Unfortunately the feel-good factor that has surrounded the club since the appointment of Paul Lambert did not translate into a result against West Ham. The paucity of scoring chances in preseason reared its ugly head in the club’s first test against Premier League opposition.
Looking at the squad, the strength of the team should be its attacking players. Charles N’Zogbia admitted himself that he has to do a better job in creating chances. When he was acquired from Wigan we were told he was one of the best dribblers of the ball in Europe. We haven’t seen him run at or evade defenders nearly enough. There really isn’t anyone else on the club equipped to do so. If he can get back to that it will only open things up for the rest of the team.
Steven Ireland looked very good early on as Villa controlled the opening 30 minutes of the game. As the game went on he disappeared. For all his talents I’m afraid he will never be a player who responds to adversity. More tangibly, I’m not sure he is an ideal player to play in the hole behind Darren Bent. For Ireland to make his dangerous runs into the box, he needs somebody he can combine with and get him the ball. Bent isn’t going to hold the ball for him, and with the team playing so narrowly he can’t latch onto crosses.
Karim El-Ahmadi was impressive, but I still can’t figure out what Fabian Delph brings to the table. With the players we have available, I’d prefer Barry Bannan to start in a five-man midfield. The narrowness negates his lack of pace. While El-Ahmadi will control the game and make the short to medium-length passes that keep possession and rotate play, Bannan can make the longer passes, provided of course he has matured to the point he is not needlessly giving the ball away. Even playing possession football, it’s still nice to have that club in the bag.
It is still early and the club do have a couple players injured. Lambert will mix and match depending on any number of factors. Since the Ron Vlaar signing the rumor mill has quieted down. One would suspect the manager has targets in mind and will look to further strengthen. If the past few years are any indication it will be a hectic deadline day. It would be nice if Villa could surprise us with some exciting, surprising signings. Perhaps more importantly, Alan Hutton won’t be around to celebrate his one-year anniversary with the club.
Last Friday, on my website 98 on the Black I debuted a new weekly feature column Futbol Friday. Last week I made some quick predictions for the upcoming season. I had Villa finishing ninth. Yes Steamer, I fully admit I am delusional and deranged.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Author
