(01-07-2026, 03:34 PM)Username Wrote:(01-07-2026, 03:04 PM)Paplane Wrote: Petty point perhaps, but Villa had the opportunity just a few weeks ago to all but certainly relegate one of the clubs they're currently trying to eclipse. And that very same club are now investing heavily in players which Villa now probably consider should, subject to the playing field being level, be viable targets for them. So currently I've got very little sympathy for their plight individually.
That’s a fair point but they did it to ensure they could balance the Europa commitments, their decision to field a weaker team was all about their short term desire to secure Champions League football.
With hindsight the game at Chelsea probably did more harm than good to us, and no moral victory can ease that loss.
Short term desire to be strong for the game against us, not to attain CL football. They had already pretty much won champions league football at that point via their league position. They threw the game without any consideration for the integrity of the league and now they're going to be paying for it when Spurs pass past them again. They were piss poor in the first half, Emery did nothing to correct it at half time and left it very late to change things. It was the biggest game throw I've ever seen. I perhaps wouldn't have minded if he had made 11 changes and then lost the game. He made 4 or 5 and the players who stayed in the side were clearly under instruction not to exert themselves.
