Percentage points are raising stakes atVilla
VILLA’S slow start to the Premier League season continued with a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Monday night.
The division’s bottom club had lost their previous five games before hosting Villa, while Steve Cooper’s men are now winless in seven after Monday night’s stalemate.
Emmanuel Dennis opened the scoring after 15 minutes before Ashley Young equalised for the visitors seven minutes later.
Villa are now unbeaten in four, but after taking just nine points from nine games, Steven Gerrard needs to start winning – and quick – before the league breaks for the World Cup next month. Here are the talking points.
Worrying comparisons
If Villa fail to beat Chelsea on Sunday, Gerrard’s win percentage this calendar year will be 26.6, while Dean Smith – who was sacked after a poor run of results from the start of 2021 until the point of his dismissal – boasted a 31.1% win ratio in the 35 games he took charge of from the start of January until mid-November last year.
Given that CEO Christian Purslow referenced Smith’s struggles, Gerrard’s position will likely come under scrutiny, unless the board feel he is the right man to lead this group forward. Remaining unbeaten in four games proves Gerrard has managed to fix some of the problems that stumped his side in the first weeks of the campaign, but there is still so much more to do.
If Villa lose to Chelsea it will bump Gerrard’s losing rate up to 46.6% since the turn of the year, which is just two per cent lower than Smith recorded from the start of last year until mid-November.
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Gerrard blames attack
The head coach is adamant his team will start to climb the table once his forwards start taking their chances.
He said: “I thought we were the better team and we created the better out of the two teams in terms of opportunities.
“We need to create more in the final third.
“We lacked a bit of quality, moments of magic, outside of Ashley Young’s fantastic strike we need to demand more from the players.
“I don’t want to sit here and talk about four games unbeaten because it’s not enough, the last two performances we need to be taking maximum points rather than just the one so there’s a lot of frustration there.
“I’ve challenged the players to give us more in that area on the pitch because up until that point there’s not much wrong.
“I do feel like we are saying it too much, what I will say is our midfield and defensive players are really stepping forward. It’s not an application
or a commitment thing, we just need more quality from our big hitters.
“When we get that and step forward, I’m sure we’ll turn these draws into wins and this was an incredible opportunity for us to jump up the league and we haven’t grabbed it.
“It’s not just confidence, it might be a part, of course. Forward players want to be confident, but we are giving them a lot of freedom, we’ve put in a lot of work in this area, so we need to keep persevering and it will change.
“I’m aware we should have more points, more goals, I’m not stupid. I haven’t got my head buried under the sand. I know there’s pressure so I’m very much aware of the external pressures and noise. I’m not soft.”
Young excellent
He might no longer be at the very peak of his powers, but Villa cannot afford to be without the 37-year-old’s experience and leadership.
“He’s turning out to be the most important signing we’ve done,” said Gerrard.
“His performances have been above and beyond.
“He’s the one who has driven us to turn this corner and given us a small platform for us to build from. He’s epitomised everything we needed to do and get back to.
“Standing up, rolling your sleeves up, being professional, getting back to basics, training well, doing the basics well, communicating on the pitch, driving other people to be better.”
Konsa covering Carlos woes
Ezri Konsa has stepped up and looks every bit the reliable, composed centre-half he was under Smith.
The 24-year-old struggled in parts of the last campaign but following the injury to Diego Carlos, who joined the club in a £26 million switch from Sevilla in the summer, Konsa is once again forming a solid partnership with Tyrone Mings.
Gerrard has gone back to basics since the home defeat to West Ham in August, and to reasonable effect. Konsa has benefited from the tactical tweak and his contribution deserves to be recognised with more points on the board.