Three points – I’ll gladly take that.

Given it is the first day of the season, there’s always that tendency to get swung by whether we win, lose or draw. As we’ve won, I’m sure there will be people on social media ignoring the past few years of Aston Villa’s history, as though we’re operating from a clean slate.

The truth of the matter is we aren’t, but we also shouldn’t get stuck in ways of saying things are relentlessly bleak. We won, and we deserved to in my opinion, as whilst the game was less than stellar as an example of attractive football, it was functional and, if I’m honest, I’ll take functional every day of the week.

That every one of our new signings played well was also a great sign. Phillippe Senderos managed to defend amicably, shutting out an opportunity at the end of the game that kept us with three points rather than settling for a draw. Aly Cissokho looked remarkably how a left back should look, a deviation from some of the previous people we’ve seen operating in that role. Kieran Richardson also looked athletic and purposeful – a basic set of traits that any Villa player is going to need to survive at this level.

Obviously this is a one off, and I won’t exactly be heaping masses of praise on the club for one win. That said, I’ll gladly raise a glass to three points, especially when the Britannia is far from the easiest place to go and win – last season Stoke lost only three times at home, so a win is a good thing for us, a club who are still considered candidates for the drop.

Is all suddenly good? Of course not, but there needs to be some level of balance maintained. The suggestion that Paul Lambert is a wholly out-of-his-depth manager is, in my view at least, an exaggeration. No, the past few years haven’t been great but, as ever, there have been a myriad of reasons for our ongoing problems, many of them financial.

So, as we kick off with three points, there’s hope. Whilst the likes of Alan Hutton and Charlie N’Zogbia may still be seen as poor value in comparative wage terms compared to others who were purchased more recently, the fact is that you have to have a balance, and if that means understanding finances isn’t just about cutting costs, then that’s a good thing.

In reality, Villa still have a long way to go. Lambert, in my eyes, deserves a chance to have a proper crack at the job, not one that involves having his hand tied behind his back and having to make do – even the best managers are hamstrung by factors out of their control.

Or, if you’d prefer, we could go and get Tony Pulis?

Comments 78

  1. Just got back in

    We actually won a game of football ? I still can’t get that through my head

    Positives- Back four looked solid, could be a good unit for us.
    and Roy Keane. Still not sure if I liked the trio of Westy Delph and richardson, I think I will edge towards liking it. I was in good view of the touch and keane was up a lot giving advice, as well as screaming and shouting. Will be manager soon hopefully

    Negatives- Same style really. Very defensive, a lot of long aimless balls forward. couldn’t keep the ball for long. front 3 in Gabby Wiemann and Zoggy were dreadful although one did score.

    Sendeross looked good for most part. Clark and Baker have no future.

    still obvious we need Benteke back and another quality creative player this month. sell Gabby, bennett, Herd, KEA etc

    really buzzing for the away fans. Was pretty obvious I was a Villa fan as I was the only person stood up when we scored and couldn’t help but punch the air

    well done boys. A deserved win but a lot to improve on

  2. Does Tony Pulis have and toys left in his pram? No thanks. There has to be some connection between manager and owner and both need to play from the same page regardless of that page. Lambert and Lerner have.
    Weimann for all the negatives heaped on him surely has the knack of being the one to score the most important goal of a season (twice: 10-11 and 13-14) and of a game-today. Gabby needs to move to another team for his own good.
    Let’s see how things turn out once Benteke, Kozak, Okore, Cole, are fit. Vlaar will stay.

  3. I thought Andi’s first touch today was terrible, but fair play for rectifying the issue and getting the goal – persistence is a great trait to define Villa going forward, and the game had a lot of examples of that.

  4. Matt- he’s wasted on the wing. He’s dire there.

    I really hope we sell Gabby this month and a few more crap players we have.

    Think Keane will be a big hit from I’ve seen from him today

    People think a new owner will be in September/ October time

    Splash he cash in Jan and a new manger hopefully and a CEO who knows football

  5. Superb 3 points. Would of been very happy with a point so buzzing with 3 points…..we are staying up we are staying up. Fight fight whereever you may be…..

    Expectation is rightly zero after 4 years of dross so im taking anything i can get

  6. Matt- New system if we have to. Benteke is obviously our number one player. Build around him with Zoggy and Grealish. Sell/ bench gabby and Wiemann if we have to

    Another positive today was Richardson was in CM and not on the wing. Him Delph and Sanchez could be a good trio away from home. All have decent pace for CM players and cover ground well

    Just saw at the end when the whistle went and Vlaar and Senderdross embrace each other. Nice to see. Hopefully can build a good partnership with Okore pushing them as well

    Credit to Hutton also. Very solid performance. We won’t be such a push over is time around I don’t think, Sissy is a powerful player also

  7. I suspect a new manager will accompany a new owner. Right now I am firmly behind sticking with lambert. Sure thee have been issues and mistakes, bit the upheaval of a new manager is the last thing we need right now. Stability is the watchword.

    3 points is nice, and the more I think about it, the more I think Lambert has a squad more capable of alternating the way we play. Also we have actual options. I’d spend hours working out the best use of Delph, Sanchez, Westwood, Richardson, al hamadi, grealish, Bacuna.

    I think the signings of cole and senderos distracted me Into thinking we were signing quality players from 6 years ago.

  8. Hello all
    Have to admit, after a busy day, I lay down to read the news at 10pm, and woke up at 4:30am having missed Villa’s first match of the season.
    It was nice to see that they won 0-1. Can they do it again next week? Yes.

    While in Aussie/NZ, a bit of stick was thrown my way. I wore a Villa jacket during the trip. The logo was referred to as being associated with KFC etc, but that’s all good cause those people just wanted to talk about footy. There was an elderly Londoner that is a decades long Arsenal season ticket holder, who was particularly interesting to chat with, who asked, Who is Villa? He knows, of course, what he was really implying was how much Villa have dropped off the pace in recent times-no ambition. We might see a bit more ambition this year with Roy Keane around.

    Three cheers for Villa’s first win of the new campaign.

  9. What a day! Haven’t seen anything of the Villa game yet because I was playing cricket. Can’t wait for match of the day.

    Villa win away, Man Ure lose at home, my cricket team absolutely destroy Ross on Wye and England are spanking India.

    The only sour note is a win for Small Heath

  10. SuperBox- take KEA out of that list and put GG in. Hope the kid gets a chance this season. Kea is not needed. Sell. Add someone like Gnabry or Chadli and we have good midfield options building for once. Hopefully can have a steady and consistent back four this season with Okore and Lowton as back up. Get Benteke and Kosak back and give em service and come Ian we might be alright. New owner, new manger in the summer if not before and you never know

  11. The sad thing frem is with ffp, new owner manager or not, 7th place is best we can do. The mini league we are in we could maybe get 10th with our current set up! I dont care who our manager or owners is as long as we stop nearly getting releagted. Mid table safety aint too much to ask!!

  12. Andrew- a good amount of money and a good manager and top 7 should be a possibility. Plenty of money still bring spent

    Helenius already had two goals and an assist. Gabby scored 4 all last season and missed a tap in today. Sell him and get Nicolas back

  13. Re helenius

    I have no idea how bad or good he is, never seen him play. Not worried about strikers with tekers and kozac back.

    A wideman creative spark needed.

    Remember last season stoke played us off the park at vp

  14. Lambert said we want another one or two. Hope it’s two, and two wingers at that. Still not convinced on Zoggy, very greedy and lacks pace these days. He’s not an out and our winger. We don’t have one was it’s vital we get at least one it

    Think Bent might be moved on. He won’t get many chances with Kosak Benteke and Lamberts love boys Gabby and Wiemann

  15. Think Lowton could go as well. Some players won’t be getting many chances this season like Herd, bent, kea, baker, clArk, Bennett. Might as well sell

  16. roger πŸ™‚ love you mate. don’t know what your saying but….

    matt

    hope you and the mrs are well

    Today I think we turned a corner, we won’t be spectacular and we won’t win the prem, FA or League cup . but our days of being someone’s bitch are over. add sanchez and some guile, plus tekkers we will be ok+

    I still think Helenius is a cracking player

  17. I’ve always liked Hutton – decent footballer. Word has it that Sanchez is a RK purchase. What does that tell u about him rating this player that will play his holding role.

  18. angel 8
    not much as about Β£80 mil of his signings at Sunderland were poo. I wish people would get off this Lambert is a clueless idiot thing, granted he isn’t pep guidiola but he’s not forest gump either

  19. Mark K, too funny, I like it. PL got Norwich up 3 levels and he’s no dummy. I’m thinking, may you need a combination in mgmt to be successful. Pl and RK may not be good enough on their own, but together? May be clutching at straws, but we’ll see.

  20. And don’t get me wrong on RK. I despise him for what he did to Ireland in Japan. Selfish pr$&k. That was then though, and if he can help Villa I’ll be his biggest fan. Forgive and forget, the hardest thing to do in life

  21. This was a real performance that Villa put in – defensively. Up front it was mostly disarray.

    But, hey, it was the sort of effort-based start to the season that was needed, and Villa gave Stoke little opportunity. With Sanchez in the team as well, it should really look solid in the defence and middle of the park.

    Creativity? That must be phase 2.

    One caution. We won at the Gunners first match last season, and then look what happened! But somehow I think it’s going to be different this time around.

  22. Mark King, thanks for the ratings.

    Frem,

    “Clark and Baker have no future.”

    Did you say this because you don’t think they can get into the team on merit, or because Lambert doesn’t favour them?

    Watching on a stream, I thought N’Zogbia showed energy and purpose. You disagree?

  23. Churchill- I don’t think they can get into the team over merit. Vlaar and Dross are in a different class to them ( not hard to be ) and Okore will be given a god if he stays fit. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see one leave this summer

    I don’t know about Zoggy. He looked dangerous on a couple of occasions and did well for our goal with that clever turn. He might be better when he’s had a few games under his belt, we defo need him in our squad, he has talent, just weather we can get it on a consistent basis. Is he they type of player than can get many assists ?

    Mersin yesterday said a takeover will be done in October. Don’t know if he knows something but people now. Seem sure we will have new owners in the next few months. Before Jan anyway and then we can go and splash the cash πŸ˜‰

    Very pleased about yesterday. Go beat Newcastle And Hull now, keep 2 more clean sheets and attack better and fair play. We need the points because September run in is horrible

  24. Frem

    Get 9 points out of 9…..your setting yourself up for a fall. A team as bad as us you say with a bad manager you say dont get 9 points out of 9.

    Looks like grealish is going to get plenty of time to prove himself, great news.

    Home form is a must now. We simple have to start making vp a fortress.

  25. Thanks Mark – things are much the same away from the site, busy and waiting for Amy to get appointments as they come through.

    Villa wise, we’ve got three points – more than acceptable for me.

  26. Churchill,

    I think Mark was wearing claret-and-blue glasses a wee bit in his marks. πŸ˜‰

    I’d agree on a couple, though – Guzan and Richardson.

    Guzan: 5; N’Zogbia 5; Gabby 5: Richardson 8, 7.5 to the c-bs and the rest 7-ish.

  27. anyone else think our forwards were too rigid in their formation? especially first half. Nzogbia stuck to the right wing and I’m afraid he is so one footed its painful. when he got onto the left he was much better and needs to drift more in games to get the best out of him. to be honest wasn’t sure where weimann was actually playing? he also needs more movement across the pitch as he can crowd nzogbia out with his runs instead of taking defenders away, its a common problem with the timing of runs at villa. gabby as the solo striker again not enough intelligent movement to give others openings. Benteke at his most mobile did this naturally and could hold the ball up, he created plenty in his first season by drifting left and dragging the defence with him maybe thats the missing key? as long as we don’t go back to the route one crap withe the big man there.

    one plus was the fullbacks and richardson got down the wings well and put in some good balls which a bent or benteke would of made more of you would hope

    on yesterdays showing we should do ok against the lower half which lets face it we need to, there’s more of them so more points, the top six is another matter and I think any team in the league would struggle with our upcoming fixtures. but saying that manure and arsenal failed to really impress me yesterday against so called relegation candidates which does give us some hope

  28. Splash the cash, splash the cash…….and what end up like QPR, or go back to the MON days….no thank you. A good solid performance yesterday and we still have more players to appear yet. We will get better, and the squad is now growing to cope with the number of matches we may have to play, if we manage to qualify for one of the European competitions in the future. Lambert said he needed three years. He has had two, now let us give him our backing for this, his final year, and I feel the combination of him and RK can come good, with a decent run in the cups this season.

  29. Paul- splash the cash wisely and compete with Pool, Spurs etc.

    Mark- indeed they were. It’s been a problem for a while now with our forward players. They don’t move, they don’t interchange, they don’t run in behind. It’s to easy to play against. We need our forwards to just play free roles
    Like he top teams allow.

    Andrew- we need the points on hate board. Chances of us winning 3 in a row are slim. Maybe take 4 points from our next two though. We aren’t playing world beaters, even we can get points on the board against Newcastle and Hull if Lambert changes his ways

    Churchill – unfortunately can’t see GG getting much game time again under Lambert. I hope he gets a real chance though to try and prove a point. He should be ahead of KeA in the pecking order at least.

  30. blimey JL harsh on nzogbia?
    Guzan 5? made one decent save yesterday and nearly caused us to concede 3 times with his faffing about and was kicking for touch better than johnny bloody Wilkinson.
    didn’t give the centerbacks more than seven because the defence played well as a unit senderos and vlaar made a heroic block apiece and senderos was probably the better of the two players. made me laugh when Vlaar made a block and the commentator went into raptures about how that’s why everybody wants him, senderos did the same and silence in comparison, shows what a good world cup does for you πŸ™‚
    was quietly impressed with sissy and hutton they were both disciplined and got forward when the chance came especially sissy. the midfield was functional and did there job although westwood is too light for that role and if we don’t change formation at home he will be out for sanchez. stoke had more possession but did little with it and we created the better chances I’ll take the three points and a clean sheet tinted glasses or not πŸ˜‰

  31. churchill/frem

    I think GG is seen as similar to delph in that he is more forward thinking. he’s a much bigger unit that delph or Westwood and if he can develop his defensive side will see more game time. I think he is our only midfielder other than KEA who will make runs into the box, delph and Westwood rarely do so with sanchez coming in maybe delph and gardener will be an option in front of him in a 4141 grealish and nzogbia in the wide roles

  32. frem

    I don’t think Lambert is blocking anyone’s path to the team any more, at least yesterday you could see that they are creating a solid platform to play off of instead of the non formation we had last season. just the fact he’s selecting Nzogbia and hutton to start over his own players tells me the politics are over, and I don’t think Keane would stay if that was still the case. its going to be a long season and we will need all our players and hopefully a decent team might emerge.

    angel 8 said Lambert and Keane might be a good combination and work well together vs on their own and that might well prove to be true or not time will tell

  33. Mark: blimey JL harsh on nzogbia?

    W-e-l-l perhaps I might stretch it to a 6.

    I really thought that he looked ineffective for nearly all his time on the pitch – just one or two moments when some skill was evident.

  34. Win was very welcome but that looked absolutely no different to last season in that the inability to retain possession means there will continue to be little to no goal threat; many more difficult games than Stoke lie ahead. Senderos was ok against a one dimensional attack but he and Vlaar will struggle badly against more mobile strikers.

  35. Yes, Paul, but with Sanchez to come in as well there’s almost a new team apart from the forwards, and they have to get used to one another.

    Sanchez and Richardson should provide some solidity in front of Concrete and Rock – that should be one of the improvements we’ll see developing this season.

    Creativity-wise, I think we’ll be pretty bored most of the time but may be surprised when Benteke returns. I can’t see Villa conceding more than 40 though.

  36. Hey John… Yes, conceding fewer than last season is the only realistic aim; hopefully less calamitous matches without Baker, Clark, Bacuna in defence.
    None of our back 4 can distribute the ball which doesn’t help those ahead of them.

  37. paul w

    I can’t remember the last ball playing defender we had probably southgate. as you say possession wise it looks no different but there is a difference between surrendering possession and being hard to break down and counter attacking. compare that to what we did last season which was have no possession because we couldn’t get the ball and teams took the piss, that wasn’t what I saw yesterday and we deserved the points. last season we made stoke look like Barca yesterday they looked like Stoke. they lost 3 at home all season and we hadn’t won away for ten it has to be an improvement. if the fullbacks do their jobs I’m less worried about oppositions pace, if its like last seasons fullbacks then no centre half would cope for long.
    If we can keep that solidity up and improve elsewhere on the pitch particularly up front we should be OK and ready to take advantage of new owners. We will see next week how we cope as Newcastle won’t be pushovers and we have yet to see how we will set up at home I’m hoping bent will be the centre forward gabby isn’t the solution that’s for sure.

    Lambert has hinted at another player coming in up front or wing looking at our options I’d take a forward but as always a classy playmaker is still missing.

    JL

    I thought Nzogbias none involvement was more to do with tactics first half trying to prevent their fullbacks getting forward not his forte. once he came inside he looked more lively

  38. Paul- it wasn’t different in terms of our passing and creativity, that was still non existent and has to change

    What was different was a the fact we didn’t crumble and didn’t give chances away for fun

    It still wasn’t pretty watch, which again, has to change but I hope we will add a quality winger or two this month and that will change. With out attacking/ creative options as it is, we won’t create or score much what so ever this season

  39. Newcastle today looked a very decent side. There winger and striker could hurt us but being the home team, it’s time we dominate the ball and take the game to them and not the other away around

    I hope we have a settled back 6 all through out the season now so hey can learn each other’s game inside out and trust each other. Lowton could be a good attacking option from the bench with his crossing ability but if a team has to keep chopping and changing there defence all season there won’t be any chance they will ever stay solid consistently.

    ————-Guzan——-

    Hutton—Dross–Vlaar–sissy

    —————Sanchez———-

    Really hope they can all form a solid basis this season

  40. Apparently we have bid for Holtby

    We have no 3 number 10’s in our squad, no wingers, so what does Lambert do? Bids for another number 10

    Kea wants out which is great. Bennett also on he transfer list. Get baker and Gabby out also

  41. Hardly seems possible the season has started already…

    Glad for the win, obviously. Couldn’t watch live, replay apparently unavailable. All I saw was Weimann’s scrambled goal.

    But from I’m reading here, and from various reports, Villa at least seemed organized and disciplined if not swashbuckling. I’ll take the three points if that’s how they were won.

  42. JC

    for me it was a better executed version of our usual away tactics. On the defensive side we looked solid but still lacking in execution in front of goal. midfield looked more organised too but still found it hard to retain possession but I suppose thats a consequence of playing on the break

  43. Mark- if we had wingers, and needed a number 10 then I’d be delighted with Holtby. He’s a class above anything we have but we don’t have wingers.

    Andrew- If it’s true, then it’s points to new owners if we even attempted to sign Remy

    Hopefully the get in quick, we can stay up and next summer sort this club out

  44. Mark- did that article really say Bardsley impressed at right back ? He was shite. Missed controlled the ball every time first half and all our joy came from Cissoko over lapping

  45. Holtby…?

    Yes please. Don’t care if we had other no.10’s. There not of any decent quality really.

    Holtby and maybe a winger on loan and all of a sudden it would be a terrific transfer window.

    Although having said. Doubt we could afford to pay Holtbys wages.

  46. frem
    who are these number tens? to my mind cole,nzogbia and Grealish all spend their playing time as mostly wingers none of them are a true 10 or playmaker

  47. Frem

    Yes KEA wants to go, but good to see he wants to prove himself, so that someone will take him. Once Sanchez has settled in and agree, we need to keep this defense together, and play it regularly, and build a strong mid-field in front. I agree the attack needs more freedom to roam, and Gabby cannot keep making glaring misses, nor Bacuna. They should be doing extra training to sharpen up their shooting. I am sure Bent could do better, or give one of the youngsters a chance until Benteke or Kozak is fit.

    Craig scored a nice goal for the Tesco bags, let’s hope that Gary can do the same for us.

  48. If both Benteke and Bent start, who cares about a #10. To me it’s the most overrated position as there are only a handful of players that can deliver.

    I prefer Grealish and ZOg skinning down the wings, and hammering decent crosses in.

    I really hope we don’t go for Holtby. No need for him.

    If all players we’re fit

    Small Brad
    Hutton Vlaar Okore (for his pace) , Aly

    Grealish Sanchez Delph ZOg

    Bent Benteke

    Subs
    Clark, Richardson, GG, Kozak, Senderos ( I think this guy will be a big player. Love his passion)

  49. angel 8
    senderos is already a big player he could do with cutting some timber πŸ™‚
    I think what we need is a better link player between midfield and attack, a role I think GG could fulfil but a holtby would be welcome by me. we look like continuing with the 1 up front, call it 10 position is essential to prevent us getting one dimensional.
    the role that frank lampard has done so well for chelsea is what I’m talking about
    nzogbia is not a right winger and grealish is more than just a winger, in fact our fullbacks have put in more balls than them.
    with the likely hood of Sanchez starting from now on a 4141 with grealish delph gardner/westwood nzogbia/richardson in midfield depending on wether we want to attack or defend more would work well IMO

  50. Well, well, well….

    It’s early days but I’ll take that as a starter. Cissoko may not be a silky football that the lad will gallop all day. He’s not easy to pass and looks like he will make opposing wingers work hard up and down the flank. Hutton too worked like a dog and refused to be bullied. These two doing their jobs properly lead to Vlaar and Senderos being allowed to actually control the area in front of goal and not being constantly pulled out of position.

    Westwood, Delph and Richardson all worked hard and kept their shape. Yes its light weight at positionally suspect but determination and work rate helped make up the short fall.

    Benteke will be a massive boost to the forward line with his ability to draw defenders and his movement across the penalty box. Its going to be a careful balancing act with the wide forwards. They seemed too rigid and not willing to run in to the centre when Gabby pulled wide… but they also did commendable work tracking back and helping out their fullback.

    All in all a solid base to try and build from. I’m not excited yet but can see the positives that we need to hold on to. The corner hasn’t be turned yet, but at least we’ve got the apex in our sights.

    Grealish too didn’t look out of place, come Benteke’s return I think the kid will be a starter.

    Roy Keane looked to up giving constant encouragement and advice. Was nice to watch and coach being as passionate, he was out there kicking the ball with them.

  51. You know, I’m still trying to get my head round the part-time appointment of RK … an already fairly experienced manager.

    Not that I’m knocking that appointment. I feel that Saturday’s performance was a lot attributable to Keane’s approach and I feel strongly that he was a key influence in the purchase of Sanchez and maybe other players. I hear there are rumours emanating from Villa that this was the case.

    But how is this manager-coach relationship going to work out? Keane has reportedly insisted that he’s not staying to be appointed as manager, so has Lerner tried to avoid the embarrassment of getting rid of another manager in quick time by the RK appointment, to bolster the ranks?

    I suppose the situation is that this is a temporary setup pending the arrival of a new owner. Isn’t it?

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