Villa v Everton - The aftermath

Any jealousy anyone had for me heading down to Villa Park (sitting with the Villa fans too I might add) will surely have evaporated after another desperate - and ultimately avoidable - defeat.

It was good to finally see the Blues in action first hand this season, plus Villa Park is one of the more atmospheric grounds in the country. And before kick off you could sense the nerves among the Villa fans and players. After our goal-fest in midweek I was confident.

For the first ten minutes anyway.

The Fellaini mistake for the goal was frustrating, but these things happen and although it came against the run of play we had plenty of time to get ourselves back into the game.

But what followed was depressingly familiar and inevitable. We showed spirit to get back into the game but despite having plenty of possession and pressure we failed to create many clear cut chances - Freidel was only under real pressure in the final ten minutes.

Set pieces are vital in the Premier League and usually one of our strong points. But despite 18 corners yesterday we failed to create a decent opportunity - Arteta in particular was disappointing from set plays. With dangerous players like Cahill in the side we need to make the most of free-kicks and corners, we paid the price for not doing so on Sunday.

To be honest it is all a bit mystifying. The players don't have an injury crisis to hide behind this time. These are the same players who performed so well in the second half of last year, yet when they got close to goal on Sunday they froze.

Is it a lack of confidence? The wrong tactics? A lack of match fitness? Or our are strikers just not good enough? Your guess is ass good as mine.

Either way the International break has come at a good time as we clearly need some time to reflect and get ready to kick start our season in two weeks.

Then again, It's Man United up next.......