The Talk Villa Newsletter: #4
Defeat on Tyneside and long-term injury blows make it a miserable return of Premier League football this week...
Defeat to Newcastle Utd compounds misery after Buendia, Mings injuries
There was a bitterly disappointing start to the new Premier League season for Aston Villa on Saturday evening, as we fell to a heavy 5-1 defeat to Newcastle Utd at St James’ Park.
From poor defending to individual mistakes and missed chances that must be converted in big moments as they can end up shaping a game, it all went wrong for Villa on multiple fronts despite periods of positive play.
Those issues can be fixed though, and with Unai Emery’s meticulous approach to his analysis and demanding nature to always improve, there’s little doubt that we’ll see a positive reaction and a much-improved performance against Everton this weekend after a humbling loss.
However, losing both Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings to ‘significant knee injuries’ in the space of a few days is the bigger concern, as their influence in the Villa XI will be a huge loss for most, if not all, of the campaign ahead.
Both were defiant in their public reactions to their respective setbacks, with Buendia drawing inspiration from lessons taught to him by his parents of never giving up, while Mings insisted he will ‘give everything to come back even better’.
We wish them both a full and speedy recovery, but they now leave two very significant voids in the Villa line-up. While that will need to be addressed either with options already at Emery’s disposal or through new signings, it’s hoped that this adversity galvanises the group and motivates them further to achieve our objectives for their teammates.
Talking points from opening-weekend loss…
Diaby impresses on debut
Let’s start with something more positive, shall we? Moussa Diaby was impressive on his Premier League debut, putting in a stand-out performance while registering his first goal for the club.
His pace, movement and link-up play with Ollie Watkins was promising, and the early signs certainly suggest that we’ve signed a top player in the Frenchman, who will hopefully build on this and show consistency in the coming weeks and months.
Defensive troubles
That’s unfortunately where the positives end, sadly. Poor defending with our high-line approach not being applied effectively coupled with individual mistakes proving to be costly, it has to improve from a defensive perspective this Sunday.
We did that last season after conceding eight goals in two games against Leicester City and Arsenal, and Emery will no doubt be demanding the same improvements this time round.
“I’m disappointed,” he told VillaTV. “I’m also disappointed with the two injuries we’ve had to Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia. To lose 5-1 is not good for us and we played not deserving to lose 5-1, but a lot of things happened in 90 minutes.
“We were playing in the first half, more or less, with the possibilities to react and come back. The second half as well we started with control of the game, but their transition was very powerful with speedy players.
“We didn’t control the last 30 minutes like we needed to do. It’s three points and we’re going to think about our reaction over the next week. We’re going to analyse the match and prepare the next match at home.
“Our structure was strong and our mentality was going up, and today we lost one match with a bad result and we lost two players.
“We’re going to stand up and recover our power.”
It was hard to watch in the latter stages, and ultimately it’s a horrible way to start a new season. A loss is never easy to take, but perhaps it’s better that it’s happened now.
It’s a defeat that grounds us a little given the talk and attention before the campaign, and we must regroup, learn from the mistakes and react.
Emery has big decisions ahead with those injury setbacks in mind, as he’ll have to get the balance right again, re-establish our style and restore confidence in the players to implement it, and we will hopefully produce the perfect response.
Chances running out for Leon Bailey?
Without scapegoating individuals, as perhaps aside from Diaby, every player will feel they could, and should, have done better, there was one selection decision that arguably went wrong.
Jaden Philogene was rightly praised over pre-season for his impressive displays, as he combined threatening attacking play with defensive discipline. Newcastle away, their dangerous wide players, a vociferous ‘Toon army’ backing them, should Leon Bailey have started?
It wouldn’t have solved all of our problems, but is he running out of opportunities to convince and show he can consistently deliver not only with goal contributions, but as a key cog in this Villa system and style? Comment below and let me know your thoughts…
Transfer talk: Zaniolo, Harrison and more…
There was a ridiculous hour or so on Sunday evening where Villa had reportedly hijacked Everton’s move for Jack Harrison to sign him on loan, only for a U-turn from most media outlets just minutes later as he’s now set to move to Merseyside.
It wasn’t quite David Unsworth in 1998, but given he’s said to be out with an injury for the next month at least, Emery doesn’t exactly need another player in the treatment room right now given our extensive list of players already sidelined.
One transfer that is seemingly set to be completed is that of Nicolo Zaniolo from Galatasaray. As per reports, Villa are set to sign the 24-year-old Italian international on an initial loan deal with an option to buy, with the move potentially worth around €30m in total if we opt to exercise that clause with potential add-ons also included in that figure.
With his physicality, height, technical ability, creativity and eye for goal, Zaniolo would be an exciting addition to this Villa side. There are perhaps some red flags given his own history of serious injuries and questionable career choices, but basing the decision on ability and how effective he could be for Emery, Villa would have done their homework and have been left convinced.
There is still talk of multiple exits with Aaron Ramsey expected to join Burnley, while Cameron Archer, Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne and Leander Dendoncker have all been paired with moves elsewhere.
Given our injury situation though and with a scramble ahead in the final weeks of the transfer window, would too many changes to the squad now be too disruptive?
Villa’s President of Football Operations, Monchi, though, confirmed last week that our intention is to make more signings, and that was before the injuries sustained by both Buendia and Mings.
How should Villa line up vs Everton?
With Mings now out, will we see a straight swap with Pau coming in? That is possibly the best option given Diego Carlos is still working towards being in peak condition, and so Lucas Digne could keep his place on the left.
There is no reason to disrupt the Diaby-Watkins partnership so that should stay in place, as should the Douglas Luiz-Boubacar Kamara pairing in the heart of our midfield.
The only other big decision for Emery is whether or not to give Philogene a chance in place of Bailey. Not only is that potentially a more effective approach in both phases of the game, but it also allows John McGinn to switch back to the right side of our midfield where he has looked more comfortable and influential.
Emery will know best and will base it on performance in training this week too, but there will be at least one enforced change for the Villa boss.
How would you like to see us line up this weekend?
Talk Villa Poll
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