Quite why five thousand people couldn't be bothered to turn up for this defies belief. Perhaps they were still smarting at the fact that O'Neill failed to bring in Robinho, Cannavaro and Kaka during the summer window. What they missed was a treat. A real treat.

On one level, this match was all about duels. Laursen, or Knight, against Drogba. Reo-Coker against Essien. Carew against Terry. And although the stats will show that Chelsea had a lot of the ball, to a very large extent they had it in harmless areas. Why?

Because Reo-Coker harried and pushed Essien backwards at every opportunity; because Carew's pace and power was such a headache for Terry that the England skipper spent 90 minutes pushing and pulling the big guy and grumbling to Mark Clattenburg; because Drogba, before Villa finally put paid to him, spent most of the game on his backside reeling.

It's some ask for a young team, much of it newly assembled, to go out and win duels of this magnitude. But they did. And despite the predictably ungracious words of Jose Mourinho afterwards, they deserve immense credit for what they achieved. And they deserved to win, Jose, sorry.

On another level, the game was about tactics. Having failed in his attempts to sign a specialist right back, Mourinho must have been licking his lips at the thought of Malouda and Ashley Cole attacking the out-of-position Mellberg.

But O'Neill's decision to partner John Carew with Luke Moore up front, and to use Gabby's pace wide right to deter Ashley Cole from getting forward, was a tactical masterstroke.

Without Cole for support, Malouda was, quite frankly, useless - and with Reo-Coker and Barry successfully stopping the ball getting beyond Essien and Mikel, Chelsea only ever really became a threat at corners.

Why I liked this performance so much was that it went beyond grit, determination and hard work. My favourite cynics and knockers, probably the 5,000 who never pitched up, would probably try to contend that Chelsea dominated possession; that Villa huffed and puffed and ran and tackled and ultimately got lucky with a couple of goals while Chelsea fluffed a host of chances.

If you're tempted to think like that, picture Scott Carson with his hands in his pockets for 90 minutes. Picture Drogba and Terry on their arses complaining. Picture Ashley Young running at Belletti and giving the poor sod the afternoon from hell.

Picture Barry finding time and space to repeatedly pick out Young and Gabby behind Chelsea's full backs. And picture, too, a Villa side who, at one-nil up, held its nerve and went for the jugular when it smelt blood. That's the real story.

Furthermore, if you're tempted to buy the dross rolled out once again by Mourinho that this was a patched-up side, you need to think again. Cech, Terry, Ashley Cole, Makelele, Essien, Malouda, Joe Cole, Wright-Phillips and Drogba all played. So that puts paid to that argument, then. Or does he in fact mean that Frank Lampard was missing? Poor sausage.

No, this was a match in which O'Neill was at his best tactically. The entire side was at its best and sharpest physically and mentally. And the Villa Park faithful were on the best form I've heard them for ages.

So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

The Doc's ratings:
Carson 7; Mellberg 8; Knight 8; Laursen 9; Bouma 8; Agbonlahor 8; REO-COKER 9; Barry 8; Young 9; Carew 8; Moore 8.

Man-of the-Match: Reo-Coker. A nightmare to pick a MOM in a game where all Villa's players played well, and my scores reflect that. Laursen, Young and Reo-Coker all gave immense performances, but NRC shades it for me because I think stopping Essien was so critical.

Comments (52)

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steve m said:

4,996 negative people did not turn up.. Our four season ticket seats were empty as we were at my sister-in-laws wedding... Just as they were empty when we beat the Blues 3-0 when I was at a close friends wedding. Anybody know where I can see a replay of MOTD2??!

September 03, 2007

Si said:

What a great game - I drove up from London for it and now I'm giving all my Chelsea mates stick!!! We were so on form, and our back line was the best I've ever seen it. What gets me the most about this game was that so many decisions went Chelsea's way and of the few that didn't, Terry was in the ref's face giving him grief. Refs really need to start showing cards to mouthy players for this type of behaviour and Terry is supposed to be the England skipper - disgraceful. I didn't see Barry going nuts at the ref every time Terry fell over when Carew was on the ball.

September 03, 2007

jinksy said:

Well this might seem strange comming from me as all i seem to ddo is moan accurding to alot of people on here but i thought we were brilliant yesterday. How the Sun can give Laursen 6 is beyond me he played awsome & so did the rest. It was just a great day & the reason i pay all the money i do supporting Villa because every now & then something great happens. I've got a feeling it's going to happen more often. Last point Ashley Young how much is he worth? £9.6 Million bargin.

September 03, 2007

jinksy said:

Coming i know...& do.

September 03, 2007

Bumhug360 said:

I am still walking on air this morning, I know the next 5 league games are going to be tough and it will be make or break time for this season. But if we play with the passion and confidence we did against a STRONG chelsea side we are going to be a very tough team to beat. I work in East London and there is a mix of Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and mostly West Ham fans. The talk of the office today is how Villa beat Chelsea and boy are the West Ham fans gutted about Reo-Coker The only let down of the game for me was Doug Ellis. If only he had pulled his hand away at the last second and added further humilation to a retreating Abramovich

September 03, 2007

DaveM said:

If anyone is ever considering passing their season ticket on if they can't make a game then I think (but I don't have the terms and conditions to hand so correct me if not), that the terms and conditions state that you can pass your season ticket on but you're supposed to let them know in advance..?

September 03, 2007

Alex Cook said:

Doug Ellis's Cheeky handshake with Roman Abramovich was class!!

September 03, 2007

Astonmilan said:

Excellent post Doc....excellent

September 03, 2007

Swin said:

As I said on talksport (anyone hear it?) we won it from the dressing room, MON was MOM for me. How good was it to see a well drilled, well organised Villa team who looked to each other for support. Every game this year, we've come out of the dressing room at half time looking stronger and more confident, long may this continue. Even Ellis made me smile on MOTD2! Must pinch myself.

September 03, 2007

Simon A said:

I can explain my abscene from the match due to the fact that the wife was having a new car on Sunday. I had to go with her to pick it up at our allocted time of 4pm!!! I was thinking about devorce but that was even more costly than the new bloody car I just bought her. Anyway saw the last 5 minutes of the first half and all the second. Wished I had been there. Won't be missing the next match for sure.

September 03, 2007

Robbo51 said:

Dear Jose, Possession is vanity Shots at goal is sanity Goals are reality

September 03, 2007

Craigy B said:

I have to say I sat at home and watched this (after seeing my Sunday league team fall at home 3-0 ) I was hoping to get a point from this game, but we, as Doc said, dominated (after a shaky opening 10minutes in which Laursen was shocking). Laursen recovered to see off Drogba at every turn. The only decision I thought was a bit strange was that after our goal, when we were defending for much of the rest of the game and restricting Chelsea to long range shots, we didn't bring on Harewood in place of Carew. Petrov had my heart in my mouth on a few occasions as he struggled to pick up the pace of a frantic game. It just struck me that we could have lightned the load on our defense by employing somebody who is as strong (or close) and as much of a handfull ass Carew, up front, but with one huge difference; pace! Harewood has pace and could have provided a little more of an outlet for our defence when clearing our half. Other than that, spot on Mr O'Neill, more of that please!

September 03, 2007

Luke said:

Jinksy, I don't know what's more surprising: Ashley Young lobbing Belletti on the touchline for the second goal or you not moaning! Great article doc - we were immense in performance and it proves possession means nothing. JM couldn't accept we beat them, simple as.

September 03, 2007

richie p said:

the scoreline doesnt lie

September 03, 2007

JamieC said:

Jinksy don't read the Sun its for losers..... aka Chelsea fans

September 03, 2007

Woulfeman said:

The best quote on Villa's performance was from Martin Samuels in The Time, described Villa as 'counter attacking chaos on toast'. Not exactly sure what he means but it seems to fit, but like all natural states it has a well honed theory, discovered by Dr Martin O'Neill. Can I pose the question: Can we finally forgive Deadly Doug after his handshake? Agreed he was a tight fisted meglomaniac but he brought in Dr O'Neill and that grin, nothing enigmatic there. Now he's gone I think it's time to forgive.

September 03, 2007

Cor said:

Spot on as usual, Doc. It's amazing how some are still bemoaning that 'Chelsea weren't very good/missed key players' or other lame excuse. MON tactically outwitted the Special One on every level while the players fought hard as if it was a cup final. They sweated and toiled over every bit of the pitch, dug in defensively and did what a Top 4 side would do – strike clinically to show the difference between what we saw and a 0-0 draw. In fact, had it been the other way around and Chelsea had got those 2 goals instead of us, we'd be hearing about how the only difference was "quality in finishing/depth". Sure, people may say we were on the backfoot and had a lot of defending to do, but the side did it with little complaining and staunch passion, and broke Chelsea where it mattered. How many teams have crumbled under such circumstances? Hell, anyone see that Spurs game a couple days back...? Yes, it's just one game – but it was a game which showed how tactically aware MON is, how astute he was in bringing in players who WANT the club to win (show me a recent transfer in the Premiership who showed more passion than Zat, RC and Young on the field yesterday) and how much those same players are trying to prove doubters wrong at every turn. Considering how many were talking about how Zat was a waste of money and all sorts of other disingenuous things after the Sun story, I see comparatively little praise for his heart and excellent goal yesterday. He deserves every bit of kudos he gets and you could tell it meant the world to him. Same with Gabby, although there's little doubt surrounding him by comparison. Villa fans playing and scoring for Villa – simple, yet effective. One game. Yet had we lost last night, the same sceptics would be saying "told ya so"s all day. Instead, we battled a Top 4 side and outwitted, outfought and outpaced them, with no small help from players who have been belittled and doubted over the past few months to recently. We've a long way to go (and the nature of football is that we'll lose to some really poor lower division side at some point, lol), but no one can say it's not one hell of a start. And no one can say the boys out there didn’t fight for the shirt and badge, regardless of what you thought about them and MON before. Even if this isn’t a reflection of the season -who knows at this early stage- it's a sign of what we CAN do when the team digs in. Despite the squad size, despite the 'disappointing signings', despite everything. Enjoy it while it’s here and hope it can only get better from this point – because no matter how good we feel, the players and the manager will be feeling even better; and they'll want that to continue

September 03, 2007

alex said:

So chuffed with it. Ive missed many important family events for the villa over the years, and its always worth it when we put in a performance like that - so full of heart and passion. Wouldnt have missed yesterday for anything. The performance was the polar opposite of the tripe served up by O'Dreary.

September 03, 2007

somersetvilla said:

why was there only 37000...thought it would have been full....

September 03, 2007

merlin1 said:

Have to give praise to the crowd , It was electric! I haven't heard that at VP for a while! (I honestly believe that the crowd at VP can be a 12th man for us).I gave NRC a lot of stick for his performance against Liverpool (deservedly so) but he really did stand out with ML for me as the best on the pitch! AY played well down the flank and GB again was very good. Tactically I think MON was spot on and hope this continues. Fingers crossed we can now push on with all our plyers showing the same commtment and drive which saw us beat Chelsea on Sunday.

September 03, 2007

merlin1 said:

I loved the way Deadly Doug shook Abramovich's hand whilst p**sing himself (quite literally...probably) laughing....class!!! p.s Where have all those Chelsea fans gone that were ranting and raving on here on Friday? ssssshhhhhhhhh ! Its all gone quiet over there! haha

September 03, 2007

merlin1 said:

to Woulfeman Martin Samuels compares everyone and everything to food..... cos he is a big fat cockney geezer! He once described Wayne Rooneys pace (on Jimmy Hills Sunday supplement) as like a knob of butter in a hot frying pan !!!???? Somebody get that a guy a Doctor LOL

September 03, 2007

Kakihara said:

The pace of Young and Agbonlahor on opposite wings works beautifully and is going to hurt a lot of teams over the coming months. I saw a couple of opportunities to move the ball from wing to wing during counter-attacks which weren't taken - when those kind of balls are played more often, Villa are going to be devastating. Although Petrov made mistakes when he came on, he did do something to couteract our biggest deficiency at the time which was constant hurried panic clearances which only result in conceding possession and immediately subjecting the team to more pressure. At least Petrov on a couple of occasions backed himself in possession, slowed things down a bit and gave himself time to find a pass. We're going to need cooler heads defending leads against top-4 teams in future. What an amazing time to be a Villa fan. Results like these are going to make us a much more attractive option in the January transfer window!

September 03, 2007

merlin1 said:

Just read a few posts from previous threads slamming Carew's performance! Whilst I agree that he didn't really create any chances as such and hasn't any real pace (in fact he runs like Andre the Giant). He was a massive pain in the ass for JT all afternoon and riled him up so much that JT spend 90% of his time complaining to the ref! Job well done i think! On a related topic, Is anyone else getting fed up with JT and co at Chelsea surrounding the ref every 20 seconds when a decision doesn't go their way? Someone needs to do something about this sooner rather than later cos Chelsea are the worst team in the league for it

September 03, 2007

Mick said:

I don't agree on the Carew comments. At one point of the game the norwegian chased a ball with Ashley Cole (who had at least 10 yards on him to begin with) and easily caught up with the Chelsea defender. Carew's an important player and has done it at all levels, Champions League included. I'm a bit disappointed with the fans who didn`t bother to turn up for such a big game. If we want to step up a few levels then fans better start understanding they're an integral part of the process. 37,000 people vs Chelsea for a club like Villa is not good enough, I expected a full house so drop your prawn sandwiches, ditch the wife at B&Q and GET DOWN TO VILLA PARK!!!

September 03, 2007

irishvillan said:

A fantastic Villa Win. Comon O'Neill and the Villa. Wesley who?

September 03, 2007

King Tom said:

Fantastic result for you guys. I'm a Wolves fan but out of all the other West Midlands teams I always hope Villa do well because I think they're a big club and should be finishing top 6 at least. You put the ball in the back of the net twice and if it had been the other way round, all the pundits would have just said "it's finishing that seperates the top teams", so good on you Villains. I'm desperate for some debate on the new Aston Villa football shirts. If you can come over and leave some views that would be great.

September 03, 2007 | url

Jon Law said:

steve m said Anybody know where I can see a replay of MOTD2??! no but you can get highlights here http://www.football.virginmedia.com/page/premierleaguehighlights/0,,12555~1104402,00.html or here (actually this is the MOTD2 coverage) http://www.footytube.com/category/videos/english-premiership/

September 03, 2007

Crusty Stain said:

Doc, I always like what you say, it always makes sense. I would quite like you to fix my hernia: I had it repaired 4 years ago but it's popping out again. I don't care if you are medically qualified or not, I just need you to work on my groin and put me right. No funny business, just patch me up and I'll be on my way.

September 03, 2007

Northern Villan said:

Looks like Man City's bubble might have burst! and maybe another 3 points and perhaps we might be able to stay in the top half till january! then bring a few more faces like bosingwa (www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=55132) and I think we are guna defo be bk in europe! UP THE VILLA!

September 03, 2007

taglor said:

@ menegene, don't get a little rubber one after 1 win u wait till the final table

September 03, 2007

JJ 4 VILLLA said:

i went to the game because i have a season ticket and i have to say it was electrifying. the game was brill its was 11 men v 12 men the ref was outrages terry could not stop arguing with him but the second a villa player would say somethiig he was booked and on match of the day its typical that they didnt show drogba being drogba he was pushing laursen. And id give him a 6 for the dives! anyway takin nothing away from villa we deserved well done lads! up the villa!

September 03, 2007

Jimmy D said:

I'm really disappointed about the upcoming international break. Our boys must be buzzing with confidence now and a trip to man city who've lost their last two is just what we need to carry on our winning run. I'll still be confident of beating them in a fortnight but I think it's a shame that we'll lose a a bit of momentum from yesterday's unbelievable win. With that said I'm delighted that Ashley Young has been called up to the England squad. I really think he should start because he's in great form, that's how the England side should be picked so Carson should get a start as well. Back to the Chelsea game I thought our young guns were superb and I can see Gabby NRC Moore and Young becoming villa legends as the next few years are going to be the best villa years since the early 80's. More performances like yesterday's and we could be attracting top quality players sooner than expected.

September 03, 2007

Leroy said:

So i guess were ok with the right back situation then?! Im not trying to get too far ahead, because its a long season and there are 119 days or so till the January window, but if we are sitting within the top 6 around that time, i wonder who may be interested in a move to the Midlands......Again,im just putting it out there, and we all would have liked 2 or 3 more signings.....but is it possible that it was a sprint to the January window and there are to be offers made with our ladder position as extra bait? Just a thought, exciting to think about though.....fingers crossed for no injuries

September 03, 2007

I HATE BLUES said:

Why do you insist Mellberg is playing out of position when he plays there for sweden during competions that include the best players in the world.Erickson takes a right back and plays him in the middle its a mastersroke, yet we do smthing similar and ppl knock it.Cant work you out?

September 03, 2007

M4Baby said:

To Crusty Stain: as you may know, I am The Doc's agent. The Doc would like to to point out that he is a Doctor of Philosophy and not of medicine. To that extent, he is quite willing to discuss with you why you may have been singled out by fate to get a hernia, but he will have no idea how to fix it. Of course, he mentioned to me that he's more than willing to buy you a pint at the next home game. However, it would have to be bought by one of his aides: nobody knows the true identity of The Doc.

September 03, 2007

andy5759 said:

Doc, a good article, thanks. Pinch me, I'm dreaming!!! Weren't we awasome? Doug's video clip is all over the net - even the gooners where I work are playing it. Point taken about Mellberg at RB for Sweden, but I think that we need someone in addition for that position. Our midfield eventually controlled, our defence were superb, and our attack gave JT the jitters. I watched the game in a pub 'darn sarf' full of Chelskis, I was sooo happy to see their long faces. Thanks boys - you've made my day.

September 03, 2007

kieran said:

great result for the boys, now to take it into the next game but we should get moore and mellberg to sign new contracts asap, VILLA FOR EUROPE!!!!

September 03, 2007

martygra808 said:

finally single just got a place with the boys and in college 18 and the ladies love me at work pulling a 15 hour day with only 2 hours of sleep, i get texted 20 times with the score.......aston villa 2, chelsea0.... seriously can my life get any better?

September 04, 2007

Luke Thompson said:

HOLTE ENDERS IIIIIINNNNNNNNN THE NORTH STAND!! Nice to see the old bill video recording the villa fans and lettin chelski run riot in there stewards vests, then threating us with ejectin us at half time. Whats all that about? Mellberg brilliant at rightback! Carson immaculate. I have it on good account he is signing permantley at end of season, its in his contract, similar to Davies. Ellis is like me, Tight as fooke but loves the Villa!!!!

September 04, 2007

mickeywya said:

villa are doing well but still think we need back-up for mellberg and bouma, i think we should sign hatem trabelsi and diego placente on year deal or atleast till january, we did it with agathe and sutton and these 2 players are much better. and today we get everyone moaning about the lack of british talent in english teams, no-one ever thinks to mention aston villa where 15 of there 22 man squad are all british, and 13 of them are english, they should reward the teams that do produce the talent instead of favouring the top 4 all the time.

September 04, 2007

Woodinho said:

great article... well written and impossible to oppose! Up the villa!

September 04, 2007

richie p said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsuEfnraJF4 heres the only video i could find of our new boy, ill leave it 2 u 2 create ur own opinion

September 04, 2007

the_flabster said:

Good article. Villa did play really well and deserved to win. When i saw that Lampard was not playing i had a thought in the back of my mind that we could win it but i predicted a draw. Young was amazing and his runs were really great. Knight was good and Laursen is looking quality at the moment. Mellberg looked very comfortable as the RB as we all know he plays there for Sweden. NRC looked back to his best. I think we got the best of the 3 midfielders who have moved this summer (NRC, Parker & Barton) NRC was the most expensive but is alot younger and is showing great potential. Im abit angry about all the newspapers. They all put our victory more down to Chelsea playing rubbish than our good tactics. Anybody who saw the game will know the real story!

September 04, 2007

Top_6_Villa said:

we could have been even better if MON had splashed the extra cash right away. but now it seems, although the transfer windows has already closed, that there are rumours for the jan window already.... and this is what mon said Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is ready to swoop for a new right-back and has the deal lined up for when the window re-opens. O'Neill was hoping to land a right-back before the transfer window closed but was holding out for one particular player, thought to be Porto's Jose Bosingwa. The Villa boss refused to move for other targets as he tried to push through a deal for the player but eventually ran out of time as the window closed at midnight last Friday. However, O'Neill has been given hope by the selling club and believes a deal will finally be pushed through in January. "I'd like to have had the natural right-back in the team we were hoping to get," O'Neill revealed. "That's why I thought he was worth waiting for for some time.

September 04, 2007

andy5759 said:

To Richie P: Thanks for the link to Salifou footage. He looks as if he could do a job for us. I hope MON ges the opportunity to give him a run out in one of the cups, it's the only way we are going to be able to assess him properly - without putting him in at the deep end in the Prem. Has anyone checked to see if he has English or Scottish connections (MacBonlahor springs to mind)? I love England - but can't wait for Villa to be up again!

September 04, 2007

MikeinCanada said:

We beat Chelski fair and square. We were better in every area, despite not buying all of the over-priced wonder players some of our number keep bleating on about. Good victory.

September 04, 2007

Leroy said:

Thanks for that post Top 6, i have this feeling Bosingwa will be brought in. I thought Mellberg was strong for us there on the weekend but we need backup. That was the first thing i thought about when i saw Barry and NRC towards the end of the game.....they shouldnt be expected to be able to keep that up all year, and were only 4 games in....There must be some signings then or all the good work early could be lost if we lose to the Birminghams of the league. I just thought that if we keep it up Villa will seem a brighter place to switch to...

September 04, 2007

AV33 said:

Great to read all the comments tonight, fantastic game on Sunday and we were superb with a whole new belief. Just a few notes regarding what i've just read. In my humble opinion, Carson and Young should now play 90 minutes for England at the weekend. Especially on current form, I'd play Carson ahead of Robinson and James all day long and England need Ashley now more than ever ! I think Mellberg will do just great at right back for now. I say this because when he played there for a short while last year, he played some amazing cross field balls that at the time looked wasteful. I believe that Ashley and Carew would relish these type of sweeping passes. It's not necessarily a "long ball" when played with purpose and accuracy and switches the play instantly. I'm a little worried about the bookings situation though. Although NRC has been brilliant, he has mouthed off a bit already and got in trouble. Put that with Sunday's laughable bookings and before too long we will have three or four out on bans ! Maybe a couple more squad players would have helped here ! Anyway, to the comments:- At King Tom...Great to hear such warm congratulations from a Wolves Fan. All the best to you mate. At merlin1...So i'm not the only one who thought Deadly just happened to be filling his bag when the handshake took place ! lol At mickeywya...Trabelsi and Placente eh? Are they unattached then? Might be worth a shout mate if we get in trouble. I hope to think we'll be ok till Jan though, all being well. All the best everyone...good times at AV !!! UP THE VILLA

September 04, 2007

AV33 said:

By the way...Zat Knight. Never inspired me before i saw him in the Villa shirt but how well did he slot in ?!!! Great debut goal and it's obvious that he loves the Villa with the way he celebrated. We will see the best of him with the confidence he will have gained from that performance and what, with him being within spitting distance of his mom's dinners can only help ! On a side note regarding the anthem that people would like. I don't get chance to visit VP very often for various reasons (although i'd be there every game if i could), but i'm sure i've heard a tune played over the PA system and wondered just how popular that was. It's the old signature tune that Tony Butler used to play in the 70's and 80's on the radio when we needed a goal. My childhood memories tell me that it worked on numerous occasions. Could this iconic Villa tune be turned into an anthem that rocks the ground? Dunno what it's called but if anyone has any ideas it might be worth a look. Forgive me if there is already a recognised fan chant / song involving this piece of music but like i say, i can't be the fan i'd like to be so I may be a bit oblivious to Holte songs ! Cheers everybody UP THE VILLA

September 04, 2007

Villavon said:

JINKSY, You should be banned from this forum altogether. It was only a few days ago you were vehemently berating MON and his activity in the transfer market. It is fickle people like you who, who actually know nothing that try to temper the mood at VP. Are you really a Villa fan, if so, I'd spend time getting behind the manager, team and real supporter of Villa in the future. To save yourself embarrassment in future, please don't pick the great MON up before he falls. He has already brought an unprecedented victory to our team against all odds. We should not get carried away though, as he is still building the team. NICK McDUNCE and all you other tossers that have taken a swipe at MON for not buying showbiz players...NAFF OFF and support Chelsea!

September 05, 2007

taglor said:

great to see the universal appreciation of free speech

September 05, 2007

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