They Got Our Measure - Helped By Our Own Errors

Well, where do you start? You could put it all down to the Geordies' Pace, Precision and Power; but was it as simple as that?

At half-time we had, amazingly, recorded more shots than them, but a couple of those were genuinely squandered chances. We should have been at least level at half-time.

But one of the two real turning points in the game was firstly in losing Mings to injury, and secondly that awful lapse in concentration by Konsa to effectively give away the third goal. This was after we had spent nearly 15 minutes at the start of the second half trying to take control of the match, plus the 15 minutes before half-time.

The departure of Mings affected Konsa's play, I feel, as they have formed a solid partnership over the past two or three years.

After the third goal, Villa seemed to just lose whatever cohesion they had. At the end of it all, Newcastle had 17 shots and we had 15! The difference was that 13 of theirs were on target, while only 6 of ours were similarly placed.

This result is a bit of a shock to Villa fans, but perhaps we should accept that their manager had at last got the measure of Villa's play after their defeat at Villa Park last Spring, and the draw in the pre-season tournament. They learned something while we seemed to be utterly complacent - particularly at the back, even before Mings' premature departure.

It's a bit early to draw conclusions, but it seems that injuries are rocking the boat at Villa Park quite a bit just now, plus the fact that I feel that Cash and Bailey will have to fight harder for their places. I really like Philogene; one spin turn of his near the end left three players in his wake and I feel that with being played more and with encouragement, Bailey will find what he's up against for his place in the team.

As to the new signings we saw today, Diaby will do well, I have no doubt. Tielemans came on at half-time but did little for me. Is he suited for such a match? Torres will also do well, but it's a question of getting that understanding going with his defensive colleagues. Carlos is still virtually a new player and will help our cause, no doubt. Perhaps we will see a back four of Konsa or Chambers, Carlos, Torres and Digne while Mings is out.

Well, Mr. Emery has got something to think about. The upcoming matches versus Everton and Burnley give him a chance to get things back on track before the visit to Anfield. That's the Premier League; there's not much of a gap between the really difficult matches!

Further, this defeat and the injury situation really makes me wonder whether Aaron Ramsey's supposed transfer to Burnley makes sense.

UTV!