First things first, how good was it to be back. Itβs only been a mere 48 days since Brighton were vanquished at Villa Park to secure a European return, but this sure felt like a longer wait had come to an end.
There is something about this fixture β close to the pitch, away but local and eventually some sun that builds the anticipation of what to come. Of course, itβs pre-season and we shouldnβt need reminding that what happens at this stage has zero relation to what happens when we start for real. The focus is fitness and patterns of play β plus sorting the squad roughly between starters, squad depth and outgoings.
Drawing firm conclusions from a game where Walsall emerged from the tunnel when Villa were still warming up and Douglas Luiz took selfies whilst waiting to deliver a corner would be foolish.
Nevertheless, whilst there will be no final judgement here based on 90 minutes at the Poundland, there are certainly things we can learn and takeaway from the game as fans.
Given the stop start nature of these occasions Iβm going to work in a chronological order in trying to break this down:
MATCHDAY SQUAD CLUES
The eagle-eyed Villa fans had continually paused and re-started the official clips of first team training to try and work out who was back at Bodymoor and who was not. Of those ticked off, only Jhon Duran and Marvellous Nakamba had not seemed to travel.
Youβd imagine Marvβs next pre-season game will be in a Luton Town shirt and rumours have been circulating (not entirely reliably resulting from deleted emojis on his social media accounts) of Duranβs departure on loan.
If we disregard the academy players β or recent graduates β it doesnβt necessarily equate that playing today means anything but that. I strongly suspect that Callum Chambers will stay around as he can cover a lot of positions adequately and seems to not resent not starting.
Weβve all given up trying to work out Morgan Sanson and I would expect him still to move on β Emery has said publicly he has all the right attributes but he seems keener to be starting, and that wonβt be happening at Villa.
Pictured – Emery and Monchi still have plenty to think about regarding personnel
WATKINS AND LUIZ A CUT ABOVE
Of the side that started the first half, it was Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz that stood out as players that Emery will likely have at the fore again this season. Watkins looks fit and raring to go β despite being starved of service he, as ever, worked hard and wanted to make an impact. The penalty was the best I have seen him take for Villa.
We shouldnβt dismiss the fact he looks confident and happy β a contrast to the start of last season when the presence of Danny Ings seemed to sow some seeds of doubt. As I have written before, and many others have noted, he clearly revels in being the main man. Luiz is similar β and was captain today. His touch and movement were exemplary and there is no reason to doubt he wonβt pick up where he left off last term, but again he seems happy and valued.
The importance to the side is clear and acknowledged by fans and staff. These two will be pivotal to Villaβs trajectory this season.
Pictured – Ollie Watkins is good to go
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NEXT STEPS: PHILOGENE AND FEENEY
Anyone who has ever read anything I have written about the U21 side will know that I rate Josh Feeney highly. He has a good, calm presence on the ball and is what you might call a natural footballer. All things valued by Emery. He was solid in the first half, unfortunately getting his feet mixed up for Walsallβs goal.
Given the depth of Villaβs centre half reserves surely, he needs to go out on loan β the alternative probably being to captain the U21 side. Naturally, given his age, he will develop physically and I wonder whether that would be better in the lower leagues than in Premier League 2. Feeney remains, absolutely, one to watch. Philogene had the loan last year and was a qualified success with Cardiff. He looked good in patches here β when given the chance to run and be direct he had impact, not least for the penalty.
Can I imagine him having an impact in the Premier League? Possibly not.
He seems a very quiet young man on the pitch β not over awed but equally not thrusting himself to the fore. It probably comes down to any Traore / Bailey discussion in terms of wide men and whether either of them was to leave, necessitating some cover. Iβd be amazed if Philogene doesnβt end up in other colours for 23/24 either on another loan deal or something more permanent.
Pictured – Philogene drives forward but what next?
BUENDIA ROLE UNCLEAR
Bearing in mind this was the first game of pre-season after less than a full week back at BH, Emi Buendia will be judged in the future rather than now. He started here as a hybrid second striker but inevitably dropped deeper to try and get the ball. In doing so he unfortunately proved himself to be ineffectual in either role.
He lacks the pace and directness to play off Ollie and too often gifts possession (either through poor distribution or being knocked off the ball) to impact as a β10β type forward. As ever there were glimmers of loveliness here β more so in the second half β but they were fleeting.
Wherever he plays we can expect Emery will demand a consistency of impact that Emi just wonβt be able to deliver.
ACADEMY PLAYERS STAND UP
After 63 minutes a raft of substitutions took place leaving only Konsa, Chambers and Sanson of what you might describe as senior players on the field. Clearly planned this gave the academy players who travelled a real chance to showcase themselves. All stood up and presented well. Some we have seen flashes of in Villa colours before β Kadan Young and Tommi OβReilly for example.
What was pleasing is that Young seemed as quicksilver and direct as last season, whilst OβReilly really got stuck in and didnβt let a physical approach phase him. We also saw Seb Revan β the U21 left back and captain last season – playing in midfield.
For me the standout, however, was Lamar Bogarde. Deployed at right back as opposed to previous sightings as a centre half or defensive midfielder, he was outstanding. Physical and proactive he carried the ball well and advanced play when needed. He was also solid defensively in the Emery system of left-hand attacking dominance. Maybe, just maybe, Bogarde might be the one to really push on this season.
Pictured – All change
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