As George lined up for that penalty my hands were shaking and my guts felt like I was on hunger strike. The old adrenaline hit of football is a weird thing to explain, let alone enjoy.
Walking out I heard some stupendous one eyed Blue noses talking like they’d been mistreated on a humanitarian scale tonight. I thought the ref was so bad it affected both teams, the difference being once they got a lead they were directing him more and more.
For all the talk of hostile behaviour and aggro, they were clapping like pensioners having a sing son before the game, and pretty flat especially around the half an hour mark. Beyond thinking documentary makes them big, it still remains a curiosity that the second city’s second club by a long margin, carries its name over Villa.
We look like a team that has lost its captain, its main striker and wonderkid winger. The window simply hasn’t been good enough yet and it told. My granddad has been dead twenty years, but he wasn’t the third likeliest Jack to affect the game positively tonight.
What Clarke and Taylor were doing when they weren’t missing was beyond me. All too often their decision making was baffling.
Greaves barely made many mistakes I thought and alongside Matusiwa showed two avenues for massive growth this season. The Dutch fella could have done with a partner in midfield, but he made some clever interventions and redirected the ball showing he has a real brain in there. A shame he wasn’t fit enough for 90 mins. But he could really be influential if he puts it together.
I wasn’t mad at the right side, Johnson could be more decisive and Ogbene direct but when they were it caused problems. Ashley Young was a Gamechanger though. To add that quality and experience into a match is priceless. I was sceptical, but I think he might raise several players around him as he embeds himself.
It’s great to have the football back, it’s galling we weren’t better and the lack of belief and fitness out there needs sorting. Ali coming on as a winger deserves a mention, you could see he wasn’t comfortable but he went for it and they didn’t like his running, it was typical he fell over as he got into his best position. If we can consistently harness the ability and the willingness we saw in glimpses tonight we’ll be much easier on the eye. |  |
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