Baggies 2 Villa 1 – Time for change

Somehow, despite spending half an hour a man up, Villa managed to leave the Hawthorns yesterday with nothing but a harsh reminder of how wrong things have gone this season.

It’s all-square in a tight local derby and we’ve gained a vital one man advantage for the last 30 minutes thanks to Scharner’s rugby tackle on Petrov. Yes our goal came from a Meite mistake, but by now we’ll take them anyway we can get them. We don’t seem to be able to make the breakthrough for that necessary second goal however, but with fresh, young talent on the bench in the form of Albrighton and Delph, hopes remain high.

So the time comes for Gary Mac to make his game changing substitution. He pulls off the impressive Reo-Coker and replaces him with…Pires. Ageing, tired and slower than my grandmother, he was asked to inspire us against a weakened Baggies side. Funnily enough, miracles didn’t happen, a flurry of the old French magic wasn’t produced and Mulumbu was allowed through to score and earn his side their first victory against us since 1985. In terms of end of season prizes, that must surely win the accolade for worst substitution. 

If anything, this final derby game is evidence of how much needs to change at Villa Park this summer. Even with Gerard still absent, his negative tactical influence remained present, and Gary Mac’s previous managerial record doesn’t promote much confidence for the remaining three games.

Attacking talent such as Ashley Young, Darren Bent, and Stewart Downing should be tearing sides like Albion apart, but the confidence and awareness of 12 months ago has vanished. Yes Gerard stepped into a club in turmoil, yes he brought us England’s finest striker, but we have also barely managed to hold onto our Premier League status this year and have been embarrassing to watch at times.

This has been a season to forget, a fact typified by yesterday’s dismal result, and cannot end quickly enough. It is time to get rid of the overpaid deadwood – Beye, Warnock, Ireland – get David Moyes in at the helm by any means necessary and pretend that these past nine months never happened.