With Aston Villa making one of their longest trips this weekend to the St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, the club face opposition who could easily be confused for themselves in the earlier part of the season.
Villa’s season didn’t start in the best of manners with defeats to West Ham United and Everton leaving the club with no points after two matches. Southampton, however, have still not managed to get a point on the board yet, though the fixture list may go some way to explaining why – having had Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United as their opposition in three of the four first league matches.
Rival’s zero points doesn’t mean we can afford to be lazy
So, zero points for Nigel Adkins’ men whilst a true number, is probably not a true representation of them being truly awful. Whilst Villa fans may well imagine that the club will get points from a Wigan Athletic match – the Saints’ other fixture so far this season in the league – many fans would be reticent to predict high yields from three teams that are likely to all finish in the top four.
This fact is that there will need to be a strong effort put into place for the game. Managers are known for their almost predictable statements about how every team is a challenge, whether it is Tranmere or Tottenham, Arsenal or Accrington Stanley, because anything less than humility can end up looking silly, and will help journalists far and wide paint an easy-to-write story about how x manager underestimated their rivals.
Getting into Southampton’s team itself, the club will feature young players prominently, just as Paul Lambert’s Villa revolution does, with the south coast club having a massive reputation of using and developing young players. One only need look at Southampton’s past players – Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to name three – to see that the club have a strong reputation for using, developing, and ultimately selling, many youngsters. Nathaniel Clyne and Gaston Ramirez are, in my opinion, two players who will progress with, but ultimately move from, the south coast team.
Adkins’ team will play effectively, and in a similar passing manner as to how Swansea do. To that end, a similar tactic to the one deployed against Swansea – featuring short passing, a narrow midfield, and two up front – would seem the most likely plan to execute. Against teams that don’t want to pass the ball, Southampton will no doubt have a better success rate than their opening games suggest, but if Lambert can continue to utilise Villa’s abilities with regard to simple passing, Southampton should be a challenging, but possible, three points.
Isn’t it great to have good football that works?
It’s positive for us as fans to see that we have a game plan ahead of the match, and one that promises to provide potential points as well as effective football. Sure, passing football can be relatively “boring” in excitement terms, but ball retention and better pass completion ratios are just two advantages of how Villa under Lambert appear to be a different beast to last season under Alex McLeish.
With such a plan, and the optimism that goes with a manager that the fans have faith in, the atmosphere is a world away from having a man in charge who the fans wholly disliked. Whilst such a statement shouldn’t mean that Randy Lerner should cede control to that which the fans’ want – fans aren’t always right – McLeish’s appointment was divisive though, whatever the board’s idea.
So with a plan, a positive manager, and a team that plays hard and presses harder, the game promises much. Will Lambert’s Lions deliver? We’ll find out later today.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Author
