It doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, Darren Bent is gone for the season, so that much is certain. But Villa might be a better team without him, and that’s not as much a paradox as one might think, given the precedent set by his departure from other teams.
However, against Wigan, we got what some have been asking for with Gary Gardner, Marc Albrighton and Barry Bannan featuring.
And we got nowhere really. With Robbie Keane back off to Los Angeles and Darren Bent done for the year, we need to go somewhere the kids can’t take us.
Some will say it was only one game. And that’s true. Some will say they need time. Most likely also true. But those pointing to Aston Villa’s failure to take more than a point from lowly Wigan need to acknowledge who was on the pitch, as surely as we all acknowledge that time and points are becoming precious.
I said a couple weeks ago that McLeish hadn’t necessarily done a whole lot wrong in my estimation, or at least I implied it. Because after all, this is a team that has largely picked itself all year, whatever we like to think. Herd, Clark and Gardner have done well partnering Stiliyan Petrov. The other so-called kids haven’t really impressed, and without Petrov against Wigan, the midfield was hardly the stuff of dynastic foundations. The other choices haven’t really had much to distinguish between them.
But I also said after the Manchester City game that Alex McLeish might be on the verge of making his first truly big, irreparable mistake by alienating what were going to be two of his most important players down the stretch when he decided to punish Ireland and N’Zogbia for minor displays of frustration during and after the Newcastle game.
in trying to instill discipline, McLeish may well have gone too far, and may well be doing the one stupid thing he can’t afford to do. Sitting the pair against City was one thing. Leaving them on the bench against Wigan? That could quite easily be called foolhardy.
Going forward, if Gabby’s hamstring holds up, he has to move up front to take Bent’s place. And with Keane gone, Ireland and N’Zogbia have to be the dynamos and playmakers behind him. There’s just no other way Villa are going to score or pose any threat.
I don’t want to see 4-4-2 with Heskey up front. I can maybe tolerate him on a wing since he’ll offer more size and defensive cover than Albrighton. But that’s it.
So for me, it’s very simple for McLeish. The team is quite literally picking itself from here on out. The only real question mark(s) being whether Lichaj and Herd displace Warnock and Hutton.
I’ve obviously been willing to give McLeish the benefit of the doubt on a number of decisions, and all I needed to see in the Carling Cup final, as well as the few games where Villa had started playing harder, was what hard work can do. But the team have not consistently worked hard for McLeish. They didn’t consistently work hard for Houllier. They didn’t necessarily play much better under O’Neill.
Alex McLeish was supposed to be able to make the team play hard, and make them hard to beat. But so far he hasn’t been able to really solve the riddle with this bunch. It may well not be his fault. He may simply have inherited a frightened group and been unable to instill courage and fight. And perhaps that is something he should’ve been able to do. It’s something we can say, but nothing anyone could really prove.
But now that it’s truly crunch time, McLeish may very well have not only presided over a disappointing season in terms of the way team carries itself on the field…he may have committed the sin of pride.
Villa have no business going down. Getting Stephen Ireland and Charles N’Zogbia back onside is job one for McLeish if he wants to have a shot managing Villa for a second season in the EPL.
What can we do? I echo Matt’s sentiment. We need to get behind the team, and unite in our support of the badge. It’s not about McLeish, or Lerner, or any of that. It’s just about getting whoever is out there in claret and blue to play hard and without fear. Knowing as we do that McLeish isn’t going anywhere, the best thing we can do is forget about him and get behind the team.
The Author
