Aston Villa go fourth after draw against Manchester United
Saturday, 22 November 08, 07:14 PM · Comments (54)
The result is fair, whichever way you look at it. United had the bulk of the possession but we battled and played well at times and we did everything right.
We started in a 4-5-1 formation with Reo-Coker playing at right back, again out of position and Luke Young playing left back, out of position also, but you could say differently, because he has played there in his career before. Still, we did okay, but I think we would have done better with Carlos.
We ended the game playing 4-4-2 as Carew came on for Sidwell with ten minutes to go and just so we're clear on the subject, Sidwell had a poor game. It's not that he made mistakes or did anything wrong, he just didn't seem to get into it.
Still, it's a result that we have must be happy with as we're sitting 4th in the Premier League, a point behind (thanks Bumhug360) Manchester United in 3rd place.
I for one am very happy. Media view, player ratings and blog opinin coming, as you'd expect, tomorrow morning. I'm off for a beer.
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54 Comments · Add yours
milners crossing was much improved today
"Still, it's a result that we have ,ust be happy with as we're sitting 4th in the Premier League on the same points as Manchester United in 3rd. "
They get a point for a draw as well you know
Im happy
Me too. My only small nitpick is that Carew should've come on sooner. That said, tactically MON got it right and NRC did a job at right back today, all credit to him. Petrov or Laursen as MOTM for me.
It's my 21st today, I was hoping for a win to cap off a perfect birthday, but I'm actually pretty happy with the result today. It wasn't the performance we gave against arsenal but we made them look average, and we're fourth! COME ON! fuck the complaints, I'm very very happy!
Another good battling display we ganged up on utd at times and i loved it, Milner is showing signs of being our best winger because Young didn't bring the shooting boots today some of those crosses were poor and he cost 10mil.
Coker was much improved in the second so was Petrov he was really fired up, the defence also was outstanding all them corners and none went in
Im a little gutted we didn't win when milner skinned oshea i thought we have gotta score here but it didn't happen
4 out of 6 aint bad my son we'll take 4th nicely
Very chuffed with the result. NRC was a very wise choice today as he has the pace and strength that Shorey does not have. I see Shorey as a panic buy tbh and i don't think he can cut it against the big boys. Other than that I though we were very solid today and could have nicked it if things had gone our way.
My MOTM has to be Milner, he was the most creative of our midfielders and the most likely to make a goal. He also battled excellently and kept Evra at bay, which is a very tough task. UTV!!
If the team put the sort of display they have over the last two games the we have Champions League football next year, make no mistake. What Villa have lacked it the gutsy and gritty ball winning diplays like the last two.
4 points out of the last two games especially is fantastic. Watch us lower our standard against Fulham now..!
UTV
Should have won. Looked great. UTV!
I'm gunna get bollocked for this, but I thought Barry was up there for MOTM, but that said, 4 or 5 players could have got it...?
1st half awful
2cnd half fantastic battling team performance, definite definite penalty
I can't believe how much manure dive
Park = cheat
Vidic = cheat
Evra = cheat
Ferdinand = cheat
Ronaldo = greasy haired fucking cheat
Are they men or pussies? falling on the floor and crying, cheats, if that pen decision was the other way it would have been a pen, but then the prem has been fixed for ages.
Geat performance though Villa well done!
taglor...I just fell off my chair....I like the new you...I like it a lot
I don't think it was a penalty but it was definitely a foul on gabby before they reach the penalty area.
I thought most of the team deserved a shout for MOTM, apart from Gabby (who did his best and had good moments but its difficult against Ferdinand/Vidic on your own) and maybe Sidwell who seemed a bit quiet sometimes. I thought Milner had his best game so far, and was putting in some excellent crosses. Barry was good as well, playing some good passes and getting stuck in. Petrov winning the ball loads of times as well, and even Reo had a good go at RB. I thought Laursen and Davies were brilliant, rarely did they put a foot wrong against Rooney and co.
I think we played more as a team than United did, and whilst a draw is definitely the correct result perhaps we could have nicked it. But then United fans will probably say the same.
I don't think we we that bad first half but we were much improved second, I think everyone played well but I felt Ashley was a little off today.
I am starting to believe in the possibility of 4th place, Arsenal are in a bit of a slump, we should look to strengthen in January and hopefully Bouma should be back early in the new year.
Here here taglor, well said! And I agree with NH08AV it should've been a free kick outside the area.
we were lucky to escape with a point. villa's play seemed tired and uninspired and the extended manure possession seemed to really lag on them. i was hoping for sidwell to continue the form he showed last week at arsenal but he really seemed out of place today. gabby and ashley didn't get nearly enough chances to make something happen. that said, we held firm and a point is a point.
Also thats 2 clean sheets against the Top 4, the defense looks to have gelled now and are looking solid with Friedel behind them. When we brought L. Young I was very disappointed to say the least but i have been proven wrong, he has been very solid and also got foward well today. Hopefully we can continue like this now against Fulham
RONALDO IS A FUCKING PRICK....i got so worked up watching the 2nd half after work....constantly moaning to the ref...Milners tackle just shows what a pussy ronaldo is. Laursen or Petrov for Motm today....Man u r just a bunch f diving pricks....why was it that whn Laursen n Sidwell hurt themselves and the ref stopped play we had to restart with 9 men but ronaldo goes down n the play is stopped he's allowed to come straight back on!!!
was a pen for sure
if that was rooney going down he would of given it. they had a lot of the ball but you expect that with man u. defense looked solid even N R C looked like a RB. milner had his best game to date.overall i am well 
Good point for villa. Should have had a penalty but remember you only get one of them if you wear red and play at Old Trafford!!! Ronaldo is such a cheat and the sooner he leaves united the better. No wonder fergie wants hime to stay.......if he left united would only get HALF the free kicks they get now!!! With someone with so much talent HE stills feels he needs to cheat....What a sad little boy (new dummy required!!!)
good performance, its hard to say we should have won, a draw was a fair result from the general play
but
we were not given a stone wall penalty/free kick which arguably should have been a red card. i can say with almost certainty that it would have been at the other end
i think that davies has shown in the last 2 matches he is well capable of keeping cuellar out, he just needs to be consistant now. laursen is a rock
its hard to say young is out of position, hes a full back - not his best side perhaps but should have no problem playing on the left. but i almost cried when i saw reo coker there. if ronaldo was arsed today thing could have been very different. his passing is awful, and he is certainly not a defender. he doesnt no what hes doing in there
barry was excellent, was like a 12 man at times in defense and midfield, another good game from sidwell and petrov. a top midfield at the moment. and a word for jamie milner who had a very good game today and should look to push on from this; his 1st good game since joining. young could do with lifting his game again, tho its very difficult to critise him!
gabby was a live wire and well alone upfront. a word about big jon. im glad he's been dropped. he doesn't look bothered since the incident and even when he comes on his work rate is unacceptable. i have been a big fan of him up til now, but im really disappointed with his attitude in the last few weeks.
oh and mon; pretty please buy some full backs that u actually rate for gods sake! and a top striker to give big jon a kick up the hoop!
3 clean sheets out of 4 matches with the big 4...HEROIC
5 CLEAN SHEETS NOW THIS SEASON
DOES ANYONE NO HOW MANY WE HAD LAST SEASON
WKD RESULT REALLY HAPPY
Reply to taglor:
As shocked as I am to say this, I agree with most of your comments taglor.
Didn't think first half was awful, but it was much better in the second. At times, the fluency in Villa's play was mesmerising. Had lady luck been on our side then who knows. We could have nicked it off em. BUT a draw is a good result and it means that our shambles against the Toon and Boro have almost been forgotten.
Think it was a penalty on Gabby, or at least a freekick outside the box for the initial foul. BUT it wasn't to be so we must move on.
Good overal performance. Thought NRC was fantastic, the competition for places is bringing out the best in players like Petrov, NRC and Sidders - although at times I forgot Sidwell was playing, couldn't really get into the match. But that will happen. How much better are Villa when Petrov plays though? The ability of the man makes me see why MON bought him in.
Thought Milner did a good job, and was very unlucky not to get an assist or two.
The boys can't afford to take their foot of the pedal. A good performance against Arsenal and ManUtd MUST be backed up with a professional display at Fulham. Anything less then a win is unacceptable considering our current form and league position.
Taglor, they are overpaid primadonnas. They wouldn't know how to play the game like men. Just keep in mind that SAF is their manager.
UTV
ah n fairness reo was class today the way he kept ronaldo out of the game no mean feat its just a bitty hes a bit like bouma when it comes to distribution there both not great in the aspeact. delighted oneill but in reo as hes a a fine tackler with pace. shorey i think is class on the ball and defending but lacks pace so it was a masterstroke by oneill to take the chance on shifting the defence around. pity young and gab didnt get more ball but dnt forget we are playing the enlish and euro champs and we made a brilliant account of ourselves. i just thank god ellis didnt get us in debt got in lerner and oneill is the best thing to happen to us sin we gt 4th and to the semis of the coca cola and fa cup
Good result only saw the second half,first time that the red shite havent scored in 36 matches so well done Laursen,Davies and all.
I still can't understand playing hokey cokey at right back and young at left back.
As for that cheating, diving,potugese twat sometimes known as ronaldo,please SAF sell the fucker he is a blot on the english game.
Good result today,i think the whole team done well,lets build
on the last 2 games and beat fulham next week.
Reply to marmite61:
totally agree with your comments about the cheating git Ronaldo but if he sells him United's free kick count per game will surely half!!!!
Craig72av what a shame that would be ha ha.I bet we don't get any credit for stopping them scoring.
UTV
so ferguson doesn't think that Vidic fouled Gabby. How on earth does he think that Vidic managed to keep up with Gabby for over 20m without holding him back? You can forgive a manager defending his players, but what you can't forgive is a referee failing to see the totally, glaringly obvious.
did you watch the game on TV damien?
because sidwell was better than you described, why else would he get a standing ovation from the villa crowd when he was taken off?
also reo-coker made some FANTASTIC tackles and got stuck in very well, and young looked brilliant at times, he went on a run once and got past about 3-4 man utd players....
milner improved alot tonight, but ill be more impressed if he keeps this up...we shall see....
we should have a penalty, simple as, MON said so, EVERY pundit said so, only fergusen was in denial, but hes a twat anyway, so no new news there....
good result though, and into the top 4!! just bloody stay there lads, and start beating teams like fulham, boro, newcrapple and co.
That was the best Villa performance against Utd I can remember seeing.
Not afraid, they closed them down, fought, ganged up and showed they belong on the same pitch. Villa were composed and not intimidated. Barry, massive. Petrov, massive. NRC...wonderful performance, and a MON masterstroke. His distribution was also actually very good, but his work rate, tackles...huge. Milner is coming on nicely...That move that took him to the goal mouth—there's a taste of things to come. If he'd just played it back a step quicker, Villa would've come away with all three points, and Utd couldn't have complained.
What MON has done was on full display today. Villa didn't look like minnows heroically fighting for a point. Villa looked like a team on the up, a real team, and had their own moments of brilliance, fluidity, class and threatening intent.
Instead of being cut to shreds, Villa anticipated. They didn't give Utd the room, or too much respect.
Defo a free kick from Vidic and a sending off, too. Utd...bunch of whiners, diving, going down too easily. I'd be ashamed if that were Villa.
Just can't say enough. That performance heralded Villa's arrival. A well deserved draw that could easily have been three points with no arguments, and Ronaldo was sent packing, whining, shaking his head, covered in grass stains and limping. Well done the lads. Well done.
by the way - the_flabster ...
its 3 clean sheets against the top four......remember we drew to liverpool 0-0....
Is that actually taglor? LOL.
I thought we started bright today but came under a lot of pressure for the rest of the first half, we defended great though. 2nd half I think we pretty much matched them. It was funny how many times Fergie moved Ronaldo into a different position until finally taking him off, we really kept that overrated cock quiet.
Talking of quiet, Ashley was just that. Kinda proves his class when it takes 2 players to mark him out of the game. Milner was outstanding and if he can keep performing like that then he might just justify his price tag. Davies and Laursen were extremely solid and I thought Reo did great despite a couple of loose balls. Petrov also deserves a mention, can't believe what a good season he is having.
Sorry for the essay, great result though!
A Man Utd fan friend texted part waqy through the second half...."get Ronaldo off the pitch"...even Utd fans are becoming sick of his petulance and cheating
What a great battling performance. First half wasn't great but in the second half, we outfought United and they couldn't handle it.
Well done to Reo-Coker, man of the match from where I was sitting.
Petrov got stuck in yet again, great to see.
Davies and Laursen defended brilliantly.
I think the main difference I noticed today was that we gave them no respect.
Oh and before I go, a word about Ronaldo..what a tw*t! I've never seen such a cry baby, learn to handle a tackle you ponce!
Now you see why he paid 12 mil for him. He gets better and better.
I want some of that stuff O’Neill gives the team at half-time. How do they take it d’you think, up their noses or intravenously. I’m happy.
There’s a new arsenal blog calling for Wenger’s head. I told them to calm down; they could end up with O’Leary.
You’re right Damian, Sidwell never really got into the game, a bit anonymous – especially the last ten minutes. They all done good. I’m happy
Slightly off subject, but the other thing gone un-noticed today was that the three ugliest strikers in the premiership started the game today....!
maybe a better result than last week given how arsenal played today. battled hard and hopefully we will start getting some credit in the media.luke young is a very good player, and petrov just gets better every week.
record against top 4 : W 1 D 2 L 1
who could have seen this coming after DO'L
UTV!!!!!
Nice one Kohoutek..from what i saw your comments just about sum it up.
Great Villa performance today...i shook my head when i heard NRC was playing full back again but this was obviously a bit of a masterstroke from a certain Mr O'Neill.
He is obviously a better judge of our players than we are !
Happy Days...Up The Villa
im very happy villa man!......if we all died 2moro, would u be happy that martin is your dad?
kohoutek... you should replace damian
I think overall we did well, I've been NRC's biggest critic this year but he showed that he can play and he did an excellent job against cry baby, I think being dropped against Arsenal did him good.
Milner was superb as was all the defence, Barry, and Petrov.
Only negatives, Sidwell had a poor game, and Ashley really does bottle it against the top four, he needs to work on that.
We only slipped into our Man U inferiority complex mode for the last 15 mins of the first half
Do think we should start with Carew against Fulham though.
In the words of Bruce Forsyth, Good game, good game. Possession discounted, if you look at the opportinities each side had, you could argue Villa shaded it, but i guess a point each is fair.
A hard fought point as most of the comments her echo. Good to see Arsnenal in crisis. It gives us a good chance of keeping 4th place for the next few games. The team is still improving.
I think now we have our hopes up of getting 4th place. The last three seasons the team in 4th place had 76 (07/0
, 68 (06/07) and 67 (05/06). Based on the points we have achieved so far we will get 65 points. We are still in the race for fourth but we need to improve our points per game ratio.
Good result and good tactical performance from MoN. We set out our stall that United would never expose us and score on the counter. However, if we want to be contenders for the top 4 - then we need to consistenly get results and performances like the last 2 games. Arsenal are a bit of a shambles right now and yet we are only a point ahead of them.....
As a Milner critic - i have to say I thought he had a really good game. However, once again our best player and by about 10 million miles our player of the season so far - was Stan Petrov.
If yesterday reaffirmed anything for me thought - it is my hatred, yet hatred, for united and that cheating, diving ball of grease!
a good draw, i still think we lack a cutting edge up front without Carew, I would have started him and dropped Milner.Ronaldo makes me fucking sick, diving and moaning at every opportunity, I don't think it was a penalty as Vidic just about got the ball although that being said he was pulling him a bit before they got in the box..whats happened to Petrov...he's been without doubt the best player in my opinion this season..I never in a million years thought we'd be in forth this stage of the season, i just hope Randy gives MON the ammunition to push on in January and sign a top class striker which we badly need..all in all im pleased
Reply to __AA__:
I agree, he was outstanding yesterday. He won the ball well and distributed it - almost like Roy Keane used to do for them.
Great overall performance. Whilst I agree NRC played well, I wish he could learn to pass. He gives the ball away far too much for my liking, which negates his tackling , IMO. Must have been 5 times out of 6 and it caused me to comment to the missus.
No way was it a penalty, the original foul was well outside.
But MON may have been right, in that it was a sending off.
Still, I'm very happy
Happy.
STAND UP IF YOU LOVE VILLA *stands up*
The penalty decision...?
I thought Gabby's strength to actually get in the penalty area while giving the guy a piggy back was awesome. Then he tried to take the shirt off his back too!
Penalty or free kick, Gabby skinned him and it was a foul. No question.
We're all so used to that sort of thing going against us against Utd. so no big fuss is made.
If that had been at the other end, Fergie would have had the Ref. skinned and turned into a nice hip flask cover...
Taglor - everybody seems to have a short memory. Last time you were on here you were calling us "morons" and laughing in our faces. So get stuffed fella