Fulham v Aston Villa—A Positive and a Negative

As you already know, we drew against Fulham yesterday, and no matter how much you bang the drum about luck or fortunes, it was down to lack of focus when it counted. Not only did we not pick up a BIG 3 points, but it left a nasty taste and a punch in the gut of the fans, and I’m sure the players as well.

We played some neat stuff at times, and created a host of chances, albeit some of them coming on the break when most of Fulham’s players had gone forward. Be that as it may, we didn’t take those chances and that is a recipe for failure in a league as rough and competitive as the EPL. From the game against Fulham, I can take a positive and I can take a negative, both of which are important factors regarding our success, or lack thereof, this season.

The Negative: We can’t score goals

Yes I know we scored one yesterday, and what a goal it was, but that was our first goal in over 6 hours of premiership football, and for a team who used to have Champions League aspirations, that is simply unacceptable. Sure a major chunk of it is down to injuries. Heskey, Gabby, and Big John are all out injured, but aside from Emile, those strikers haven’t done anything worth mentioning while there playing anyway. Maybe I’m being unfair to Gabby who hasn’t played much, so perhaps I should just say John Carew is past his prime. All of that aside, we created chances yesterday, and a handful of those are chances that MUST be scored if we want to be a successful football club. One that sticks out in my mind is Delfouneso’s second header with almost an open net that he put over the bar. I know the kid hasn’t had many games this year, I know he was probably nervous, and I know that header is a lot harder than it looks, but if you want to be a premier league striker, that is a goal you MUST put away. Aside from that, it seems that most of the other chances were wasted from Ashley Young. I liked the idea of Ash in the “free” , behind the striker role, but after the last few matched I have changed my mind. He looks worse and worse every game, and yesterday he was just awful. It seems as if he is getting a bit of cockiness/laziness to him which isn’t going to help his game. He looks to fall down and win a foul, more than he looks to find a teammate in space, and he isn’t the most prolific in front of goal. Ash’s best season was when he would beat defenders on the wings and put in amazing crosses. He’s not made to be a central attacking player, and in yesterday’s case; a striker. My conclusion? We need our strikers to get healthy, and we need to be more clinical. I would drop Ash back to the wings, and work Ireland or Bannan in the central attacking role. But if I had two strikers healthy, I would start playing 2 up front. In January, no matter what the manager says, we MUST buy a poacher. We need the goals to survive.

The Positive: The kids are coming good

This is another thing I probably don’t need to tell most of you. The kids look great out there. I can’t tell you I’m  surprised about Bannan and Albrighton as I’ve thought they had skill since I first saw them play, but I will tell you that I’m a tad surprised about Clark. I’ve always thought he was a good player, but he has been so composed and versatile that it shocking. I wasn’t too happy when he was deployed out of position against the scum (a Martin O Neil tactic) but he proved me wrong over and over again. He looks great in that role, and will be a very important player for us this season. Now back to the midfield duo of Barry and Marc. These guys obviously have chemistry as they have been playing together for years. They both look composed and look as if they have no fear on such a stage as the premier league. And how about that goal?? What a pass from young Barry Bannan. That was inch perfect, and better than anything I’ve seen from Ashley Young in a long time. Albrighton then took it down brilliantly and turned in to curve a nice left footed finish into the corner. That was refreshing and exciting to see, and almost makes the last second draw easy to swallow. I think both of these guys will end up being good premiership players, and I think it will happen sooner rather than later. Delfouneso didn’t look too bad, but with games I think he will look a lot better as I have high expectations for him too. There are a lot of injuries so far, and we don’t know how much money Houllier will have to spend in January, but I feel safe with the team in the hands of some of these younger players who look like they are having a blast.

UTV and let’s get back on track on Wednesday.