First of all Villa were not the better side on Saturday. My eyes are tired of reading that. We basically did what we used to do a lot, but not so much in the last year and a half, which is essentially beat ourselves. It was self inflicted. Granted Villa defended very well, but they were dominated by us for basically the entire game. We had 75% possession, and sure we didn't do much with it but this theory that Villa were the better team is hugely flawed. They played a solid road game and kept it tight, but they were helped by some poor refereeing decisions (expected when I saw who the ref was), an absolute hash of a corner clearance by us, and our old achilles heel of shooting ourselves in the foot. Their goal wasn't as a result of a great move or anything, it was because of terrible schoolboy level defending by us that simply has to stop. In a lot of ways the game reminded me of the Southampton home defeat last season, where similarly their goal came from a corner and we just couldn't get anything going at all. Had we been a bit more clinical or even created a few more chances there is no way Villa come away with 3 points there. Villa will likely revert to their customary mediocrity in the next 4 matches, and if they really are a good team they will get something out of those matches, but I don't believe they'll get anything at all.
I think Rodgers biggest problem this season is going to be finding the balance in the team between the high frequency of matches. Last season he could prepare all week for our next opponent with basically 1 match a week. He could also afford to use his best players in every match. This season he doesn't have that luxury, and on Saturday he obviously had one eye on the CL on Tuesday. I actually don't blame him for not starting Sterling. If he's played 2 internationals and there is another game on Tuesday, he's within his right not to use him on the weekend. It's just not possible for him to play every game. The issue going forward will be that the players that step in have to be at the same calibre as the ones stepping out. Now on Saturday, you could put it down too many new players trying to bed in to the system, and it isn't going to all come together in one game. You could tell after about 10 minutes in that it wasn't clicking.
The other thing is that people say International breaks affect every top team. That is true, but when you're away with your National team for 1 week you lose all rhythm, momentum and fluency you would have had training all week with your club. Especially if you're being resorted to using shite tactics, as is the case with Hodgson. The truth of the matter is that they do have a bearing on the next immediate PL match, and are a massive fucking menace. We lost Sturridge, Can and Allen in that one week. Now, all of sudden we're down 3 players plus 1 who is suspended, for Ludogorets. It really doesn't help does it!
I thought we desperately missed Sturridge. He is a hugely important player for not only this team but this system which relies on quick and dynamic play. Balotelli cannot do what Sturridge does. He can potentially play well with him, but he isn't going to play on the shoulder of the last man, or start the attack with pace like Sturridge can. As the lone striker he isn't as effective in our traditional style of play as Sturridge is. Now that doesn't necessarily render him a useless striker, just a different type of striker. As for other performances, I thought Manquillo and Moreno were our best players on the day. Both continue to impress me and have settled in much quicker than Markovic or Balotelli.
You could put Saturday down to a blip, but it's only a blip if the players that are being rotated are going to play at the same intensity and we win those matches going forward. If Sterling, Allen, Sturridge or whoever can't play every game for various reasons and their replacements can't perfom at the same level it is going to become a problem. Obviously, it is unfair to make that judgement after one game. Onwards and upwards.