Villa worries

Friday, 23/09/2011

by Steven Green, Shoot's Aston Villa blogger

After crashing, no, crashing is the wrong word, crashing would imply that we gave it a go. Bailed is a much better description so I’ll start again. After Villa bailed out of the League Cup this week there has been an overwhelming sense of doom and gloom around the club.

It was revealed that after the final whistle manager Alex McLeish engaged some of his established first teamers in an ‘adult discussion’ to pinpoint some of his tactical flaws. Now with the considerable number of the playing staff speaking of how enjoyable the training is under the new boss surely it’s too early in the season to be having these stern talks.

Although the season is only a few games old the team are clearly struggling. Unbeaten in the league they may be but they look shy in front of goal (with the exception of Agbonlahor), creatively impotent and exceedingly lightweight in the middle of the park.

The inability to hold onto a lead is particularly worrying but one positive is that the defence doesn’t look like crumbling so easily anymore. One thing is certain though; something has to change.

There hasn’t been a feel good factor at Villa Park for a while now. Not since 2009 have we looked exciting or dangerous. It’s amazing how quickly that can change but we’ve always got by.

Getting by isn’t what we want but we’re still in a transitional phase. McLeish needs to figure out his best system, N’Zogbia needs time to settle and find that scintillating form that made us go for him in the first place, he is undoubtedly struggling to live up to the expectation of filling Ashley Young’s boots and Darren Bent needs to stop trying so hard and then the goals will come.

All in all it’s been a strange start, not a disaster by any means but there has been nothing to shout about, the manager has had a mountain to climb from the start and the chairman hasn’t helped, we seem bleak but we do still have a very good team and as soon as the players themselves realise this then maybe, just maybe we’ll have a chance at a decent season.

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