Her0es & Villi4ns

My resolution for the new season is to remain positive, which may lead to a few short posts from time to time but let’s see how we get on with Saturday’s Charity Vase game.
For a start we did no worse than last year, when we lost at home to Villa by four goals on a damp September night.
For most of the first half I though we looked bright, forward thinking and creative. With a little more composure in front of goal we could well have been at least level at the break.
Reece Hutchinson, after a shaky first five minutes grew in confidence and produced some good touches both in defence and on the break and was a constant outlet for Bywater to play out from the back.
Liam Boyce looked as strong as he did in those last five games of the oh so nearly great escape and will not come up against defenders as good as James Chester too often this time round.
So reasons to be cheerful.
Concerns? Well trying to run on a squad of 16-17 outfield players when you need 16 each matchday is surely a recipe for disaster. Already yesterday, Ben Fox was forced out of position to right back where Tomas Egert had impressed at Mickleover. Having also impressed at Kidderminster from what I have read it must have been disappointing to read that a contract offer would be conditional upon another player leaving and I for one cannot blame him for giving himself an opportunity with Walsall.
Of course the loan market is still untapped so it remains to be seen if this can be used to boost the numbers a little otherwise we may all need to take a turn at making up the numbers on the bench!
Good support from Villa for Jack Grealish as they attempt to persuade him to stay. Such a talent, though yet again I thought he spoiled himself by going to ground far too often and too easily. I voiced this opinion to one of the many Villa fans who had joined us in the North Stand and he sprang to his defence, citing the fact that he gets kicked so often and has to draw the referee’s attention to this for protection. I reminded him that not too many years ago, the Villa midfield was run by Gordan Cowans, playing at a time when he would have found himself up against the likes of Kenny Burns, Gordon McQueen, Archie Gemmill, Bryan Robson, Terry McDermott etc. He must have picked up a few bruises but I cannot imagine that he would have been anything than embarrassed to have fallen over at the minimal contact that some pundits would have us believe entitles a player to “go down". To his credit our Villa guest agreed.