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Club Focus - Aston Villa - Goalless draw stunts top four chance
Aston Villa’s hopes of securing a Champions League place this season look very much in doubt as they succumbed to a goalless draw away to Stoke City.
While the Villans are still yet to be beaten in 2010, their hectic schedule has proved to be an obstacle in the way of fourth place. In the past two months, Villa have played 16 games in 66 days, equating to one every four days and each week Martin O’Neill’s players are showing signs of fatigue which is ultimately affecting their game. Turning their two games in hand into profit is looking increasingly problematic for the Midlands side who have drawn five of their last eight games, four of them being goalless. The Villa manager made his concerns clear, “We haven't lost a league game since four days after Christmas [1-0 to Liverpool], but we have to try to turn a couple of these draws into wins.”
Against Stoke, the ball spent most of the time in the air, with the strong wind preventing either side from neatly spreading the ball around the pitch. Defensively, the Villa back four were rugged, hoofing the ball clear at any opportunity and successfully dealing with 19 Rory Delap throw-ins. Villa played what little football there was with Stiliyan Petrov testing Thomas Sorensen from distance, John Carew deflecting Stewart Downing’s goal bound shot into the side netting, and James Milner coming close with a 20-yard free-kick. Most of the chances came from the midfield and O’Neill’s choice to leave Gabriel Agbonlahor on the bench with Emile Heskey and John Carew came to nothing in the end. They were both ineffective in front of goal and once again underlined Villa’s need for a prolific goal scorer. Between them, Heskey and Carew boast seven league goals in 44 appearances, whereas Agbonlahor has 11 in 27.
James Collins, who had an impressive game at centre-back on Saturday, made it clear that the squad is still optimistic about their top four credentials, “Teams have come here and been caused all sorts of problems so we think it's a point gained. We're in with a massive shout for fourth place. We've got games in hand and we've got a big one coming up at Wigan, when we'll be looking to win to push us closer to fourth. The confidence is high.” With two games in hand, the Villans cannot afford to drop anymore priceless points in the run-in to the end of the season, especially if the other teams in contention drop points as well.
Moving away from the league, David Beckham’s achilles tendon rupture has left the right side of the England midfield open for the taking, giving Fabio Capello more choice when decided who to take on the plane to South Africa. The Villa manager was quick to suggest two of his own players for the position, “if there is an opportunity there, we have one or two players who actually play and can excel in that position. My own view is that Ashley can play there very well indeed. Stewart Downing can play there very well indeed. I don't know what the thoughts are [of Capello] but there is still time.” Both wingers have been constantly consistent throughout the season, and whilst Ashley Young is quick and inventive, Stewart Downing has a little bit more experience. Both players have the ability to deliver top-quality crosses into the box and this would definitely be useful with Wayne Rooney’s and Peter Crouch’s aerial ability. If the two wingers continue to be effective for the Villans week in week out, then Capello might give one if not both of them a call-up to the England squad.
While the Villans have lost ground in the race for fourth place, their two games in hand may prove to be useful, providing they profit from them. With Villa’s top goal scorer, Gabriel Agbonlahor, looking to be fit for the clash against Wigan today, the Midlands side will want to get back to winning ways once again.
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