I'm going to show my age here because Sunday mornings are for bacon and eggs, the papers, kids around the table, Steve Wright and freshly ground coffee. Sunday afternoons are for a big lunch, football and a pint or two. I can't have the pint or two where I live but everything else is falling into place for today and it just so happens, there might be a bottle of red swapped in.
But only one thing can make the weekend perfect, just like only one thing can make us all angry. Last time out we had a reason to be angry and it will or should be different this time. We can't talk about systems and not know how they work.
System is the merging of two previously discussed themes; how the team is setup to play (formation) and how they go out to play (instructions). It's not new but it's getting used more and more these days. And like all things, it's not new it just went away. It's very relevant though and seeing as we changed formation this season and I still don't know why and that our manager is using the term, I want to see it getting used properly.
And while you can argue because it's new things might not be perfect, you have the other side of that argument and if we don't know what we're doing, why are we trying to do it?
Today is going to be tough and if you didn't know, we are three points from the bottom three. We're not in a great place and all things considered, much like we say Manchester United change how they approached a game yesterday, it might not be a bad time to change how we approach games also.
I've always said a version of 4-5-1 is how I think we should approach games and I have to tell you that I still feel that is the best way to approach games. And we also have to stop these long throw ins. For the one or two that might work in our favour this season, we're literally telegraphing where the ball is going and we're giving the opposition a much better opportunity to get the ball back.
West Ham will punish us if we do this because Moyes is one of those managers that will have his team looking at ways to exploit the opposition. I really don't think we do that and if we do, I don't think we're doing a good enough job. We've had 9 games now and it's easier for me to write these things. Things have to change.
Match facts from the BBC
Head-to-head
- Twenty of the 44 Premier League meetings have ended in a draw.
- Aston Villa have just won one of the past 10 top-flight encounters.
- The Hammers can triumph in three consecutive league fixtures against Villa for the first time since 1967.
Aston Villa
- Aston Villa have lost three consecutive league matches - the longest current streak of any Premier League side.
- A fourth successive defeat would equal their longest run of losses since returning to the Premier League in 2019.
- Eleven of Villa's 13 Premier League goals this season were scored in the second half.
- Forward Danny Ings is winless and has failed to score in all nine Premier League appearances against West Ham - his longest drought against any team.
- Leon Bailey has scored one goal and assisted two in four substitute appearances lasting 133 minutes.
West Ham United
- West Ham's 17-point haul after nine games matches the club Premier League record.
- The Hammers can equal the club record of five consecutive away victories in all competitions, last set in 2007.
- They could also set a new club best by going eight Premier League games unbeaten on the road.
- West Ham have scored 21 Premier League goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties) since the start of last season, three more than any other side prior to the weekend.
- Full-back Aaron Cresswell has registered a league-high nine assists from set-pieces in all competitions since the start of 2020-21.
- Manager David Moyes is unbeaten in 10 Premier League fixtures as a manager versus Aston Villa (W5, D5).
What would Craig David do?
The chart
