Sunday 15 December 2013
Thursday 5 December 2013
I know I am..I'm sure I am....
Unbeaten in five games? Five points from three games in ten days including two tricky aways? It's all good isn't it?
Isn't it?
Isn't it?
Not really.
The fact is, in recent games we've been absolutely dire to watch. Indeed for vast tracts of the “unbeaten run” there's been nothing to watch at all. We hardly keep the ball long enough to create anything in the way of entertainment.
Some people seem to think this is fine and dandy as long as the results go our way. They do. Honest. Though you have to wonder whether their seats are actually facing the pitch. Football is supposed to be fun to watch. You are not supposed to spend the ninety minutes grinning inanely because the opposition (hello Mackems) is as woefully ineffective as you are.
We simply won't get away with letting the other team have the lion's share of possession forever and even if that were possible we'd be doing it in front of ever more dwindling crowds because frankly the level of performance served up at Villa Park this season has matched McLeish levels of dullness and ineptitude.
Paul Lambert describes nigh on every one of these performances with a bunch of superlatives. "We were outstanding” he enthused after the Southampton game. Paul, we were not outstanding. For vast periods of the game Southampton barely let us have a kick and we seemed incapable of doing anything about it. We won because we were brutally clinical when chances came our away, and because Brad Guzan was in sparkling form. On another day we'd have got thumped. Certainly we played better in the games against Spurs and Everton at Villa Park but didn't get anything.
I'm all for Mister Lambert staying positive and doing all he can to keep our players' confidence up but there has to be some relation between his flowery language and what is taking place on the pitch.
Are you really happy Villa pilgrim? Are you enjoying the fare served up at Villa Park? Were you so entertained by our Southampton performance that you didn't want the game to end or were you screaming at the ref to blow the whistle so we could creep back up the A34 with all three points, like a thief in the night?
A Southampton regular informs me that he was amazed that his team had managed to lose that game, citing it as one of their best performances of what has been a pretty remarkable start to the season. He felt mugged, just as Albion had done the week before. Even rock-bottom Sunderland boss Gus Poyet felt hard done by.
The issue is plain and simple and frustrating in the extreme. When in possession we don't seem to have a clue what to do with the ball. The defence are often reduced to passing the ball dangerously between themselves because there is too often zero movement from the midfield to ensure a safe forward pass is on.
Fabian Delph has been by far our most effective midfielder this season but his long awaited return from sick leave didn't instantly provide the instant fillip required in the middle of the park because he now seems shackled to the left, as a sort of pseudo-deputy left back, stationed to cover the positional inadequacies of Ciaran Clark or Tony Moon.
Form is also an issue. Matt Lowton has managed to lose his place to a bloke who a) is still getting used to the pace of the Premier League and b) isn't even a real right back while Benteke has lost his mojo and Andi Weimann has been a shadow of the player who consistently had us all out of our seats on a regular basis last season.
There was much cause for optimism in the summer, with Lambert's shiny new signings from across Europe giving us hope of a stronger squad and a brighter future. To a man, they've yet to settle.
Tonev's penchant for a pot shot as soon as he's within a nine iron of goal has become a standing joke amongst the Villa faithful while Nick Helenius seems to have disappeared completely. His rare appearance for the Under 21s as Fulham knocked them out of the cup asked more questions than it answered. Up and coming teeny-boppers Callum Robinson and Jordan Graham looked far more impressive.
Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Maybe I should stop fretting about the quality of the performances. Maybe I should be more concerned about the points on the board, even if most of our current football is painful to watch.
There's a problem with that.
The fact is, in recent games we've been absolutely dire to watch. Indeed for vast tracts of the “unbeaten run” there's been nothing to watch at all. We hardly keep the ball long enough to create anything in the way of entertainment.
Some people seem to think this is fine and dandy as long as the results go our way. They do. Honest. Though you have to wonder whether their seats are actually facing the pitch. Football is supposed to be fun to watch. You are not supposed to spend the ninety minutes grinning inanely because the opposition (hello Mackems) is as woefully ineffective as you are.
We simply won't get away with letting the other team have the lion's share of possession forever and even if that were possible we'd be doing it in front of ever more dwindling crowds because frankly the level of performance served up at Villa Park this season has matched McLeish levels of dullness and ineptitude.
Paul Lambert describes nigh on every one of these performances with a bunch of superlatives. "We were outstanding” he enthused after the Southampton game. Paul, we were not outstanding. For vast periods of the game Southampton barely let us have a kick and we seemed incapable of doing anything about it. We won because we were brutally clinical when chances came our away, and because Brad Guzan was in sparkling form. On another day we'd have got thumped. Certainly we played better in the games against Spurs and Everton at Villa Park but didn't get anything.
I'm all for Mister Lambert staying positive and doing all he can to keep our players' confidence up but there has to be some relation between his flowery language and what is taking place on the pitch.
Are you really happy Villa pilgrim? Are you enjoying the fare served up at Villa Park? Were you so entertained by our Southampton performance that you didn't want the game to end or were you screaming at the ref to blow the whistle so we could creep back up the A34 with all three points, like a thief in the night?
A Southampton regular informs me that he was amazed that his team had managed to lose that game, citing it as one of their best performances of what has been a pretty remarkable start to the season. He felt mugged, just as Albion had done the week before. Even rock-bottom Sunderland boss Gus Poyet felt hard done by.
The issue is plain and simple and frustrating in the extreme. When in possession we don't seem to have a clue what to do with the ball. The defence are often reduced to passing the ball dangerously between themselves because there is too often zero movement from the midfield to ensure a safe forward pass is on.
Fabian Delph has been by far our most effective midfielder this season but his long awaited return from sick leave didn't instantly provide the instant fillip required in the middle of the park because he now seems shackled to the left, as a sort of pseudo-deputy left back, stationed to cover the positional inadequacies of Ciaran Clark or Tony Moon.
Form is also an issue. Matt Lowton has managed to lose his place to a bloke who a) is still getting used to the pace of the Premier League and b) isn't even a real right back while Benteke has lost his mojo and Andi Weimann has been a shadow of the player who consistently had us all out of our seats on a regular basis last season.
There was much cause for optimism in the summer, with Lambert's shiny new signings from across Europe giving us hope of a stronger squad and a brighter future. To a man, they've yet to settle.
Tonev's penchant for a pot shot as soon as he's within a nine iron of goal has become a standing joke amongst the Villa faithful while Nick Helenius seems to have disappeared completely. His rare appearance for the Under 21s as Fulham knocked them out of the cup asked more questions than it answered. Up and coming teeny-boppers Callum Robinson and Jordan Graham looked far more impressive.
Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Maybe I should stop fretting about the quality of the performances. Maybe I should be more concerned about the points on the board, even if most of our current football is painful to watch.
There's a problem with that.
I am watching it.
And it is painful.
And it is painful.
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