After starting the season quite brightly, Aston Villa go into an unenviable run of matches that kicks off this weekend when they line up against Liverpool at Anfield. Following that, the Villains won’t face a side that finished outside the top six last year until they visit newly promoted Queens Park Rangers at the end of October.
Tough go? Sure, but Villa boss Paul Lambert knows you have to play everyone at some point so there’s really no sense moaning about it. “It was the same for us last season – we had Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in a week” explained the Scotsman. “This season it’s come in September and you’d probably like to have them early in the season than at the end of the season when everyone is right in their stride. You have to play them at one stage.”
To be fair, playing the big boys hasn’t always been such a chore for the Midlands club. The Reds powered back to pick up a point in this fixture last season after falling behind to first half goals from Andreas Weimann and Christian Benteke. It was only through the intervention of Daniel Sturridge, who scored the only goal in a tense reverse fixture at Villa Park, and Steven Gerrard, smashing home from the penalty spot after Luis Suarez was fouled, that a second half rally was possible. Any assertions that this will be a walk-over for the hosts is well wide of the mark.
“We took points off the big ones last season. It’s not as if to say you’re not going to do it again. It is what it is. But you go and compete and give them a game” he continued. “I know how hard the run is. But other teams will get the big ones on the bounce as well. You just have to do your best against them and try to get as many points off them as you can.”
If the next couple of weeks looks gloomy for his side, at least Lambert will be able to go into it on the back of some good news with striker Gabriel Agbonlahor signing a new contract at Villa Park yesterday. There were rumours circulating for weeks that the Englishman — who has made over 300-appearances for the Villains — was set for a new deal and he’s finally put pen to paper on a four-year deal that should see him end his career at the club he joined as a youngster.
“It’s a great feeling to be signing for Aston Villa. It was not a hard decision, for myself and the club it was easy to get it sorted” he told Villa’s official website after the announcement. “The club has been great to me and the fans have been great.” The striker, who found the net early in the first half in their 2-1 win over Hull City, remains an influential part of Lambert’s side and is nailed on to feature against Liverpool on Saturday as they try to keep their unbeaten start to the Premier League season going. “I’m excited for this season and I’m excited for the next four years,” he continued. “It’s a fantastic feeling for me to commit my future to Aston Villa.”
While Agbonlahor basks in the glory of being a useful member of the squad, Villa winger Andreas Weimann is doing is best to pick up a player that could very well be down in the dumps after getting a bit of a battering on social media. Following the announcement that the Premier League had sanctioned Tom Cleverley’s loan move to Villa Park after the transfer window closed, their official Twitter account decided it would be a good idea to run an open Q&A for the embattled midfielder — suffice it to say it didn’t go well.
Regardless of what the foul-mouthed social media denizens had to say, his Austrian team-mate sees things a bit differently. “Tom’s come in and will be eager to get going. He’ll give us another dimension,” said the 23-year old without a hint of irony. “He’s a brilliant player. He’s played loads of games for Manchester United and England too. As a guy, after chatting to him this week, he’s really nice.”
Sounds like Andreas has made a new friend — not sure if that particular pleasantry is going to win them any football matches, but it’s nice to be nice, no?
–Steven
