The Dean's Gambit - What's Villa's Next Move Without Grealish?

from My Old Man Said — An Aston Villa Podcast

Aston Villa have been struggling in recent weeks with a stuttering midfield and have needed to rely on their defensive resilience to snatch points. Now Dean Smith has a further problem with the sudden loss of his captain and talisman, Jack Grealish.The 2-1 loss to Leicester City was perhaps no surprise, with or without Grealish, but the honeymoon period of the 20/21 is over. There's issues to sort out. Can Smith get his midfield up to the level of his defence? What's eating Ross Barkley? Is it time for a reshuffle of the pack? We lookat all this and more.Outside of Villa we look at the potential evolution of VAR, after MOMS met PGMOL last week, the stand off between the EFL and government, and the latest Sun headline that casts a shadow over the England squad.In Overrated or Underrated, it's time for Emile Heskey to step up for his appraisalEnjoy!UTVGET THE EXCLUSIVE MOMS PATRON PODCAST CHANNEL and JOIN MATCH CLUBIf you want extra podcast shows during the month and to join Match Club, please do support the show by becoming a MOMS Patron.For more details and to become a Patron, click here: Join MOMS PatronsFollow the show on Twitter at @myoldmansaid and join the show's listener facebook group The Mad Few.T-ShirtListeners can now buy a MOMS Podcast T-shirt or mug to show their support of the show and look cool, check out the MOMS SHOP to buy.Credits:David Michael - @oldmansaid Chris Budd - @BUDD_musicPhillip Shaw - @prsgameMy Old Man Said - https://www.myoldmansaid.comEditor/Producer - David MichaelMusic - Philip MartenBecome a MOMS Member for ad-free & extra shows -  MOMS MembershipJoin the show’s listener Facebook group The Mad Few.Credits:David Michael - @myoldmansaid  | Chris Budd - @BUDD_music / Phillip Shaw - @prsgameThis Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What this episode covers

Aston Villa have been struggling in recent weeks with a stuttering midfield and have needed to rely on their defensive resilience to snatch points. Now Dean Smith has a further problem with the sudden loss of his captain and talisman, Jack Grealish.The 2-1 loss to Leicester City was perhaps no surprise, with or without Grealish, but the honeymoon period of the 20/21 is over. There's issues to sort out. Can Smith get his midfield up to the level of his defence? What's eating Ross Barkley? Is it time for a reshuffle of the pack? We lookat all this and more.Outside of Villa we look at the potential evolution of VAR, after MOMS met PGMOL last week, the stand off between the EFL and government, and the latest Sun headline that casts a shadow over the England squad.In Overrated or Underrated, it's time for Emile Heskey to step up for his appraisalEnjoy!UTVGET THE EXCLUSIVE MOMS PATRON PODCAST CHANNEL and JOIN MATCH CLUBIf you want extra podcast shows during the month and to join Match Club, please do support the show by becoming a MOMS Patron.For more details and to become a Patron, click here: Join MOMS PatronsFollow the show on Twitter at @myoldmansaid and join the show's listener facebook group The Mad Few.T-ShirtListeners can now buy a MOMS Podcast T-shirt or mug to show their support of the show and look cool, check out the MOMS SHOP to buy.Credits:David Michael - @oldmansaid Chris Budd - @BUDD_musicPhillip Shaw - @prsgameMy Old Man Said - https://www.myoldmansaid.comEditor/Producer - David MichaelMusic - Philip MartenBecome a MOMS Member for ad-free & extra shows - MOMS MembershipJoin the show’s listener Facebook group The Mad Few.Credits:David Michael - @myoldmansaid | Chris Budd - @BUDD_music / Phillip Shaw - @prsgameThis Podcast has been created and uploaded by My Old Man Said. The views in this Podcast are not necessarily the views of talkSPORT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.