It had been a long time coming but Aston Villa and their biggest rivals Birmingham City finally met once again on Tuesday night.
Fans prepared for what was deemed a ‘must win’ game for Aston Villa. While I can’t call it a classic derby clash, looking back at the game, there are definitely positives to be taken from this match.
Firstly, let’s try to understand the game plan Sherwood and his staff opted for. To the frustration of most fans, the first half was one of the poorest I’ve seen for a long time. Not only did Agbonlahor play but Sherwood had chosen Clark to become part of a three-man midfield. This meant there were limited chances being created up front and it was a long ball game up to Gestede, who, without the correct support, is limited.
The Blues were without doubt more likely to score in the first half and, given their recent form in the Championship, everyone understood the threat they posed.
The turning point came with the changes at half time, which allowed Clark to go back to his normal position and which meant we had Grealish, Ayew, Sinclair and Gestede all up front, floating about to try and create channels for the midfielders. This proved to be a better strategy and, within twenty minutes, the Villans scored the game’s only goal – a classic header from Gestede. As frustrated as the fans were in the first half, Sherwood claimed it was always his plan to use the long ball first then change things around in the second half, knowing the visitors wouldn’t be prepared for this dramatic change. Whether or not we believe the manager is another matter.
Other positives from the game were individual efforts. These came most notably from the likes of Veretout, Ayew and Grealish. I watched the whole game and, despite a poor first half showing, Veretout was the one player I thought could save his team from a disappointing result. His calmness on the ball and his ability to pick his head up and find a pass is what we need as we try to strengthen our midfield. Ayew and Grealish came on at half time and we all thought we could expect a performance from Villa fan Grealish, who played his part in the goal, but Ayew, who has been disappointing since his arrival, showed what he can produce. He can take on defenders and always has his eye on the goal. If Sherwood really wants to play to Ayew’s strengths then he needs to let him stay up field. Watching Ayew in a Villa shirt, his ability to go backwards and hold off players suggests he doesn’t have a strong defensive side to his game and Sherwood should pick up on this point as Ayew could be an excellent goal-scorer and creator for this new Aston Villa team.
On the whole, Tuesday’s game was very special for many reasons. There are positives and fans must continue backing the players and the manager himself to build confidence and to allow them to show us all what we want to see. Due to the number of signings Sherwood has made, we need to give him at least two years to show that he is capable of making Aston Villa Football Club a top ten team.