Some Villa Fans Need A Reality Check - For The Sake Of Their Health!

A win, partly thanks to a sending-off I feel, as I don't think there was much to choose between the teams. If 11 Chelsea men had remained on the field I think the final score could have been 5-5 without the performances put in by the two 'keepers. 

Both goalkeepers excelled themselves to keep down the number of goals. There were two thunderbolt shots from Villa and their keeper's response to both was superlative. But Emi also did his job very well, showing great anticipation.

Villa still are not quite 'there' yet, as numerous other writers would agree, but there's something satisfying about the players' commitment. Not only that but the fact that after this week-end's results, only Manchester City have won more points than the Villa this year! Yes, in the calendar year of 2023 it would seem that we have racked up 55 points - alongside Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. We are therefore in joint second place for the year versus the steamroller that is Manchester City, on 74 points.

And yet I have just read a blog by a Villa fan that says that after the Liverpool match he did not know where to put himself and didn't view any further Villa match until Thursday just gone, in Warsaw.

If a Villa supporter can allow himself to do that having presumably experienced the hell years between 2011 and 2018 (dare I mention 2015-16 in particular?) then he surely needs a reality check. I am sorry, that is how I see it: life is far more than grumbling about the odd defeat in a general scenario that shows that the Villa is quietly 'getting there'. And thanks to Emery really. He may have some flaws but at least he owns up to his errors and generally gets things sorted pretty quickly. The fact that the players have 'bought' into his methods and decisions is a very positive sign. And I'm quite enjoying Villa's style of play.

I'm happy with the odd 'blip'.

As to today's match I'll not say anything more except mention our Belgian friend Tielemans. In the last two league matches he has come on as a sub and - for me at least - looks good. I feel he will show us some more of what he can do pretty soon.

Well, next up is a League Cup match against a resurgent Everton. But we can do it.

UTV!

Football Is Not Played By Robots - Yet!

Well, we lost in Warsaw. Defensively in particular, we looked naive. But with so many changes in that area I am not surprised at the misunderstanding showing in Villa's defensive ranks.

Most importantly, it's not the end of the world considering this is a group stage. We have a good chance to put things right and progress further. It was by no means a fluid Villa performance, but to some extent you have to give credit to Legia for that being the case. 

Legia managed things better, in addition to some muscle that stopped Villa from getting through on a few occasions. The time Duran was pulled back just when he was about to shoot comes to mind, plus a high kick to stop Bailey getting through. That was a red card incident in my view.

But if you were to read the knee-jerk reactions of some regular Villa supporters and their match assessment reports you'd think that there were some very awful individual performances from Villa players last night. I feel that much of it was lack of understanding; after all, it is a team game and understanding has to be built up. Chambers is rarely used and Lenglet was making his first appearance, so what we saw was, for me, not altogether surprising against a quick team like Legia. Otherwise those players played some good stuff last night in my view. 

Yet on the Villa supporters sites I mentioned there were scores of 3 and 4 given for individual performances. 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if they're not capable of making reasoned judgments then stay quiet, please. Otherwise all it does is encourage over-expectation for instant success. For goodness sake, Emery has been in the job for less than a year and what he has done in that time is quite remarkable. But on the way there are going to be blips, and this one was surely down to lack of mutual understanding at the back.

Robots have not yet taken over to make football perfect (and every game a 0-0 result!) and long may they stay away.

Let's see what happens on Sunday.

UTV!

VAR is a VAT! (Value Added Tax)

So goals are being refused by VAR when a toe is judged to be offside? I thought that the powers-that-be were trying to learn how to use VAR properly? How come that a goal scored with such skill can be chalked off because the player's toe is too long? What kind of game are they trying to create?

Hands up anyone who remembers that the 'three points for a win' law was introduced in 1981 to encourage more goals to be scored; to move away from the defensive mentality. Today we have the unfortunate situation that team managers are scared of losing, hence their support for VAR even though it remains so much a debatable tool in the way it is being used.

For a while yesterday, the refusal of Diaby's 'goal' had the effect of encouraging the Palace's mass defence and breakaway tactic to the point that it nearly made the game sterile. Until they scored just after the break. That had the benefit of making Villa realise they had to do more, and with a few team adjustments, 'more' was achieved in the shape of three goals. But even one of those brought about more controversy.

Well, we have to thank Jhon (spelling?!) for a remarkable goal to bring hope back to Villa Park. His shooting really is good; rarely does he shoot off target, but that shot was a cracker. Whether he is really the entire answer to Ollie's scoring difficulties just now, I'm not sure, but the thought does occur to me that perhaps we should play both of them, with Ollie lying deeper. One issue is, however, that there would be no other recognised striker to warm the bench in case of need unless Zaniolo is able to plug the gap.

One positive development for me, yesterday, was the better contribution from Tielemans. It was he who set Diaby racing through to provide the assist for the third goal, and Tielemans it was who provided the slide rule pass to Watkins, who won the penalty.

Ah, the penalty. I was impressed by the referee yesterday as he clearly stood his ground having recognised the intent of the defender to stop Ollie at all costs. It was a clever tackle, in my opinion, to give the impression that he was playing the ball, but this referee was having none of it. The VAR check again took so long, and the referee in charge at VAR HQ seems to have been taken in by the clever tackle. The ref on the turf, however, would not be intimidated. Good for him, and I am not saying that because he made a decision in our favour. Perhaps our ref was disgusted by the chalking-off of Diaby's goal! Justice was done in my view. And good for Douglas Luiz, too, as he also kept his nerve.

In the end a much-needed (and deserved) win to restore confidence, especially with a visit to Chelsea coming up who (despite - or because of - their league position) will be wanting to be top dog in that match), and then we have Brighton, who are really impressive just now.

UTV!