Having a look at what lies ahead.
After what has been a tough spell and the departure of manager Dean Smith, the international break allowed time for the dust to settle and start the work to turn Aston Villa’s fortunes around.
A run of five straight defeats put an end to Smith’s tenure at Villa Park, but the squad has already shown what it is capable of this season and there should be optimism of what can be achieved going forward.
A Sorry October Ends Smith Spell
There would have been few to predict a departure for Smith just under a month and a half on from a memorable 1-0 victory at Manchester United in the Premier League on September 25th. Kortney Hause bagged the winner in a dramatic finish to the encounter at Old Trafford, before the manager and players clapped and celebrated with the travelling Villa faithful. Fast forward five games and the search was to begin for a new manager, after an October that had poor results as well as Halloween spooking the club’s hierarchy.
It was not the easiest of fixtures in that run of five games for Villa, but there’s still plenty of the season left, which is reflected in the football betting as they are priced at 4/1 to finish in the top half of the Premier League table this season. Two tough trips to north London ended in defeat to Tottenham and Arsenal, while it was another in-form side from the capital in West Ham who managed to win at Villa Park. The less said about the Wolves game the better, before the final nail in the coffin that was a defeat at Southampton. Despite the tough run of results, there is real potential in this Villa squad to not only turn things around but to start climbing back up the Premier League table.
Finding the Balance
It’s been well documented how the loss of Jack Grealish has hit the side and how the money from his sale to Manchester City was reinvested back into the squad. Some quality additions were brought in over the summer, with the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings all arriving. It seems that confidence has been an issue for the likes of Buendia and Bailey of late, but those players on their day are match-winners in the Premier League. With Ings and Ollie Watkins as attacking options, there is no doubt Villa have the firepower to start getting results.
Goals were not really the issue for Villa in the five-match losing streak, as they found the back of the net in four of those five outings. Conceding 13 goals on the other hand was the undoing for Smith. It’s not just a problem for defenders but something the team as a whole needs to work on.
With a fresh face in the dugout and better displays when Villa don’t have the ball, there is no doubting this squad is capable of turning their fortunes around and looking back up the Premier League standings.
