Following an impressive run of three consecutive victories – with nine goals scored and none conceded – Aston Villa travelled to the City of London Stadium to take on the high flying Hammers in the hope of making it four in a row.
Despite a relatively solid display, in a wretched dogfight of a game, Villa fell to a 2-1 defeat in the capital. Here are the five things we learnt from the clash of the claret and blues…
The Curse is Real
I feel I need to start with the hideous jinx that appears to hang over this wonderful football club of ours. In fairness, the game against West Ham wasn’t a particularly striking example of this, although there was one metric in particular which stood out, but it still represented how we always seem to find ourselves on the wrong side of statistics and runs of form.
The trivia in this fixture related to the scoring of a goal by a Ukrainian player in the Premier League. Now, I understand that is a very sensitive subject at the time of writing, and without wishing to take away any of the raw emotion felt by everyone when Andriy Yarmolenko scored his goal, and what it undoubtedly meant to him during these difficult times, this is a Villa blog at the end of the day, so my focus will remain on the on-field issues.
So, Yarmolenko was the first Ukrainian player to score in the Premier League since…well, since he himself last scored. Against who? You guessed it. Aston Villa.
Of course, that particular point has been highlighted due to its topical nature, but it does serve as yet another illustration of how Villa always seem to be involved in these bizarre stat-points.
The list of players who have scored more goals against us than any other in their career is unbelievably extensive, and I won’t even attempt to list them all here.
However, I only have to say a handful of names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Romelu Lukaku, Frank Lampard, Chris Wood, Dwight Gayle, Danny Welbeck, Shane Long, Olivier Giroud, Leon Osman, and they will strike fear into the hearts of anyone who knows their records.
Even our very own manager Steven Gerrard notched up more goals (13) against Villa than any other club in his career. For so many players, we are an absolute delight to come up against.
Further to individual players, we are so often the club that others enjoy facing during a bad run of form when they simply cannot buy a win.
This season, Watford have taken six points from us, whilst simultaneously being one of the worst sides in the division. Before their second encounter against us, on February 19th, they hadn’t won a game of football since November 20th, and they hadn’t scored a goal for four games. Along came Villa, and not only did the Hornets find the net, they took all three points!
Newcastle were dispatched comfortably by us early in the season, and again, looked absolutely woeful and nailed on for relegation. Yet after signing a truck load of players in January and hitting a good run of form, they welcomed us to St James’s Park and bagged themselves a timely victory.
Last season saw a real doozy – Sheffield United, who were rock bottom for virtually the entire season, were on a run of four straight defeats towards the back end of the campaign, before they played host to us at Bramall Lane and nabbed themselves a rare win. They then went on to lose their next five matches. Ten games, nine defeats, one victory – against the Villa!
It has happened for many, many years now. It doesn’t matter the era, the manager, the players – we are always rich pickings for clubs bang in trouble.
Many pundits were suggesting this was a really good time to play West Ham, and I suppose for any other club it would have been. After such a blistering start, they’d won just one of their last six fixtures, while we were obviously on an excellent (mini) run of form.
But the curse is real. And despite our best efforts, we failed to land the killer blow and ultimately fell to defeat.
The Argentinian Fire Still Burns
Our little Argentinian magician Emiliano Buendia has had to make way in recent weeks, and has found himself watching from the side-lines due to the management’s system change.
Given his recent upturn in form, his demotion to the bench has felt very harsh, but the move was made for the greater good, and it does seem to have done the trick.
Questions were being asked about his feelings towards his omission from the side, and whether he would be prepared to fight for his place.
His introduction on the 79th minute went some way to answering those questions; he looked more than up for the fight, and made a real difference during his short time on the pitch.
Villa hadn’t been poor without him by any means, but they did look more of a threat after his introduction, and he produced a fine cameo display, topped off by him notching up an assist for Jacob Ramsey’s consolation goal.
There is definitely an argument for him starting against Arsenal on Saturday, but who does he replace? As mentioned, nobody was particularly rotten against West Ham, and nobody really deserves to be hooked.
I suppose it could depend on the extent of Douglas Luiz’s facial injury, as well as Lucas Digne’s very likely absence, which may result in a slight change to the set-up that could allow for Buendia to come in and play a part.
Little Emi was rumoured to be a top summer transfer target for our weekend opponents, and his presence may add a little spice to proceedings.
He remains our record signing to date, he’s a fan favourite, and he appears to have fire in his belly as we look to finish the season strongly. He will want to stake his claim as a starter ahead of Gerrard’s first pre-season with the group.
I believe it is only formation rather than form that is keeping him out of the side at the moment, so if the management can find a way of accommodating him and Philippe Coutinho behind Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins, then some real damage could be done to our upcoming opposition. Such an abundance of creative players must be a really nice headache for the coaching staff to deal with, and it’s something us fans aren’t quite used to yet.
Margins and Moments
Games such as this one are decided on the finest of margins, and individual moments of brilliance that completely change the course of the result.
Villa had more than held their own against West Ham for well over an hour, and given that this is a well drilled side fighting for Champions League qualification, that really is a huge positive to take.
For me the two defining moments were very similar in style, and ultimately proved to be the deciding factors in this game.
In the 56th minute, Ings had a glorious chance to put Villa ahead with a quick snapshot after a scramble in the box from a Villa corner. The ball came to him quickly and he had to react in an instant. He did so, striking his shot first time, perhaps not as cleanly as he’d like, and the ball was tipped brilliantly onto the post by Łukasz Fabiański. It was a world class save to keep the score level.
Then on 70 minutes, it was of course Yarmolenko’s turn to take a rapid shot on goal, as he received a well-struck pass from Saïd Benrahma. In a flash, he set himself with his right foot before turning swiftly and lashing the ball home with his left.
Had Ings buried his chance, the game would have taken a completely different route, and it is quite possible Villa would have gone on to claim the spoils.
Sometimes those margins simply can’t be helped, but it feels like Villa need to be more clinical in taking their chances. We have created plenty of opportunities in front of goal this season, but we aren’t putting them away at a good enough rate.
The goals have flowed more in recent weeks, which suggests that could be changing, but more improvements need to be made over the remainder of the season and heading into next. Gerrard and his staff will certainly hope for an increase in the goals, especially with such a wealth of talent at their disposal.
Progress is Clear
Generally speaking, it is clear to see that genuine progress is being made since the managerial change late last calendar year.
The last time we played West Ham, in Dean Smith’s penultimate game in charge, we were absolutely blown apart, and many called for the manager’s head following that crushing 4-1 defeat at B6.
Deano was given just one more game in charge – a lacklustre defeat against Southampton – before the decision was made to replace him.
Comparisons between where we were X amount of seasons ago and where we are now have been constant, much to the chagrin of many, but I think they are important.
It is also important to assess where we were earlier in the season compared to our current state, and for me, the evidence is plentiful.
In an ideal world, a club like West Ham should never really be ‘ahead’ of us, either in terms of league position or general stature, but the harsh reality is that they currently are.
They have some exceptional talents, a good manager, and as a result they have gone from staving off relegation to challenging for European spots within the space of a few seasons. That is the model we have to aspire to, and then go further still.
And at the weekend, we certainly held our own against them. It wasn’t a dazzling or dominant display by any means, but we kept them at bay for three quarters of the game, and were simply caught out by a couple of flashes of brilliance.
So, not only have we come a long way from 2019 to 2022, but just this season we have come a long way from October to March.
Many teams have fallen at the hands of West Ham this season, and I’m sure more will do so in the remaining fixtures. We shouldn’t feel to aggrieved at a narrow defeat on their soil.
It can be tough trying to pick out positives from defeats, but there are plenty from this one. We saw some good defensive moments, a world class save, chances created, a wonder goal from our star boy, and some high intensity in the death throes of the game when we were chasing our equaliser.
There is already a lot to get excited about, and we are only going to improve over the summer, heading into Gerrard’s first full season.
I think 8th place is perhaps a stretch too far following this result, but 9th is looking ever likely, and it would be another step in our progression. Slow and steady wins the race. I’ve said it before, but we aren’t looking at an ‘all or bust’ shot at a one-off season in Europe. We want continuous and sustained success at the club, and to be competing on all four fronts year on year. That is the aim and we are nicely on course.
Villa Park is Special
I’ve seen and heard a lot said about West Ham’s new City of London Stadium, and while I may be your typical armchair supporter with no direct experience of the ground myself at present, I do trust the views of those who have been critical of the place.
Even a good number of West Ham fans aren’t particularly keen, and were never in favour of the move from Upton Park in the first place.
From a televisual perspective, it certainly doesn’t seem to have the required soul you’d expect from a traditional club’s stadium. I’m not particularly a fan of bowl stadiums in general, but theirs seems to be one of the worst of the current crop.
And it makes you realise just how lucky we are to have a ground like Villa Park. It truly is one of the greatest venues in the country, and beyond.
Grand, four sided stadiums are often a thing of beauty, and while I may be massively biased, Villa Park is unrivalled in its splendour.
To be honest, bias may not be the factor you might think, as countless non-Villa players and pundits have either cited Villa Park as their favourite ground, or simply had plenty of complimentary words to say about it.
One particular blogger, from Groundhopper Guides, described it brilliantly – “It’s big. It’s old. It’s classy. I like the colours. I like the occasional stained glass”.
That really can’t be said of most grounds, and it sets ours apart from the identikit crowd. It’s a truly special place.
There has been increased talk of renovation at B6 over recent weeks, the North Stand in particular, and I wouldn’t like to see too much deviation from its current style.
That end of the ground is in dire need of refurbishment, perhaps even a complete rebuild, and I welcome the plans that have been laid out at present. I trust our owners fully to understand the importance of our church, and I believe the future upgrade will be in keeping with its aura. More exciting times ahead for the Villa faithful, and yet another step in the right direction for this club.
Up the Villa!
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