Newcastle trounced Queens Park Rangers 6-0 at Loftus Road last night
Roberto Di Matteo will get it right at Villa
Newcastle have arrived. After struggling around with the Toon clutch, Benitez has finally found fifth gear, and his first road kill was a hapless Queens Park Rangers side last night.
It felt like it would only be a matter of time before the Magpies really turned on the style in the second tier. With a summer outlay in excess of £50 million, it is hardly a surprise that Rafa has got the Magpies bandwagon fully flying.
And, despite their difficult start, it is only a matter of time before Roberto Di Matteo does likewise at Villa Park.
For Newcastle, this is not to say it has been easy, nor is it a foregone conclusion that they will maintain this form, of course. But it feels like they have turned a corner. The Tynesiders did get off to a somewhat shaky start, defeated at Fulham on opening night, then plundered at home by Huddersfield a week later.
Gradually, however, the tables have turned. The 4-1 win over Reading was emphatic but misleading; Reading were very much their equal at St. James’ Park that night. Victory over Bristol City a few days later was likewise; this was a result that fitted the smash-and-grab category.
Yet, after putting points on the board and keeping the backdoor shut with four consecutive clean sheets before last night, the Magpies finally took off at Loftus Road, combining attacking flair with dominance in all areas, humbling QPR by six goals to nil. And it did not flatter them.
Newcastle United’s Jonjo Shelvey scored twice in their 6-0 win over QPR
Newcastle are beginning to look exactly that which they were not last season – a top-flight side. They were a cut above the home side, a welcome relief for the Geordies who are seeing investment and expectation culminating in results.
It is no surprise that they sit second in the table, trailing Huddersfield by a point, after seven fixtures. Players of Premier League calibre have been arriving in the North-East all summer – a goal-scorer in Dwight Gayle (£10m), a much-needed effective wide-man in Matt Ritchie (£10m), an experienced Championship defender in Grant Hanley (£5m) as well as Ciaran Clark, DeAndre Yedlin, Mohamed Diame, Jesus Gamez, Christian Atsu and Achraf Lazaar.
They have added to, and improved upon, what was already there. Having retained key names like Mitrovic, Shelvey and Tiote, Newcastle have been left with a side armed to the hilt for a successful Championship assault, and this came to fruition last night.
Newcastle United have held on to key names like Aleksandar Mitrovic
Above all else, retaining the services of Rafa Benitez has been fundamental. For all the claims that the Championship is a unique division in its own right and he won’t be able to adapt, swallowed by the quagmire that is England’s second division, the Spaniard is no man to shirk at a challenge – and his reconstruction of this Newcastle side, has shown all the hallmarks of a top-class manager.
For Aston Villa, it seems from the outset – looking at the league table – that their performances by way of contrast to those of Newcastle represent a tale of two cities.
They have struggled to get going in the Championship thus far. Whilst Benitez found difficulty with the gear stick, Di Matteo can’t seem to get the engine started whatsoever.
One win from their opening six games certainly does not reflect a side capable of bouncing straight back into the top flight.
But in time, Di Matteo will have Villa firing like Newcastle.
Results so far for the Italian have seen the Villans falter at the final hurdle, most clearly illustrated by draws against Huddersfield and Nottingham Forest, where a mistake in the former and a late lapse in concentration in the latter saw the former European Cup winners drop points at the death.
Jonathan Kodjia joined Villa from Bristol City during the summer window
Yet they aren’t playing all too shabbily. Draws against Brighton, Derby and Huddersfield are not to be scoffed at, and they are more than holding their own. Against Bristol City, they were on top for the best part of an hour, only to crumble when they conceded, going on to lose the game from a winning position 3-1.
They have, for the most part, looked like a team still acclimatising to one another, yet unlike Newcastle, who have undergone the same process, they haven’t picked up the points along the way.
Villa have, like the Toon, invested heavily this summer, and they have invested in players who will make a difference. Their strike force will make Championship defenders weak at the knees. The arrivals of McCormack and Kodjia, for nearly £25m for the pair, are potent signings at this level. Other additions including James Chester, Mile Jedinak and Albert Adomah will bolster a squad that still retains names such as Jack Grealish and Jordan Ayew.
The difference with Newcastle is the late arrivals of many of these new faces. Adomah and Kodjia arrived with hours to spare of the window closing, and as such, to mould a team that has seen numerous departures into a slick, well-oiled machine, cannot happen overnight.
But they have the right men in charge to upgrade Villa from a stuttering Ford Fiesta into a smooth BMW. In Di Matteo, the Villans have a boss who, yes, won the Champions League, but also has a plethora of Football League experience, taking MK Dons to the play-offs in League One during his time in charge in 2009, whilst guiding city rivals West Brom to promotion from the second tier at the first time of asking a year later (second, coincidentally, to Newcastle).
Behind him are a plethora of experienced heads; Steve Clarke is one, who has worked under Mourinho and Dalglish as well as managing West Brom, with whom he achieved their best league finish since 1981, and also managing within the Championship itself with Reading in more recent times. Kevin Bond is another, working with clubs including Newcastle, West Ham, Bournemouth Spurs, and more recently, Queens Park Rangers.
Having this kind of support will be essential for Di Matteo’s side if the Villans want to continue to harbour hopes of the immediate return that their owner has outspokenly demanded. With time, they will be able to turn Villa from a number of individuals into a team, a team capable of fighting at the pinnacle of this division.
Aston Villa have the potential to be as potent as Newcastle
For Newcastle, having invested early, the fruits of their labour are being harvested already. For Villa, they may yet have to be patient.
Nevertheless, they now have the right parts to make a success of this season and the right tools with which to use them correctly.
And as such, it is only a matter of time before Di Matteo can get Villa firing on all cylinders, like Rafa Benitez is doing on Tyneside.
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