Saturday was the best of days and the worst of days for me as a Villan. A beautiful sunny morning for an early kick off at a resplendent, if far too empty Villa Park, for the much anticipated, 5 th round FA Youth Cup tie against non league Broxbourne Borough; followed by a dash up the M1 to the City Ground in Nottingham, for the evening Championship kick off live on SkyCurse.
As we sat watching David Hughes talented under 18’s put to the sword a non league team, who have defied all the odds to reach this stage of the cup and fully deserving of the pre-match plaudits, a sense of pride was hard to suppress. Streamed on facebook live to an available audience of 6.5 million, it wasn’t so much the 7-0 scoreline that made the game such a pleasure to watch, but THE WAY Aston Villa’s U18s like our U23s, as with the ladies teams went about their football.
Hearing that Aston Villa had not only footed the bill for the Broxbourne players hotel accommodation but also had paid for the coaches to transport their vocal support all the way from Hertfordshire, made me doubly proud. A class act when we choose to be!
They might not always win but for the most part the other teams at the club really do fight like lions and play attacking, pass and move football. The stark contrast to how our senior team performed last Tuesday night against Dean Smith’s Brentford and again later on Saturday against Forest was not missed by me or the friends I watched the game with at all.
As always it was an absolute privilege to watch Aston Villa’s young lions on Saturday morning; as it was at ridiculous hours of the morning last May watching the live streams on You Tube which culminated in last season’s U18s winning the main Hong Kong Sevens Cup for a record 6th time.
I’m not stupid enough to think that development football is in anyway comparable to one of the toughest leagues known to football namely the Championship.
However when you see a goalkeeper and his teammates in injury time, already 6-0 up and through to the next round, seize an opportunity to score a wonderful counter attacking 7th goal by a centre back for goodness sake; a goal that even Dortmund would be proud of! You know those young players have guts, passion and fight in abundance and function as a proper team, playing attacking effective football; something that perhaps our senior players might do well to mimic.
Here is video of Mitch Clark’s fantastic counter attacking goal started by quick alert thinking by our U18 goal keeper Viktor Johannsen throwing the ball to four goal hero Harvey Knibbs; who unselfishly set up his on rushing centre back teammate.
As I left for Forest, a friend and his grand-daughter went on the tour of Villa Park instead and came across this worksheet left in the senior dressing room by the U18s earlier in the day and took a photo of it here.
The Winning Formula – by Aston Villa’s U18 squad
Absolutely brilliant to read.. the standards Aston Villa Football Club extol to all their young players so we were told by Luke Walker one of the club’s sports scientists. Sure enough once this photograph appeared on twitter Mitch Clark, Harvey Knibbs and Viktor Johannssen said their U18 group were proud of the work!
So onto the Forest game and back down to earth with a bump. Yet another disappointing 2-1 away loss live on SkyCurse, with a goal conceded in injury time, despite the new signings and a change of system to 3-5-2.
As I watched the post match interview, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Steve Bruce as he looked and sounded totally frustrated and dejected. I can’t fault how he handled the McCormack situation and he has my upmost sympathy in tackling a wayward, spoilt dressing room, who for too many years have quite frankly got away with murder with too many players and agents dictating to the club.
However maybe it was because I had been spoilt by watching great football and a big win at Villa Park in the morning, but I actually disagreed slightly with Bruce’s assessment of the game. Although the overly officious referee had no need to book Jack Grealish for a 2nd offence and consequently send him off. I thought we were very much the architects of our own downfall.
Whilst Last Tuesday night had been a total disaster with Dean Smith’s excellent Brentford shackling Henri Lansbury after the first twenty minutes and seizing on the big weakness in our team for me and constantly attacking the full backs, particularly Amavi. Saturday we were a little more fortunate because Forest did not press the ball quite as much and weren’t constantly in our faces like Josh McEchran, Ryan Woods & co had been.
As Bruce said we did create a few chances, Kodjia scored a great goal from a lovely assist from Jack Grealish and had it not been for a man of the match display; and a simply unbelievable save by ex Villa academy graduate goalkeeper Stephen Henderson from a close range shot from James Chester; we could have come away with a precious point at least.
For the record, I’m quite a fan of 3 at the back because if played correctly with the 3 in midfield it enables the wingbacks to bomb forward and you also can play two strikers up front. Personally I loved us playing that way under John Gregory and I remember us reaching the top of the premier league playing that system too. I was also at the KC stadium the night before Paul Lambert was sacked and I well remember Hull under Steve Bruce out footballing us and roundly beating us that night even though Hull were relegated and we managed to stay up under Sherwood.
However on Saturday as soon as we went 1-0 up we started to do what we have been doing for so many years, which is sink back into our shell and defend deeper and deeper as half time approached. Sure enough it came as no surprise when Forest got the equalizer just before half time and subsequently in the second half approaching the final whistle. It might have come from an error from Johnstone, but it was entirely because our players backed off, allowed the opposition far too much time and space and defended too deeply.
How refreshing to read in the official match report from Monday night’s U23 victory at Carrow Road that after going 1-0 up the youngsters did not sit back at all and went on to hold onto their narrow lead and win the game. “It’s always said attack is the best form of defence and this was clearly the message from the Villa bench.”
I’m afraid for too long our first team have played on the back foot and NOT demonstrated the club’s footballing philosophy embraced by our U18s on the pitch at all. Going through each point:-
- Honesty - eg tracking runners – look at Alan Hutton for Brentford’s second goal – Abysmal! I tweeted last week Surely Tom Leggett and Riccardo Calder (our current U23 full backs) would have put more of a shift in at Brentford than Hutton & Amavi! Yet for weeks however badly both have played they’ve continued to be picked.
- Hard work – eg in recovery runs - When our youngsters lose the ball they track back to win it back and hunt in packs until they do. Do our senior team for the most part?
- Communication – fancy that... Players actually talking to each other on the pitch! At least Lansbury does now anyway. In fact he’d only been on the pitch a few minutes and he was shouting and waving his hands at Alan Hutton to get back in position.
- Winning mentality – positive thinking.
- Having each other’s back – constructive critiscm from your teammates but also sticking up for each other
- instead of looking round and blaming your teammates.
- Trust – knowing your teammates will give 100% - Can’t say even I trust some in our senior squad. They pass the ball to a team mate and then stand there and admire the pass. I thought the idea was to pass and then run into space?
- Professionalism – training should replicate matches. Our squad looked shattered when they came out 2nd half on Saturday. What’s wrong? Are we training them too hard? Not enough? Why are there fitness issues?
- Passion – to quote Sherwood and Roy Keane. “It takes balls to play for Aston Villa” Come on guys.. LET’S SEE YOURS!
- Learning – knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses – with so many new faces at the moment that will be impossible, but how sad when players who have played together for years look like virtual strangers too often on the football pitch.
- Enjoyment – It can’t be easy motivating 11 millionaires on a football pitch week in week out, but for me I would ask the players how they WANT to play football and try and see them enjoy playing that way. If it’s just a job and they don’t really like playing football apart from the fact it earns them an eye watering salary, then personally I’d ask them to find another profession or another football club perhaps.
- Leadership – Our seniors have lacked this for so many years. No one on the pitch taking responsibility and leading the other players vocally and by example. Henri Lansbury hopefully will grow into that role as the weeks go by.
- Banter –Bruce and the coaching staff are known to try their best to make it fun for the players and make them laugh. It’s sad when people are still calling it a toxic dressing room. Toxic people in any organisation can ruin the very best and it’s up to Steve Round and Bruce to remove any toxic players/staff from the club once and for all. The press referred to “the Bodymoor Heath Four” last season and for me it’s astonishing that two of the so called BMH4 remain at the club after such a disastrous season.
Personally I think “the smelly culture” Nigel referred to on the Radio WM phone in, comes from a club that has been totally manipulated by player and agent power for too many years. One where players had become so pampered that no one dared criticise them for fear of agent bombardment and their position being undermined. That’s ridiculous. If you have a player who’s slacking or causing trouble – you tell him if he’s behaving like a twit and also tell him if he behaves like a twit you and the club are not going to clean up his mess and cover his back! That’s basic common sense man management.
Obviously adopting a new system and so many new faces Bruce would argue he needs time – but I have to say eg Huddersfield under David Wagner brought in alot of new players last summer and hit the ground running right from the off!
With Bruce and the club now making excuses that the play off places are now probably only a pipe dream this season, which for me was always likely to be the case after amassing only 17 points last season. Surely it’s time for some serious reflection. Away at Brighton we played good football and put in a proper performance, albeit a 1-1 draw live on SkyCurse that actually we were all proud to watch. Subsequently, and I have no idea who is at fault whether it be the players themselves, the coaches or Bruce’s tactics BUT these are the areas that I feel our senior squad need to work on immediately if we are to develop “A Winning Formula” :-
PRESS THE BALL - We hardly ever press the ball as a team, instead we stand off the opposition, lose the ball too easily and don’t fight hard enough in packs to win it back.
STOP HIT AND HOPE - Instead of two centre backs hoofing the ball up field over the top of the midfield, if we’re going to be playing a 3-5-2 system, are we now going to see three of them doing the same? James Chester is a ball
playing centre back as the Bournemouth fans told us Tommy Elphick indeed was too. I’m sorry but almost every time one of the centre backs got the ball on Saturday, they hit it long up the pitch. That’s fine if you’re under pressure especially in the box, safety first...but it was depressing that this appears to be becoming a habit anywhere in our half of the pitch, pressure or no pressure.
BUILD FROM THE BACK Sam Johnstone hardly ever distributed the ball to the defence at Brentford or at Forest - it was constantly kicked long and consequently kept coming back at us, as we hardly seemed to win possession either initially or off the second balls. As John Collins said on Radio 5 proper football starts with the goalkeeper distributing it to the centre backs who then pass to the MF who then feed the strikers using the width of the pitch. When I made this point to a fellow Villan they said to me the other day “You want FIFA football. Doesn’t happen in the real world and it’s not Bruce”
Firstly I’ve never played on FIFA so I have no idea what “FIFA football is”.
Secondly, I’m sorry but the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating and the teams that play the most attractive football in the Championship, who press, pass and move at high tempo are the ones at the top of the table pushing for promotion.
Aston Villa on the other hand are 14th in the same division, despite the club spending eye watering millions and having £22 million worth of summer buys now already out on loan in the January transfer window.
Football is evolving and the players and the manager perhaps need to evolve with it! You can’t just tell a team to be “up and at em” anymore. If the players resist the manager or are troublemakers then I wish Bruce would be brave enough to tell them to clean their lockers out and move their butts to the U23 dressing room so their younger counterpart can be upgraded.
USE OUR MIDFIELD What’s the point in buying the best midfielders in the Championship if the goalkeeper and the defenders are constantly hoofing the ball up field over the top of them to the strikers? The midfield is completely being bypassed too often! When we did on the odd occasion pass the ball to feet we actually caused Forest problems. Hit and hope is so easy to defend against and for me hoof ball is NOT football!
DON’T SHACKLE KODJIA TOO MUCH - just let him enjoy himself. He’s one of those players who must be a nightmare to defend against because neither the defenders nor his teammates know what he’s going to do next. Yes you’d like him and Hogan to click as a pairing sooner rather than later but that will come naturally hopefully.
PLAY AT A HIGHER TEMPO, again this slow build up is too easy to defend against. Hopefully with Lansbury, Hourihane and Hogan along with James Bree joining Kodjia and Adomah, we carry a potent counter attacking threat within the team and will utilise it to good effect. However work on the slow build up, quicken the tempo and put the opposition on the back foot especially away from home.
PASS AND MOVE instead of Pass and admire... might be a start anyway.
KISS - Keep the ball and Keep It Simple Stupid– that’s the phrase John Gregory said he used with his players. Stop trying the Hollywood passes until you’re in full flow, won countless games and we’re 4-0 up. Play the short pass that reaches a teammate because at the moment nowt is going for us, long passes are constantly being intercepted and we’re losing possession and finding it difficult to get the ball back.
Hopefully some of these issues will be solved with the confidence that comes from winning games of football. You would hope that with 4 of our next 5 matches being at Villa Park, where we remain the only unbeaten team in the Championship, we will pick up some confidence breeding wins and points.
GIVE MORE OF OUR YOUNGSTERS A CHANCE! – If and when it becomes mathematically impossible for Villa to reach the play offs then please can we bring more of the youngsters into the senior squad. What a waste under Eric Black last season when even our fate was sealed, he insisted on playing the same senior dross week in week out who invariably lost apart from a token sprinkling of U21s. The best game we saw at Villa Park last season was the thunderous U21 3-2 victory against West Ham. It might have ended in the whole team getting involved in a fracas but the amount of passion, guts and fight in that team was fantastic to see after watching the likes of Lescott, Guzan make sure we lost every week
.
The likes of Sarkic, Calder, Sellars, Leggett, McKirdy,Corey-Taylor, Hepburn-Murphy and Keinan Davis etc etc deserve to be given some more minutes this season, here and there surely as a reward for all their hard work. They are wonderful prospects that need development like Andre Green and we were promised being in the Championship would give our academy players a chance to shine at the beginning of the season. We’ve gone out and bought young players from other clubs, what about the ones we already have who are attracting admiring comments from scouts from top clubs up and down the country?! I know because I’ve sat at U23 games and listened to them!
Whilst we’re on the subject I would also suggest that the club stream more of Villa’s U23, U18 & Ladies games live on Facebook. I.4 Million people have viewed live or after the event our 7-0 FA Youth Cup win. So far there have been around 154,000 views of the U23 game at Villa Park a few weeks, which was also streamed on Facebook live.
What a wonderful advert for Aston Villa Football Club.
The same club that has been made a laughing stock by the first team losing almost every time we’ve been beamed across the football globe live on TV for years.
That has to change!
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