{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
Dan Bardell: 'Imperfect storm' of Aston Villa setbacks caused 5-1 thrashing v Newcastle
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa’s thumping against Newcastle United was “very, very disappointing” but should not be too much cause for concern, according to Dan Bardell.
Villa’s opening day was spoilt at the hands of Eddie Howe’s Magpies after a surprise 5-1 defeat saw them end the first game week at the foot of the table.
While defensively the Villans looked weak, “mitigating circumstances”, including Tyrone Ming’s potentially season-ending injury, meant the scoreboard did not reflect the reality of the clash. Due to the unpredictability of the tie, the squad could not properly prepare for what unfolded.
Bardell suggests that Unai Emery’s side must bounce back against Everton on Sunday (20 August), as they frequently have under the Spaniard, following an “imperfect storm” on Tyneside.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said “Newcastle are a high-level team but I was not expecting to lose 5-1 on the opening day. I do feel that there were mitigating circumstances.
“It was the imperfect storm to Villa, everything went wrong for Villa that day and everything went right for Newcastle.
“When those two things combine, it looks bad. But I didn’t think it was a really bad performance from Villa. Especially in the first half, it was pretty level.
“I wasn’t impressed with some of Villa’s defending but Newcastle is an intimidating place to go. They’re a really good team and their new signings look like they’ve made them better than they were last season.
“The result of the game almost wasn’t important after the Tyrone Mings injury. It feels worse because of his injury because obviously it’s going to keep him out for a long time and he’s a huge part of the squad.
“So I think that probably affected the players too. One of the crucial things that happened was that we’d worked on a system of playing all week in training and with the personnel involved.
“You lose Emi Buendia who would have been involved in all the training for the game. You then lose your leader in the back in the first half. Then you bring on a player in his first-ever Premier League game in one of the most intimidating places you can play.
“That’s never going to make it calmer, it’s always going to be a struggle.
“Tielemens playing from the left too. It’s just all things that we hadn’t worked on during the week. Newcastle were dominant even though Villa could have still very much got back in the game.
“It’s really, really disappointing obviously to get pumped on the first day 5-1 but the important thing now is that it’s just one game.
“Newcastle will turn over many teams at home, it just so happens that Villa were first. They’ve just got to make sure they bounce back soon. But I think they’ll beat Everton on Sunday.”
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has revealed what John McGinn said to him following a “really bad” Villa update.