Aston Villa and Remi Garde helpless after Jordan Ayew red card madness
Wednesday 3 February 2016 07:26, UK
Jordan Ayew’s red card for aiming an elbow at Aaron Cresswell ended Aston Villa’s hopes of a result at West Ham and the 2-0 defeat leaves Remi Garde’s men facing relegation. Adam Bate was at Upton Park to see the latest instalment in Garde’s nightmare reign…
Even Slaven Bilic looked sympathetic rather than triumphant when the final whistle blew. Pitiful looks from West Ham managers were not part of the plan for Remi Garde but they're all he's got at Aston Villa right now.
Certainly, his struggling side have no more points to show for their efforts after a 2-0 defeat at Upton Park that took on an air of inevitability from the moment Jordan Ayew inexplicably elected to elbow Aaron Cresswell.
Bilic called it a "moment of madness" that was "the turning point" of the game, and while Garde preferred to point to a first-half penalty decision that might have gone Villa's way, it was difficult to reach any other conclusion.
So blatant was Ayew's indiscretion that he barely attempted to indulge in the charade of contesting the decision. The provocation was negligible and the reaction anything but subtle. This was not the sort of fight that his side needed to show.
Garde was reluctant to discuss the matter afterwards, but the claim that Villa are united "more than ever" might have been more believable had his top scorer not delivered a public show of petulance that practically screamed the opposite.
It was a particularly bewildering decision given Villa's encouraging start to the game. Garde said they were "brilliant" in periods and while they might be seen as the words of a man seeing mirages in the desert, Villa were the more purposeful side early on.
Garde's men forced four first-half corners, giving the impression that the recent 4-0 FA Cup defeat against Manchester City hadn't necessarily undermined the five-game unbeaten run prior to that. The manager's view that Villa "could have got something" was reasonable enough.
Carles Gil looked bright and busy, popping up in pockets of space early on and even working hard when reduced to 10 men. Micah Richards, meanwhile, produced one spectacular goal-line clearance that suggested not everyone at Bodymoor Heath has abandoned pride in their work.
But Garde already knows his Villa side well enough not to get his hopes up. He now has the haunted look of a man who sees signs of foreboding everywhere he goes, and who can blame him after a transfer window in which Villa - bottom of the table - failed to sign a single player.
A left-back might have helped, a point reinforced once more by the game's opening goal. Aly Cissokho got sucked inside, leaving Gil to track Michail Antonio and the powerful winger headed Mark Noble's raking pass beyond Mark Bunn.
How Garde must bemoan the injury that robbed him of Villa's hitherto best player Jordan Amavi just one game - a goalless draw with Manchester City - into his reign. Instead, he turned to the bench to make his first substitution and could only summon Kieran Richardson.
"As a new manager I would have expected new faces to support my changes," he said recently, a new spin on the oft-repeated line that he "completely understands the fans' frustrations". When Garde says it, you truly get the sense that he shares it too.
After all, nothing has gone right. Even the glimmer of hope that came with a corner with five minutes to play, proved only a prelude to the counter-attacking goal that West Ham had craved all evening. Stuck, appropriately enough, on 13 points, everything has a sting for this Villa team.
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Cheikhou Kouyate's goal was the catalyst for the travelling supporters, who prior to that had been content to offer support, to turn their ire on the owners. Chants of 'sack the board' provided the soundtrack as the players saw out the game's final moments before trudging from the field.
Perhaps the one small comfort for Villa supporters as they slide towards relegation is the hope that Garde is learning something about this club and these players that will leave them better placed to start next season in positive fashion.
It's been suggested that Garde might not be the man for the Championship due to his lack of knowledge of that league, but for every Steve Bruce and Mick McCarthy in the second tier, there's an Aitor Karanka or Carlos Carvalhal adapting impressively enough.
And yet, when asked on Tuesday if he will still be the Villa manager come the end of the season, Garde felt unable even to provide this smidgeon of assurance. "It's not the time to answer these questions," he said.
Aston Villa's time in the Premier League is almost up.
