Have to say i thought Villa were comfortably the better side.
In the formation we played, it was apparent on Monday when HRK went off at half time and Mozza faded early second half, that those two are crucial to that setup.
Last night we tried to do all our attacking down the left, it worked to a degree, but it was also predictable, we didnt seem to have another creative option, Phillips (who i think has been our player of the season so far) looks far better in centre midfield when he has Mozza alongside him.
Both sides had spells of possession, the difference was i felt Villa had more purpose during their spells, we had a couple of Gayle chances but we didnt really create anything of note, they on the other hand, quite often assisted by us defending poorly had several good chances.
I thought they used the ball better than us and got up the pitch quicker (our first goal we did to be fair) McGinn looks a class act for them and is exactly what we need, a box to box midfielder with some bite who can pass too, i think they brought him for £3m in the summer, we should of been all of over that.
The worry would be out the top ten teams, we have only beat two, Leeds and Norwich and when we beat Norwich first away game, they were nowhere near the team they are now. I had a feeling start of the season we may be flat track bullies and i think we are to an extent, however we are in the playoffs and if we can stay around there til January then would hope the squad is freshened up.
Are the likes of Hoolahan, Field, Burke going to play? If not let them go. Do we really need Barry, Brunt, Livermore and Field to all do the sitting role in midfield? If not sell one of them even if its unpopular. (Livermore seems to sit more and more nowadays, he is built like a unit and i think its affecting his mobility) its okay saying you need a big squad for the championship but we dont really use a fair few of them.
As for Villa i was quite impressed, they looked a good side and if they carry on as they are they will coast the league. However they are still in the honeymoon period, whoever came in after Bruce had a free hit, all Villa fans wanted was some better football and entertainment, they have now got that and the results have come too.
The test will come when they have a blip, they may not like it but they are and have always been very fickle (most modern fans are now, Albion included) but Villa are some of the worst, they do have an expectancy, in some ways its justified because they are a traditional big club, however football has changed and in modern day terms, they arent one of the big boys.
Will also be a test for Dean Smith, he is a good manager, however previous to Villa he has managed smaller clubs who have never really challenged or expected to challenge for anything, at Villa now, the better they do, the more is expected, will be interesting to see how he copes with the pressure of going for a full season of expectation.