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Last update: Monday, March 18, 2002 at 3:40:30 PM
2-1 TO THE AR-SEN-AL......
by Ben Natrins
Another game, another defeat, another (overall) poor performance.
Notwithstanding the second half fightback, Villa's performance on the big occasion was well short of the required standard. They were simply no match for Arsenal, and despite a late flurry of hit and hope football, the Gooners coasted to three points and maintained their Championship challenge.
In the great scheme of things, I am in a sense pleased Arsenal have kept the pressure on United at the top. Obviously, a win at our expense is not the ideal way in which to do it, but considering our season has been over since January, there has been no real harm done.
But in assessing where we go from here, I was again greatly disappointed with our overall display. In the first half, an all-too-familiar story unfolded, with Villa coming a poor second after being left at the starting gate yet again. Our ability to retain the ball (or not, as is the case) is alarming - professional footballers should have relatively little difficulty in finding team-mates with their passing, even if Arsenal displayed a better commitment and desire to control the game.
So what was right, and what was wrong? Well, once again, Schmeichel let us down with an elementary mistake. Wiltord's (dubious) free-kick was indeed well-struck, but a goalkeeper of Schmeichel's ability and experience should have dealt with it. That the defence was nowhere when the rebound came is of limited consequence, although a little worrying - the goalkeeper has to admit guilt on this occasion.
Otherwise, it was a solid enough defensive display (whether it would have been so comfortable if Thierry Henry was playing is another matter) and in fairness, Pires' goal was of the highest quality, and could not have been legislated for - there appeared to be little immediate danger as Boateng chased him back for the long ball. Aside from this, Arsenal threatened little considering they have been such a potent attacking force this season.
In midfield, I felt Boateng played well, and Hitzlsperger was in good form against the world's best midfielder, an experience which will stand him in excellent stead for the coming season. Having played well against Roy Keane a couple of weeks ago, this has been a steep learning curve for the young German, one to which he has acquitted himself superbly.
Merson was yet again anonymous for most of his 80 minutes, and Kachloul made little impact as usual. Vassell had a thankless task as the lone striker against Sol Campbell and the ever-improving Stepanovs. However, the balance of the side improved dramatically after half-time, and I was delighted to see Dion Dublin reasserting himself in Premiership football with a combative display of traditional centre-forward play. It would have been interesting to see Dublin start with Vassell. Hadji had an excellent game, looked our best attacking option and to my mind if fully fit should have started. Barry again performed a satisfactory job, but looks ill-at-ease on the left. I would rather he deputised for Alpay at centre-back where his pace and vision would suit Villa better, and may have seen him in a position to challenge Pires, instead of leaving George Boateng in the right-back slot when the second goal went in.
I have read this morning that Steve Staunton fears a summer clear-out, and well he might. The current squad are well short of where they need to be for Champions League football and challenging for domestic honours. The desire and commitment are not good enough, and I feel the current players, as a unit, have taken Aston Villa as far as they can.
Ageing players such as Merson, Stone, Taylor and possibly Stan himself should give serious though to where they want to play next season, and a Villa team for the future needs to be constructed around a backbone of Enckleman, Mellberg, Hitzlsperger and Vassell. Hadji, Barry, Delaney, Samuel, Boateng and Alpay all have a role to play, as does Juan Pablo Angel, in the unlikely event that he is not sold for megabucks. Hendrie, Dublin (maybe, on yesterday's showing) and the enigmatic Balaban should be retained, while Graham Taylor should look at augmenting this nucleus with experienced campaigners with a little more to offer than Stone and Merson have delivered lately.
The World Cup usually showcases new talent, and indeed older talent, looking to move to England and the big money of the Premiership. Euro 2000 did the same, and what a gem was uncovered in Alpay. If only we had signed Nuno Gomes as well....
Something of a 'new broom' policy needs to be adopted to clear out some of the staleness which has manifested itself at Villa Park in the last two years or so, and there can be no room for sentiment. We do not need to spend silly money to force our way into the top six, but sensible investment needs to be undertaken, and there are few better in the game than Graham Taylor to make the money go that little bit further.
His captures of Paul McGrath and David Platt when at Villa previously are cases in point. Obviously, the game has changed out of all recognition since then, but Graham will still have retained an eye for the bargains and hidden gems.
We need to look to next season now, and the remainder of this 'campaign' should be used to look at all the players available, and make some important decisions on where to go over the summer. We are perhaps lucky that only Mellberg, Staunton and possibly Alpay and Vassell will not be having a summer holiday this year. And I pray to God that we don't enter the InterToto - I will be cheering Leeds on in that one! Villa need to be fresh and recharged for next season, ready to compete from the word go, and we cannot afford to let the effects of a curtailed summer catch up with us as we did this season.
Although still a little guarded about the re-employment of Graham Taylor, I am nevertheless filled with a certain amount of optimism for the future. That's the beauty of football. Despite the appalling amount of dross we have all been subjected to this season, I still blindly believe we can challenge for the title, and to see Villa Park with 40,000 plus gates again, I donât seem to be alone in this...
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