01-03-2015, 19:33
The last calendar year when Albion entered the month of March unbeaten away was 1990. (It did help that we only played three away matches in the first two months of 1990, mind.) A quarter of a century ago, Albion were heading towards the lowest depths of our decline, while Villa were a club ascendant, their top dog status in the West Midlands unrivalled and unchallenged.
For those who were around in those times, and for many years after, it didn't seem like things would ever change. But in March 2015, we find ourselves unbeaten on the road, facing a Villa team who've lost their last seven league matches in a row, knowing that the next two games could both hasten their downfall and send us triumphant to Wembley.
This week is either going to be very enjoyable, or very, very, very, very, very, very, very painful. (Very.)
![[Image: the_death_cartoon_of_aston_villa_575x392.jpg]](http://s24.postimg.org/n64afnjv9/the_death_cartoon_of_aston_villa_575x392.jpg)
Anyone who saw Tim Sherwood's interview on Match Of The Day this weekend may suspect all is not well on the good ship Witton. (For those who missed it, Sherwood appears to be physically ageing at a speed I haven't seen since that German officer who drunk out of the wrong holy grail in Indiana Jones). His analysis of Villa's failings is a constant drone of "fan-isms", lamenting a lack of "heart" and "desire", and the need to "give one million percent". He sounds, in fact, alarmingly like Harry Redknapp, except that Redknapp has - by accident or design - actually achieved stuff occasionally in his career.
He may well be a man out of his depth. He certainly looks it. But even Tim Sherwood knows that a line will be crossed if Villa lose twice to Albion, at home, in the space of a week. His players know it too. If there's one thing I'm sure of going into the next few days, it's that Villa are going to fight tooth and claw in these two matches. Benteke, Agbonlahor, Scott Sinclair; they may spend the rest of the season contesting their very own donkey derby in B6, but this week will be the one they hit whatever form they have left in them. It's always the way.
You'd hope that an Albion defence which has just set a record number of clean sheets can contain a Villa attack which has only scored 13 goals all season, but local derbies just aren't played on paper. With a dwindling number of fit strikers, there's a concern over where our own goals are going to come from, and indeed, I'm starting to wonder how far we are from giving Boaz Myhill a run up front.
If push comes to shove, I'd rather beat them in the cup than the league, but the tantalising possibility of winning both - and the nightmare fear of losing both - are what this week's all about.
Come on Albion. Please. Let's do it.
For those who were around in those times, and for many years after, it didn't seem like things would ever change. But in March 2015, we find ourselves unbeaten on the road, facing a Villa team who've lost their last seven league matches in a row, knowing that the next two games could both hasten their downfall and send us triumphant to Wembley.
This week is either going to be very enjoyable, or very, very, very, very, very, very, very painful. (Very.)
Anyone who saw Tim Sherwood's interview on Match Of The Day this weekend may suspect all is not well on the good ship Witton. (For those who missed it, Sherwood appears to be physically ageing at a speed I haven't seen since that German officer who drunk out of the wrong holy grail in Indiana Jones). His analysis of Villa's failings is a constant drone of "fan-isms", lamenting a lack of "heart" and "desire", and the need to "give one million percent". He sounds, in fact, alarmingly like Harry Redknapp, except that Redknapp has - by accident or design - actually achieved stuff occasionally in his career.
He may well be a man out of his depth. He certainly looks it. But even Tim Sherwood knows that a line will be crossed if Villa lose twice to Albion, at home, in the space of a week. His players know it too. If there's one thing I'm sure of going into the next few days, it's that Villa are going to fight tooth and claw in these two matches. Benteke, Agbonlahor, Scott Sinclair; they may spend the rest of the season contesting their very own donkey derby in B6, but this week will be the one they hit whatever form they have left in them. It's always the way.
You'd hope that an Albion defence which has just set a record number of clean sheets can contain a Villa attack which has only scored 13 goals all season, but local derbies just aren't played on paper. With a dwindling number of fit strikers, there's a concern over where our own goals are going to come from, and indeed, I'm starting to wonder how far we are from giving Boaz Myhill a run up front.
If push comes to shove, I'd rather beat them in the cup than the league, but the tantalising possibility of winning both - and the nightmare fear of losing both - are what this week's all about.
Come on Albion. Please. Let's do it.
)