After a break felt like a lifetime, Villa head to Stamford Bridge level on points with Chelsea. It’s a big match for both clubs, with Villa looking up and Chelsea bumbling around mid-table trying to salvage something. The simplest way of looking at it from a Villa perspective is do the squad have enough belief to edge past the hosts into the top half?

Chelsea, while obviously boasting a better squad on paper, have been out of sorts all season with both Tuchel and Potter. Big spending hasn’t brought instant results. The pressure on Potter has become almost suffocating. I doubt he ever got death threats at Brighton. Three points today would certainly give them something to hold onto.

For Villa, beating Chelsea and moving top-half is a big mental obstacle more than anything. Looking up and basically safe, the season now is about aspiration. And they find themselves with a golden opportunity to make a bold statement. But do they really have it in them to think they belong in Europe? And can they show that belief by defeating European quality on the road when the opponent needs a win?

At the same time, Villa really have nothing to lose. They’re far enough away from the relegation pack that there’s no specter looming over their shoulders. But if the individual players think they should be part of the project, think they are good enough to be in that mix at the top, then they have to be looking at games like this as opportunities. They have to be looking at the fixtures and saying, “Leicester, Forest, Brentford, Fulham…we should be winning those. Newcastle, United…No reason we can’t at least get something.”

It’s all about grabbing the ring rather than avoiding embarrassment.

Naturally, we’ll expect Unai to have taken advantage of the break to work out the plan and drill some of them on it. We hear about Emery’s long meetings, and I’ve wondered what makes them so long? Then watched a snippet with Ollie, and it’s hard for me to believe that up to now, the side haven’t been watching entire games together and critiquing every moment and touch.

I’d have thought that was a given, but apparently not. “Here, you could take a moment, here you could’ve done this instead.” In the NFL, each week each group (offensive line, receivers and running backs, etc) painstakingly goes through the film: each play is analyzed, each player is graded on every play. I’m just a bit astonished that a similar level of scrutiny hasn’t been applied at Villa. Because we all know it’s very fine margins, but more important, it’s about everyone seeing the game the same way, all the good and the bad.

Sessions like this are also about accountability. Everyone needs to be hearing that yeah, X could’ve played the ball sooner, but also where was Y for that pass? Or was the option Z, instead? Or, you didn’t need to try that pass: settle, turn, play it back and reset. This is how a manager should be getting his thoughts across.

Anyway, I digress. The point is that they’ll go in with a winning idea they just have to execute, and will increasingly understand what ‘executing’ it means, exactly, player by player.

So. We’ve all seen the form stats, the points haul, all the flashes of progress and understanding since Emery arrived. It’s understandable that we can go into today actually expecting something based on a little bit more than a feeling or a moment of magic. If you want to be in Europe, you have to play any team convinced you can get something, and that doing so isn’t about heroics, but just going out and executing the plan and playing to your potential.

(We can also be forgiven for our reflexive belief that Villa are the team you want to play when you really need a result.)

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this, for once. Won’t be the end if we lose, might be the case that a draw is a fantastic result. But I really am curious just how far we’ve come now that the team have bounced back nicely from the three-loss spell. Will we see a side that at least holds onto the point they’d earned against Arsenal, for example?

Whether or not I think Villa are actually ready as a squad for European football, at this moment, like everyone else, I’d like nothing more than an exciting run-in based on optimism and positive attainment. Much like the run that got us out of the Championship.

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 67

  1. vivavilla

    Thanks for the new page, JC. Good to see the silence broken! Agree with your thoughts and also feel Villa could pull it off this evening. Fancy a 2-1 win. Hope to see Martinez, Young, Konsa (or Diego?), Mings, Moreno, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn, Buendia, Watkins, Ramsey. Would be great to see Duran come off the bench to hit the winner! UTV.

  2. John Clark

    Yeah, viva…obviously everyone’s curious about Diego, what that’ll mean. Interesting to see if Bouba at least makes the bench today.

    Also, guess everyone is curious if Duran will get more minutes if Bailey can’t find his game. I’d like to see some bigger chunks so he can really get the feel of it.

  4. Plug

    Yep JC, we can definitely get something at the Bridge now that Kamara is back. Allows SJM to move forward at Bailey’s expense. COYVB.

  11. John Clark

    Whew. Just about did enough, but lots of poor decisions, loose balls, and a bit of luck.

    It’s clearly a mental struggle, atm. Good to get to the break, see if Unai can calm them down.

  14. Plug

    It’s been one way traffic, but then again there’s a few million quid difference between the teams. We’ve had some scary moments and rode our luck. Nevertheless, we do carry a big threat on the break.

  15. John Clark

    Yeah, good threat on the break, Plug.

    Would like to see us try and hold it a bit longer, break up all those spells of possession. And need to get back to winning it in midfield.

  19. Plug

    Some result. What a fabulous performance. Got battered really, but we have a cutting edge under Unai. We were compact and solid, sturdier in the 2nd half.

  21. Plug

    The Villa Boys from Aston…..We travel near and far…

    What a result for the away support. Nassef looked delighted in the stands. Top half here we are.

  28. John Clark

    It is funny, though, apart from the chance Mudryk blew, they did really make much of anything. If I were Potter, I’d be feeling very let down by some very expensive players.

    Was a lot of traffic and possession, but mainly in harmless areas. Felix and Chilwell the only real threats.

    And I thought Villa finally clocked a bit toward the end and tried to keep hold of it a bit more. A lot of that pressure was down to loose passes, some too ambitious, some poor decisions, kind of reverting to old habits. But they managed to stick to the defensive plan in the end.

  29. John Clark

    I was hearing that Chambers for Bouba was tactical, and maybe it was, but I was more of the impression that he was feeling that ankle on the yellow card tackle and Unai took him off both to be on the safe side and because he wasn’t at 100%.

  30. Plug

    Moreno was my top pick from the team. Looking better each game as he adjusts to the pace of the EPL. Konsa still soils my pants when the keeper plays it short to him.

  33. vivavilla

    McGinn got the MOM award – rightly in my opinion – but I agree, Plug, that Moreno had a great game too, as did Martinez and Luiz. We can actually finish Tuesday night in SIXTH place – fantastic, considering where we were when Gerrard got the elbow!

  36. John Clark

    viva,

    It’s absolutely remarkable what a run of results can do. Others got theirs early, we’re getting ours later.

    Doesn’t hurt there’s so many thrashing around in the relegation fight.

  38. Plug

    Immense result yesterday. The hard work and long hours put in by Unai, his staff and the players is now paying dividends. People are now taking notice. It means we’ve lost the advantage of running below the radar. For some time we’ve thought that the team has been producing less than the sum of the parts. Not any more.

  39. Plug

    The Laandan natives are going ape shit. They want a taxi for Potter. Whereas we put in a tactical masterclass. I’ll be buzzing all day.

  40. Mark King

    Great win, and we have started producing those records again. It all reminds me of smith’s early years and pretty much the team that won yesterday’s game was his. I hope he is watching on with pride as the team matures. Unai for me is a Spanish version of Smith in so many ways, tactically he’s probably better than any Villa manager I’ve seen but When I listen to his pressers the ideas, personality, intelligence is a continuation of what Smith built in a very short and difficult time. The Stevie G era was a step to far away from that yet might supply a couple of very decent additions but that’s about it.

    If we make top 8 or Europe I for one won’t be surprised. Shame Jack is not still here as he is now putting his stamp on city but maybe he’d now be in a wheelchair you never know.

    Although this is now Unai’s show I for one will not be going down the we would have been the same two years back with him route, young teams take time and require time and I don’t think that all that was missing was a top manager, experience and self belief.

    Don’t forget Unai wasn’t good enough for the Arse not so long back.

  43. John Clark

    MK,

    It did feel very much like a DS game yesterday. Tactically, I do believe Emery’s better (if no other reason than much greater experience), and maybe he is as an actual coach, too, but they are a lot of the same ideas. The spirit, etc., all very much DS.

    Like you say, not much point in trying to extrapolate from different decisions, but Smith or no, Gerrard clearly was a catastrophe in every regard except for Bouba and maybe Carlos.

    Maybe it was for the best, the way things have worked out. Still having a bit of a hard time believing Emery wanted to take on the PL again with Villa, but I guess the owners’ pockets mean he can build his own team. Big stadium, rich owners, tradition, etc….appealing package to the right man.

  44. John Clark

    Plug,

    Really was massive and the frustration/petulance from Chelsea was fun to see even if it did wind me up a bit until I saw we were going to see it out.

    I know we’ve thought a number of upsets were turning points, but I do think yesterday they did get past a big mental obstacle. Only reinforces buy-in, and they have to be thinking now that if they can go to a desperate Chelsea, come away with a clean sheet and knock them back to 11th, they can win a fair number of the remaining fixtures.

    Right win at the right time, I guess is what I’m saying.

  45. John Clark

    Will probably disagree with you on he who shall not be named, JG.

    Hate to do it, but I’m happier today not reading 10 messages about how Ollie missed a big chance and is still shit instead of focusing on the positives.

    Think I heard after that he’s one of only three/four players to score double figures three seasons in a row…? Might have to look that up.

  46. Plug

    John, regarding Emery taking on the job. I believe it’s money that talks 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Pay him the right conkers, offer a project with huge upside and the backing required and anyone would have a tough job turning it down.

    This could be the job that defines Unai’s stature. If he succeeds they’ll erect a statue of him at the Trinity Rd entrance. Likewise Compass. Am I getting carried away?

  49. Heroes-and-Villans

    what unai has done with players thats not his own in such a short space is insane.

    4222 everyone playing in roles thats suites them and clear idea of whats beind asked of them,

    great little interview from ollie and he said unai is like no stop running around so much! stay there, run here.

  50. Heroes-and-Villans

    1 up away to chelsea, but unai sees the danger makes a sub and changes to 532 which makes a lot more comfy and wins us the game

    i am not used to such elite managent as a villa fan

  52. John Clark

    H&V,

    Been busy, did Emery say he took Bouba out purely for a tactical change? I was thinking it had more to do with his ankle, which he seemed to have re-aggravated when he got the yellow.

    Doesn’t make them mutually exclusive ideas, I guess.

  53. John Clark

    Plug,

    Like H&V, not sure it was all about the money. Guessing he’s a man who takes his reputation seriously…and coming back to the PL with the Villa project seems a bit of a risk.

    I tend to think it was more about the owners, the backing and ambition and him getting final say that would lead him to think it was the right opportunity. And he may well have seen a squad he knew was underachieving (ie, not stepping into as big a mess as some others might’ve thought).

  54. Canadian Villan

    Been awhile since I last posted, hectic end to last year and same to start off this one. I have been coming on to read comments off and on, but not really had much to add. I think compass are proving they do have a clue as I see improvements throughout the club not just the first team. Our Ladies through to the semi’s, the best of our kids getting extremely good reports in the Championship and the EFL. Great times ahead I think, just need to keep plugging away and we will make Europe next season even if we just miss out this year. Still, I have that same butterfly feeling in my stomach that we might still pull it off that I had a few years back when escaped the championship with that terrific run.

  55. Heroes-and-Villans

    hey John

    hope your well.

    booby could well of had a knock but still didnt have to change shape. but he saw james and chilwell were causing trouble and shut it down.

    he did mention kamara in the interview but was distracted and didnt here it….not sure it was injury related soley

  57. Heroes-and-Villans

    out of everyone and theres aot. i feel happy for Luiz the most.

    young and very talented and since day 1 he has been asked to fill roles that doesnt suit. now finally he is in a system made for him and isnt doing eveything on his own and can get forward

  58. John Clark

    Yeah, makes sense H&V. He did change the shape and I was thinking at the time he came on that Chambers would be in the middle as he’d been played earlier with Bouba out.

  59. John Clark

    The table does yield a moment of opportunity, H&V. Europe is tough.

    Found myself wanting United to win yesterday to dent Saudi Arabia’s CL ambitions. But god they looked shadows again.

  62. John Clark

    Yeah, JG…There are a bunch.

    Apart from injury risk, I wonder if, since we’ve been winning, it might help keep momentum to just get out there and play again.

  63. John Clark

    Hadn’t really been paying much attention to the table, so was having a quick look. Surprised to see Saudi Arabia have only won one more game than us, but have another six draws to go along with that.

    Also hard to believe in general that we’re only 9 points off a CL spot.

    Also hard to believe that we face Leicester right after they sack Rogers. Seems to happen to us a lot.

  64. Mark King

    I think that Unai heard what the Owners want to do and have done and probably looked at the team too. He’s no mug and if the team was the relegation fodder that Stevie was making them look I would doubt he’d be here. Also he wants to prove Arsenal wrong I think and at Villa there is much more chance of doing things his way than elsewhere. I would think the owners are impressive chaps to talk to and passionate about the club, Maybe sheik ya money wasn’t. Also rang Smith and asked for his blessing.

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