Aston Villa (a) If you can’t change the people, change the people.Sometimes you hear that games can be won psychologically when the teams are announced. That piece of paper can cast fear into the hearts of a team or it can raise hopes in equal measure.
I’m not the knee jerk type of fan, I never have been, but the word ‘psychology’ played a huge part in last nights loss to Villa. We have a problem at the club.
It wasn’t just the fact that we could have gone top of the league last night, albeit a very fledgling league, something that we haven’t done for 12 years, it was also about players not doing what they are supposed to do. That’s not about having one bad game, but overtime a trend or pattern emerging. But to go top of the league, how would that make you feel, not only as an individual, but as a group, a unit, a team? If you’re top of something, you can defend it. You have a shared goal, purpose and a reason to drag yourself and teammates through games where you aren’t playing well. It’s mental toughness, a psychology this team doesn’t have.
3 from last night are staring Marco Silva clearly in the face.
•DCL has to be taken out of the starting 11
•Theo Walcott does more harm than good
•4-2-3-1 does not suit our players
I wrote on here before the season started about Dominic Calvert-Lewin and his place in the team, moreover it was about how his contribution to the team can help Moise Kean bed in, rather than be thrown directly into the spotlight. I still believe in DCL in this squad, but if you can’t change the people, you have to change the people. He can’t score goals, he put his only clear cut chance in the only area of the goal where he could miss, that’s not the trait of an instinctive striker. I get that anyone can miss chances, but he gets one chance every 2-3 games, not 2-3 chances per game.
DCL’s confidence is shot to pieces. For his own good, he needs to be taken out of the team. He currently offers nothing in an area of the pitch where he needs to offer everything. Is he a better option than Tosun? Yes he is, but he’s a whole different problem, because he does not have the mobility to contribute to this team.
Just as he did last week against Watford, Kean offered up more in 25 minutes than DCL did from the kick off. He has to start games now. If opposition defenders see his name on the teamsheet, the mentality changes instantly. Psychologically they will know it’s not going to be a powderpuff attack they are facing today, but pace, power, ability, and quite frankly the unknown.
Gomes I believe is still not fully fit, it showed badly last night. Easily his worse game in our shirt, we offered nothing in the centre, and often Morgan Schneiderlin was furthest forward, which is a worry in itself in the second half.
Bernard, Richarlison and Sigurdsson were all served notice by Iwobi, all 3 of those players are at risk. Like Kean when he came on, Iwobi changed the game, the dynamism of the attack along with increased tempo showed that we must attack teams, like we did from March to the end of last season. At the moment box to box we are amongst the leagues best, but as we get to the opposition box, we don’t shoot, we pass sideways or backwards; No killer instinct.
With Kean and Iwobi we had that. Silva showed last season he was prepared to bench Richarlison and Bernard, he may now have to consider benching Sigurdsson to try and introduce a more fluid 4-3-3, because teams have worked us out. Everton can’t play through you, they have to go around you, and if you stop that, we have very little else.
Theo Walcott is finished at this level, he was an expensive mistake that flattered to deceive. He doesn't get cheered on, he gets groaned on, because you get the same every time. He’ll run around, he’ll look busy, but he can’t cross or finish. He can’t function in the role he was bought to fulfil, he could have secured a point for us last night, or took us on to even more, but he has zero composure, and like DCL, zero confidence. In my opinion he is a waste of a place on the bench. I genuinely believe his fee and wages are the sole reason he’s anywhere near the first team.
So as we go into the game at
Lincoln City on Wednesday , ridiculously it’s become a must win. Not just because of the way we dumped ourselves out of the cup competitions last season, but because the manger has to make very tough decisions about players that are just not doing what they are supposed to do.
By
Matthew Barry
