Source: Telegraph
Aston Villa's newlook defence aims to keep Wolves from the door
Received wisdom holds that new players take time to learn the nuances of each other's games, but Aston Villa's new defenders - Richard Dunne, James Collins and Stephen Warnock - have gelled in a matter of matches.
Since their first game as a new unit in September, they have conceded four goals in five league games. Their first three games were clean sheets. The reason? Communication, apparently.
To help them gel, Martin O'Neill simply held a meeting with his new defenders the night before the Birmingham derby in September.
"I thought it was worth having a few words," O'Neill said. "Nothing earth-shattering."
Maybe not for him, but for his players it was the starting point. "It was a chat about things, and it seems to have gone from there," Warnock said. "It's all been about getting used to, and understanding, each other."
That the new players are all talkers has helped. As has the fact that none of them have had to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.
That is not all. You only need look at Ashley Young and James Milner endlessly tracking back to see the support the defence receives from midfield. And what about Brad Friedel? The goalkeeper has the best saves-to-shot ratio in the league.
"The team is the most important issue," O'Neill said. "Teambuilding has become a bit corporate, but it is what you are trying to do."
With such a solid defensive unit, one would not expect Wolves to prove too much of a problem this afternoon, yet O'Neill is cautious.
"I don't think we are good enough to treat people lightly, and we won't at Wolves," he said. "One, it is away from home. Two, it is a derby. And three, it's a Mick McCarthy side. You know they will go to the end."
Keeping things tight
Premier League defences (average goals conceded per game):
Aston Villa: 0.85 (7 goals in 8 games)
Chelsea: 0.88 (8 in 9)
Man Utd: 0.88 (8 in 9)
Birmingham: 1.22 (11 in 9)
Liverpool: 1.22 (11 in 9)
