Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup: Litex Lovech 1 Aston Villa 3

Latex LoveIt! 1 - 3 Villa C team

We were poor. But at least it's three points.

How come it does not feel like we actually won a game, a UEFA Cup game at that..?!

Well, at the end of the day when we were one nil down I was worried, but to finish 3-1 up however we played is a good result.

Hopefully we can learn and grow from this performance, don't forget two key players were missing from the starting 11 as well.

Milner and Gardener were quite disappointing today. Gabby did well considering his inexperience playing upfront alone (and spent most of the time trying to replace Young, it seemed). Cuellar looked okay. It was a pretty lacklustre game which we won due to some luck, and Lovech absolutely going to pieces in the second half (that was an epic piece of goalkeeping for the handball). We missed Carew, and importantly, Young.

505anthoney.Please explain Villa C team.

We were average today and made Litex look good in the first half. We were lucky to have got 3, particularly considering Litex always looked like they had 11 men on the pitch.

Strange considering how well we played on Monday, but maybe the players were taking it easy seeing as we have WBA on Sunday, QPR on Wednesday, Sunderland on the Saturday, Litex on the Thursday and then Chelsea on the Sunday.

I posted this on the wrong thread earlier but thought Cuellar looked really decent. He seems to lead in defence and charge the ball down a lot earlier than any villa defender i've seen in a while. For me that was the only positive (besides the result) in today's match.

I think it was a lackluster performance, disgusting to watch honestly. How we won that ill never know. But it may very well be the sign of a decent team, to play so poorly yet win comfortably. It wasnt too long ago we were on the other end of results like that. Credit must be given to Litex, as they never stopped trying and it could be said that they were a little unfortunate today. Boring display by the entire midfield, Petrov was sub par, Milner was average at best, Shorey was poor. I think Reo and Carlos were decent and thats it. No spark from the bench which is a little alarming, but like i said a win is a win. Bring on Brom......

Not a great performance. I thought Petrov and Reo-Coker were the only players who were particularly good, though Cuellar did look comfortable at the back, which was nice considering it was his first game. I'd love to see one of our forwards score a goal at some point. I think Gabby thinks he's a left winger or something.

I feel the same. Although i'd love to blame the pitch, they passed it brilliantly. Cuellar looked good. A bit like Laursen in the way he likes to bring the ball out and look for a pass. A win is always good and we'd have took 3-1 before. I was just annoyed with the wasted free-kicks by Milner and in all honesty, we should put any team with 9 men out of sight. Bring on the baggies!

Cuellar looked good it was a very very poor match despite the result. On monday we played nice! Its 3-1 villa and Reo Coker was the man of the match end of... what else is there to say oh milner we are all watching you that performance for 12m was diabolical. Sort it out you didn't play like that for crapcastle?

All doom and gloom, and we won! Blimey, we were under par, we won without any real effort with a different formation and a changed line up - it's all part of the process guys and we need to save some legs for the next 14 days worth of games. Well done Villa, bring on the Baggies.

As already mentioned, we were poor today but the result is all that matters. Laursen and Coker player had good games but would have expected a better performance from Milner considering it's his 'chance' so to speak. On a lighter note, I was pissing myself at the rugby tackle on Gabby and the handball, probably the highlights of the game for me to be honest

It may actually have been better had we been going into the return leg only 2-1 up. It's now got the potential to be like the HF game a couple of weeks ago at VP..! Hope we get a better performance than last time at VP to give the fans something to get motivated with. That said it will be bloody great to be in the group stages. Plenty of TV coverage for us in the UEFA cup guaranteed and raise our european prifile(hope CH5 get better coverage for the group stages if they are televising it!)...HAPPY DAYS

You know what they say, a team that wins when they don't play well shows signs of a great team!

I was pissin myself laughin when Gaby smashed the ball off the bar straight onto Harewoods head after the handball! ha ha

3-1 on a heavy pitch against a team we know little about is a good result and the performance was never going to be a classic. I am a pleased Villa fan and am pretty confident it will be a much better performance against the Baggies at the weekend.

we won so it dont matter how well we played

1874avfc

The team shouldn't have controlled the game as they did and in the first half it could have been easily 3-0 to them???
In the last 10mins we really should have scored more but played sloppy and wasted easy chances, so i can't be happy because if it was like 5-1 0r 6-1? in the home leg would have been over? we could have put out the reserves with a couple of stars on the bench and saved most of the first teamers for more important games like luke mentioned. 3-1 in very unconvincing display...

Aint that the truth though!

villa chris cudnt agree with you more well said.a team that wins when they dont play well shows signs of a great team.

I just noticed, Damain has removed the 'REPLY' option..!

Hang on Chris and mogz....I think you may be getting a little ahead of yourselves, 'great team'...

1874AVFC - Cmon mate, that was a sorry match to watch. Considering the style of football we have played in recent times one would have expected a better showing from our boys. But as much as myself and others have been less than impressed by the match we have all ended by saying we are happy with the result. Wheres the doom and gloom there? Plus if we had a normal sized squad we could rotate players and not lose quality. Instead we have to start with Harewood, bring on Routledge and Salifou.

What reply button?!?

Its just a sign andy

Chris..There used to be a red 'REPLY' button (pink in your case!) after everyones post (you should know you all used it enough on the worlds longest thread the other day).

It's obviously removed to prevent the shennanagins (may have spelt that wrong?) of the other day!

I am really happy 3-1 away is wkd i no we did not play great but a win is a win we had 4 top players out Young, Carew, Sidwell, Bouma and 3 of them should be back soon we should be in the group stage now and that is what we all wanted

Surely a sign of a good team to win when we don't play well. I think we may have been guilty of taking this game too lightly. They may not be a well known team but I remember CSKA Sofia being a decent team and they give them a game so it's a damn good result.

ah surely andy you wouldnt begrudge me my dream of us winning the premiership,uefa cup and fa cup would ya. maybe getting a little to ahead thinking fa cup.

Ohhhh that reply button, I remember now

Damian actually thanked me, said it made him realise there was a bug on the blog that he could sort!

another lazy display from gabby!
i fort petrov won the ball well! n cant reli say much more about it?

Gabby did well considering he was a lone striker and never really got much support

What a wank performance! mind you its a win and they were quite handy. Cant see them causing us any problems at home though so on to the group stages.

Hey, anyone up for puttin in a bid to bring that little Brazilian midfield maestro to Villa park in Jan?? Tom was it?

a win is a win if we beat them at vp is it mini leagues next?

It seemed like everyone was walking around for the last 20 min. Didn't look like the same team from Monday. Very lucky to win-but I'll take it.

Yea Paul, group stages then!

clear indication of how much we would struggle without ash n big john!
milner was abit shit lol!

Sunday may prove me wrong, but I think we will look back at this game and see a change in the Villa. Many times last year (and unfortunately this year vs. Stoke) the Villa have played down to the competition and lost (both matches with Sunderland, Wigan at home, Fulham away).
And it seemed the same thing today when Villa went down 1-0. But I think we saw the evidence that squad is better and that this team is made of sterner stuff this season. Sure it took a lucky goal to turn things around, but the team never hung its head down 1-0 and kept working and that is how you make your own luck. The kept pushing and pushing and created the second yellow to get the first man sent off and the red card and penalty.
And that kind of determination when the team isn't playing well against lesser opponents could be the difference in Villa not only getting some silverware but finishing 4th as opposed to 6th.
There is no doubt this team is on the up and if they can continue to grind out performances like this then I think we will be watching one of the greatest seasons Villa's had for a long time. And we will!

Up the Villa!

It was ugly, but a fantastic result considering the opposition really went for it. That 'Tom' looked a useful player, it must be said.

Job done. Not much else to read into it. We desperately missed Ashley Young. Milner looks heavier on the ball and not very pacey, it will be interesting to see how he progresses.

Perhaps it was just the pitch.

there will be many plodding games like this in Europe and also many games where we play badly and win (Man U anybody), its just the way it is.

3-1 simple as that.. NICE

we do need abit more creativity though, and i agree, that Brazillian guy they had would be worth a punt, why on earth he is playing for a tiny team like that i have no idea, but thats exactly what we need someone with bags of skill and flare coming from midfield.

well i expected more from the premiership side but ... its normal , you have class thats why you win . Same happened last year versus Hamburger SV . They were not really better but they still won 1:0 ... We have young players , not from the class of villa's of course . We have more important match upcoming againts another title fighters - Levski so i hope the match in Birmingham will be boring and you win with 1 or 2 goals but not more and no injuries

About The brazillian guy we call him Tom he is really lazy in the championship he just played good hoping to impress scouts and so on but he is lazy playboy ( i believe you have one too ) . Our real good player was Berberovic ( the white central midfielder ) he is just playing with heart ! .
Don't surprise you spend millions , we didn't spent anything this summer .

Thanks for the comment Litex, nice to hear from the away team supporters.

Thanks for the info on Tom, I don't think we should pursue him in the transfer window then..

Chris..You being gullible again..?!

remember wen we slated davies first game? dont be too harsh on milner. he will come good. curtis is flyin, an so milner wil too. it was a win, we won by playin poorly. lets look at the positives. carlos looked assured and we are spreadin out the goal scorin responsibilty.

pazzler

Probably Andy yea

good result ok performance

Further to comments above I'm glad it never finished more than 3-1, otherwise we would put out a reserve team second leg, and I recently bought 3 tickets for the game - my kids first European games

Milner is good enough - Give him time. He is so, so young. We could get 10 years.

Result is what we go out to get when we go to places like Bulgaria. We got it.

Back down to earth with this one after monday, pitch deff looked heavy and slow and we didnt keep the ball well enough.they say European football is slower so maybe will have to learn to adjust from our usual all action fast paced game??

According to Wikipedia doug ellis died to day and had his ashes scatterd on stg andrews :S

LINK (at the bottom in family life)

3-1....just what i ordered although i would have preferred a more convincing performance.

After my prediction, I was just glad it was still 1-1 when they went down to 9 men....if we were already at 3-1 my bet would have been pissed down the drain

Agree with villarobin,

Fair enough, the performance wasn't the best, but a win and three away goals, considering we went a goal behind and the pitch was shocking!!

Games against sides like this are never easy, Man City struggled tonight against Apoel Nicosia, and i seem to remember Chelsea going out to an Israeli side the year after they had Zola, Vialli and co. so I wouldn't be too concerned about the performance, take the win and worry about the next game!

Baggies 1-3 Villa (Young, Barry, Aggy)

(Almost forgot ... if Brad Guzan is half as good in goal as that player who palmed it off the line, I have full faith in O'Neill!!)

Ugly win, but isn't that the thing that annoys us about the teams directly above us in the league? Will take 3 away goals any day.

didnt watch the game but a win is a win is a win.

just to comment on
50. Dan_AvFc Wrote: | 20.32BST | Sep 18, 2008
According to Wikipedia doug ellis died to day and had his ashes scatterd on stg andrews :S

LINK (at the bottom in family life)


it is very easy to enter wikipedia and enter rubbish about anything. i could write rubbish on the villa page and until it gets edited, it would be fact. it is pretty much write what you know [except certain topics due to their nature]. notice how there was no citation for that area, and that considering he sold villa for 60mill, he would be worth a bit more then 10mill ??

so id take watever is on wiki with a bit of tongue in cheek.

Great result - who cares how we played! we will be better on sunday for sure. That should be us in the group stages.
Big week this week - WBA, QPR and sunderland - last season thois is where we slipped up when we were expecting wins against inferior sides towards the end of the season. This season we have to be more ruthless. All 3 of these games need to be won.
Now please can no one ruin this blog today.

We were rather poor. But we were high from Monday night, we probably expected to batter these without much effort.

The pitch was poor and for the first 40 minutes I'm guessing they played the best football that they ever will play. They were never going to last 90 like that.

It was their cup final. We'll put 5 past them in the second leg even with the clowns on.

I was working and was reliant on BBC LiveText for updates.

Anyone know where I can view the goals and this magnificent handball I ahve heard tons about?

VillaCraig

A link below to the goals. Watch when it gets to 57 seconds the guy saves it off the line..!

LINK

It may not be a great performance, but we've been able to grind out the result and doesn't that show the sign of a good team? Even if it was Litex Lovech!!

UTV. . .

The handball was comical, better than Cuellar's for Rangers!
Even more comical was the fact that Gaby kicked the ball straight after, hit the bar and smacked Harewood on the head. Anyone see it?

Nah i didn't see that one Chris, mite be on Soccer AM on sat! It would have been even better if Hare had fallen over afterwards!

That handball gets better and better everytime i see it!!!!

we should of thrashed em,were young,is he injured?

i actually think that the disapointment everyone is feeling about the game,is proof of the progress made,its now not about hoping and wanting to win,we now feel a bit let down if we dont win in style,remember varteks

I agree with everyone about the performance. However enough has not been said about the quality of the pitch and the very weird atmophere. The ball was bobbling like mad and the atmosphere was just strange! Did anyone else notice that?

Has anyone noticed how Gabby has been looking like a stroppy sod on the pitch this season? He's holding the ball up better than last year now he's bulked up a bit, but everytime he doesn't get the ball to his feet he throws his arms up like big fat Dave Ginola used to.

chris - i saw the harewood incident......what amazed me first was that gabby hit the bar from 4 yards!!!

joey_the_ak
64. joey_the_ak Wrote: | 10.07BST | Sep 19, 2008

we should of thrashed em,were young,is he injured?



he was suffering from a knock that he pickedd up from the dawson challenge on monday night.....think he'll be fine for the baggies though......

I know Chief, my nan probably would of knocked that one in....maybe Gaby just wanted to make everyone laugh

I think this weekend, we'll be in top form and play at 100mph. West Brom wont know how to deal with us, especially on the break. Im sure Young will be back. Any more news on Carew?

could be a few goals on sunday, the baggies like to play open football and get forward as much as poss which will suit our counter attacking game

Chris, Chief,

It was blatantly the pitch, it stopped us playing the we play! It was a factor, but we still won! Mind you, we didn't really help ourselves first half!

well thats great we can beat the baggies

Good analysis talusman, think you're bob on there. I dont expect it to be a walk over though, they are caple of playing good football.

Lets hope Moore isn't another Vassell and only score goals for West Brom against us!

capable*

the best teams play badly and win and thats what we did finally we are getting there

indications are that carew will be fit....was just a twist on his ankle and nothing serious as far as I'm aware.

we play so much better with carew and AY...they definitely give us different dimensions which we lack in their absence.

Anyone else a little nervous about nicky shorey's pace? if he gets turned he looks incredibly slow and i think if we play a team with a strong RW we may be in trouble as AY will puch on and leave a big space, so if NS pushes up to cover and a ball is played ovewr his head I think he looks suspect. If he stays back to cover that option then there is a lot of space for the opposition to run into and pick a pass. I wouldn't like to christiano ronaldo exploiting that!!

I do think he was a good signing saying that and once big man bouma is fit it'll be good competition

I do like Shorey, dont get me wrong, I just think he needs to improve a few things in his game to make me feel as confident as I do when Bouma is at LB.

Firstly, I think he needs to close people down and get a tackle in, when players run at him, he just keeps running back and letting them come at him. Bouma would run along side players and get a solid tackle in.

Secondly, he sometimes makes little silly mistakes when he needs to clear it (in and around the box). Such as in yesterdays game, he could of turned and kicked it away, but headed it out for a corner when under no pressure. This can be costly.

He is quite neat when he's got the ball though, and is a good passer of the ball.

I watched the first half on my break at work and missed the second half. Thanks for the link to the goals Andy, my best pretend friend on the internet

(Chris don't get jealous I'm only joking)

I think MON got it wrong playing Gabby as a lone striker. He doesn't hold the ball up well enough. But we won and the Baggies are next!

it's good to finally have competition though in defence isn't it?! Cuellar had a good game....a few scary moments but i think that was more to do with the pitch. He certainly wasn't scared to put a tackle in, should get shorey training with him

Yea Chief, i thought Cuellar played exactly like how he's been describe (no nonsense kind of defender). He was solid in the tackle but can also pass it out of defence, as Laursen does. I think he will keep Davies out of the team if gets a bit of a run. Hes a little more composed than Davies i think.

yup and one of his goals is to break into the spain squad so if he start competing for a place against the standards of ramos etc. we will have an absolute star in our team.....ooh aah paul mcgrath is gonna be transformed to ooh aah cuel-lar

Hey that works aswell Chief!

Chris, i see what you're saying there, I too feel much more confident when Bouma plays! And again, Shorey does need close peeople down quicker and get stuck in! In fact, everything you said is my opinion too. . .

Can't wait for the baggies game we really need to turn up tho.
Can't afford a repeat of the stoke game.

philbob - you gonna join in our cuellar chant?

ooh ahh cuel-lar say ooh ahh cuel-lar

come on all you holte enders, lets shout it for the big man!


Anyway...anyone know where gardner went yesterday? i heard he was playing but couldn't see him on the pitch such a disappointment as well as i really rate him. I know he was on the right which isn't his favoured position but neither is it NRC's but when you have a competing squad you have to take every opportunity you are given (a la davies last season when knight got suspended)

I think he got abducted by aliens chief

very true jay....if we really want to mix it up with the top teams they are three points we need to pick up...although i'm sure we will run them ragged. They concede goals for fun and as long as we can contain them with a defensive performance like the first 75 mins against spurs then we will do the business i'm sure

gardner in shcok alien anal probe - it'll be in the news of the world on sunday

It won't be a repeat of the Stoke game Jay, it will be totally different- West Brom will try and play decent attackin football, where as Stoke simply put 10 players behind the ball and defended....cus they're shite!

chris i still think shorey is getting a bit to much stick,i think he gets a little bit more exposed than l young ,if you watched davies on mon and cuellar last night they both move out towards the right back position quickly to close down,i dont think laurson doe s this on the left

i do really like gardner and when you look at it he is still only 22 needs to play more often i feel though it will be just off the bench.

Ooh-aah Cue-ellar i say ooh-ahh-cue-ellar

I like Gardner too, he sort of reminds me of Paul Scholes. He definatley needs to play more though, he's got potential to be really good!

I hope that catches on and we sing it at Villa park when he plays! Hope Paul doesn't get jealous though!

I agree about Gardner, he certainly has a bright future ahead of him. Was a bit of a strange one for him yesterday as he hardly featured, although when he was on, we were being outplayed by Litex...which is probably why.

Chris, i know its off topic and im risking the wrath of everybody but do you think Angelina Jolie could suck a golf ball through a hosepipe

Nah only joking, u got an xbox360 mate?

Haha yea philbob, I think Jolie is MORE than capable of suckin a golf ball through a hosepipe! ha h

Yea got an Xbox 360 and PS3 dude

By the way, his name isn't Paul, the man should be addressed as GOD

Do you have Fifa08 and xboxlive? More importantly, are u any good at fifa?

Stay on topic..!!!

philbob88 Wrote: | 11.52BST | Sep 19, 2008

By the way, his name isn't Paul, the man should be addressed as GOD


true, true......

also, it's all about PES08 on Wii - playing via wiiconnect.......

Sorry, my mistake...hope GOD doesn't get jealous!

Sorry to say, Im a PRO EVO fan! ..... This is where we become enemies!

This topic has probably been worn out now Andy, we need a new one!

Anyway, philbob started it!

You grass.!!! I'm watching..!

Oh dear. . . U were such a nice bloke aswell!!!

Nah only joking, Fifa is better, Fifa 09 looks class, but then again, so does the new PES, i'll have to give you a game of something though. . .

philbob, is your name Phil or Bob? ha ha

well, my name is actually Heskey, cuz i'm a useless prick just like the man himself!

Ive played on the FIFA O9 demo, it is quite good to be honest. BUT...it just doesn't feel as good to play as Evo

andy - have you just been sat watching and waiting for someone to stray??

back to topic - i'm going to pick up my winnings shortly.....loved the 3-1 even if i didn't love the performance, going to put a fiver on 2-0 villa for sunday it's 8/1 at ladbrokes

philbob88 is my gamertag is u feel like adding me on that too. . .

My names phil by the way chris, Heskey is a nickname i picked up a few years back and it just stuck!

does anyone else think that friedel should shoulder the blame for there goal?

talusman - i think he should, yes

109. ChiefVillain Wrote: | 12.01BST | Sep 19, 2008
andy - have you just been sat watching and waiting for someone to stray??

You dont wanna mess with andy, chief! He'll eat you! And he knows where you live!

funny how some players dont get criticised ,yet others seem to get bucket loads

Its a bit unfair to blame just him i think. Its hard for a goalkeeper when a ball is whipped in like that and players come flyin in from all angles. You could say that Cuellar or Laursen should have got ther head on it

talus - enter marlon harewood

Talusman, what do u mean by your last post?

Carlos Cuellar has already got a song as stolen form Rangers
(to the tune of the animals went in two by two)

Who's the rock of our back four, Cuellar Cuellar
The opposition score no more, Cuellar Cuellar
He's 6ft3 with Curly hair fucked up teeth but we don't care
Carlos Cuellar Villa centre half

i understand what you are saying chris, however, the wall was covering the near poist and he is meant to cover the far post. Players in front of him is one thing but it didn't take a touch off anyone and if we had scored a goal like that we would be saying that the opposition keeper should have done better

Hey leave the Hare alone....Did you hear Collymoore at the end of the game? He was really praisin him up!

it seems some players have an off game and the derision comes pouring down(reo coker,petrov,gardner etc)where as others have a poor game and nobody seems to criticise them,just my humble opinion though

You still watchin Andy?.......

Hes always watching chris. . . .

i did see it chris, but let's be honest, collymore is a pundit on channel 5!! Enough said....

Maybe Stan can see some similarity between Marlon and himself

Hey Chief, just realised you're still alive!! Balls still intact?

The missus really didnt mind getting the bus then?

Chief, thats the point tho. It didn't get a touch. it looked like it was going to get one. Those balls that will creep in the far post if untouched are the hardest balls to stop. Brad has to stay in a position where if it gets a touch he can get down to his right and if it doesn't he can get over to the left. If you watch him during the free kick, he - like I did when watching it, thought he was going to have to make a save down to his right.

I can't blame him for that goal. Defence should have dealt with it. Thought Laursen looked sketchy again. Still don't think he's been anywhere near as strong this season. Lucky not to give away a second goal.

she was ok - i'm having to take her out for dinner tonight with my winnings though how does that work???!!!

we best shut up = andy doesn't want to know about how she got home, he said so yesterday

sticky - i never was a keeper!! Perhaps i am being harsh....

free kicks like that some one should be on the far post then if the ball iludes everyone the player on post clears.

I can play in goal and Ive conceeded like that before, it is a tricky situation. You expect someone to get a touch really.

Yea you're right Jay!

No guys..I'm not that sad I'm constantly watching. That would be really sad watching this thread and constantly refreshing it to see who's replying. I know a handful of people that do do that though...!

I don't know where you guys live just yet, because I've not looked. I could easily find out though if I want and because I don't have to comply with PACE now, I can do what I want. I also know how to break into a house and kill you and not leave any DNA..!

Jesus, you're scarin me now Andy! Is that you on your pic too?!

It's Gregory House MD you muppet...

I know really you muppet!
He's got a bit more make up on than normal though!

Andy, you have some serious issues, would you like to see my psychyatrist? She's really good! Gives head and everything!

Thats stupid
1. Pitch was bad because of the rains and storms that whole week were around here . Our Pitch is more than okay in quality terms . Friedel said they expected to be far worse after they saw what it was till it was raining .
2. Handball ? He did penalty with the hope that Golubovic will save it , it was near , just too powerful . Venkov confirmed this ...
3. You will have much problems this season , we are cursed everyone that beat us with some luck or referee help is doomed to have bad seasons and shaming looses - > history tells this ( that's a joke , no it's not )
4. Our team lost because of our keeper if it wasn't that stupid goal mistake that ruined us , we could win . Its worse our boys will play bad in the next matches after we are out of europe , it's always like that . Plus we don't have enough players , in Birmingham probably two youths will be there . Our team is really young , just look the capitan - 20 years old
Gl Villa , O'Neil is great man !