While we sit waiting for the Cuban missile crisis to unfold, I find myself 'twixt the devil and the deep (claret and) blue sea.
Having announced my intention of withdrawing from any further viewing of the Villa if this Cuban entity manifests himself, I had thought that the recent play might have prepared me sufficiently in my proposed withdrawal, that I would ignore the visit of Man U and use the time to perform other duties that 'her indoors' might appreciate. But what happened instead was that the missus was in a good frame of mind as a result of the fixing of the kitchen light by a certain contributor to this famed blog (thank you muchly, Deano!) and thus - bribed also by the promise made by Plumbert of seeing Villa youth given a chance - I weakened. I saw the match on the PC.
But Plumbert's words and deeds were a mile apart (will I never learn?!). His enigmatic manipulations of the Villa squad knew no bounds as the usual players that remained available stepped onto the ground once described as a fortress but now more structured as a week-end resort, perhaps trying to emulate the Victorian days of the Aston Lower Grounds. The prawn sarnies served in the spectator boxes now provide the kind of mouth-watering satisfaction that used to be provided by the sight of Gordon Cowans in his hey-day, and the heady taste of Chateau Beaune makes up for the absence of a Hateley special. Even the sporting pictures on display in one or two of the Trinity suites are a pastiche, more akin to what you would expect to see in the Birmingham Art Gallery. It's a bit late to recall Fred Rinder, I suppose, but he would know how it should be: how the Villa should have it's feet on the ground and be a football club. But I digress.
So for the first 15 minutes we wondered which team was the home-team. But, in fairness, Man U did not get so close to goal in that time that there were apprehensions of they running riot. They were just - sort of - in control, spraying passes around as in a practice match, with Villa not even getting into the opposing half until about the 10th minute. And then, Villa got a free-kick within danger distance of the Reds' net. The Man U defence had, of course, not even warmed up by that stage as the Villa had hitherto not made any kind of dent of note into their penalty box. So when the righteous man named Christian received the ball, the Man U players looked kinda hypnotised as the big man swayed right and left and manouvered himself inside a little to take aim. The Man U keeper - also hypnotised - remained glued to his line as a sweetly aimed and struck missile curled into the net. The keeper would have wasted his time leaping for it anyway - his arms would not have been long enough to keep it out. Yup, even Brad Guzan would have had difficulty with that one.
The fact that Stewart Downing (also still wearing a claret and blue shirt but a defector from Villa Park) scored a similar goal that same day, and one or two other players also scored from comparable efforts (all seen on Match of the Day), should not take away the chance of Mr. Benteke's goal being the Goal of the Month.
The question then became - going by recent form - would Villa be able to hang on? The question was not, nor could ever be these days, how many more could Villa score, as recently we have seen Villa succumb to equalisers and even defeats after going ahead. And this was, of course, a match against the magnificent (but over-rated) Manchester United, who have never lost at Villa Park since they were hurt by the famous statement hurled in their direction, "you'll never win anything with kids", following Villa's last-ever win against them at Villa Park in 1995. That's 20 home league matches ago now, let alone those cup matches when they came from behind to win on each occasion.
The second-half started, in fact, with some promise as a bombardment of the United goal saw the great Benteke leap and thunder a header towards goal. Alas, the Man U manager must have provided their keeper with smelling salts during the break as the keeper responded in an equally thrilling manner to turn the effort over the bar. But Man U managed to equalise soon after, with Master Lowton admiring ex-Villan (but seen as villain) Young and his ability to centre when allowed to.
For some time, the match became a bit enthralling as the two sides tried to out-think what the other might do. Then the referee saw red. A 50-50 challenge between Young and Gabby at full-pace was the cause of the referee consuming too much claret through his optic (after all Young was wearing lillywhite, so could not be the guilty party) and off trudged Gabby looking wryly amused as he went. He must surely win his appeal. The ref then became a double villain as he only yellow-carded a Man U player for a less heavy collision in another incident.
Well, the match was for the taking by Man U, wasn't it? I recalled a home match against Man U a few years ago when Villa lost 1-4 after losing not one but two players to red cards. But after a flurry of 4 Man U corners on the trot - and especially after Plumbert had brought on Bacuna and moved Clark to left-back - the Villa had in fact looked capable of springing a shock win. But it was not to be. And the Villa youngsters were saved for another day.
The question now is, will Plumbert now see the futility of bringing Zoggy into the fray? Against Man U he and Bacuna both came on as subs and it was easy to compare the two. Bacuna looked decidedly more dangerous, and why he does not start is a vivid question. With Gabby out for awhile (unless he wins his appeal) surely Bacuna must prevail? But we all know it will be someone else instead that fills the spot: probably Cleverley.
With the matches between now and mid-January looking decidedly winnable, the team is beginning to look as though it has some solidity and, importantly, some ability. What we are short of, however, is the creative element. To win we need to score: can Plumbert plumb deep to find that lacking ingredient?
.
Having announced my intention of withdrawing from any further viewing of the Villa if this Cuban entity manifests himself, I had thought that the recent play might have prepared me sufficiently in my proposed withdrawal, that I would ignore the visit of Man U and use the time to perform other duties that 'her indoors' might appreciate. But what happened instead was that the missus was in a good frame of mind as a result of the fixing of the kitchen light by a certain contributor to this famed blog (thank you muchly, Deano!) and thus - bribed also by the promise made by Plumbert of seeing Villa youth given a chance - I weakened. I saw the match on the PC.
But Plumbert's words and deeds were a mile apart (will I never learn?!). His enigmatic manipulations of the Villa squad knew no bounds as the usual players that remained available stepped onto the ground once described as a fortress but now more structured as a week-end resort, perhaps trying to emulate the Victorian days of the Aston Lower Grounds. The prawn sarnies served in the spectator boxes now provide the kind of mouth-watering satisfaction that used to be provided by the sight of Gordon Cowans in his hey-day, and the heady taste of Chateau Beaune makes up for the absence of a Hateley special. Even the sporting pictures on display in one or two of the Trinity suites are a pastiche, more akin to what you would expect to see in the Birmingham Art Gallery. It's a bit late to recall Fred Rinder, I suppose, but he would know how it should be: how the Villa should have it's feet on the ground and be a football club. But I digress.
So for the first 15 minutes we wondered which team was the home-team. But, in fairness, Man U did not get so close to goal in that time that there were apprehensions of they running riot. They were just - sort of - in control, spraying passes around as in a practice match, with Villa not even getting into the opposing half until about the 10th minute. And then, Villa got a free-kick within danger distance of the Reds' net. The Man U defence had, of course, not even warmed up by that stage as the Villa had hitherto not made any kind of dent of note into their penalty box. So when the righteous man named Christian received the ball, the Man U players looked kinda hypnotised as the big man swayed right and left and manouvered himself inside a little to take aim. The Man U keeper - also hypnotised - remained glued to his line as a sweetly aimed and struck missile curled into the net. The keeper would have wasted his time leaping for it anyway - his arms would not have been long enough to keep it out. Yup, even Brad Guzan would have had difficulty with that one.
The fact that Stewart Downing (also still wearing a claret and blue shirt but a defector from Villa Park) scored a similar goal that same day, and one or two other players also scored from comparable efforts (all seen on Match of the Day), should not take away the chance of Mr. Benteke's goal being the Goal of the Month.
The question then became - going by recent form - would Villa be able to hang on? The question was not, nor could ever be these days, how many more could Villa score, as recently we have seen Villa succumb to equalisers and even defeats after going ahead. And this was, of course, a match against the magnificent (but over-rated) Manchester United, who have never lost at Villa Park since they were hurt by the famous statement hurled in their direction, "you'll never win anything with kids", following Villa's last-ever win against them at Villa Park in 1995. That's 20 home league matches ago now, let alone those cup matches when they came from behind to win on each occasion.
The second-half started, in fact, with some promise as a bombardment of the United goal saw the great Benteke leap and thunder a header towards goal. Alas, the Man U manager must have provided their keeper with smelling salts during the break as the keeper responded in an equally thrilling manner to turn the effort over the bar. But Man U managed to equalise soon after, with Master Lowton admiring ex-Villan (but seen as villain) Young and his ability to centre when allowed to.
For some time, the match became a bit enthralling as the two sides tried to out-think what the other might do. Then the referee saw red. A 50-50 challenge between Young and Gabby at full-pace was the cause of the referee consuming too much claret through his optic (after all Young was wearing lillywhite, so could not be the guilty party) and off trudged Gabby looking wryly amused as he went. He must surely win his appeal. The ref then became a double villain as he only yellow-carded a Man U player for a less heavy collision in another incident.
Well, the match was for the taking by Man U, wasn't it? I recalled a home match against Man U a few years ago when Villa lost 1-4 after losing not one but two players to red cards. But after a flurry of 4 Man U corners on the trot - and especially after Plumbert had brought on Bacuna and moved Clark to left-back - the Villa had in fact looked capable of springing a shock win. But it was not to be. And the Villa youngsters were saved for another day.
The question now is, will Plumbert now see the futility of bringing Zoggy into the fray? Against Man U he and Bacuna both came on as subs and it was easy to compare the two. Bacuna looked decidedly more dangerous, and why he does not start is a vivid question. With Gabby out for awhile (unless he wins his appeal) surely Bacuna must prevail? But we all know it will be someone else instead that fills the spot: probably Cleverley.
With the matches between now and mid-January looking decidedly winnable, the team is beginning to look as though it has some solidity and, importantly, some ability. What we are short of, however, is the creative element. To win we need to score: can Plumbert plumb deep to find that lacking ingredient?
.
