John Townley answered your Aston Villa questions on the latest Claret & Blue Q&A

Aston Villa’s second league win of the season, against Newcastle United, their attacking options, the left-back crisis and how far Unai Emery’s side can go this season were all topics discussed on the latest Claret & Blue Q&A.

Dan Rolinson and John Townley were joined by special guest Rob Jones to answer your questions, as Villa look to build momentum ahead of hosting Viking FK and Manchester City this week.

You can watch the episode below and read a selection of Townley’s answers…

Does Lindelof deserve a new contract?

"I’m not going to keep going back to the piece that I wrote before the start of the season, or when Konsa was leaving, but I think it made the most sense. Villa didn’t have the capacity to bring someone in who was going to be as good as Konsa straight away.

"Obviously, they wanted to sign Joel Ordoñez from Club Brugge, but he had an injury that Villa weren’t going to wait on over the next few months, shall we say. So, it made sense to me that Lindelöf at least had his opportunity. I think that was the key thing: giving him an opportunity to play as Konsa’s replacement and then bringing in a younger player.

"Obviously, Harwood-Bellis hasn’t been at the level that Emery would have liked so far, but that isn’t to say he won’t be over the next three months or even next season. If Lindelöf can stay fit and continue playing at the level he’s playing at, then I’m not too worried about that.

"I think, with this situation, you can rely on Lindelöf to continue playing well. It’s more about Harwood-Bellis and how quickly he can get up to speed. Emery spoke well about that situation after the game at Newcastle, mentioning how Harwood-Bellis can take Lindelöf as an example in his career.

"He can not only learn from the way Lindelöf plays within Villa’s structure but also use him as an example of what it means to be a top professional. Lindelöf, Mings, McGinn and other players, including Cash, are really important in bridging the gap for new players coming into this environment. They also help set the standards of professionalism."

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How likely is it that Jackson scores more than 19 and Manzambi scores more than 10?

"You would have to say it’s unlikely, because we’ve had lots of good strikers down the years. Not necessarily in a Premier League team as good as this one, but equally, I think he can definitely hit 15 goals. I just think getting towards 20 means you have to have a really good season. He can do it, so I’m not saying he can’t.

"Manzambi, I think, is a player who can also, as you say, get into double figures, probably in both goals and assists. That’s exactly what you want from your replacement for Rogers. For me, it strikes me that we now have options across that front line. It’s not just about having the depth to fill in when players are unavailable or out of form, but having options who can win games and make telling impacts.

"I didn’t expect Joao Gomes to provide an assist for the one goal we scored against Newcastle, but he did, and it was a Manzambi header of all things. Mbaye, as well, nearly scored a couple of goals, especially the one where he came in from the left.

"Villa are now a real threat on the counter-attack, too. We saw that a few times against Fenerbahçe and again against Newcastle. I don’t think Villa have previously had that kind of weapon: an electric counterattack that poses a genuine threat. Opponents now have to be aware of that when committing numbers forward, whether from set pieces or in open play.

"So, I think Villa now have a new way of playing, with different players capable of scoring goals and creating opportunities. Alysson, too, has only really come into the team properly this season. I think we’re in a really good place with that forward line. I really do. I think we have better options than last year, and that’s not to discount what Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers did for us, not just last season but in previous campaigns as well.

"It just feels like we have really strong options now, with two players for each position, which I really like. The only thing is that some of those guys are so young that you have to be careful. There’s a chance that Manzambi might come off the boil for three or four games, perhaps. I don’t think he will, because I think he’s that good, but it could happen because he’s so young. He’s only just turned 21, Mbaye is 18 and Madjo is 17. We haven’t really seen much of him in recent weeks because of his injury. But he’s obviously still very young as well.

"So, it’s really exciting. Villa are in a position where those players - I don’t want to talk about them in this way, but they’re assets for the future, too. Manzambi, by the way, is already increasing in value by probably tens of millions of pounds. Jackson is absolutely justifying his price tag, and probably then some.

"I think we have to praise our recruitment, particularly for those two players. If you can also get a player like him through the door, as we did, then I think you have to give the recruitment team credit."

What do we do at left-back this week?

"Maatsen is due to return to training this week, so I don’t know which day that will be. Hopefully, it’s not Friday. Hopefully, it’s today. We’ll see. I mean, there’ll be an open training session for the Viking game. We’ll be hoping that Maatsen is there and that he can play against City. I can’t imagine he’ll be available for Wednesday, though, to be honest. I think it would be too soon, even if he does train beforehand.

"So, yeah, I think it’ll be Mings at left-back. He’s said to Unai that if you need me there, I’ll play there. Not that he needs to tell him that to get the opportunity, but I’m not quite sure how well he played against Newcastle.

"I think it’s difficult to criticise or even praise him for that performance at left-back because it was only the last 10 minutes of a game. That’s very different from starting a match against either City or Feyenoord. We’ll have to see how it goes, but obviously, it’s an issue for us."

What can Villa achieve this season?

"Who is better than Villa in the league right now? And I’m talking about Villa at this stage of their rebuild, so to speak. I think they’ve turned a corner now.

"If you’re being a glass-half-full sort of person, you’d say Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton and Chelsea. That’s four teams. I wouldn’t necessarily say Liverpool are better than Villa, or Brentford and some of those other teams, especially now that I think we’re looking a bit stronger.

"Adding to the point Dan makes about City, I think there’s a real opportunity for us to get back into the Champions League. I didn’t think I’d be saying that a few weeks ago, or even at the start of the season, to be honest. I just feel like we’re in a much better position now.

"If someone argues that Liverpool are better than Villa, well, not by that much. And, bearing in mind it’s 19 October, Liverpool could obviously improve too, but considering all the changes Villa have had to deal with, I think we’ve adapted pretty quickly already.

"We also have Unai Emery. Obviously, the Champions League will take a lot out of the team, and so on. However, there’s a chance we might not make the quarter-finals this season, or even the semi-finals, which could leave us with a run of six or seven games towards the end of the campaign where we can focus purely on finishing fourth or fifth, or wherever we can get to.

"It’s an interesting season for us because we know how important getting back into the Champions League is, particularly when it comes to capitalising on the additional revenue it brings. If we qualify, that would mean three Champions League campaigns in four seasons.

"It doesn’t feel like such a distant dream anymore, given the situations at other clubs. I think that’s an important point to make. I also wanted to quickly bring up the Carabao Cup. Bradford or Peterborough in the quarter-finals? Great draw! Bradford have done us before, though, haven’t they?

"There’s also Manchester City against Brighton, which will obviously be a tough game. Then you’ve got Fulham and Palace, Sunderland and Brentford, and the other games are Liverpool against Chelsea and Everton against Newcastle.

"Apart from the City-Brighton and Liverpool-Chelsea ties, and obviously Arsenal, there are quite a few teams still in the competition. What I’m getting at is that if we can get through Bournemouth, which is realistic given their upcoming fixtures against AC Milan, Manchester United, Villa and Leeds, that’s a horrible run of games for them.

"I know they beat Sunderland, although I think Sunderland are going through a difficult spell. But if Villa can get through Bournemouth, which I think we definitely can, and then draw one of the teams that aren’t among the big boys, all of a sudden we’re in a semi-final.

"The only disappointment for me is the Villa Park factor. It’s a shame that we might not have a full Villa Park for a semi-final if we get there, but that’s something we’re going to have to deal with this season."

How excited can we get after signing these youngsters?

"We need to be cautious, absolutely. Although I’ve spent the last 10 minutes saying we could get back to that level, at the same time, you have to analyse the situation realistically. Our most important asset at the club is Unai Emery. We have him this season and, hopefully, for many campaigns beyond this one. That’s the foundation for our belief.

"You can talk about the amazing talent we have now and the young players who will increase in value while hopefully helping us achieve all our objectives and ambitions. But we can’t kid ourselves: Unai is the key to all of this, and we need him to stay for at least the next few seasons.

"Obviously, we’ll also have 50,000-plus fans in the stadium next season, which is something to really look forward to. I think we’ve now seen the rebirth of this team, from those 6-0 away wins against Spurs to the recent performance against Newcastle. Things have started to come together. For me, though, next season represents another hugely exciting period in our recent history.

"But coming back to this campaign, we still have an opportunity to capitalise on Manchester United appointing Michael Carrick permanently. Chelsea will also have some missteps along the way, I think. Martinez is another factor to consider, too. We’ll see how Penders gets on, but there are other clubs going through periods of transition as well. And with Manchester City, what on earth is going to happen there?

"We talk about Emery saying there are seven teams ahead of us. Well, if City aren’t one of them, that brings it down to six. And where are Newcastle going? I think they’re heading in entirely the wrong direction.

"Realistically, I do think Villa are around the fifth or sixth-best team in the league, even with all the changes we’ve made. So why can’t we qualify for the Champions League again? And beyond that, why can’t we establish ourselves in those positions and consolidate our place among the top teams?

"We just need to concentrate on ourselves. Manchester United could finish 12th this season and then spend loads of money in the summer, with everyone talking about how well they’ve recruited. But that doesn’t matter to us. We need to focus on what Villa are doing.

"All those other clubs are making changes behind the scenes, but look at what we’ve achieved over the last few years. We’ve collected the fourth-highest points tally in the league, reached a Champions League semi-final and won the Europa League.

"We’ve focused on ourselves, recruited well and, I think, replaced some really important players who have moved on. Now we have a younger squad and, I assume, a lower wage bill as well."