7 – Another good competitive display. Yacouba Sylla - 6 – Solid challenges but then gave away his hard earned possession more than once. Put in a good shift overall. Andreas Weimann – 7 – Brought down on the edge of the box by Nastasic producing the free kick that Bacuna converted and then ran onto a long clearance from Guzan on 76 minutes that Kozak got a slight touch on, which passed through two central defenders as did Andi before slotting the ball past Hart who had rushed out of his area to no avail and beyond the reach of the defender who was trying to get back to hook the rolling ball off the line. Libor Kozak – 6 – Very limited service but he kept plugging away and did well on the edge of the box on 25 minutes when almost managing to slip a pass through to Andi. Substitutes: Jordan Bowery – Replaced Weimann on 80 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating but put himself about well enough in the time he had available. Up the Villa! John Lewis

I have to admit I rather like Trevor Francis having to sit there and watch Villa win!

Kbdrum88 said: "he invested about 20m into the club on March 2013 and waived off the 100m interest owed to him by Aston Villa due to the fact Villa were struggling financially". Although the figures quoted as have been said are open to question what sort of interest rate would that represent on the money he has put into the club he owns and does that include the money he paid Deadly for it & the £20m extra he agreed to put in for new players when buying?

Jed was close to being in the running for MOTM up until that third goal villa-revolution but Marc ended by some way our best performer on what was a poor night for us. His return to something near his form of old was one of the very few positives we can take from this one. I agree Spurs have the greater depth of squad and they have pulled away from us on the field in recent years as results have demonstrated. I can offer no acceptable excuse or valid reason for the Newcastle performance TRO.

Source: Player Match Ratings: Spurs prove too hot for a depleted Villa!

So Spurs continue on the road to Wembley having eased past us all too comfortably last night and we are left with just the league programme to concentrate on for the remainder of this calendar year. Looking at the line ups before the game it had seemed it would take a special performance for us to progress in the competition that we reached the semi-final stage of last season. Our team showed seven changes from the one that started our last game at Norwich and unlike our opponents of yesterday we really do not have the depth of squad that can cope with that number of changes. Spurs selected a comparatively strong starting eleven and unlike us demonstrated that they intended to take this cup competition seriously. The result was not unexpected given the wholesale changes we made through injury and the desire to rest players with an eye on the coming league clash against a Manchester City that will be rampant following a heavy win against their near neighbours. Will resting players last night make any real difference to the outcome of that game? I hope so but it is without doubt that it had an impact last night. I thought we gave a surprisingly decent account of ourselves in the first half. But the first goal was always going to be crucial and they claimed it in first half stoppage time. When they added a second shortly after the start of the second half after we were denied a penalty that could have brought us level there seemed little left for us to do than prevent an embarrassing looking score line. Spurs coasted for much of the second half but two late goals mercilessly widened their winning margin and we can but hope that this sort of home trouncing will not have an impact on our confidence level in the way that similar drubbings did last season. My player ratings from a game that we lacked the will to win that Spurs showed both on and off the pitch and in which Defoe added yet more goals to the tally he has already got from games against us are: Jed Steer – 6 – Had done pretty well until the third goal when he was disappointedly beaten at his near post by a Chadli shot he really should have kept out. He had earlier parried away a Defoe shot from the edge of the box on 19 minutes, done well to tip a shot from Lamela over the bar on 38 minutes and kept out a Defoe shot that he was trying to place inside the far post 5 minutes later. Jed was beaten by a Defoe header after he had done well to time his run into the box to get on the end of a Holtby chip for their opener, was beaten by a prod from a Holtby corner by Paulinho that went in between the near post and himself and he was rounded by Defoe on the edge of the box for their fourth. Matt Lowton – 5 – Unable to get forward as often as he likes to and needs to get back to the level of performance he showed so consistently last season. Ron Vlaar – 6 – His partnership with Baker ensured that central defence was the one area that we were no weaker in than is usual despite our enforced and other team changes last night. Nathan Baker – 6 – Looked very competent and assured on his return to first team action and will challenge Clark strongly for a place in the absence of Okore. Joe Bennett - 6 – A decent enough performance on what was a rare outing for him. Marc Albrighton – 7 – MOTM – Emerged with quite a lot of credit from this game returning to something nearer the level of performances he gave earlier in a Villa shirt which is something we have been waiting to see for a long time now. Forced a one handed save from Freidel with a shot from the edge of the box on 16 minutes and supplied a good cross on 68 minutes that had to be turned out for a corner. Looks well worth another outing or three on this display. Karim El Ahmadi – 5 – Replaced at half time having found difficulty (and he was not alone in that) in competing with what was a strong Spurs midfield prior to that. Leandro Bacuna – 6 – A decent game and worked hard but he looks more comfortable at full back than in the middle presently. Yacouba Sylla - 6 – Dispossessed by Holtby in the build up to their fourth but had by then staked his claim for a starting place on Saturday. Aleksandar Tonev – 5 – A quiet evening for a player who is still in the process of settling into a new league and club. Showed some signs of improvement just prior to his 82nd minute substitution having hit a decent shot from outside the area which was pushed out for a corner by Freidel on 77 minutes having earlier hit a good cross on 37 minutes that Kozak failed to get to. Libor Kozak – 5 – Lacked service and was given a difficult role to fill as a lone striker so soon after joining us and one which he struggled with. Substitutes: Jordan Bowery – 5 - Replaced El Ahmadi for the second half and produced a workmanlike performance. Jordan ran tirelessly but could not provide the goal threat that we were badly missing last night. Nicklas Helenius – 5 – The other of our double substitutions on 46 minutes when he replaced Kozak. Really should have been given a penalty when Vertonghen all but pulled his shorts off him inside the box but rather than going down when being so clearly pulled back by the defender he stayed on his feet and got a shot in that flew high and wide despite if not due to his shorts being at half mast. Nick showed some nice touches but not quite enough of them. Probably should have started this one to give Kozak some support and himself some more game time to settle in. Callum Robinson - Replaced Tonev on 82 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating. Up the Villa! John Lewis

Can we play them every week? 3 points and a clean sheet!!

We need another win at Norwich after last Saturday and I think the least we will get from this is a point. Gabby's pace will be tough for them to cope with again so I think he will score as will Benteke again. So 2 for us and 1 or 2 for them.

Yes this performance was hard to take as have been many in recent seasons. We really do need to start showing our best at home on a consistent basis as we had away in the first couple of games of this season. There have been signs that we were turning a corner at the end of last season and the start of this one but the past 2 home defeats were a step backwards.

I think I read somewhere that this was filmed in Manchester. As rjw63 has said it does seem like nothing has changed in Small Heath since then they were also in Division 2 back in 1919 as they are now. That art gallery is nowhere in Birmingham and they could have popped down for 30 minutes to film the shot in the city centre. I think there are some good attempts at Brummie accents and some dire ones but the show looks a good one.

Source: Player Match Ratings: A lacklustre display!

Newcastle will be unlikely to win many games away from home this season and we made it all too easy for them to claim the three points yesterday. Too many of our players had an off day yesterday. We started off on the back foot and made it easy for the visitors to take and to retain the initiative. Having managed to draw level on 67 minutes there was some hope that we might go on to apply some sustained pressure and claim a win but that hope evaporated when we conceded another goal only six minutes later and we never really looked like pulling this one out of the fire. We appear to lack the ability to boss games which we start as favourites and to keep a clean sheet in the league this being the 26th we have now gone without doing so. We lacked creativity and intensity yesterday often seeming devoid of ideas. Gabby missed a gaping open goal on a day that we created very few opportunities, we failed to compete strongly enough in the midfield and Newcastle eventually ran out worthy winners. Last season we often went to home games with more than a touch of pessimism. A bright start to the season at Arsenal and Chelsea had left us approaching yesterday’s game with optimism despite our home defeat against Liverpool. But our hopes for three points were soon dashed by a second successive inept first half display that left us with a lot to do in the second half which again proved beyond us. This second defeat at home to Newcastle was hard to take. This is a team that got a shot in the arm last season from their win against us and one that arrived with a simmering discontent given their lack of summer transfer activity. Had we claimed the first goal we could well have gone on to exploit that discontent and to be sitting comfortably in the top half of the table this morning. But our first half display did for us and we have now followed that encouraging first day victory at Arsenal with three league defeats one unluckily but the last two increasingly less so. The points gained from that early win have now been negated by two consecutive home defeats and although we still have three more points than we had got from the corresponding fixtures last season losing at home to Newcastle is a habit we did not want to start getting into and we will now need a win at Norwich to make amends for this debacle. My player ratings from a game that has left us in the bottom six that we have grown far too accustomed to spending time in of late are: Brad Guzan – 6 – Turned a Ben Arfa shot from the edge of the box past the post for a corner on 60 minutes but he could only parry a very similar effort 13 minutes later to Gouffran whose tap in proved the match winner. Matt Lowton – 5 – Got forward well enough on those occasions he moved forward but left a hole behind him when we lost possession and was undone by Remy in the lead up to their opener and caught flat footed for the second. Ron Vlaar – 6 – The most solid of our defenders yesterday. Jores Okore – 6 – Injured in winning a challenge with Remy inside the box becoming the third of our central defenders to leave the field injured during our first four league games on the half hour mark. His ability to read the game was missed on a day when our defence was put under significant pressure. Antonio Luna - 5 – Allowed Ben Arfa the space to cut inside rather than force him wide for their second and was given a tough defensive examination throughout. Really needed to try a shot rather than look for a pass when in room inside the box on 50 minutes and did not get forward as often or as effectively as he has been doing up until now. Karim El Ahmadi – 3 – This was a disappointing return to the ineffective performances that led him to spend so much of last season out of the team. It will be a big surprise if Sylla does not start the next game after this. Fabian Delph – 7 – MOTM – The best of our midfield by some distance and our most effective player on an ineffective day. Hit a 30 yard shot just wide on 80 minutes and having earlier picked up his customary booking. Ashley Westwood – 5 – This was some way below the level of performance we have come to expect from Ash. Gabriel Agbonlahor- 4 – Missed a game changing opportunity on 55 minutes. Lowton found Weimann whose splendid cross left Gabby with a tap in from a couple of yards out which he inexplicably hit across the gaping goal and wide. Fought back for the ball on those occasions he was dispossessed but his woeful miss capped off a below par display. Andreas Weimann – 4 – Andi was some way off his best on his return from international duty yesterday and looked weary at times. Pulled a shot badly wide on 42 minutes having been found well by Lowton might possibly have been distracted by thoughts of squaring the ball to Gabby. Christian Benteke – 6 – Powered in a header from a corner on 67 minutes to bring us all square. The test of a great striker is to score on a day when they appear to be having an off day. Benteke was not at his dominant best, lacked service and did not hold the ball up as well as he usually does. But he averages a goal a game and where on earth would we be without his goals? Substitutes: Ciaran Clark – 6 - Replaced Okore on 30 minutes and gave a good account of himself at the back. Hit a first time shot into the side netting after Krul had flapped at a Lowton cross on 41 minutes. Libor Kozak – 5 - Replaced El Ahmadi on 67 minutes. His introduction at the corner that led to our goal may have led to some confusion in the Newcastle defence which Benteke benefited from. Early days in the shirt and had limited service and opportunity to shine. Aleksandar Tonev - Replaced Weimann on 88 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating. Up the Villa! John Lewis

Respect to all those who played their part both on and off the pitch yesterday. A very fitting tribute to Stan. By the way what a weekend for Gabby! Nigel Kennedy wears a Villa shirt with his name on the back at the last night of the Proms and then he finds a whole new fan base after that clash with the boy band member who will no doubt feel sick as a parrot about the over reaction of some of his fans to the challenge in question.

I think the Stoke team of the mid 70s would be a nearer comparison when they had the likes of Alan Hudson, Geoff Hurst, Peter Shilton and Jimmy Greenhoff in their team. The days of hoofball ended when another manager from Scotland left us supernova26.

Thanks very much for the update HH.

"Maybe attacking mid - which a lot of people on here seemed to want - would have been beneficial but I think it is now accepted the finances weren't there for that to happen". I think that was a vital area we needed to fill HH. It would be very hard to accept that sufficient funds were not made available to our manager to get a player he may have identified as capable of filling that role. Of course it may be that Lambo considered Kozak the bigger priority with the money he had been granted or that the player he had wanted for the middle was not in the end available or turned us down. But Lambo has worked so well under the cash constraints he has been given that I would have thought he had earned the backing for Kozak and a midfield player late in this window to add to those signed early doors if that was the only reason a midfield player was not signed. Still one late buy is better than none and Kozak will make a difference although I cannot help but think 2 players may have made a bigger one.

"We never hated Bent. Ireland was player of the year. Given was a great keeper. When Lambert came, we suddenly hated them. Just because of a few bucks..." I do not think we had any hate for any of those 3 momo. Lambo chose Benteke and Guzan instead of Bent and Given and was proved right to do so. In the case of Ireland he cost us a lot of money, gave the appearance that he would have rather not been part of the deal that took Milner to Citeh and despite having had the odd decent game for us did not do enough to earn a starting place week in week out. A move suits club and player and gives him the opportunity to show he can be the player he once was again, I hope he takes this opportunity.

I wish Barrry the very best of luck at Palace and with Scotland,

"Although collymore reporting now that Liverpool don't wanna pay all givens wages!" Shocking that their cash dries up as soon as we are involved in a transfer with them sonic_bouma. 50% of his wages as a minimum or he stays where he is, if they need him they will pay..

Hope the exit door did not hit his backside on his way out of a club that I think he never really wanted to sign for. He now has a manager who thinks he still has something to offer and he will be nearer to the home he has kept since leaving Manchester so he has the opportunity to show he can still be the player he was for a short period at Citeh before his playing days are behind him.

"Mainly due to Colley being off" - If there are 2 days in the year you would expect he would not be allowed to take off as leave it would be the last days of each transfer window.

Mentioned in passing on Radio WM this morning. But it appears the national press have other players and clubs on their mind.

"what you should be asking is how many players has Lambert told the chairman he wanted to sign and then not been backed to do so ? here is no evidence that the chairman hasn't backed Lambert to sign the players he wanted in fact given the speed with which we made most of our signings the evidence is quite the contrary".."In three windows, Lambert has signed 15 players. how many more do you want?" We will may never know if Lambert has asked for money for players and been refused it dukes. The speed with which we have made most of our signings is also not compelling evidence that would support this conclusion. Our manager needed to bring in players when he came to us and has done so. He may have brought in more players at the price he paid for Benteke if he had the money to do so to add to those players he wanted that would cost less. To answer your last question I would like another 2 players in this window but I back the manager to bring in the player(s) he sees as highest priority that he can afford to bring in within the budget he is given.

Looks a more than decent potential signing and it is great to see we are looking to bring someone in before the window slams shut. I trust Lambo to make the right decision on the type and number of players he can bring in with the funds that are made available to him. I would like to see a midfield player come in as well but that might still happen or it may be that we cannot get the player we want with the money we have so it is better we do something we can do rather than nothing.