2009/10 Season preview - Aston Villa
2008/09 Season - It was a strange time for Aston Villa last season. Despite holding 4th position for much of the year, their dreadful form in the run in meant that they were seen as disappointments. Their excellent early season form was spearheaded by their front line of Ashley Young, Gabby Agbonlahor and John Carew. Young and Agbonlahor provided the pace, with Carew contributing with his height and power. This was supplemented with the always underrated Brad Friedel in goal and Danish centre back Martin Laursen. Laursen's departure from the team through injury and then retirement coincided with Villa eventually dropping out of the race for Champions League qualification. To finish 6th when it looked like they were going to breach the top 4 must surely go down as a missed opportunity.
2009/10 Season - Villa will be looking to improve on last season and make a more concerted approach for the top 4 this season. Overcoming the loss of Gareth Barry will be difficult, he has been arguably their most consistent player over the past few seasons. So far only Stewart Downing and Fabian Delph have been brought to the club and Downing will be sidelined for a few months yet. A trophy would help cement O'Neill's legacy at Villa and with a relatively poor showing in the cups last year, this would be something to work towards. It is time for Villa to push on this season.
Transfer campaign - The signing of Stewart Downing is likely to prove a canny one, however he is missing until at least Christmas. Likewise signing Fabian Delph is a good move although he is arguably one for the future rather than the present. The departure of Gareth Barry was a blow and O'Neill will surely look to replace him before the window closes. Stuart Taylor's decision to join Barry at Man City leaves Villa short in goal so an experienced deputy will be needed. Defence is where Villa must really recruit with no Laursen or Knight, O'Neill's side look dangerously stretched at the back.
Transfers in
Stewart Downing - Middlesbrough - £12m
Fabian Delph - Leeds United - undisclosed
Transfers out
Stuart Taylor - Manchester City - free transfer
Gareth Barry - Manchester City - £12m
Sam Williams - Yeovil - free transfer
Zat Knight - Bolton - undisclosed
First XI - The lack of new faces in the Villa squad means that the potential starting line up for the new season has a familiar look about it. Stiliyan Petrov will attempt to plug the gap left by Barry's exit whilst their main attacking threat will come from the wings with James Milner and Ashley Young able to switch flanks if and when necessary. It is at the back where they look the most vulnerable with a relatively slow back line susceptible to quick counter attacking football.
1 Friedel
2 L. Young - 24 Cuellar - 15 Davies - 21 Shorey
8 Milner - 19 Petrov - 4 Sidwell - 7 A. Young
10 Carew - 11 Agbonlahor
The manager - No matter where Martin O'Neill has managed, whether it be at Wycombe, Leicester or Celtic, he has always been admired by the majority of fans. He is the type of manager who one would want if they were not happy with the present incumbent at their club. A lot of that is to do with his enthusiasm, he kicks and heads every ball like he did in his heyday at Nottingham Forest. In his pre and post match interviews he is witty, articulate and like his mentor Brian Clough you want to listen to him. It will be a big season for him this time round with last year providing enough evidence that Villa can once again challenge at the top end of the table.
Mr. Reliable - There is surely not a more consistent goalkeeper in the Premier League than Brad Friedel, since signing for Villa, it is hard to remember him making any major mistakes. His major strength is probably his shot stopping ability and for someone who has age creeping up on him his agility is still outstanding. In fact it makes one wonder why he failed at Liverpool, in a time when they were in desperate need of a top notch keeper. He will have to be at his best once again this season with an uncertain back line playing in front of him.
Creative force - Villa's main creative force is winger Ashley Young. Although he tired towards the end of the season, Young was excellent last year. His impressive performances were rewarded with the PFA young player of the year. It's surprising with the lack of quality English wingers that he has made more of an impact on the international stage. Indeed often he does not even make the squad. Young's displays last season were so good that he apparently caught the eye of Real Madrid and Barcelona. This is no surprise as his cutting edge performances on the left wing made him the envy of the majority of teams in the league.
Youth prospect - On the face of it one might think that Nathan Delfouneso will not get much playing time for Villa this season. The young striker is surely behind Gabby Agbonlahor, John Carew, Emile Heskey and even Marlon Harewood in the pecking order. However Martin O'Neill will want to make sure that Agbonlahor does not suffer burn out as he did last season whilst Carew is notoriously injury prone. Heskey has never been a regular scorer and Harewood may be on his way out of the club. Delfouneso has impressed for England under 19's this summer and this season may be where he makes a big step up.
The fixtures - The most important games for Villa fans this year will surely be their clashes with newly promoted neighbours Birmingham and Wolves. Villa travel to St Andrews on 13th September and Molineux on 24th October, with the return games being 21st March (Wolves) and 25th April (Birmingham). Villa face a tricky Christmas period with a trip to Arsenal on Boxing day followed by a home game with Liverpool just two days later. These game are preceded by a meeting with Man United at Old Trafford two weeks before. Villa kick off their season by welcoming Wigan to Villa Park and end it facing Blackburn.
Home grown talent - Villa have a healthy home talent quota in their ranks with the likes of Sidwell, Shorey, Heskey, Reo Coker, Agbonlahor, Davies, Milner, Ashley and Luke Young. Martin O'Neill has ways put his faith in his English players, rarely does he sign a lot of players from abroad. This has continued this summer with the signings of Downing and Delph. With FIFA likely to instigate their 6+5 rule in the next couple of years, Villa are well set.
Season prediction - Villa fans will surely be expecting their team to make a big push for Champions League qualification this season but is that going to happen? Having lost Barry and Laursen, Villa's team is weaker than last season and with minimal transfer activity so far, they have not improved in any major way. However some of their rivals have. Man City have brought in quality and Tottenham have also have some fresh faces. If Villa do not make a splash in the transfer market they run the risk of getting left behind. Unfortunately currently it is hard to see them even matching last season's 6th-place finish. Prediction - 7th
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