Nice write up. I recorded the game and saw it after reading the storm on negativity here! I agree with a lot of what you said. But I'd say Nzog and Holman were poor and, as a result, there was just no service to Bent. That said, Ireland really looked sharp and is capable of passing accurately forwards (wow, a Villa midfielder who doesn't just pass sideways) and the passing was impressive. There's absolutely no way it was 51% possession to Villa over the whole game, no chance!
If we can just work on the final third, and if the astonishing impatience of some fans doesn't become overwhelming, then we could have something special happening. But, it won't happen overnight.