Villa in Brissiengham

Massive chance to take 3 on the bounce here and build some real momentum and confidence for the last matches of the season. Come on you Villa boys, keep the roll going.

There needs to be big signs on the dressing room walls with one word.....COMPOSURE! happy to take the 3 points but we were lucky to get them with penalty shouts and the amount of time and space their wide men get. It's like we get a lead then are terrified to play in case we give it up and just continually kick it back to them. Understand confidence is hard to get without wins but someone in the coaching staff (or maybe the manager even!) should be telling these guys, we've assembled as good a squad as anyone in the league so start backing yourselves more and show some composure on the ball ffs! It's no wonder we've surrendered points when our mentality after leading changes to 'just hang on now' instead of push on and smash them. If we can somehow find a 3-0 or 4-0 win against a side it might just prove the catalyst for players to believe again and play with some composure. Also, our back two who were very good defensively, particularly Chester who was outstanding, need to put mor space between them when we're in possession which will allow our fullbacks to press higher and wider and Johnstone is still sh*t for me, no command of his area at all and doesn't read the play meaning sometimes when he could come out off his line to diffuse a situation he stands like a statue or half comes and creates confusion. Ill take a win in any form though!

Thought there were signs of revival last game, think we'll improve further and win this one 1-0 or 2-1.

I think it's more frustration than lack of effort from the players. These guys don't come from other clubs where we watch them and say 'I wish our players played for the strip like that guy' to suddenly arrive at Villa and stop putting in effort. It's got to be more than that, something hasn't been right for a long time. I don't buy into guys like Hourihane/Lansbury and co not trying.

Mate, sorry but if you think the style of football we're playing currently is on par with what we played under RDM then we've been watching different games. We basically lump it forward and hope at the moment, it's terrible, under RDM we got let down by some goalkeeping errors and late goals absolutely killed us but the performances were a level above current. The players would be playing to the managers instructions and I echo what others have said, why do we sit off teams instead of going at them when we have paid through the nose to have one of the best squads assembled in the league......USE THEM! Hourihane and Lansbury must have sore necks watching the ball sail over their heads.

And had us playing MUCH better football. It could almost be argued that the few wins Bruce got early were as a result of the groundwork RDM put in place as the results and performances have been declining since then. I hate the idea of ANOTHER manager but I just can't see any light at all with Bruce at the helm. Nice fella but the football is poor, the results are terrible and guys like Johnstone who he wanted in have been a disaster!

This lad looks absolute class to me and will only get better with more time to get used to the new players around him.

Think we'll see a far better player now we have some good midfielders around him both from a playing and learning perspective provided we start playing through our midfield more instead of kicking the ball over the top of them so much! Let's not forget he's hardly been at a well oiled machine for the last 5 years as Villa has been a shambles and had role models for him the likes of Gabby, compare that to the sort of clubs mentioned with the likes of de Bruyne, chalk and cheese.

We'll be winning this one I think. Will play with some confidence and positivity at home and our new midfield will shine. 2-0

The disappointment continues! I thought the positives were Bree looks a good young player, our midfield showed signs of producing (Hourihane is class) and we've got two top strikers leading our line. Hogan looks a Shane Long type to me and once the combinations form a little bit I think he and a Kodjia will score plenty. I actually thought Grealish had a tidy game apart from the stupid first yellow but am obviously in the minority. The negatives are Sam Johnstone first, second and third, how we let Gollini go to bring this bloke in is beyond me, he's very ordinary on what I've seen so far. We're still kicking far too many balls in hope up the field, almost in a panic. As soon as we get some composure and start knocking it around we look twice the side but it's not happening nearly enough? I think the return of Jedinak will make a massive difference personally as he sits in the hole and breaks up play and will allow Hourihane and Lansbury the confidence to push on a bit, hopefully we see next match. Thor looks to have workrate but limited end product to me I'm clinging desperately to the hope it's just, once again, a lack of knowing each other's game due to the changes in the squad but eventually we have to produce. Their keeper produced some crucial saves at key times which turned the game for them. Had we scored then momentum would have been totally different. Home game next match when hopefully we'll have the confidence to keep possession and knock it around, once we do it once or twice and get a result I really hope the team starts to believe and trust in the play and themselves because currently they go to water as soon as they're under pressure

Great post mate, sums up much of it. Yes they'll need some time to gel of course but we were played off the park. We just don't seem to be able to string passes together while sides play around us. Our players seem to have no time on the ball while opposition players have plenty to do what they like. I wasn't a fan of the Steve Bruce appointment personally as I thought his record was just average but he made me eat my opinion with what he got us to achieve early days. While he seems a very likeable fella and I think it's good with the stance he made on McCormack etc I'm starting to worry again that we've had our new manager bounce and things are headed backwards again. I genuinely think we missed Jedinak badly anchoring midfield and allowing guys like Lansbury and Hourihane to have more freedom up the park but we need to really get the lads passing to each other more and stop this hoofing the ball upfield rubbish we seem to have adopted. Very frustrating and hope the next couple of games sees serious improvement.

I thought the Taylor plus 5 mill for Ayew was done?

Missing Jedinak just in front of our back 4 stepping in on their player between the lines. Expect it will take the new players a game or two to gel. Down 1-0 faaaaark.

Think Jack will flourish, learn and improve with some of the players we've signed this window instead of some of the average guys he's had around him in recent times. He's still very young in terms of footballers, hang onto him and let him continue to grow for mine.

Very happy with the business this window. Our Achilles heel now looks to be our strength on paper at least with a midfield of Jedinak, Lansbury and Hourihane providing the likes of the Viking, smiling Albert and King Kodjia. If only Ross Mac could sort his sh*t out and give us an option just behind a main striker we'd be lethal, still might.