By Richard Wakefield
Coming off of a hard-fought draw versus Second city rivals Birmingham City, Steve Bruce’s Aston Villa are back home to host a struggling Blackburn side that has only managed to take three points on the road once this season.
Bruce remains undefeated despite having his biggest scare yet at St. Andrews. With a clear starting XI and way of football in place, it’s time for the men on the pitch to put talk into action and develop the tactics into points.
Owen Coyle’s men sit in 23rd place but are by no means down and out. After a horrendous start, which even put Villa’s to shame, Blackburn have only lost once in their last four matches and are beginning to steer the ship in the right direction. Despite this, the match on Saturday is one that Bruce will have marked down as a must win for a promotion push.
Here’s three ways of making it happen…
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1. The Gabby Factor
Call this a wild card option. Another take away from the match versus the Blues was the inclusion of Gabby Agbonlahor. Is he in Bruce’s thinking for real, or was he just some Second City derby novelty decoration?
Bruce has stated that all of the players in the team have been given clean slates which has obviously been acted upon in the case of Agbonlahor. Being the polarising figure that he is, a section of fans will be happy to see Gabby return whilst many others will be shuddering at the sight of him.
However, one thing Agbonlahor does possess, is experience. A Premier League player for 10 years, if Agbonlahor can finally regain the fitness and focus that he showed us all in his younger years, Villa could have a player that would feel like a new signing. It’s a big ‘if’.
Although many others would prefer the inclusion of players like Rushain Hepburn-Murphy or Keinan Davis from Villa’s youth academy, is this time to give Agbonlahor one last chance?
Having Agbonlahor come off the bench again may be a likely possibility, with Ayew’s suspension freeing up a spot. Bringing on Agbonlahor against a tired and struggling team may be his best opportunity to show the fans why he deserves a last chance.
If you want to convince supporters that have given up on you, goals can be very persuasive.
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My Old Man Said is proud to be nominated in the Football Supporters Federation Awards – PLEASE VOTE MOMS HERE
