Boxing Day Breakdown and Brighton

Another Boxing Day, another breakdown. Naturally it was disappointing, as was the officiating that contributed to it. That’s been much more the focus than the match itself, which is never a good thing.

As to the match, probably the biggest issue is that Villa were trailing from the start and that was obviously only amplified by Duran’s red card. Much harder to chase with 10 than to simply hold on for a draw or protect a lead.

But that opener does bear some scrutiny as it came off a turnover from Kamara, a ball that had come to him and he needed to do better with as everything behind him was wide open and Villa largely up the pitch. Yes, Newcastle did the work from there, and the shot was perfect, but it’s the kind of thing you just can’t afford, especially in the opening seconds. It was lax from him. If you’re not going to claim that ball, you need to foul and stop the move.

Obviously the red will have done Emery’s head in, but I’m sure the opener was right up there, too.

Overall, I’m not sure what else to say, watching the match in a post Christmas-roast haze. What happened after probably isn’t too much to be bothered with. Going down 0-1 at St. James in the first 90 seconds is never a recipe for points. There wasn’t really a stirring response, though.

I’d started to write a piece about the squad, the inconsistency, and maybe even extending to the lack of goals and chances. Basically, I was arguing that to get where they are, the side have to consistently play at the top end of their ability. And after a while, that gets harder to do. There’s mental fatigue, I think, along with the fatigue that would’ve been carried over from last season along with the extra matches so far this season. (I read a good article from a physio who pointed out that there is accumulated load along with match-to-match load and recovery. The context was the proliferation of hamstring injuries and how many are taking longer to heal.)

When it comes to goals and chances, we’re basically putting it all on Ollie, Duran, and Rogers. There’s been the odd contribution from others, of course, but without a strong right side or anyone from the left (apart from Digne) adding to goals and assists, Villa are easier to defend against. We miss Ramsey’s thrust, and while Cash has the odd moment in him, it’s not consistent enough to pull defenders around and plan against. Close down the middle, and we’re searching for answers.

We do have players to call upon off the bench, but while Barkley, for example, can readily come in and freshen up for Onana or Kamara, maybe Youri, it’s a like-for-like. Good for seeing out games or providing a bit of impetus, or starting as needed, but it’s not changing the side. Philogene hasn’t taken his chance. Bailey has just gone missing. Cash playing as a winger is a decent response from Emery, but it’s not a long-term answer. The only truly game-changing substitute has been Duran, and Ramsey to some degree when he’s been available.

Playing Onana and Kamara together probably is a decent longer-term setup, but it’s early days. There’s more strength, and they should be complementary with Onana able to cover more ground. It allows Youri to play further up, reduces his defensive responsibilities (and a fair amount of chasing). But then you’ve got McGinn, who does seem to be struggling a bit, providing a lot of link-up and service with Youri, then Rogers with either Ollie or Jhon. Ollie seems to be tired of mind, and Rogers can be hit or miss in his decision-making and subsequent impact.

So you can see why there haven’t been that many chances, and especially why we aren’t really troubling teams across the width of the pitch. There really isn’t a different kind of personnel grouping to drop in and change the nature of the attack. Or the defending. I’ve read a little about the forgotten men on loan, Iling Jr and Barrenechea, and it doesn’t seem like they’re making waves. January is January, and depending on Ramsey’s progress, a recall for Iling Jr is maybe possible. But I’m not sure it changes much.

That’s not really down to anything more than PSR and the squad Emery inherited. It’s becoming more his, but the ability to make impact buys in more than one position has been limited. Rogers was a fantastic bit of business in that context. We’ve gotten to the point where we can be two-deep, but with the problems on the right, especially, it’s less about all of them being starters vying for a spot than a set of backups who aren’t much of a drop-off. But carrying two right wingers who don’t produce isn’t helpful. You’d have to find a way to play Ollie, Rogers and Duran as a three to sort of make up for it, and go with Youri, Onana and Bouba behind them, or maybe McGinn with either Amadou or Kamara. Likewise, carrying Bogarde and Carlos isn’t helpful.

Anyway, lots of talk and I think most everyone sees some version of the same thing. At this level, you have to be right at it all over the pitch. When you’re not, it shifts the burden onto a smaller set of players. Given the way last season played out (running on fumes), the ECL matches and the CL matches and a ferocious league slate this season, keeping those levels up every match is asking a lot of some players.

But here’s to bouncing back today against a troublesome Brighton side who’ve had varied results as well.

Over to you.