Flexibility Lacking In Team Selection?

Dean Smith highlights once more how Jack has been missed. But there's a glaring weakness in this quote, and it's to do with choosing not to use more flexibility in team selection:

With Jack, you get that bit of quality like his cross at Southampton where we got the goal. He's got that little bit of quality which can open up teams and would have opened up Tottenham. Unfortunately, we haven't had them and players haven't taken that opportunity.

We certainly had no penetration and in fact looked quite timid against Spurs. But it's not been very different since Jack started taking sick pay, has it? No Villa player has scored in the last 4 matches, and we only scored 2 in the previous 2 matches. Yes, Ollie has had some bad luck in that time, but that aside there's been nowt much to cheer about. As though they can hear our cheers - and boos!

Dean Smith said a couple of years ago that he wanted to build a team around Jack, but I fear that he made Jack too much the centre of anticipation in taking that route.

We are left with too little creative ability outside of Jack, and in fact the kind of build-up we have developed is far too slow with or without Jack.

I am losing some faith in Dean. Perhaps he listens to too many of his coaches. For example, it is clear that Kienan Davis is in need of confidence, but how is he going to develop that if he is only brought on with 10 minutes (or less) to go every time?

With Jack out, it quickly became clear we were relying too much on defence, and perhaps that pressure on defenders' minds contributed to one or both of Spurs' goals last night; both resulted from mistakes in defence.

The fact that Dean relies upon Ollie upfront is also putting too much expectation on Ollie. In the situation of being without Jack, what is wrong in resorting to the old tactic of using a duo to lead the attack with one feeding the other, particularly from headers?

I would have preferred to see Davis start as being the target man with Ollie right behind him. Given that combo we could be creating a lot more - and scoring too. The old-fashioned centre-forward knockdown is just what such a setup could provide, I think, in the absence of Jack.

But no, such simple flexibility seems beyond the ken of our so-wise coaches. 

Dean keeps on saying that Jack is going to be back the next match! - and we are still waiting.

I rather suspect that if Villa fans were present in the ground they would have let Dean know their feelings on the matter.

UTV!