We’re going to double things up here…Have a late match review and obviously a Tuesday fixture with Sunderland. I appear to have far too many obligations. But it’s a nice life, so I appreciate your indulgence.

Let’s do the QPR thing first.

The Good
Obviously coming from behind to win on the road for what I’m coming up with as the first time in four years. Which beggars belief, really. Albert Adomah continuing to step up and carry the load. I thought he said he didn’t score, just assisted. Twenty-six shots (though just six on target). A full 90 minutes of effort. Keeping pace with the leaders.

The main thing to like was Villa’s effort. It was an entertaining game, and credit to both sides for that. Villa kept playing hard after going down to a poor goal on a corner, and deservedly came out on top. James Chester once again put in a great shift. Davis continues to impress, and Onomah earned his spot, as well. In short, Kodjia wasn’t really missed.

The Bad
Villa were more than a little profligate in front of goal, but it turned out not to matter. I know I keep harping on it, but if Steve Bruce does anything in the January window, I’d love to see him find a replacement for Glenn Whelan. He knows what to do, understands the game, works as hard as he can and occasionally plays a lovely ball. But he just doesn’t have the legs, and is more error prone than Sanchez was. We’d be a better side instantly with a younger terrier in there. I’ve seen a bit of criticism for Samba, and I can understand, but he obviously hasn’t been playing much at all, so I give him a pass.

The Ugly
I know I went on about this after the game as well, but the officiating was horrendous, and I really wonder what Keinan Davis is supposed to do. To his great credit he keeps his head (moreso than Snodgrass, to be sure), and keeps on working, but I’d love to see the kid actually get to really play without all the grabbing and holding. It’s ridiculous, far too obvious, and none of it is good for the game.

I’m all for a good, hard fight. I know things change. In my day, obstruction was completely different. But of course we walked uphill to school both ways back then.

Anyway, it’s a bit shameful, and there’s no good reason that players cheating to keep a superior player from playing should be given a free pass game after game. If the opposition can’t handle him, then they can’t handle him. They should find better players, not get to pull ours down to their level.

Final Verdict
A character win, aided perhaps by Dr. Tony’s PowerPoint presentation. It seems a bit laughable, having read about what was in it, but it had the desired effect. I guess the real question is why Steve Bruce can’t manage to do the same thing. Maybe I’m picking nits and the Doctor had nothing to do with the performance and it was just down to the players not wanting to sit through another slide show so they went out and just played football since Xia is staying for the week.

Kidding aside, I was pleased to see some graft, pleased not to see heads hang, pleased to see Adomah, Davis, and Hourihane continuing to show why they pick themselves. I love Snodgrass’s effort and attitude, even if he still can’t beat a man. He does have character, he’s competitive, and he does put bite in the side.

And I’m also pleased to see that Dr. Tony also believes that one of the automatic spots is the remit. We can talk about the players being under pressure, the weight of the hangover at Villa…Whatever. The money spent, the quality of players supposedly brought in…There’s no reason Villa shouldn’t be as good as Wolves. Even if I do think Wolves are still the better side. Which, given they’ve no more soul or time under their belts than Villa, is close to inexcusable.

Lest anyone think I’m being negative for the sake of being negative, I’m just being honest.

I’m happy with a number of things. I think we will be in the playoff spots. I think the team being fielded is about the best side we have, all things considered. But looking at it objectively, I still think we’re underachieving. Maybe Grealish will provide a spark, but it’s hard to imagine him doing all the things Hourihane does. Of course, Hourihane wouldn’t have to do so much if Whelan was carrying his weight. And for me, O’Hare should be getting some playing time, especially when we have three games in a week. Then again, you can’t argue with a win where he didn’t feature.

Most important, it was a good win on the day, and fun to watch. So I’ll leave it there.

Sunderland
Sitting at the bottom of the table, the Black Cats wouldn’t seem to pose much threat. They don’t have the worst goal differential in the league, but they have the least points. So there’s that obvious nugget of wisdom.

Do they get a bounce from Chris Coleman coming in? Maybe. I would think the potential for fatigue on Villa’s part might have more to do with the result than anything else. But with Jedinak only making a cameo, Elmohamady being rested, and Davis being young…We really shouldn’t have to fall back on that excuse. The key might well be Adomah once again.

Of  interest will be how the game progresses, and whether O’Hare and Grealish get any playing time after being unused subs on Saturday.

As usual, it really is important for Villa to go for the win. One assumes Sunderland will be playing for a draw, but we should have too much for them, even with key players out. We’re seven points off the second spot, and if we’re going to take advantage of slip-ups, or lack of depth, now’s as good as time as any. A number of folks have pointed out that Villa’s depth is our great advantage, and it’s obviously keeping us in the hunt. Maybe that’s all you can ask.

But there’s no reason we shouldn’t be looking for all the spoils however Sunderland set themselves up. You want soul? It’s weeks like these where it’s fashioned. It doesn’t just fall out of the sky. I don’t care if it comes from a corner or free kick in the 89th minute. These are games you have to win if you want to become something. We showed the will Saturday. Let’s see it again.

Over to you.

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John Clark
John is co-owner of AVL, and has followed the Villa since the '70s. A journalist by trade, he is, by most accounts, a very nice person. You can follow me on Twitter @JClarkKohoutek. It's an astonishing experience. Or a complete waste of time.

Comments 86

  1. Trinity

    Good morning, John.

    You’re right in what you’ve written. Chairman Xia is still present to motivate the team. He will be chomping at the bit to make sure Villa don’t waste opportunities. This team could make it a lot easier for themselves (and the fans) if they get into the right groove and stay there. The QPR match was just what the doctor ordered given Villa’s previous abysmal record after international breaks and it was a win on the road. Well done Mr Bruce and Villa.
    I’m optimistic of a win against Sunderland, but like most of us, these days, protect myself against the disappointment of defeat. That said, I think Villa might be on the rise and am going for Villa 3-1 at home. Adomah, Snodgrass and Hourihane to score .

  3. IanG

    Thanks for the writeup JC.
    As Trinity says, the team is starting to develop an identity & is on the verge of getting into a groove.
    That’s definitely soul territory.

    I’m going to go with 2-1 again tonight to us.

  4. IanG

    Ian
    Maybe we’re due another one, you never know, especially after a break.
    But with so matches with injuries etc showing up squad depths in clubs, I’m a bit optimistic about the next 6 weeks in general as long as we keep our unreplaceable players fit.

  5. Plug

    Thanks for your script JC. I agree with your comments entirely. I don’t buy the line (not yours) that it is just our luck to be meeting Sunderland after they’ve appointed a new manager. Coleman doesn’t have a magic wand. If he is able to turn them round it will take some time as we know only too well. What we may see from the opposition is a committed performance because they want to impress the new boss but if we match their effort and put a shift in, our better players will win it.

    So I’m going for a Villa win. But only if we turn up. I remain mindful that after an excellent game at PNE we didn’t do it again against Sheff Weds. I would like to see O’Hare start tonight.

  6. James Gill

    no reason tonight to not change team about, we are at home to in all honesty to one worst sides in this league if we pick hutton does our defence need whelan could we not play grealish ,swap elmo for snodgrass play some football pass the ball score more goals entertain fans give us hpoe that we can have a goodxmas football wise or was saturday another pne game

  7. John Clark

    Trinity,

    QPR was a good win, and just like you I steel myself for disappointment regardless. If we can just string two or three performances like that together (doesn’t even have to be pretty, just the effort and resilience, the desire to keep getting forward), we might put some pressure on the others.

  10. John Clark

    Plug,

    Agree…Just have to match them. They will be playing to impress Coleman, but they have to be fragile. We just have to want it more, not take anything for granted, show a little ruthlessness.

  11. John Clark

    JG,

    The Whelan, Samba, Jedinak triangle is the interesting bit for me. I’m sure Bruce is going to want to have a settled back four, and I’m guessing he’d rather not have Jedi in the back line if he can help it. Jedi likely doesn’t get forward as much as Whelan, but obviously more steady at the back (and just all round).

    I know he’s spent money on Whelan, and I’m sure there’s a shadow of a Terry effect in what he brings to the side, but on what I’ve seen, I’d have been getting Lyden or some such ready to play.

  12. DarrenO

    Early goal from us and Sunderland will fall apart, they are like us at the beginning of last season, thinking they were big and not having the answers to dogged championship teams of which hopefully we are one with a bit of skill to boot to capitalise on a fragile Sunderland.

  13. Paul Pears

    Great write up JC, and good to see plenty of positive comments on here.

    Sadly, I am not going to make tonight now, so must rely on Sky Sports updates, and then look forward to being there on Saturday. So fingers crossed for a great Villa performance tonight, and hopefully a win.

  14. Mark King

    Thanks JC pretty much says it all as does Jordan Lydens 5 or 6 goals from DM this season, as good if not better passer than wheelan and definitely a better tackler, I hope he gets a run in the cup and forces his way in, could be some midfield.

    I agree DOR if we put a quick goal in we should end up 3-0 or 3-1, really shouldn’t be any excuse for not getting the win tonight but we are Villa.

  15. IanG

    JC
    Agree about Lydon as he’s faster & actually scores goals & can also tackle.
    With 3 matches a week I don’t understand why he hasn’t had a game.
    Unless of course it’s as JG says about Bruce only trusting those players he’s bought, except when he’s been forced to play someone like Davis & Green because of circumstances.
    Mark – forgot we were still in a cup.
    Yes a quick goal…
    We usually start off faster these days but never seem to get it in the net.
    But we at least kept going on Saturday, & scored early in the second half.
    But too profligate with unsuccessful attempts lately [16 for 2 goals against QPR].

  16. IanG

    Unchanged team.
    Lets hope we don’t knacker them all.
    Can understand the confidence issue & him trying to get a playing identity, but so cautious.

  18. IanG

    1-0 Adomah again
    Someone’s reading this blog.
    The match is also on BBC Radio WM FM, & can get it on the internet for those somewhere else.

  28. Paul Pears

    Great win in the end, and up to fourth….Makes Saturday a great day to look forward to …!!!

    Some amazing results tonight….How about nine goals at Bramall Lane….

    and who has nicked my Gravatar??????

  30. IanG

    Liverpool just surrendered a 3-0 lead against Seville.
    At least we won & up to 4th.
    We really need to get up Big Mick’s nose on Saturday

  31. Trinity

    Mark
    Yes, well said. It’s a win. They seemed to be dominating after Onomah’s goal, then bam!
    Someone pinched my Gravatar too. Have tried replacing it to no avail.

  33. Trinity

    IanG
    …and pull some nostril hair out while there and get out as soon as possible
    Yeah, I got a Gravatar but it isn’t coming through to AVL.
    Hope you are well.

  34. Heroes-and-Villans

    Massive massive win that taken into account other results went our way. Whelen was superb.

    Davis is knackered. We have to get to jan sttill in 6th and pray to god bruce uses his contacts in the game to sign a st on loan. Because the goals are going to dry up imo. Relying on davis is going to hurt us.

    Kodjer out for most of season. Hogan god knows but a long one. God knows where murphy is……gabby where are you!!!!!!

    Jesus im going to have to say it again. Hutton played very well !

  35. Heroes-and-Villans

    I feared for us today….new manager bounce is horrible so a tricky game.

    Slowly but surly im stsrting to trust villa again! We are on some run.

    Mention to hourihan

    Took a while to settle and i feared we may ruin him but this season he has been quality now settled in.

  36. Trinity

    Hello Andrew
    Agree about Davis. He’s done really well, but could probably do with a reprieve. Gabby will be at the physio’s getting a butt & thigh massage and maybe Murphy and Hogan are going that way. Hogan tries, though.
    Alan Hutton has been awesome in the last two games, even his passing has been effective. Good thing he got that fan following, which gave him some love for the shirt. It shows. He earned that following. Just as well a significant number of fans didn’t jump on the let’s abuse Mutton bus.
    Hourihan has blossomed since not being partnered with Lansbury. The fans got that one right.

  38. IanG

    lana
    Hutton was crap for at least 1 season though, they did get that right.
    He’s just responded to proper competition with the right attitude, so fair play to that.

  39. IanG

    Trinity
    Well par for the course thanks mate.
    Who knows about tomorrow
    As I get older I’ve got plenty of nostril hairs to spare as it happens, not so sure about brain cells though

  40. Ian

    Winning ugly. The good teams can do that. Ipswich will be a test. Luckily they will have less rest than Villa.
    Nostril hair? What about all the hair growing on and in your ears?
    Anyone think Kodjia will play again this year? Another Libor if you ask me. That’s it for him. 🙁

  42. Trinity

    Ian
    I miss that aspect of Korean hairdressers. They usually just trim any ear hair as part of the normal haircut. All for $8.
    I look forward to the Ipswich game. It must be time to try out some fresh legs. Lyden, Grealish and O’Hare come to mind.
    Villalore
    Samba might get a shot up front on Saturday if Villa is behind with five to go.

  43. Plug

    At home, we’ve just scraped past the bottom team who had 10 first team players unavailable. This was a chance to fill our boots and give 27,500 fans who turned up something to shout about. After the second goal went in I was expecting us to kick on. It didn’t happen and our bench is predominantly defensive these days. So as Mark says, the best thing to be said is the 3 points and big Mick up next with his nose like a ski slope.

    SB has to make some changes for the weekend and he said as much. Unfortunately I’m guessing that means Elmo and Jedi returning rather than putting the youth in for a game. Whatever team is selected, we are going to need a huge improvement on last night to see off Ipswich and keep our newly won 4th place.

    Maybe JT knows of some good young strikers at Chelsea that we might get on loan? Wish I was as bullish as Andrew but I’m still not convinced with SB.

  44. Mark King

    morning all,
    Great to get the win, good job it was Sunderland. The way we play in this 451 asks a lot of the centre forward, Davis is willing but is tanked after a good game the same applies to Onamah who has to do an awful lot to join him upstairs. Hourihane appears to be covering Wheelan a lot so can’t get forward as much as he should imo. To me we are on the right track but need a little to much from certain members of the team to be on top form.

    Now heres the problem, knowing the above why doesn’t Bruce change one or two? Onamah was out on his feet so why not start Jack or lansbury even? Davis I get, he’s the only player in that position left (Mckirdy maybe) these things matter in the course of a season, you can only suck it up so many times.

    Last nights game was against bottom of the league and we needed our best 11? come Saturday you can guarantee they will be there again in a tough match this time. Why when Bruce knows this league does he act like he doesn’t at times. Haven’t heard an after match presser but I bet it includes the words tired and maybe should of freshened it up.

    we are on a good run and I want to stay on it, can’t keep ragging the engine and hope to finish the race.

  45. Mark King

    What I don’t get is in this day and age teams in every sport use Heart rate variability to access if someone is knackered. they are monitored continually for it and over-training, so Bruce played them regardless, Davis I can understand, Onamah no. Is he that worried about the depth of our squad? why not play jedinak and push Houriahane up if you don’t fancy the youngsters? I’d even be tempted to try Jedinak up top.

    http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/11/22/steve-bruce-admits-two-aston-villa-players-struggled-against-sun/

  46. Trinity

    Plug
    I fear you’re right. Sounds like SB will just bring back Elmo and Jedinak, who aren’t bad players, but why can’t we win with Grealish, Lyden and O’Hare et al being developed and playing a part? I think Mark has a good point about SB not trusting the younger players. That doesn’t bode well for the future.
    Villa definitely needs to entertain the paying fans a bit better, got the team. It’s good to keep a realistic perspective.

  47. James Gill

    why does bruce say he needs more players ,he doesnt use his squad,we played sunderland last night and thanks to facebook was fit to watch it,we played awful and won,yes i know it was a win but that performance is not going to cut it against better sides[not many worse than sunderland at the minute]huttons getting praise for few good performances what about 1st hundred matches but still he cant cross ,davies is getting hammered for poor performance what are his strengths how many times did we cross the ball in from a decent position ,as mark said ooamh was tired why surely every manager looks at all data gathered ,houriane was too deep remember this was at home to poor side,even when we went 2 up we never looked likely to add to it,grealish needed more game time last night as did lansby jedi had 2 matches for australia didnt need to risk him last night,think too many questions to be asked yet

  48. Heroes-and-Villans

    25 points out of 33 is why bruce wont change it up.

    I have no problem what so ever winning ugly. Not going to play like the qpr game every match.

    I want elmo in for hutton…elmo and snoddy were forming a very good understanding on that right side and elmo a threat going forward.

    Jack will be fighting onomah for that number 10 role and we have to keep davis in cotton wool till jan!

    peees me off still that bruce ditched adomah start of season.

    I love him so much…he is a ball of positivity, fun and always makes things happen.

    a crucial character to have around

  49. Heroes-and-Villans

    4411 certainly seems to suit us and maybe having a davis type player up top allows us to get midfielders scoring more.

    just got a horrible feeling the terry/kodjer/Hogan injuries are going to effect us for December.

    ill take being in top 6 at Christmas now

  50. Heroes-and-Villans

    plug

    not convinced about bruce either…but we have a settled formation…players seem to be linking well and we are winning more often than not! and players seem to be putting in 100% and caring which is refreshing after the dark days!

    enjoying being up there but not that excited as we really should be top 2.

  51. John Clark

    Haven’t had time to write anything up yet, but good comments and observations from all.

    For me, was always going to be a tricky game. Sunderland were going to try and they did. Villa kept up the effort by and large from QPR. That said, we should’ve been expecting to win, and we did.

    Like Andrew says, a win is a win, and Ian’s right, too, good teams win even when they don’t play well.

    One for the ages? No. Questions remaining? Yes. But very important to follow up the QPR game with another three points, and we did.

  52. Paul Pears

    Hear and understand all the comments, but at the end of the day, all I want from Bruce at the moment is to keep winning, and establish us as a side that will not give up until all three points are in the bag. How we do that may be ugly, it may be poor, just as long as we win…..it’s results that count at the end of the day.

    Still fighting for my Gravatar…

  59. Ian

    Andrew, Mark, we bought a sous vide after seeing one at our daughters. It’s a large element than goes into a big pot with what ever food you are going to cook. The food goes into a plastic bag and then fill the pot with water. The sous vide then warms up to a specific temp that you set. It will cook the food to that temp and you don’t have to worry about over cooking. Meat will be done perfectly to your taste right through with no over cooking or undercooking. Veg will be will be perfect too to how ever you like it.

  60. Ian

    The Sunderland game would have been a perfect venue to give younger players a good run out and rest some of the older players.
    Does Villa play down to the level of their opposition?
    It reminds me of a joke: don’t argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

  63. Mark King

    Ian yes I like the look of that but not so much the plastic I think you can get silicon bags.

    Andrew- I am getting the hang of Fantasy football got 96 points last weekend 🙂

  67. Heroes-and-Villans

    Was going to go sausage cassarole, but doing a xhicken curry instead. I like it. Its simple.

    That sous vide sounds awesome.

    Haha nice one mark. Its a great game….makes the matches interesting.

  70. Trinity

    Andrew
    You don’t need a slow cooker for chicken or sausages. Get yourself some mutton, lamb, beef (chuck, blade, oxtails) or kangaroo.
    Boil-ups are popular here. That’s just bacon or pork bones with spuds, pumpkin kamokamo(like little marrows) with watercress, pūha (sow thistle) or cabbage. You can throw doughboys or dumplings in there too. A big pot of the stuff usually lasts for days and gets better, like your casserole, each time you heat it up.

  73. Trinity

    IanG
    That’s about right, good working man’s food The old favourites are still the favourites here.
    What about eels. Do you like a feed of eels?

  74. IanG

    Trinity
    Having watched one I caught years ago in the River Severn when I was young, disgorge the hook & slither into a field, not really.
    Slimy things
    Jellied eels are southerner’s food, especially Essex, do I need to say more?

  75. Trinity

    IanG
    They’re great on sushi and smoked or dried. I’ve never eaten them jellied, though I saw jellied eel on sale at Brighton Beach. My mum’s generation used to flay them and plaited the skins to make belts. As kids, we’d catch them (my brothers just used their hands), gut, clean, and salt them before cutting them down the middle and grilling them. My brothers used to catch possums too and stew them. We were also into gathering mussels, kina (sea urchin) and crayfish. Pipi (clams) was another favourite. We were lucky.

  76. IanG

    Trinity
    Sounds tasty.
    I think the thought of handling & preparing eels put me off, but I have eaten them cooked.
    In Hong Kong I once had cobra soup, tasty & very invigorating that.
    It’s funny but you can sense snakes in their habitat, & there’s no mistaking the vibe of cobra.

  78. Trinity

    I agree about the snakes, but you’re pretty game having cobra soup. Think I’ll stick with me eels. You can semi tame the local fresh-water varieties so you can feed them by hand and pat their heads. They get very big though in NZ.

  80. Archie

    Ian
    “Jellied eels are southerner’s food, especially Essex, do I need to say more?”
    Not necessarily so, Birmingham Fish Market specialise in Jellied eels, lovely, taste like chicken. yum yum, love them.
    But I do acknowledge the link you make, oh and the Monk fish in Waitrose is ok too.
    Off for lunch on a friends narrow boat near Napton, Warwickshire.
    Have a good day
    Archie

  81. Trinity

    Hello Archie
    You guys are making me hungry.
    I remember visiting the Severn River at Ironbridge and thinking there’d be eels in those dark waters. I remember watching Scots on the Isle of Mull fishing eels for export to France.

  83. IanG

    Trinity
    Wherever you’ve got mud on the river bottoms & good banks to burrow into, you’ll have river eels, so probably Ironbridge as well.
    They’ve recently put scaffolding round the Iron Bridge for emergency repairs, mostly paid for by a German Cultural Foundation, strangely enough.
    Comes of being the first one in the world I suppose.

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