In what may have been the most predictable result of the weekend, Aston Villa lost in a 1-0 loss. As narrow as the 1-0 difference may look in the history books, the possession statistics were nowhere near as tight. In fact, Villa finished with another sub-40% possession statistic – 36.1%.
For 85 minutes, maybe more, Villa’s efforts were anaemic. This was, in my opinion at least, was partly down to the players involved on the pitch. Villa, perhaps sensibly, perhaps not, seemed more than keen to walk away with a draw given the quality of the opponents. Of course, the only issue with being happy with a draw, is that one slip up means you go away with a loss.
Not surprisingly, Villa continued their form of losing goals from set piece situations, illustrating again the disruption and panic often struck into the club when defending the ball. Panic, however, is far from a defence-only problem, with poor form obviously having an issue across the squad.
What Exactly Is The Best Team For Aston Villa
The main questions that have to be asked, and these were questions I found myself asking at the start of the game, was how the formation was going to be suited to anything more than a draw. With Stephen Warnock’s recent form being far from fantastic, perhaps a change could have been expected. However, it’s highly unlikely that many would have picked Carlos Cuellar to fill in at left back.
What won’t help Alex McLeish is his persistence with Alan Hutton. The dropping of Stephen Warnock has been justified in recent times, but the fact that Hutton, his own signing, has appeared to have dodged the axe again, despite several issues. However, the issues with Villa today stretched further than just the defence.
Perhaps also as puzzling was the choice of Marc Albrighton to act as a protector of Carlos Cuellar’s unfamiliar role on the left side of defence. If there is anything long term fans of Villa know, it is that Albrighton is regularly a defensive liability with late challenges, not really what I would call a protective position. The fact Albrighton lined up on the left, the reverse of his regular position, was even more puzzling.
As many followers of football tactics know, playing wingers on the other side of the pitch allows them to cut in and use their stronger foot. Said attitude doesn’t always work, especially with players so firmly in the winger mould, as Albrighton is, and invariably the cut and thrust of the Villa wide players were less than needed in this encounter.
Part of the problem Villa had all game was a lack of penetration, perhaps due to the fact that Stephen Ireland and Charles N’Zogbia didn’t start, even though they did well when they made their appearances. Understandably, Villa may well have been happy with a draw against title contenders, but a draw wasn’t to be, and it was perhaps the final insult that it was a Villa fan who scored City’s winner – Joleon Lescott.
Issues At The Bottom
Villa, perhaps more worryingly, are the bottom club in the main part of Premier League that aren’t cut adrift due to points, as those below them have a seven point difference to the Birmingham club.
Being in such a position invariably has issues associated with it, as Villa know, and will continue to find out. As I touched upon earlier, when a club, no matter who they are, find themselves in a poor run, the dangers are inherently obvious. The first is the implosion of confidence, both from the team and fans, leaving fingers pointing at everyone else.
The second, linked to the first, is the inherent fear that creeps into the team when results are not going the way they should be. Such fear is regularly plain to see in the Villa back four, as evidenced by sloppy defending, panicked clearances, and disarray.
The big question Villa need to answer is how to solve this disarray. Whilst Alex McLeish may still have the dressing room, fear is the biggest threat to an unravelling Villa season. How can this be solved? Fans invariably want value for money from their team, the players want some pride in the performances, the manager wants to get his head off the chopping block.
The final thought is that Villa have one of the best goal differences of the clubs around them, but the fact they are where they are is because they fail to win games, with far too many results being draws rather than wins. When will Villa realise that trying to win games, even if it exposes them to a poorer goal difference or potential losses, is the only way to climb the table?
Villa’s time may well not be up yet, but with two minutes to be proud of out of 90 this evening, is it too much to ask for a little more commitment and desire to win?
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