Having just recovered from what was mainly a gripping and incredible match against Leeds, one certain fact sits firmly in my mind: the two teams seem, still, to carry on the traditions of two old players that loom large in the history of the two clubs - both named Hunter!
In the case of the Villa, the old player referred to is Archie Hunter, while in the case of Leeds the far more recent name is Norman Hunter, the one of the crunching tackle and a bit more bite to go with it.
Those are the two personalities that for me seem to represent the style of the two clubs. Do not get me wrong, the Don Revie Leeds team of which Norman Hunter was a cog had a lot of great players and a lot of skill, but their dominant figure for me was Norman Hunter, closely followed by Billy Bremner, who had that extra 'edge' in their game that was not at all popular with the opposition. The battles between 'Chopper' Harris of Chelsea and Norman/Bremner, Dave McKay of Spurs vs. Bremner and Keegan of Liverpool vs Bremner will long be remembered - for the wrong reasons.
And so, for me, it is still the situation. I saw some play from Leeds last night that was purely cynical. Not designed to be truly dangerous, but enough to stop fluid football in its tracks. Luckily - in the first half at least - we had players who still managed to outwit the caveman style of the Leeds players I refer to.
But apart from all that, both teams were able to produce such a remarkable first half because of the weaknesses in both defences. In the Villa's case, they failed to clear their lines three times - not just the two in the first half - and in Leeds case, they allowed themselves to be opened up dramatically while taking nothing away from the likes of Coutinho and Ramsey - the main players who made it all happen for Villa in such glorious fashion.
Villa disappointed us in the second half, their main two playmakers having been worn down, I suspect, by the Leeds' players attrition. Neither did the second half regain the spark and spontaneity of the first period, a half by which this match will be remembered.
One other matter to mention is Ollie Watkins. I continue to like his play but sometimes it seemed to lack the intensity of the others, and it made me wonder if Cameron Archer might have gobbled up the two great passes across the box that Watkins did not get near to. I suspect Archer might be the real answer to Villa's striker needs taking into account the playmakers we now have at VP.
Anyhow, as a fellow Villa supporter said to me, it doesn't bode too well for Villa that they now have to go and face a resurgent Newcastle, particularly as Villa will be without Konsa following his second red card of the season. Anyone would think he's a Norman Hunter by looking at that record!
I now expect a similar match at Newcastle to the one we saw last night. That's a warning - please take care of your blood pressure!
UTV!
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