Dave Woodhall looks back on a Special afternoon in B6.
There’s an old saying in business that if you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves. It might be true in business, but it isn’t in football. Villa have always got the little things right – the work in the community, the way they look after former players and their dealings with supporters all show that off the pitch they do things properly. Unfortunately the biggest thing of all hasn’t gone to plan lately.
Having said that, though, sometimes you get the feeling that today’s going to be our day. Saturday was one such occasion. It might just be the benefit of hindsight but looking back there seemed a feeling in the air that something extraordinary was going to take place. Despite Villa being about to set another of those records somebody, probably working for Sky, gets paid far too much to discover, there was none of the defeatism that so often fills the Astonian streets before kick-off. “We’re going to get something here,” was the unspoken belief amongst Villa supporters. And so it proved.
The first half was even, itself an achievement given Chelsea’s form and position at the top of the table. But even after Villa began the second half in the same fashion we could be forgiven a sense of apprehension. After all, many’s the time Villa have matched better teams for an hour only to lose out when the heat was turned up and the visitors brought on substitutes as good as their starting XI while ours were a collection of reserves and untried Academy youngsters.
But the belief held, and when Willian was sent off midway through the second half the sense of belief increased. This time it was a Villa substitution that changed the game – Marc Albrighton coming on with a quarter of an hour remaining to add width and, in the 82nd minute, a cut-back which Fabian Delph back heeled into the Chelsea net. If he meant it, he can enter the Johan Cruyff league. If he didn’t, it went a small way towards redressing the bad luck Villa have suffered in this fixture during recent years.
Eight minutes plus stoppages to go and any fears that Villa might ruin their day with a late defensive error were calmed by a display of professionalism that saw out the game with the minimum of fuss – except for a challenge that could have broken Karim El Amahdi’s leg and two more dismissals, one of which, hilariously, was the Not Very Special One. He still hasn’t won at Villa Park.
Delph rightly took the man of the match award and most of the headlines but every Villa player played his part. Special praise for Joe Bennett, who hasn’t been seen much this season but who took the opportunity in place of Ryan Bertrand to give possibly the best performance of his Villa career.
Paul Lambert also called it the most impressive display of his time at Villa Park. I’m not sure about that but it did show that when Villa want to play football, they can do so impressively. Why he hasn’t sent them out to play like this more often is something only Lambert can answer but until he does give a full explanation as to his and the team’s inconsistencies let’s remember an afternoon that showed how the big things might be getting right as well.
And if karma’s your thing, let’s think back to the opening week of the season, when Villa were robbed of at least a point at Stamford Bridge and remember another old saying. He who laughs last laughs longest.
