The Good, Bad and Ugly of Villa’s Season Opener
The first day of the season is traditionally the time when every fan up and down the country genuinely believes that this could be their season. So why did it feel like the white flag was raised at Villa Park?
The Good
A point against the team that pipped you on goal difference to get into the Champions League is not a bad result. To do it with ten men after Ezri Konsa got himself sent off is even better.
Why not throw in a debut goalkeeper as well who, despite not being Emi Martínez, was able to save a shot?
What madness is this? A back-up goalkeeper who looks like he’s played there before? But more on Mr Bizot soon.
In all, a good result, despite not playing fluently. The unbeaten home record now stands at a record 19 Premier League games and 22 in all competitions. A run that fans leaving the overflowing urinals after defeat against Arsenal this time last season could only have dreamed of.
While starting with a win is every team’s ambition, this result and the circumstances will help with the hangover from last season.
Villan of the Week – Marco Bizot
When Anthony Elanga was bearing down on Bizot’s goal after just a few minutes, the writing was on the wall for how the rest of the day was going to turn out.
Instead, Bizot stood his ground and pulled off a no-fuss save. He followed this up with another soon after and was relatively untroubled for the rest of the afternoon.
Three high claims, a 100% save percentage and no unnecessary yellow cards meant Player of the Match in the eyes of Villa fans and the feeling that a problem position had finally been upgraded.
The Bad
Whether it was the impending move of Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle United, the weak surrender of a tifo hoisted in the Holte End before kick-off, or the after-effects of last season, the feeling around Villa Park was flat.
Newcastle adopted the trendy PSG kick-off by knocking it rugby-style into the corner, immediately putting Villa under pressure at the back.
Aston Villa, in their pomp, would have welcomed this and played their way through the Newcastle press, but the players just weren’t at it.
A team percentage of 73% for accurate passes compared to Newcastle’s 83% with 141 more is brutal, and a drop-off of 12% and 36 total passes from the same fixture at the end of last season.
While Newcastle were competent, Villa were careless and lacked any imagination going forward. An xG of 0.0 in the first half and total shots of three to the Geordies’ 16 highlighted the lack of a cutting edge, or more apt, the lack of care to protect the ball and work it into the correct positions.
While Matty Cash had a stellar performance defensively, his woeful cross behind all his attackers led to the breakaway where Konsa got himself sent off.
While it’s wrong to blame Cash for Konsa’s naivety, his lack of care led to disaster, just as it did in the last game at Old Trafford.
Unai Emery needs to get the team sharpened up for the next game against a wounded Brentford and have them show the detail in passing and decision-making that he shows in video analysis.
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The Ugly
While nobody was happy to see Jacob Ramsey leave for Newcastle, it was just one of a series of markers that made Aston Villa show a victim complex off the pitch rather than a siege mentality.
You had the tifo with “No Limits to Our Dreams” when everyone had been battered with the limits of PSR, SCR and wage percentages via social media all pre-season.
Personally, you’d have been better copying Legia Warsaw’s Lego tifo from last season to show that Villa were very much alive and kicking.
Surprise PSR MF’rs!
Then you had John McGinn, Unai Emery, Damien Vidagany and Monchi complaining about PSR and the rules very publicly in the lead-up to the Ramsey transfer.
I get that it could be a cultural thing, but it came across as Villa giving up on competing because of the unfair rules rather than sticking two fingers up and coming out firing with what you’ve got.
It’s a mindset that echoed the performance on the pitch: frustrated, careless and disjointed, and ultimately ugly.
To be a success and smash the rules, which are admittedly restrictive to all but the select few clubs, you have to create the mentality that they cannot stop a well-run Villa side with an axe to grind.
UTV
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