By Dave Woodhall.
It’s another week nearer the start of the season. The Hong Kong trip panned out pretty well much as expected. Villa looked good against Blackburn, winning 1-0 with a goal from Darren Bent. Then we were well beaten by Chelsea, who went one up after 35 seconds and from there on strolled to a 2-0 win. The team travelled halfway round the world to find out they’re better than Blackburn and not as good as Chelsea. I’m sure it earned us a few quid and might have sold a few more shirts, but the sight of a stadium full of Chinese Chelsea fans screaming at Fernando Torres was a depressing glimpse into the future of football. Ah well – it was too hot, Chelsea had been there longer and they were more acclimatised. Pre-season scores are irrelevant, anyway.
Of the other glimpses, Shay Given looks a good signing already, which is a good thing considering our defence seems to still be the big problem. Alex has a reputation for efficient defending (to put it politely) but he’s going to have to go some to turn what he’s already got into the Mean Machine. Adding to our lack of reliable defenders is the absence of a midfielder who can win or hold the ball. West Ham’s Scott Parker would do the job admirably, but whether Villa can afford him is a moot point. We could also do with a full-back and, if Carlos Cuellar does eventually leave, another central defender. It may not be a popular opinion, but Matthew Upson on a free wouldn’t be a bad fourth-choice for a couple of years.
That’s three players we need, although we look likely to be disappointed as Mr McLeish has said there won’t be any more signings at present. We have, though, bought Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan for £9.5 million – a painless and seemingly straightforward compromise between what his old club wanted and our initial offer. The Villa board have come in for a lot of criticism in recent months, and while some of it has been deserved they’re definitely still able to conduct transfers without much fuss. This one took barely a week between that first official approach and the contract being signed, despite the player being on one side of the world, our management team on the other and both clubs based in the middle. Compare and contrast, also, the differences between Liverpool’s first and successful bids for Stewart Downing (£5 million) and ours for N’Zogbia (£500,000).
This week we’re away at Derby on Wednesday then Saturday sees our final friendly, in Portugal against Sporting Braga, for which tickets, incidentally, are priced at an odd £18.02. Something to do with exchange rates, I presume, and which conjures up a vision from the old days when tickets were mainly bought in person and in cash, of the staff in the ticket office having to deal with a large and impatient queue because nobody has any change.
And if that Chelsea result or the lack of transfer activity has depressed you, here’s a score from Saturday to raise a smile. Alfreton Town 14 Sheffield Wednesday 0.