What a Surprise!

Surprise, surprise surprise...

What happened against Newcastle was a good uplift for all Villa fans, me included!

For the first time for quite awhile we not only saw a Villa team pushing back the opposition but doing it in a coordinated way ... there was actually teamwork, and more than a trace of method.

It's not by any means the finished article, but considering what happened against Everton only a week ago, this was a vast transformation, and it gives great hope that Mr. Lambert will get his team to improve on it. What is important, that by the time we get to meeting the big teams in the League, there may well be a Villa team that is living up to the club's motto: "Prepared".

One further note: it was good to see Gabby back. That sublime pace was seen once when Bent was supplied with a very scorable chance. Shame that Falcao wasn't playing for Villa - he would have scored!

March on, Paul Lambert! The Force be with you!
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We Wanted Change

The eminently fine Aston Villa Life blog - http://www.astonvillalife.com/aston-villa-blog/you-wanted-change-you-got-it/ - states "You wanted change - You got it!". It goes on to reflect how the club had paid over the odds for players and was paying wages it couldn't afford, and it had to come to the point that it was a route that was unsustainable. "We" wanted change, apparently, and we got it.

But hang on! "We" didn't ask for a change in that respect, did we? As far as I recall it was the owner who backtracked on finding he hadn't the wherewithall to back his commitment. The primary change "we" wanted was a manager who knew his stuff, thinking that an enterprising owner (now that he's re-couped cash from his other sporting venture) would back such a manager.

Now I don't argue with the need to keep spending under control, but the old business adage is that you only get back what you put into it. If you want success you have to take some kind of risk towards that success - if you're timid then you might just stand to fall. And - for goodness sake - this is Aston Villa, not Birmingham City or Coventry City.  The club's motto is "Prepared". I bet Randy wishes it wasn't!

The Aston Villa Life blog article goes on to admit that, "Oh, yes, we are spending on some lower league players for reinforcements" - but the reality is showing up to be the case that all the reinforcements are coming in from the lower leagues - or players from abroad without PL experience.

Now, I accept that players such as Vlaar and El-Ahmadi may well grow in stature as the season progresses. But I feel the key question is whether Ireland and Nzog can also raise their game to lead the way for the young players coming from the lower divisions.

Villa's season, to me, now rests on the ability of Ireland and Nzog (and Gabby?) to do the business. If not, then the club will have failed to address the key questions, which I see as (a) the mastery of the midfield and (b) the kind of supply that Bent expects. And that failure could mean another 16th/17th place at best or ... (the unmentionable).

And "..." will only prolong the agony as I see it.
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Aston Villa's History : A New Book

Aston Villa : The First Superclub 
(the story of Aston Villa, 1874-2012) 

Officially to be launched this Monday (the 27th), the book is in fact already available.

Apart from the history narrative, the outstanding features of the book are:

•         510 pages hardback and jacket, including many images
•         Accounts of the most memorable 60 matches since 1887
•         Descriptions of 200 of the Villa's most outstanding players 
•         Profiles of the club's founders

Please link to the relevant webpage for further details: http://www.lerwill-life.org.uk/astonvilla/superclub.htm 
On that webpage you will see how you might be able to purchase the book for only £20 including local delivery costs.

"An enjoyable read in these times of austerity!"

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