Will we qualify for the CL?

[Footy-Vill]

These are the rivals for Champions League places fixtures remaining against each other where points can be won and lost.
Also their last game listed

still to play:

3rd. Forest 6pts ahead
Villa (a)
Last game of season Chelsea (h)


4th. Chelsea 4pts ahead
Fulham (a)
Newcastle (a)
last match of the season Forest  (a)

5th. Man City 2pts ahead
Brighton (h)
Villa (h)
Bournemouth (h)
last game of season Fulham (a)

6th. Newcastle 2pts ahead
Villa (a)
Brighton (a)
Chelsea (h)
last game of season Everton (h)

7th. Brighton 1pts ahead
Man City (a)
Villa (h)
Newcastle (h)
last game of season Spurs (a)

9th Bournemouth 1pts behind
Fulham (h)
Villa (h)
Man City (a)
last game of season Leicester (h)

10th Fulham 3pts behind
Bournemouth (a)
Chelsea (h)
Villa (a)
last game of season Man City (a)

[Footy-Vill]

It’s going to be an exciting end to the season:

our must win matches still to play
Brighton (a)
Forest (h)
Newcastle (h)
Man City (a)
Fulham (h)
Bournemouth (a)

Last match of season (a) Man Utd

[stevo_st]

Just dreamt we won the final 3-1 with late goals from Rogers and Asensio.
No idea who we were playing and who got the first, but pretty confident we’ll be in the champions league next season now.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Just dreamt we won the final 3-1 with late goals from Rogers and Asensio.
No idea who we were playing and who got the first, but pretty confident we’ll be in the champions league next season now.

*Races off to place bet*

[jwarry]

Wasn’t sure where to put this so put it here.  In The Times today ….

Aston Villa won the European Cup in 1982. As Unai Emery's present side try to emulate that feat this season, three heroes from Rotterdam have come together to reflect on the club's greatest night when Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0.

Peter Withe, scorer of the game's only goal, goalkeeper Nigel Spink and Tony Morley, the winger, joined a video call to reminisce, ask whether Emery's side have what it takes to go all the way in the competition this year and debate how the current side measure up to their team of legends.
The trio, whose names are etched indelibly in Villa folklore, last came together for the funeral of former team-mate Gary Shaw in October.

 In 1982 Morley, 70, had laid on the bobbling cross for Withe, now 73 and living in Perth, western Australia, to turn home off a post in the 67th minute. At the other end Spink, the youngster of the trio at 66 and a relative unknown at the time, was performing his own heroics in only his second appearance for the club in 2½ years, repelling the Bundesliga champions after having replaced the injured Jimmy Rimmer in the ninth minute.
Spink
Bayern's players sat
gutted in the centre circle and I went to swap shirts with Manfred Müller, the goalkeeper. Around five years ago I exchanged emails with Bayern's museum about swapping back. Bayern were brilliant, showed me around and gave me a tour of the club museum. You felt their respect for former players. They wanted to publicise the swap and brought my shirt to the lunch table in a magnificent presentation box wrapped in tissue paper and accompanied by match photos from different angles I had never seen. My wife kicked me in the ankle under the table. I knew what she was thinking. Manfred's shirt was under the table in a tatty second-hand Sainsbury's bag.

Morley
Typical Spinksy. The occasion feels like yesterday and you slide back into banter. My memory is Pete was going to miss. His wonder goal off his ankle. He'd practised it for a long time.

Withe
We recreated the goal at a Villa supporters' club in Bordeaux around five years ago. We had a few drinks so it didn't come off my shin, although another time, I hit the post. I went to Munich to swap back shirts with Klaus Augenthaler — without the plastic bag. My goal was down to Gary Shaw's brilliance, taking the ball near the touchline and cutting inside Wolfgang Dremmler. One of my sayings used to be, “Gary, see you at the far post”, which ended my speech after his funeral. People told me they held back their emotions until I repeated it — and then cried their eyes out.

Morley
I had nights out with Gary and drank a few too many at times. He always said and, excuse the language, “That scouse bastard scored the goal to win the European Cup final” or “I should have been in the area”. It was tongue-in-cheek but there was a serious side. He would have given up his honours just to have scored that goal. A local lad. Everybody says Bayern battered us. We only conceded twice in the competition to Dynamo Berlin. Villa did a deal with Nike to wear their boots for the final, which were like concrete at the time. Gary and I did not as we had our own sponsors. Some lads got blisters. After I thought, “What if the boots cost us the cup?”

Spink sat on the substitutes' bench beside team-mate Pat Heard and Gary Newbon, the television broadcaster who disguised himself as a Villa kitman to get around Uefa's diktat that interviews must be 45 minutes after the match. ITV were scheduled to be off-air sooner. Tony Barton, the Villa manager, agreed to the stunt.

Spink
I was in the reserve team when they won the league with 14 players the previous season. We never saw them play as matches clashed and we practised in a separate part of the training ground. The step-up in quality was an eye-opener. It helped me that I didn't have a clue about Jimmy's neck injury. I didn't think for a minute I would get on and so had no nerves. Newbon dug me in the ribs and said, “Jimmy's not carrying on, you're on”. I sort of said, “Well, I can't! What? What?” It was literally that much of a surprise. I ran towards the Villa supporters and they didn't have an absolute clue who I was. Bayern stuck aimless balls into the box and I was able to get a feel of it. A surreal experience. I deliver freight and if I go to the Netherlands, someone will recognise me and chat about '82.

Withe tipped 26 bottles of champagne into the trophy, telling Ken McNaught it might be too heavy to lift.

Morley
The cup rim was too big. When we started to drink, it ran down your shirt. I felt the pressure of keeping the cup in England because Liverpool and Forest had won the previous four finals. The cup had been lifted by legends of the game like Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Bobby Charlton. Inside I said, “Make this last, it might not happen again”. We paraded the real trophy back home, unlike now where teams get a replica and there are so many going around that even Pete has one in Australia…

Villa host Bruges with a 3-1 lead from the first leg on Wednesday and meet either Liverpool or PSG in the quarter-final should they progress. The Bruges goalkeeper Simon Mignolet joined Sunderland in 2010 after being scouted by Spink, then working for the club, and the pair have arranged to meet for a coffee before the game.

Spink
I'm going to drop a little sedative into his coffee!

Morley
PSG or Liverpool, a different level. Villa will need an A-game or bye-bye.

Withe
Look at Plymouth Argyle beating Liverpool. Anything can happen and
remember we came through tough games behind the Iron Curtain. We were 100 per cent better than the team now — stronger and could compete more.

Morley
I don't mean this disrespectfully. We won the league and European Cup and until they do, you can't compare the teams. There is no reason why they can't compete for it in five years as Villa are heading in one direction. Credit the manager and owners for the amount of money put in. They need a trophy. I think it'll be the FA Cup. It's boring at times, but that's the way football is now. Different eras. I wouldn't change one player for that side. Conditions are different. All this crap about present players being fitter is a load of rubbish. No one trained like we did. They now have a better rate of recovery with nutrition, scientific advice and technology. The three of us witnessed what Villa do when we visited the training ground in autumn. Pete, you spotted that the manager notices if a player is not 100 per cent and he'll speak to the psychologist and ask them to subtly find out the problem. In our day, the manager dealt with it himself.

Withe
They showed us three rooms for team meetings. Someone said, “Where did you do your team meetings?” I replied, “The pub or The Belfry”. We had a unity. I think that is what Unai Emery is trying to instil.

Spink
You can't compare with the mental strength of our squad. There weren't psychologists. Tony's house burnt down and Ron Saunders told him to get his head around it as he's got to play the next day. Now they'd be taking two weeks off to recover. We had to deal with it ourselves. Our psychologists were senior players like Pete, Jimmy

Villa have been inconsistent but are chasing a place in the top five which could secure a return to the competition next season. In January they sold Jhon Durán and signed Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, both on loan, to ease worries about potential breaches of the financial rules.

Morley
Durán always had his shorts down his arse and I thought, “How the hell can you play like that?” He's jumped ship for the money. Morgan Rogers is powerful and can change games, he wants to run with the ball,
which was my game.

Spink
I like Emiliano Martínez''s brashness and ability. Villa have had key injuries and Pau Torres is a massive loss. It was good business selling Durán. He'd done nothing, apart from line his pockets. I would rather have the European Cup medal and pictures than a dollar — 100 per cent. I'd love Rashford to get a goal quickly as that would bring him to the fore for supporters. Players want to play in the Champions League and if Villa don't qualify again, the worry is whether they could lose a few big boys. For now, let's toast our history and this run.

[eamonn]

That's a great article. I'm still learning some great stories about the day of the final and the lads are all full of interesting opinions and experiences.

[Brend'Watkins]

Morley
I don't mean this disrespectfully. We won the league and European Cup and until they do, you can't compare the teams. There is no reason why they can't compete for it in five years as Villa are heading in one direction. Credit the manager and owners for the amount of money put in. They need a trophy. I think it'll be the FA Cup. It's boring at times, but that's the way football is now. Different eras. I wouldn't change one player for that side. Conditions are different. All this crap about present players being fitter is a load of rubbish. No one trained like we did. They now have a better rate of recovery with nutrition, scientific advice and technology. The three of us witnessed what Villa do when we visited the training ground in autumn. Pete, you spotted that the manager notices if a player is not 100 per cent and he'll speak to the psychologist and ask them to subtly find out the problem. In our day, the manager dealt with it himself.

I like Tony Morley, I've spoken to him a few times too but what he's saying here is rubbish for most part.  Players now are much fitter than 40 odd years ago, it's a fact.
They aren't from the same background either, they've been groomed to be professional footballers from an early age so look at life differently. A psychologist is important now more than ever, "Chin up and pull yourself together" doesn't cut it anymore.   

[pauliewalnuts]

I know we all know this, and we all agree, and there's zero need for me to say this, but what a fucking player Tony Morley was.

[PeterWithesShin]

I love Morley but imo he was a good player that had a couple of great years. He's also talking nonsense as Bren says, our team may have been fitter than most were in that era but that's a long way from being as fit as current players.

[paul_e]

I love Morley but imo he was a good player that had a couple of great years. He's also talking nonsense as Bren says, our team may have been fitter than most were in that era but that's a long way from being as fit as current players.

You only have to watch a few games from the time to see how much slower the play was. Even going back to the mid 90s the intensity just isn't there like we see now, things like a high press were pretty much unheard of.

[ChicagoLion]

I know we all know this, and we all agree, and there's zero need for me to say this, but what a fucking player Tony Morley was.

When they talk about pace.