Aston Villa are back in the lime light under Martin O’Neill and rightly so. Not only are we back in the lime light but we are also back to being a very difficult team to break down and beat and one that can now take comfort in the fact that we can compete with ANY team on our day.
Fine, we are still short of bodies and I’m sure that Martin O’Neill would love to have had time to bring in a few more signings before the transfer window closed, but WAHEY (copyright John Cresswell) to the arrival of Stiliyan Petrov (Stan) as his debut was nothing short of majestic.
Happy days indeed, yesterdays game showed that there is no reason why we shouldn’t be in the top half of the table and compete for Europe ‘Why not?’ said Petrov when asked adding ‘We all have dreams and want to follow our dreams. We can work hard, hope everyone stays fit and see what happens.’
Villa came flying out of the blocks yesterday and were soon a goal up thanks to quick thinking and determined finishing by Liam Ridgewell. He really is coming on leaps and bounds so far this season looking far more Premiership quality each game he plays. There might be a lesson there for the boo boys who want the youth players to come through and then don’t give them a chance when they make mistakes?!
The rest of the half belonged to Villa apart from one moment of madness from Thomas Sorenson when he gifted Harewood (or was it Zamora?!) the ball in the box only for the Hammers striker to miss a golden opportunity to draw level.
Angel hit the crossbar twice during the game, he needs that slice of striker luck now as he is certainly back and buzzing despite playing up front on his own with Moore and Agbonlahor being utilised more as attacking wingers or support strikers. The formation was interesting with Mellberg taking the right back slot, Laursen and Ridgewell in the centre and Gareth Barry dropping back to left back. That made room for Davis and McCann to remain in the line up AND for Petrov to make his debut – and what a debut! If only his deft flick over Roy Carrol had gone in he’d have been contender for the goal of the month if not the season. A majestic touch that reminded me of Paul Merson at his very best. How that was cleared off the line is anyone’s guess, shame because that would have been game over!
In the second half Villa became ragged for a 25-30 minute period and Gabby and Luke Moore especially looked knackered. During that time Bobby Zamora popped up with a lucky (!) deflected goal but even then I couldn’t see Villa losing the game, they have far more steel these days. Towards the end Villa rallied and made a few other chances, with a cross by Gabby only inches away from being knocked in by a couple of Lions, but it wasn’t to be and despite having the best chances, the honours were shared. Alan Pardew must have been the happier manager with the draw, he knew despite them having the lions share (or should that be the Irons share?) of possession, that Villa were the better team on the day.
Match stats:
Player Ratings
Thomas Sorenson 5
low mark for that moment of madness!
Olof Mellberg 8
The bearded one was superb as per usual!
Liam Ridgwell 8
Great goal, great performance, a captain of the future.
Martin Laursen 8
A welcome return and a good return, not afraid to get in with his tackles.
Gareth Barry 8
Pushed Stilyan close for man-of-the-match. Wonder what he thinks of dropping back?
Steven Davis 7
Competed well, kept their midfielders quiet.
Gavin McCann 7
Same as Davis, got stuck in.
Stiliyan Petrov 10
Great debut, crunching tackles, Merson like skills, sooooo close to a goal. Looked like he’d been in the team for years.
Luke Moore 7
Good performance, just needs a bit more aggression and to push on now.
Gabriel Agbonlahor 7
Same as Luke, played well, is tricky with his pace, but did bottle out of a tackle or two!
Juan Pablo Angel 9
So close to scoring, got involved, again covered every blade of grass. The Angel is back!
Milan Baros (for Angel)
not on long enough to rate but it didn’t take long for the minority to start moaning about him!
Manager Rating
Martin O’Neill – Superb, only been with us for four games (four unbeaten games) and already a fans favourite, he looks a Villa man through and through, most unlike our previous manager, what was his name again?
Opponent Rating
Not sure if West Ham were poor today or if we stopped them playing their natural game, probably the latter! Nice of the Hammers fans to remember they were playing at home and to sing for 10 minutes out of the 90, most impressive!!!!
Me?!
Great day out, good to meet up with friends old and new and the Sol was nicely chilled as well. Shame the M25 is such a hell hole of a motorway now (where is that Chris Rea Road to Hell cd?!). A return visit next week, this time for Watford. In with the posh people in a box, got my prawn sandwhiches on order already, wonder if I can behave myself! ;-))
