I waited many hours after the game to write this so it wouldn’t get bogged down in negativity. I’ve just been reading the 1,100 words I’ve written and decided to start again. I failed to keep the negativity under control. I’ve yet to complete part two of my season expectations and I don’t want this one game to change my outlook. It shouldn’t either, one game does not make a season.

Let’s keep it simple. We lost the game because every player on the pitch without exception was below par. We lost the game in the centre of the pitch because Petrov and Delph were unable to stamp any authority on the game and consequently put their own defenders under too much pressure.

Delph is a 19 year old fresh from League One. Petrov was coming back from a dislocated shoulder. It was a mistake to play these two together from the start. Hindsight is 20/20, but MON clearly thought they had enough in the tank to handle Wigan. He seemed genuinely shell shocked at the end that this side were beaten. Honestly, I might not have liked the line up, but I was left a little shocked that we were so toothless in this game too.

“Simply not good enough” were the manager’s words and he’s right. It’s down to him to sort it out of course and I’m sure he will. Delph’s confidence won’t have been done any favours today, but he’s going to be around for a while, he’ll get over it.

Quite what the central midfielders who were dropped think about it I’m not sure. Competition for places in an enlarged squad might be a good theory, but the practice in this case is that Coker & Sidwell were dropped for the captain and the new guy, despite their recent good form. Doesn’t sound very much like competition to me.

I don’t know what’s going on with Ash, but he’s developing an ego problem that’s quite ugly to witness. Perhaps he thinks he can fill the void left by Ronaldo leaving England. I’d take the talent, but not the diving and crying to the referee.

In fairness, the cat is truly out the bag with Ash and he’s getting singled out for special treatment. Double teaming, triple teaming and of course, he is getting kicked a bit too. Management and players need a strategy to deal with this. The correct option when faced with three defenders isn’t to try to dribble through them. Simple stuff, a little pass back, keep the ball. Oh shi… it’s Shorey he’s passing too. OK, the problem is bigger than just what Ash is doing, but it needs looking at.

Instead of focusing on sending the ball to Ash on the left, maybe try feeding Milner on the right now and again. If he’s not open, how about a nice ball through the middle to those two strikers who aren’t doing anything?? Something. Anything. Different.

Two strikers are probably the operative words. Heskey wasn’t all that bad, he was keen at least. Gabby was wasted up there, might have been more useful moved to a wing forward position on the right and push Ash slightly more forward on the left. Milner could have slotted into a midfield three with Delph and Petrov which would made it much more even fight in the middle.

Speaking of Gabby, he’s had barely more than an hour of pre-season prior to this game and apparently is already on the must-start list. Meanwhile, we have Wigan players running through Reo-Coker shaped holes in the middle.

At the back, well if we hadn’t seen the old Shorey during the Peace Cup I’d be calling for him to be kicked to the curb pronto. He was terrible. Davies isn’t inspiring much confidence, but Cuellar is continuing to show why we bought him. I have no opinion on Habib Beye.

Brad Senior is starting to look senior at times. Faultless on the first – there isn’t a keeper in the Premiership who would have saved it -should have done better with the second. Looked a bit rusty getting down on one or two others, but pulled off some decent saves nonetheless.

Regardless of differing opinions of individual players or the tactics employed by the manager, what leaves me so low after this game is the significance of losing the opening game of the season. At Home. To Wigan. Last season’s poor run in form needed a line drawn under it and pre-season performances suggested that was the case. It’s now looming again in the minds of fans like the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Not only did we need the mental boost winning this game would have provided, we really needed the platform of the three points. The next premiership fixture is the trip to Anfield on a Monday night. In between, a trip to Austria. I can’t entertain the idea of not making the Europa League Group Stage, MON has to take the Vienna tie seriously. How then will that effect the Liverpool game?

If MON doesn’t get a grip of the team and turn this malaise around then August could end up being a disastrous month for Villa. For me, it’s about building a strong spine, especially since we’re still floundering from losing Barry and Laursen.

Ash is becoming ineffective on the wing, he’s getting himself stuck down allies without anyone to help. My suggestion is to get him back in that hole behind a single striker – I prefer Carew if available, natch – and let him play that roving, free role he put to devastating effect last year.

Put Milner on the left for a while, he looked good there in his brief England run out. The only problem is that he needs to use his left foot every now and again else his cuts backs become inevitable.

Albrighton has been a breath of fresh air in pre-season, but he’s sill very green and will get lumps kicked out of him at Premiership level. It’s important for his development not to throw him to the lions just yet. That said, give him a fair crack of the whip – let him compete with Gabby for an advanced wing forward role.

Behind those four, it’s going to be combination of Petrov and either Reo-Coker or Sidwell. Logic would dictate that when all three are available you go with the Petrov/Coker combination against a side you need more defensive bite and a Petrov/Sidwell pairing when you can afford a bit more creativity.

Behind the central midfield pair we must, must, MUST get a centre back pairing that works. Cuellar is looking so much better than last season, a real plus, but he’s not the vocal organiser that Davies needs. I don’t know who MON has lined up to come in at the back, but he needs to double efforts to get him in sooner than later and he better be a strong character.

Goal keeper and full backs are details, get the rest right and they should take care of themselves. If they don’t, look at them then, but there’s little point dressing the edge of the injury when the middle is a gaping wound.

And the players need to sort themselves out too. The manager will rarely garner all the plaudits for success, yet he is frequently considered singularly culpable when the team doesn’t perform.

OK, sulk over. Time to get focused on winning again.

UTV