The Aston Villa Ten Commandments continued…
6. Thou shall keep Christian Benteke
Hats off to the Villa board, so far so good in this matter. Every transfer window brings a fresh threat of the Belgian departing, which Villa have resisted so far. While Benteke has been through some lean spells this season, I don’t see any other Villa striker getting even close to double figures for the season. An improved midfield with more dimension going forward would undoubtedly make more use of Benteke’s talents. At the moment, he is under-used as a target man for the hoof. His finest moments and goals are always when Villa have strung a few passes together and have executed clever link-up play around the opponents box. Give Benteke the ammunition and you’ve got Villa’s first 20 plus league striker since Dwight Yorke.
7. Thou shall not hoof
Football fans pay their money to be entertained and hopefully watch a decent football match. Some of the football at Villa Park in recent times has been dire. Premier League players get paid extortionate amounts of money to provide the best level football you’re meant to be able to see in the UK. Sometimes though, you’re better off going down to the local park on a Sunday. Of course, it’s not just Villa’s problem. Look at West Ham, a team with a rich heritage of passing football, but Sam Allardyce gets booed due to his direct style, even when the Hammers win. Villa tend to score when there’s been a bit of actual football preceding the goal, not after a predictable hail mary hump up field. The likes of Delph, Westwood and Weimann all have bright footballing minds and would benefit from a change in philosophy. Also, I think Benteke is getting bored with being the poster boy for the hoof; if you want to keep him, you’ve a better chance if he’s enjoying his football. The fans want more style and I’m pretty sure the players do too.
8. Thou shall seek more leaders
Ron Vlaar is one. Delph through his actions can inspire. Guzan is commanding at the back, barking out orders. But beyond that, Villa need more experience and leaders in the squad. The idea of getting Grant Holt as a ‘proper man’ was a nice idea, just the wrong player, as he’s ultimately a past-his-best striker. More experience and seasoned professionals who roll their sleeves up would certainly help in negotiating cup ties against lower division teams, who always come fired-up to play the Villa. Frequently losing against such teams (Bradford, Millwall, Sheffield United) in Lambert’s reign, when easy paths to Wembley then beckoned, has cost Villa supporters considerable feel good factor and potential adventures. We need to be less fragile. Experience helps.
9. Thou shall create a Holte End to impress the rest of the Premier League
Still to this day, despite the influx of new stadiums and increased capacities amongst the top clubs, no free-standing stand in the English game has the potential to make a name for itself as the always impressive Holte. We can sit here all day behind our computers, ipads and mobiles, picking fault with the team and manager, but what are we going to do about helping get this club back to where it belongs? So, supporters, it’s time to go that extra yard, let’s get together, com up with ideas, plan banners, displays, new chants and take the Holte onto the next level. It can only increase the enjoyment of match days for supporters and also inspire the team onto better things. The Brigada 1874 boys in the corner of the lower Holte do their bit, but we need that effort right across the two tiers of the Holte.
10. Thou shall have a voice as a Villan
The relaunch of the Aston Villa Supporters Trust (AVST) is weeks away (the new website is almost done and will be live in two weeks time). The aim is simple, to create a representative body that will help push the club’s ambition, increase Villa supporters’ standing on a national level and also help in local community projects. It will also potentially prove a vital supporter–club communication channel. The club have been open to the concept over the past few months and Villa fans constantly complain about a lack of interaction, so the potential is there. The AVST can become whatever you want it to become, so get involved, sign-up and follow on social media. We have several months ahead, before the new season starts to create something beautiful. The old AVST site can be found here – http://villatrust.org.uk/ and you can follow them here on facebook
UTV
Thanks to Kurt Marcus for turning Charlton Heston into Paul Lambert!
Follow @oldmansaid
We need the holte end rocking to lift the team! Take a leaf out of the holmesdale fanatics at crystal palace, could easily use some of their chants!
Holte showed promise against Hull, hopefully it’ll be a launch pad for next season.
With respect to Commandment #3, the Rooney header is an excellent example of one player’s inability to stay with an attacker. Watch a replay — please ! Delph tracked Mata step for step until Mata reached a point 25 yards from the goal, then he stopped to watch the ball and various other ManU players, while Mata sped forward forcing (!) Clark to move towards Mata — leaving Rooney open. It is a classic case of Delph misunderstanding the game.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who notices the mistakes Delph makes, that land the team in trouble . As some seem to think that his energy to attack is all that matters
It baffles me how they keep being guilty of this.
Thou shalt stop playing players out of position such as Bacuna (timon) at full back when he is a promising winger and Clark as a centre back when he is a midfielder!
Clark a midfield ? strange then that he lead Villa reserves to a few victories @ CB a position he plays for Eire @ & for England youth in his earlier years
True but he also played midfield for our reservesand also when he first came into the team … Buy point taken! He hasnt improved much tho last two years and Baker looks better, but I do think hes a decent player who could play in a defensive midfield role.
Most importantly Lerner, the Board of Directors & Lambert must spend some Money!!! But spend it wisely, £40 mil would suffice, a Left & Right Back, a decent Central Back to give cover for Vlaar & O’Kore. 2 Mid-fielders (1) Attacking & (1) all rounder & a Striker (Luis Suarez type)!! Easier said than done, but Lambert has been @ the Helm for nearly 2yrs, & prior to Villa, he was @ Norwich, so he should have experience, in finding quality players. #2 Start playing some attractive passing football, I’m seriously, when are We going to play some Attractive Passing Football!!! Confident Player’s play attractive football, their confident with the ball @ their feet, their confident passing the ball & receiving the ball & playing that Type of Football, Always leads to goals & Winning!! Opponents are Afraid of teams that can link passes together & move Forward!!!
Extra commandment:
Thou shall not say “I thought we were excellent”, apart from the rare occasions when it is true. – by Iain Colquhoun ( @Colly1961 )
Extra commandment:
Thou shalt not wait until the 75th minute to make a substitution – by Shannon Mackenzie on Twitter ( @higgins091 )
Extra commandment:
Thou shall not use the phrase ‘we’ll be fine’ – by Dale Perrins on Twitter ( @DalePerrins )
Thou shalt fuck Lambert off as soon as the season is over.
for leadership it will be interesting to see what happens with the U21’s captain Daniel Johnson in the summer as he turns 22 in October , but he does have a year to run on his contract ! So if he is to step up surely this summer will be when it happens ?
As always, an interesting summer to see if young talents like Grealish and Robinson will be integrated into the first team squad more too.