Aston Villa Banter 3

15 Feb 2026 07:57:29
I think you might disagree with me here but although Bizot effed up he got sent off for preventing a goalscoring opportunity' so I think there's grounds for appeal on the straight red. But then again, the officials were comical all round last night, in our favour tbf

UTV

14 Feb 2026 22:56:41
Three home defeats out of the last four games, a late winner against Brighton when we really didn't deserve it. So how to we turn things around, obviously we need to get our injuries back asap, we need to get our team selection right and that means no Bailey, no Watkins, no Digne no Bogarde no Sancho, of course we haven't got enough in the squad, however those referred to are not good enough. I have raised this before, teams force us in to the left area by the corner flag and inevitably we give the ball away.

Its alright playing out from the back, however when it consistently means losing possession why continue with the same tactics. Teams are now finding us easy to play against, so Emery has to adapt and I don't know whether he is stubborn or hasn't got the players to deliver what his game plans are. We played like this at the beginning of the season and it was poor, he turned us around to third place, unfortunately we are definitely not a third place team at the moment, any ideas how we get back to our Beloved team.

14 Feb 2026 21:03:17
Anyone who wants rid of VAR should understand after today's game why it should be here to stay.

14 Feb 2026 22:20:34
100% I just wish they would use it better

15 Feb 2026 07:26:35
Yes var is good when used correctly it’s the way the officials use it that annoys everyone

14 Feb 2026 20:38:04
Only Bizot knows what he was thinking, what a complete cock up . Never thought I'd say it but, I actually felt sorry for Bailey, best game in ages, looked up for it . Maybe he's realised, with Sancho and Anderson he's now got good competition. Tammy had a great game, some of his flicks and touches were great, took his goal well . We complain about VAR week after week, but good job we didn't have it tonight, we could have been in even more trouble.

Thought Mr reliable Lindeloff had another good one, even got to drive forwards a couple of times, still can't understand why Man U let him go .
At least we can now concentrate on two fronts, Europe and keeping our place in top four more important. UTV

14 Feb 2026 21:03:42
Couldn’t agree more dave

14 Feb 2026 21:15:53
Whack also if Tammy keeps playing like that, he could be on the World Cup plane before Ollie UTV

14 Feb 2026 19:54:43
I said a few weeks ago that if there was one competition we should not prioritise it is the FA Cup.
I'm not that disappointed to be out of it.
I am annoyed about the ridiculous way we got knocked out. Bizot now gives us a headache for next few games.


We desperately need Tielemans and McGinn back as soon as possible though.
Bogarde IS NOT a right back.
We probably should have been down to 10 before Bizot went wandering.
Happy Valentines ❤️

14 Feb 2026 19:43:27
Bizot absolutely ridiculous decision
Digne shouldn't be near a Villa shirt shocking performance should have got sent off

14 Feb 2026 19:55:51
I’ve defended Bailey plenty of times in the past but no more I’m afraid what was he doing in the last minute of the first half which despite Newcastle’s possession we were controlling. Shouldn’t be near a Villa shirt again I’m afraid. Bizot’s sending off so similar to Martinez against Utd last year. What we do need to do is look at how Brentford stifled us when they were down to 10 and learn from that we gave Newcastle far too much space in and around the 18 yard box.


In fairness no quibble with the result but again the officiating was piss poor as was Shearer’s punditry if he can’t control his obvious bias he should be permanently retired and quickly.

14 Feb 2026 20:06:10
I'll be "fair" to the officials tonight, they were so absolutely terrible in our favour tonight that they almost tried to make up for the last few years in one game.
Offside goal, Digne red card and penalty decision being a free kick outside the area. Officials who are used to VAR when they don't have it make Uriah Rennie look like a top referee.

14 Feb 2026 20:34:32
LOTM totally agree bailey definitely shouldn't be near a Villa shirt again. He is exactly the same player as his last season with us and Emery couldn't get rid quick enough. Unfortunately I can't see any club taking him off our hands.

14 Feb 2026 21:02:21
Brentford didn’t mess about at the back they just got rid of it and let us start all over again, they didn’t have a keeper flapping at crosses either

14 Feb 2026 19:38:35
Bizot the big villain but Bogarde really needs to learn to take some responsibility. He does some decent stuff defensively but the fact he is so unwilling to just clear the ball or run past someone puts us into a lot of trouble.

14 Feb 2026 20:01:52
Shocking from Bizot, it’s the 3rd game against them in a couple of seasons we had a man sent off and on all 3 occasions there was absolutely no need for it. Garcia on the bench I don’t understand why he’s not playing, Bogard offers absolutely nothing as a fullback all he does is play backwards he didn’t give Bailey an ounce of support going forward and has to take the blame for the third goal he had 2 chances to clear it then passes it straight to Newcastle in the box.

Emery has responsibility also, pure madness to keep trying to play out from the back with 10 men. on the plus side it’s only the cup, I’d rather be out of it with our current injuries we don’t need to extra games and we don’t have the squad to win it either way.

14 Feb 2026 18:48:03
If I don't see Bailey again it will be to soon

14 Feb 2026 19:52:15
Bit unfair imo, he worked hard and there were lots worse than him

14 Feb 2026 20:30:43
Whack you must have a different game, he was absolutely woeful, he didn't complete a pass he gave the ball away more than any other player and was to blame for giving the ball away for the goal.

14 Feb 2026 21:11:05
What I saw was him up against at least 2 players every time because Bogard gave him no support whatsoever. if we have wingers that won’t try take on players we’re better off not having wingers. first goal Martinez should of claimed the cross, 3rd one was Bogard not clearing his lines and then passing straight to them, second one was just our defence giving them space on the edge of the box time after time.

I think maybe you watched the wrong game because Bailey came off for Martinez in the first half and they scored all their goals in the second half 😂😂

14 Feb 2026 21:13:24
And if we want to talk about a player giving the ball away we may talk about Onana, good defensively but every pass forward he gives it away, look at his passing stats for the last 3-4 games it’s shocking even my 10 year old has worked it out

14 Feb 2026 18:44:16
Well, we got away with Digne tackle but wtf was Bizot thinking!
Cannot see us holding on to this, in fact, I can see us having someone else sent off.
Absolutely shocking by Bizot.

14 Feb 2026 17:36:11
Not sure what to make of the team sheet. Martinez, Mings, Sancho and Konsa on the bench. I hope this doesn't come back to bite us - mind you, Newcastle have left Pope, Gordon, Elanga and Willock on the bench. Torres will have to stand on Torres' shoulders to mark Burn 🤔

13 Feb 2026 12:46:32
With the size of Newcastle side, I think maybe Mings would be a better fit than Torres . UTV

14 Feb 2026 11:17:42
Dave, with Burns we have to have Mings, he is the only one we have anywhere near his height.

13 Feb 2026 11:59:11
There has been plenty said about our recruitment policy and I think it's fair to say it's not been what many of us would have expected. I hear people say financial restrictions have been the main reason, may be so, however I watched Sunderland and Brentford this week and some of the quality in the squad from previous unknowns was amazing. Brentford currently have the best scoring striker in the premier league, found in the Belgium League, they have permanently been under financial controls because of their limitedeincome.Their midfield were superb last night and most of their squad came at reasonable transfer fees.

Sunderland were in the doldrums, they got promoted and bought virtually a new team with sensible fees and they have competed with the best. There are quality players out there at costs we could easy afford, other teams manage it why can't we.

14 Feb 2026 06:35:11
100% agree Scot, there are probably a few things working against us, i'd imagine the price goes up when clubs have teams that play in Europe interested in their players, then you have playing time to consider, players who go to the likes of Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth etc know they will get more first team chances than at Villa, but they usually move on quickly if they show their quality. Look at the fees the big six pay for players they don’t get to many bargains, compare ours then and most of our team cost under 30 per player apart from Buendia and Maatsen, 95% of them cost less than 20, then you have bargains like maginn under 5 million, Kamara and tielemans for free, I’d say if you added all our players up to get the average player cost we are well under 20 million per player, pretty incredible when you consider what other big clubs are paying, unfortunately they have the revenue to afford it.

I do agree about some of our recruitment and if we can improve it there’s no limit to what we can achieve we just need to be consistent getting Europe which will expand the fan base worldwide and get our stadium expanded, it’s just going to take time.
1 thing we have majorly improved on is our weekend results after playing in Europe midweek, I haven’t heard the phrase “European hangover” once this season and that tells me we are getting that “big club” mentality. be consistent and we will get there👌

14 Feb 2026 08:18:02
To add to your points Whack.
It is easier for the likes of Brighton and Brentford to get work permits for their players because, the overall quality of their squad means they are more likely to play a significant number of minutes.


We originally signed Luiz because Man City couldn't get a permit, and now we are moving into that territory where we can only look at the top South American players, not unknowns.

14 Feb 2026 18:38:45
Good point RK. those top Brazilians are not cheap either.

13 Feb 2026 07:39:06
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 25 - Quick Round Up