brummie

Controversial. Villa were rubbish - in that European semi final they just played in. Mind you, some of our fans probably agree with that.

Moreno is carrying an injury and pretty sure Chambers wasn't named in the CL squad. Also, even if he had been, he's rubbish.

Yeah but then again, the flip side is, nobody is going to be downhearted at qualifying for it. I was jealous as fuck reading your match threads in the CL this year. Plus, even qualifying for it is a move towards making a big six a big eight. I know you struggled partly for the reason you mentioned, but it's worth noting, you were also extremely unlucky to get drawn into that horrendous group.

I also think, we have a manager with an insanely good record in European competitions, but one who is doing it with players who don't have that, and some of them have been pushed to the limit of their abilities. I bet, for example, he didn't want to be playing Matty Cash in midfield tonight. I bet he's also realised that some of them aren't even going to be good enough. Like you said, though, it is also a mindset. In the same way winning in general is. So you get Chelsea and the like having supposedly below par seasons and still going deep into cup competitions. It is a mentality thing - for the players AND the fans, too.

Although I've just realised Coutinho is coming back from loan. There's a throwback to the Gerrard times.

Yeah, it will, but on the flip side, we've done without Jacob Ramsey, Mings, and Buendia for the entire season pretty much (and Mings is way more than just a player for us, he's a leader, Ramsey has been massive for us, and Emery loves Buendia), getting those back, then also getting Boubacar Kamara back, that alone is a significant boost. Fuck Zaniolo off back to Turkey, shed Lenglet, and even with that clearing of the decks alone, we're better. We needed a stronger squad, but we've been injury fucked too, and unlucky with 3 ACLs in a season. To Emery's credit I have genuinely never heard him complain about injuries, either. Or referees, for that matter, he just cracks on with it and does what he can.

Down to 11 fit senior players. Two players on the bench I'd genuinely never heard of. Bailey and Torres both strapped up and playing through injuries for weeks. Cash playing in midfield tonight because there is nobody else. Zaniolo is on the bench but not fit, we lost Rogers and Tielemans for the rest of the season in the last couple of weeks. Absolutely knackered after 55 or so games. We'll finish fourth but yeah, absolutely staggering over the line. What a fucking season though, over 100 goals in all competitions, won more premier league games than at any point in the last 30 plus years, took 6 points off Arsenal and 3 off Man City. 18 months ago we were fucking dead, and dying slowly and agonisingly. If you'd told me then we'd be in a European semi final now, I'd think you were joking (or assumed it was some sort of shitty pre-season round robin tournament).

There's no way we're getting away with this one. Everything that could go wrong in the first leg, did. We are just too depleted and tired.

Not sure it's authentic. The new badge (yes, another new badge)- which is shit - has a drop shadow on the lion which apparently had been removed, so may not be authentic. EDIT - and the gold squiggle says AV 150 - or is meant to - it's our 150th anniversary season.

I've been dipping into that forum the last few days, it's one of the best things on the internet.

See this a lot with Sky and the *dry heaves* Big 6. When we won at Arsenal a few weeks ago, the post match interview with Watkins (1 assist, 1 goal) was mostly asking him about whether he was a childhood Arsenal fan, and whether he thought Arsenal had blown the league. Fucking incredible.

If that chorus of "When the Spurs go marching in" sung really slowly doesn't lift these players, what will?

Spurs fans taking it well.

I genuinely wouldn't back them to beat anyone right now, they're an absolute shambles.

Genuinely starting to think we are going to finish fourth now, despite not thinking we're going to take another point this season. Spurs, fucking hell, awful.