Another 3 points, and we are suddenly finding ourselves in the top half of the table for what has seemed like far too long. After leaping up from barely above the bottom three to ninth in just over a week, it really goes to show just how competitive the bottom 13 or 14 places have become. In fact, the very way I am having to describe those places as the bottom 13/14 shows just how much difference a day (or in Aston Villa’s case 7 and a bit days) make.
The case in point
History will show two things of today – the first is that Aston Villa took three points, and the second is that our winner came in the realms of stoppage time. Historians glancing through such a time period in future may have the win for us as a lucky one – after all, who wins that late in the game and deserves it. However, looking through the game (and in particular the second half), there really can be no doubt of who was the better team. When a second half display is so comprehensive from one team that the goal attempts read 10-0, then 2-1 perhaps doesn’t illustrate just exactly how the game panned out. On top of this, Darren Bent (soon becoming the best value purchase of recent years, even at a possible £24m) had another outstanding game. It is clear why Fabio Capello said that Darren’s move to Villa was a step up from Sunderland, even though it puzzled some casual observers at the time. Who would in their right mind swap a top half team for one close to the relegation zone after all? Well a few short months later (and with 1 point in 27 for the Mackems), it seems Darren Bent made the right choice for both him and Villa, and one that will pay off in seasons to come. I certainly have seen some amazing performances from him, and he is constantly developing his game to become more than just a goal poacher.
Improving – albeit slowly
Two wins in a row may not seem like much, but after this season it is a welcome statistic to read. Whilst it is only 6 points out of a whole season, the primary focus for Villa now is playing the team that gets put in front of them. We all know the issues associated with the club, and how we perceive they could have been done differently, but at present these issues are not of any relevance in the here and now. All we can do now is to beat whoever we have next to play. We can certainly look at some improved performances from a number of players just at the right moment to pull us away from the danger zone.
I won’t go too boldly and say we are safe, nor will I presume wins over any team that comes up just yet, but 40 points is certainly closer to safety than 37 was. One thing to ponder though is that a strong set of results could push us a lot closer to 6th place this year than relegation. A point to ponder perhaps when it comes to looking back on the competitiveness of the 2010/20111 season.
The question for Aston Villa next year is a long term one – will Aston Villa manage to perform in both halves of a season in the near future?
The Author
