What Aston Villa fans thought of the game
Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:07 pm
http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/04/a ... they-come/
And still they come…
Birmingham Press /
Villa beat Cardiff 1-0 on Tuesday night. Dave Woodhall makes a few comments.
When I was younger I wanted the Villa to play every day; now it almost seems like they do. No sooner had we got over the disappointment of Saturday’s trip to East Anglia than it was time to haul ass (the odd American vulgarism helps pass the time) down to Villa Park for the arrival of Cardiff City.
On Friday night this was potentially the biggest game of the season so far but Saturday afternoon’s no-show put paid to that idea and we were faced with the prospect of needing a result to keep our hopes of finishing fourth on track. It wasn’t a particularly optimistic scenario.
And the line-up, with Axel Tuanzebe at left-back and Mile Jedinak in central defence in front of Glenn Whelan, a late replacement for the injured Birkir Bjarnason, wasn’t exactly cause for optimism, either. It’s taken Tuanzebe a while, but he’s eventually done what’s expected of a new Villa signing, going off injured midway through the first half.
That aside, there wasn’t much to say about the first 45 minutes. Villa tried to play football, Cardiff predominantly tried to stop them. One of these teams is better at what they were attempting to do than the other. Then in stoppage time Sam Johnstone pulled off a couple of what could prove to be incredibly valuable saves.
The second half carried on much how the first had left off. Never has a manager been more aptly anagrammed than the man sitting on the visitors bench and he’s built a team in his own ugly image. They foul, they niggle, they argue with the officials and as with all teams of this persuasion, each man does just enough to avoid getting booked before another takes over. I’d like to have some respect for a team who have done so well on such limited resources, but it’s difficult to have a good word to say aboutt such an outfit.
Villa didn’t look particularly lively or inventive, but they had improved when Jonathan Kodjia came on for the ineffectual Albert Adomah with half an hour to go. Eventually good triumphed over evil and Jack Grealish escaped the attentions of his markers (a term that has more than one meaning on a night like this) to fire home a twenty yard volley that was being celebrated from the moment it left his boot. And as the photos have shown, it was particularly celebrated by our celebrity supporter, probably because it was against the team his dad’s the Prince of.
Three points, and a lot of frustration at what it could have meant if only Villa hadn’t lost on Saturday. But que sera sera, and we’re edging closer to a play-off place followed by a trip to Wembley. Whatever will be, will be. Now for the next match, Leeds on Friday night. Like birthdays as you get older, they come round so quickly.
http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/04/a ... they-come/
And still they come…
Birmingham Press /
Villa beat Cardiff 1-0 on Tuesday night. Dave Woodhall makes a few comments.
When I was younger I wanted the Villa to play every day; now it almost seems like they do. No sooner had we got over the disappointment of Saturday’s trip to East Anglia than it was time to haul ass (the odd American vulgarism helps pass the time) down to Villa Park for the arrival of Cardiff City.
On Friday night this was potentially the biggest game of the season so far but Saturday afternoon’s no-show put paid to that idea and we were faced with the prospect of needing a result to keep our hopes of finishing fourth on track. It wasn’t a particularly optimistic scenario.
And the line-up, with Axel Tuanzebe at left-back and Mile Jedinak in central defence in front of Glenn Whelan, a late replacement for the injured Birkir Bjarnason, wasn’t exactly cause for optimism, either. It’s taken Tuanzebe a while, but he’s eventually done what’s expected of a new Villa signing, going off injured midway through the first half.
That aside, there wasn’t much to say about the first 45 minutes. Villa tried to play football, Cardiff predominantly tried to stop them. One of these teams is better at what they were attempting to do than the other. Then in stoppage time Sam Johnstone pulled off a couple of what could prove to be incredibly valuable saves.
The second half carried on much how the first had left off. Never has a manager been more aptly anagrammed than the man sitting on the visitors bench and he’s built a team in his own ugly image. They foul, they niggle, they argue with the officials and as with all teams of this persuasion, each man does just enough to avoid getting booked before another takes over. I’d like to have some respect for a team who have done so well on such limited resources, but it’s difficult to have a good word to say aboutt such an outfit.
Villa didn’t look particularly lively or inventive, but they had improved when Jonathan Kodjia came on for the ineffectual Albert Adomah with half an hour to go. Eventually good triumphed over evil and Jack Grealish escaped the attentions of his markers (a term that has more than one meaning on a night like this) to fire home a twenty yard volley that was being celebrated from the moment it left his boot. And as the photos have shown, it was particularly celebrated by our celebrity supporter, probably because it was against the team his dad’s the Prince of.
Three points, and a lot of frustration at what it could have meant if only Villa hadn’t lost on Saturday. But que sera sera, and we’re edging closer to a play-off place followed by a trip to Wembley. Whatever will be, will be. Now for the next match, Leeds on Friday night. Like birthdays as you get older, they come round so quickly.
http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/04/a ... they-come/
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Re: What Aston Villa fans thought of the game
Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:14 pm
Aston Villa returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win over promotion rivals Cardiff City at Villa Park last night that all but confirms Villa’s place in this season’s Play-offs.
A Villa Fan
By Stuart Young
11/04/18
Manager Steve Bruce has rightfully been under a lot of pressure from fans recently after his side dropped points to teams like QPR, Hull and Bolton in recent weeks but credit where it is due, he got it spot on against Neil Warnock last night.
Bruce gave starts to Axel Tuanzebe, Lewis Grabban and then Glenn Whelan come in as a late replacement for Birkir Bjarnason who picked up a back injury in the warm-up.
Cardiff was backed by their full allocation to their credit but they never really looked great. Unsure if that is how they have played all season or if they were not at their best. No one can be sure with a Warnock side, can they?
The home side should have got off to a great start when Robert Snodgrass played Grabban in, only for the striker to hit the side netting.
Cardiff then had a chance of their own on the 15th minute when Tuanzebe, on loan from Manchester United, was caught in possession by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who broke clear but could only watch on as his shot hit the foot of the far post.
Warnock’s men then came close again just before half-time when a cross hit Whelan’s back and headed towards the bottom corner only for Sam Johnstone to pull off a fantastic save.
Cardiff emerged in the second half and looked more dangerous as they began to put pressure on the Villa goal. Kenneth Zohore was denied by an outstretched foot from Johnstone.
The hosts should have taken the lead when Grabban played Conor Hourihane through with a beautifully weighted ball into the box only for the Irish international to push his shot wide.
My man of the match, Johnstone, came to Villa’s rescue once again when he denied Mendez-Laing late on.
The game ultimately belonged to one man though, Jack Grealish. The youngster was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch as Cardiff struggled to cope with him as they kicked him all over the place and then on the 85th minute the ball fell to Grealish who struck the ball on the volley and the ball smashed off the post into the back of the net.
Cardiff drop to third and Villa remain fourth. Next up for Villa is Leeds United on Friday.
THE MANAGERS
Steve Bruce: “We all know that Jack Grealish is a talent. To be without him for six months shows what we have missed. It took him some time to get back to his fitness after his ankle injury against Birmingham City but this was the real Jack Grealish.”
Neil Warnock: “I don’t know why we didn’t win. We had some great chances. I know Grealish scored a world-class goal but I do not how Villa’s goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone, was not the man of the match. He was unbelievable. One save with his foot was made when he was going the wrong way.”
A Villa Fan
By Stuart Young
11/04/18
Manager Steve Bruce has rightfully been under a lot of pressure from fans recently after his side dropped points to teams like QPR, Hull and Bolton in recent weeks but credit where it is due, he got it spot on against Neil Warnock last night.
Bruce gave starts to Axel Tuanzebe, Lewis Grabban and then Glenn Whelan come in as a late replacement for Birkir Bjarnason who picked up a back injury in the warm-up.
Cardiff was backed by their full allocation to their credit but they never really looked great. Unsure if that is how they have played all season or if they were not at their best. No one can be sure with a Warnock side, can they?
The home side should have got off to a great start when Robert Snodgrass played Grabban in, only for the striker to hit the side netting.
Cardiff then had a chance of their own on the 15th minute when Tuanzebe, on loan from Manchester United, was caught in possession by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who broke clear but could only watch on as his shot hit the foot of the far post.
Warnock’s men then came close again just before half-time when a cross hit Whelan’s back and headed towards the bottom corner only for Sam Johnstone to pull off a fantastic save.
Cardiff emerged in the second half and looked more dangerous as they began to put pressure on the Villa goal. Kenneth Zohore was denied by an outstretched foot from Johnstone.
The hosts should have taken the lead when Grabban played Conor Hourihane through with a beautifully weighted ball into the box only for the Irish international to push his shot wide.
My man of the match, Johnstone, came to Villa’s rescue once again when he denied Mendez-Laing late on.
The game ultimately belonged to one man though, Jack Grealish. The youngster was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch as Cardiff struggled to cope with him as they kicked him all over the place and then on the 85th minute the ball fell to Grealish who struck the ball on the volley and the ball smashed off the post into the back of the net.
Cardiff drop to third and Villa remain fourth. Next up for Villa is Leeds United on Friday.
THE MANAGERS
Steve Bruce: “We all know that Jack Grealish is a talent. To be without him for six months shows what we have missed. It took him some time to get back to his fitness after his ankle injury against Birmingham City but this was the real Jack Grealish.”
Neil Warnock: “I don’t know why we didn’t win. We had some great chances. I know Grealish scored a world-class goal but I do not how Villa’s goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone, was not the man of the match. He was unbelievable. One save with his foot was made when he was going the wrong way.”
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Re: What Aston Villa fans thought of the game
Wed Apr 11, 2018 3:46 pm
Forever Blue wrote:http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/04/and-still-they-come/
And still they come…
Birmingham Press /
Villa beat Cardiff 1-0 on Tuesday night. Dave Woodhall makes a few comments.
When I was younger I wanted the Villa to play every day; now it almost seems like they do. No sooner had we got over the disappointment of Saturday’s trip to East Anglia than it was time to haul ass (the odd American vulgarism helps pass the time) down to Villa Park for the arrival of Cardiff City.
On Friday night this was potentially the biggest game of the season so far but Saturday afternoon’s no-show put paid to that idea and we were faced with the prospect of needing a result to keep our hopes of finishing fourth on track. It wasn’t a particularly optimistic scenario.
And the line-up, with Axel Tuanzebe at left-back and Mile Jedinak in central defence in front of Glenn Whelan, a late replacement for the injured Birkir Bjarnason, wasn’t exactly cause for optimism, either. It’s taken Tuanzebe a while, but he’s eventually done what’s expected of a new Villa signing, going off injured midway through the first half.
That aside, there wasn’t much to say about the first 45 minutes. Villa tried to play football, Cardiff predominantly tried to stop them. One of these teams is better at what they were attempting to do than the other. Then in stoppage time Sam Johnstone pulled off a couple of what could prove to be incredibly valuable saves.
The second half carried on much how the first had left off. Never has a manager been more aptly anagrammed than the man sitting on the visitors bench and he’s built a team in his own ugly image. They foul, they niggle, they argue with the officials and as with all teams of this persuasion, each man does just enough to avoid getting booked before another takes over. I’d like to have some respect for a team who have done so well on such limited resources, but it’s difficult to have a good word to say aboutt such an outfit.
Villa didn’t look particularly lively or inventive, but they had improved when Jonathan Kodjia came on for the ineffectual Albert Adomah with half an hour to go. Eventually good triumphed over evil and Jack Grealish escaped the attentions of his markers (a term that has more than one meaning on a night like this) to fire home a twenty yard volley that was being celebrated from the moment it left his boot. And as the photos have shown, it was particularly celebrated by our celebrity supporter, probably because it was against the team his dad’s the Prince of.
Three points, and a lot of frustration at what it could have meant if only Villa hadn’t lost on Saturday. But que sera sera, and we’re edging closer to a play-off place followed by a trip to Wembley. Whatever will be, will be. Now for the next match, Leeds on Friday night. Like birthdays as you get older, they come round so quickly.
http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/04/a ... they-come/
Prince of Cardiff
Re: What Aston Villa fans thought of the game
Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:22 pm
I hope when we next play Villa in Cardiff we give them no more than 2600 tickets. Despite there being a whole level of their main stand unused they apparently never budge above the minimum allocation to visiting teams.
Re: What Aston Villa fans thought of the game
Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:49 pm
Grealish wasn't kicked off the park he was just ineffective most game? The truth is villa were crap took into 2nd half to have shot on target probably, just same old crap coming from clubs supporters who want to hide their teams inadequacies with how dirty/ anti football we are.. 
Re: What Aston Villa fans thought of the game
Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:55 am
I thought the first report was a pretty good summary myself.