I’d say that turned the misery up a notch. After these last two matches I think I might lay low as I might be wanted for murder.
I honestly don’t know where to begin. The club had seemingly taken several steps forward, only then to be pushed down the side of a mountain. To say it hasn’t been good enough would be simplistic, but after a cumulative 12-0 embarrassment the KISS philosophy is in order.
Matt made an excellent point, one I was planning on making, that the club doesn’t lack experience. The problem is the experienced players are hurt, suck, or both. By all accounts money will be available in January. Whoever is brought in needs to be able to hit the ground running.
The club was likely going to look for a long-term replacement for Richard Dunne. With Ron Vlaar and Nathan Baker injured that needs to be the first priority. If that player can play a decent right back, even better. Matthew Lowton has been the only player to start every league match. Like the rest of the defense he was poor against Chelsea. Asking a Premier League rookie to play that much is asking a lot, unfortunately the club can’t afford to give him the rest he might need.
Another newcomer in Christian Benteke has also been asked to shoulder a heavy load. I can’t remember the last goal this team scored from open play that he didn’t finish or set up. The team has become too dependent on him to create and to just get out of their own end. If opponents didn’t already know he was the key to the team, they certainly did after the Liverpool game. Villa need to find a Plan B as an outlet and quickly.
This is the deepest Villa team in recent memory. The problem with depth is that as soon as you use it you don’t have it anymore. Fans would’ve been apoplectic if Alex McLeish had picked the lineup that Lambert did against Spurs. He didn’t exactly have a lot of other options. Would starting Barry Bannan instead of Karim El Ahmadi made a world of difference? To his credit at least he changed things up at halftime. The team looked better before Defoe had his opener.
Like has happened all year, once this team falls behind they can’t cope. Eighteen matches into the season, Villa has picked up exactly one point from a losing position in the league (West Brom). Whether that’s down to the kids in claret getting discouraged or a team that has struggled to score and create chances not being able to come back is a matter of opinion. What is indisputable is that this can’t continue as the season rolls on.
The team is still headed in the right direction. With some signings in January and the legion of injured players coming back, results should improve. That doesn’t make the past two matches any more acceptable or less depressing. If the U-23 side lost like that it wouldn’t be acceptable. I’m sure we’ll get it right. Lets all just hope it’s sooner rather than later.
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