Aston Villa 2-2 Sheffield United: Thoughts on the performance

Villa don’t have a plan B

Arguably, the most frustrating thing about yesterday’s result was the way Villa responded once United had equalised. Despite having long spells of possession, none of the players looked like they knew what they to do with the ball and there was a complete lack of creativity. The age-old tactic of passing the ball backwards before lumping it upfield to lone striker Davis was tried all too often. It made it easy for the Sheffield defence to smother an attack before it even got going.

Such an ineffective approach meant that Villa didn’t register a meaningful shot on target in the second half. It makes one question what Villa actually practice on the training ground. A much more diverse range of attacking methods are needed, keeping the ball on the floor longer and trying to penetrate teams in a more unpredictable way. However, Bruce hasn’t shown he possesses the tactical nous required to achieve such a vision which is deeply concerning.