da dobrowin： Aston Villa endured a terrible campaign last term under the management (and I use that term loosely) of Alex McLeish – the disbelief that the man who had just overseen local rivals Birmingham City relegated from the top flight only to then be offered the job of replacing Gerard Houllier was only matched with what rotten fare was on offer on the pitch, with a clutch of talented players seemingly at odds with an overly negative, joyless style of play.
da casino： The fact that the club were dragged, albeit briefly, into the relegation mire last term is worth remembering and they finished a good nine points and six league places off the Midlands best team last season, West Brom. While under-performance is intertwined with underachievement, the arrival of former Norwich boss Paul Lambert will not act as a magic wand to cure all of the club’s evident ills, even if it is somewhat tempting to view him as such.
They appear to have bought wisely so far this summer, with Brett Holman, Karim El Ahmadi and Ron Vlaar all solid if unspectacular signings, while the return of the club’s star striker Darren Bent will provide the side with a goalscoring outlet they missed for large portions of last season.
One To Watch – Stephen Ireland
If nothing tells you how poorly the club were last season in the league, then the fact that Ireland was awarded with the Fans’ Player of the Year award, despite making just 16 ropey performances devoid of consistency and spark tell its own story as he was shackled by McLeish’s dour tactics.
But it’s the dawning of a new day at Villa Park now and Paul Lambert appears to be a fan of the former Manchester City midfielder, telling the club’s official website two weeks ago: “He’s a real talent, there’s no doubt about that. It shows when he plays because there is a lot of creativity there, just like Charles (N’Zogbia). They are both really talented footballers. We will try to get the best out of them because they are very very clever footballers. We’ve got to get him in positions where he can hurt teams. I’ve got a fair idea of what I want to do with it.”
When he’s fit and on form, Ireland is an exceptional player that didn’t look out of his depth alongside the likes of Robinho and Carlos Tevez and City. If they manage to integrate him into the new-look side, he could be the perfect creative foil for Bent up top as they seek to add more cutting edge to their forward play.
Breakthrough Year – Gary Gardner
The club appear to have plenty of numbers in central midfield currently within the squad, but it remains to be seen whether the likes of Jean Makoun, Fabian Delph and Barry Bannan have a future under Lambert, while Stiliyan Petrov is a long-term absence as he continues his recuperation from leukaemia.
This could potentially leave a gap open for a ball-playing box-to-box midfielder and Gary Gardner, the 20 year-old England U-21 international could be set to make his big break and on the surface, he seems like a Lambert sort of player.
He’s been highly rated around the club ever since some standout performances in the inaugural NextGen series, a sort of Champions League for younger players, with a notable hat-trick coming against Dutch giants Ajax. After slowly but surely forcing his way onto the bench in the second half of last season, he could be set to make the next big leap this term given the lack of alternatives around and his own burgeoning reputation within the game.
Predictions
A few facts to bring you about Aston Villa’s league form last season – they drew 17 games, five more than anyone else in the entire league. They scored just 37 goals all season, with only Stoke (36) registering fewer. They failed to score in 15 separate league games which was again, the most in the league alongside newly-promoted Swansea City and they finished just two points outside of the relegation zone.
With all of that in mind, considering they also have a new manager at the helm, a comfortable mid-table finish around 12th could be just what the club needs as they seek to hold the slide that’s gripped them ever since Martin O’Neill departed just four days before the start of the 2010-11 season.
Lambert gets his sides playing both on the deck and in the air, and it’s this versatility and ability to switch seamlessly between styles which should serve Villa well this season. Getting the most out of the club’s creative talents such as Ireland, N’Zogbia, Albrighton and Bannan is of paramount importance as the squad on the whole, while it may be short in areas, has a nice blend of youth and experience within it.
When it comes to the cup competitions, they will be looking to do better this season than a fourth-round FA Cup exit and third-round League Cup one, but the onus must be on the league. This is a season of consolidation as the club seek to add some stability both on and off the pitch after a series of poor managerial appointments and all of the upheaval these bring with them.
They look as if they have one of the brightest young managers in the game and patience will be needed at times, but the fact that he’s not Alex McLeish is already a good start. They should have enough not to see a repeat of last season, but expectations need to be realistic and a top ten finish must be the pinnacle of their ambitions, in the short-term at least, as they seek a bigger push in the future.
You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1
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