The Players Mix It In The Oldest League Fixture

Apart from everything else about this game, in particular that these two ancient rivals are trying to get their act together in order to return to success, the Villa included a squad member who terrorised the Everton defence back in 2008 to score two cracking goals in his first sojourn with the Villa. We are talking of Ashley Young.

Well, Ashley Young is now old and is now nearing pension age as a footballer, but what a feeling of nostalgia there would have been if he had come onto the pitch!

Anyhow, that is by the way. I did feel, however, that in the first half little Beundia reminded me a little of Ashley. His movement was at times wonderful to behold as he glided through defenders, and he was itching to score today, having not been on the scoresheet last week when Ramsey and Courtinho stole the limelight. Well, he got his goal, and it's worth commenting how this little player very often times his headers to perfection.

Villa, first half, looked purposeful and were well worth their half-time lead. As it turned out it is just as well they had the lead, for in the second half the Everton caretaker manager got his players to rely on the tactics that he loved as a big striker - the purposeful flood of centres and corners to find the heads of the biggest players. Luckily, Villa had just enough about them defensively to repel those old-fashioned attacks, but attack-wise we lost our way. We had no shots on target in the second period and the movement we saw earlier was hardly there.

But it was a scrappy game at times, leaving little chance for good football. There were, sadly, nine yellow cards issued. And the crowd lost its bottle when we scored.

We did, however, have to expect that, under Ferguson, the Toffees were never going to give up easily, and if they had scored a late equaliser it might have made us feel that we had been defeated. Thankfully Mings (being more focused than he was first half) led his defenders well. They all played their part.

Villa gained their first double over Everton in 21 years.

This is a win that will be a shot in the arm to Villa as we have to wait a couple of weeks or more for the next match because of the Cup and another international break. But it gives Villa more of a chance to acquire a new defensive midfielder (Luiz makes me wince at times as that is not his natural role) and get more training ground practise involving Villa's latest acquisitions.

We wait with bated breath!

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The Vista At Villa Looks Good To Me!

At some grounds, when their side is losing 0-2 around the 70th minute, the crowd would start streaming out. Especially when both goals were presented to the opposition on a plate. But wait, a little fellow is sitting on the bench who might just make a difference. He comes on just after the opposition were given their second goal, and decides to play a cameo of some grace, out of which come two goals from some lovely football both times. 

You couldn't write a script for what happened in this match. In the first 30 minutes United had exactly the right game plan against a Villa side without McGinn, and with Sanson still short of playing practise. And a new left-back.

United fired on all cylinders from the start and took the early lead in the most freak-ish sort of way, and with the perpetrator being Villa's usually totally reliable keeper, the feeling crept up my spine that it was not going to be the Villa's day. And the feeling was enforced at half-time when Konsa was not able to continue. This meant we then had two left-footed centre-backs on the field, and one of them looked rusty from the start of the re-commencement. But his mates gave the ball to him a few times and he started to get into the match. Indeed, he sprayed a couple of 30-yard passes that were worthy of a midfielder.

In fact, Villa played the second half reminiscent of the same half in the Cup match that these two sides played a few days ago. The Villa were on top. However, this time there was yet another lapse and the concession of a second goal.

Enter the maestro.

From the time he came onto the pitch Villa started playing some real football, with Beundia and Jacob Ramsay sensing that they had found a soulmate. Chucky then replaces Ings and Ramsay scores a peach of a goal after some lovely movement. United were at sixes and sevens, and not for the first time this season.

The Holte End loved it. In front of them there was a vista to behold.

Then Ramsey - with his non-stop engine by this time revving up and getting into a higher gear - slips in on the left, again after good football, and looks up. He sees the Villa's new signing coming in on goal and Ramsey produces another peach of a ball to give the newcomer his golden opportunity to become a hero! It's 2-2 and the ground erupts!

Sadly, there was no Villa win to make it an unusual double win over United this season, but in the end it was very close. What is more - a statistic that seemed totally unlikely in the first 30 minutes - Villa had 55% possession in the whole match and produced the same number of shots as United. 

I declare, dear fellow Villans, that we have a side in the making here. And, I have to say, in the company of the likes of his merry companions B and C, Ramsey is just going to get better. One goal and one assist he produced in this match. And he cost the club nothing.

Up The Villa! And now to make Everton get stuck in their toffee!

Stung By Bees Awoken From Slumber

Well, it looks as though the 'Gerrard Impact' has waned a little. In my view that was a match thrown away after Villa looked to be the only team in it in the first 30 minutes.

It is so disappointing to see sloppiness still there in the team. Hause just didn't get going, I thought, and passes from Targett and Luiz too often went astray. The effect of the Christmas Pud seemed to affect their thinking - the play was too stolid by half. Villa should have been 2-up after 30 minutes and then it should have been a question of how many.

Thus Villa allowed their opponents to get going and score two largely ridiculous goals - I think mainly through Hause, sad to say, but there were others who didn't do enough either. Traore is one such player: his movements are sometimes delightful but too often have little impact. And - let us remind ourselves - this was an injury-hit team that we were playing against. I'm all for giving Gerrard time, but this was surely the chance to get the Villa fans back into a good mood - there are surely enough big-money players in the Villa squad regardless of enforced absences.

It is concerning now that Hause is the only experienced backup at centre-back as Tuanzabe seems to have got fed up with sitting on the bench. But this is the January 'window', and I expect there will be some incoming players. Indeed, I am sure there will be some shaking up after this sad performance.

The reader may not be aware that a 120 years ago there was an instance when the Villa of old put in such a stolid performance that the next week the reserve team was played in the place of big stars! I'm not unsure that such an approach might still not be good therapy.

This is now the time for Gerrard to really make his mark, surely, and to put Villa into the top half of the table and to keep 'em there. A couple of good signings (assuming they're available) and a wake-up call to the existing squad will surely do the trick.

I continue to live in hope, but is that hope just a habit?

Hey ho, now to face two doses of Man U!

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