A Still Young Young Shows How!

I still rue the loss of Milner and Young back in 2010 and 2011 and both have shown over the years their immense value in service to other leading clubs. Barry's loss too was hurtful, but I feel the two previously mentioned players were the greatest loss. And we've never had their equal since.

During the time those players were at Villa Park, Gabby produced his best footie as well, but after they all went he did not re-ignite, except when Benteke was with us, and effectively fizzled out. But that's another story.

The point here is that we're now enjoying 2 seasons of Young's belated return in his renaissance as a Villa player, and what a corker he delivered last night!

Until he came on as a sub in the Man City match recently he rarely made any great impression. He has been very useful but - though working hard - always gave the impression to me that he was just playing a role in his journey towards retirement.

But from that Man City game onward - 4 games now - he seems to have become virtually undroppable and sets himself as an example. Is it because he was made Club Captain that he suddenly realised that others had confidence in him and that he could still play a significant role?

Whatever it is, the will and execution of that goal of his will long live in my memory. On top of that and his willingness to get forward, he did a tidy job at the back.

Who would have thought that nearly 16 years since he first arrived at VP, he would still get onto Villa's scoring chart? He needs one more for 40 goals for the Villa in his career, and many of his goals are truly memorable. Who can forget that last-minute winner at Everton all those years ago?

That's what makes football really live for me - memories such as that.

As for last night's game? Much of it was like last week's second half at Leeds: a good amount of puff and movement but no execution - apart from Ash the full-back showing how. Bringing on Cameron was far too late i.m.o., especially as I saw little from Ings.

Villa's lack of progress seems to reflect the fact that the policy of bringing in big-name attractions - firstly Gerrard and then Coutinho - is backfiring. Neither is performing at all well.

Well, next up Chelsea is a team getting its form back under a new manager - one that many Villa fans feel should be at Villa. And Chukky may be playing in this match.

Surely it's a match that Gerrard has to at least get a point from. What, another draw (you ask), but if obtained it will be well-earned, I'm sure. A win will surely save Gerrard's bacon.

UTV!

Puff, Puff But Nothing To Show

Boy, did they look rusty! An enforced international break seemed to have a dampening effect on the forwards in particular. Not that they were full of alacrity before the enforced break - they weren't - but when you are up against a 10-man team for the whole of 45 minutes  (including injury time) and not take advantage of the gaps with inadequate firepower was downright appalling.

I can fully understand Gerrard's pragmatic approach right now, but this was a match that was crying out to be put to bed and thus achieving 7 instead of 5 points in the last 3 matches.

All I can say is that we live in hope that these daydreamers wake up to take advantage of struggling Nottm Forest next week.

There's surely something wrong at Villa. The players seem not to be as 'free' in their play as they were under Dean Smith. Not that his era was perfect as the team needed more discipline, and he also lost Grealish, but now we seem to have gone to another extreme. I get the feeling that the players seem to feel the strain of this regime's coaching methods and react to playing circumstances rather than be sufficiently proactive. Other teams seem to find their players much better with their passes - even Leeds (first half). To me, it seems to be more of a psychological issue.

As to individuals, I would first refer to Bailey. He clearly has the capability of being a dangerous player, but I am unhappy with his continual unnecessary fouling, particularly after he has been dispossessed. 

Why was Luiz picked instead of Chambers or Dendoncker? I find that puzzling as I do not rate Luiz for the number 6 role, and Chambers in particular deserves more playing time.

As to Watkins, well when it comes to shooting he seems to be completely out of sorts, although his outfield play is mostly excellent. But we need goals. Ings seems not to be the answer either, but we have a certain Cameron Archer still not getting time on the pitch but who would, I am sure, liven things up a bit. Maybe Archer should play alongside Watkins, simply because scoring goals is the way to winning matches. We have scored just two in the last three matches, even though undefeated in that time.

In any case, surely Archer was the player to bring on yesterday after 70 minutes, if not before. 

Well, I suppose it could be said that Leeds' aggressive approach sublimated Villa's approach work, but I am still not happy.

Nope, as you might have guessed, I am now certainly not a fan of Gerrard. He may have great aspirations, but as various pundits have said, with the playing staff at his disposal he should be doing better.

I am happy, however, that Ashley provides a calming head at the back, with the two c-bs now playing pretty well also. But the fullback positions look decidedly decimated. Let's hope that Matty is available for the next match.

UTV!

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!

Villa Nearly Gunned Down But Also Nearly Get A Point

Well, Villa played with spirit. Fielding the same team put out against the Palace, Villa at least stood up and put their bodies in the right places this time when it came to defending, and had the benefit of a fair amount of luck first half, as well as two superlative saves from Martinez. Shame that he was somewhat to blame for their first goal but, at that stage, the Gunners in fact deserved to be well ahead.

In the second half, Villa were a lot better, attacking-wise, than in the first half, in which Buendia again had at least one reasonable chance to score early on.  But Villa just did not seem to have the 'extra' to create a clear-cut chance. Then, no soon as Luiz came on as a sub, he again produced his now-famous corner piece and fashioned Villa's equaliser, and that was it from Villa really. As before - Villa then soon let in their opponents to score and in fact gain their winner.

What is now very worrying is that Villa are now in 19th place and in 24 hours might even be in bottom place. Perhaps that's where Villa will be after Saturday once Haaland has been to do his demolition job. And then Villa must find the spirit - and attacking skill - to get out of the mire. The best we can hope for this season seems to be escaping relegation rather than looking to 7th place.

It's the attacking side of things that is the biggest worry after watching yet another game where the opponents were not just smarter in getting the ball back, but seemed to know what their colleagues were up to and passed accurately. Apart from Everton and possibly West Ham, all Villa's opponents this season - even Bournemouth - have been quicker, more alert and more accurate when it comes to going forward.

The Villa do not seem to have the answer in how to create chances. Even their centres invariably go to the heads of defenders. There seems to be little method: there's just spirit and dead ball chances now.

In a recent article, Ally McCoist reckons the loss of Michael Beale to his coaching team is playing a part in Steven Gerrard's current form at Aston Villa.

The revelation awhile ago that Gerrard was happy to delegate the coaching to Beale was worrying to me, and particularly so now that he's gone. It's effectively just like losing Dean Smith last season all over again as a new coach is leading them this season, albeit working to parameters that I presume Gerrard must have set.

Well, there's little else to say just now. At least we can say it was only a one-goal defeat, but the scoreline does not reveal what happened. I will doubtless have a better idea of the situation after the City match.

UTV!

Reflecting On Cherries, Eagles and Hammers

Villa's opening defeat at Bournemouth was a result of an uninspiring and poor Villa performance and it looks decidedly worse when looking at Bournemouth's (the Cherries') record since, over 3 games: 0-4, 0-3 (home) and now 0-9. Zero goals were scored and 16 were conceded in that time. Certainly, those three defeats were against three of the League's best teams, but where, exactly, does that put the Villa's pretensions to coming close to these 'best teams'?

Well, at least Gerrard has not set his sights on emulating the strongest teams in the land just yet. He decided that West Ham and their performances of the last few seasons would be the immediate target. But, lo and behold, West Ham arrived at Villa Park today with zero points on the board and zero goals to go with it. So, just how did he set Villa's tactics to face such a team, who - surely - would be short of confidence after their opening lack of success this season?

It seemed to me that Gerrard set his team up to be cautious, not trusting West Ham's position in the league. That might have been a fair approach, but it was soon apparent that there was some nervousness in the West Ham defence. Even Declan Rice square passed across to a defender and expected him to stretch for the ball with every sinew.

More speed and less ponderous thought should have produced a good lead for Villa by half-time.

Surely, a team with Leon Bailey in their attack - especially supported by Buendia - would have punished them in that first half? I think so. The trouble was he was not hauled on until only 15 minutes remained on the clock, and in those 15 minutes he, Buendia and Ramsey - while not perfect - looked at least to be making a fighting statement. 

But David Moyes is too canny a guy. Having obtained a fortuitous lead, West Ham did pretty well everything they needed to do to keep Villa at bay. Their keeper did not have one really serious save to make all match. Not that Martinez had too much to do either, except pick the ball out of the net on one occasion, unluckily beaten by a shot that had a wicked deflection on it.

Villa for me, though controlling the first half, looked so ultra-cautious. And though I thought Luiz deserved a starting position after recent displays, he again reverted to passing backwards when Villa needed to go forwards.

No player - apart from Little Phil (more later) - wanted to take full control going forward until the subs came on in the 65th minute.

So, I can imagine David Moyes thinking at half-time, "If we muster up some energy we can beat this lot!". And they did - both mustered the energy and beat the Villa. Quite deservedly too based on their performance after the interval, although Villa's defence looked competent most of the time. It was the play going forward that was the problem - Villa could not get control second half.

Digne, in fact, did one great thing in this match in tracking back and robbing Bowen when he was about to pull the trigger. For the rest of the match, Digne seemed to me to be either forever allowing West Ham to block his passes out of defence or centring the ball straight to the head of a West Ham defender, and doing this over and over again.

Despite the fact that this is the first Gerrard full season and that you would not expect everything to be not yet quite right and dusted, for me he has passed up a good chance of getting 9 points on the board so far this season. Perhaps 10. These opening fixtures were not against the top rank. And who do we face next? Oh, just the Gunners and Man City!

Just where are Villa's goals going to come from? Little Phil must surely be rested now; he does try but seems not to be up to the rigours of the Premier League in his more advanced years. Buendia is significantly more effective in my opinion, but still we are missing something in midfield, and I actually now think there is a problem with McGinn. For me he is not the player he was before Gerrard arrived and after being made to be more of an automaton, it seems to me. The captaincy is not helping methinks.

As things stand I do not think that Gerrard is good for Villa. Even as a statement of the club's aspirations, he needs to back it up with capable team selection and management. He is failing i.m.o. But if Gerrard goes, then there's also an argument that Purslow should accompany him, but it may well be that his achievements on the business side will save him from that ignominy.

Well, if Villa get taken apart by the Gunners and Man City there will surely be nothing left by way of an argument for Gerrard to stay. Continually getting rid of managers is certainly not the best way, but looking at the achievements of Vieira and Howe in such short a time I really do have to ask just how can we be so bad by comparison?

UTV!

Hardly A Trot Against The Trotters

Well, we won ... and a 4-1 result looks good for the record books doesn't it?

On the other hand, we played with a strong team against a team two tiers down in the league. What's more, up until a fortuitous goal direct from a corner after 35 minutes, we were a goal down and against a side that played with not very different movement and commitment than Palace last Saturday. Bolton - a club with so much history - was certainly up for it and a banana skin situation looked very much on the cards. They played with skill.

What for me was most alarming is that wee Phil had so much opportunity with his three chances to score first half, but put two shots straight into the keeper when given space and a free-kick that went straight into a wall. Has he lost confidence? I feel divided in my feelings about him; he's a player with proven and visible class but just can't seem to get himself going. I want him to succeed, but something isn't right just now. Last night was his big chance to get his confidence back and I'm sorry to say he fluffed his lines.

Let's take a look at the four goals we scored against a goalkeeper who was clearly not of Premier League class though he saved well on a couple of occasions:

1. Luiz's goal direct from a corner. The 'keeper was certainly not focused properly, though you have to give credit to Luiz for such a well-delivered ball.
2. A penalty. A second dead-ball goal.
3. The chance was well spotted but the 'keeper was way out of position, giving a clear chance to Digne.
4. Well, this was a coup de grace - a superlative late goal by Bailey delivered against an already defeated Bolton.

In short, only one real quality goal from open play - the last. And by then Bolton was well defeated and could have conceded another two in the final minutes, and two chances that Villa should have taken.

Archer came on too late to make a big difference, but as always his sharpness was palpable. There lies a talent that needs to be given better chances to play. For goodness sake, he scored last season against a strong Chelsea and has always shown up well.

Going forward, for me Luiz did quite well, and Bailey (coming on at 71m) again was bright and scored a very good goal. I sadly can't see enough in Ings to warrant his selection in front of Archer. Sadly, the main strikers failed to score in open play.

Coutinho I've already talked about; Buendia (71m) showed up fairly well without being a bright light. Otherwise in the middle of the park we had Kamara and McGinn giving away too many free kicks and sometimes in dangerous positions. McGinn seems to have gone backwards. Perhaps he is trying too hard to justify his captaincy?

Captaincy seems to be a burden as Mings has been almost majestic these past two matches.

In short, a good score for the record books but not enough hope in the performance to envisage a good performance against the Hammers in the next match. Midfield really is a problem, apart from the general malaise that was still apparent - particularly first half.

But, this is all part of the usual Aston Villa story. We should be used to it.

UTV!

Vieira For Manager!

I'm sorry to have to put such a title to this piece, I really am, but after that performance - hardly an improvement on the Bournemouth match - it really does beg the question as to just what is going on at VP under Gerrard. And to compare Gerrard with Vieira's record seems very relevant to me.

Vieira was appointed manager at Palace four months before Gerrard's appointment at Villa, and Palace did not seem to have progressed too far when Gerrard arrived at Selhurst Park and gained a second successive win since his appointment two weeks before.

What is poignant about that match is that Matt Targett scored Villa's first goal, but his replacement (Digne) scuffed an even better chance yesterday in a performance that was far from impressive. The penalty decision against him, however, can be claimed to be ridiculous, but that's the nature of the penalty laws these days, just like the VAR offside decision against Palace first half - equally ridiculous. Perhaps if that goal had stood it might have caused Gerrard to kick his side in the rear at half-time.

So, in this season's fixture at Palace we saw something that could only be fashioned by the creative skills of Patrick Viera: a side pulsating with drive, understanding between players and passing accuracy. By comparison, we looked like a damp squib, apart from our early opening goal and one or two other incidents. Therefore, nine months on we seem to have gone backwards and Palace has very much gone forwards, with much less financial backing. Well, Gerrard himself said that Villa took a step backwards, but I don't think he was comparing this season's match at Palace with last season's.

The first thing to look at yesterday is Villa's starting lineup. I think a lot of people were expecting Chambers to start yesterday, including sections of the press. And Konsa looked vulnerable through a lot of the match apart from one or two defensive successes. I somehow think that Chambers would have done better against Zaha to prevent that first goal. And Digne seems to get worse match-on-match (re-sign Targett!).

I thought that Buendia did OK first half, but overall did not have as much impact as he should have had, mirroring almost Coutinho's contribution to date. What did Phil do this time around after his entry in the 73rd minute? I struggle to remember any touch he had worth remembering, though he was busy.

The surprising thing to me is that the match stats showed that Villa had as much as 49% possession, but I am certain that was because of Villa's increased possession in the last 20 minutes - when they were already 1-3 down. And the Villa player that showed more ability on his entry (73rd minute) was Douglas Luiz. Further forward he looks a much better player and perhaps he should start in the next match.

Disregarding the possession stat, however, the more realistic stat is Palace's number of shots on goal - 9 as against Villa's 5 (plus Bailey's brilliant attempt hitting the woodwork). And that more indicates the true pattern of the game. It seemed that every time Palace went forward they looked dangerous. Villa's threat was very spasmodic and their players generally too easily muscled off the ball. Neither was Villa's passing particularly impressive; it certainly wasn't decisive enough.

More worrying is that Villa looked half-asleep by comparison with Palace.

So, it's time for Villa to wake up and be reminded that the season has started. But who can help them to do it?

UTV!

Gerrard

The news of Diego Carlos's injury is devastating. He may be out for six months and Gerrard must be feeling that it is an awful blow to his plans only two games into the season.

Thinking back over the years I can think of other big name signings who were totally lost to Villa within a few weeks or months of their first game - Pejic, Fashanu, Nilis to name three - but, hopefully, Carlos will come back.

Nevertheless, this situation causes me to raise the niggle that's been in my mind these past few weeks, especially after the Bournemouth fiasco. And that is that while I am able to understand the need to strengthen the team to make headway in the success stakes, I have so far failed to see why Villa's defence has been tampered with so much. 

Yes, to pass the captaincy to someone else in the team is understandable given Mings's quite blatant gaffs at times, and I am glad to see him back on the pitch putting in such a strong performance on Saturday. However, the continued omission of Chambers as a first-choice c-b worries me. What more does he have to do to get that recognition? And in the absence of Carlos I would have thought Chambers would be the clear-cut replacement, but we hear that Gerrard is out looking for another signing.

With Konsa also a good contender, how many centre-backs do we need? Hause will soon be back and was given a new contract last season with Gerrard speaking highly of him. For me, four good centre-backs is enough, especially as at least two of them are some of England's best. [Addendum Aug 16, pm: Hause now appears to be leaving for Watford, the reason seeming to be the progress of Feeney.]

What I am alluding to is that Gerrard is perhaps too keen on playing his team rather than looking more closely at existing talent. What happened to Targett is a case in point. As a respondent told me, "A player does not become a bad one overnight". As a defender, I thought Targett was well on the way to making his name, apart from a dodgy start to last season (perhaps due to lack of fitness initially), he subsequently quickly proved himself at Newcastle. What has Digne brought that is so much above Targett's contribution?

Then we have an issue with Coutinho. Yes, you can see talent being there, but how often has he contributed something solid to the team in his last 10 games or more, barring the last match of last season, at Man City. Even in the pre-season games, he failed to impress me very much. 

Similarly, Jacob Ramsey seems to be favoured, yet I feel that he does not yet have the maturity to help Villa take the next step, though he clearly promises much. I do suspect that Villa is looking for some more punch in that role, however, so perhaps a further signing is on the cards.

Archer (to me) is a different kind of youngster. He plays with alertness and speed and is always capable of coming up with a goal, which is exactly what we needed at Bournemouth. Why bring him on so late? Will he ever get enough minutes on the pitch, I wonder.

In summary, I do not feel our manager has sufficient clarity - he certainly lacks experience as a manager, in the PL at least. One of the factors he observed after his part season in charge was what he called Villa's "lack of consistency". However, has he bothered to consider that the result of a match also depends on how the opposition is set up? Surely after all his playing experience, he should be able to understand that principle and his match strategy seems strange at times.

Bournemouth was very much a case in point - they knew they did not possess a real talent to compete with one or two of Villa's ball players and therefore came out with a plan in mind based on solidity and spirit. Theirs was a team performance and that is what Villa has to learn from.

Man City certainly knew how to play Bournemouth on Saturday!

With a stats record not too dissimilar in the PL to Dean Smith, is Gerrard really the answer to Villa's needs? Perhaps I am doing him a discourtesy; a certain Alex Ferguson nearly got the boot early on at Man U, though they did give him time to assert himself along the lines of the club's objectives.

A big thumbs-up to Gerrard and Villa for obtaining Kamara, however! Now there is a freebie to savour, and I honestly think that Chambers is of a similar category.

At the moment, however, I am uncertain of the man in the hot seat at VP, but we have no option but to sit, look and wait to see how it will pan out. I was mildly enthused during the Everton match but considering their situation we do not have much real data to work on to figure out how Villa will finish this season.

UTV!

The Toffees Did Not Entirely Melt!

Everton is always welcome to Villa Park, but mainly for the reason that we generally meet them early in the season at Villa Park and get a good result from their visit to get the season rolling! 

On this occasion we had the peculiarity of our left-back conceding an own-goal, as he also did for Everton against us while still with them last season! A peculiar double.

And in fact my criticism of the Villa this week begins with Digne. I still find it hard to see a better player than Targett in him, though I admit that at the end of last season he was beginning to make a difference. What has happened since? Is this down to new tactics being played by Villa?

In fact, last week's slow and dogged performance going forward seemed to be replicated today to some degree. It could have been the heat that was at least partly to blame, but where was the Coutinho imagination to stimulate interest in the game? I did see one neat flick to create a path in the penalty area for a Villa player, but precious little else besides. But when Buendia comes on it's a different game, and although Watkins was officially given credit for his assist for Buendia's goal, it was Buendia himself who strove forward to release Watkins, who repaid the compliment.

Today's performance from Villa was 'better', but when we take into account Everton's capability - which I estimate as mid-table - it does not auger well for Villa's pretensions as a top-6 side. There appears to be a lot of work to be done before a top-6 position can be achieved.

However, as Villa have at least won this one, perhaps we should accept that Villa may be just getting used to new players and a full-scale 'Gerrard Approach'. All that may not pay dividends very quickly.

In terms of other differences to last week, I felt that the defence looked better with Mings back (though he was not perfect), and for much of the match, they kept Everton at bay. And Chambers again demonstrated that he is a real player, coming on late but still providing the concentration to provide a superlative block to prevent Everton from equalising.

Watkins also provided much positivity going forward, but again at the vital moment, a wrongly judged touch on the ball took him away from a more clear scoring chance.

Well, bring on the next match and let's see what happens. I for one will be expecting to see some improvement match-on-match to convince me that life under Gerrard is viable at Villa Park.

UTV!

Did Villa Think That Bournemouth Were Pushovers?

Gerrard was facing Scott Parker today and is due to face Frank Lampard next week - both former England colleagues in midfield. And it was Parker that showed today that he could do much better with the limited resources available to him.

The new season opened so disappointingly, the Villa conceding a goal within three minutes. The defence did not look fully awake, not at all helped by the fact that Digne was off the field unloading jewellery he should not have been wearing.

Throughout the match, the Villa looked bereft of ideas on how to prise open a resilient Bournemouth defence utilising a back-5. 66% possession and 15 shots (against their 7) does not tell the story of how sluggish Villa were, while Bournemouth were dangerous on the counter-attack.

Villa's team selection, containing Coutinho and Ings, was not my best choice, but who am I to say. Bailey looked bright enough, but he was too well covered.

Buendia's entry at the start of the second half added a bit more brightness, but it was all just not enough, proving that even an ordinary side can win when there is both method and commitment involved. Villa gave the appearance that all they had to do was turn up to win. Bournemouth had other ideas and their second goal, like the first, was mainly down to bad defending by Villa, though credit to their players for being in the right place at the right time.

The question is, therefore, why change Villa's defence of last season, which generally did well apart from the odd Mings slip-up. Somehow, however, I think that Mings would have tried harder to prevent Bournemouth's two goals today.

It could well be that Digne and Carlos will turn out to be superlative acquisitions, but when I look at Coutinho, who has now had 20 appearances in the Villa shirt, I ask whether these three players are worth the hype that they've been given? Buendia still stands out as the better option for me compared to Coutinho, and if you are going to have Ings starting as leader, would it not be better to have a three of Buendia, Archer and Bailey in support?

However, I do wonder what Chambers has to do to earn a regular spot.

Further, I do think that we still need a dominating midfielder, but perhaps Gerrard knows that.

So, will Frank Lampard also score points against Gerrard next week?

UTV!

The Real Start Of The Gerrard Era

The new season cometh closer!

The Australian foray has, I believe, brought a clear message about what the first team is likely to look like when the new season kicks off. Gerrard made it possible to assess that by selecting the team he did in the first half of the Manchester United match, a half which saw some downgrade performances compared with the players that came out for the second half.

The two teams were a bit chalk and cheese, impact-wise, and I got the feeling that we were looking at a mid-table team first half and a top-8 (potential top-6) team in the second half. One major enlightenment for me was how Bailey came on and seemed to replicate his performance last season against Everton, even to that last minute corner. 

So, to be brutal, I feel that the following players from last season should be sitting on the bench in the new season: Konsa, Mings, J.Ramsey, Coutinho, Luiz, Ings. I keep McGinn in place purely because of his match commitment level and also as the new captain. I suspect Nakamba is on his way out, as also El Ghazi.

So, here's my first choice starting team (of course, not taking into account any further signings), chosen because of their match impact:

Martinez

Cash, Chambers, Carlos, Digne;

McGinn,       Kamara,

Bailey,                    Buendia,

Archer, Watkins.

Anyhow, that's me feelings!

UTV!

A New Villa Crest

My working ideas for the new Villa Crest ...

The following AV emblem has a historical basis. It was actually used on the decorations welcoming the Queen to Aston Park in 1858 (Victoria and Albert)...

But something very similar was also used as a design for a floor mosaic in the old Trinity Stand that was demolished in 2000.

When in the Villa archives, I saw some pics of the old Trinity demolition, including ones of that mosaic. So...

Final draft...

Previous...

These are by no means what I'd put forward as a final idea ... they're just elements that I've thought of.

Comments are welcome.

UTV

What Kind Of World Are We Heading For?

Kamara will be picking up at least a whopping €500k a month at Aston Villa, which works out at €125,000 a week, or €6m a year. That accounts for around half of the £60m he’ll pick up over 5 years, which means Villa could have also given him as much as a £30m signing on fee to get him ahead of the competition. That is according to this article.

If that is true - and we must surely realise now that money seems no longer to be an issue at Villa Park - then in the light of the European Champions team of 1982 receiving in the order of just £500 per week at that time, with fairly ordinary club-supplied cars on top I believe, how do we feel about these modern payments?

Do they make sense in a world where there is vastly increasing devastation and poverty? A world where people on Pacific islands watch the water lapping up their beaches, just waiting for their islands to submerge. A world where half of humanity seems to be on the move - or will be soon. That's forgetting what's happening to wildlife who hold no value to the mining and deforestation companies.

Though - of course! - I want to see my football club do well, I cannot accept the justice in the payment of these sums that seem to be germinating at Villa Park. Those with nothing must be looking on and asking "What is all this about?".

Of course, we have known of a number of highly-paid players who send a large proportion of their income back home to those in need, whichever country they come from. Or UK born players who have shown a social conscience. But I wonder just how many there are who do that?

On top of that, Villa supporters will have to fork out more for their season tickets I understand. For many, the choice is already to eat or heat. What choices are Villa supporters making I wonder? All in the name of wanting success, but at any price?

Archie Hunter said, so long, long ago, "I never have much sympathy with players who put pecuniary conditions first and think of the sport afterwards" in this statement:

Some of the old members, myself among the number, who had been playing as amateurs, had a great reluctance to be paid for our services. Our diffidence may or may not have been reasonable, but it was sincere. When we finally ceased to be amateurs I may say that we left it entirely with the committee to arrange terms; and I never have much sympathy with players who put pecuniary conditions first and think of the sport afterwards. But professionalism is so strong and competition for good players so great that a ‘pro’ may ask for a good round sum as a retaining fee [plus] a high salary and stand every chance of obtaining both.

"Times have changed", you say? Haven't they. "Have they got better?", is what I ask.

I also ask, "Is all this sustainable?"

UTV : Undecided about The Villa 

The Season's Over! Perhaps It's Just As Well

Wow, the last match of the season was played as though it was akin to a Cup Final, although our contribution was essentially a well-martialled defence, two really well-taken goals and a spot of fortune. Until we made our first substitution we rode a bit of luck but certainly made City look a tad frustrated. In bringing on Nakamba, however, lies a tale that is linked to other events this past season.

At least we made a match out of it, and that is pleasing. Even if we had won it we would only have gained a couple of places in the League. Our final placing this season has been nothing to write home about and disappointing following what was at least a little progress in the previous two seasons. To not win one of the last three home games was quite galling.

We can try to analyse the past season until we go cross-eyed, but I'll leave Pete the Canadian to talk about the technical points. From a general perspective, however, it seems to me that we have experienced a very deflating season given that with £100 million pounds acquired from Jack's sale we were supposed to have purchased three players that would at least make up for Jack's exit. But have they done that? I fear not.

Not only did those three summer signings never gain a true rapport with their colleagues (though Bailey was never able to get going after his recovery from injury), but when Gerrard arrived he seemed to make the waters even more muddy by effectively demoting Targett and Konsa, two players who did very well for us last season. Konsa seemed a shadow of his former self at times and the two red cards acquired in the season by him were most unlike Konsa, I thought. Nothing nasty about what he did on those occasions, but they seemed to reflect his changed thinking in some ways.

After doubts about Digne after his replacement of Targett, he now seems to have found his feet and has shown good defensive ability as well as an attacking flair, which is Targett's shortcoming. Seeing one full back cross beautifully for his full back colleague to score was a most unusual sight.

I feel that with the chances that have been created this season, Watkins and Ings should have scored 30 goals between them, though Ings (one of those summer signings) has probably been the more profligate. People were saying that he was bound to score quite a few, but he missed quite a few more than he's scored. Buendia would have received more acclaim if Ings had taken the chances that Buendia supplied, as well as to Watkins.

Buendia has done much more, in my opinion, than perhaps people think. He's very quick to see a possibility but I fear that the strikers have not shown the same alacrity.

The season was muddied further by the sharp change in culture that marked Dean's departure and Stevie's arrival, and perhaps we have to leave the season's problems as being mostly linked to that. It has certainly seen a lot of stuttering performances, not helped (I feel) by the substitution decisions made by Stevie - such as Sunday's first when the defence was probably unsettled by the insertion of Nakamba, just when we seemed capable of riding out whatever City had to throw at us.

Still, I have to applaud Steve's acquisition of Chambers, and perhaps Phil coming on board may have a greater effect next season. Digne has now proved himself.

I am not a great fan of Luiz, however, and neither Nakamba. It's that section of the midfield that has been most problematical as I see it, and it's where I see new faces appearing for next season, as well as good striker support for Ollie. I feel that Archer may well be that person.

Well, I wonder whether Villa's target of reaching European competition will have been attained in the two seasons to go before the 150th anniversary of our great club. We were a bit late in getting back to the top flight for our 100th anniversary (1974) and also misfired in the 1924 Cup Final even though Villa were on top for 90% of that game (I am told!). But it was amazing that Villa got to the final that year having lost their excellent centre-half, Tommy Ball, to his neighbour's bullet just months before.

This next season will be interesting for all kinds of reasons. Will Gerrard become the new Sir Alex Ferguson that the Villa ownership seems to think that he is? We will see: at the moment I am in two minds. I am probably bamboozled that Newcastle turned things around so much to make Villa's efforts look almost puny.

Enjoy your summer!

UTV!

We Gave Pool Something To Think About

Phew! It was - to say the least - an interesting match to watch. Lots of effort and no little combativeness as well as skill. But also accompanied by our usual unnecessary mistakes, two of which led to their goals, and one or two others that might also have led to a greater deficit.

At the 'Pool end,  their keeper tried to give us a goal or two as well, and both Phil and Danny should have done better with the chances they had, though Phil's streak towards goal was wonderfully self-made. Ollie's main chance was prevented by superlative defending.

At the end of it all, a defeat is what most of us expected, I am sure, but they did not have a runaway victory. In fact I think that their two goals and one more were the only worthy attempts on goal that 'Pool had all night. We gave them something serious to think about in the first 15 minutes and in the last 15, but otherwise, they had control of the game in the most part but against a good Villa defence.

The main thing we lack is the urgency that these top teams display over and over again. We expect - too often - to be able to stroll the ball around like Brazilians (oh, we do have two!) but it doesn't work against teams like 'Pool. Chucky's casual pass led directly to their second goal, for example, but he applied himself quite well to his task in the 30 minutes he had on the pitch.

I praised Gerrard's team selection for last Saturday, and two games so close together probably did need some re-adjustment,  but why did he readjust in the manner he did? I did not find it logical that he should leave Chambers out to make way for Nakamba this match, for example. I feel that Nakamba could have been started at Burnley to ease him back into match play, and then bring Chambers on later and then start Chambers for the 'Pool match.

Nakamba did look good last night at times, but he also was deficient in some areas that Chambers might have done better in - particularly concerning Chambers' stature.

Last night Gerrard showed his preferences for players that - in my opinion - were not the best options on this occasion, although it was Phil's selection that caused me the most worry. Yes, he is sublime at times, but those "times" last night were just two occasions when he had their defence at 6's and 7's. Though sometimes useful at other times, I still feel that Buendia is a better all-around player and would have given 'Pool more problems overall.

However, all that is as it may be. The result was not a surprise and at least we made a decent match out of it. It's just that I feel it could have been a little better. Hey ho.

UTV!

Bring On Liverpool! (?)

I was quite excited when I saw the teamsheet! The enforced absence of Ramsey caused Luiz to be pushed up and Chambers brought in as a number 6. And Buendia started. "Great!", I thought.

But though the goals were all executed very well, not all was right, I thought. At half-time the stats showed that Burnley had a successful pass rate of 80%, while ours was 68%. And just like Norwich last week, if Burnley had worn the right shooting boots we would not have looked so good score-wise at half-time. But that's perhaps why such teams are where they are.

Furthermore, there were the regular sloppy moments; two from Mings caught the eye, plus a double one from Konsa and then the switch-off at the death to give them some compensation - which they deserved based on their first-half play.

Well, once again we can look like quite a good team against the lower clubs. But it's not enough against the top lot, as the 'Pool will most likely demonstrate in a few days' time. However, today was good practise with almost a new team. Perhaps they might play better in the next match.

The two selections I applauded, Chambers - as number 6 - and Buendia, played much as I expected, which was very well. 

And it was good to see strikers strike - again. It's taken time for them to gel and shoot straight but perhaps they're getting there.

Now ... the 'Pool! 7-2 anyone? I very much doubt that we'll even win it, but if Villa get a draw then we will be doing very well. And Villa may then say they've had a part in the title race!

UTV!

Number 47 Will Do Me Fine!

Watching number 47 today was, for me, a bit like watching the first matches that Deakin and Slogger played in around 1960 time. Young players who were keen and, most importantly, were good. So, too, is number 47, and his coming off today was more to do with tiredness than anything I think. Still, it was a good game to start him in and I think we'll see plenty more of him.

Recently I saw that the Villa were already bottom of the league. Well, in one sort of league: a league drawn up in order of who plays the most football (in minutes) during a match. This 'alternative league' showed Man City and Liverpool top, while Villa were bottom. But while Man City played on average more than 60 minutes of football in a match, the Villa apparently played only 52. This league is based on the amount of time taken out of a game by throw-ins and free-kicks.

But at half-time today I was almost thinking that Villa were bottom of the real league! Yes, Villa had the lead, but the stats revealed that Villa only had 40% possession against the real bottom-leaguers! And Villa - for most of the first half - did not really impress me. Perhaps Villa were being slowed down by Bailey's ailment, for as soon as Ings came on there was suddenly a spurt and Villa got a goal.

I had no problem with Chambers starting today as he rather unluckily lost his place on the return of Konsa, but he did not greatly impress in this match. I did expect Phil to be far more commanding than he was, however. At times he's lovely to watch, but after several matches without showing much in terms of effectiveness, I am beginning to wonder what he can really offer the Villa next season. For me, Buendia is the more effective and I am sorry that he does not start, or at least come on earlier in the match.

But, even then, Villa just seem to have that lack of general cohesion to make them really into a top-8 side, especially with players misplacing their passes around the penalty area or wanting to shoot instead of passing to someone better placed.

I was not happy with the second half, although it started quite brightly.

Well, I do 'get' it that getting points right now is more important than the niceties, but how come such expensive players cannot perform more cohesively?

One day we'll get there. And one day those pigs might fly, as well!

UTV!

The Villa And The Myth

Everyone likes a good story, and even guys who are apparently tough like certain romantic stories - especially when it comes to football! Especially for us Villa supporters.

As a historian, over the years I have been very interested in the kind of stories that develop as mythology - in this context, about the Villa. Here are a few of the more commonly known examples, together with my understanding of what really happened:

1. That the Villa was formed by four members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Church under a streetlamp. These are the facts about the matter:

(a) The "Villa Cross Wesleyan Church" was actually the Aston Villa Wesleyan Church (or Chapel) from which the football club took its name. The location of the Church was at what became known as Villa Cross;

(b) This Church's bible class already had a cricket club, and the teacher of this class suggested that they keep fit during winter by taking up an appropriate sport. A delegation of four of their members were asked to view a rugby match to see what they thought of that, and, thus, those four viewed such a match in Heathfield Road and afterwards gathered under a streetlamp to discuss the merits of the game. They decided that rugby was too tough and that they would recommend that soccer (yes, the word 'soccer' derives from the UK!) should be the desired sport. Subsequently, they reported back and 15 members of the bible class formed Aston Villa FC - including the four members that had been delegated to view the rugby match.

2. That Aston Villa was formed in March, 1874.  Other historians as well as myself have long been sure that March is in error. This myth appears to have taken root in 1899 at the time of the club's 25th anniversary, but now I can say with substantial conviction that the real month should be taken as October, as my future publication will explain. 

3. That Billy Walker (1920-33) was Villa's greatest player. Well, as he is in the records as having scored the higher number of goals (slightly ahead of Harry Hampton) and played for England more times than any other Villa player until David Platt came along in the early 1990s, people can be forgiven for thinking he was Villa's 'greatest'. The fact is, however, that some knowledgable people of the 1920s/30s who saw him play, and who also saw earlier great Villa players, actually thought that Billy was not as good as the likes of Hodgetts, Wheldon, Bache and Clem Stephenson as a 'number 10'. This matter is probably best left alone, as the style and methods of football have changed considerably anyway between eras. Perhaps we should just say that certain players were the best of their era - in Walker's case in the era 1919-1939. 

4. That Doug Ellis ran down the club after coming back as chairman in 1982. There was considerable angst against Doug from many quarters among the supporters, and I would never say he was the ideal chairman either. He certainly didn't have the vision that would have been more appropriate and neither did he like his managers to have too much power, but... In 1982 the Villa were beginning to suffer very reduced gates due to the Midlands' economic recession and in those days income from gate money was still the primary source. There had also been the North Stand building fiasco. Therefore Doug was cautious - rightly so - about the finances, though it is fair to say he didn't gain friends by taking what was seen to be a fat salary. Further, some say that he ran down the European Cup squad too quickly, but the fact is that several of the players were ageing. The main problem was, as I see it, that he made the wrong choice of manager too often and seems to have told them what to do, until Graham Taylor came along. After that, Doug's lack of vision certainly seems to have affected matters.

Well, those are the main 'myths' that have gained popularity over the years. I hope the truth is not too boring!

I am sure we all look forward to the Villa returning to great heights again - but this time more permanently (Liverpool-like) rather than being seen as a 'sleeping giant'.

UTV!

A Point To Make About Today's Point

Wow! A point has been gained! And we did not concede any goals. However, I found little to enthuse about in today's match; my view is that if anyone were to draw the conclusion from today's result that obtaining an away draw against a current top-10 side is a sign that the tide has turned would probably be deluding themselves.

Despite Leicester's possession in the first half today, it seemed to me that it was we that had three excellent chances to score in that half - well, at least chances to test their keeper - but failed weakly each time. Conversion of just one of those chances would have seen us ahead at half-time. Despite their possession, Leicester looked virtually toothless in attack and they really were there for the taking.

The balance of the play second half in midfield was roughly equal as Villa asserted themselves more, I thought, and again it seemed that we had the better chances. Their keeper ended up by not being seriously tested all match, but he was rather lucky that we seem to have forgotten how to put the ball properly in the direction of the net. Their defence had something to do with that, of course.

Anyhow, I feel that Mings had a much better game today, as well as the backs. Konsa played OK but on two or three occasions was weak in defence and/or in his distribution.

But a lot more urgency - speed - is necessary on the Villa's part.

We now have games against Norwich and Burnley as the next hurdles to face. These matches are surely a chance to get back to better stuff, especially if we can remember how to score! If we can do that in these games, then the visit of Liverpool might not be the whitewash that seems to be threatened right now.

Nevertheless, the season doth windeth down ... like a balloon with a leak in its fabric.

But - UTV!

Is Villa Still A Sleeping Giant?

We watch as the Premier League rolls on, surprise results dropping the Villa a couple more places down the table. The most surprising of which was probably Brighton's result at Spurs!

A week ago we allowed ourselves to be thoroughly whacked by the Spurs steamroller, but along comes a workmanlike Brighton to demonstrate that Spurs are not to be feared in the process of stealing all the points. 

A few weeks ago, Arsenal also beat us on our own turf. I thought then that it was strange that Arsenal players should be gloating over the win in the way they did, and then it became clear why: Arsenal were also a vulnerable side who managed to gloss over their cracks against a relatively timid Villa. The next week Arsenal were thumped at Crystal Palace and then were beaten on their own turf by ... that team again: Brighton.

This has been a most worrying season. Clearly, Villa's up-and-down performances in the first few games were by no means due just to Dean Smith. The players just do not seem to have cottoned on to the fact that to get anywhere they must do more than just turn up. The first half against Spurs has to be replicated for the whole match, not relaxing at the start of each period to give goals away.

Getting a couple of good results against lower sides does not mean that you are then qualified to strut around as though you're world beaters (when you're not). Yes, there is an inherently wrong psychological issue with certain players, in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, it's not just the players: after an encouraging start, I don't think Gerrard's approach has been the best either. I feel that he has added to the nervousness by his perpetual statements about changing things - and doesn't. And then states open criticism of players when the situation may need more of a Dean Smith approach.

Since Gerrard arrived, I have felt that Targett was dealt with over-harshly. Perhaps bringing in Digne would have been fine if he had shown himself to be a world-beater, but I have not seen significant improvement over Targett. 

And then we have the Konsa situation. This is not the same player that we saw under Dean Smith.

I ask the question - will the apparent sales and purchases planned for the summer really bring the desired results? I doubt it if Gerrard's methods are not also improved. And it is about time that we saw more youngsters being given a real opportunity. Archer is one that must surely be given his chance next season in place of one of the misfiring strikers we have. In fact, I would find a Keinan Davis plus Archer combination quite interesting. Both have earned plenty of plaudits while out on loan, but in the second tier of course.

It has been a most disappointing season. I believe we started the season with players that should have achieved a top-8 place, and I still believe they should have achieved that, if not better. But it appears now that we will be lucky if we improve on last season's finish.

Well, we won't know more about any progress until the summer deals have taken place and a few games into next season have rolled by. All we can do in the meantime, it seems, is to look forward to the extension of the Villa Park stadium! Still no talk of a museum though, from what I can make out.

UTV!

Villa Park's 125th Anniversary

Dear Esteemed Reader,

The 125th anniversary of Villa Park came and passed on April 17, 2022. In celebrating this anniversary and the history of the site that contains Villa Park, I would like to entice you into the following offering...

Full of thrills and spills and plenty of lions (real and the Aston Villa kind) and no little intrigue. With 36 colour pages, Prof. Carl Chinn has described it as "a fascinating story". 

Click on image for readability

Please place your advance order for this hardback book (152 pages in total) which is nearly ready for printing. 

The retail price is expected to be £16 (P&P free in UK). However, for all those that put in an advance order, I will reduce the price from £16 to £13.50 (P&P free in UK). Please do not send payment just yet but email me here please, with your advance order. When it is printed I will ask you for payment. 

Latest Expected Publication Date: early December 2022.

Thanks for reading this. 

UTV!

A Glorious First-half Effort Came To Nought

Well, the match stats say a lot. Spurs had five shots on goal and four were successful. This is a side that has been a mean goal machine of late and full of confidence. Meanwhile, the Villa could have scored four before half-time, but a combination of their keeper and missed chances prevented that from happening.

Again, Villa started a little slow off the blocks and came to rue their start-of-match attitude. Time and again this season Villa have let in an early goal, and although the Spurs opener was a trifle fortunate after a totally wayward Kane shot re-bounded to Son, you have to hand it to Son that he is such a gifted finisher. There's something like Jimmy Greaves about his contribution and he ended with a well-deserved hat-trick.

But after the first 10 minutes, the Villa really took on the Spurs and kept on pressing them back into their half, time and time again. Spurs looked very much second-best for 35 minutes, but the lack of scoring confidence in Villa was there to see - plus Spurs' excellent keeper. With Villa working so hard Coutinho had time and chance to make a solid contribution, and he really bothered their defence.

The question at half-time was, "Can Villa keep it up?" We soon found out they couldn't. They had burnt themselves out and Spurs had used the break to re-consolidate. Again a relaxed Villa let them in for an early goal in the period and from then it was even more of a chasing game. Villa just did not look like the side they were in the first half and Bailey smashed wide a chance from a Spurs error. But that was late on and rather late for dreams of a comeback.

Against a lesser side, Villa would probably have won well today. Instead, this is the fourth defeat on the trot and, sadly, I'm not seeing the same Konsa these days. Perhaps he has lost some confidence and maybe the talk of him being shown the door is affecting him.

But the defence in general looks as though it needs tightening, plus the need for a genuine number 6. I was in fact a little surprised that Nakamba did not come on as soon as they scored their second today. He might have made a difference.

Now we have another two-week break. Our chances of finishing in the top 10 are evaporating and we have to beat Leicester to stand a chance of finishing there in our next match. Then comes an intense flurry of matches to finish the season.

Sad to see so many Villa fans going so early today after that terrific first-half performance. It was the most determined effort I have seen from a Villa side for a long time. Indeed, that kind of performance was, once upon a time, a normality.

UTV!