Well, it’s officially our worst ever start to a Premier League season.
A few people warned of bumpy starts and posed a few questions at the start of the season of “What if”.
Is it panic time at Villa Park though? No. Not by a long stretch.
Why? Because the silver lining is very apparent. We’re not sat watching a team desperately trying to defend above all else, we are creating chances, we are having a go, and, if I’m honest, have been more than a little unlucky in the League.
I still have a strong belief that Villa will be more than comfortably away from the relegation zone come May.
I really do feel that the whole squad is coming together. I really do feel there is a unity to them now. I also feel that confidence across the whole team is very low. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but in general players are “playing it safe”. The onus of creativity is falling on just a few shoulders and is being even more dramatically exposed with Ireland being out of the side. Long shots seem to be taken out of desperation, not out of real threat of goals. There seems to be an air of inevitability with the players expecting at some point for something bad to happen—we have had no luck at all.
The only thing that will chance this is confidence, the confidence gained by a run of results and good performances.
I keep looking for an “easier run of games” and can’t find one. We have one of those seasons where a “big game” is around the corner every other week. Indeed, the next three games are the easiest for a while and we will meet Fulham, Norwich and Swindon. For me, three vital games, all about performance and result.
November sees us take on The Manchester clubs back to back, followed by Arsenal, and December isn’t much better. But I hope by then the team is playing with self belief, a knowledge that they can compete, and a real inner confidence about themselves and the team.
So it brings me to the the title? Darren Bent: Should he start or not? Goal scorer yes, but I struggle to see what else he brings. Or is just being a goal scorer enough?
Lambert won’t be happy seeing Bent hand on hips, and seems to be favouring Benteke and Gabby for their physical attributes over Bent and his instinctive goal scoring.
So what has Bent got to do? He’s got to simply up his work rate and his ability to be involved in play. I’m not asking him to work over fullbacks (clearly we want him operating in the box), but he has to put his body on the line for the team, rough up defenders, close them down quicker, and distribute the ball far better when we get it. All too often it’s lost and simply rolled straight back 15 yards, no creativity, no inspiration. But are we being unfair? Well, just maybe we are…
Gabby has his own problems when it comes to distribution. He can hold the ball up better but struggles distributing it. Gabby also trumps Bent for work rate, but who would you rather have in front of goal with the ball?
Benteke has to be given time to settle, but he has also shown us he is a very raw talent that needs nurturing. His work rate is decent, if not a little misplaced. He is only beginning to realise that he can use his physique far more and bully players in the Premier League. His finishing hasn’t been up to scratch and that is the one area where I expected him not to fail. Benteke, though, offers an threat in the air and a target which is vital to the way Lambert wants to play the game.
So what is the solution? Gabby is no winger and even if we played three up top these three would not suit each other. Pick on form? Pick on opposition? Pick on reputation?
It’s a difficult one, and unless Villa are winning it’s always going to be a controversial decision. There is no doubt we need to be more clinical in front of goal, but also need work rate outside the box. For me the best possible solution would be to give Benteke a go with Weimann.
Weimann I think outperformed Bent at the start of the season, and was unfortunate to be dropped for Benteke. He now seems to have dropped well down because Gabby is back. I think he offers a clinical poacher in the box, with the clever movement, work rat,e and very decent interplay outside the box. I think it may be time to trust the boy.
The other alarming gap in our team is muscle in the middle. Now rumours are rife we are interested in bringing a Villa old boy back if we can agree on a wage. Gary Gardner (and some will mock this due to Gard’s relative impact last season) is a big miss; he would have been in ahead of Bennan and Delph and given us the defensive ability, physical attributes, and creative danger going forward in one package and not the compromise we’re seeing now.
So what would you do with our strikers? And would you take Reo-Coker back on a three-year deal, £30k a week? Reo brings an edge, a will to win, and fight—something we lack. But he also brings his rush of blood to the head and his aimless runs forward. Could Lambert cut this out of his game? If he could, what a player he could be for us.
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