Villa Park was rocking yesterday as Manchester United came to town and the performance was one worthy of a few celebratory Christmas drinks.
Lambert’s game plan was spot on in the hard fought draw: the Red Devils may have dominated possession but they really struggled to break the Villans down and couldn’t carve out any clear openings until their equaliser. It’s this steel and fight we need to see from the Villa boys every single time they take to the field, no matter who they’re lining up against.
There were some exceptional performances. Benteke, Delph and Vlaar all put in a shift, offering the usual quality that we have come to expect. They form a very solid spine that we need to build around in January.
I also have to mention the performances of Okore, Clark and Sanchez, three players who have been so refreshing to watch in the past few weeks. We all knew that Okore was a quality signing and he is now, finally, getting the chance to prove it and he could grow to become a leading Premier League defender over the next few seasons. As for Clark, I feel like I need to apologise for all the grief I have given him and the moaning I have done about him in the past because he has been excellent of late. The pair seem to read the game so well and really enjoy playing alongside one another. This could be a successful long term partnership forming at the back.
Sanchez seems to be growing into the league more and more with each passing week. I don’t remember one stray pass or him getting caught in possession at all yesterday. He looks assured and content, keeping things ticking over in the middle of the park.
Yesterday’s performance shows what the Villans can produce. We just need the consistency and if it weren’t for some appalling officiating we probably would have won yesterday, as we almost did with ten men. If that red card isn’t rescinded then I will be amazed, as it’s debatable if there was even a foul there at all.
I’m heading into the Christmas games with a positive outlook and I think we can at least win the two home games, which would give us a great base to build on going into the second half of the season and allow us to put that shocking run of form behind us.
Have a fantastic Christmas, Villa fans. Eat, drink and be merry!
1 Comment
the recent run has proved we are hard to beat, this is down to the emergence of clarke and okore, and sanchez settling in, and mr huttons fine form
and then there is the return of mr big up front,,,
i feel thought that a great deal of credit should go to lambert, finally we have seen some different tactics and although defensive it was with a great deal of composure, organisation and discipline
and it proves the squad is pretty good now, but we still need to score more goals and although it will be a shame if they go, delph and vlaar must be replaced with players who make and score goals especially against packed defences
so all in all happy days,, the next two games are winable too, although they will both be tough and could go either way,
also some credit must go to clarke,,, i still cant believe how he has come on this past two months, and credit to weinman who played in midfield and run himself into the ground, and although at fault for the cross
lowton did ok, thrown in against a team in form he put a shift in
so well done to all involved