Do you like M&Ms? I love them, especially the orange ones – anyone who says they taste the same is clinically mad in my eyes. However, despite loving their chocolate-y goodness, I figure that I’d better connect them up to something about football, if only for the interests of our readers.
At the moment, the club seems to be going through something of a rut on the football pitch – the goals have simply dried up in the ‘goals for’ column, and that is hardly a positive. Oddly enough, this has coincided with the side beginning to look far more defensively sound, and there has even been some clean sheets on offer – surely there is a relationship between the two?
Perhaps Villa have sacrificed some of their fearless attacking intent with a view to being more conservative thus reducing the goals against? Whatever the reasons for our dismal goalscoring exploits of late, I’m thinking we can fix them with M&Ms. How? Here’s how:
Morale: Are our players lacking in morale? Paul Lambert has referred to “belief” a lot this season.
Man Management: With many Villa players being relatively young, they may require more man management than most other squads in the league, and additional factors such as homesickness may be playing a part. Is Lambert having to deal with issues we don’t know about?
Motivation: Some players were rewarded for their endeavours last season with improved contracts in the summer, so perhaps their hunger for the game has been saturated?
Monotony: Perhaps a settled starting line-up, devoid of constant tinkering might provide the stability the team needs to improve.
Momentum: The season has been somewhat stop/start thus far with international breaks and tough fixtures, and thus two wins (or more) on the bounce may reinvigorate the team.
Maturity: Lambert’s squad has a noticeable lack of leaders on paper, so does the side need an influx of some elder statesmen to provide some experience?
Match-Day: Is Villa Park intimidating enough? The home record has been diabolical for quite some time now. Retired players of opposition teams often state Villa Park was their favourite away ground to play at – hardly a statement that can be taken as a compliment.
Monumental Signings: Many of the club’s recent transfer incomings have failed to capture the imagination of the fan base, so is a monumental signing in order?
Mediocrity: “The quality or state of being mediocre” – has the hierarchy at the club fallen under the veil of mediocrity? Perhaps an aggressive change is needed to mix things up.
Maximisation: Aside from the Manchester City game, Villa have been uncharacteristically wasteful with their goal scoring opportunities – if points are to be secured goal scoring opportunities must be taken.
Medals of Honour: The game essentially is about winning trophies, but that possibility seems to be nothing more than a pipe dream for Villa at the moment. Would the current crop of Villa players thrive if success was more likely? If so, how is that achieved?
Motive: Do the club’s current owners have the club’s best interests at heart? Many feel that Randy Lerner has lost interest in the club – maybe finding another owner would be best?
Medical Room: Has the medical room down at Bodymoor Heath been full of Villa’s best players rather than the football pitch? If so, why?
Money: The club’s well published money problems has resulted in a sudden halt to expensive transfers in recent times. Has the lack of investment resulted in a malfunctioning team on the pitch? If it has, how do we fix it?
Anyway, the above are my thoughts on some of the reasons for what Villa might be misfiring at present, but what do you think? Do Villa need more of one or more of the above? Do you feel change is necessary? Or, most sadly, do you think all M&Ms taste the same? The chocolate ones, obviously, I’m not asking readers to eat the medical room.
Disclaimer: Despite M&Ms being delicious, for full disclosure, Aston Villa Life would like to state that they [Mars Foods] have not sponsored this article – it appears Liam just loves them. A lot. [Matt]
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