Stevie determined to lose ‘nearly men’ tag
THE shoddy reasoning behind chalking off Danny Ings’ perfectly-fine equaliser will continue to sting over the next few days knowing it cost Villa the chance to go on and beat Manchester United.
Steven Gerrard’s side were top drawer for large parts at Old Trafford on Monday evening, with the boss outlining afterwards how that near-four-minute VAR decision killed Villa’s momentum. As they exited the FA Cup third round for the sixth season on the spin, we pick out some of the talking points as Villa look ahead to the Premier League meeting with United at Villa Park on Saturday.
n ‘Nearly is not good enough’
We can probably go on all day about that shambolic VAR decision but, in his post-match press conference, Gerrard refused to blame that moment and instead revealed how his side were still just short of the immaculate levels he demands.
Villa have picked up an unwanted ‘nearly men’ tag in recent weeks, showing plenty of effort, spirit and bravery in defeats against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and, for parts, Chelsea, while it was different against United with Villa by far the better team.
Gerrard put it bluntly and said: “There’s a gap between nearly and being good enough at the moment. We need to close the gap. Nearly is not good enough for me or Aston Villa.”
The head coach was critical of his players lacking that killer instinct, with Ollie Watkins and others guilty of missing big chances.
“At this level, you’ve got to execute, you’ve got to be ruthless, you’ve got to take your chances,” he said, with perhaps the arrival of Philippe Coutinho set to add that little bit of magic needed.
n
Gerrard is box office
He was given a hostile welcome and booed onto the pitch – before turning directly towards the Stretford End to stare down the United fans.
He looked home supporters directly in the eyes and, amid the anti-Scouser chants launched at him, kept cool and lapped it up. During the game, Gerrard urged Villa to be more adventurous, knowing United were there for the taking, and cut a frustrated figure as chance after chance went begging.
On the abuse he received, Gerrard smiled and said: “I have been to noisier stadiums. It was a good cup tie, a good atmosphere but in terms of what I got, water off a duck’s back.”
n
Kesler, Digne and full-backs
Gerrard addressed Villa’s interest in Everton left-back Lucas Digne.
“We are working hard on targets,” he said. “It is not respectful to mention any names but there is no smoke without fire and we want to try and improve certain areas of our team and our squad.”
Villa are still in negotiations with the Toffees over the £25 million-rated Frenchman as Gerrard looks for an improvement at full-back.
He also explained why he recalled highly-rated right-back Kaine KeslerHayden from his loan at Swindon.
“I want to see him,” Gerrard said. “I want to see him up close and analyse him up close, and then decide whether he goes back to Swindon or whether he finds a different challenge.”
The pressure has seemingly been ramped up on Matty Cash and Matt Targett, who haven’t had viable competition this season.
n New quarter-back role
John McGinn is no longer making lung-busting runs into the box to get on the end of things. Instead, he’s taking up a Gerrard-esque quarter-back position on the halfway line and popping balls in over the top or through opposition defences.
At Old Trafford, he was Villa’s pass master (45) with 10 of them long balls from deep. He threaded a beauty in for Watkins early on and that set the tone. No other player crossed more than McGinn either (five), with one helping to tee-up what should have been Villa’s second-half equaliser. His positioning and role mirrors Gerrard’s under Brendan Rodgers during their time together at Liverpool. Unfortunately, McGinn is suspended for Saturday’s game.