Woody1000

Must be back in the side today so he's sharp for Old Trafford next week. I'm pleased that Bennett did well last week, but he's just not as good as Bertrand who has done nothing to deserve the drop IMO.

Maybe blind faith, but I love what Gabby offers us when he is on song. Sure he has games that seem to pass him by, but his pace and strength is such an asset to us, and while his overall goals to games ratio isn't fantastic, he has scored some very important goals for us over the years. He is one of only a handful of players in our team that you really notice the difference when not playing IMO. I think he will play for Villa for the rest of his career, and I for one am more than happy for him to do so.

I love having Delph in our side, and I think he's one of our best players, but...... Jesus, not the "Jack Wilshere is crap" stuff again! Let's get this straight, Jack Wilshere is better than any of our midfielders including Delph (I would say with the exception of Delph, he is MUCH better than our midfielders). I hate all the rubbish that Hodgson won't pick him because he plays for Villa - he isn't getting picked because he needs to pass the ball better, not get caught in possession of the ball in dangerous areas, and not lunge into tackles. When I say he needs to improve, I mean at the elite level which international football is....

I was talking with a few lads at work (Liverpool, United, & Chelsea fans), and was actually surprised at how much they all rated Big Brad as neutral fans. I still can't believe how lucky we were to get the big man to re-sign, and kudos to PL for having the minerals to drop Given when he did - Guzan has been outstanding!

Leo just seems to keep getting better and better with every game. I just hope that he continues to work hard as he is not the most gifted player technically, and I think his energy is his biggest attribute. Tip of the hat to the scouts considering the money we paid for him!

I think Cardiff would be the only goer from the 3 teams you've suggsted....Fulham do pay quite well, and I can't see Norwich doing business with us because of Lambert. Quite like the look of Medel at Cardiff, he's just the sort of nasty word removed that you love when he's playing for you and hate when he's against you - but he can play too!

I'm really not fussed about Albrighton. If he stays then fine, but I wouldn't miss him if we let him go - plays well off the bench, earns himself a start and is then just meh. Villa through and through, try's hard but bang average. I'd be amazed if we're ever looking on at him playing for another club wishing we'd kept him!

Not much encouragement for players to get in the side and stay there then?I think it is unfortunate for Bennett that Bertrand was only out of the side as we were up against his parent club, otherwise he would be in with more of a shout IMO. To be honest, I've been a fan of Joe Bennett and not been as critical as some have, but I just believe that Ryan Bertrand is better and for me it's never a time for sentiment - if fit, then the better player should play.

Not too sure about Helenius... He has looked decent in the rare appearances this season, as he did in pre-season, but I think there is a reason why he's not been given much of a chance thus far. Not one in the 'written-off' list just yet for me, I think he needs another season. Hopefully we can have a decent cup-run next year so he can show what he can do.

Bertrand is back in the side on Sunday IMO. This isn't about who deserves to play based on 1 game, this is about starting with the best 11 and IMO Bertrand is a better LB than Bennett every day of the week. At least Bennett has improved his standing in PL's eyes I'm sure, and he should have to take the next opportunity that comes his way. That said, watch Lambert pick him now....

Absolute Lion. That is all.

I agree, and also think his tendancy for a rash tackle (although I think this is an area that he has massively improved upon).

Another one to add to the list.It's like you rubbed your hands with glee when you saw that!

This is the only draw-back for me when a club in our position takes a player like this on loan - we'll end up using a 1/4 or 1/3 of our summer transfer budget to buy a player that won't actually make our team any better than the one that finishes the season. That said, I would still be delighted to get him permanently. You can see he's not good enough to play regularly for Chelsea, but he's more than good enough for us.

Judging by our home form, surely the best place to sit in VP is wherever the away fans are sitting.....

I think you'll find the gobby mother of his children said differently on Twitter..... (Good to see you back on here by the way!)

I think the problem is all teams that are not winning trophies want to be doing better than they are. You could guarantee that if we finished 5th in the table with our current squad, there would still be fans complaining that we'd missed out on CL and calling them "bottlers". I don't think this is so much to do with our history increasing expectations, but more to do with modern football fans and how we're influenced by things like Sky Sports News and Internet forums (irony much!!!). Myself as a fan, I'd take Top 8 with a decent cup run every other year and decent football at VP - I'd be more than happy with that as I feel that with Villa being a non-London club, and with FFP in full swing, that is the best we could realistically hope for.

You must have forgot his debut.I would go as far as to say that Petrov's debut against West Ham was the best game he had in a Villa shirt!

I'm not going to lie, I read it 3 times and I'm none the wiser! It sounds better than the last lot, that's all I know.

Surely he could not have been worse than Sylla on Sunday!

This is pretty much my view too. Although I would say I'm probably slightly more behind PL than yourself at this present time, I could not support him in any way if he took us down.

I agree with you about the injuries hindering his form, but I feel you are using the tactics/way we play as an excuse - you see how easy it is to make an excuse when you want to try and see the best in someone/something, you are very quick to point out that any defence of RL or PL is an excuse. #justsaying Personally, I'm really disappointed with Benteke since Xmas. I'm willing to excuse the games that he has played when only semi-fit, but he has been playing well below the level that he set for himself last term. If he wasn't getting chances then I could understand, but he looks like he can't be arsed half the time.

It might just be me being negative due to our current form, but for me Andi is just another "Try-Hard" from our academy - High on effort, low on technical ability.

3 points this weekend are an absolute must, otherwise I think I will have lost all patience with Mr Lambert. The standard of football this season seems to be deteriorating with every match that passes, and we are slowly dropping down the table towards the danger zone. I have a feeling that another home defeat on Sunday will see the crowd officially turn, and I don't see any way back from that. I'm all for giving managers time, and for clubs to try to stabilise, but we're nearly back to where we started!

You can't blame the owner for club records being broken under the last two managers he has hired? Like I said. How does he keep getting defended? It's not defending him, what I'm trying to say is it's not something that you can directly blame him for. Is it to Lerner's credit then that away from home that we've only lost 4 in 13 matches, and kept 5 clean sheets? I would personally say that it's Lambert.