7 days removed from a suprising opening day victory against
an unsuprisingly over-hyped Stoke City, proving pundits and Villa fans alike
wrong, and there was a strange feel in the airs around B6.
There was optimism.
This was not so much shared by the ticket sales, with the
club only barely scraping past the dreaded 30,000 line, a solid indicator of
the poor season ticket sales following another disappointing season. Despite
this, the team received a loud reception which was maintained throughout – even
seeing chants of ‘Paul Lambert’s Claret and Blue Army’; which came as a bit of
a shock to me at least, given some of the abuse spouted at him (arguably largely
justified) last season. Here’s hoping this is an indicator that the fans as a
collective are ready to give him one last crack at getting this team playing.
The unchanged team seemed to pick up where they left off at
the Britannia, keeping solid at the back, and seeming overall more professional
than the side we’ve been used to. The entire back 5 were a solid, cohesive
unit, and all played off each other very, very well. Hutton and Cissokho both
tackled well and were dangerous going forward, proving all the reviews from
Liverpool fans that the latter lacks passing and crossing technique
considerably wrong. Another well-deserved clean sheet is excellent news for a
club who have had considerable problems defending in recent years, which I
personally believe is down to the summer business – the signing of more
experienced players and bringing in Keane to put some fire in their bellies.
It’s vital we don’t get too carried away with this success
though, Newcastle managed to miss several clear-cut chances and a better side
(or one that isn’t oblivious to what the back of the net looks like –
seriously, their finishing was worse than mine) could have had at least two by
halftime.
The main problem in the team is going forward, and until the
two injured target men come back to hold up the ball it looks like we’re still
going to be relying on counter-attacking football, which is particularly
frustrating at home, and unacceptable that we mustered 0 shots on target. Delph
seemed to be the only player with the impetus and skill to get forward towards
the goal, and should have scored if not for a tactical red card.
I think the team may
have looked stronger with Joe Cole in the second half, allowing us to play in
their half and create chances, rather than hopelessly lumping the ball to
Gabby. But saying that, he’s not match fit and in fairness it’s clear this team
has a lot more to come as they blend together and the big men come back.
The main positive for me today, aside from the good
defending and seeing Darren Bent pull on a Villa shirt again, something I
honestly never thought I’d see again, was that all the debutants impressed. Particularly
Carlos ‘the Rock’ Sanchez, who seems very useful and it was nice to see a big
midfielder who can win headers for a change. With him sitting in front of Vlaar
and Senderos, teams should find it very hard to come at us through the middle,
not to mention his clear passing ability.
There was plenty to be happy about today, but also lots to
build upon. The real test will be next Sunday against Hull, as our ability to
impose ourselves and take the game to teams at home will be need to have
improved.
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