Waiting for Chelsea (Perhaps)

This very late postponement of the match versus Burnley provides an opportunity to take a deep breath and review just where Villa is at right now. However, some of what I might say must be pretty apparent to most, viz. that Villa have regained some 'form', that the players seem to be re-energised and wanting to stretch themselves, and the fact that, if anything, the future of Villa's Youth Academy graduates looks to be even more rosy.

The season seems to have been well re-ignited, doesn't it?

There is no doubt about it, the outcome of the preceding six matches is a sense of far more positivity and (for me at least) the feeling that this manager/coach has taken the bull by the horns and established an ethos and match management that has evoked a great response from everyone. There appears to be far more sense of knowing where we're going right now, which is to get better and better and to get up the table.

For me, there are improvements all over the outfield, but the two that have been under most of the spotlight these past few months - Mings and McGinn - seem to have received some kind of message that has pepped up their game. On top of that in the defensive sector, Cash has at times seemed to be playing out of his skin (though there's room for improvement), Targett has improved on his earlier play this season, while Konsa remains just the under-rated and super-cool Konsa.

Of the others, injuries have to some extent prevented a settled attacking midfield and attack from being formed, but an outstanding response has been seen in young Ramsey, while Watkins may well repeat his scoring record of last season as things stand. Beundia shows flashes of being the good player that he was thought to be by Dean Smith and will probably develop a lot more in the new coaching setup.

As for the others, I have question marks about Nakamba (yes, I know he's been doing a lot of good stuff of late) and Luiz. Essentially I'm waiting for Sanson and Bailey to come in and make their true mark. Both have done enough for me to suggest that they could both be really good. Young has shown some effectiveness and is useful to have around, despite his advanced playing age.

As for Ings, I remain unsure as to why he was bought in terms of his ability to fit in this setup.

The player situation is not all perfect, but there are fine youngsters coming through. If this improvement is allowed to continue (I'm speaking of the COVID threat on football, though not just football, of course) then I can see a top-8 finish with some certainty - maybe better.

I would, however, like to see Villa make progress in the FA Cup, and I do believe we can slide past Man U, even if via a replay. The Villa have totally underperformed in this trophy these last 65 years. When I saw Villa winning this trophy for the 7th time in '57 I would never have dreamed that I would not see them winning it again!

C'mon Villa, all I want is just one more FA Cup triumph to top-off my life-long Villa experience!

To all Villa fans out there have a very Happy Christmas and also a big hope that Boxing Day will not only see the next match being played but also third time lucky against a top-3 side since Gerrard arrived.

UTV!

Still Not Good Enough, Says the Boss

Well, it comes straight from the horse's mouth. Gerrard today said: “To take nine points from 12 is a big return from the players. They deserve a load of credit. But there’s still work to do. Some of them still need to improve".

Yes, in both of the last two games, the Villa has been far too tentative in the first half. This allowed Man City to gain a sufficient lead to help them over the line at the end and today we again conceded the first goal, but thankfully there was an immediate response in terms of an equaliser. Not the display, however, as Villa lurched into half-time feeling as though they had a second goal stolen from them, but if it had stood the score would not have reflected the balance of the play in the first half.

That Villa failed to gain the lead made it more possible to lay into the players at the break (as they deserved), and they woke up to Gerrard's tirade.

Villa cannot afford to do this 'Sloppy Joe' first-half act at Anfield next week! If they do then Salah and Mané will have them for breakfast, and a 7-2 to Liverpool (revenge day?) would be on the cards.

Gerrard and the players, however, should now know all too clearly of that possibility, and the old Villa motto "Prepared!" must be etched into their brains for this upcoming encounter.

Pleasing to see today was the play of young Ramsey - pity he couldn't steady himself with that great chance presented by McGinn in the second half. Pleasing also to see the occasional quick-switching movement to get down the pitch in better fashion than they were before. But Leicester "was taking no prisoners", as they say.

And talking of McGinn, for me he is the main player that keeps the Villa moving, and with another game or two together, he and Beundia, in particular, could begin to make a much bigger impact as a duo. As for Douglas Luiz, I remain not 100% impressed and am waiting for Sanson to come up to speed.

Anyhow, The Ownership and The Manager/Coach have all been showing the kind of class that Villa have needed for nearly 100 years. Even in the Ron Saunders' years there were problems with the board, so the fact that Ron and Tony achieved what they did was all the more remarkable.

We could now be witnessing the start of a very powerful combination that will finally achieve what Doug Ellis and Lerner and Co. couldn't.

We just have the small matter of an Anfield appearance next week to see just how far away we are from really being on the 'up'.

Meanwhile, we're in the top-10!

UTV!