Well, what a turnaround Sunday’s performance was in comparison to the first two league outings. At times during Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Newcastle we looked unplayable, and I hope I’m not going overboard by saying this but the opening 15 minutes or so of the second half was the best I’ve seen Villa play in a long while. The passing and moving was immense and the effort and work rate the players put in all the way through to the final whistle warranted more than just the point we ended up taking away with us.
In my article on Saturday I questioned the gamble that in my view Paul Lambert has taken with some of the signings this summer, and although that still remains a doubt for me I cannot praise him enough for the way he’s encouraging—what is an average Villa XI on paper—to actually play football the way it is supposed to be played. Maybe he is just one of those rare managers that don’t often come around, one who can squeeze the very best out of the players he has to hand. The style of play that he’s insisting we play is and will (hopefully) continue to be a pleasure to watch throughout the season.
I don’t wish to get carried away, though, because although we now have something on the board we have two big games after the international break as we host Swansea City before traveling to Southampton—and without being disrespectful to those teams, if we’re serious about staying up and finishing in a respectable league position then we have to be looking to take a minimum of four points. In fact, I think it’s imperative we try and notch up as many points as we can between now and those wretched trio of matches that we face in November against the two Manchester clubs followed by Arsenal.
There’s a couple of pointers that I did want to bring up with regards to the Newcastle match and the possible selection for our next game. First up is Brett Holman. I have to say that he looked much better than he did against West Ham on the opening day, he ran his socks off until he started to tire late on (he was due to be replaced by N’Zogbia before El Ahmadi picked up a knock). Without meaning to sound harsh I still feel that he lacked that bit of quality. Given time I’m sure it’ll come.
The big question now is: What side do you start with against Swansea? Goalkeeper-wise, Brad Guzan will be sure to remain between the sticks, likewise the back four will stay as it is. Then it’s a case of whether you go five across the middle with a lone man up top, or do you stick with the same 4-4-2 with Bent and Weimann in attack, or does Benteke get the nod from the off?
For me, I’d feel obliged to stick with the same starting XI (barring any injuries). Gabby looked sharp when he came off the bench on Sunday and will inject some life in the team if and when required, and obviously Benteke can replace one of the forwards. It wouldn’t surprise me if later on down the line Paul Lambert opts to drop Darren Bent—that may just be the kick up the backside he needs. Basically saying to him that “you ain’t guaranteed a starting berth in my team.”
A couple of weeks ago I leapt to the defence of Bent, but last weekend he just wasn’t firing on all cylinders. He had chances that prior to his injury last season he’d have put away without hesitation. He wasn’t quick getting his shots away, he just seemed to lack that predatory instinct that he has always been associated with.
All in all, there were many positive signs from what we saw up at Newcastle; we now just need to be more clinical in front of goal. I’m sure Lambert will be working on that on the training ground and against Swansea the Villa troops shall be ready to peak.
Until next week. Up the Villa.
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