by jimcohen

After 28 minutes at Upton Park today, the 3,000 Villa faithful clad in a mix of the traditional claret and "glow in the dark" neon green realised something was different about Villa. We were doing something that for 38 games last season, we very rarely did. Pass the ball!

"We're passing the ball, we're passing the ball! We're Aston Villa. We're passing the ball!"…came the chant. And what a delight it was. The triangle of passes all over the pitch led by the industrious Delph, promising KEA and floating Ireland looked slick and quite refreshing. The game ended with 65.8% possession to Villa, which as the away team, especially as we are Villa, is quite astonishing! Admittedly, some of the possession fizzled out as they made there way to JJ's goal, but the signs are there of what Lambert wants us to do, and I like it.

We played a fluid 4-4-1-1 with Ireland in the hole behind Bent, but N'Zogbia and Holeman on the wings were constantly cutting in and swapping positions, and Lowton at RB was offering a lot of extra support down the right flank, making N'Zogbia's wondering a lot more effective.

Given, Clark and Vlaar were obviously given the same brief by the gaffer, with very few long balls being played and only when there were no other options. A delight to see made more entertaining every time Collins lumped the ball long for West Ham, only to be found by a Villa head or Given's gloves. Given always looked for a quick throw out or shot pass, and Vlaar and Clark, with Lowton on the right always offered options. Passing from the back, and through the midfield with wide men cutting in, we found it easy to keep the ball, and only really lost it when we went up to Bent too quickly as the major issues with this current side was the lack of support for our new captain.

Bent clearly offers a goal threat, and does help out well for set pieces, but his game is very ineffective without support and as much as KEA, Ireland and Delph tried, we just didn't get men forward ahead of the ball and Bent enough. This for me was the main issue of our play. Yes we were away from home, and the team has to remain disciplined and in shape, but we were there to win, and you don't win many games without shots on goal.

Baker at left back was is obviously filling a hole. I was delighted to see Lambert stick to his guns and not even include Hutton and Warnock with the travelling party. They are not good enough and need to be replaced. Lowton is the man for RB, I really like the look of him, but Baker will be exposed too much at left back and I hope he doesn't get disheartened if he has to play there too much. At one point today Vaz Te slipped passed Baker as if he want there, but Baker won everything in the air and offered good cover at centre back when Lowton was bombing on and the defence shifted over. The lad is a great prospect in the heart of our defence but he is not a full back.

Bannan, Gardner and Weimann all came on and the youth will play a large part on this season, but apart from Bannan, our subs today did not have much of an impact, and BB only had 9 minutes. Weimann was limping onto the team bus leaving as well, so I hope he is ok. He face was grimacing a lot as he stepped up to the bus and I don't think that was just about his lack of service during the game.

This new look Villa team, with 4 new starters and only 187 appearances between them (Giggs has 539 on his own!) did look a little raw in parts, but the promise is there. The Intent from the manager to play the way football should be played and the way Villa fans want to see us playing gives me hope for the next 37 games. We did create a few chances today, and looked solid enough at the back, I think we are nearly there.

As I said in my last post, 2-3 more players are needed, but with Gabby and Albrighton coming back that will help a lot with our attacking side, and Dunne will be a big bonus to our inexperienced back 4.

Having looked at our side throughout pre-season and studying them hard today, I would say a striker has to be our priority.If Bent were to get injured we would be in trouble and at home I would like to see us play 2 up top with Gabby out wide.

A central midfielder would be next on the list. I like Delph and Bannan, both played well today, but neither are quite there yet. But not that far off!

Overall, I have hope. I left the stadium a little more happy than I thought after meeting Ray Houghton, Ian Taylor and Marc Albrighton in the press box, all three were happy to pose for pictures and have a quick chat. Albrighton also confirmed he is not on twitter, so that cleared a few things up there too!

I predict a solid if unspectacular mid table finish, which after last season, I would be very happy with, but I do think we are only a few players away from a very good team, so who knows what could happen if we get onto a good run and the confidence starts to flow.

Given - 7 - Made a few good saves, was solid on crosses and distributed the ball as well as I have ever seen

Lowton - 7 - Looked promising going forward and solid enough at the back. A very hard worker with a lot in his engine.

Vlaar - 6 - A nervous 15 minutes before the half did concern me, he was out jumped a few time by Cole and looked visibly ruffled, but he came back strongly in the sec on half and will be a great edition to our defence.

Clark - Made some good interceptions, passed the ball well out o defence but was caught out once or twice. Needs more games in the hear of our defence.

Baker - 6 - Good in the air, covered well in the middle, but he is not a full back sadly.

N'Zogbia - 5 - A few exciting moments, but he is too easily push off the ball and his work rate is not good enough away from home. Better, but not there yet.

Delph - 7 - Passed well, looked composed and offered support to Ireland, but he still dives in too much on the tackle, and just doesn't offer the presence I want to see in the middle of our midfield. Needs more stature.

El Ahmadi - 7 - MOTM for me, passed very well, always offered support, always wanted the ball, very rarely gave it away and stayed strong to the end. A lot more to come I think, but a solid start from the new heart of our team.

Holeman - Taken off after the hour, I presume because of the knock he got in midweek, but played well, worked hard and linked play up nicely. Did try a few too many ambitious passes and shots, but this guy will be a star for us. I like the look of him a lot.

Ireland - 7 - Passed well, tackled back, worked hard and nearly put in a few killer passes. He is getting his groove back and I think with more games and the confidence to play the way he wants, we will see the best of Ireland this season

Bent - 5 - Didn't do much wrong but he didn't see much of the ball either.

UTV

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Source: We're Passing The Ball!