Due to technical server stuff (ask Matt, this is way over my head), earlier on in the week my Wednesday article had to be pushed back until today. So here I am, and unfortunately for you guys I’m gonna be on a bit of a weekend rant.
Baring in mind that this article had to be submitted several hours before the end of transfer deadline day, at the time of writing it had all been rather quiet on the Villa front. We had a £7 million bid accepted by Fulham for Clint Dempsey, who then, as expected, dug his heels in and threw toys out his pram and demanded Liverpool. It’s scary that only three years ago the American would likely have been happy to accept a move to Villa as a kind of booby prize. Or has it really got to the stage where Fulham are now considered a better destination than what we can offer? Please tell me that this isn’t true.
The positive vibes that were ringing around B6 when Paul Lambert took over the reigns at the start of June have been quickly dwindling, and instead, alarm bells seem to have started going off inside the heads of some supporters after a disappointing start to the season.
…STOP PANICKING!…
We’ve played just 180 minutes of Premier League football, and with Lambert still trying to rubber-stamp his philosophy on how he wants this group of players to play football, then of course it’s going to take a little bit of time until things start to click. Last weekend against Everton we were simply outplayed, and judging by the way they saw off Manchester United the Monday before it looks as if they could be a force during this campaign.
Because I’m of the belief that we shouldn’t really start to look at the league table until mid-November, when a dozen games are up, my concern isn’t so much for what is going on on the pitch but more off it.
This summer the papers led us to believe that Lambert would be given a £20 million “war chest” to go out and spend, which, as I’ve mentioned before, doesn’t stretch all that far in today’s market. At the time of writing we’d spent approximately £11.5 million on six players (that includes Brett Holman, who signed on a pre-contract agreement in January). If we take a closer look at the calibre of half of those signatures—Matthew Lowton (£3m, Sheffield United), Joe Bennett (£2.5m, Middlesbrough), and Jordan Bowery (£500,000, Chesterfield)—none of them get the pulse racing. In the back of your mind it does make you wonder whether these players are to add strength and depth, or whether they are here just in case, God forbid, Villa end up going down.
On the positive side of this week, we comfortably saw off League One Tranmere Rovers in the second round of the Capital One cup before getting hit with a daunting trip to the Etihad in the draw for the last 32. I’d imagine, particularly after the tough Champions League group that they were drawn in, that City will field a second-string side that will still boast the likes of ex-Villans Gareth Barry and James Milner.
I’m hopeful that we can use Tuesday night as a springboard into our season. Three goals—which could and should have been more, including one from Darren Bent—and a clean sheet can only give the lads a lift going into the match with Newcastle United tomorrow.
Newcastle will be looking to get at Villa with a strong quartet of attacking players in Ba, Cisse, Ben Arfa, and Gutierrez. If we can neutralise this threat and create a couple of openings then you just never know. Dare I say it, but defensively they aren’t all that, and Coloccini can look particularly vulnerable at times. I’d happily take a point, but if we can muster up all three from somewhere then I’d be absolutely ecstatic.
Until Wednesday that’s about all from me. I’m hoping that between the time of writing yesterday afternoon to now we were able to bring in one or two more faces and that’s what all the chat is about in the comments section below. Fingers crossed!
Up the Villa.
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