The last time the Villain’s had something good to shout about, Martin O’Neill was working his magic at the midlands club. Since then no successor of the Irishman has been able to cast the same spells that saw him have so much success.
Good English talent was what made this period such a great one for Villa with James Milner, Stewart Downing, Gareth Barry and Ashley Young being amongst the names who were in the starting eleven on a regular basis.
Things have been a bit topsy turvy since O’Neil decided to end his time at the club in 2010. Gerard Houllier took the reign’s that year and tried to build upon his predecessor’s good work but he had little luck in doing so. The one great decision the former Liverpool coach did make was securing the services of England international Darren Bent for £24m in January 2011.
Former Sunderland goal machine Bent cannot even find a spot on Paul Lambert’s bench this season as Christian Benteke continues to flourish under the Scot’s stewardship. It is arguable to say that a partnership between the two could see the claret and blue firing on all cylinders.
This week Lambert has come out and explained the reasons for leaving his number 9 out of the match day squad. The former Norwich City boss told Sky sport’s this week, that the players being selected for the games are the ones who he feels are most capable of winning the game. Surely a player of Bent’s quality breaks this rule by being clinical in front of goal. Regardless of his lack of work rate the former Ipswich youngster’s movement is second to none.
Selection is not the only thing that is worrying me about Villa at this moment in time. The lack of investment that was put into the team this summer is astonishing. Young talent from the football league and some very modestly priced additions from Europe are the only changes from last season’s squad. With that in mind the first question that pops into my head is what happened to the money generated from the transfers of key members of O’Neill’s squad. To start with James Milner and Gareth Barry were sold to Manchester City for a combined fee of £38m in the summer of 2010, which is when the Irishman departed.
A large portion of that fee was used to purchase Stephen Ireland from City, along with Jean Il Makoun from Lyon and the aforementioned Bent from Sunderland. These three transfers weighed in at £32m leaving the club with 7m leftover. Since then Makoun has been sent on loan to Stade Rennais, Ireland is forcing his way back into the first team and the previously mentioned Bent has been frozen out.
The following summer Ashley Young was sold to Manchester United for £17m and Stewart Downing went to Liverpool for £20m, providing Villa with £27m to play with. Shay Given’s move to Manchester City, coupled with Charles N’Zogbia’s transfer from Wigan and Alan Hutton joining from Tottenham, saw another £16.5m being spent. A total of £10.5m was leftover from the summer of 2011’s transfer activity. So far in the 2012/13 season none of these three players have had much involvement in the squad and Hutton looks set to leave in January.
Over the last two seasons’ the Villain’s reinvestment in playing staff has seen very little success on the pitch. Luckily in Lambert they have a manager who has a fantastic eye for a player, especially when it comes to his knowledge of the lower divisions, which many of the current crop at his former club have rose from. At Norwich City the Scot had a very good track record for signing talented individuals who he was able to integrate into his squad very quickly. Ashley Westwood and Joe Bennett are already starting to prove their worth. Ultimately patience could see Villa fulfill their potential once again.
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.
You my friend are just another doom and gloom merchant!
Let us set the record straight, Darren Bent is not the greatest thing since slice bread! Just a very lazy player who happens to score the odd goal and even that he does not do very well these days!
If I were the Manager I would sell him and get as much as I can for him and then re-invest the money in the team. The can do the same with Ireland too. I would much sooner have a young team with the right attitude than lots of lazy prepaid Prima Donna’s!
So let us all get behind a great Manager and great Team which in 2-3 years from will be challenging very strongly for Europe.
The Recipe for success is A Very Fit, Well-disciplined, skilful side who are prepared to give their all for Aston Villa!
So let us all roll up our sleeves stop talking nonsense and cheer our team o great things! When I was on the Terraces in the 1960’s the fans get behind their team and at home the crowd was worth a 2-goal start before the game had even started! So rather than be a moaner or whinger, why not start doing your bit for the cause, then you will have a Club and Team and Manager to be really proud of
MAC
What a rubbish article. The title ‘the gradual drop and potential rise’ – well the drop wasn’t gradual for a start – we went from CL challengers to relegation candidates in one season – and have been there ever since.
your point about the finances – not many clubs except Man C, Man u, Chelsea have money these days. WBA show what can be achieved with very little, as have many others such as Everton.
The rise in our fortunes, will be taking punts on lower league \ overseas players – selling these on at a profit. Lamberts done pretty well so far – with Westwood, Lowton, Benteke, looking good deals at the money paid.