Good start?

August 31, 2009 by Steve Orchard
Filed under: Aston Villa 

Three wins on the trot, six points from nine in the league, out of the Europa Cup. Does this represent a good start or an indifferent one?

Winning at Liverpool seems to have shut the boo boys up. The win against Rapid was as tough a battle as I expected with them pulling ten people behind the ball. I also knew that we wouldn’t be able to keep a clean sheet. In some ways, going out at this stage might turn out to be a good thing, although MON may not have his ready made, “the players are tired”, excuse for later in the season!!

The Fulham game was as easy a win as we could have hoped for and one that Ciaran Clark would have wanted. An easy stroll in the park to begin his induction into the Premier League. That said, he was excellent from start to finish and looks like he’ll be yet another great defender from the Villa ranks. Shorey also played well, knowing that Warnock is ready, willing and able to take his place.

The pleasing thing from the last two league games is that Martin O’Neill has plumped for the 4-5-1 formation, one that gained Villa so many plaudits last season. Whilst I think we need more creativity through the middle and in particular, someone to weigh in with ten to fifteen goals a season from midfield, we look much more solid as a unit. Petrov can play his holing role, with NRC winning the ball and bursting forward but I think we also need a playmaker in there too. Van Der Vaart still hasn’t left Real Madrid!!

We head in to the international break now with plenty of our players flying off to all parts of the globe. It’s great to see Milner, Young (and Heskey) named in the England squad again. Milner has impressed me with his work ethic so far and is looking like a 12mill player.

Before the players return to Bodymoor Heath on the 11th, or so, of September, we may be in for a couple of new faces. Richard Dunne is negotiating his pay off from Manchester City before signing for Villa. We are still being linked with the likes of David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas from Spurs and West Ham’s James Collins. We’ll know much more at 5.01pm on September 1st. MON stated that he’s spend whatever was available to him, he said that he received some encouragement from the club doing the selling, let’s hope so.


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