Aston Villa v Bolton Wanderers, Sat 30th Sept @ 3pm | Page 9 | Vital Football

Aston Villa v Bolton Wanderers, Sat 30th Sept @ 3pm

Another three points in spite of a referee who thought he was officiating at a rugby match.
It was a bit slow and plodding at times but Bolton clearly came to frustrate and intimidate.
When we upped the intensity we looked threatening.
If those three points help to get us up I won't remember how we got them.
 
At the end of the season we may well look back on today as a vital win.
Bolton came and did the only thing they had the option to do which was WWF approach. Teams aren't just going to roll over for us .
We just need to grind out the wins over and over .
 
5 points off the top of the table..... 5 points!

Another snooze break, then back to the bread and butter. It's not looking too bad after an unimpressive start. We can go on from here.

:94:

 
I never had the feeling that we'd stuff them, so I'll happily take a 1-0 win and another three points. I'd take a draw against Wolves if it means we beat Fulham and Blues after but all I know is that I'm excited for the next game. Very happy with Bruce and the team at the moment, long may it continue.
 
Silhillvilla - 30/9/2017 19:26

At the end of the season we may well look back on today as a vital win.
Bolton came and did the only thing they had the option to do which was WWF approach. Teams aren't just going to roll over for us .
We just need to grind out the wins over and over .
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Agree, thats a massive 3 points was a true banana skin. Very nearly ended up being just that, how they didn't score at the end i'll never know.

Nice to see a player come on and put his body on the line - literally. I took the piss about resigning Samba but he'll do what hes told to and do it well (from the bench).
 
It's easy to come on here after every game and say that was the worst ref we've ever seen but that guy today was awful throughout the game. I'm not sure about the red card, I didn't think it looked bad, he went in a bit 2 footed but it didn't look dangerous although it could have looked worse on the pitch compared to from the upper holte - but judging by how bad the ref was I think it's safe to assume it was the wrong decision

Kodjia's decision to shoot instead of pass was terrible, had we failed to score today he'd have cost us, there are no excuses for that selfishness.

On a positive note, another win which is great and we dominated Bolton for pretty much the entire game. Let's hope it continues for the next game
 
That referee was shocking today and ruined the game with the way he let Bolton's centre halves manhandle our forwards. The red card looked a sit decision as well from where I was. Pleased with the 3 points though.
 
I think Taylor is always going to be treated differently now after that unfortunate Coleman incident .
Hopefully we win the appeal but we rarely get anything out of the FA .
 
The holding of kodja and davis was ridiculous. Please tell me taylor shouldn't have been sent off. We are solid at the back but how easily we give the ball away . We have had a great run and still not in the top 6. There are 35 games left and we need to win 20 . I was warned about that ref before hand .
 
Silhillvilla - 30/9/2017 20:04

I think Taylor is always going to be treated differently now after that unfortunate Coleman incident . .
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Spot on there mate exactly what I thought , he's a marked man and the ref ran in like a lunatic brandishing his red card .
I'm not normally one to bother with refs because decisions normally even out but this one was one eyed beyond belief.
About the only time he gave us anything was the Pen and I was quite expecting a yellow for Koj diving the way he flung himself to the floor .
 
danvilla2 - 30/9/2017 20:12

Villan57 - 28/9/2017 11:03

Worst ref in all the football league flanked by 2 equally inept clowns , I fear the worst

Sir Den ? :19:
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You weren't joking were you 57!
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I must be psychic Dan , I never normally bother who the ref is , but I got this one right that is for sure
 
Initially i was really surprised at the negativity i was reading on here before i even had walked past the Holte pub on the way out. However, on reflection i think that it came from people not at the game or watching on some shite feed because in my humble that today was, yes on the whole bad (because of the away team), but it was a villa performance of grit, fight and determination. A game that in the recent past would have got away from us. I'm chuffed to bits we rolled up our sleeves and mixed it today. Things were going disrupting the game on that unless you were there you wouldn't have seen .

Dont'blame Bolton really because of their predicament but they came to spoil, time waste, niggle, give fouls away. After the first ten minutes i would've snapped a one nil scrappy win such was it clear the way Bolton were going to play and the game was going to pan out. An example being within the first 15 one of their players going down injured ripping his shin pad off and lobbing it 10 yards away . Did the physio come on ?. No!, but it took time for said player to retireve his shin pad put it back in and fuck about time wasting. The shirt pulling off the ball was unbelievable at times.

The other thing i read was the subs being wrong. No they were not.
1- kodjia still in his recovery to full fitness and Davis is nursing an injury.
2- Both Bolton centre backs were on yellow cards so it was great in game management by Bruce to put on the pace of Hogan and Onomah to try and get at the centre backs with pace as they would've been treading the line being already on a booking.

Actually we played better once the changes were made and were far more a threat deeper into the half.

Samba on was also the correct choice and i'm sure it was him that blocked on the line at the end?

John Terry is absolute class. As well as his huge performance his captaincy came to the fore. After Kodjia failed to square it to Albert for a tap in Terry tore into him but a few moments later was the first to Kodjia to say well done on winning the pen.
Bruce was going bananas at Kodjia aswell. He was halfway towards the holte!.

In all we deserved that totally today. Wasn't great but away at Burton and home to a team without a win or goal in ages were just get through and get out with a win type games.

But above all we mixed it today and the players were playing for the shirt and manager. Im pleased. We have no devine right to roll over 'teams like Bolton' easily, its wrong to suggest or expect us to, and unrealistic in my opinion. And if you can't roll them over then get stuck in and grab the win anyway, anyhow. :94:
 
Jeremy Simpson......remember the name. We don't want him officiating one of our games again.....quite simply one of the most inept officials I've seen...and that's saying something considering the utter shite we see from most of them! Assistants were bloody awful as well! How many referees over rule the assistant on an offside decision? Almost worked to our advantage but crikey he was clueless throughout! However....on a much happier note....despite Mr Simpson, a very hard fought 3 pts. Never thought it would be easy today. Fair play to them, they had a game plan which frustrated and roughed us up...not their fault that they were allowed to get away with grievous bodily harm on JK and KD for the most part but hey ho.....3 pts in the bag and move on! Potentially losing Taylor for the Wolves game is a big blow....one area of the pitch where we haven't got adequate cover....will be square pegs in round holes! Anyway let's hope it gets rescinded........I think the ref had the red card out of his pocket before the Bolton player had touched the floor......Mr Simpson.....please don't return to B6 for a while! So 14 out of 18 in September. We've moved from 'Bruce out' to two points off third place. Amazing how quickly things can change. Let's hope the positivity is still evident at the end of October! UTV!
 
Yes he did, credit to him for that. They were the subs to make in my head after 70 mins, I actually thought he might bottle it and bring on Hutton and Samba but fair play to him for keeping the formation.
 
Melon Donkey - 30/9/2017 20:30

Initially i was really surprised at the negativity i was reading on here before i even had walked past the Holte pub on the way out. However, on reflection i think that it came from people not at the game or watching on some shite feed because in my humble that today was, yes on the whole bad (because of the away team), but it was a villa performance of grit, fight and determination. A game that in the recent past would have got away from us. I'm chuffed to bits we rolled up our sleeves and mixed it today. Things were going disrupting the game on that unless you were there you wouldn't have seen .

Dont'blame Bolton really because of their predicament but they came to spoil, time waste, niggle, give fouls away. After the first ten minutes i would've snapped a one nil scrappy win such was it clear the way Bolton were going to play and the game was going to pan out...

...Actually we played better once the changes were made and were far more a threat deeper into the half....

...John Terry is absolute class...

...In all we deserved that totally today. :94:
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Excuse me for picking, what I consider to be, the most salient points of your post but if I were to give my verdict of the game I’d only be repeating nearly everything you typed!

It was a scrappy game, but most in the ‘championship’ are. I thought we were in full control throughout. Hard going against a team who came to bully and foul their way to a point but we stood up to it, should’ve scored more, and got the result. Last year we’d have conceded one to them.

Good day at the office as far as I’m concerned - yes my nerves were on edge at the end - but I was pretty happy with the performance, and delighted with the result.
 
Ratings:

Johnstone: 7 - almost nothing to do but shows genuine authority when called upon. Time to admit I was completely wrong about him - I’d sign him permanently tomorrow given the chance.
Elmo: 7 - still suspect defensively but forming a great offensive partnership with Snodgrass.
Terry: 8 MOTM - bit like Jedinak, has taken time to adapt but is utterly oozing class now. Far too good for this league. Their lump up front won most first balls from the punts up pitch but it was never an issue. Leadership qualities beginning to shine through.
Chester: 7 - looking solid alongside Terry.
Taylor: 7 - opposite of Elmo, despite effort he offers nothing going forwards but is reliable at the back. Linking well with Adomah. Sending off looked harsh but I’ve only seen it once from the Holte.
Whelan: 6 - very nervous in possession but doesn’t deserve half the stick he gets from some in the crowd. Does a lot of ‘dirty work’ that maybe goes unnoticed - which is what he’s there for. Would pick Jedinak over him.
Hourihane: 7 - quiet in places but a positive influence on the team. Think the added security of Jedinak next to him might really release the shackles.
Adomah: 7 - quieter than recent games but still provided some threatening moments and the odd touch of class.
Snodgrass: 7 - really like him. Yes he loses the ball sometimes but he’s always looking to do something positive.
Davies: 7 - not as imposing as recently, but that’s difficult when the ref allows strikers to wrestle you down all game. Still a positive showing.
Kodjia: 7 - well, had we not won he’d be getting a much lower score. I understand him being selfish sometimes - he’s a striker. And a striker who delivers. BUT if your drawing and you can square the ball for a tap in you think of the team not personal glory. However, he made up for it a minute later when he rinsed the Bolton defender to win the pen. Up and running after converting it.

SUBS:

Onomah: 7 - did well.
Hogan: 7 - asked to do a thankless task (again) but worked bloody hard at it.
Samba: 7 - dropped a big rickett, but made up for it with a win saving block.

Bruce: 8 - stuck with a winning team in a tough game. I didn’t agree with the subs at the time but they turned out to be spot on. 4 in a row, not to be sniffed at.
 
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