Thoroughly deserved. Sissoko could have also laid it onto a plate for Dennis. Shame the players have not played like this all season. Stuck to their shape, harried and pressed for every ball and showed for the most part common sense when passing it out and to each other. Special mention to Louza for his interventions and creativity. Looked right up to speed and quality. Dennis goal and Sarr assist. Both of those keep going we still have a chance. Also great to see Young booed. Fully merits it. Did well allowing Dennis across him and messing up their set pieces. Villa committed plenty of nasty fouls inspired by Gerrard no doubt. Looks like they will have to keep spending big to get anywhere. Martinez showed why he is one of the top three keepers in world football while we effectively suffocated Buendia and Coutinho. Well done players, supporters, Ray and Roy. COYH.
Flipping heck! Just when I'd given up they give you hope. I hate hope it's dangerous. Well done Roy and the team. Still no email reply...
Surprise surprise - our £40mil star signing back starting a match and the first time we win a match since he last got injured. Zero coincidence whatsoever. It's clear as day that for all the moaning and whining about the managers, formations, other players etc. that being without the player who dragged us out the Championship has been the single biggest factor behind our subsequent plummet down the table. We're just so much more threatening with him on the pitch leading the counter attacks. Not only did he set up the Dennis goal, but his driving forward with the ball also set up our two other glorious earlier chances which we should have scored from. Him being on the pitch also gave lots more time and space to Dennis, which he could have at times done more with. That said if we now lost him to injury it would be another major blow.
Facts. 3 points further away from a humiliating total and a clean sheet. Now we just need to repeat the process another 5, or 6 times (lol).
Can't fault the effort today and great to get the monkey off our backs Louza was excellent I thought COYH
Bad day for the Negative Nancy's........but the forum will be purged from their negativity for a few days at least......so a very good day. Got the double over Villa. Can we play you ever week? Hands up who's watching MotD tonight? Do they still broadcast that show?
Tremendous performance, that's all we were asking for - work hard defensively and have some attacking threat. Cathcart and Samir immense. Louza showing for the ball made a massive difference. Comedy cameo from Ken too, good job it didn't cost us.
Hopefully this gets Dennis his confidence back. He could have had several over the last few matches. If he gets back in form there's a chance.
I take all the credit. Switched my phone off at half time and went for a swim in the hotel pool. How much do you want me not to travel down for the Palace game?
******* hell - forgotten what that feels like. It doesn't actually really feel like it should anyway, given the desperation of our situation, but it's a nice thing to have out of seemingly nowhere. For most of the first half I thought we were pretty poor, with no control, no possession, and Cleverley stealing a place once again. Second half we improved a bit, at times, and we had one moment of decisive quality from our two best players. Better teams than that will still cut us apart between the lines, as Coutinho and Buendia did several times, and we will still be forced to ride our luck a great deal, such as the few times they got in behind us and fluffed their lines/were a whisker offside. King's overall play and finishing is woeful at this point - as is Sissoko's decision making. Both could put us ahead/sealed the points. Put Dennis at the tip of a three next time, and use Cucho or JP on the wing - or, even King, if you have to, in the way he was playing early under Ranieri. We had some bloody unhelpful results today around us, although thank god Liverpool finally pulled their finger out. This doesn't change anything as it stands, but at least we didn't have to endure another evening of further crushing depression. Kamara continues to be a very clear upgrade, if nothing else. I don't want to see Sema even coming on as a late defensive diligence substitute - he's **** at that, too, and his lack of coordination literally makes it riskier for us - at 87.30 he managed to both be outpaced and outstrengthened on the edge of our box by a smaller player, turning it over for another Villa opportunity in a desperate moment in the process, as he tried to go on one of his channel runs to the heart of nowhere. Never again, please.
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HB1 in getting negative confused with realistic shocker. Relief is the word. Considering the Burnley and Newcastle results not sure how much of a difference it will make. Hopefully Leeds lose tomorrow.
After waiting since November 2019 for one, amazingly we’ve now kept two clean sheets in our last three PL away matches.
Hi mate, we went over this on todays shoutbox. You switching your phone off or not watching it has zero impact on the result. Eg, I had my phone on for both of the last two games of which were differing results. You could, by not attending a game in person, have more of an impact on the result but this would be highly unlikely. For more, try and catch Gino Pozzo’s ‘Interstellar’, if you have time.
Classic Roy win eh? Solid defensive show and grab one ourselves. Much needed ! Sarr made a difference naturally.
The drop in quality when Dennis or whoever is down the left is a big problem. Bless Ken he is a trier but you need to be far more at this level. Squandered possession twice and then failed to clear a ball resulting in Villa keeping us hemmed in and then conceding a needless free kick with a wild challenge. Kamara was class again by the way,
Amazing what can happen when the manager picks our very obvious strongest line-up available and then largely sets them up to play to their strengths. No more of this stupid CM’s on the wing nonsense - regardless of the opposition, home or away. Desperately need to follow that up with 3 more points midweek now.
Execellent performance, solid defensively and we should have scored more. Louza, Samir and Catchcart were immense. Kiko and Kamara had solid games. Sema was pretty awful not tracking his man a couple of times. But I'll take 3 points and the clean sheet. Don't care what people say, Villa are bang average.
Ear defenders ON. The whining, screeching and moaning from Gerrard will be more intense than Storm Eunice.
Now lads and lasses no need for infighting on a day like this. It may be just a Pyrrhic victory but until it's mathematically impossible lets keep going at it. Still it does not disguise the issues Luke and others have made mention of with a lack of coherent recruitment, identity, the academy and so forth.
Not forgetting the long errrs and aarrs while the Scouse drawl settles about you and there is a froth of spittle flying in the interview room.
Indeed. I think we are all happier after today. Still won't be enough to change people's views on the overall trajectory of the club, though.
Sema needs to stop being allowed anywhere near a Premier League pitch. It's beyond ridiculous. He is literally just completely terrible at everything. Bringing him on doesn't help sure things us, it puts us in far greater danger.
