- 18/03/2024
The full version of the BirminghamWorld Q&A.
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00:00 The set-piece goals are conceded, what's the latest?
00:25 I was there at the game, West Ham won one draw and I was obviously there at the European Conference League win over Ajax as well. What a night that was.
00:33 John Duran, I'll start with, on that European night, started to break through a bit for Villa because Ollie Watkins went down of an injury.
00:40 Scored the opening goal at the game, but then had to come off. A lot of concern from Villa fans, and so the topic immediately goes to,
00:47 is John Duran the man or are we going to try and bring in Morgan Rodgers up top? You're always going to look at replacements in that instance.
00:53 Thankfully Watkins was OK, but what he did allow for was Duran to have 60 minutes on the field.
00:58 He scored a goal, created so many problems for the Ajax defenders, and just his physicality, his pacing behind was really impressive.
01:07 You can tell he's still very raw, still very young, I believe only 20 or 21 years of age, so he's going to be like that.
01:13 But his finish was unbelievable from the edge of the box, striking it in off the crossbar, hit the crossbar twice, the underside of it, before crossing the line.
01:22 Very impressive from him. Did miss some big chances, so that's something for him to work on,
01:27 but I think if Unai Emery works for him a bit more and can mature him as a player, then there's definitely a lot in there.
01:33 The set-piece problem, well Villa have got the fourth most goals conceded in the Premier League from set-pieces this season, excluding penalties.
01:43 So it's pretty much a big problem area. There was a goal conceded at West Ham from a set-piece, but then disallowed.
01:50 Bowen whipping in a corner and Antonio bundling it in.
01:55 Also, it wasn't a set-piece, but from a wide position was Antonio's goal itself.
01:59 It's a real problem area for Villa. Those crosses into the area, they just can't seem to deal with them.
02:04 How do you combat that? They've had defence changes quite a lot this season.
02:10 Is it a case that it's slowly got worse throughout the season or can it be put right in the build-up to the back end of this season?
02:20 It's been a problem for quite a long time. I'm not quite sure what it is.
02:23 Maybe a lack of height in midfield when Bouba Kakoumar is not there certainly doesn't help as well.
02:28 He had a stretch out at the beginning of the season and of course now as well, so that's not ideal.
02:33 Maybe as well with those, not on a set-piece aspect, but just from crosses.
02:38 Longley being a right centre-back, he can't drift across the left naturally sometimes.
02:43 That's what left the space open for Michael Antonio to score that goal at London Stadium.
02:49 That's maybe an issue, having two left-footed centre-backs. They can sometimes drift across.
02:55 Charlie, let's continue with Aston Villa. Looking at the back end of the season, we start to think in terms of a lead position.
03:04 Let's have a look at the Europa League. It was a competition that some Aston Villa fans may have been disappointed that they weren't in the Europa League.
03:14 They had to take a backwards set, but we saw West Ham progress and win it last season. It was an incredible triumph for them.
03:21 Is this a competition where Villa fans will be disappointed? Does it get to that point that if they aren't to win it, they could come away disappointed?
03:30 I think now they are the favourites, there will be some disappointment naturally.
03:34 But also just pride if they get to that position, even if they lose.
03:38 To be in Europe in the first place is a fantastic achievement after a decade out of it.
03:42 I don't think they really cared what competition it was at the tail end of the last season.
03:46 Just getting in that seventh place to get that European football was so important.
03:50 Now they've got it, now they're advancing to the quarter-final stage after beating Ajax.
03:54 What a night under the lights at Villa Park. 4-0 thrashing of the Dutch giants.
03:58 Of course they've played the likes of Zrinski and Legia Warsaw and Ezeld Alkmaar, the other Dutch club as well.
04:06 They've had a fairly difficult group in that aspect because in the Europa Conference League you can have clubs that you've never heard of.
04:12 Zrinski maybe one of those, but the other two decent sides.
04:15 They battled through and now they're going to be playing Lille home and away in the quarter-final stage.
04:20 That's quite a difficult draw actually if you look at some of the other teams in the competition left.
04:25 Fiorentina probably the second favourites looking at it on paper.
04:29 Villa will play against Olympiacos or Fenerbahce if they advance.
04:33 So some very exciting ties in there.
04:35 You would fancy them to win it with the sides left in there, but it's going to be incredibly difficult.
04:40 Unai Emery though, there's a lot of faith in him.
04:42 He's a serial winner of European trophies, of course, won the Europa League four times with Sevilla three and then once with Villarreal as well.
04:50 Can he do the Europa Conference? On paper it should be easier, shouldn't it?
04:54 Do you think Villa brought him in just to claim their stake in Europe again and get a European trophy?
05:02 Do you think that was always in the back of their mind when they asked them if Villa Bordeaux would bring in Unai Emery?
05:07 I'm sure the ambitions would have definitely been there from the very start.
05:10 Can we get Villa back into Europe first and foremost? Can we get them winning trophies again?
05:14 It's a huge club. It shouldn't be in disarray. It shouldn't be in the championship like it was a few years ago.
05:20 It shouldn't be fighting relegation like they began to under Steven Gerrard again.
05:24 So that lift just to get out of that was great.
05:26 But then it's just moved so quickly now that I think expectations are going to lift and lift and lift.
05:31 This season, if they don't get Champions League qualification, Europa League will still be great.
05:35 Having been so far ahead of other teams in the fight, if they lose it now, it would be quite disappointing.
05:41 But I'm sure most Villa fans would be happy in the Europa League, still a step up.
05:44 But Champions League, can you just imagine under the lights at Villa Park? It would be incredible.
05:49 So Charlie, on to Birmingham City.
05:53 We've spoken multiple times about their inconsistency throughout seasons.
05:57 This season, for you covering it as well, has been an absolute whirlwind with the managerial situation.
06:04 Now where they're sitting in the championship, it's an incredible fight down there to avoid the drop.
06:11 It's really intensifying.
06:13 What can you tell us about it and how confident Blues are feeling?
06:17 Is it starting to get worse as the weeks go on because the results simply aren't there really?
06:23 Well, the performances are quite up and down, but the actual results themselves are constantly down.
06:29 It feels like the Birmingham fans had a couple of wins against Sunderland and Blackburn a number of weeks ago now.
06:34 But that's five, six games ago as we're speaking, going into international break.
06:38 And that's really not good enough at all to be not winning any games after that.
06:42 And the fixtures have got easier, if anything.
06:44 So the mood is definitely very low at St Andrews and Nighthead Park.
06:48 I think the lucky thing is there are so many other teams in a similar position.
06:53 You're talking from Sheffield Wednesday down to 23rd, just quickly looking now, and up to Millwall and 16th.
06:58 There's just a five-point gap there.
07:00 You've got the likes of Blackburn, Plymouth, Stoke City, QPR, Huddersfield all in the mix as well.
07:05 And of course, Sheffield Wednesday, as I mentioned, rather united are already well out of it.
07:10 They're basically renegades already, unfortunately, for them.
07:13 But I think Blues' only solace really there is that there are so many teams, as I say,
07:18 and they have got to fight.
07:19 If they can get just one or two wins in the next few games, it might feel like a very big uphill battle to get those.
07:26 But then you start to see them being at the top of that bunch and the confidence comes back.
07:30 But certainly a very poor mood at the moment.
07:32 And the Club England's already scored many goals, let alone get draws or wins.
07:35 So I can definitely understand it.
07:38 And just quickly on the managerial situation, obviously Tony Mowbray is currently out ill.
07:45 Are there any actual proper considerations for an interim manager to come in and steady the ship?
07:52 The decision was made to have Mark Venus, Tony Mowbray's assistant, in for the rest of the season.
07:58 There's a lot of fans now with the results going downhill since Mowbray stepped back.
08:02 The two wins that I was talking about against Sunderland and Blackburn were under Mowbray.
08:07 They've only got one or two points, I think it is, since Mowbray stepped back.
08:11 It's really not been good enough.
08:12 You can understand the calls for a proper interim, get rid of Mark Venus.
08:15 It seems like the easy solution.
08:17 But Mark Venus has worked with Mowbray for 20-odd years just in coaching.
08:21 Before that, they were teammates at Ipswich.
08:23 Mowbray has a lot of confidence in him.
08:25 And he even admitted during his unveiling that Mark Venus is the man with the tactical ideas behind things.
08:31 And they've done very well in the past.
08:33 And that's why Blues fans are so excited to have Mowbray here.
08:35 So, I don't see it changing.
08:38 As I understand at the moment, there's no consideration for an interim.
08:41 So, it should be Mark Venus until the end of the season.
08:44 Charlie, moving on to West Bromwich Albion.
08:50 Now, a player that we've picked out to discuss today, Donal Furlong.
08:54 I mean, as a defender, he's become incredibly consistent.
08:58 And it's something that we spoke about earlier on in the season that West Brom needed to improve.
09:03 Certain players becoming more consistent in terms of defending as well as getting their goals.
09:09 How impressive has he been for West Brom so far?
09:13 He's been brilliant.
09:14 Just his consistency, as you mentioned, wasn't quite there last season maybe and at the start of this.
09:20 But the last few months, I think there isn't really much you can fault Donal Furlong for.
09:24 Going forward as well, we've always known he's got those long throws.
09:27 He can launch into the area. That's a threat.
09:30 His crossing ability, getting down to the byline, linking up very well with the likes of Jed Wallace or Grady Dean Gardiner,
09:36 now in the number 10 position, getting on that overlap, it's been impressive.
09:39 And then his defensive positioning, getting better and better.
09:42 I mean, this is a player who's been in the Premier League.
09:44 He's played consistently for a number of seasons now in West Brom colours, but he's never really been that star man.
09:50 And he's not going to be. He's never going to get to that position, I don't think.
09:53 You're not going to as a right back, are you?
09:55 But just to be the unsung hero, I think he's becoming one of those players in this side.
10:00 Cedric Kiprae has really stepped up this season as well.
10:03 And the likes of Kyle Bartley, Samir Jaya alongside as well.
10:06 I think they need another centre-back just to solidify things a bit.
10:09 But these are the kind of players that you need to be performing week in, week out,
10:13 to have an underlying core to your team.
10:15 And Furlong, I think, is really impressed to get West Brom in the position they are.
10:20 Yeah, obviously you mentioned their position there.
10:22 And what's been that key to becoming slowly approaching the playoffs at the back end of this season?
10:28 And they are looking like your bankers to ensure that they are going to be in that top six.
10:33 Yeah, they've now got an eight-point buffer to Hull City in seventh, West Brom in fifth.
10:38 You've got Norwich below, you've got Coventry City, Preston North End as well in the fight.
10:42 There's no catching up for Southampton and Ipswich and Leeds and Leicester.
10:46 They're well and beyond now.
10:47 But West Brom fans won't care about that. They're never going to get automatics this year.
10:51 It's just about securing those playoffs.
10:53 And I think what it is, is just taking a game at a time, being really professional with it,
10:57 having that core to the team that I mentioned, Carlos Corbren as well as a manager, tactically, brilliant.
11:03 And defensively, I believe they've got the third best or fourth best defence in the league in terms of goals conceded.
11:10 That is so important to be in the position they are.
11:13 And not having that many strikers fit, even more so.
11:16 Just having one goal in the game, if they can keep a clean sheet, is obviously enough for a win.
11:20 And they've been doing that consistently.
11:22 We saw that with Corbren at Huddersfield Town as well, when they got into the playoffs.
11:26 It was one nil, two nils here and there, two ones.
11:29 It's that core, it's that base defensively that's so important.
11:32 It might not be that attractive at times, it might not be that exciting,
11:36 but if it gets them in the playoffs, gets them a chance to the Premier League, then they've got to do it.
11:43 Finally, Charlie, on to Wolves.
11:46 The FA Cup, it's got to go, discussed.
11:49 Not just in terms of the game, but as a competition as a whole for them this season.
11:55 It was all looking so, so well.
11:57 Achieving the quarter-final has to be some achievement under Gary O'Neill,
12:03 but it didn't end in the finest of fashion for them.
12:06 No, it was devastating for Wolves fans at Molinier.
12:10 I was there, incredible game from a neutral perspective.
12:14 I say neutral, I wanted Wolves to win, I wanted to go to Wembley.
12:17 I've enjoyed the run as well as a journalist,
12:20 but just seeing those Coventry limbs at the end and the turnaround,
12:24 what a story in the FA Cup.
12:25 I just really wish that was Wolves on that end of it.
12:28 I don't think it would have been as dramatic if it was Wolves, obviously being the favourites.
12:32 The whole underdog story makes it even more impressive for Coventry,
12:36 but to lose in that style.
12:38 Going 1-0 down, I think rightfully so, Coventry played really well.
12:41 But then fighting back, improving at the end.
12:43 Ryan Aitnouri playing incredibly well.
12:45 Hugo Bueno getting a goal off the bench so late on, about the 87th minute,
12:49 I believe it was, or maybe even later, to make it 2-1.
12:52 You think you've booked the ticket to Wembley then,
12:55 and a few weeks time going down Wembley way.
12:57 It's a Coventry score, pretty much out of nowhere.
13:00 Ellis Sims, and then they get another one just after that,
13:02 just when you think it's going to extra time.
13:04 It's one of the most dramatic games I've ever seen live,
13:06 if not the most dramatic.
13:08 It's just a shame, as I said, that it wasn't in Wolves' favour.
13:11 That Wembley trip would have been so good.
13:13 Just the togetherness and the feeling under O'Neill is there,
13:16 and it will continue to be so.
13:18 If anything, having any disappointments is probably going to help the group
13:22 to grow in the long term, and just make them all the more determined
13:25 to do better next season.
13:27 So, although it might hurt now, I think it will probably benefit in the long run.
13:32 In terms of their squad and their group,
13:35 it's been fantastic so far under O'Neill this season,
13:38 but four big names, Belagard, Neto, Kunya, Hwangi, Chan,
13:42 they're four big attacking players in this team,
13:45 and they're all out injured.
13:48 It's quite a big blow for Wolves now.
13:50 How do they respond in this back-end of the season?
13:54 I think it's going to be positive that a few of those names you mentioned
13:57 are going to be coming back, hopefully after the international break,
14:00 if not the week after.
14:02 So, this break has come at a perfect time for Wolves, isn't it, really?
14:05 Just stricken by injuries, just so tired.
14:08 It's been a relentless schedule, but it looks like Hwangi, Chan,
14:11 Mateus, Kunya, and Jean-Richard Belagard are all in contention for Villa
14:15 if they carry on as they are, is what Gary O'Neill was saying.
14:18 Unfortunately, Pedro Neto looks like he's out for the rest of the season now
14:22 with his hamstring problem, so that's obviously a huge blow.
14:25 But the other names I mentioned, along with Pablo Sarabia,
14:28 who's done really well, Ait Nuri as well, playing higher up the field.
14:32 Obviously, you kind of want him at left back, left wing back, I mean,
14:35 but if you can have him further up the field, that helps as well.
14:37 And then Craig Dawson should be back as well.
14:39 So, on the horizon, these players returning, but not just yet.