They're coming thick and fast, these Championship matches. And to gain three straight wins in these quickly-arising matches has done something to get an on-going sense of positivity and hope that Villa are, indeed, getting into recovery mode.
But these regular matches have cost Villa. Hogan, Green, Bjarnason, Grealish, RHM and Gabby are out of the fray for a few matches, to which number has to be added Bacuna for his inadvisable lunge at the referee's side-kick. But Villa are fortunate in that their main defensive and midfield stalwarts are still in place: we're mainly running short of engine-power in the front-line, though 13-goal Kodjia seems to employ a means of transitioning the boost of each of his goals to keep himself mobile.
The style is not much there - as some regularly point out - but at least some much-needed points have been generated to accumulate in Villa's piggy bank, with no concessions in the goals against column of late. But with the shortage of fire-power, where are the wins going to come from over the next month? Well, I imagine former centre-back Brucie will put more emphasis on the tactic of using dead-ball situations to get his centre-backs up and adding weight. It would be a novel thing for a centre-back to score a hat-trick! I wonder if it has been done?
So, next up is the much-vaunted Terriers; otherwise known as Huddersfield Town. The historian and aged Villa supporter in me can go back to early 1960 when Villa met the same club at Villa Park in the old Second Division when a certain Dennis Law was plying his trade for them. Villa won 4-0 that day (a Bobby Thomson hat-trick) gaining rave reviews for their "continental" play! Well, that accolade is probably on the other foot these days, with our opponents displaying a lot of skill this season. But has their success been mainly because their opponents have let them play?
Huddersfield clearly have their Achilles' Heel, with two heavy defeats in their last two matches, though the first of those was against Liverpool in the FA Cup. Well, the fact is that Villa at least put up stern resistance against Spurs in their FA Cup match, so maybe Villa will display more tenacity than their next opponents, Villa often looking very resilient with the Jedi back in place.
And the Terriers have just been thwacked by Newcastle as well, at home. With Villa as their next opponent within so few days, will their mental equilibrium not yet be in the right state? The question is whether Villa have sufficient fire power available to sting them, and sting them early. If Villa can do that then I feel that Villa will not come away empty-handed.
And then we have Wednesday arriving on Saturday. Their punishment of Norwich this past week-end is again a fair warning, but I still see Villa having the resilience for me to again feel that Villa will not go away empty-handed.
Yes, essentially because of Villa's injury situation I am not at all confident that Villa will obtain more than draws in these next two matches, but if we can at least gain two points from these two tough matches they will, added to the previous three results, combine to give more confidence of the Villa finishing the season on a bright note.
Up the Villa!
But these regular matches have cost Villa. Hogan, Green, Bjarnason, Grealish, RHM and Gabby are out of the fray for a few matches, to which number has to be added Bacuna for his inadvisable lunge at the referee's side-kick. But Villa are fortunate in that their main defensive and midfield stalwarts are still in place: we're mainly running short of engine-power in the front-line, though 13-goal Kodjia seems to employ a means of transitioning the boost of each of his goals to keep himself mobile.
The style is not much there - as some regularly point out - but at least some much-needed points have been generated to accumulate in Villa's piggy bank, with no concessions in the goals against column of late. But with the shortage of fire-power, where are the wins going to come from over the next month? Well, I imagine former centre-back Brucie will put more emphasis on the tactic of using dead-ball situations to get his centre-backs up and adding weight. It would be a novel thing for a centre-back to score a hat-trick! I wonder if it has been done?
So, next up is the much-vaunted Terriers; otherwise known as Huddersfield Town. The historian and aged Villa supporter in me can go back to early 1960 when Villa met the same club at Villa Park in the old Second Division when a certain Dennis Law was plying his trade for them. Villa won 4-0 that day (a Bobby Thomson hat-trick) gaining rave reviews for their "continental" play! Well, that accolade is probably on the other foot these days, with our opponents displaying a lot of skill this season. But has their success been mainly because their opponents have let them play?
Huddersfield clearly have their Achilles' Heel, with two heavy defeats in their last two matches, though the first of those was against Liverpool in the FA Cup. Well, the fact is that Villa at least put up stern resistance against Spurs in their FA Cup match, so maybe Villa will display more tenacity than their next opponents, Villa often looking very resilient with the Jedi back in place.
And the Terriers have just been thwacked by Newcastle as well, at home. With Villa as their next opponent within so few days, will their mental equilibrium not yet be in the right state? The question is whether Villa have sufficient fire power available to sting them, and sting them early. If Villa can do that then I feel that Villa will not come away empty-handed.
And then we have Wednesday arriving on Saturday. Their punishment of Norwich this past week-end is again a fair warning, but I still see Villa having the resilience for me to again feel that Villa will not go away empty-handed.
Yes, essentially because of Villa's injury situation I am not at all confident that Villa will obtain more than draws in these next two matches, but if we can at least gain two points from these two tough matches they will, added to the previous three results, combine to give more confidence of the Villa finishing the season on a bright note.
Up the Villa!
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