Mike Taylor, BBC Radio WM

A second stumbling defeat in the first three League games has created some unwelcome tension among Villa’s supporters. The only consensus among the fans, though, appears to be in the collective disappointment at the way Villa have started after all the pre-season expectations.

At least they have had a good League Cup win to celebrate – with over 5,000 Villa fans present in Bolton.

Villa appeared to have succeeded in getting the majority of their transfer business done early in the summer, giving Steven Gerrard an advantage no doubt coveted by other managers.

On the whole, Villa have been remarkably stealthy in making transfers in recent times, but news of the attempt to sign Ismaila Sarr emerged over the weekend, before the deal apparently fell flat.

He would probably have been a handy addition, but it was surprising news in view of the apparent top priority now being to cover for Diego Carlos in defence.

Gerrard was non-committal last week when asked if Villa would move to sign more cover for Carlos, but the departure of Kortney Hause on loan to Watford surely implies that they intend to do something. The fact that they bought Carlos in the first place indicates Villa weren’t content with the options in that area.

But whatever squad he is left with by the end of next week, Villa fans will expect to see some concrete progress in the next few months. Barely a fortnight after starting the season with optimism that they would now be a much slicker unit, there is little evidence at the moment that Gerrard is any nearer to solving the puzzles that laid Dean Smith low last autumn.

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