Here’s Paul Doyle’s report from Villa Park.
Updated
Villa goalscorer Ollie Watkins speaks.
I feel like it’s been a long time coming, I’ve been unlucky. It’s been frustrating but I was happy when I saw hit the ball in the back of the net. As a striker you always want to score goals. To be honest I kept my eyes on the ball and then it was in the back of the net. We’ve been unlucky, played against a few decent sides, hopefully we can pick up and go again. The second half we were sloppy, all of us. If we concentrated more, we could have punished them.
Here’s a measure of Newcastle’s recent form.
Newcastle United. 1 goal in their last 8 games in all comps (a consolation in a defeat). Winless in their last 10. Conceded 10 in their last 5. Still - despite all available evidence - 7 points above the relegation zone.
— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) January 23, 2021
Oliver Lewis gets in touch and he’s not holding back. “While Newcastle being rubbish does indeed drive us fans mad, we are also quite used to it. What does drive us mad is pundits and the like continually explaining that we aren’t entitled to enjoy watching our football at all (regardless of league position) and it’s all we can expect for finishing 13th every season. We may go down this season but frankly the football we are playing is worse. We invest badly and Bruce was very happy to boast about it until now suddenly he has bad players we would never have chosen. Yes, Rafa was negative a lot of the time. There was positive progress, his last 6 months we were actually a good side. Then we sold our attacking threat and bought Joelinton. Our defence was also good, and those players are still here, and somehow our defence is now bad. Wonder what could have caused that.”
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle
Villa were excellent, Newcastle listless, and Steve Bruce’s credibility on Tyneside will have been done no good by that performance. If Villa win their games in hand they can climb above Liverpool. Ten without a win for Newcastle who drop down a place after that.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man Utd | 19 | 11 | 40 |
| 2 | Man City | 18 | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | Leicester | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 6 | Everton | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | West Ham | 19 | 5 | 32 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 17 | 13 | 29 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 19 | 10 | 29 |
| 10 | Southampton | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 19 | 4 | 27 |
| 12 | Leeds | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 19 | -11 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Burnley | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 19 | -14 | 19 |
| 17 | Brighton | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 18 | Fulham | 18 | -12 | 12 |
| 19 | West Brom | 19 | -28 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 19 | -22 | 5 |
90+2 min: Bruce is still shouting the odds, mostly to himself, as Gayle heads wide. It was not the biggest of chances but Newcastle have really been feeding off scraps.
90 min: Steve Bruce is doing the muttering to himself now. There will be four more minutes to play for his beleaguered team.
89 min: Jack Grealish looking to the skies in anguish at, yes, being brought off the field with two minutes to play.
88 min: Final sub for Villa. On comes Jacob Ramsey for Grealish. who doesn’t look too happy with having to leave the field. He does some muttering to himself.
86 min: Watkins goes down in the penalty area. But nothing doing there. He simulated, to put it politely.
85 min: Newcastle’s period of good play lasted about five minutes. They are now in the acceptance phase. Villa are sat back and looking good for their the three points. Shelvey launches a cross in and it’s headed away with ease.
83 min: Trezeguet is fouled by Saint-Maximin. Villa send up the big guns and Grealish’s free-kick is headed wide by Mings.
82 min: Villa’s turn to be lifted by their subs? They step up a gear.
80 min: Two Villa subs: off go Barkley and on comes El Ghazi. Traore, the goalscorer, comes on for Trezeguet.
And Newcastle make one too: off goes Almiron who worked hard, for Dwight Gayle.
79 min: Mary Waltz nails it: “Newcastle shows a lack of offensive intent until the closing moments of a match when they go into desperation mode. This constant listless behaviour must drive their supporters nuts.”
78 min: Hayden’s cross is cleared by Cash but Newcastle push on. Saint-Maximin is stopped in his tracks by Cash too. More pressure from the visitors too.
76 min: This game more even now in terms of territory, and Villa more set on sitting back and using the counter.
75 min: A Newcastle attack forces a corner, and the move is started by Saint-Maximin. Fraser has looked lively too. The corner, with no Andy Carroll, is not great.
73 min: Grealish has a shot, after Shelvey loses the ball and then appears to give up any hope of winning it back. Barkley releases the main man but the shot is deflected wide. Newcastle get the resultant corner clear.
72 min: Konsa steps out to avert the danger of Fraser charging through.
71 min: Shelvey’s cross comes in, but no Newcastle takers. And here come Saint-Maximin and Fraser for Carroll and Manquillo. ASM has to head back for a moment to take off his necklace. After all, he’s not played for 11 games.
69 min: Manquillo gets the ball in his chops. Here comes Saint-Maximin, whose thigh seems to be strapped up. But not just yet. Newcastle’s bench as slow-motion as the team.
67 min: Schar concedes a Villa corner. Grealish takes, and it comes out. Traore chips it to the back post. Watkins heads down and Barkley backheels over. There was some improv for you.
66 min: Saint-Maximin is readying himself to return. Newcastle need what he can provide; adventure, skills, improvisation. But that’s asking a lot of someone who has been out with what he is recovering from.
64 min: Manquillo and Targett smash into each other with the Spaniard going down with a scream. Then Shelvey clatters Grealish, who then seems to leave an elbow in the vicinity of Shelvey’s head. It’s something and nothing. Manquillo eventually carries on.
63 min: Newcastle win a free-kick from which they can attack the Villa box. Shelvey targets Carroll but the ball never gets to him.
61 min: Wilson wins the ball and has to set a Newcastle attack all of his own. When five defenders surround him, he loses the ball.
60 min: Dean Smith, up in the stands, must have enjoyed watching his team; most people beyond Newcastle fans will have done. Villa are dominating.
58 min: Newcastle attempt an attack. Their choice of weapon is the ‘diag’ to Carroll. It comes to nothing. And Villa can start passing again.
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56 min: Villa pushing on, Grealish finding space and enjoying himself. Callum Wilson is sighted; it’s been a while. But then Grealish goes on and is fouled by Lascelles, who is promptly booked.
Updated
54 min: Nasty foul by Andy Carroll, lazy rather than vicious and he gets a yellow for his kick on Nakamba.
53 min: Villa dally on the ball but Newcastle’s interest in chasing it down seems negligible. It doesn’t, sadly, look a team playing for their manager.
51 min: It takes Almiron, tracking back to stop Barkley and Grealish fashioning a chance. Newcastle have begun this half almost as listlessly as they ended the first.
50 min: Grealish strutting in midfield as Konsa steps up. This is a team comfortable with each other, the opposite of Newcastle in fact.
48 min: Villa go close, very close. First, Watkins has his shot saved up close by Darlow. It comes out to Douglas Luiz who swings and misses. Newcastle were all over the place there.
46 min: We are back underway with no changes, though Newcastle’s main hope seems to be the return of Allan Saint-Maximin, who has missed a lot of football when suffering from the aftereffects of the virus.
I am reminded that if Villa win this then Frank Lampard’s Chelsea drop to ninth.
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Graeme Thorn has also been in touch: “This game has shown the difference in ambition between Aston Villa and Newcastle. Villa look like they are continually striving to improve, whereas Newcastle’s aim appears to be to stay lower mid-table, and no better. How much of that is down to Dean Smith and Steve Bruce is in question, but surely the Newcastle fans can’t be happy with how things are going at their club.”
Updated
The StellaRossa gets in touch: “Villa are a genuine top 6 side. It takes time to shake off a reputation and the stink of a decade of poor performances with equally poor coaches but this is Villa’s watershed season.”
Half-time reading:
Ben Fisher was at Cheltenham Town to see the minnows go close to a shock.
And Jonathan Wilson considers the league leaders.
Half-time: Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle
Jack Grealish is smiling, and well he might. He helped set up the goal that meant this ended an excellent half with a two-goal lead. Newcastle have been ponderous, particularly in defence. Their attacking hasn’t been much cop, either.
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45 min: Two minutes added on until Brucey can explode in the Newcastle dressing room.
44 min: Douglas Luiz goes close, having been shown the chance to shoot by Newcastle’s statuesque defenders. Villa smell blood. Newcastle need smelling salts.
43 min: Have Villa been two goals better? Probably.
Goal! Aston Villa 2-0 Newcastle (Traore, 42)
Lascelles is forced to concede a Villa corner. Grealish’s inswinger is nocked out, and then comes back out. Grealish switches the ball back. Traore steps up and then rattles the ball off the bar.
Updated
40 min: Some pretty impressive possession football by Villa here. Less so by Newcastle who nevertheless fashion an attack, and fail to find Carroll. Martinez is fouled by the big man as Lewis crossed from the byline.
38 min: Villa playing patiently now, waiting for gaps in the Newcastle defence to exploit. It takes a panicky Jamal Lewis to clear the danger but Villa come back at it.
36 min: Long hoik forward from Newcastle? No, they choose to play it on the ground. And get nowhere. And Traore almost gets away when Schar goes to sleep. This time, Darlow remembers to use his hands.
34 min: Villa have the ball in the net, and Watkins finishes, celebrates and then pounds the floor when the offside flag comes up. He had just misjudged the run off a Grealish pass.
Updated
32 min: A slight Villa panic. Almiron pings one in, Carroll can’t get a clean hit on it, and Martinez fumbles at the first time of asking. The ball drops and he falls on it, just as Carroll clattered in.
30 min: Newcastle, aside from Shelvey and Almiron’s darts, are looking a tad one-dimensional. This may not be news to members of the Toon Army.
28 min: A Carroll header, downwards after a Manquillo cross. He was perhaps a little far out to make much of that.
27 min: We’re told Newcastle looked at Wilson and Watkins. While one has scored Premier League goals for Bournemouth, the other looks a far more willing runner.
26 min: Another look at Watkins’ goal and it looks as if Karl Darlow forgot to use his hands. They were by his side. How odd. Meanwhile, Schar is booked for a tackle on the busy Watkins.
24 min: Newcastle stepping it up? Carroll swings a leg and tries to volley a pass away to Wilson. Andy is no longer the most mobile player in football. Not that he was, but he used to motor along with a head of steam up.
23 min: Shelvey’s pass and Lewis’s cross force a first Newcastle corner. Lascelles charges at it, and it takes Mings to clear what looked a goalward header.
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21 min: Konsa steps out, and looks the business in Villa’s midfield. Targett, another mainstay, also does well in cutting off Hendrick. Villa first to the ball all night so far.
19 min: Villa are dealing far better with Newcastle’s crossing than their opponent is with theirs.
18 min: Close! Traore chips up a free kick and Barkley heads over. Newcastle look hugely vulnerable to the crossed ball. Steve Bruce the player would have not allowed this to happen. His team, though, have been hapless.
16 min: Villa already look more confident. They are not sitting back on their lead. This time, Grealish loses the ball when he looks to have a chance at testing Darlow.
14 min: That was poor Newcastle defending on the flanks and from Schar, who while a tad unlucky, didn’t do enough to get the ball away. Switching defensive formations can mean confusion in a team.
Goal! Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle (Watkins, 13)
Targett’s ball from the wing, Schar’s desperate mistake loops the ball up for Watkins, who gratefully ends his goal drought with a header over Darlow.
Updated
12 min: Oliver Lewis has a tactical observation: “It appears Hayden is actually playing centre back and we have 3 at the back. Considering how recently Bruce angrily asserted we do thing’s ‘my way’ and go to 4-4-2 is this the quickest humiliating climbdown in recent football history?” There have been quicker, and thanks for noticing the pattern.
11 min: First glimmer of a chance for Villa? Targett’s cross and Watkins is just - just put off his stride by Schar.
10 min: Andy Carroll, with his collection of ponytails, clatters Douglas Luiz. He escapes a yellow card, and Luiz escapes serious injury.
9 min: Newcastle are pushing up on Villa. They’ve not been the negative team of Toon Army lore so far.
7 min: Martinez rushes out to claim a cross aimed for Carroll and tries to start a counter. Villa eventually settle into a passing move, which concludes with Cash’s cross being headed out.
6 min: Villa corner, taken short, Traore’s chip comes back out to Targett but Darlow is equal to the shot. Schar’s pass to Shelvey catches Villa unawares until Martinez storms out and smashes the ball into the stands.
4 min: Jack Grealish tries to win a foul. He fails, and Almiron scampers away. As so often, his shot is not the best. He’s a good player with the sting of a butterfly.
3 min: Callum Wilson on the flank takes a pass from Shelvey, looks up but misses the run of Almiron. Wilson looks to be drifting left with Andy Carroll centre crash.
1 min: We are away, after the players take the knee. Newcastle look to be sat in a 4-4-2, as Brucey always likes it, though he did play three at the back when he was Hull City manager.
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson (C) and players ‘take a knee’. Photograph: Gareth Copley/AFP/Getty Images
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The players take to the field at Villa Park, that long walk from the corner to the centre circle. It’s only Marvelous Nakamba’s second Premier League appearance of the season as John McGinn had been an ever-present until now.
Steve Bruce speaks, and tersely.
A couple with injury, we have been hit in one area which is central defence. The one thing we have done is change a lot due to illness. They have recovered after suffering through Covid. That’s the captain [Jamaal Lascelles] fit and Saint-Maximin fit who has been struggling for six or seven weeks. We’ve found it’s the aftereffects, a lot of them have been struggling with the fatigue.
With Dean Smith on the naughty step, John Terry is on media duties tonight for Aston Villa.
Pretty similar, me Shakey (Craig Shakespeare) and the gaffer usually sit up high near the directors’ box, and then get the message down to Richard [O’Kelly] and Cuts [Neil Cutler] on the bench. It feels like a while, it’s nice coming home. It’s good to be home, players feel comfortable but we’re up against a tough side. I was just speaking to Steve who’s a great manager. We have got to be careful. They are good on the transitions and counterattacks. But we are at home and fancy ourselves.
This game was supposed to have been played in December but was the first Premier League match postponed due to Covid-19, and an outbreak within Steve Bruce’s squad.
What did those teams mean? Marvelous Nakamba is recalled into Villa’s midfield as John McGinn is suspended after receiving his fifth yellow of the season. Steve Bruce makes four changes to his Newcastle team. Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schar, Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick are recalled come in, while Saint-Maximin is on the bench as expected. Ryan Fraser accompanies him, returning after his silly sending-off at Sheffield United.
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Dean Smith will not be in the dugout tonight, as he is serving a one-match ban for his ref rage during the Manchester City defeat. He also got fined £8,000 for disputing an offside decision. He looked to be in the right, but it turned out that none of us knew the rules. Which these days is part of life.
Could Steve Bruce be getting a tad obsessed with his predecessor? He wouldn’t be the only Geordie to do so.
If so, he may not have enjoyed this news. Should Newcastle escape Mike Ashley’s clutches and with Kevin Keegan now of pensionable age, the appointment that would appease the fans would be Rafa.
Here are the teams
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Douglas Luiz, Nakamba, Traore, Barkley, Grealish, Watkins.
Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Trezeguet, El Ghazi, Engels, Guilbert, Elmohamady, Davis, Ramsey.
Newcastle: Darlow, Manquillo, Schar, Lascelles, Lewis, Almiron, Shelvey, Hayden, Hendrick, Wilson, Carroll.
Subs: Dubravka, Matthew Longstaff, Joelinton, Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, Gayle,
Krafth, Fraser, Murphy.
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Preamble
Both are managers in charge of the club they supported as boys, but there is real difference in the perceptions with which fans receive Dean Smith and Steve Bruce. Deano is beloved by Villa fans, appreciative of his pulling the club back into the Premier League, something Bruce failed to achieve during his time in charge of the club. They have also been graced with Smith’s embracing of attacking football, and his freeing up Jack Grealish to become one of the main attractions in the Premier League. Bruce, meanwhile, just doesn’t appear to have been able to win hearts and minds, and that’s despite his team not being much more defensive than that of Rafa Benítez, coincidentally back available after his Chinese adventure came to an end this weekend. Brucey adopted the vernacular of the Gallowgate when describing his team’s loss as “frigging hopeless the other night; we were absolutely s***e”. It doesn’t seem to have won over too many, despite there being some mitigation for Newcastle’s recent slide. Allan Saint-Maximin, the player who supplied a bit of magic, is finally back in the ranks, having had a hard time recovering from Covid-19. And Jamaal Lascelles, the captain, has similarly struggled. But no wins since 12 December would put anyone under pressure, and particularly when the team play as timidly as they. An opponent who ran Manchester City very close in midweek looks a tough proposition.
Kick-off 8pm, join me.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man Utd | 19 | 11 | 40 |
| 2 | Man City | 18 | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | Leicester | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 6 | Everton | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | West Ham | 19 | 5 | 32 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 19 | 10 | 29 |
| 9 | Southampton | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 19 | 4 | 27 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 16 | 11 | 26 |
| 12 | Leeds | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 19 | -11 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 16 | Burnley | 18 | -12 | 19 |
| 17 | Brighton | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 18 | Fulham | 18 | -12 | 12 |
| 19 | West Brom | 19 | -28 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 19 | -22 | 5 |
