Survivors!

With the transfer window closed and only two new recruits, both on loan, have the Villans got to worry about relegation?

It was a shame to see nothing happen on transfer deadline day as players who could have shone in claret and blue went elsewhere. Holtby joined Fulham on loan. If Lambert had bid for him, surely he would have come to us instead. Wilfried Zaha went to Cardiff when he is the sort of pacey young player Lambert looks for and would have been a great addition to our squad. With the window closed, ifs and buts mean nothing; the real focus now is on survival and this year I think Villa fans can rest easy.

Last year, we were conceding a lot of goals and had a really damaging goal difference. Luckily, this year our defence is a lot more solid and we are conceding fewer goals. I also think that we have a much stronger team this year as players seem to have the right mentality and can show resilience even when trailing. This was evident against Manchester City at home and mid-week against West Brom. It is pleasing to see and although we have seen some poor football this season we have never seemed likely to get a thrashing – something that was a regular occurrence in the past.

We have also scored more goals this season with twenty-seven goals in twenty-four games compared to last year’s twenty in the same period. We are also much higher up the table this year in tenth and five points clear of the bottom three, compared to last year when we were nineteenth and three points off sixteenth.

A big bonus over our last few games has been the resurrection of Benteke; he has been brilliant in the last four games I have seen, working hard for the team and back to scoring ways. If he can keep this up for the rest of the season and if we keep scoring goals, I can see us winning a lot more games. Another fantastic positive is the way Delph is playing. He has been brilliant and is showing that he is a player we need to keep hold of in the summer.

Last year we were one of the worst teams in the Premier League and, although at times this season we have looked poor, I do believe we are a mid-table team and on our day we can easily beat the teams below us. The likes of Fulham, Cardiff, Sunderland and Norwich and Crystal Palace all look poor and are teams we could beat any day.

There is still a worry that our home form has been poor this season and if our away form starts to suffer then we could find ourselves in some trouble. Looking ahead to next season, improving our home form needs to be a major focus for Paul Lambert if he wants to sell season tickets and attract big crowds to most games.

With our next two games seeing us face West Ham at home and then travelling to Cardiff away, we should be looking for the full six points as they are both teams our squad can beat.

Things are not perfect at the moment but after comparing this season to last it is clear we have improved, even if it is difficult to see how at times. We should be confident at the moment after the exciting derby match mid-week and an unlucky loss to Everton yesterday.

I am fairly certain the Villans will avoid a relegation battle and that they can come back even stronger next year. Up the Villa!

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3 comments

  1. things are marginally better this year,,, the jury is out on a relegation battle,,, other teams have bought players in during the window and this will have an effect
    momentum is every thing, if we take 3 or 4 points from the next 2 gamesthen great,,
    we can play well,,, its just if lamberts tactics
    come good,, but its too negative,,
    personally,, we are only 4 weeks away from that cup defeat,,,losing at home to a very poor sheff utd
    and were supposed to think we wont go down,,,
    we could easily loose the next two games, vlaar could be out
    and who knows if the big man will turn up front again,,
    lambert almost comically looked to catch Southampton in the league
    sadly they are far better than us,,,, their football is one for us to emulate,,,
    plan b mr lambert ,,, plan b,

  2. We are not in a relegation battle ! We have held our our own in 10th spot in the last few weeks ! That is where we will prob finish ! There are worse teams below us ! So dont be so negative ! Ok we lost to Everton ! So what ? We will be fine and still be in the prem next season ! UTV sotc x

  3. We are absolutely in a in a relegation battle, we have only held on to 10th place due to the results of others, The improvements we have seen of late are in games that we have taken to the opposition such as the 2nd half at Arsenal, and Liverpool and the spirit against the baggies, so surely the problem is PL’s tactics and that alone.
    The writer is right the next Two (four actually) games are massive and until 36 points are reached, I for one will be biting my nails as the impetus seems to always be with the opposition.

  4. I don’t see how anyone can categorically say that we are not in a relegation battle when we are only five points clear of 18th spot and results are all over the shop this season. I don’t think we should be in the battle in the closing weeks – we have already played 3 of the top 6/7 in Arsenal, Plop and Everton in our 5 reverse fixtures so far – but there is a chance.

    The frustration for me is the lack of options in our squad. We couldn’t set up against Everton as we did against Plop because Gabby was out injured (and he is fairly regularly). There is no. 10 to come in to allow Andi to push forward to support Tekkers and no replacement for Gabby. As such, we led with a Tekkers/Holt partnership – a disaster, particularly when your game is built around pacey counter attacking. We have enough no. 9 types to cover for Tekkers (Helenius and Bowery – if they are not up to it, why are they still here, particularly Bowery) and where we desperately need cover is for a Gabby/Andi injury. Frustrating when you see Ince, Zaha and even Puncheon joining our competitors – surely they would have come to Villa if offered??

    Equally, a potential Vlaar injury sees us going into a big game against West Ham with (potentially, subject to red card appeal) Clark and Baker against Carroll. Visions of a dark day in Newcastle come flooding back. Again, I can’t understand why Lambert entered a PL season with only one CB over 25 and with experience. This is the crucial position for me where experience (and by that I mean PL experience) is fundamental.

    There is potential for this squad to be challenging the likes of Everton, Newcastle and Southampton BUT he has to get it balanced and get the players we need to field the right formations in the right games.

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