Hats off to Paul Lambert, the backroom team, and all the players for practically sticking two fingers up at the boo boys last Saturday with a display of the highest order and professionalism against a strong Swansea outfit.
I really can’t see why, until Matt Lowton’s wonder goal, Villa Park was so tetchy and apprehensive. In reality the game panned out just as I thought it would. The Swans were to come here with their neat little interchanges, use the pace of both Dyer and Routledge in an attempt to hit Villa on the counter, particularly when our fullbacks were pressing. Maybe they are getting just a tad too predictable now.
Predictable is not a word that you can associate with Lambert’s team selection. Every Saturday morning when I open my newspaper I see a ‘likely XI’ that is still yet to match the actual XI. This time he chose to reward those who started in our 1-1 draw at Newcastle, and rightly so.
Once the first 10 minutes or so had passed and we began to find our rhythm I was very pleased with what I saw. We kept the ball well, knocking it around from left-to-right whilst players were looking for little pockets of space. The final ball wasn’t always there and at times we were broken down but I could only applaud our intentions throughout.
In the opening weeks of the season I’ve been on the back of our new Aussie midfield man Brett Holman despite his phenomenal work rate. Until last weekend’s Man of the Match display I thought he might turn out to be one of those players who’s got the heart of a lion but just wouldn’t cut it in the Premier League. It’s looking highly likely he’s going to prove me wrong.
The one and only negative I have from our 2-0 victory over Swansea was Stephen Ireland. I felt he undid all our hard work by giving the ball away to cheaply at times, and I think Lambert recognised that and so he chose him to be the man that would make way for Ashley Westwood on the hour. And although the former Crewe man looked settled and at home in the Premier League – it was the other debutant who was set to grab the headlines. That man was Christian Benteke.
Our new £7 million forward capped a lively 20-minute stint with a late goal after seizing on a howling error by Swans centre-half Ashley Williams. Lambert predicts a “big, big career” is in store for the youngster, who certainly possesses the stature to unsettle defences. The Belgian powerhouse appears to have the makings of becoming a real cult hero amongst the Villa faithful
And talking of heroes, what of Ron Vlaar? As discussed fairly recently on the Aston Villa Life forum, in the past we’ve lauded the likes of Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen, Gareth Southgate, and Paul McGrath, and I truly believe that the Dutchman can gain similar recognition and standing from the fans should he continue making lung-busting strides forward like he did on Saturday afternoon!
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup summed up Villa’s performance when commenting on how our energy levels, commitment, and motivation took both him and his players by surprise. It’s amazing how the mood of the supporters can change in an instant, and now we’re all looking ahead to our trip to Southampton this weekend.
After a disastrous 6-1 drubbing at the Emirates I’m sure Nigel Adkins will have his troops well up for our arrival in three days’ time. The Saints remain pointless at the foot of the table and will believe that this is a good opportunity to get their first points on the board having had a difficult set of fixtures in the opening four weeks since returning to the top flight.
For as long as our attitude, commitment, and patience remain the same I’m feeling confident that we can see them off. Some people are saying that this may not be a good time to play Southampton, who’ll be more than determined to get something, but they could also end up being guilty of trying too hard. Good sides will pick off desperation.
We do of course have two matches between now and my next article a week today. On Tuesday we’re away at Manchester City in the League Cup third round. With them in action at the Bernabeu last night and hosting Arsenal on Sunday I expect Mancini to ring the changes for our visit, and that may just give us an opportunity to progress into the last 16 of the competition. I sure hope so.
Until next time, Up The Villa.
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