Clark To Be The Main Man

Defensive duo Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuellar have praised the ability and potential that young centre back Ciaran Clark Possesses.  It was clear for all of us to see last year that he was a very talented footballer.  Not only is he a good defender, but he is also comfortable in possession which is a quality that none of our current defenders seem to have.  I would love to see Clark get some more game time alongside Dunne but I'm sure that Collins will take his place if he is fit.

Dunne said:

“Ciaran just has to be patient this year, he is a great lad and is going to be a brilliant player, but he is still young, especially for a centre-back.

“Last year he played a lot of games in midfield and at left-back but I think he wants to be a centre-back. He had a couple of injuries over the summer but it just takes time to develop sometimes.

“Ciaran will get games and I’m certain he’ll become a regular at Villa soon enough, so he has to be patient. Maybe ten or 15 games might just be enough for him in the learning process this season.

“Eventually he will take over and become the main man at the back. He will kick on with Ireland as well. The lads who are playing at the moment have played a lot of games and Ciaran is still at the stage where he is learning.

“But it will come to him at some point and I’m sure he will be back in the Ireland squad soon enough.”

Cuellar said:

“He is one of the best defenders I have played with – he is superb,”

“He is young, but he has some amazing assets.

“He is quick, he has good technique, he can play, he can tackle and he’s good in the air. He’s got everything you need to succeed and flourish.

“He is also incredibly versatile. He can play centre-back but he’s done an amazing job at left-back too when he’s been asked to play there and he’s even impressed in central midfield.

“He will be one of the best defenders in the Premier League and in Europe too. He’s that good.

“If he keeps up this kind of progression, keeps learning, he will definitely be one of the best defenders around. I rate him that highly.

“The quality of his left foot is amazing. He is so comfortable on it.”

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.

Kevin MacDonald to Forest?

I've heard rumours today that Kevin MacDonald is being lined up to take over at Nottingham Forest after the departure of Steve Mclaren. I think he would do a very good job at Forest and if he was to leave then I wish him all the best because he has been a great servant to Villa over the years and he deserves a shot at management.

However the more selfish side in me would absolutely love him to stay. He has done wonders to our youth development over the years and most recently has nurtured talents such as Barry Bannan and Ciaran Clark. He gave these players a chance to show what they can do after MON left and he showed us that we have got some very good young players indeed. This season he has been promoted to the first team in an attempt to try and help the younger players settle into the squad and so far it appears to be working. If he was to leave I've got no idea what effect it would have on the team but it certainly wouldn't be a positive. In the short spell he had in charge it was clear to see that the whole team loved him and respected him, which is a great trait to have.

In my honest opinion I think he will stay. He seems to have formed such a close attachment to the youngsters coming through that I think he will want to stay with them until he has taken them as far as he can. I just hope I'm right!

Injury Latest

Good news for us coming out today that we could have as many as 5 players back from injury for the Wigan game on Saturday.  Darren Bent, Emile Heskey, Jermaine Jenas, Ciaran Clark and Carlos Cuellar are all back in training and hopeful of making the squad this weekend.

• Bent has apparently overcome his groin injury that kept him out of the QPR game but he thought he had shaken it off one time already so it will be interesting to see if there is any reaction on Saturday.
• Heskey is also back after his hamstring strain, though I'm hoping this doesn't mean he will be taking back his place in the team at the expense of someone more worthy.
• Jenas should finally make his debut at last! I've been really looking forward to seeing him in our midfield to see if he can add that spark that we have been lacking.
• Clark has recovered from a knee injury but this just means that our bench will look a bit stronger as there is no chance he will get a start.
• Finally Cuellar is making a return!!! I rate him highly but sadly I see no way of him breaking the current partnership at the back.  I agree with the saying "If it's not broke, don't fix it" and I think this statement should apply here.

This is what Mcleish had to say:

"Darren trained today which is good news. The injury wasn't as bad as first feared so it will be good to get him back in action and unleash him again.
"Emile will train later this week with the group. He has already started preliminary training but he will be with us when we are preparing for the weekend game so he will be available.
"The good news on Jermaine is that he started training yesterday and he had a good session.
"He had another good session today and looked very lively and he is ready to go as well.
"James played through the pain barrier and was hobbling about a wee bit at the end of the QPR game but he is one of these that will run through brick walls.
"We feared the worst afterwards but the scan was good and there was nothing broken.
"He has suffered severe bruising and his ankle is a little bit swollen but we think he might make it at the weekend.
"Ciaran Clark is another one who will join us later and will be available for the weekend."