We caught up with life-long Aston Villa supporter Rob Steele to get the lowdown on Steve Bruce’s side ahead of their clash with Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.
Aston Villa travel to the Cardiff City Stadium off the back of a 1-1 draw with Hull City on the opening day of the season, and will be looking to pick up three points this weekend.
Meanwhile, Neil Warnock’s side will be looking to build on their opening day victory at the Pirelli Stadium, courtesy of a late goal from their star striker Kenneth Zohore.
The Bluebirds came out on top last time when the two sides met at the Cardiff City Stadium last season, with Joe Ralls’ first-half strike being the only goal which separated the teams.
However, Warnock will once again know his side face another tough test when former England international, John Terry and co visit the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon.
Rob gave us his thoughts on whether the Villans could bounce back to the Premier League at the second time of asking, as well as his predictions for Saturday’s game.
Q. After a 1-1 draw with Hull on the opening day, how confident are you feeling for the season ahead?
A. Unlike lots of neutrals and the bookies, I have little confidence this season. Villa showed again against Hull the hallmarks of a Steve Bruce side; go 1-0 up and then sit back to try to see the game out.
Bruce has shown an inability to adapt to situations, the football is dull and is often painful viewing. We have sold Nathan Baker to Bristol City and replaced him with Chris Samba; this move has baffled me as it has many Villa fans.
We also have one of the most creative midfielders in the Championship on our books in Conor Hourihane, yet Bruce persists to either play him out of position or leave him on the bench.
Bruce has also chosen to freeze out Ross McCormack and persist with playing Gabby Agbonlahor; a man who in recent years has collected more cards than goals and even got sent on a personal training program as he was deemed unfit to play.
We also have players like Micah Richards who has proven to be utterly useless and who is on a massive wage, this is exactly the reason why Aston Villa is in the position it is in.
On a more positive note, I feel the additions of John Terry and Glenn Whelan have given us much-needed experience in the side and using the loan market to bring in Josh Onomah from Tottenham has provided us with a better option in centre midfield than Gary Gardner.
Q. You’ve got a world-class defender in John Terry, how important is it to have an influential player like him in the dressing room?
A. I think Terry will be a massive influence in the dressing room; all throughout his career he is used to winning and this mentality could prove vital this season.
The mentality around Aston Villa since Martin O’Neill left has been one of losing and negativity; this needs to change if we are to stand any chance of promotion this season.
Terry’s mentality will hopefully drive others to strive for success as Terry will not accept any less than the best from his team-mates.
Q. You finished 13th last season, what do you have this season that makes you different from the last campaign?
A. In my opinion, we are no different to what we were last season. The one improvement is that the side should have gelled by now; we wrote off the second half of last season by having such a massive overhaul in January.
The exclusion of Hourihane from the starting side is bewildering to most Villa fans; especially when a player with such little quality as Leandro Bacuna is picked over him. Not having Kodjia available is a massive blow as he was the shining light in what was a very poor last campaign.
Villa have one of the best squads in the league but Bruce has shown an inability to be able to use these players; this is my major concern going forward.
Q. Jonathan Kodjia netted 19 goals last season but won’t be available for Saturday’s clash, with him missing, who should the Bluebirds be wary of?
A. Scott Hogan is a player who I rate very highly; the runs he makes off the ball are extremely intelligent and if our midfielders spotted them then he would have scored far more goals in Claret and Blue.
Given the service, Hogan is lethal and he displayed this at Brentford and hopefully Villa can learn to play to his strengths.
Q. You suffered a 1-0 defeat last time you visited the Cardiff City Stadium, how do you see this one panning out?
A. Unfortunately, I see nothing but a Cardiff win, the recruitment at Cardiff this summer has been quiet but effective.
Mendez-Laing looks a real prospect and the combination of Tomlin and Zohore could cause us serious problems if we are not careful. I’m going for a 2-0 Cardiff win but I hope I am wrong, UP THE VILLA!
(Featured image: Danny Molyneux)