The Start Of Something Good?

Well, what do we call this change in the team? Perhaps a song should be written with a title something like "Mings and the McGinn" (based on the Cole Porter classic "Begin the Beguine"!). In the past two matches, I have seen the captain and his vice-captain raise both their level of responsibility and contribution to the game. Mings seems to have acquired 100% concentration, while McGinn is tackling like he never did before and eliminating all the unnecessary fouls he once gave away. McGinn's overall game has just got better.

Not only they, but Cash seems to get better and better, while Targett is getting back to his performance level of last season and Nakamba and young Ramsey have grown into their roles. In my last post I suggested that the team "basically need disciplined, firm direction and leadership", and there is every sign they are getting it.

Let's not kid ourselves, though! The fact that we have won against Brighton and Crystal Palace in straight games does not qualify for assumptions that we are going to enter Europe this season! We have to thank ourselves that Gerrard's first steps were not against Man City and Liverpool or such like, but, nevertheless, he is the first new Villa manager that has won his first two games since John Gregory, nearly 24 years ago. It restores some confidence amongst everyone involved with the Villa.

My only disappointments today were first that Bailey is still not showing what he threatened to show in his Everton performance, and, second, the lack of ball control by Watkins, worsened by his vain calls for three penalties, only one of which might have deserved closer scrutiny - if that. Against 'toughies' like Crystal Palace, Watkins was made to look rather average.

All-in-all, however, there seems to be a team emerging, aided by shrewd management. McAllister seems to like working at Villa Park no matter whether it was for Gerard or is for Gerrard! Perhaps the Liverpool connection works well - names like Ron Saunders, Dennis Mortimer and John Gidman come to mind.

This situation at least now makes me think that we have a good chance of getting something out of the next match. Yes, even against Man City.

Bring them on!

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What Now At The Villa?

One chief coach has departed leaving many club supporters with very mixed emotions, while another arrives with something of an unknown element about him. Many will be wondering just what is in store.

Dean Smith's commitment to better the lot of Aston Villa was, of course, totally unquestioned. It's merely how the job was approached once we returned to the Premier League that was the big issue for me. Unfortunately, what Dean has left behind him was a set of players that appear to have been treated as though they were members of his close family (not a bad thing in one way) rather than with a winning mindset or the honour of Aston Villa at the forefront. Nor, even, with a readily identifiable method of play; Dean spoke of wanting to develop a 'Villa Way', but I did not see much evidence of that apart from (importantly) the structure and method of progression through the club from the academy onwards.

There was a lot of good work done under Dean's remit, but I think it has to be said that what Gerrard brings to Villa Park is a mentally different approach at the very least. As a player, he is remembered for his utter and forceful commitment to the cause (perhaps occasionally straying into forbidden territory) and that attitude, of course, stems from him as a character. It will continue to be part of his makeup at the Villa as I am sure it was at Rangers.

The owners, to their credit, gave Dean substantial time to get a winning playing approach together, and only pressed the eject button when it became painfully clear that Dean was unlikely to get Villa to the position that the owners had targeted. They had backed Smith financially and structurally all the way through but the returns were not emerging. Yes, Smith was partly hampered by the exit of Grealish and lack of opportunity to get a settled side together since. However, a lot more could be said about this but I will leave it aside and remember Dean's tenure only with fondness.

One look at the remarkably successful Rangers setup under Gerrard, however, reveals that he spent next to nothing on getting a winning mentality and team together. His recruitment of players that had reached the end of their days in top English football - like Defoe and Steven Davis (remember him at Villa?) - was a prime basis for Rangers' success with their experience and strong motivation from Gerrard himself. And then we have his coaching staff which included Gary McAllister, a personality that was at Villa Park 10 years ago and stood in so well for Gerard Houllier when he became unwell. We now know that Gary is returning to Villa Park and in company with Gerrard's other senior coaches having similar traits from what I can gather.

Overall, even though Gerrard has nil Premier League management experience, his career, his mentality and the support of good coaches do impress me as pointing to a better solution for the Villa to go forward. No more will Villa players be able to be casual and get away with it. They basically need disciplined, firm direction and leadership and, as I see it, they are going to get it! 

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A Point For Steven Gerrard To Consider

Well, we now know who is next into the hot seat, and it has all taken place quite quickly. I did expect, however, that the club's owners would like a new manager to have a week to warm his seat at Villa Park.

I have previously expressed my fear that Gerrard will see Villa as a 'stepping stone' towards the Liverpool job, whenever that becomes available.

It's not that I simply fear that he will always think of 'Pool as a bigger club to which he owes greater allegiance, but the worry that he probably will not be able to relate to Villa in the same way as Dean was able to. As a historian, I am well aware that a Villa personality or identity was strongly built from the earliest of its days and which made the club in the first 50 years.

In the years since that core identity got dissipated, and later boards largely lived on past glories. Until the 1970s. But even then the original Villa formula did not get truly repeated but showed that perhaps that kind of core identity was not essential to short-term success (1980-82).

The fact is, though, that I see that original core identity as being the real basis for permanent success, though it may take years to develop it. And this was the biggest disappointment about Dean's departure as he was the hope of building that. Unfortunately, he was not up to it sufficiently to take it forward.

Therefore, I persist in believing and saying that the appointment of Gerrard could work against the club's long-term interests. Not necessarily, I agree, but the truly sustainable way is for the club to have a 'Villa Way' ethic or identity, and whether Gerrard will fully relate to that I am not sure.

If we want him in as a manager who will simply demand more out of his players and gain a few long-awaited trophies, that short-termism view could re-bound quite negatively when Gerrard moves on and if a Villa identity has not been established.

Having said all that, it is incumbent upon us all to get behind him and maybe enable him to see the error of his ways if he continues to lean towards Liverpool!

Just my enlarged thoughts on the matter. His appointment causes me some concern, but, who knows, it could all work out well. So long as we don't go back into another slump after he goes. Having said that we don't know yet whether he will take us to any peaks first!

Right, the matter at hand is all done and dusted (except a few details) so, with one last farewell and a big 'thank you' to Dean Smith, let's get on with the playing and getting back to winning ways!  

It's over to you Steve!

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The Inevitable Happened

Dean Smith was very nearly the ideal manager at Villa Park. His credentials of being a Villa fan from boyhood clearly endeared him to the supporters' hearts, especially after gaining promotion within one season, and a record 10 wins in succession being achieved in the process.

Since then there have been highs and lows! Getting to the League Cup Final in the first season back in the Premiership was a highlight, but that was quickly followed by a terrible defeat to Leicester that soon had relegation looming. Though it was unrequired, the COVID break gave Smith and his team some time to re-assess matters and gradually Villa eased themselves to safety. But it was a near-run thing, with the return of Grealish from injury probably being the event that tilted the course of events in Villa's favour.

Then, last season started so well (and who can forget the 7-2 mauling of Liverpool?!) but the season slid away and though Villa were, in the end, the 'best of the rest' by a mile, it was short of being a satisfactory ending to the season.

Various things have worked against Smith, in particular substantial injuries to players who might have made a difference, and VAR didn't exactly endear itself to the club in its first major season of operation. But other clubs, too, were affected by that. And then along came the summer of 2021 and the departure not only of the club's primary playing asset, Grealish, but also two significant members of the coaching staff, Terry and Kelly.

The owners dug deep and spent a fortune in bringing in what they considered to be quality players, but even as I write they had not settled in and the Villa were struggling to find a winning pattern. In fact, Villa ended up by losing badly and five defeats in a row ended the Smith era.

Injuries and absences, in general, could again be blamed for some of it, but it was also a case of some strange decisions being made by Smith, such as dropping skipper Mings on the day when a host of other team changes were also made and when central defensive leadership was so important. And then the last match of Smith's career when he had three centre-forwards on the pitch at the same time, but no creative player good enough to supply chances through a firm Saints defence. The option of bringing on winger P-B did not seem to occur to Smith, yet P-B has shown that he has the ability to provide a spark and certainly worry a defence.

The final crunch was possibly that Smith no longer had Jack Grealish as the ace up his sleeve to dramatically change a game.

Quite a few supporters would have liked to give Smith more time, but that was perhaps out of warm feelings for the manager more than anything. But football has never been much about the sentiment on the pitch. The Villa bosses in the pre-WW1 days were frequently ruthless, and hence why the club was so successful! It's the same with life I suppose. The total team approach is down to the manager (or head coach), and he couldn't seem to work it out properly.

We have, right now, a gap of less than 2 weeks to appoint a new manager and let him warm his managerial seat. But who will it be, I wonder, with Gerrard and Martinez being touted as the two most likely.

Gerrard for me is an unknown quantity, as Scottish football is not (obviously) the same as English football, as well as the fact that he would be seen as improving his c.v. to eventually take over at Liverpool. In other words, Villa Park would be seen just as a stepping stone in his career with the inference that Liverpool is bigger and more important than Villa. We can't have that!

I would have no difficulty in settling for Martinez with his substantial Premiership experience as well as (now) international management experience with Belgium. It's possible, though, that he would need a good defensive coach to work with him.

Whoever arrives, it must surely be a manager who has shown clear vision and ability - Klopp-like perhaps - to get Villa back 'up there' in the higher placings with enterprising football.

ITV!

Saints Versus Villans

This latest showing was surely virtually a replay of the Arsenal match! In that match at the Emirates we almost came in at half-time only 0-1 down, but for that penalty. At St. Mary's it was 0-1 down at h-t, but, again, it could have been 0-2 or even 0-3. Such was the pathetic display shown in the first 30 minutes by a team led by virtually £100m worth of 'talent'.

I do feel so sorry for NSWE, the all-encompassing (forgive the pun!) partnership that almost seems too good to be true. They have stumped up wherever they have been told it was needed, but only to be let down by - I am very sorry to say - average management.

Villa' second half - as at Arsenal - was so much better, but that £100m attack was just not good enough to breach a determined and wily Saints' defence. And they had Ward-Prowse.

And the matter about Ward-Prowse is key, because the fact that Villa chased after him so hard is proof that the Villa recognises that their midfield is so short of real power. And it is. I have for so long been pointing this out. Namkamba nor Luiz are power-houses, and McGinn has his limitations, though he does give his all.

How is a £100m attack going to flourish without adequate supply? Added to which Beundia seems not to be in his best playing position.

Sanson, we probably thought, was going to provide the much-needed power to push Villa forward, but - like a lot of other Villa buys - seems to get afflicted by an injury virus, not only by sickness.

So, Dean may have some form of excuse in that he has not been able to get a powerhouse to push his team forward, but does that excuse these lame first-half performances? In fact, I was struggling to understand how Dean included El Ghazi, as he surely should have received his marching orders before half-time and did nothing else first-half. Then, like a number of other players, he suddenly woke up after the break.

Martinez - without whom we surely would have lost more decisively - said in midweek that the Villa lads had coalesced after last week's shambles and were determined to beat the Saints. But this latest first half proved to be another shambles. At least Dean seems to have given them a suitable shelling at half-time. The Villa probably deserved a draw in the end, but poor shooting prevented that.

As to Villa's defence, Mings played as well as he could but clearly missed his usually reliable sidekick Konsa. The backs did reasonably well, and although Targett is not showing up so well this season, I don't think he should be 'targetted' (sorry!) for so much blame. As for Martinez, well, he's probably the most agile and stunning Villa keeper I have seen since Nigel Sims was at his best 60+ years ago, though Bosnich had his moments.

So, there was I waiting for Philogen-Bidace to come on and create mayhem down the Saints' flank, but no. And that fact alone - the reluctance to bring on young talent with spark when spark is what's needed - helps me to further conclude that Smithy is not up to the job. Smithy will do well as a manager at lower-level clubs, or as assistant coach to other Premier League clubs, but when English managers like Graham Potter and Sean Dyche (and dear old Sam Allardyce) can squeeze the nectar out of a rock, Smithy seems to be much too easy-going.

And his team selection ideas do not seem to measure up to the need of the day. Nor does it seem that players like Mings and Sanson have been too impressed; I get the impression that there is a touch of agitation in the camp. OK, it is a manager's task to sort that out, but why inflict such unneeded trouble on yourself, Dean? There's no Jack Grealish, now, to get you out of this hole that you have dug.

Five defeats on the trot and now two weeks to let the worry fester. Can the Villa beat next-up Graham Potter's Seagulls? A draw perhaps.

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