Time For Another Break From Club Football

Aside from the COVID-hit season of 2020-21, this is perhaps the most peculiar football league season on record! Firstly the postponement of matches arising from the Queen's sad death, followed straight after (now) by an international break. And then we face the World Cup break in November and December. So from mid-September right up to Christmas it's a staccato fixture list.

Well, it gives injured players some extra room to get back into fitness.

On top of all that I see that the PL clubs are discussing the future of the FA Cup and League Cup, in particular, the removal of the replay idea. Clearly, Man U and such clubs do not like the idea of a lesser team getting a second chance after they have bravely fought for a draw! On top of that, it is being proposed that Champions League clubs play their u-21 sides in the League Cup. 

This is making a further mockery out of the League Cup, a competition that has never been highly regarded from the time it was instigated in 1960. Not many top-tier clubs entered the competition in its first years (the Villa being one of the exceptions and the competition's first winner) and it was not until 1967 that the League Cup Final was held at Wembley. Even so, it has always given the feeling of it being a lesser competition and the only major argument for its existence has been as another entry point for European competition. That was how the Villa first got into Europe in 1975.

The argument against the competition back then was that it was clogging up other fixtures and clearly that is the case now. Therefore, why not drop it altogether? Surely that's preferable to making a complete mockery of it as is proposed? However, perhaps the competition will eventually die a natural death as a result of such mockery. I for one am not unhappy with the idea of the League Cup's demise, or perhaps it should be competed for only by clubs in the Football League. We shall see what they decide, but the League Cup will remain with us for a while yet.

As to the state of the Villa, I now feel a sense of relief that Gerrard is showing signs of learning from his over-rushed changes, particular in his desire to quickly meet the target of NSWE to get into the top few. It's also interesting that the Villa's defence has partly reverted to "as you were" last season, with Konsa and Mings both starting to form the good partnership they had before Gerrard's arrival, a situation that has been brought about by the enforced absence of Carlos. 

The other major signing in the summer (Kamara) is also sidelined, but not so serious it would appear. And we have both Dendoncker and Chambers to cover that position, as well as Luiz, who looks as though he is on the way out of the Club. Anyway, Luiz is clearly better in a more forward position.

The big revelation has been Ashley Young since he took over from the injured Cash in the first third of the Man City match. Though I like Matty Cash, Ashley seems to add some authority in that position and has undoubtedly helped to galvanise better effort and method from the team in the last couple of matches. Having said that, the Saints match was not one for anyone hoping to see quality football. "Pragmatism" seems to be Gerrard's newfound word, and in the light of where Villa was in the table two matches ago, his approach is not easy to argue with.

Gerrard has still to get better input from Coutinho, who often shows flashes of brilliance but without doing anything to turn a match on its head. Meanwhile, the more direct Buendia is looked upon as a support player, even though he is still the club's most expensive signing and, arguably, achieves a lot more. It's often been the case of failure by Ings and Watkins to take advantage of Buendia's magical through balls that have stopped Buendia from acquiring more 'assists'.

Meanwhile, while Bailey looks as though he's a star in the making still, he is far from becoming a supernova.

I have a quiet confidence developing that Gerrard will do better than seemed to be the case a month ago, but how much better remains to be seen. Has he really got the ability to turn a sow's ear into velvet? We shall see.

Meanwhile, I am disgusted with the attitude of fans on some blogs (such as The Villa Blog) who this week were denigrating Gerrard by saying that "he had pushed his head coach under a bus" (and such statements) simply because Gerrard had mentioned in his after match interview that perhaps the new coach was keen for the Villa to be playing a better attacking game. But Gerrard said this while admitting that had been his attitude also, so he was hardly criticising only the coach.

While I am still not Gerrard's greatest fan, I feel that many football supporters just like to read the power of their own indictments while releasing their frustrations, supported by their own prejudice. Fairness goes by the board.

So, nearly two weeks before another football match followed by a month of fixtures before the long World Cup break. Where will the Villa be once we get into the New Year? Anything is possible!

UTV!

Do I see a little light? Bailey did!

Based on the Villa's performance in the last 60 minutes I would say there's room for a fair amount of hope. I say that but it was not until Ashley Young came on to replace the injured Matty Cash at 27m did the Villa shown any kind of method. If anyone played a captain's part, he did, constantly seeking a constructive way out of defence and not doing badly in his defensive duties either.

Villa's fortune also seems to be blessed, just as it was against Arsenal early on in mid-week. Before Young's entry I would have expected City to have put two chances away with the calibre of players they have. However, none of their shots was on target during a period when Villa's response to City's constant attack was to get the ball upfield just in the hope that some Villa player would latch onto it. But if Villa did "latch onto it" it was a very rare moment indeed during that period.

Villa kicked off with a side that looked set up to try to snatch a draw, but early on it did not look as though that was on. By half-time, though, I was actually beginning to warm to the idea of getting a draw following Villa's better (but still spasmodic) method in the last 15 minutes of the half. Then... On 50m  de Bruyne somehow got a sublime cross over to Haaland and Villa were behind.

De Bruyne had three Villa defenders to get his centre past on his side of the pitch, not counting the centre-back who should have been close to Haaland in the centre, one Ezri Konsa. Although Martinez seemed to be wrongly positioned, the goal was a superb piece of movement.

"Will there now be an avalanche of goals from them?", I thought.

Well, no. Indeed, 25 minutes later, the Villa constructed their best move of the match via Ramsey, who beautifully switched the ball to Bailey across the penalty area and - wham! The equaliser was beautifully struck and placed.

That goal was good for the Villa fans, the Club and especially for Bailey. His first league goal for a year, and one that was a trademark of his undoubted talent. More please!

Well, what to make of it? While I am partially relieved, Gerrard seems to like getting a chance to organise a good performance when it comes to playing the top teams. Next week, however, we go to lowly Leicester. That - in my opinion - will be the next real test for they want to get points and rise from the bottom. It's an opportunity for the Villa to show that today's result was not a fluke by getting a good win.

UTV!

PS The Coutinho 'goal' was not disallowed in reality as the whistle had been blown before Phil had kicked the ball goalwards. The officials, however, seem to agree that they should not have called an offside.

The Transfer Window: Signs Of Non-signings

It is of course noteworthy that Gerrard said that the signing of Coutinho would make Villa a bigger attraction for other major players to enter the portals of Villa Park. However, apart from Carlos and Kamara, what has happened is anything but that aspiration, particularly now that Villa are flirting with the relegation zone.

Though I am not criticising the player himself, the only permanent signing yesterday - Dendoncker - is hardly a player that the Villa supporters are likely to be ecstatic about. Indeed, I understand that at Wolves he had quietly slid down the ranks of their midfielders and hence why he wanted a move.

He could still, of course, prove to be a very useful signing, but in the face of the fact that a player who has shown grace on the field of play - the versatile Chambers - cannot get into Villa's team as a first-choice player, it makes me wonder what is going on. 

Pretty well everyone is agreed that there is little about Villa's forward play that is either constructive enough or indicates a style of any kind. Pretty well everyone also thought that a 'number 8' was an essential need for Villa to get going with the forward progression problem. But no. Is it that Villa's owners, NSWE, are becoming hugely sceptical of the chief coach (who isn't coaching) and are not going to throw further large sums at Villa until their idea of progress is made?

Villa's position in the league is certainly not what NSWE expected, I am sure, and Purslow's assertion that Dean Smith's 2021 playing record was not good enough doesn't stand up to scrutiny now, after Gerrard's 9 months in charge. To me it seems increasingly clear that Dean Smith needed a strong right-hand man (Terry style) to help get him through the Grealish aftermath. After all, players like Konsa and Targett were flourishing under the Smith-Terry combo. Targett went quickly after Gerrard came in and Konsa no longer looks like the dominant c-b he once was. And, still, Chambers doesn't get a proper look in.

In fact, despite the lack of points being experienced under Smith last season, Villa's players did seem to have a better sense of togetherness and style than they have now. Rumours of all not being well at Bodymoor have surfaced.

To bring in Dendoncker now tells me that the immediate future is all about hands to the pumps and the use of muscle to try to grab points. Oh, and Luiz has been retained solely to score more goals from corner kicks! Muscle and dead ball goals - does that sum up the Villa's aspirations now? It's a policy that will not get the targetted 7th place, that's for sure.

The Coutinho experiment was a lovely dream but hardly very realistic having seen how his performances had dropped since his Liverpool days. Buendia seemed to me to be a much more lively option, but he's not getting a proper run in the team. Nor is Bailey. And certainly not Archer. And Sanson?

The PR team at Villa were recently trying to re-launch Lerner's "Bright Future", and plans for extending Villa Park were announced and are said to be proceeding. Instead, we have a looming and ongoing energy price problem that may see those extra 10,000 seats never being filled if that problem persists, as it is likely. Supporters may well soon have to choose between a season ticket and paying their bills.

The scenario does not indicate a very "Bright Future" despite the hype. Realities are for me rapidly catching up with football. Like everything else, we may soon be choosing what is really sustainable; despite what Bill Shankley said, when it comes down to it there are greater things to be concerned about than sport - and entertainment in general, in fact. This is particularly as it's now a very expensive industry for its punters to participate in.

Well, all that aside (for a few days), we welcome Man City this weekend.

And, despite all, UTV!