It’s gone rather quiet on the transfer front, and, given how efficient Villa have been in their dealings under Lambert so far, I take this to mean a signing or two is imminent. Never mind the season kick-off rapidly approaching.
Moreover, I think we still need to do some business, and I would think Paul Lambert believes this, too. The need for another striker seems self-evident. People will say, “Who do you think it should be?” To which I will say, whoever Lambert fancies.
It is a bit of evasion on my part, but I think you’ll have to excuse me for this. I don’t know that any of our signings so far have been expected until we started to get the sense that deals were actually in the works. When it comes to the tougher, high-value signings like a striker, it obviously gets more difficult.
What would I like? We need something different. We need a player with a will to win, the sort who takes it upon himself to make something happen, and lives for having a go, believes he’ll bury it. In the NFL, there was an arrogant wide receiver named Keyshawn Johnson. The title of his memoir/autobiography?
“Just Give Me The Damn Ball.” Says it all.
When Robbie Keane was with Villa, a couple or three things were evident. He wanted the ball, and he found good spaces. Most important, he knew what he wanted to do when he got it, and he went for it. It came off enough to make a difference.
It wasn’t a long spell, and he’s certainly on the downside of his career. He had something to prove, though, and he showed that scoring goals and being in the right place, having a decent football brain as we like to say, is often about intangibles.
Yes, there are exceptional players like Christiano Ronaldo, superb athletes with skill and confidence (and, arrogance, of course) in abundance. There are players like Wayne Rooney, less gifted and skilled, but possessed of the same will to win and enough talent to put himself above most of the rest when it comes to results.
But for the rest of the pack, it’s not about being the fastest or the silkiest. It’s about wanting and knowing how to make something happen.
Now, what I’d really like is a player like Adebayor or Drogba. Someone strong, fast, lethal. A change-up from all the others we have, someone who can poach or bring it in himself. Someone who can connect at the end of long flowing moves. It sounds obvious, but I think you know what I’m getting at. It’s a type of player. That’s what I’d be scouring the planet for. We’ve seen they’re virtually worth their weight in gold.
The tough bit about that is that’s what we hoped Gabby would turn out to be. But he hasn’t. When he has time to think, he gets it wrong. When a subtle touch is required, it’s most often not happening. And it’s a shame because we’ve all wanted him, more than anyone at the club, probably, to claim the mantle.
But if our scouts, or Lambert’s team, haven’t found an available and affordable player in that mold, then I want someone in Rooney’s. A grafter who’ll play deep, and start a 70-yard move he finishes.
The player closest to this that we’ve had in recent times has been Ashley Young. He got back and got forward. Although I think he plateaued at Villa and didn’t reach his potential, he did want the ball and tried to make things happen, sometimes to a fault.
But the basic idea holds. He wanted the ball, he tried to make things happen. Perhaps Lambert is unable to spend enough, or thinks what we’ve got is good enough. Despite the Forest result, he’s still on his honeymoon with Villa supporters, and we’ll all give him the benefit of the doubt.
I know many like the idea of Daniel Sturridge, and he certainly seems to fit a certain kind of mold I’ve described. I wouldn’t mind seeing him holding a Villa shirt up in a photograph, but it seems unlikely to me at the moment. I’ve seen Doyle and “Silva-like” mentioned. Fletcher, too.
And, besides a striker, what else should Lambert bring in before the season opens? A left-back to force Warnock out? Or is that Enda Stevens—has he done enough? Do we need another CB?
Over to you.
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