A shocking keystone cops series of moments from the Villa defence gifted Mourinho his first win over Villa at the home of football. To those who think with the white flag mentality of ‘Well, I didn’t expect anything anyway’, Villa had thwarted Mourinho five times before when they were the underdogs and had a decent shout to take something from this game once they were back on level terms.
While their will be disappointment at the result, the performance showed a lot more conviction than previous weeks, which was most welcome and provides the foundation for the seriously needed results-building of the next few weeks.
When the ball hits the net, it’s Okore!
Sad times when scoring a goal in defeat is considered something to celebrate as a Villa fan. 11 hours without a goal is a shocker as is the fact Paul Lambert’s team has failed to score in 42 of the 100 games he’s been in charge. But on the plus side, the monkey is off the team’s back and it’s nice to see Okore get some reward after his injury blues last season.
Gil for Real
The best overall Villa player performance was no doubt Carles Gil who was instrumental in Okore’s equalizer and dictated most of Villa’s play. He’s only just started but hopefully the Villa forward-line can get on his wavelength and start producing the goods.
At 22 and not considered good enough for the Valencia first-team, not too much was expected from Gil in the short-term, but he’s shown he can be a big player for Villa in the present and could be the difference for the team avoiding any relegation issues. He will need help though.
Next Two
The upcoming games against Hull City away and then Leicester City in the FA Cup will go a long way to setting the tone for the rest of the season. Lose both, and I wouldn’t like to be in Paul Lambert’s shoes. Win both and Villa’s season will get a much-needed bounce in it’s step. Confidence is needed fast as Villa’s relegation battle will be potentially won in February and March, when they play several teams around them. April sees a tough set of fixtures, making the need for points on the board by then, vital.
The Squad is Back
If there’s a relegation battle to fight it was good to see the likes of Ron Vlaar and Joe Cole sitting next to Christian Benteke on the bench against Chelsea. Lambert’s substitution may not have influenced any games when they’ve come on this season (Villa are the only team in the league not to have a goal-scoring sub), but stronger options to call upon can only help.
Aston Villa Fan Arrows
MOMS must get at least five messages a week from fans saying we should follow the example of the video of German club FC Magdeburg fans and their neon arrows pointing the way to goal.
We actually discovered that video a couple of years ago and joked it could be a solution to Villa’s goal drought back then. There’s been a few droughts over the years and we even included the video in A Venglos View back in August, so we were glad to finally see some Villa fans draw up some arrows at the Chelsea game. They certainly did the trick, as the team broke their duck. Well done lads! UTV
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What a pity for Lambert he will miss out on £99 million. That’s the prize for the new tv deal for finishing bottom 2016. Shame his team won’t be there to enjoy it. What’s the new tv deal for us? 17th in Championship £18.50?. Wow this wonderful team we have in charge may save us from administration yet. Oh yes Tom Cleverley is ” terrific ” contributing well to our inevitable demise. Why doesn’t Learner have a look at what’s going on in his club? Surely the new tv deal is of interest to him. If so he will Surely send Lamberk on his bike. Put anyone in charge thay have to do better
The sixth reason to be cheerful: Tom Cleverly is not playing badly at all, he just trying too hard, it must be true, Paul Lambert said so. And added, he will win the fans over.
So, what the manager is really saying, is, us, the thick, stupid, know nothing fans, have got it completely wrong, because according to the wise one, he had a decent game against Chelsea.
So there you have it, some might accuse him of having a narcissistic personality after some of his out pourings, but they would obviously be wrong, because Lambert is always right, and no way does he have an inflated sense of his own importance, and is definitely not worried about not being given the admiration he thinks he deserves, but I digress, Tom Cleverly has been rubbish at Aston Villa.
The seventh reason to be cheerful: Benteke was left out because of a dip in form. Now again, being a mere fan, and knowing absolutely nothing about football, I would have thought, that part of the manager’s job, was to motivate, and to get the best out of his players, if they can’t do that, they are a failure. Benteke has massive potential, but like others at the club, he’s looking jaded, and going backwards, but it’s not at all anything to do with Lambert, it’s completely the players fault.
The eighth reason to be cheerful: Paul Lambert is going to learn Portugese.
The ninth reason to be cheerful: By the end of his contract in 2018, he will be fluent in the above language.
who drew up the posters? Will we ever know? As with the pound sign protest… who produce those? Made a difference. The club gave Gregory the money to buy a forward.
Trevor FIsher.