Sitting five points above the drop I, like most fans, am concerned. The club should still be ok – all they have to do is win their game in hand at home against Bolton Wanderers and then the gap is eight points. With seven games to play, apart from Bolton, and three clubs needing to pass Aston Villa, even a home draw and a six point gap should be enough.
Last week against Chelsea was what we have been asking for all season. Not a 4-2 loss per se, but the effort and fight that has been missing all too often was present in the baby Villans who took to the pitch.
Their pressing might have reminded some of a game of FIFA where you miss a tackle, hit the square button, attempt another tackle, and hit square again. However, I for one would prefer that to standing off the opponents, and gifting them space, as we have many times this season, often letting them take up residence in our half. It is an open question if the manager understands this and, if he does, why we seem to fail to do it with any regularity.
The play of Eric Lichaj was another positive. This was easily the best performance by a Villa fullback all season as, in one match, he almost equalled the number of assists provided by the club’s first choice fullbacks.
With Alan Hutton nearing full fitness, it would be criminal for Lichaj to return to the bench. Hutton had started to play better before his latest injury. Given that Hutton is in the first year of a long-term contract, while Stephen Warnock is heading into the last year of his, and thus is a prime candidate to move on this summer, I’d like to see Hutton as the right-back and Lichaj at left-back. Lichaj’s long throws are also a weapon for a team that has struggled to score goals this season. If it works for Rory Delap, then it can work for Villa I am sure.
With the players currently available, the club should also continue to employ two strikers. Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann had their moments working together and, in a game where the opponents won’t boss the midfield like Chelsea did for long stretches, the pair would be given more service and time on the ball.
In general, I think Gabby does work better with a strike partner if he is playing as a striker too. It also enables him to drift wide and use his pace, one of the most potent weapons in his arsenal of talents. If the Bas Dost rumors are to be believed, the young Dutchman could be an ideal partner.
From what little I have seen and read, Dost does look like a more athletic John Carew. However, this is all conjecture at this point, and the only way the club would spend significant funds on a striker is if Darren Bent moves on.
Getting back to Gabby, let’s hope that his appointment as permanent captain means that he is going nowhere. He has never expressed any desire to leave whatsoever, and the rumored £7m bid by Martin O’Neil was always laughably low, especially given the player’s age and length left on his contract.
As far as having a striker as captain many people think that the captain should be a defender or holding midfielder in the mold of Tony Adams or Roy Keane, barking instructions to his teammates. For me having a such a vocal leader on the pitch is nice to have, but is largely overrated.
If a team of professional footballers who have been training their entire lives are dependent on having a captain tell them what to do on the pitch, then that team has problems deeper than any one man can solve with a few shouted instructions.
For me, a captain should be the hardest working man on the team, day in and day out whether it be in training or on matchday. Beyond that, if your captain is a long time servant of the club, whose passion is evident, then the impact on his teammates will be all the better.
Gabby fits this description, and therefore there isn’t another man I want leading our team out at Anfield.
As for the match itself, if the team plays the way they did against Chelsea, they have a decent chance to get something from the game.
My XI for the game would be – Given; Lichaj, Collins, Cuellar, Hutton; N’Zogbia, Ireland, Bannan, Albrighton; Agbonlahor, Wiemann. With Doni making his first start of the season for Liverpool, the team should challenge him with long throws, crosses, and shots from distance. Will that happen though? We’ll find our soon enough.
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