All We Need is a Touch of Speed.

These days, trying to write anything constructive about Aston Villa Football Club is a real struggle.

Even in the last 2 or 3 months of last season, we somehow found a sense of buoyancy and hope that had been generated with the advent of Tiger Tim, and we even got to a cup final. But that final – and the couple of league games preceding it – produced a reversal to numbness amongst us that Villa could have fallen away so badly. Virtually nothing has gone right since.

In fact, however, apart from the thumping at Everton, no team has given us a thrashing this season. Even the 1-3 defeats at Spurs and Sunderland resulted from a goal right at the end of play to make the scoreline look more drastic. So close to a few wins, yet so very, very far.

But all these non-win results have come about from two main factors – lack of defensive quality (and gaffes) and lack of achievement in the penalty area. The hallmarks of a relegation team.

The defensive gaffes speak for themselves, but what about the attack? From time to time, there has been real quality exhibited by the attackers. The following stick in my mind:

1. The Traore run and centre and Gil’s glorious volley as recent as last Saturday.
2. Ayew’s goals – all of them good.
3. Gestede’s determination and skill in scoring his two at Liverpool.

But, sadly, these have been mere isolated lights of joy amidst very average attempts, other than a couple of shots by Veretout of late that probably deserved better.

By the way, it’s interesting that Gil’s two goals this season have both come in the 63rd minute, and all the other goals from the attackers (Ayew and Gestede, mainly) have come from the 62nd minute onwards. Do they not get a sense of urgency until two-thirds through the match? Or is it that they score when the opposition is beginning to tire?

The fact that there have been so few such lights of joy is to me down to one thing: we build up too slowly. We have a lot of midfield craftsmen, but we mostly see the ball criss-crossing the field with very little end-penetration. And the pace at which we do all that allows the opponents to marshall their defence to counter any threat. In the first hour of the match we need more swiftness.

We have lacked an explosive player to open up the opposition, in my opinion. The goal we scored at Sunderland is a great illustration that when we burst forward at pace then we can get a resulting strike. A glorious goal brought about by bringing on a player who, clearly, can devastate the opposition. We remember he did just that on his first appearance at Crystal Palace.

But it’s not just one player we need to rely on, of course. One of the other weaknesses in the team selection has been the regular omission of Gil from the starting line-up. He doesn’t shoot that often, but all his three goals for Villa have been well struck and beautifully placed. And he has enough midfield artistry to keep him in the team, as well, in my opinion. I feel he needs to be a permanent fixture, at the exclusion of Sinclair.

Ayew’s selection is pretty well without argument now, but the worry, of course, is the central striker position. In view of what Gestede demonstrated at Liverpool, I’m hugely disappointed that he hasn’t gone on from there and made his mark. But, of course, he’s of late been lacking quality service from the wings – hence more the need to use Traore as I see it.

In fact we could do with a couple of Traores. Mark Albrighton would do for me.