Villa wouldn't have scored against Bournemouth if they played them for a millennia
“For whom the bell tolls. Time marches on ” - Metallica
I'm trying not to overreact, but for an away match that you aren't attending, you can only experience it via the forum of social media.
And my oh my - was it a bad reaction.
I hate overreaction. We've seen people want to shoot Anwar El Ghazi for missing 0.5 xG chances. We've seen people put the entire weight of the squad on Tyrone Mings.
However, today was a little different. I might be ignorant, but I've never seen as many folks call for a sacking and big changes on day one as I did today. I can't remember that happening to Lambert, Brucey, Sherwood or Deano - for damn sure.
The stench of desperation hangs in the air, it's GW1, it can only be Aston Villa.
Onto Bournemouth.
(Metalcore scream): What the fuck is going on?
If you dismantled Danny Ings, and put his organs into a modified armour suit, and trained him for destruction he still wouldn't have helped Villa beat Bournemouth today. (Actually, I reckon Ben Pearson - the human Ben Pearson - would have a Space Marine in a fight)
Anything short of cosmic intervention would be found lacking, to be frank. Villa weren't up for it earlier, to say the least.
Villa could've played against this Bournemouth for a millennia, and to be honest they would still come up with a big fat L.
L is for leadership - which was nowhere to be found today down south. John McGinn - his first time with the armband - seemed helpless in the centre of the park for Villa.
Much has been made of Gerrard's choice to not only remove the captaincy from Tyrone Mings, but to name other captains who aren't him - one who barely plays in Ashley Young, and one who didn't play prior to today in Carlos. Then came the big decision to bench Mings entirely.
Mings has his faults, but he steps up for Villa and takes it on the chin. As a covering defender, he is always going to be either victorious or put completely on his arse. His job is covering up sloppy mistakes, and usually in a fluid game of football, that is going to lead to more pressure and more mistakes.
I'm not sure how Gerrard aims to tidy up Mings' game by dropping him in a match where Villa were dominated by a team that is self-admittedly 'not good enough'. Villa lacked bite - which is surprising given the aura emitted from Carlos and Ezri Konsa during pre-season as big gnarly bastards. They were timid!
The partnership of Carlos and Konsa could blossom, but it started off on the wrong foot today. Perhaps Mings wouldn't have changed the result, but it always seems to be the case that his defensive partners are caught lacking without him.
Some open-world video games don't load the entire world during gameplay, you know? They load up the cone of vision for the player to save on loading times and efficiency. Wherever you're looking in a game like Horizon or FarCry is the only thing that exists in the game world, until you turn your head and new areas load.
That's exactly like Konsa/Carlos. They may have not existed unless you were staring directly at them, and even then they clearly loaded in too late. If they were digital beings they'd have been screaming for mercy, and for Stevie G to pull the cord.
In fact, post-match, it seemed like the only player he had it out for was Mings.
"When Tyrone is back at his best and looks me in the eye and shows me he’s ready to play, he’ll get opportunities," said the gaffer after the game.
No player should be selected because of reputation, but it seems that Phil Coutinho (who I'd have honestly ranked as 1 or 2/10 if I was still at BirminghamLive) is picked because of his name, and Mings isn't.
The shock is that Mings has achieved more than most at the club, and is being publicly called out by a man who hasn't actually achieved anything at Villa. Yet.
No player is bigger than a club, but the treatment of Mings is a joke. McGinn is learning how to captain, his leadership group are either not playing, or not with it. Leadership was lacking.
That leadership is the bedrock for intensity. Without it, you're chasing the game. Villa were shadowboxing today and never looked capable of landing a blow.
Ings was never going to score in this game, and seemed uncomfortable leading the line. Jacob Ramsey failed to flatter, and it looked like Lucas Digne and Matty Cash had just walked straight out of a fight to play for Villa. It can only really be said that Boubacar Kamara came out of today with a decent game, but that's a bit like saying the gear stick on your Corsa still hold sup when the door is falling off, the horn doesn't work and it's covered in bird shit and filled with the wrong fuel.
1 win in 12 for Villa is bad reading right now, and they should be beating Bournemouth (full offense, fuck 'em). Standards have been 'raised' (and so have prices), and Villa should be aiming for a cheeky Conference League entry. If they cannot pick up a single point at Bournemouth, they will need to find that point (or points) in much harder circumstances than playing a newly-promoted team on day one.
If you're looking for positivity, look ahead to Everton. That's all you can do because there's very little redeeming factors at all here. I'd be lying to you, actually, to say there was anything good about that Bournemouth match.
Villa need a correction in the next game. If there's another bad loss, it's going to look bloody grim, isn't it? This loss feels a bit odd, it feels genuinely bad, in a way that losing to Watford last season wasn't.
There's nothing more that I love for managers than them changing the narrative when the chips are down. Most seem right on Stevie's case right now and I'd love it if he came out fighting and led them to victory over Everton. I want Villa to rock them next week.
But if they play like they did today, they are going to get trashed. It's time for them to pull their head out of their arses.
Get it done Stevie, we're actually backing you here - but I can't speak for everyone if the Villans don't show up against Everton.
Mailbag
Thanks for dropping me a line with a few questions - I loved reading them.
@elliotball_: When does the season finish?
Not soon enough Elliot, based on that. But I'm really excited to get to Villa Park next week to see Villa turn it around. That's what they have to do.
Capital Villans: Think when Deano brings Ramsey back he can just stick around?
Haha, imagine! I subscribe to Om Arvind's theory that you have managers who 'raise the floor' and managers who 'raise the ceiling' - Dean Smith was the latter, a manager who had a defined style and method who can make 'second rate' teams better, and bring up the floor for them. Then you have 'ceiling raiser' managers who can build on that floor and push the potential to new heights without ripping up the script. That should be Gerrard, but he looks caught between the two roles. IMO he should focus on the latter. The team is there, just get it working. His man-management of Mings shows otherwise right now.
@notawelshsinger: Aside from having more players available right now (fitness/injury/COVID)...are we really in a better position than 12 months ago?
Yes - and no. Mentally, we're all frustrated, but we've got a few pieces we were missing last season. Lucas Digne had a better outing (as bad as today was) than Targett had last season against Watford, and we have Kamara - a player who many cried out for last season. I feel the makeup of the squad is better, but the initial result is worse - maybe that puts you exactly where we were last season right now?
@VillaJawn: How much do we actually trust Gerrard to deliver the goods?
Right now, it's at a low. He's got the tools and the staff to deliver - and we'll see what he's made of over the next nine games. It's early days yet and it was the poorest start possible. We'll revisit this after Everton.
@Sean_C_Evans: If we get nothing from the next two, time to potentially reassess or invest in the remaining part of the window?
I think Gerrard's got time, but he put his worst foot forward. Today's loss was an ugly one, and his reaction wasn't right. Villa should commit to investing, because a squad can always be improved. Dean Smith was sacked past on a season-spanning poor run of form, and Gerrard is looking back at 1 win in 12. I'm sure after the first win we'll be fine, but it was a bad bad bad way to start a season.
@DanHayes16: Why persist in crossing?
I'm flabbergasted that Villa committed to crossing the ball with Ings playing up front. Archer and Watkins have shown their aerial ability over the last two/three seasons, and Ings looked lost with his service today. It's clearly in the gameplan as Gerrard wants the wingbacks and wingers to bomb on, but who is actually going to score them?
@RazaJourno: Goal when?
Third minute against Everton. Exorcise the demons.
@JamUTV: After the promotion bounce and the 11th place finish that grew the waiting list. Have we really got a need for a 55k capacity stadium. Its going to be empty.
In all honesty, Villa need to commit to this anyway. Disabled fans deserve better seating and the North Stand has needed renovation, and at the moment fans who want tickets can't get them. It's the right thing to do whatever happens.
@FionaKa09053363: Has Gerrard improved any of the players?
I feel that Matty Cash got better over the course of the last season, and Jacob Ramsey - but that was more their path anyway than anything Gerrard specifically did for them? We'll see who comes to the fore this season for Villa - and then we can look at improvements. This goes back to 'ceiling raising and floor raising', though.
@Gazoaks: Is Gerrard a scouse Tim Sherwood?
No, because I had fun watching some Sherwood Villa games.
@JackUTV95: When playing 433 as we were in the first half, what is the role of the two 8's?
I think Gerrard wants them to be rovers of the pitch - snap at heels, contribute to the attack and do a little of everything. However, McGinn and Ramsey did little, and not everything. It was a shocking showing from them, and Gerrard needs to find a way to utilise them better.
@RooksPaul: Why do I bother ? Honestly serious question millions spent bullshit spouted same old crap on the pitch
Because you love the Villa - like us all.