Palace show Villa exactly what they are missing

“Perfection is the enemy of perfectly adequate.” - Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene Takavic

I think it speaks a lot that I'm thinking slightly more about the Joshua v Usyk clash and bastard Pokemon Yellow more than Aston Villa right now.

Crystal Palace was yet an another dire offering in the opening three weeks. First, Villa failed to show up against Bournemouth, then they forgot to give fans water in 33c heat at Villa Park (but they did win), then they repeated the Bournemouth showing slightly further north against Palace.

So yeah, forgive me for not thinking too much about Villa. The failure to build on the Everton result has given me the heebie-geebies about Stevie G.

Viera's got it going - but what about Gerrard?

Against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa's midfield was a black hole. The ball went into the middle of the park, it twirled around the structures of spacetime and probability, and then the Palace scored.

That's actually a bit false, to be honest.

A black hole has power, Villa's midfield had none.

Funny that - when you consider the figures in the dugout once represented the elite of the Premier League when it comes to that exact area.

And yet, Patrick Viera made Steven Gerrard's experience look pub-level.

In my mind, Viera's Crystal Palace are exactly what Villa should be. There's flair - but it is disciplined. There's gamesmanship, but it is not overly edgy. There's aggression, but it is controlled. They are winners - and Villa are not. All the promise for this season seemed to centre around Viera's side of the dugout, with Gerrard once again looking a sullen figure.

I think one big flaw of footballing fandom in 2022 is the fact that we blame our own side for the loss. Football is a game of mistakes and scoring happens when mistakes are capitalised on, and for as much blame you put on your own team you have to give credit to the opposition.

So Villa shit the bed, but Wilfried Zaha made them do it. Villa had no answer for his brilliance. He's a wonderful footballer and he's at the top of his game.

I think there's some elite ballers at Palace - Ebere Eze and Zaha highlight that alongside Michael Olise, but it's not those who really define them.

They are getting so much more from Jordan Ayew than Villa were ever capable of, as well. The fact he's still a Premier League player amazes me, but it's not exactly a surprise - he defines this Palace side.

A side with a manager who makes them greater than the sum of their parts. Viera has done an excellent job at Palace, who adapt, survive and thrive to the changing tides of the Premier League.

That should be Villa, but they look a bit ship-wrecked right now don't they?

I can't believe I'm saying this after that start but it all crumbled too quickly. For as often as Villa find success in chaotic games, it is control where they look under duress.

Bizarrely, a midfield of Boubacar Kamara, Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn looks ineffective at best and inexistent at worse. The trio fared well against Everton, and it was Kamara left fighting fires against Palace following giveaway after giveaway.

I can't get my head around the fact that Gerrard, McAllister and Critchley are leading this team and how the lead midfielders in McGinn and Ramsey look lost.

Theoretically, they shouldn't - but football isn't played in textbook pages, it's on the pitch, and Villa's midfield looks bad.

How will they fix that?

Well, firstly I believe Gerrard can be doing so much better with the players he has, acquisitions can't always be the answer and the gaffer said as much post-game. Ramsey and McGinn have starred at this level before, Boubacar Kamara will be fantastic, Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba have proven their credentials while there will be room for Tim Iroegbunam to impress.

This midfield might not be world class, but it can be solid and creative. That's so much more than what it has offered so far. Palace had their players looking better than expected. Villa had them playing well worse than one might think.

In the big picture, the issue needs to be rectified rather quickly and Villa could do well with finding some form.

That's because they've scratched off two winnable games, with the fixture list only looking more difficult as we go on.

Sarr Tissue

At any point in Aston Villa's recent history, the purchase of Ismaila Sarr from Watford would've been the statement signing of the summer.

Any point but now. An additional signing to supplement Villa's forwards? Right now?

Cheers, I guess - but it's not the problem is it?

I'm not one of these who thinks signing A happens instead of signing B (the transfer market is volatile and mostly unpredictable, you can't time your signings that well). That means I don't think Sarr has happened instead of a midfield purchase.

However, I do get the feeling that the massive resource used to secure Sarr could've been better utilised in buying a midfielder for Villa.

Sarr is a cracking buy, but his purchase actually raises more questions than it answers. Mainly about how the squad will be made up to surround a player like Sarr.

For instance, do Aston Villa now need the same type of midfielder that they were looking for at the start of the season? Questionable. To me, it seems like the box-to-box link-up may need to be ditched in favour of more defensive solidity.

That theory itself evolves into more, and to put it simply, if Villa feel they need another '6' instead of an '8' then why don't they just play an additional midfielder out of the grouping of Iroegbunam/Luiz/Nakamba for now?

I don't think the purchase of Sarr is a buy to 'distract fans' from on-field issues. For real, what can distract anyone from the shitshow served up?

Odds and Holte Ends

• It's easy to think Villa have been the worst team in the league so far. Spare a thought for West Ham, Leicester and perhaps Everton as well. It's been a dire start for a bunch of clubs who would've been aiming high.

• I'm on the fence about Stevie G - and will remain on it for a good long while. I see a lot of talk about who would hypothetically succeed him if he was to leave later this season. I think Brendan Rodgers is written in the stars to be frank - Leicester are collapsing without financial backing, and he may be gone before too long. Other managers? If Villa can be as ambitious as they are in the transfer market, why not managers? Pochettino is available. So is Sean Dyche, who had Burnley playing European football, less you forget. Either way, this bunch represent managers who have specific ideas and methods. I think we're lacking that right now.

• Sherwood fell apart when he had Gabby and Rudy Gestede. Gerrard seems to be falling apart with Coutinho, Watkins, Ings, Buendia, Bailey, Martinez, Mings, McGinn, Ramsey. #makesuthink.

• We'd be plenty more forgiving of Villa if the circumstances allowed. The cost of living crisis continues, Villa asked for more money and bought more players. Success should be that simple of a formula, but it's not. I think the fans have been poorly treated, and are angsty because of that. Villa Park is an expensive day out to watch shite football these days, and that's on CEO-level decisions more so than Gerrard. I look forward to the next FCG minutes.