BIG RON'S UNFINISHED SYMPHONY

ON the night big-time show-biz returned to Villa Park, the leading performers were struck by stage fright.

After Saturday's appetising overture at Hillsborough, Ron Atkinson's men were sadly out of tune in the second movement of their own New World symphony.

This was more like the unfinished symphony, very much a movement-by-numbers desperately trying to merge into a real music.

Yet the preliminaries had been so promising. Atkinson was presented with a Barclays Special award to mark his achievements with Wednesday last season, and at kick-off time the chant “Villa, Villa" echoed with greater volume than it has for nearly a decade.

By the end, though, the subdued atmosphere of acceptance on the Holte End reflected how Villa had played

The current Old Trafford unit has been four or five years in the making, and how it showed against a home side who are barely even on first name terms at the moment.

On paper, the teams were ultimately separated only by Steve Bruce's penalty following Gordon Cowans’ trip on Bryan Robson.

With Robson and Paul Ince clear winners of the midfield battle against Cowans and Kevin Richardson, United were deliberate and purposeful, while Villa sadly lacked direction.

If the expectancy level was much too high in the wake of opening day euphoria, however, it should be remembered that Atkinson's team is only at the embryo stage - and there were several promising signs. - Shaun Teale, with the exception of the initial slip which led to United's penalty, never put a foot wrong;

Steve Staunton turned in a stylish display at left-back; Gary Penrice looked sharp and menacing. And veteran Cyrille Regis, who expected to be no more than a squad player when he signed on a free transfer, has quickly established himself as Villa's most dangerous forward.

His magnificent 23rd minute header from a Cowans corner smacked unluckily against a post, and almost immediately his deflected drive was turned over an inviting goal by Dwight Yorke.

That unfortunately was the home side's only real spell of sustained pressure. Atkinson would appear to have the necessary components. His task now is assembling them into a smooth-running machine. On his own admission, they are far from the finished article. Too many of us overlooked that fact after Saturday's amazing recovery.