It’s Friday, there’s football, and still no Jack Grealish. Does it matter against Newcastle? Who knows. But the barcodes are starting to get nervy, Steve Bruce is in the cross-hairs again, and Villa aren’t the same without their best player. However, they should be getting at least a little bit used to not having him.
After a few days’ research into an offside rule no one quite seems to understand, much less agree with, Villa will pick themselves up from the 0-2 defeat to City in their first post-Covid match, and look for a better return against struggling Newcastle and once-again-under-fire manager Steve Bruce.
Following the loss to Chelsea, Villa go to St. James Park in what has become about as much of a must-win game as any match can be apart from a final-fixture showdown to avoid relegation.
Steve Bruce was on the touchline at Villa Park for the first time since a fateful cabbage took flight, and his side delivered a suitably underwhelming performance. Fortunately, he’s in charge of Newcastle now, and it was Dean Smith’s Villa who walked away deserved 2-0 winners.
It seems an eternity since we lost to Wolves, and while I always welcome the football back, I wish this one didn’t feel quite so important. Is it? Well, it is pretty big. We’ve got the normal business with Steve Bruce returning and wanting to prove the new owners and supporters wrong. Probably Dean Smith, too. We’ve got Villa needing a win. Makes for a big night under the lights.
