Another match, another three points. Villa have now gone 3-1-1 in their last five to climb into fourth. Just as important, we’re now just five points off second, still nine off first…Alas, Leeds could do us no favors Wednesday and Wolves keep rolling.
As for Sunderland? Let’s take a look.
The Good
I’ll never get tired of saying it…another win, another three points. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest of matches, but just because a former PL side is sitting bottom doesn’t mean you’re going to have a walk in the park.
With Coleman taking the helm and the club certainly in trouble, whoever was out there for the Black Cats was going to put in a shift. And they did. At times they played some good stuff. So, given the short turnaround, the weight on young shoulders in Davis and Onomah, I can’t find myself worrying too much about a scrappy game where we didn’t look particularly brilliant.
For me, the main thing is that we found a way to match their intensity, by and large, and scored in each half. The early goal was a nice reward, and coming out to find another early in the second was much better than our usual post-interlude lull.
For the second straight game, Villa played 90 minutes, kept harassing and pressing, and didn’t really allow many quality chances. As with QPR, the goal conceded was a bit rubbish. (But we also had another one of Onomah’s wonder deflections on our ledger.) I said before that Villa simply had to want it more, and in the end, they wanted it just as much, which was good enough.
Would it have been different if Coleman had a full side at his disposal? Perhaps. But that was the opponent on the night, and Villa did what needed to be done. In fact, before Sunderland clawed one back, I really thought we were in firm enough control and it was over. Perhaps the players did, too.
Also good to see Grealish back on the pitch. With Kodjia now sidelined again for an extended period, Hogan out for a while, and Gabby, well, Gabby… we’ll likely need Grealish’s creativity and fresh legs.
The Bad
We’re still not looking particularly impressive overall, and certainly aren’t playing the kind of assured, sweeping football we’d all like to see. Perhaps that’s asking too much. I don’t know…I don’t think it is. When I look at the side, though, you’re apparently not going to get beautiful stuff from Snodgrass…you’re going to get graft, commitment, the occasional excellent ball and assist, and more than one or two scuffed shots and missed opportunities. He may be another who’s pressing a bit too hard when he has the ball rather than do the simpler things and let the game come to him.
Likewise, Whelan is not a thing of beauty and is keeping Hourihane from being more involved up front. And I really have to give Conor credit, he’s taking responsibility all over the pitch. Davis and Onomah, both young. They will have ups and downs, as they’re only now getting their first taste of week-in week-out performance demands.
So, for me, the bad in how we look really is about our midfield in general, which still gets shredded often enough even with five. Given the effort all of them are putting in, that might seem a bit odd. But we don’t really have good ball-winners, and too often get in each other’s way. We get sucked up because many times we build a bit too slowly, get spread thin in a line across the box with the winger/fullback overlaps, misplace a pass that creates a break, and our own long counter passes often don’t come off.
In other words, nothing much new there.
The Ugly
I don’t really have anything I’d label ugly. Some might say the game itself, which, okay, fair enough. But I’ll always take a result, and it really didn’t seem like we were riding our luck.
Final Verdict
Villa needed to build on the QPR performance, and while I wouldn’t necessarily consider Villa’s style to have been a progression on anything, two gritty performances in a row is a good thing. Any gritty performance is a good thing coming from Villa. We’ve got to have character, and maybe we’re seeing some express itself.
With these sorts of vital wins, Villa have managed to narrow the gap with Cardiff and Sheffield Utd. a bit, despite not having a full-strength side and, in particular, missing last season’s goal-scoring savior. We’re still awaiting comprehensive displays, of course, but at least we’ve seen two 90-minute efforts. If the side keep working as they have, they’ll play themselves into the condition and mentality where that 90-minute effort is natural.
Big questions for me at the moment are how long we can rely on Adomah, will Grealish bring something consistently, does O’Hare ever get a chance, and is Bruce going to be able to do anything about a striker and/or a younger version of Whelan?
Of course, I’ll call for another three points at the weekend because, as we can see, it takes a lot of winning just to keep pace. We can say we’re fourth, and five points off second, but at the same time, ninth place is just six points below us. Ipswich, currently sitting in that ninth spot, will provide a decent test. It’s not overstating things to say we need continue winning. No other choice, really.
Over to you.
The Author
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 51
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good comments john
when you look at all teams that have went up last few years and done well they had a style of football about them,
or just needed to add few players too,our team has no style apart form hard work and as john said our midfield 5 still struggle.
how many of our currrent side will or could cut in premier ship for me very few
and according to mirror today our chairman is in financial troubles which he is denying
Cheers, James.
Yeah, I don’t see this side sticking in the PL as is. Perhaps that’s getting way ahead of things, but you do have to ask “what next” if we regain our cherished spot in the top flight. No one wants to struggle and go back down again. That would be soul-crushing.
And you’re right, we still have no style, as such. Haven’t seen the financial rumors…That’s not something I’m keen to read about.
And I know it’s perhaps a bit unfair, but if we’re looking ahead, imagine this side playing any of the top six in the PL. Definitely nowhere near ready for prime time.
Morning John
You’re up early. It seems that a team needed to get out of the championship isn’t the team to stay in the Prem. Although I’m sure that some of the players would stick and a lot of the younger ones would be kept. But almost wholesale changes would have to be made. It’s as if some players and managers are championship players, not necessarily lacking in talent but lacking in the type of talent needed for the Prem. It’s a different type of football.
ian
dont know what brighton huddersfield spent but they seem to be doing ok,
and did anyone see huttons tackle last night ,think it was villa informer on facebook made askit of itso funny
the prem doesn’t fear me….the top 6 is the top 6. light years ahead….should be a European super league or something…get them gone.
But if we went up top 10 should be do able.
This is why I aint fussed about going up….I think it boring in the prem. imagine being a stoke or baggies, west ham fan.
Whats there to be excited about. season after season mid table, aim to stay up zzzzzz
Watford and burnley are probabaly a bit excited…just like swans and Bournemouth used to be but in its only because its all new in the prem. they will struggle eventually.
james
I saw the hutton vid I think……sliding up to 4th? its so funny
andrew
unlike you i am sick of this league,the football under bruce is horrible wins or not,rather watch villa playing big sides and competing as watching tuesdays match
no reason under right manager we couldnt be up just outside top 6 good cup runs
lerner and lambert just ruined our club ,lambert for been lerners puppet
thanks JC
I suppose before begin to think those gritty performances are the mark of a promotion side we should step back and recognise that after 18 games those teams are 16th and bottom, puts it in context really. Lets hope Adomah can keep it up as he is now officially our new Kodjia .
I agree about the midfield, an improvement in need of improvement, I talked to my Brum city mate last night who said Bruce will play the same side until it loses, no gauging the opposition or fitness of players unless they are nearly dead, pretty much gells with what we are seeing.
Ipswich took 4 points off us last season but they are poor up front so I hope we see a livelier performance because we are gonna have to break them down.
It’s my view that games are won and lost in midfield. Have a superior midfield and you will usually prevail. What makes a superior midfield? You need a ball winner. You need a pair of lungs for box to box running and covering. You need a goal creator who can spot the openings and play others in. Not all in the same player. But all players need to demand the ball and be comfortable with it in possession. And they all need to be the right age.
Guess Whelan is our ball winner but doesn’t look comfortable on the ball. Onomah is our goal creator who is comfortable on the ball. Perhaps Hourihane too. Our pair of lungs? Maybe O’Hare. This is basically the difference between us and Wolves who have players all over the park comfortable in possession. Adomah will score goals and make assists but Snoddy to a much lesser degree.
So I think our midfield isn’t as balanced as it could be and neither do they all seem comfortable on the ball. And this is the reason we do put in some flakey performances when we come up against better midfields. Ipswich is going to be a tough one to crack.
I agree that this side as it is would not survive in the Prem, Having said that if they keep getting points we might get back up – a win is a win however you get it.
Not sure Bruce is the manager for the upper tier though.
Incidentally apparently when David Unsworth told his wife Everton were playing in Europe last night she asked him if that was near Aston Villa
Thank you, John. Like James said, good comments.
I agree with Plug that games are won and lost in midfield. It was no coincidence, as Mark was apt to observe last year, that we had trouble when Jedi wasn’t playing. Our midfield got overrun all too often.
Like Mark said, we’re gonna have to break Ipswich down, which will require a lively effort. Hope to see some young ones get a run.
Clive
Tonga vs England in the league this weekend.
Shout out to JL, have been reading his book, The Villa Way. It’s a good read.
Good comments from Plug and others on the way the Villa midfield is shaping up so far this season. Perhaps, now that Grealish is fully fit, O’Hare is on the bench and RHM is now fit, there may be some fresh permutations for Bruce to improve the team. We must just wait and see.
I do hope that Bruce will continue to grind out the right results, but when the opportunity arises that he will integrate the young players that are busting a gut to be involved.
JC/JL
Is anyone checking out why some of the Gravatars have disappeared…?????
Paul…
Sorry, I don’t really know anything about the Gravatar business. Though I probably should. It’s a legacy component of the theme. I’ll do a little digging, see if I can figure out what might be going on.
I know some have disappeared over time, others, like mine, have been just fine. And I’ve never done anything different than anyone else…Loaded it once many moons ago and then forgot about it.
Plug,
Very good breakdown of the midfield, and exactly how I see the difference between us and Wolves.
I know I keep singling out Whelan, and I hate to because he really does give his all. He knows where he’s supposed to be, he reads the game well. He’s not quick enough to be box-to-box. Play goes past him too fast and he’s most often not in position to win the ball at the first time of asking, and can’t make up ground to get another crack further down the pitch. He’s very slow and awkward changing direction, often caught out when playing in space. Then he’s uncomfortable on the ball when he’s got it, and makes, seemingly, at least one howling error a game.
As you say, Snograss isn’t very good on it either, just can’t dribble past a man. For all his great work, this causes so many moves to break down and just sees the ball coming straight back.
Adomah’s fairly decent, especially for having such long legs, but isn’t a ball winner. He will track back and work, and do what he can, but…
Hourihane is the best of them, but one man can only do so much.
PP- Ohare has been dropped from the bench and I would be amazed if RHM gets a look in, by the time he’s fit Bruce will have a loan player in, Mckirdy would be worth a go but not even mentioned.
I have no doubt we will grind out results but its the teams in the top ten we tend to struggle with, the next 7-8 game are mostly top 6 contenders and some top two ( Ipswich Leeds Derby sheff utd Borough Bristol with Brentford Away and Millwall at home thrown in) so if we can grind results from those games we are getting somewhere.
JC- As I mentioned earlier a fan who witnessed %years or so of Bruce said he will play the same team until it drops then change until it works again, very trial and error and not much insight, thats his style. Can’t see the midfield changing bar injury.
# 5 years 🙂
yeah bruce was saying today how he is thinking of changing the team but wont as we are winning.
probable why he didn’t change he team much at blues as they used to win a lot under him
agree re midfield….its crucial. that’s why most teams flood it now and play 1 up top like we do.
Progress is here for all to see.
remember this time last season….could only score through kodger and couldn’t win without jedi!
The signing of whelean (although not glamourous) is absoultotly huge for us. He is imo the main reason we are 4th
Continuing on, what I see and have repeated many times, is that when teams get right up on us, we can’t play in tight spaces. Caught out holding the ball, poor controlling touches, misplaced passes, looking for help that doesn’t arrive, or not looking for help and trying to do too much…Just not comfortable on the ball.
So of course we turn it over.
What happens next is that I see players from all sorts of teams skipping and drifting past Villa midfielders all the time then finding the outlet, and we’re in complete disarray as a result. The backline is retreating, the midfield are desperately chasing back, and the opponent is in acres of space with all the initiative. One man carrying the ball can completely undo us. We haven’t had that sort of player since Delph.
Compounding matters, when we do press we too often find three of ours out-triangled by three of theirs, for example. And when pressing, if the ball gets out cleanly, you’ve now got two or three players out off position and well out of the play as the ball goes the other way.
This leads to players dropping off. And players also drop off if they know their exertions are going to be undone by not having teammates marking up the other outlets. This may well be why Bruce would seemingly be having them drop back and just try to keep the play in front of them until it all tightens up at the back. At the same time, he could be telling them to do the opposite and they just can’t or won’t. So, I’ve applauded the effort and tenacity of the last two games because at least they’re trying.
In the end, put all of this together and you’ve got why we can be made to look like training cones: A collection of isolated players in space neither influencing the man/ball in front of them nor the opponents open to receive the ball. When playing a side that’s comfortable on the ball, organized, strong and quick…We’ve looked sorely outclassed.
Andre Now its we can’t win without Adomah 🙂 Can’t agree on Wheelan, he has moments but his inclusion has made Hourihane work hard and become the player he is or was because he no longer has Jedinak clearing up.
Blooy hell andre? Andrew 🙂
Mark,
Yep…Bruce stumbled on this formula, and he’s stuck with it. Fair play, since it’s getting results. But, as you say, you play better teams that can exploit these basic weaknesses, and you’re in trouble. There isn’t a plan B, though with such a large squad you’d like to think there’d be.
If Bruce addresses just one thing, either in the window, or through the youth, whatever, finding a Milner type would make us a much better team.
It’s why I fear Jack coming into the side because although he is good on the ball, he won’t give you the effort, tackles and range that Hourihane does.
Andrew,
Well, you know how I feel about Whelan by now, I guess!
I’d attribute the improved results to Adomah and Davis, largely, with Hourihane getting the unsung-hero award. Davis is giving us a focus and can do the hold-up work. Adomah is flying, beating men and in position to slot home goals. Hourihane is doing just about everything else. And Snodgrass, for his part, has at least injected energy and graft, if not quite the creativity, assists or goals we were hoping for.
JC- That lack of quality organisation shows in our results 8 of our nine wins sit outside the top 11, only one forest is in at 10th. the better organised sides have out played us as have Brentford and Reading as they are footballing sides. This is the pattern we need to change if we are to succeed as we won’t get top 2 if we don’t and we will certainly struggle when we have to play 2 of four top six sides to go up if in the top 6.
Andrew, James…
I have to say, these two seasons in the Championship have been more exciting given the fact there is something to play for.
Having said that, I’d very much like to be out of the Champs. Though I know the PL will be a hard ask for us the first couple-three years if we do manage to stay up. That will be its own ‘excitement’. Ten it’s a question of whether Xia really does have the resources and acumen to put in place the right people to build the sort of side he’s said he wants.
If this Villa Way thing is real, then there’s hope we have a long-term answer. I just don’t know whether the timing of that harvest will coincide with when we need the fruits of it.
Exactly, Mark. I’d really rather not have to win playoff games. I see the current side buckling and getting outplayed, tbh.
And that may well be what we’re looking at because we won’t get second (assuming first is now out of reach unless Wolves have a complete crisis) if we can’t take three points off the teams around us.
There’s time for improvement, and a window to work with, but we’ve now got money tied up in several players that haven’t produced, and one, Kodjia, that’s just been taken off the board again.
JC- From what I have seen of him over the last three seasons Lyden is the answer, so far he has had not been played with this set of players, he has the graft, tackling, vision, goal poaching and a good engine to be a good partner with Hourihane he’s an inch shorter than wheelan but wheelan doesn’t do heading anyway. I only hope he plays in the cup and pulls up some trees.
yes £40m+ in useless forwards at the moment and £-5m in Gabby 😉
Mark
Minus £5 million for Gabby, ha ha.
He’ll probably be fit for the Blues match & the end of the season as his contract runs out.
Yeah, I’d like to see Lyden given a go…Might be some rough patches, obviously, there’s a learning curve, but he has far more upside than Whelan, and even if he struggles, don’t know that it would be that different, in the end, and you’d still be bringing him along and hopefully, like Davis and Green, you’d see him grow into it.
john clark
your post at 3.48 very good, its why hutton has started to look decent,he doesnt get forward now
as for leyden v whelan only 1 winner for me pity its opposite from bruce,
as forplaying in championship its crap tv coverage is poor,streams are worse ,paper coverage nothing,worse we have ended up with bruce as manager ,whelan as our central midfielder,hutton back playing ,god he even took gabby back and played him
read today whelan and snodgrass are 1 booking away from ban,tomorrows game is last before bookings move up to 10 ,surely would be smart thing rest them to bench tomorrow
I can see it now. Gabby scores 3 against the blues then twists his knee. Goes out to a standing ovation and is gone for the rest of the season.
Bruce pleads with him to sign up for next season but instead he opens up a sheesha shop that sells fish and chips on the side. Names it Claret’s.
Ian
How did you guess?
JG
Unfortunately ‘smart’ doesn’t usually come into it.
As for tomorrow my innate mystic greggs has gone to sleep.
It’s shrouded in May’s cloud of uncertainty.
Let’s hope the team emerge for the kick off.
I have no idea at present.
Hey guys
Sunderland was a pretty awful game wasn’t it. Dr Tone said on twitter it was to quite, well what does he expect from Bruce football ?
Today I think we might struggle. I think missing Terry and and only having striker might catch up with us today, it certainly will over December. Adomah and Snodgrass to are run into the ground. They do more tracking back then then do going forwards
I hope we can make it 3 wins in a row but i’m not sure we will. I can’t make today because of work but i’m going to leeds next week. never been before so looking forward to it. will be a big game
Ian
Claret & Blows
Congrats to the England League team. Hung on for dear life against Tonga. In to the final against Aussie next week.
I think it is a mistake to drop O’Hare from the bench and not have Lyden around.Like Frem, I think we’ll struggle today. Three in a row, with the injuries and old legs, seems a bridge too far. Hope to be proven wrong.
Hi Frem nice to hear from you mate, I’m resigned to watching fairly poor stuff being played with the odd highlight. I think a lot depends on what or who we get in Jan and who stays fit, there’s a lot of talk about Cardiff, wolves and Sheff utd fading away but they also have Jan window and unlike us are not sniffing the butt of FFP. Only if there is a dysentery break out in the geriatric ward at Villa will we see the youth get a start, I get the feeling Bruce the youth team in the office every day to see if they are any closer to six foot yet, lots of little marks on the door frame with their names next to them 🙂
I know this is not footy related but this little girl is a true genius, incredible
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/11/25/child-musical-prodigy.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20171125Z2_UK&et_cid=DM172225&et_rid=131107263
It’s desperate being a Villa fan isn’t it. It was so much more enjoyable when we lost most games with the occasional draw thrown in. Back in the good old days you could be truly miserable without feeling guilty about it. These days we’ve won more games than we’ve lost, despite being plagued by injuries and have even had the temerity to play good football on occasions!
4th in the table when even the optimists were only predicting 6th at best.
Some of the young players are getting some game time (thank goodness Green was injured or we’d have struggled a bit to complain about that even!)
Bloody hell. . . . even Hutton has been playing well dammit. . . . . what’s a man left to whinge about without looking like an archetypally pessimistic, whingeing Brummie??
Ps. I’m expecting us to lose 2.0 this afternoon and to burn the roof of my mouth on the half time Balti pie
Robbo- Your second post at least a 50% chance of happening I’d say 🙂 sometimes I wish there was no televised football so that we didn’t know what a team can play like, I can honestly say I get more excited about checking the prem games for my Fantasy football team points than listening and usually watching Villa Play at the moment, Fair play to you for going you must have an iron constitution if not a teflon mouth.
Mark
Hoping I won’t be the only one there this afternoon but as it’s so bad maybe I will!
robbo- well it is nearly Xmas
robbo have a great day mate catch you later for a full thrilling report 🙂
Mark
I actually agree with many of the negative/constructive comments on here.
I would like to see more youth
I do think we could be more expansive with the players we have
I am concerned that here may not be enough player rotation, particularly considering the number of injuries we have.
However. . . .
All those things have been said a million times and we don’t become more or less true through endless repetition. . . unless there is some new angle to them(in my humble opinion)
Surprised to see that no team have scored more goals away from home than Ipswich.
Hope that the crowd get behind the team if Ipswich score because there are also only a couple of teams who have ‘conceded’ more away from home.
Time for kick-off, and a fresh page is up.