Aston Villa football is back! The Claret and Blue recorded a pair of simultaneous victories over Telford United and Kidderminster Harriers. The split squads combined for a 7-0 rout with several players flourishing.
Would you look at that? Aston Villa won two matches, away from home, at the same time. Villa lined up in this fashion against Kidderminster (Neil Taylor was a late scratch, unsure of the reasoning):
📝Team v #Harriers: Bunn, Hutton, Borg, Richards, Chester ©, Tshibola, Hourihane, Bjarnason, Gardner, McCormack, Hogan. #AVFC #PartOfThePride pic.twitter.com/aRnQPoI9dT
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 12, 2017
Conversely, this was the other teamsheet:
📝 Team v #TelfordUtd: Sarkic, Bree, Samba, Baker, Amavi, Adomah, Lansbury, Veretout, Green, Agbonlahor ©, Davis. #AVFC #PartOfThePride pic.twitter.com/6OVKRz9izT
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 12, 2017
Manager Steve Bruce was present at the Telford fixture; one in which several fringe players showed their merit against a lower-league side. Both squads lined up in 4-4-2 variants. #TeamTelford won 4-0 with goals from Gabby Agbonlahor, André Green, and a pair of Henri Lansbury penalties. #TeamKidderminster defeated the Harriers 3-0 courtesy of goals from: Conor Hourihane, James Chester, and Harry McKirdy.
1. Micah Richards is not a reliable center back.
We already knew this. Aston Villa already (hopefully) knew this. Richards’ performance can be summed up in one tweet:
Micah Richards claims the ball, pushes forward from his CB position, loses said ball, Kidderminster threaten. Never change, Micah. #avfc
— Claret Villans (@ClaretVillans) July 12, 2017
Micah Richards is completely without a position in defense, not trusted to play in central defense or right back. Aston Villa have tried to offload him for the better part of a year, but to no avail. Perhaps another Championship club will throw the dice on Micah, but his high wages narrows the potential field.
A switch to defensive midfield could take advantage of his monstrous athleticism.
2. Christopher Samba raised some eyebrows.
By most accounts, Chris Samba excelled beside Nathan Baker (who went off injured) and Mitch Clark. The bruising 33-year old Congolese defender surely impressed Steve Bruce, who was in attendance.
Samba has trained with the first team since February/March, but strangely enough has not been offered a contract. We’ll see if that changes soon.
3. Recurring injuries are still a concern.
Woof, Aston Villa could not have suffered two more ironic injuries. Nathan Baker injured his head battling for a ball in the air. The subsequent clash forced him out (hopefully precautionary). Baker picks up a variety of injuries each season, but the head clashes always occur, and they’re quite concerning for his safety and the club.
Likewise, Albert Adomah limped off after a heavy challenge. Again, let’s hope it’s just precautionary. Adomah suffered a myriad of small muscle injuries last year. His importance as a right winger is highlighted by the lack of depth in the wide areas.
Aaron Tshibola started at right midfield in the other match…