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!
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