At the time of writing, Christmas has been and gone, the tree already looks outdated, the fire is fading, and the Celebrations consist of just miniature Bounty bars. Boxing Day is ordinarily a fine day, one filled with relaxation, leftovers that often taste better than they did when freshly prepared and most importantly, the Premier League is on.
This fact should suffice to make it an enjoyable day. But I am not happy, for Villa have played this evening.
Though local councils nationwide will disagree given their insistence on putting up Christmas decorations at the beginning of October, the festive period began last week as far as I’m concerned, and therefore, it has been a disaster for Aston Villa. This jolly time of the year has seen us ship twelve goals in two games, and with none scored, there is reason to be concerned.
Sunday’s game at Stamford Bridge was terrible, with our side entirely out-classed. The concession of eight goals in one match is a Premier League record for the club, and one that would happily be forgotten just as quickly as it came about. Being the eternal optimist – or fool, perhaps – that I am, I rallied some hope for today’s clash with Spurs. Maybe it was the festive spirit, or the over-indulgence in brandy butter, but home advantage seemed to be important and on top of that, the Chelsea result needed rectifying.
The response was dreadful. A lack of belief rather than a hunger to improve appeared to be rife among the players in claret and blue, which was almost as disappointing as the realisation of the lack of quality in the squad. It is all too evident, as has been discussed on a countless occasions, that Paul Lambert has inherited a weak bunch of players and that his job of instilling confidence is in fact academic when the real issue is a lack of ability in the ranks.
One player that personified the problems that cloud the youthful vigour of the Villans is Fabian Delph. For me, Delph has been on the road to ‘coming of age’ for many years and for too long. Today’s performance against Spurs was one of desperate effort, which cannot be faulted, but the fruitless nature of his often rash, uncontrolled endeavours leaves me with nothing but frustration, as is the feeling I get with most of the current crop of players we have at Villa Park. Give them time, they are young, some will say, but we should not be in a situation where entertaining Spurs is considered an inevitable loss, and a heavy one too, no matter what the average age of those fielded.
The performances against Chelsea and Tottenham were immature, ill-disciplined and most alarmingly, inherently lacking in quality. These last two games have seen the deconstruction of this young Villa side and it points to a number of fundamental questions surrounding a club that should be far greater than the Premier League punching bag.
As Manchester United won yet again with a late winner, you begin to ask how they do it every single time. The answer is not quite as supernatural as you might expect. The simple truth is that there is an aura surrounding the club, and a belief that they have the capacity to beat anyone and everyone, at any point of any game. And they do. This has been developed over years and years, primarily due to the manager, whose tenure has defined not only the club, but the league in which they compete. Aston Villa, a club of such history and such a grand fanbase, should have a similar creed and indeed a squad capable of fighting harder than they currently are.
This suggests that there is something out of line from top to bottom, on and off the pitch. In the modern game, money is undoubtedly required to truly compete and while Martin O’Neill was given considerable funding during his reign, my belief is that Randy Lerner must offer Paul Lambert the same if we are to improve and avoid relegation. Even more considerably, Lambert must be given time because that is what it will take for the club to once again reach the position it ought to be. If the chairman is not fully committed, including and especially in financial terms, then perhaps it is time for the club to change hands, for there is no time and no reason for us to persistently toil at the lower end of the Premier League table. Before long, we will find ourselves no longer a part of the top flight.
Paul Lambert has a plan, which is what is required, but it is impossible to implement with a lack of footballing technique among the squad. The head coach’s experimental attitude is important and sometimes delivers significantly, as we saw at Anfield, but just as United have managed to do over the years, Villa must find a system that works frequently before it is too late. There is no question that Lambert must remain, for he cannot be to blame for the incapable squad that he took over. What is vital is his continual work to improve and maintain a strong, hard-working mentality among those players at the club until such a time that he is given the chance to purchase talent capable of boosting us to a position more in accordance with the size of the club. The likes of Stephen Ireland, who seems to falter with regard to effort and attitude, is the sort of player who will not guide us forward. We must sign players who believe in the ambitions of the manager and of the club, and who are not simply content with collecting their lucrative wage packets every week. Perhaps that is asking too much in a sport like this.
There are no rights in football, and we do not automatically deserve success. However, for us to stay in such a troubling state does not seem right. Aston Villa Football Club should not be in such dire straits and those in a position to make changes must step up, or step down, and do so.
Berating the young players who comprise the core of our squad is not something I like to do, but plain speaking, and straightforward action to remedy the problems must be done if we are to climb back towards any form of success.
This is a passionate time of the year, and what is most difficult to swallow is the idea that there is currently a lack of fire at the club. The new year is a time for fresh starts, and so the recent performances must be learned from and quickly brushed aside as we seek the freshest, most mature of starts to the second half of the season, in spite of this lack of experience that riddles the team from back to front.
We start with Wigan. We must win.
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