Sunday’s Cup Tie with Bournemouth will be Aston Villa’s moment of truth.
Article by Luke Heyes
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Aston Villa failed to score once again in what was though a much improved, higher-tempo performance. There were far more chances created since the nightmare-ordeal at Leicester last week and obviously if Villa had have taken their chances, it could quite easily have been a different story and result. In front of what was a largely full stadium and vibrant crowd, Villa saw an equal amount of possession and dominated the match for heavy periods, particularly in the second half. The planned boycotting of seats for the first eight minutes failed to materialise and rather than empty seats, fans were ever present, full in number, cheering the boys on. This obviously helped the team but it didn’t prevent Liverpool bagging an early goal in the form of a skilled stab from Fabio Borini. Lambert scored and celebrated wildly to seal victory late in the second half and the other Lambert was once again found to be flaunting that all too familiar expression as the final whistle blew; the scratching of the head, the loosening of the collar, the stroking of three-day stubble and that general, muddled, dumbfounded yet still crudely buoyant look that he has somehow now managed to fashion into a mask. We didn’t win; we went home empty handed, frustrated, unrewarded, still wanting, however, and I say this with upmost caution, I feel somewhere inside my weak and withered bones that Aston Villa may have reached a decisive period in their season.
Fans have had far too much to endure recently and Aston Villa’s chink in armor has now become a gaping hole. The manager has broken so many records and our team has become synonymous with the cruel, unforgiving adjectives: ‘boring’, ‘rudderless’ and ‘disappointing’. There has been stagnation on the pitch, complacency in leadership and management; players have refused to sign new contracts and lesser clubs have confidently outspent us while at the same time, playing more creative, attacking free-scoring football. Randy Lerner has washed his hands with the strongest bacterial soap possible and is now simply waiting until the right buyer comes along and takes over our beloved club. All of these issues are enough to make even the non-fickle fan bowl over and weaken at the knee but this black cloud cannot and won’t last forever.
Carles Gil might not be able to save Aston Villa’s season on his own but judging on his performance and impact as he made his thirty-minute debut, he can definitely be the creative output that the club are in desperate need of. His trickery, ease on the ball and ability to find the defence-splitting pass were all clearly evident. He is no David Silva just yet but with more premier league experience, there is no reason to suggest that he can’t go on to emulate the performances of his self-confessed hero. Gil will be given the full ninety minutes on Sunday, I’m certain, when Bournemouth come to Villa Park in what will be an extremely tough fixture. The Cherries will be relishing the encounter and Villa will likely be the more nervous of the two sides; if they take positives from the weekend going into the match, it will be a real opportunity to shift the doom and gloom that has suppressed us of late. A win against Bournemouth will be massive, but a convincing win with solid performances and goals will be euphoric.
Let’s try to forget the fact that success is not going to happen overnight and Rome wasn’t built in a day. Tom Fox is on the look out for a director of football operations and is trying to revamp the support networks at the club. Slick, experienced professionals are beginning to infiltrate and there is the sense that backroom matters are slowly improving. An assistant manager is crucial however and it needs to be a professional appointment that won’t damage morale. A few more players have been linked and hopefully there will be some new attacking additions before the window closes. I sense that Sunday’s match will be a much improved cup performance, Villa will be victorious and confidence levels will return.
This is a moment of truth and we will be ready!
© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
Listen and subscribe to the e-Football Podcast for FREE!
Aston Villa failed to score once again in what was though a much improved, higher-tempo performance. There were far more chances created since the nightmare-ordeal at Leicester last week and obviously if Villa had have taken their chances, it could quite easily have been a different story and result. In front of what was a largely full stadium and vibrant crowd, Villa saw an equal amount of possession and dominated the match for heavy periods, particularly in the second half. The planned boycotting of seats for the first eight minutes failed to materialise and rather than empty seats, fans were ever present, full in number, cheering the boys on. This obviously helped the team but it didn’t prevent Liverpool bagging an early goal in the form of a skilled stab from Fabio Borini. Lambert scored and celebrated wildly to seal victory late in the second half and the other Lambert was once again found to be flaunting that all too familiar expression as the final whistle blew; the scratching of the head, the loosening of the collar, the stroking of three-day stubble and that general, muddled, dumbfounded yet still crudely buoyant look that he has somehow now managed to fashion into a mask. We didn’t win; we went home empty handed, frustrated, unrewarded, still wanting, however, and I say this with upmost caution, I feel somewhere inside my weak and withered bones that Aston Villa may have reached a decisive period in their season.
Fans have had far too much to endure recently and Aston Villa’s chink in armor has now become a gaping hole. The manager has broken so many records and our team has become synonymous with the cruel, unforgiving adjectives: ‘boring’, ‘rudderless’ and ‘disappointing’. There has been stagnation on the pitch, complacency in leadership and management; players have refused to sign new contracts and lesser clubs have confidently outspent us while at the same time, playing more creative, attacking free-scoring football. Randy Lerner has washed his hands with the strongest bacterial soap possible and is now simply waiting until the right buyer comes along and takes over our beloved club. All of these issues are enough to make even the non-fickle fan bowl over and weaken at the knee but this black cloud cannot and won’t last forever.
Carles Gil might not be able to save Aston Villa’s season on his own but judging on his performance and impact as he made his thirty-minute debut, he can definitely be the creative output that the club are in desperate need of. His trickery, ease on the ball and ability to find the defence-splitting pass were all clearly evident. He is no David Silva just yet but with more premier league experience, there is no reason to suggest that he can’t go on to emulate the performances of his self-confessed hero. Gil will be given the full ninety minutes on Sunday, I’m certain, when Bournemouth come to Villa Park in what will be an extremely tough fixture. The Cherries will be relishing the encounter and Villa will likely be the more nervous of the two sides; if they take positives from the weekend going into the match, it will be a real opportunity to shift the doom and gloom that has suppressed us of late. A win against Bournemouth will be massive, but a convincing win with solid performances and goals will be euphoric.
Let’s try to forget the fact that success is not going to happen overnight and Rome wasn’t built in a day. Tom Fox is on the look out for a director of football operations and is trying to revamp the support networks at the club. Slick, experienced professionals are beginning to infiltrate and there is the sense that backroom matters are slowly improving. An assistant manager is crucial however and it needs to be a professional appointment that won’t damage morale. A few more players have been linked and hopefully there will be some new attacking additions before the window closes. I sense that Sunday’s match will be a much improved cup performance, Villa will be victorious and confidence levels will return.
This is a moment of truth and we will be ready!
© e-Football 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
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