Aston Villa Post Mortem: Analysing the Second City Derby and What Villa Need
Before Sunday's match at St Andrews, Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier described his team's derby day clash with Birmingham City as a "must win" fixture.
And having languished into the Premier League relegation zone for the first time in seven years recently, it's safe to say this match was seen by the management and players as the catalyst Villa so desperately need to "kick-start their season".
But it was not to be for the not-so mighty Villans, as a ricocheted Roger Johnson (who, according to his manager, can "start an argument in an empty house") effort on goal for Birmingham cancelled out Liam Ridgewell's ping-ponged own goal.
A 1-1 draw wasn't what both teams had in mind prior to kick-off, but it's a result that'll leave Gerard Houllier and his staff with far more thinking and video analysis to do than his Blues counterpart Alex McLeish.
After all, Birmingham City remain one point ahead of Villa in the table with a game in hand.
And thus, as Villa's catalyst hopes were brutally murdered by their rivals, here are the Villans' post-mortem results from St Andrews.
Houllier: We Don't Need a Striker. Post Mortem Results: Yes You Do!
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In his pre-match press conference, Gerard Houllier told journalists one area in his squad he won't be strengthening this season is up-front.
He said, "I am not looking to sign a striker. Not at the moment. I'm quite happy with Emile Heskey and John Carew."
However, on the basis of the match against Birmingham, the unassailable statistics and the season so far, it would appear Houllier should in fact be looking to sign a striker.
Carew hasn't scored this season, and it's clear why. In an age where footballers focus more of their training on muscular endurance, Carew can no longer just rely on his physical presence to beat defenders, as Roger Johnson and Liam Ridgewell proved on Sunday.
And with his finishing ability suddenly gone missing, as well as any last ounce of work ethic he had left in him, it's clear to see why he's been one in a catalogue of Villa flops this campaign.
Gabriel Agbonlahor has also struggled, scoring no league goals this season, and as proven against Birmingham, he's lost his belief that he'll always find the back of the net when he has a shot on goal.
The indecisiveness about his positioning as he lines up to shoot, and the fact he looks at the ball too much when shooting, reeks of a player who's lost that psychological edge to his game.
Emile Heskey has been Villa's only real glimmer of hope up front this season, with six goals to his name this season and various assists, while Nathan Delfouneso would be better served going out on loan to gain experience than waiting for minutes here and there on the Villa bench.
Houllier is loathe to sign a striker with four (all of which he has a lot of faith in) already on the books, but after this derby performance, it looks like he might have to dip into that market.
The Blues got the right idea in signing Robbie Keane, someone who Houllier should've been targeting.
Perhaps the Villa boss should get rid of the deadwood (Carew), let the talent blossom out on loan (Delfouneso) and sign someone new to bring a fresh approach and give a renewed energy to the attacking line.
Villa Need Their 'Swagga' Back
2 of 4Had Aston Villa won against Birmingham, this electro-dance tune of hard-hitting basslines from the world of dubstep would've been most appropriate for the Villans.
A win would've seen Villa battle through the hard moments to dance their way into a renewed optimism and belief about the season ahead.
Last season Aston Villa were Carling Cup finalists, FA Cup semifinalists, finished sixth in the Premier League ahead of Liverpool and had serious and realistic aspirations of reaching the holy grail that is the UEFA Champions League.
As it is, Villa are in a relegation dogfight, have no hope of getting silverware or a place in the Europa League, let alone Champions League, and have to contend with their arch-rivals finally being more successful than them.
It was evident on Sunday, and it's been clear all season; Aston Villa have lost their swagger.
Players had no confidence on the ball against Birmingham, with the defence (Kyle Walker aside) instantly playing long balls as if to show they didn't want too many touches of the ball, just in case they got closed down and tackled.
No midfielder ran with the ball either - apart from Marc Albrighton at times in tandem with full-back Kyle Walker - instead always looking immediately for a pass, any sort of pass, as long as they weren't going to get tackled.
Aston Villa played like a team focused more on avoiding defeat as opposed to trying to win, also summed up by the fact they seldom looked to create attacks down the middle, a move that creates more risk of a counter-attack, but conversely, can also be a more effective way of breaking down the opposition defence.
Reliant on crosses and the pace of the wingers, Villa started and ended the game without any swagger whatsoever.
If Aston Villa are to be comfortable this season and not end up in a serious relegation scrap, they need that swagger back ASAP.
Datsik, Excision, tell the Villans how it's done.
When You Need a Win, Attack, Don't Defend!
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In need of a win, and with their opponents set up defensively at home, the Second City Derby on Sunday was the perfect time for Gerard Houllier to go for attacking tactics and take the game to Birmingham as they searched for a somewhat elusive away win, or even what is now just an elusive win for that matter.
Instead, the team was set up in a 4-5-1 formation, exactly like Birmingham, with striker Gabriel Agbonlahor yet again wasting himself on the wings.
Of course, he could've overlapped with Stewart Downing by cutting inside and creating an innovative attack to spread open the Blues' defence, but such a move failed to materialise apart from the one chance inside the opening two minutes of the match.
Linked in with the point about swagger, Aston Villa played without any real attacking intent, looking more to avoid conceding as opposed to going all out for the winner.
They had no drive from midfield, with no player in the centre pushing forward to create attacks down the middle, while on loan full-back Kyle Walker, one of the few attack-minded players in the Villa line-up, had little options when he got forward to cross the ball into the penalty area.
Walker, borrowed until the end of the season from the free-flowing football franchise that is Tottenham Hotspur, appeared a footballing outcast on the pitch for Villa, as his midfield teammates sat back to plug the gap as he ventured forward instead of providing attacking options.
If Villa are to regain their swagger and get back to winning ways, more attacking intent is needed. Perhaps that's why Houllier drafted Walker into the squad, in an attempt to shake up Villa's currently cautious style of play.
After all, draws don't guarantee success, wins do. Surely the Aston Villa players know that.
Villa Need a New James Milner
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He may be a wing wizard now for Manchester City, but James Milner was the key midfield playmaker for Aston Villa as they embarked on their quest for Champions League football.
Stephen Ireland was swapped along with various monetary notes, as Villa looked to plug that vital gap left by Milner, but so far the Irishman hasn't been able to fill those playmaker boots.
As has been covered in this article, Villa need to attack more centrally, and in general need more attacking drive, something which always starts from the heart of midfield.
Looking at Villa's line-up against Birmingham, the two main central players, Nigel Reo-Coker and Stiliyan Petrov, are both defensively minded, while Stewart Downing will always drift to the wings no matter where he's playing. The same applies to Ashley Young.
Against the Blues, Villa had nobody willing to cut through the middle, and no-one in central midfield who would drive the ball forward and spray out the attacking passes, or bomb forward to work with the wingers.
Anything the Villans created was through simply the full-backs and wingers, or wingers and strikers. In essence, it was a two-way system which easily became predictable.
If Aston Villa want to win matches, they need more attacking verve and energy, they need to attack the centre more, and they need to create more inventive and unpredictable forward plays. They need a playmaker.
Jean Makoun, described by Houllier as an all-action box-to-box midfielder, might well be the answer.
And if he's not the answer, the Villa boss needs Stephen Ireland to get back to his successful old ways as Manchester City's playmaker immediately.
And if that doesn't work, Villa need a playmaker before the end of the January transfer window. Basically, Aston Villa need a playmaker, now.
