Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Aston Villa have to start finding some points from somewhere if they are to have any chance of getting first off the bottom and then out of the relegation zone. Although with their being an 8 point gap and still 9 games to play it’s still mathematically possible but with their performances as of late it’s looking pretty improbable.
Their plight doesn’t get any easier with the visit of title chasing Tottenham this Afternoon. Remi Garde’s side will have to brace themselves for another Afternoon of protests and if the game goes against them I wouldn’t be surprised if their were walkouts either.
Last time out they lost to Manchester City at The Etihad in what must be said was another abject performance. They seemingly are limping from week to week as it’s a case of not if they go down but when. With 13 goals conceded in the last 3 matches that to anyone is relegation form and you’d be a very brave man to bet against them.
This run of defeats as of late is undoubtedly putting pressure on Remi Garde as with each week that passes he seems to be the wrong man for the almost impossible job. Will he even see out the season in charge of Villa Park. If he isn’t the man to lead them to safety, I’m not sure he’ll be trusted with the task of trying to get the club out of The Championship.
One side looking for a championship of their own are their opponents this Afternoon Tottenham. The North London side are fresh off a disappointing Evening on Thursday after being brushed aside by Borussia Dortmund.
With the lineup that Mauricio Pochettino opted for it’s clear to see what trophy he sees as the priority. With the Europa League offering the carrot of entering the Champions League and Spurs looking likely to qualify for the league route then you can understand why the Europa League has taken a back seat especially still with title aspirations in mind.
Pochettino certainly has come in for some criticism over the past few days but Football fans have very short memories and if they manage to win at Villa Park with their perceived first eleven then all will be forgotten as they will cut the gap to Leicester to just 2 points for 24 hours at least. But if they don’t pickup a win, not only could it all but hamper their hopes of a first League title since 1961 but it could also fan the flames of discontent regarding Pochettino’s selection decision.
Spurs now haven’t won in 3 matches in all competition and that is in part to defeat away at West Ham and a Draw at home to Arsenal last Saturday in what was a pulsating North London Derby. Maybe before the game they would have been happy with a point but if you were to ask them the same question afterwards you definitely wouldn’t get the same answer.
That’s because Tottenham had a goal and a man advantage after coming from behind to lead 2-1 but they were hit by an Alexis Sanchez suckerpunch which allowed Arsenal to snatch a point and more importantly keep themselves in the title hunt.
Tottenham will look at the failure to close the game out and Hugo Lloris will have come in for some criticism to keep Sanchez’ shot out. A rare error in what has been an excellent season for the French Goalkeeper but how costly may those two dropped points be.
Even though Villa are the basement side, I don’t think Tottenham can afford to take them for granted. Hence the logic of Pochettino on Thursday. I think it would be remiss to right off Villa and if you were to then games like this have a habit of catching you cold.
That said Spurs will want to return to winning ways, they certainly need to if they are to keep their hopes of winning the Premier League. It’s going to be another test of their character and one I would imagine they will pass. More misery at Villa Park as the Spurs go marching on. An away win for me.
