Plus Points To Consider

It’s a curious thing that over 100 years ago if there was one criticism due to the formidable Villa sides of those days, it was that they failed to convert enough chances into goals.

And to me, there lies the key issue of today’s players: that they are creating enough chances but are not putting them away. We have just witnessed two 0-0 results, but I’ve also seen that we had at least 8 chances (perhaps 10 or 12) over those matches that should have been converted. And if one of them had gone in then the rest of the match may have been quite different.

As to the quality of the players? In the middle and up front we have good enough players in my opinion. In Hourihane, Snodgrass, Adomah, Onomah, Kodjia and Davis (not forgetting Green and Lansbury) I see plenty of ability, and (importantly) a willingness to work. Importantly, I saw (against Boro) full-backs helping too, especially Taylor who played a couple of clever balls.

Once they get on the pitch it’s the players that mostly determine the outcome, and if they are in a profligate or tense mood, then that’s what we will see. But as long as the chances are being manufactured, surely there’s reason for plenty of hope. Another manager is surely not going to be able to make the same players put the ball in the net?

The existing manager? Possibly not our ideal choice. In our frustration, we may find fault in what he says in pre and post match statements, but what he says is not the important issue. The players are probably as frustrated as the supporters in not getting the result they want, but so long as the willingness to work and the ability to create is there, the results will surely come. Furthermore, injuries have seen some more be sidelined while others are coming back. Once we get a settled team working then the cohesion should come.

If by some cruel irony the results fail to materialise, then the inevitable ‘chop’ will take place, but let’s give this promising squad our backing. Let’s transcend the disappointments and frustration of 6 years and start propelling the team upwards.

Isn’t that what supporters are for?!

UTV!

Family Stability Is Needed

We seem to spend all our time in blaming the manager, but are we thus saying that we have confidence in the players to do their job properly? I feel we are expecting too much from players who are these days cossetted and made to feel as though they are worth the money they're paid, and nothing else. For me, the character of footballers generally has declined in quality, and they seem not to understand that the badge they're playing for has to be upheld as though the defence of the country is at stake. That's how it once was: a pride that once existed of playing for 'the Villa'.

Trevor Ford - a fearless striker of 70 years ago - said that when he entered the gates of Villa Park it made him feel great. And taller too: just to enter Villa Park had such an uplifting effect on him. More recently, you could sense that a similar pride and commitment existed for Ian Taylor, Dion Dublin, Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen and Stan Petrov. Strangely, with Gareth Barry, I always felt that he would leave when the time was ripe. That his heart was never quite fully for the club, though he was a good player for us, no doubt.

Over the last 20 years, many Villa youngsters have passed on, some of whom had great talent, but lost in the search for self-glorification, and myopia in management.

So maybe I'm talking about an attitude that has now passed us by. Maybe the transition to money-consciousness has overtaken all players. And maybe that where once Aston Villa was 'a family' - and people openly said that was so - that attitude has gone; that players simply became commercial entries in the ledger. A two-sided coin that has lost its sense of real worth. All we have seen this past seven years is players coming and going, like confetti. In fact, O'Neill was shipping players in and out in numbers before seven years ago. A situation this past 10 years or more that I don't think ever existed before

To bring out the best in the player at Villa Park I believe there needs to develop a sense that the entity they're playing for has a great standard to be restored. It's not a question of simply knowing how to play footie but a developed loyalty that brings out that extra dimension in a player, just as it did for Frank Barson all those years ago who, when his team was down to eight players, played the game of three players in one. And John 'Slogger' Sleeuwenhoek, who, in the declining days of the mid '60s, defended his penalty area as though it belonged to him. And back in the 70s, players like Rioch, Lochhead, Graydon and Nicholl could always be counted on to give 100%, an attitude that the likes of Brian Little grew into. Followed by Ron Saunders and his team of captains.

How do we achieve that attitude on the field?

When today's chairman talks of the need for 'stability' in my view he must transcend that thought to take on board the view that Aston Villa is an entity that is more than simply a football club. It should be a home to players who are committed to the highest standards, in the full tradition of the club going back to George Ramsay, and a tradition that is made to grow to carry on and be absorbed by future generations of players.

In the attempt to bring about that sense of 'family' and commitment, it makes sense to me that the club has purchased the services of the likes of Terry and Whelan. But in my view, they really do have to step up and show a higher authority and example.

How else is Aston Villa to be restored to the top? After seven years of constant change, in my view, it will take more time for that plan to percolate through. Sacking the manager is an attractive option, but on reflection (and given the state of the club these last seven or more years) is it really the way forward? Would another manager be able to get over the hurdles just outlined? Not by simply changing playing tactics he won't.

From A Jack To A King?

While pre-season matches are nothing much to get excited about (especially the early ones) the fans are eager to take a look at what the current set of players can do. This is especially in the light of the fact that few new signings are expected to arrive this summer: although Johnstone has been announced as a ‘signing’, he was of course with us last season, so nothing new for us there. Terry is the only one who is actually ‘new’ to us, but while he is of interest, the fact that his role is defensive does not take away our concerns about the team’s creativity and scoring ability.

So I was very interested to see how the players from last season’s January ‘window’ were shaping up in readiness for the new season. But – sorry to say – I saw nothing in the Shrewsbury match that made me feel that extra bonding and understanding had developed amongst the players. Sadly, I continued to see the two strikers looking somewhat adrift, combined with rather stodgy and ineffective play from Hourihane, the one player who I thought might spark some life into the team. However, in common with a number of others, I do sense that he may be more effective further forward. Should he be the ‘missing link’, sitting just behind both Kodjia and Hogan?

The midfielders Bjornason, Lansbury and Jedi I’m willing to accept as workaholic midfielders who will rarely be originally creative, but we do need that extra dimension, I feel, to create chances for the strikers. A player with that ‘bit extra’, who can turn a defence and perhaps score a few himself. I’ve been hoping that would be Hourihane, but a doubt persists. But if not him, then who else? Gardner – though clearly having a useful shot on him – doesn’t quite cut it for me. And his shots usually just hit the woodwork.

We have for some time now looked upon ‘Our Jack’ as signalling the birth of a new era at Villa Park. I for one thought he’d step up to the challenge following Villa’s relegation season, but I’d say he mostly disappointed, apart from a couple of wonderful strikes and gaining a couple of penalties. He’s coming up to age 22, and really, if he doesn’t step up to the mark this season then I doubt that he will at all. If he’s not careful he’ll be just another of those great hopefuls that emerged from the youth ranks and then fizzled away.

But there’s the half-glass-full in me that says he can and will make the grade. Whether he’ll ever reach his potential only time will tell, but I am sure that he will now be taking his career seriously and striving to get his beloved Aston Villa to where they truly belong – at the top. If he doesn’t, I’m still not sure about Hourihane, so where will that leave Villa?

So Jack … reflect on this old tune and please try to win our hearts!

From a Jack to a King 

From loneliness to a wedding ring 

I played an Ace and I won a Queen 

And walked away with your heart.