Kickin' It: A transfer rumour to make us forget about the Newcastle match

Well this week sucked. We had no football for ages and then Villa took the pitch and we still had no football. Gross. Anyhow, onto the wrap, where you'll find a steamy transfer rumour. Steamy because it just came out of the microwave from re-heating. Be sure to check back in a few hours for the gif recap of the weekend's match.

Just The Facts, Please

Form (Last 5): L L L W -

Results Last Week: Aston Villa 1-2 Newcastle United (EPL)

Upcoming Fixtures:

• First Team:
  at Norwich City (EPL) - Saturday, September 21, 1245 GMT, 745 Eastern

Tracking Villa's Progress

A look at how Aston Villa are doing compared to corresponding fixtures from last season. For a more full explanation of the corresponding fixtures table, see here.

As annoying as the loss to Newcastle was, it was precisely the same result we had in the corresponding fixture last season. Nevertheless, that should have been one of the matches where Villa pulled themselves away from last year's squad. There's no comfort in the table this week.

Injuries

New Injuries Last Week:

• Jores Okore - hip/thigh

Match Notes

Aston Villa 1-2 Newcastle United (EPL)
Hatem Ben Arfa (18'), Christian Benteke (67'), Yoan Gouffran (73')

• I've already talked about the poor defense, the awful offense, and the lackluster managing. So let's focus on the midfield. One of this summer's most annoying storylines was the fans who refused to let the Hiroshi Kiyotake rumours die. But perhaps the reason was the fact that Villa so desperately need a midfielder who is capable of controlling the match. Fabian Delph has done better, but his seeming inability to avoid this...
  
  
  
  ...has meant that he isn't nearly as effective as he could be. Couple this with the inability of Karim El Ahmadi to be useful for much more than a half and the apparent disappearance of Ashley Westwood and you've got a midfield that's pretty much useless. This is - and the defense - is why I was so upset with the Libor Kozak signing to end the window. Kozak may be useful, but the last thing that Villa needed was another striker when they've got so many issues elsewhere.
• Speaking of the midfield, how about that amazing (note: sarcasm gun set to "stun" here) to substitute Kozak for KEA. You know what the best response for a lackluster midfield is? Removing one of those players and not offering a substitution. When we can't control the center of the pitch, I don't think that a 4-2-4 is the proper solution.
• Our instant reaction is here.
• The WhoScored recap is here.

Looking Ahead

• The last time I did this, I made fun of Newcastle and pointed out that Villa should probably win. So this week I'm shutting up.
• So let's talk facts, instead. In their first four EPL matches, the Canaries have drawn Everton at home, lost to Hull City on the road, beaten Southampton at home, and lost to Tottenham on the road.
• They've got a -2 goal differential, and actually don't look terrible. This could be the sort of match where Villa might be happy with a draw. Especially given they way they've played in the league since the Arsenal match.
• Remember the Arsenal match? That was a month ago.

Miscellany

• Kevin Hughes had an interesting look at what we've already learned about Aston Villa.
• Were you tired of transfer rumours? WELL TOUGH. Apparently Aston Villa continue to be interested in Ivelin Popov, who was rumoured to be headed to Villa right around the time that the club signed Aleksandar Tonev.
• Robin Van Persie apparently hears voices in his head. I hope they're saying "sign for Villa for £2 million."