That game actually gave me a headache. The first thing I did when I got home was take two paracetamol, and then I had a hot chocolate. I also watched ‘An Audience with Michael Buble` on my newly installed V+ HD box to see what the quality of the recordings were like. I was more impressed with that than I was the match.
I know this is meant to be a match report but, to be completely honest with you, I don`t want to talk about the match, as I think there are some far more pressing issues that need to be talked about in its place, so instead I`ll summarise it for you.
It was a poor game all around in all honesty, with Villa failing to capitalise on the previous Sunday`s 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge. That didn`t really matter though, as we should have been 2-0 up at half time as Emile Heskey smashed a shot against the post from close range and also headed wide from a corner in the two best chances carved out by the men in claret and blue before the break.
As it was though the game remained goalless and the second half began in an equally drab manner. You could sense that Sunderland were the more likely side to go on and win and that feeling was only compounded when Heskey was sent off in what was, I thought, and all-round confusing incident. It seemed to stem from a bit of bad feeling that was created by us looking like we were going to put the ball out after a Sunderland player went down but we then decided that we weren`t going to after all. Every player on the pitch and their dogs (aside from the goalkeepers) then joined in with a bit of handbags before an altercation with Jordan Henderson resulted in Heskey`s early bath.
Sunderland scored an inevitable goal with ten minutes left and the referee levelled up the number of men on the pitch by sending off Bolo Zenden before Houllier brought on Marc Albrighton and Barry Bannan about fifteen minutes too late. Cue a scrappy finish, lots of anger and frustration and lots of people leaving early, and who could blame them? The nasty-tasting icing on the cake was a slip into the relegation zone for the first time, according to the BBC anyway, since 2002.
I`m beginning to write this second part the morning after the night before, and although I`m not an advocate of short-termism, I really don`t know how Houllier has managed to hold onto his job. It seems that everyone but Randy Lerner can see that the players are just not responding to his methods, and it is obvious now that if we keep Houllier at the helm, results like the one we achieved on Sunday will be the exception and not the norm.
So, why is he still at B6? The cynic in me is suggesting that Randy doesn`t want to pay the compensation that Houllier is due. I can`t think of any other reason. After all, having seen most of our games this season, how has he not come to the conclusion that we are only going backwards? Some of the away performances alone should have been enough to set alarm bells ringing. What could Houllier possibly have said to him to convince him that he`s still the man for the job? He must be fantastic at PR.
If Randy really is intent on backing Houllier then he needs to do it properly and give him a big amount of money to spend this month so that he can begin to shape the squad in his own way. He just cannot expect to do it in a half-arsed, compromised way of offloading players while only bringing in loans or cheap deals. If he does, then only one place beckons, the Championship.
What of our talented/big-name (delete as appropriate) players too? The sad thing is that I really wouldn`t blame the likes of Stuart Downing and Ashley Young for waking up this morning, realising that we are no longer in a position to compete and marching into the manager`s office with transfer requests firmly in hand.
While travelling home last night I heard a middle-aged man talking to his mate in front of me, and one of the points he made consistently was that there are only 4 or 5 players in this Villa team are truly good enough to play in the Premier League. Personally I`m not sure that that`s true and I think that was probably a frustrated comment he made while he was still feeling pissed off about the result last night but it did get me thinking about the quality of the squad.
Debate seems to be split here. Some seem to think that O`Neill left us with a poor squad with a few talented exceptions, while others seem to think that he left us with a good first eleven and then a bunch of over-paid, under-used cloggers in reserve. Whatever your opinion of the squad, the fact remains that we have finished sixth for three Premier League seasons in a row. This morning, we are sitting in 18th. Nobody is to blame for that aside from current club staff, and yes, I do include Randy in that for letting MON piss a lot up the wall for no return, leaving us with the current need to reduce wages.
At least we can forget about Premier League football for a week and go up to Sheffield on Saturday with the romance of the FA Cup in the air and the dreams of a long cup run. I`m going to try and end on more on a positive note now by saying that, if, as the saying goes, things must get a little bit worse before they get better, we must believe that the ‘a little bit worse` part happened last night. I really do hope it did, for everyone`s sake.
Player Ratings
Brad Friedel 6
Didn’t have a great deal to do and can’t be held responsible for the failings of the outfield players.
Carlos Cuellar 5
Performed the best of all the defenders I feel but that isn’t saying much.
Ciaran Clark 4
Was played out of position and it showed, but that’s not the young lad’s fault.
Richard Dunne 4
Seemed too slow and vulnerable to pacey Sunderland attacks.
James Collins 4
Ditto Dunne.
Stuart Downing 5
Largely invisible as an attacking force but helped us keep the ball.
Gabriel Agbonlahor 3
Not a left-winger anyway but is also right-footed. Never play him there again, he’s wasted.
Stiliyan Petrov 4
I genuinely forgot he was playing at one point.
Nigel Reo-Coker 5
Full of running as usual but that isn’t always enough.
Ashley Young 6
Put in a few quality balls and was one of few who actually looked bothered.
Emile Heskey 7
Was our best player last night by some distance despite two misses and a red card.
Marc Albrighton N/A
Not enough time.
Barry Bannan N/A
Not enough time.
