brummie

Also, another excellent first touch goal from Andi Weimann today. He's coming on very well.

Nah, that's an important point for us. We were awful in the first half, but way, way better in the second. We now have cup matches against Ipswich at home, and then Bradford away, before we play Southampton in the league at home. The confidence from a point at a difficult place will help us hugely. Plus, Vlaar and Agbonlahor should be back, and we've got time to get some experience in. Oldest outfield player in starting line up today was 24. Way, way too young.

Injured, except CNZ who may have been fit the other day. Dunne is never going to be fit again. Had another op recently. When i say "op" he was probably getting his stomach stapled to stop him eating, the fat bastard.

Struggling to think of a worse performance from Villa than Wigan on Saturday. Truly dreadful. However, despite the flow of fans to the exit with almost 30 minutes left, the level of support for the manager is still very encouraging indeed. We need to buy in some experience. A centre half, a left back, and a physical presence in midfield.

Its about how he motivates them to recover from the last two games, really. He needs to be backed in the January market. I don't know a single Villa fan who doesn't appreciate what he is trying to do, and how he is going about it, but this season was always going to be about mental, supercharged swings and roundabouts. He's at least trying to get us play the game properly. I see McLeish's doomish, negative face washing up at Forest, and remember how it is 1000 times worse when your manager has an approach to the game that you find nauseating.

I've had a truly excruciating football Christmas. Still backing Lambert, though. He just needs to get some experience in in January as using kids and blooding academy products is great, but you'll not get through a whole season that way. Despite being twatted 4-0 after an 8-0 reverse, despite there being some isolated booing, at the end of the game, encouraging to see the support still there for the manager and the team. As I said after our win at Anfield, it's a long, long season still, and our results are going to be massively volatile.

And hopefully you'll see us at Wembley, too

Although in 180 mins of football (CCF and FAC semi) I reckon we had two shots. I fancy Lambert's chances of beating either of Chelsea or Swansea. He'll at least be a bit flexible and have a tactical approach rather than just do the same thing we always did, which is what MON did.

Third.

Fucking magnificent draw for us. Firstly, we got Bradford. Secondly, we are at home for the second leg. Thirdly, Swansea have the second leg at home against Chelsea. Other than Leeds beating Chelsea, that's the best possible outcome for us. We've had a couple of hard ties in this cup, away at Man City, away at Norwich, and scored 4 goals in both of them, so we've at least put in a shift to get this far.

The problem for Liverpool is that there is no obvious answer in terms of spending which iis both realistic, and s going to push them appreciably closer to the top clubs. They're living with a new reality, and struggling to come to terms with it. They'd be better of spending the 18m wiser, on more than two players, and not sticking all the eggs in so few baskets. If you think about, say, ten years ago, and how many Liverpool players you'd have in your squad, there would have been quite a few. How many are there these days? Suarez? Agger? Not even Reina any more

Apparently we're looking at getting Harry Forrester back. Came to our youth team from Watford a few years ago, acted Charlie Big Bollocks, got turfed out, got a trial at Ajax for their youth team, got accepted, turned it down as his mom got seriously ill and they couldn't guarantee him time off to visit her, chose to move to Brentford instead, and is doing quite well there. I'm all for buying in young players, and using self produced ones (six Academy graduates started on Saturday, and two more on the bench) and some of ours (Baker, Clark, Bannan) are seriously starting to look the part, but we really need to be buying in some experience this January, not more youth alone. It's sod's law (and awful) that the player we miss the most now is Stan Petrov. We couldn't half do with him back.

I was at that game. What a talent Atkinson had, didn't make anything like what he could have of it. I fucking loved Big Ron's side. I'm sure I watched that live - Was it on TV Brummie? I doubt it, but may have been. I'll never forget that match, as it's the longest it has ever taken me to travel from my home to a football match in the same city. What a horrific ground that is to get to.

I was at that game. What a talent Atkinson had, didn't make anything like what he could have of it. I fucking loved Big Ron's side.

Liverpool in recent years have been fascinating. Although I think Rodgers needs to be given time, and has as good a chance as anyone of getting it right there, the delusion of their fans, and the sheer scale of their inability or unwillingness to face up to where they are nowadays is far more interesting than anything they do on the pitch.

From their thread about Christian Benteke: Ha ha ha ha, I think I can guess the answer to that one.

Don't be, we are still way, way early in the process, we still put in too many atrocious performances.

Football is weird. So many games this season we've had 60% plus possession, and got nothing. Today we must have had about 30, yet put in a superb performance and thoroughly deserved to win. We'll still have ups and downs, it is a long term project and it isn't going to happen overnight. The fact pretty much 99 percent of our support gets this makes me happy. Our youngest team in PL history today, average age 23. Oldest player Guzan at 28. Six academy products starting. It is a risky strategy relying on kids that much, but it's nice when it works. I like what Lambert is trying to do. I like his style (keep the ball, pass, play through the middle), but the thing I like most is the "fight like fuck to get it back when you don't have it" ethos. Our second goal today was after an 18 pass move, and the finish was blinding. Don't worry, I will be back bemoaning how shit we were pretty soon again, but the green shoots are definitely there, and so long as we're not relegated, I am more than happy to give the manager time.

I'm really not trying to troll you here, Brummie, but was it really worse than you were at WHL last year? That was one of the most abject performances I've ever seen. Nothing was worse than that, but I am expunging that "performance" from my memory. That was the most embarassed I have been of a Villa side in 35 plus years of watching. That's the thing I most hate McLeish for.

I honestly think Reading and QPR have zero chance of staying up. QPR because they've created themselves too much instability and short termism behind the scenes, and Reading because they are absolutely dreadful. We put in as bad a performance as I've seen in years against Reading, and still beat them, they're awful

He genuinely looks like he's just realised he's really at risk.

Wenger is looking a bit confused.

Disco, I just like the fact we've got a manager who is trying to do something what i want the club to do. Let's not forget, we're 17th this evening, so it's hardly sunshine and roses, but Lambert seems to have the support of the fans in being a bit patient with what he's trying to do. It's not going to get great overnight. Aston Villa last season were the most embarassing I've seen us, and I went to my first match in 1973. It's a long way back from that. I'm just glad the manager has good ideas, and is getting the time to do it.

Seriously, in patches this season, we have been truly, truly awful, but in other patches, we've played some of the best football I've seen us play since Big Ron's side (a side I enjoyed watching even more than the league / EC winning side). We need to manage an inspired peformance when it matters in the semi final. Although we won at Man City and at Norwich in this competition, so it's not as if we'd had a piss easy route, like when Blues won it.

Good result for us. Fair play, Bradford. Wenger has abused this competition for years, to see him finally realise he needs something from it, and to then get knocked out by Bradford is marvellously ironic.