To be honest, I just couldn’t get inspired enough to even do a preview for this game.
There are only so many times you can say “this is a game we ought to win easily”, while we go on to lose emphatically, which was the sneaky feeling that I had.
And just as I found it hard to do a preview, so I’m finding it difficult to do a review.
I just can’t understand how we’ve gone from a vibrant, attacking side to the “we’re f***ing sh*t!” that our amazing travelling support were singing about today, in such a short time.
I’ve got to be honest and I was wondering what Dean Smith was thinking with his substitutions today.
I totally fail to comprehend why Elphick was replaced for Hause today. What does that say to a player who’s just been recalled? Elphick was rightly annoyed and I totally understand why when Taylor was yet again poor.
Why didn’t Hause replace Taylor at Left back?
As it happened, Hause looked exactly what he is; a player who hasn’t played at this level in a month of Sundays.
He panicked and looked rushed, being caught out twice in two minutes. His indecisiveness and poor judgement led to him putting Kalinic under serious pressure a few times, because of poor back-passes.
If he gets another start in the next month, it’ll be too soon for me.
So much for him looking great in training.
He looked much worse than my impressions of Taylor when he first came, who by the way, if you haven’t got my message yet, is utter garbage.
And if you’re losing a game, why do you bring Whelan on, when his game is shoring up a defence? We’ve seen this before from Smith and I find it worrying. What does Whelan offer if you’re chasing a game?
Where was Lansbury, who did ok when he came on against Swansea? Does he really have a tight Hamstring?
Likewise Kodjia.
The rumour is that he’s off to Nice for £6 million, after apparently being spotted at Birmingham airport. Really?
I know he’s Marmite amongst the Villa fans, but £6 mill? That’s horrendous business for someone, who, while he hasn’t done it this season, has proven that he can, FOR US, which is the important part.
Bree is another totally average player.
I’ve often hinted at it, but never really mentioned it too much, because I don’t want to be seen to be running our younger players down.
If he’s better than Hutton, well, we think differently, it’s as simple as that.
At least Hutton shows energy and drive, although hands up that’s not really good enough in itself, is it?
And there lies our problem, I think.
We have far too many utterly average players, who will never produce anything good.
It’ll at best be “ok and he did a job”.
This isn’t good enough.
And all this is while we supposedly have the best squad in the league.
Individually, I’d agree with that assessment. On paper, we do have at least one of the best squads in the league.
But they have proven time after time that if you take a tiny bit of glue, as in Grealish or Tuanzebe, out, they simply don’t perform as a unit.
They’re a team of individuals.
And this needs changing.
Is the solution bringing the kids in?
I really don’t think so, myself.
Yes, ease the odd one or two in, but we can’t expect them to be our saviours.
Callum O’Hare proved that last week, after all.
Today was an awful result, against one of the worst performing sides in the league.
I’ll bet Wigan don’t kick on from this result, because they’re basically poor and we all know it.
So where does that leave us, apart from currently being worse?
Well, changing the manager is quite simply not an option, as much as I thought he got things wrong today.
We need new players.
And no, I’m not talking about our kids.
I’m minded to think that Smith has until the end of the season, the way things are going.
Which is ridiculous really.
But we all know how things work in footy.
Rowett and Karanka were gone after very short periods, after all.