Mcleish To Keep Herd Grounded

After a great few games in the holding role, Herd has been the main positive for fans to focus on recently.  However Alex Mcleish doesn't want to heap too much pressure on him so early in his career.  I've been so impressed with him this season, ever since I saw him play right back against Wolves.  He should definately play whenever fit in the holding role and then we can play a couple of attack minded midfielders ahead of him, hopefully Gardner soon!

Here is what Mcleish said:

"What the boys have normally done after a defeat is give me a good reaction.
"We have a tough one at the weekend but I will be looking at possibly freshening things up in any way that I can.

"Guys like Chris Herd are getting a crash-course in the Premier League.
"He was all over the place. He made tackles, got booked, he's an athletic kid but his legs gave away towards the end. If we expose him too much we risk injury.
"To rely on these kids for the whole season is putting a lot of pressure on them.
"He's certainly shown the mental toughness to handle it. He's developing but let's not put too much pressure on him."

Sunderland: PREVIEW

Another match day and once again I feel as though we need at least a point from the game.  Results have not been going our way recently for one reason or another, and it's about time we added to our points tally.

Sunderland are a vulnerable side at the moment.  They enjoyed a good victory over Bolton last week but I feel that if we can get at them early on and maybe take an early lead, we should be able to control the game.  We should be looking to start like we did against West Brom and hope that the ref doesn't ruin the game again.

Despite the loss of Bannan, we will go into the game with a strong looking squad.  Herd's suspension written off, Hutton fit and so is Jermaine Jenas who could make his debut finally.  Lets just hope he doesn't pick up another knock in the next 24 hours!  I expect Mcleish to look to try and steady the ship with a solid point, even though this is a very winnable game, so I expect the following line up:

                     Given

Hutton  Collins  Dunne  Warnock

              Petrov  Delph

  N'Zogbia  Ireland  Agbonlahor

                     Bent

I don't think Jenas will start but I expect him to play some part in the game.  I would love to see Herd keep his place but I can't see it happening and the same applies to Cuellar.  He's so reliable but managers always seem to want him as back up which is very unfair to him.

Why Herd Must Start Against Sunderland

Now that Herd is availible after his rescinded red card, it is clear to me that it is vital that he starts for us.  Especially now that Bannan is out of the equation we are low on midfielders, and the ones we do have availible are mediocre at best.

Herd gives us something that nobody else in our midfield does, and that's fight.  He gets right in the faces of the opposition and gets stuck in.  When was the last time we saw Petrov do that?

Away from home is where it is most noticeable.  We let our opponents hav the ball in the middle of the park, give them all the time in the world to pick out a pass and don't pressure them at all.  And then when we get the ball we get put under pressure straight away, we panic, then we lose possession.  This has become a recurring theme away from home, and sometimes at Villa Park aswell.

Herd can gie us that fight in the middle of the park which can win us possession and force errors from the opposition.  It seems like teams don't really worry when we come to visit them because we let them play their own game and don't dictate anything.  This needs to change and I think the way to change it is to play Chris Herd.

Herd Red Card Rescinded

A bit of better news coming out of Villa this week is the news that Chris Herd's shambolick red card against the Baggies has been rescinded so he will now be availible for the trip to Sunderland.  We were all expecting this outcome as I think the only people who think that it was a red card are Roy Hodgson and a few delusional Baggies fans.  I hope it hasn't affected the lad, he could have a future at Villa from what I've seen so far.

An Injustice Cost Us

You all know what I'm talking about.  Chris Herd's sending off was an absolute disgrace.  There is absolutely no way it was a red card, or a penalty for that matter.  The fact that Olsson didn't react to the so called stamp tells the whole story.  He didn't stamp on Olsson, he was just trying to free himself from him quickly which required him to do what he did.  For once though I'm not blaming Phil Dowd for this one, it was all down to his linesman.

What followed after that was inevitable.  I feel that if we had kept 11 men on the pitch then we would have taken all 3 points from the game.  We were looking good, had the lead and everything was going to plan.  Herd added the presence in midfield that we haven't had since Reo-Coker.  He must have been devastated with being sent off but I'm totally confident it will be recinded and he will be availible for our next match.

For me, Herd is a must start because he is the only player in the squad capable of putting himself about and get in the faces of the opposition.  If we give him a run of games I reckon he can turn into a key player in terms of winning midfield battles which is where we have been lacking recently.  I would love to see him in a 3 man midfield with Clark (instead of Petrov) and Bannan.  Youthful but with a lot of potential.

Next week I would like to see:

                      Given

Cuellar  Collins  Dunne  Warnock

                      Clark

            Herd          Bannan

Albrighton                      Agbonlahor

                        Bent

Hutton left out for obvious reasons, the main one being he is crap.  Cuellar is usually a solid defender and did well at right back a couple of years ago so I would lov to see him replace Hutton.  The 3 man midfield should mean we don't get overrun, therefore seeing mor of the ball.  Albrighton can give us much needed width and Gabby has already shown how good he can be on the wing.

Overall, despite the loss there are positives to take, but only if Mcleish chooses to act on them.  Unfortunately I feel as though he will revert back to Heskey and the whole experience will be for nothing.  Only time will tell...

A Long Way To Go

I think a lot of Villa fans were expecting a scoreline similar to 4-1, perhaps not quite as bad, but it's the way in which we conceded the goals that annoyed me.  I said before the match that I thought  had learnt our lesson since last year and we wouldn't concede any cheap goals, but here we are, talking yet again about sloppy goals.

It seems as though Warnock is never going to learn how to be a 'solid' defender.  Yes he has his good days, Wigan being one of them, but I have voiced my concerns about hi in the past and he is doing nothing to change my mind.  He is an accident waiting to happen every single game, and against Man City he is starting to make a habit of having shockers.  Surely Ciaran Clark deserves a chance at left back against West Brom.  I know he isn't a left back, but he was more solid last season than Warnock has been recently so that change can't hurt.

Our other full back, Hutton, is another accident waiting to happen.  I know a lot of Villa fans have said that they feel Chris Herd should be given more of a chance and I have to say that I agree.  Hutton has looked dodgy since joining and Herd has only played one Premier League game and he got MOTM.  Surely it's a no brainer!

Moving on to midfield, and it pains me to say it, but Delph just doesn't seem up to it at this level.  I could see glimpses earlier in the season of a real quality player but his past few performances have been getting increasingly ropy and it must be time for him to be dropped.  I would like to see us revert back to the diamond midfield that we saw against Wigan as it made us attack with a bit more intent and it wasn't too 'structured' where everyone has a fixed position and is afraid to move out of it.

Up front Bent didn't really have a sniff once again.  It is more understandable against top quality opposition but he must be getting more and more frustrated by the game.  Reverting back to the diamond midfield I think will create a lot more chances for Bent, as long as Bannan is on the pitch as he looks like the only player in the team who is actually focused on trying to release him.

This is the team I would like to see line up against the Baggies:

                  Given

Herd  Collins  Dunne  Clark

                  Petrov

      Bannan           Jenas

                 Ireland

           Bent  Agbonlahor

I know the odds of Mcleish making all these changes is next to nothing, but that is the team I would personally like to see.  If Jenas still hasn't recovered then I would like to see Gary Gardner given a start alongside Bannan.  People keep on giving him rave reviews so it's about time we saw if he has what it takes.  He can't be any worse than Delph has been recently.