Well, football is a funny game, isn’t it?

We Villa supporters were cheesed-off by half-time against the Gunners, and wondered why Villa’s performance second-half was not more upbeat in an effort to get something out of the match. But then we began to hear the details of a maleficent virus that had plagued the Villa camp in the week and our sympathies for the players gradually replaced the hurt.

Fast forward a day and a certain Manchester United had their faces painted red by being put to the sword at Leicester. And that after United were leading 3-1. It IS a funny old game. Who would have thought (in the Midlands at least) that those two results would transpire this week-end?

We thought that Villa had the best of chances of putting the history book back in order against Arsenal, but it was not to be: Villa’s very good start to the season has been interrupted. But against the Gunners we started with some promise – keeping them largely in check and producing 2 or 3 goal attempts (Clark’s in particular) which another time might have produced the lead. It looked like a continuation of the Liverpool match until the virus – Trojan-like! – worked its maleficence, and then (with players clearly out-of-sorts) it became a case of damage limitation.

So, onto the Chelsea match. It would not surprise me to find that Chelsea will start the match in a state of super confidence, both as a result of their own performances and their perceived failure of Villa against the Gunners, but (so long as this bug does not do any further damage and the players are fit again) I expect to see Villa giving Chelsea a hell of a match as they did at Liverpool.

I am so confident because the new midfield, particularly with the induction of Cleverley, has shown that we do have the ability to get forward well and (sometimes) ‘cleverly’! And that, springing from a determined defence, is the sound basis that Graham Taylor has been lauding.

Okay, the bug may not have completely gone away by the coming week-end, but (even so) a draw at Chelsea would not surprise me if the main players are able to put in a full stint.

Are we downhearted? No, surely we are not. There have been some pleasant surprises this season and I think that after the next three fixtures (which last season looked fearsome with the players Villa then had available) we may be further pleasantly surprised. More so if Benteke reappears at some stage.

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Comments 76

  1. hello john
    pretty much how I feel about the weekend and there isn’t much to add. Chelski are playing bolton tonight and whether its chelski reserves or not I hope they get a 120 minutes of hell and a good kicking. Talking of a Trojan horse Herd is at Bolton πŸ™‚
    if Baker and vlaar are not fit for saturday I hope Okore is as we can’t afford to play Clarke there again, he is not a centre half. westwood back is a must but i’d take Grealish in for Weimann. this article which I have already posted elsewhere argues well for his inclusion. whether without Benteke we have the enough guile in gabby to make the right runs is another thing. Bent would make more sense in grealish played but would provide no defensive cover.

    http://www.myoldmansaid.com/jack-grealish-aston-villa-balance-first-team/

  2. Mark,

    I remain perplexed about Clark as I saw him on his debut with Dunne (5 years ago?) and thought he looked such a promising player. But he does have lapses. Baker, on the other hand, looks strong when he has a stronger c-b alongside him.

    Yes, weakness at c-b will surely be badly punished at Chelsea, so it’s important to get that selection right.

    As to Grealish in place of Weimann … could be. Though I’d favour Grealish’s selection when Benteke returns: I think Grealish might be a good provider for the big man.

    But you leave our Gabby alone! πŸ˜‰

  3. Jl
    I’ve nothing against Gabby other than he is more instinctual and not a great thinker πŸ™‚ we would have to rely on the midfield for runs but I think that they are capable of doing that. so 451 morphing into 442 with a midfield diamond is how I’d expect us to set up.
    I have a sneaky feeling Clarke was in on keanes request as he was called up by Ireland but I have no real proof. okore has played 11/2 games for denmark first and u21’s so should be fit.

  4. its still early days for both clarke and baker,,, playing alongside experience really helps them

    although clarke didnt have his best game against the arse,,,, he was thrust in at the last minute with a new defence around him so we cant be to hard on him

    against chelsea i would start with wienmann if he is fit,,, and bring grealish on later if req

    weinmann is doing ok and runs his socks off and we will need this

    and westy will return too,, sanchez can again come on as a sub till he has settled in

    just need to get that final pass or finish right and we will be a pretty decent side

  5. dave
    do you honestly think Clarke can come good? he seems to lack positional sense where as baker listened more to Senderos. Clarke wandered and pulled senderos with him. he also seems to be nervous most of the time

  6. Clarke has never been a defender in my eyes, much better in mid-field, and it may have been better to put Sanchez into the back four and let Clarke sit in front of them.

    Perhaps the Steamers and Frem have gone to join Isis after Lambert was given his new contract, or they have caught the Villa virus…who knows…Strange things are happening this season.

    Latest rumour is that Vlaar is now ready to sign a new contract, and Grealish has already stated that he will sign one.

    Cannot believe that amazing penalty shoot out last night…I doubt that we see the likes again …

    Just hope Chelsea have just as hard a game..

  7. I miss the Steamers input actually. As Jenny said, Steamer has quite an array of knowledge and experience and it felt good to have him around.

    As for Frem, I wonder what happened there as well?

  8. Think we’ll get absolutely steamrolled by Chelsea but that’s not a bad thing. Mourinho has taken the shackles off defensively and they rarely sit at 1-0 anymore. Of course, even when they had those tactics they’d often smash the Villa because we used to gift so many chances. We’re a different defensive unit now with Hutton, Dross and the positionally improved Westwood, so I don’t see 7-0. More of a 4-2 or thereabouts. Nothing to mope about, Chelsea are title favourites and have some absolute World beaters in their squad whilst being an incredibly effective team unit. Play for the draw against Chelsea and City, have a go at Spurs and Everton who are being a wee bit inconsistent and we begin a run that any team except Man United would relish. 30 points by Christmas and we are safe as houses.

  9. Good evening John .
    Another fine article πŸ™‚

    I agree about Cleverley – we now have someone who can take corners too!

    As you say , football is a funny old game . The defeat of big spending Man U by Leicester gives all the so called lesser teams hope – and what makes the prem league so exciting .

    So where does this leave us . We have beaten Liverpoool (ok so have West Ham) and our away form is better and we are third . This makes us good contenders . But if you compare our team player for player you would have to realistically say that we are by far the lesser team . But then again , how many thought that Man U would give up a 2-0 lead to lowly Leicester . Anything can happen .

    So I will be pleased to see an organised , brave and committed team effort . Afterall, the pressure is off AV so I hope we see a gutsy , tough and fearless performance even if they don’t manage 3 points .

  10. if I was Lerner I would be employing someone to study southampton and maybe Swansea from top to bottom. they are doing something incredibly right at southampton and in a consistent manner.

    jen
    two people who can take corners! πŸ™‚ westwood has improved a lot this year in that respect too and our movement (mainly senderos) and height make a big difference compared to last seasons efforts

  11. Jenny,

    The interesting thing is that we can now see that all the points we’ve obtained have been against sides that are not great. Liverpool have gone back a peg or two as I see it.

    So, after the gunners and the bugs the first real challenge takes place this Saturday. But I’m still fairly optimistic so long as we can put out a strong fit side.

  12. John – from the score line Chelsea weren’t that brilliant with a 2-1 win against Bolton . Although I don’t know what side he put out,

    Can’t believe the baggies!

    At least we aren’t playing man city – 7 goals in second half !

  13. Mark – Southampton this season is incredible. They were discussing it in TS and had a Dutch journo who said that many Dutch ppl wanted Kohman as the national manager and in his opinion , and he’d known him for 30 years and in his opinion was the best manager he’d ever met .

  14. jen- whomever is in charge there at southampton knows good managers, players etc and there academy is brilliant compared to our output and standards. maybe its time to stop jobs for the boys

  15. Jenny – re: Chelsea

    They didn’t play their usual team last night, though it was a strong side.

    But it looks as though they ran Bolton ragged – 10 shots on goal and 28 overall to Bolton’s 3 shots. Also a massive possession stat for Chelsea.

    The score doesn’t seem to have reflected the play.

  16. Mark – the irony is that three seasons ago our stated objective was very similar to the Saints . Both clubs professing they were gojng to encourage youth . Saints aimed to use academy players which they believed would produce more loyal and committed players . I thought that’s what we would do so was surprised when we shipped in a load of young foreign unheard ofs when we had the likes of Bannan , Weimann Baker et al knocking on the door. It looks like their academy produced excellent players – and of course they didn’t remain loyal and off they went . This is what I saw as the flaw from the beginning . So it’s incredible that they have maintained their style and effectiveness when the spine of the team went.
    John – oh dear !

  17. jen
    your missing the point, their overall quality of player produced is different to ours somehow. I don’t think our youth were good enough and neither did Lambert. grealish is the best we have produced for 30 odd years and its a good job he’s a villa fan. southampton knew more or less that they could lose those players make a load of money and have replacements ready to go. decent choice of manager and a few buys. our problem is the footballing nous to implement this is missing

    paul p now we know what ST75’s been up to πŸ™‚

  18. I think you could be right Mark..!!

    I also agree with you about the development of our young players.

    Looking forward to Saturday, and hoping that Lambert can field a strong side..

  19. Hi ladies and Gents

    He’s the best we have produced for 30 years, but still Lamberk won’t play him ahead of Wiemann on the wing, who is actually a striker

    I found it ironic that a few days after signing an undeserved new contract, we got hammered at Villa Park. That performance and result summed up Lambert’s tenure at Villa perfectly. 4 games at Villa this season so far, 3 of those performances were Lambert’s usual standard, and the other, we did well for 45 mims. He still hasn’t figured us out on our home patch. Yep, I still hate the man.

    But anyway, Chelsea this weekend. Start Jack Grealish. Start Jack Grealish. Start Jack Grealish. And get the beast back in the squad

  20. If we lose this week, I guarantee you Lamberk will say the virus still had an affect

    I read Gabby say the virus wasn’t An excuse for our display. I don’t listen too Lamberk anymore but I’m guessing he said otherwise ?

  21. A virus might have had an effect but the biggest effect is ozil 42 million costing 4 times more than villas team….that might have something to do with it.

    I think its just me….i dont expect anything from games against arsenal, pool, city etch….we just cant compete against them. £££££££££

  22. Wow!!!

    Villa are top of the Premier league…..yes the Birmingham Mail have just published the sick list, with Villa top, in front of the Toons.

    Villa have 9 players sick and injured against Chelsea who have one, our dear friend Ramires.

    Frem ,
    It was more than just a cold. Baker started throwing up in the morning, Westwood started throwing up during the warm up, and Weimann went off at half time throwing up. It was also obvious that Guzan and Delph were under par and not fully fit.

    Until the first goal Villa had been giving good account of themselves, but the third goal was just a step too far, and they had to just pull down the shutters and go for damage limitation.

    Hopefully we will have a fully fit team by Saturday, and give a good account of ourselves.

    West Ham were so impressed with our beating of Liverpool, that they got their team to copy us using Downing in Gabby’s role and he ended up being MOM!

    As soon as Benteke is back, I am sure that we will see a lot more of Grealish.

  23. Is all I’ve read all season about Ozil is how shite he’s been for Arsenal. It was only a few days before our game a pundit was saying how disappointing he’s been for Arsenal

    But we are helping hand Villa. Everyone loves Villa Park but Villa. If a team needs a win, or a player needs a goal, they will get it at Villa Park. Ozil got a gaol, and he also assisted Welback for a tap in for his first Arsenal goal. That’s what annoys me the most. We make life so easy for teams and players at Villa Park

  24. PP- sorry about not getting back to you. I didn’t actually go on Saturday, my Twin was ill ( funnily enough) so I stayed home with her as my parents have been away on holiday. I did watch it on a stream though. Glad I stayed home actually. It was a shambles

    I don’t accept the virus as an excuse. There was a keeper that played in gaol with a broken net for Germany back in the day. Mark luttrell was a former Navy Seal that evaded enemy forces with a broken back, a gun shot, numerous fractures and shrapnel wounds. He gets payed less in a year than what Wiemann gets in a week. It’s BS

  25. He did all that after witnessing three of his best friends bring killed as well so if a human can do that, than guys who get payed a bomb a week and get given new contacts for being shit at there jobs for years surely can muster up the strength to perform for 90 mins whilst they were pampered for days before the game

  26. Andrew I’d agree on the Ozil front but didn’t make much difference in the other matches arsenal have played as they have slated him.

    Frem you should do volunteer work at the local hospital you’d soon have all those lazy bastards out of their beds, maybe if you applied a few gun shot wounds to them or broke a few bones maybe even kill some of their mates that would motivate the not to be I’ll πŸ˜‰

  27. Mark- You really think our over paid so and so’s push there body’s to the limit? Watch Buds training in Hell week. That’s pushing your body to the limit

    If I was manager in the prem, and a few players came in with a runny nose, felt a bit sick and said he doesn’t think he can play, I’d slap the twat and show him vids of Buds training, tell him about Mark Luttrell and get him to watch we were soldiers. He’d soon realise actually he is fine and can mange to run for part of a football match on his 40 grand a week

    She’s getting there PP.

  28. My point was not just Ozil.

    Add up how much arsenals starting 11 cost and villas…..it’s like a fa cup game where we are the minows and arsenal the big guns.

    We have no right to beat these teams. To win at Anfield with a team that cost Β£13 mill is insane. I still dont believe it.

  29. at chelsea on sat there should only be one winner….by a bloody distance. If we get anything it would be a shock.

    I dont understand how people can be that upset we loose against the big teams. What do you thinks going to happen.

  30. frem- your all heart . seals/sas are pushed to their limits because it builds mental strength and stamina and maybe their life could depend on pushing themselves. doesn’t do them much good as in later life 30-40’s sometimes younger their knees and backs are shot to pieces, happens to lots of normal soldiers from running with packs etc too. Elite athletes are a whole different ball game as what they do is very specific. SAS are incredible people though

  31. Andrew- sometimes its not the price of the players but how well they gell, half the prem has brought in lots of players, sometimes they click sometimes not. ours appear to have in a defensive sense. A good team will beat a collection of talented players most times, the great managers know this and try to build a team of the highest quality, not individuals. the exceptions are the saurez’s and ronaldo’s and messi’s who can win games on their own sometimes IMO

  32. SBS even more so Mark. Imagine climbing an oil rig !!!!

    Special forces are legends. Unsung heroes. There there ones who should be on What footballers are earning. They would our players to shame on fitness and mental strength

  33. they don’t do it for the money frem its a calling, moneys not the motivation for them but they should be well looked after. imagine giving the average squaddie Β£40,000 in a week they’d go on the piss for six months πŸ™‚

  34. On this terrorist training exercise they did in the city which the emergency service were also at, The SAS and fire men had to carry out people pretending to be injured. This firemen said that 2 of them at a time were carrying out one person and were shattered doing it, and the SAS soldiers were carrying two people by them selfs and didn’t stop coming and never looked out of breath. Super human

  35. I’m not missing the point Mark – AV statement when PL arrived was that we would go from experienced to young and hungry youth players. As our academy had just won the Next Gen series it was reasonable to assume from this statement that they’d seen talent in these players and that they would be brought on. If Weimman and co aren’t good enough then why make the statement as we didn’t go for young hungry , we went for cheap and untried . I am not saying that Weimann and co were good enough but the statement and intent and the actuality conflicted . Unlike Saints who clearly realised they had home grown talent and have stuck with this philosophy and developed a style if football unlike Aston Villa.

  36. Looks like they are recovered – Paul Lambert

    “Today they feel a lot better so hopefully it’s out of their system. Everybody’s trained and hopefully we’ll get a clean bill of health for Saturday.

    I’m no doctor but I’m not the only one to say this : Weimann and the rest of them were racing round first half and as some have said , the two teams were about equal up to the terrible three mins. If you are so ill , no way could you race round a football pitch even for 10 mins let alone 30. There’s also a difference in what was originally reported by PL. He said on the day that DB had phoned up with the bug in the morning of the match : hence not on the bench . Today he said
    “shley Westwood was sick in the warm-up, Nathan Baker, Darren Bent and Andi Weimann were at half-time.”
    From what he said post match DB wasn’t there as he’d rang in sick so hiw could he be throwing up half time . That said , I can’t believe they’d be stupid enough to make it up as what will the next illness be when we play badly ? Maybe a touch of exaggeration may have been used .

  37. And the Fantastic Four are real as is Captain America. Frem you should know better regarding Firefighters as you know one and what they do. The mind might be willing but the body can’t follow suit and I know that from personal experience. Check out Monty Python with the two knights fighting and one of them keeps losing a limb but tries to carry one.
    You’re bitching for the sake of bitching.

  38. jen- point is we did try them and still are in baker weimann and clarke, the rest just were not good enough and we have a long list of players we have trained being not good enough, gabby is probably the most successful in modern times bar Barry who we nicked from brighton at 16. what do we do wrong? southampton have a very good coaching staff by the look of it. they have supplied at least half the current england team plus gareth bale.

    mr mumble Lambert isn’t the most articulate fella and probably got his worms mixed up

  39. Ian,

    Aw, leave Frem alone … he’s probably had a row with the girl-friend this week! πŸ˜‰

    I think most of us know that the bug must have had a negative affect on the team and i.m.o it’s to their credit that they did what they did in the first half-hour.

    Assuming Villa have a fit team, we’ll see what happens at the Bridge on Saturday. That match should be a better pointer as to how Villa are doing.

  40. Mark/Jenny,

    I feel there’s something wrong with Villa’s academy. Barry aside, there’s been no youngster who’s really made it in the past 30+ years. Vassell can be quoted as a success, but he fizzled out somewhat.

    Maybe we’re concentrating too much on technical training and not character training.

    Mind you, the array of managers we’ve had for 30+ years (Taylor, Atkinson and Little exempted perhaps) have not helped the cause of the Villa youth too much.

  41. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the academy. Every 30 years or so someone comes along who is head and shoulders above the rest. Not due to training but native born skills that can’t be taught no matter how long they practice.

  42. Ian- I wasn’t disrespecting the fire service one bit. If it sounds like I did I didn’t mean it. As you know, my brother is in the fire service and I’m very proud of it. He’s a very fit guy. I was just saying how SAS are super human. Firemen are fit guys, so for them to find something tiring, and SAS to find the same thing pretty easy just proves how great they are. Firemen are heroes in there own right to. They run into burning buildings whist others are running out
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-26029051

    http://www.allan-scott-sculpture.co.uk/memorials.html

    That’s outside the station my brother works at on retain in Stratford. He’s full time in Coventry now though

  43. If you get to prem level then you would have to have talent . But better training and facilities will improve them and poor training won’t . Southampton academy are producing a few very good players : is this an accident/ lucky or are they doing something better than other academies .

  44. Ian: . I don’t think there is anything wrong with the academy. Every 30 years or so someone comes along who is head and shoulders above the rest. Not due to training but native born skills that can’t be taught no matter how long they practice.

    Then how come we had all those stars in the 70s and early 80s, Ian? – in such a short period of 10 years. I’ve named ’em before … Little, Gidman, Shaw, Cowans being the most outstanding but you can name McDonald, Deehan, Ormsby, Gibson and others who we could afford to offload – just like Southampton today.

    In fact, pre-1930, when the club was run properly, Villa always had young stars coming through their ranks and becoming internationals.

  45. We would have many more top youth products if the club was run probably. Look at Cahill, we made Gareth Barry even though he joined at 16. Clark had all the ability jinx the world when he first came onto to the scene. Then we’ve had shit managers since then. Bannann had all the ability, same as Fonz. Grealish might follow if he doesn’t get game time

    We’ve had top potential, just the club has been a mess with new crap managers. We still are but somehow he’s sighed up until 2018. WTF

  46. Mark: hopefully we will give the entire league the lurgy

    I just noticed! How dare you give me away without asking my permission! πŸ˜‰

    (‘The Lergy’ used to be my nickname!)

  47. Frem, thanks for the photo. I liked that a lot. The Fantastic Four were one of my favourite comic book heroes. πŸ™‚

    John, the 70’s and 80’s were great for the New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers too. They both had players that were head and shoulders above the rest and ran several years winning the Stanley Cup. Where are those teams now? In the toilet that’s where. Just like the 100 year flood that happens every 2nd year, those two teams had four 30 year players appear all in one year. Stuff like that just happens. There isn’t much separating most Prem players but there are those that play like magic. Like Mark said: ££££££

  48. Ian /Jen/ Lergy πŸ™‚ If I was to put my finger on it i’d say its more a football intelligence they seem to lack. gabby, weimann, baker, clarke and Albrighton just don’t have that crucial decision making speed of thought. we have had great success recently with the u21s but few have really made the step up bar Grealish although I have hope for Johnson. maybe southampton blood there youngsters earlier in their careers alongside solid pros instead of scaring them to death?
    for a smaller club southampton have produced a lot of class players. grealish is the best for us since Little.

    http://www.givemesport.com/346058-southampton-englands-best-academy

  49. Helenius story tells us a lot about why he wasn’t used. Seems like the lad has had a tough time.

    Cahill is the most successful academy graduate of late. The 70s and 80s were a different time for football. Growing talent is what everyone did. The game has changed and we haven’t. We seem to churn out pacy strikers by the boatload and precious little else. A manager isn’t going to change this, it needs club wide change.

    The virus will be a factor I the defeat. I am sure if you felt like cr*p and you are asked to play top class sport for 90 minutes you’d struggle. To suggest otherwise is laughable.

  50. From what i have gathered in the past is that often basic talent is coached out of these youngsters, whereas maybe Southampton , actually encouraged them to develop their talent.

    When these lads are taken from as young as 6 years old, and then harnessed by one club, is it really the right way?

  51. Agreed PP. The talent is coached out of them once they start knocking on the 1st team door. When grealish came on last week, he was forced to spend most of his time covering the full back. PL prioritises work rate and graft over talent so is it any wonder? N’zogbia was wigan’s player of the season when we signed him-10 goals from open play methinks and one of the most succesful dribbling rates in Europe but he cannot reproduce for Villa. The answer is simple-negative football with a totally inept, spineless manager. The stats for this season are already mirroring last season’s- most long balls, least shots on target, poor possession whilst the opposition continue to break records at Villa park.

  52. Yes, though I can see where Ian is coming from, I think those who say that “talent is coached out of them” is nearer the mark. But I also think there’s a character training that is missing … why Vassell and Hendrie (for example) did not progress, for example, is a key question for me – particularly Hendrie, who looked a future great when he started out.

    And we lost Cahill because MON was blinkered.

  53. Lambert has only been here 2 an a bit years Dee maybe that is how how he coaches but the Academy hasn’t really produced considering the catchment area for a lot longer.Sharing it the midlands with several large clubs and the scum would have an effect on choice of talent too. from what I have seen of the southampton graduates they all seem educated and pretty articulate something Grealish shares with them. maybe developing other areas of the brain help in decision making. the brain has great plasticity and can be moulded maybe southampton realise this and use it to advantage. european players always seem to be better educated before you laugh it off and less prone to alcoholism etc.

  54. on Helenius, I know how he feels, 3 months travelling around India from toilet to toilet. your arse sorer than an encounter with Mr Big and all his mates in the shower block, even that doesn’t describe it. feel really sorry for him and I had high hopes he would make it.

    Frem – what’s the cure mate? a butt plug and get on with it you wuss πŸ˜‰

  55. JL- I’m not entirely sure you can coach the talent out of someone as most of football skills become subconscious after a while. at the age they join villa most of their Physical side of football would be learned and ingrained. repetition is one way to rewrite programming but why would they want less skill? telling someone how to play or else is another matter but it wouldn’t affect their passing, shooting or close control. If this was true Grealish would just trip over the ball and he doesn’t. Its the decision making thats floored for me unless they trying to consciously fight against their instinct ( sub conscious ) .

  56. Mark,

    In the old days, kids would learn their ball skills through hours and hours of practise with a tennis ball and learn dribbling through the rough and tumble games played on rough ground or in the street. And this was (is?) true in Brazil – and what stupendous players came out of their backstreets.

    It is rare that you see a British footballer with the skills of the continentals or south americans, though even they seem to be succumbing to the tactics of win at all costs rather than the skills that was the reason why soccer came to be called “the beautiful game”. I feel it’s lost that tag now.

  57. JL – I did the same, playtime was always football with a tennis ball, we were not allowed a proper ball and nobody had one anyway πŸ™‚ I think instead they use the Iphone and the Xbox to hone their skills, we have youngsters now with incredibly talented thumbs πŸ˜‰

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