Well that was woeful.
After a game where Villa seemed to have control of the game for two minutes – one in each half – Villa were frightened, disorganised, and unable to cope for the remaining time.
As I said earlier today, the fact is that you can’t just go and try to defend at Spurs and expect anything. Trying to defend and failing as well as having the fear of God in you is even worse. In all honesty, I struggle to think of a game where we played worse. Even against Manchester City, I felt some kind of effort. Today, there was nothing.
Fear Rules The Minds Of Villans
All through the game, the players played with total fear and concern about how Spurs would play. Villa set up to contain Bale as though he was the one and only threat, and van der Vaart, Modric, and Parker were irrelevant, not to mention Walker.
As a fan, I don’t ask for much from the club. I wasn’t expecting three points at White Hart Lane, but I was expecting some effort. Whether the lack of effort came from the tactics or the players, one thing is for certain, this was not good enough on any level.
Why? Well can any fan really say they were happy with the performance tonight? Villa were woeful, and when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, we failed to change the game. MON might have been guilty of not being able to change the game during his time in charge, but at least he instilled something into the players.
Under McLeish, in this game at least, the players seemed like they lacked knowledge of what they were doing. Not only that, they seemed to lack the ability to do what they needed to. Warnock and Hutton regularly had players bypass them. Collins basically gifted Adebayor both goals. In short, the defence was absolutely shocking.
So, with a defence like that, where do we go from here? Surely in the realms of obvious statements, you’d imagine a defender like McLeish could remedy the problems that the club face in terms of defensive ability. If he can’t, then remind me what he is to do as a manager? If you can’t do well with your strengths, then what chance do you have with your weaknesses?
Change Needs To Come
Moving forwards, Villa need to make a change in how they play the game. The fear needs to go, and the players need to start making a real effort when it comes to pushing forwards. I understand that there is fear that Villa may concede but, speaking as a fan, it is the only way that McLeish can hope to win the fans over. Consistent fear and defensive football won’t do anything to help the situation.
For me, a defender is needed in January and, whilst looking ahead seems premature, the duo of Collins and Dunne need to be broken up. McLeish, for all his defensive prowess, must be kicking himself when the likes of Warnock, Hutton, and the aformentioned pair can’t even maintain solidity. Couple that with the inability to play through the midfield, and I have to say I am questioning what plan A is, nevermind plan B.
If we don’t change, today’s “effort” is not indicative of the way to go moving forwards. Is it good enough? The succinct answer is no, and McLeish needs to remedy problems before increasingly irate fans start calling vociferously for his head.
The Author
