Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Life is never straightforward
Tuesday 23rd March 2010, 9:46AM GMT.
Well, it wasn’t quite the walkover I expected, writes Villa’s Sporting Star columnist Dave Woodhall.
For the first twenty minutes everything was going to plan against Wolves. We were looking good, they were all over the place. We went a goal up and the inevitable onslaught was comfortably anticipated. It didn’t exactly work out like that.
Wolves got an equaliser, but never mind. It’s only a brief setback. Then they went into the lead. Still, no cause for concern. It’ll act as a kick up the backside, plenty of time left. Wait until half-time, Martin’s bound to put things right. The second half will be much different.
Five minutes after the restart it was obvious that things weren’t going to change. There was still a woefully disjointed feel to the Villa’s play; they were ponderous going forward and looked shaky when Wolves had the ball. We also had the strange episode when it appeared that one set of substitutions were about to be made, the crowd showed their approval, and Martin promptly brought on two different players.
Eventually we scraped a draw thanks to John Carew’s late equaliser (which seemed to have a touch of offside about it at the time, although TV replays showed it was perfectly legitimate and it was his first goal which was doubtful).
But it was still a disappointing performance and matters weren’t helped by Spurs and Manchester City both winning at the weekend, nor by Martin making some adverse comments about the way our supporters behaved. It’s not the first time he’s said such a thing and I wish he’d stop it. One of the great plusses to Villa in the Lerner years has been the feeling that everyone’s on the same side. A manager who criticises the fans for voicing their opinions isn’t going to help foster that belief.
But, as ever, the next match will change things once again. Sunderland at home tomorrow night should be a fairly straightforward three points – shouldn’t it? And anyway, if we don’t do it then, Saturday is bound to be a breeze. It’s only Chelsea away.
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