If these rumours are true, we could be in for a much less successful season next term, so enjoy this one while it lasts
It’s not exactly new information, but it is now time that it’s ugly head needs to be reared and dealt with as an imminent reality. The word on the street is that Randy Lerner is suffering due to the credit crunch and won’t be in a position to fork out for the players we so desperately need to continue our growth and to complete the job we were doing so well at for a large part of this season.
It is being suggested that we will need to sell in order to raise cash for transfers, with Harewood, Shorey, Knight and Gardner mentioned by the Express & Star.
Progress-wise I wouldn’t be averse to seeing them go, but I do have my reservations;
- Gardner is a great bloke to have in the squad as he will always give 100% and is very versatile
- Shorey is finally starting to look the part and there is no guarantee that Bouma will be able to rekindle his old form and fitness, so we could be left exposed at left back (which we all know would see Luke Young switched to there and a makeshift RB drafted in)
- Knight is a lifelong Villa fan, so as one myself, I will always have a bond with him, I concede that we would probably be better off cashing in though
- Harewood wouldn’t be a great loss but is doubtful to raise the kind of cash that would buy us anyone great
As mentioned though, none of these would bring us rakes of cash, so we’d probably only get one big player from selling all four of them and we have already shown that to grow, we need both a bigger and better squad.
You have to sympathise with Lerner in some ways; the guy has done some great stuff for the club so far and has raised us from a club who were struggling to stay in the top flight, to pushing on the Big Four and knocking on the Champions League’s door. But until we achieve that goal, the club will probably cost him more in transfers than he will make back and at the end of the day the guy is a businessman.
If we made it into the Champions League for a few seasons and started to progress in the competition, then he would be laughing, but he must be seeing that as a very big IF right now, with the US and the UK in financial struggles and his fortunes looking far from stable.
The irony is, that to get the kind of money we need, we’d have to sell the players who are most likely to get us there. You have to fancy that Barry will be going either way, which will bring us some money (not as much as last summer’s figure, but still not a bad figure) but also the rumours of Chelsea offering big money for Ashley Young could prove very tempting for Lerner.
The Champions League has distorted football since it’s inception, making the top clubs so much harder to compete with. If you can get into it you have much more chance of staying in it, but now that we have the Big Four situation here, it is going to take years for any club to properly get amongst them, even Man City will need time. How they can fix it is a whole-nother subject and all ideas have their downfalls. Maybe they could limit how much of the earnings can be spent on signing new players and paying wages, but as I say that’s another topic for another day.
So will he be willing to splash the cash this summer? Is his heart and faith strong enough to take the risk during a time of uncertainty or will he play it safe and risk the wrath of some fans?
DEBATE: Tiredness? Small squad? Inexperience? Incapability? What IS Aston Villa’s problem?
Aston Villa’s recovery from their winless streak lasted for just one match! Not the best.
You can’t take anything away from Fulham; they played well and deserved to beat us, but it served to severely deflate a huge number of Villa fans who thought we had re-found our winning form of earlier in the season and were going to go unbeaten for the last 4 games. We’d already left it late enough to start winning again, but we still had 5th in our grasp and if we won our games we would secure it. Whatever your opinion in the grand scale, 5th IS an improvement over 6th, so it would’ve been another season of climbing up the league ladder (whether that climb is quick enough is your own opinion and for another debate, not this one).
But Villa blew it after just one win and now have 2 games left which we will have to win because Everton won’t be letting us get away with it again. We have the tough task of facing 2 teams fighting for their Premier League status though (Newcastle and Boro), so they will be real dogfights.
What has caused our slide?
At earlier points in the season we occupied 4th place and even made it look pretty secure. We had a big gap over Arsenal and were flying high, winning almost every time we walked out onto the park. We looked uncatchable and destined to be in next season’s Champions League qualification games. Then it all went tits up!
We gave up our lead and let Arsenal back in (not just back in but let them fly away ahead of us) and now we find ourselves relying on Everton to draw to keep hold of 5th. What went wrong?
Was it our small squad? Are you tired of hearing that we have a small squad, especially when MON didn’t utilise January to fill it out?
Was it our January signings that knocked confidence out of the players and made them feel like the club wasn’t aiming as high as they were? All we brought in was Emile Heskey (who has never been Mr Popularity), who is not going to score 20 goals and lead us to the top of the league and Arsenio Halfuid, who is for the youth system for now.
Is it Martin O’Neill? He has many more fans than critics (maybe not right now), but there are plenty out there who believe that MON is no divine saviour and it has been his ineptitude, particularly in the transfer market that has led to our recent downturn in fortunes. (Personally, I’m not in this group; yeah he’s having a mare at the minute but look where he’s got us from and to)
Was it the ‘throwing away’ of the UEFA Cup that caused the problems? Did the way we seemed to concede knock the stuffing out of us and lead us into this awful run-in?
What’s your opinion? Who or what do you blame for Villa’s dramatic change to the season? Click comment and add your views to the debate.
HAVE YOUR SAY – Can anyone see Barry staying at Villa Park?
Last summer it was the biggest rollercoaster transfer saga of the summer. It even got more press coverage than the Ronaldo-to-Real-Madrid speculation. And this year it has already started;
Will Gareth Barry leave Aston Villa after 11 great years?
Barry is (currently) part of a dying breed of one-club-men, having played his entire professional career for the Villa. He has made 434 appearances and is 8th in the all-time list (but still over 200 games away from Charlie Aitken). The man has been through some real crap times with the Villa and has played in almost every position on the park. He earnt his England wings with Villa (twice). He has been captain for us, though he lost that honour for a while after last summer’s shenanigans.
Barry has given his view on the potential summer saga:
“I’ve learnt a lot from what happened and last season I learned a lot off the pitch
“I’m looking for a completely opposite scale of things and I’m confident it won’t be one of those sagas again.
“There are things I’ll do differently. I’m not dreading it at all. I know what’s coming. It’s not something you dread, it’s part of the game.
“From the experience of last year I’m hoping to deal with it better.
“It would be disrespectful to the fans and the club if I’m thinking about anything else rather than trying to get maximum points from the last four games – that’s where my head is at this moment.
“It will definitely be a difficult decision but we’ll see where we are at the end of the season before making any decision. It’s always going to be a tough one, no matter what happens.
“A lot of the spotlight was on me because of what happened in the summer so it was important I just got my head down and did what I try and do. That’s what’s happened.
“It’s helped with the way my team-mates have played, there’s a lot of individuals who have performed very highly, so being part of a successful team helps.
“I’ve been happy with the way I’ve been playing and, touch wood, I’ve managed to stay fit again and play the majority of the games.”
Does that give us any insight into Barry’s plans beyond the summer? Or is just the same old stuff that all players always say?
Villa without Barry, for most, is an unimaginable thought and there are many fearing the club would collapse on the pitch without his influence. But there are also some that feel we would be better off without him. Barry has been at Villa for a donkey’s yonk and is part of the furniture, but whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is subject to some debate.
How could Villa replace Barry on the field? Many names have been mentioned, but many have not got the experience necessary for Villa to maintain their league position next year. Other names have an attraction in not necessarily being as good as Barry but maybe more suitable to the fast, attacking style we play.
Myself, I think Barry is superb and a large part of why we have been top 6 for the last 2 seasons and it would be nigh on impossible to replace his vision and precision without spending the kind of money we’re unlikely to have available. Occasionally though, I find myself thinking; Sod it, let him leave, get it over with and let’s begin to rebuild around his absence and there’s no point keeping a player who doesn’t have his heart in it.
The injury to Laursen adds to the desire to keep a rock like Barry and means we will have less to spend on a midfielder as we will have to buy an expensive defender in the summer now.
Villa should focus on 5th and the Europa League and drop the Champions League ambitions for now
OK, so I haven’t chose to ‘lower my ambitions’ easily or without much soul searching, but here’s the way I see it. We showed our squad isn’t even big enough for Europe’s second string cup with our Moscow debacle. We have also shown with the way we have fallen apart in the last 2 months, that we don’t have enough stamina and experience near the top at the business end to go the distance in the league.
It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking. And just as much it’s humbling. We have spent a long time being really convinced that we can make it to the Champions League by finishing 4th. Now don’t get me wrong, I will still be plugging for us to get ever higher in the league, but ultimately I think for the better of the club we should aim to finish 5th and really try to compete in next year’s UEFA Cup (which will be named the Europa League).
Why in the f@#k the dramatic U-turn?
The reason for me changing my tune is that I think Villa will stand a better chance of long-term growth if we do it a little slower. Just imagine if we made the Champions League this year; We’d either have to field the Moscow team and get embarrassed or we’d have to field full strength in that and suffer in the league, meaning we wouldn’t be able to maintain a 4th placed finish and therefore be one-hit wonders in the Champions League.
We have suffered greatly this last 2 months and a part of that has come from our confidence being knocked when it began to look like we might not hold onto 4th. However, if the team had been focussing on 5th all along, it may not have been such a kick-in-the-confidence to lose a couple and we may have picked our heads up sooner.
So what’s the plan, Stan?
If we can finish 5th this season then we will have made progress. Not much, just one position, but up here in the heady heights of Premier League’s top six one position can be a big step. A 5th-placed finish would give us Europa League football next season and that should be our ambition. If we can do well in that Cup, or even better win it, then we can earn revenue and status from it, which can help us to attract players and build a better, fuller squad.
Whereas if we do it as a Champions League one-hit wonder we won’t be able to keep hold of the players we attract. I guess a large part of the giving up hope of Champions League for next season (apart from the fact that it is now almost beyond our reach) is the news that Lerner doesn’t have a bottomless pit of money to throw at the club.
Am I actually lowering my ambitions?
Hell no! I actually think I’m raising them. By doing it slowly, by beginning with Europa League success, we can press on from there and aim to become fixtures in the Champions League. And that is what we all want. That is the holy grail. That and to begin to push for winning the league in future years.
Martin O’Neill has been right all along. It’s a long term plan. Let’s still aim to be in the Champions League. Just not for a coupla years.
O’Neill has no idea… any of us dare to venture a guess?
Morning, morning, morning Villa fans! How are we all today? I’m sound, thanks for asking 
My 9 month old daughter has already done 2 cacks today though, which kinda takes the shine outta things, and she’s straining like there’s more on the way! I write these at 6am y’see, and then sechedule them to upload around midday. Oh well, we’re not here to discuss my little girl’s bowel movements or my morning routine, so let’s get onto business:
“I’ve no idea,” he replied to Setanta’s Darrell Currie when asked where he thought Villa would be in a year’s time. “Honestly.”
The above quote is lifted from a Setanta Sports interview with Martin O’Neill, in which he also talked up the progress that Spurs and Man City will make next season, claiming that our push for the Top 4 will be more difficult with those 2 also doing the same. It surprises me massively that he makes no mention of Everton, as I believe they are more likely than either of those 2 to be in the thick of the fight. Just look how well they are doing this season, under huge injury woes. But this isn’t EvertonBlog.com, so let’s leave their potential threats aside for now.
Where will we be in a year’s time?
It’s a question that many of us Villa fans have avoided answering, particularly in this period of pessimism, where everything we touch seems to be turning into another loss (or draw on a good day!).
In the last 5-6 years many teams have had a good season, putting pressure on the top four (Everton, Spurs and now us) or even just a season where they do better than usual (Bolton, Fulham, Middlesbrough, us) but the following season they often have a mare (us, Everton, Spurs). So will next season see us push on with the progress we’ve shown this season or will we see a decline in our fortunes?
In the same interview, O’Neill hinted that the funding for transfers this summer will not be vast, and having seen his limited activities in January, you can’t help but think that we will only be signing unproven, unready youngsters and/or players past their best.
So what do you reckon? Will Villa kick on and carry on growing next year? Or will we suffer a dismal / mediocre season next term?
THE MIDWEEK DEBATE: Will a rejuvinated Villa tear apart Spurs?
Now look 'ere you, believe what I say or I'll box your ears in!
Villa have spent a large part of the season being a somewhat unknown quantity, rising the short distance but large gulf from 6th to 4th. We have dominated games with some slick passing and some terrifying counter attacks. Our attacking style is fast and penetrating and has put many defences onto red alert this season.
But recently we have been pretty blunt.
Has this been caused by us just having a bad few games? Or have teams got us figured out now?
Well personally I don’t believe we lost much other than confidence. We also didn’t have as many bad games as the press (and Arsenal fans) would like to have us believe. We played poorly against Man City and we fell asleep for the last 5 minutes against Stoke. The Russia game was a makeshift team and the Everton loss was no big thing to me; they wanted FA Cup success more than us. We played well against Chelsea and for most the Stoke game.
Morale
So myself, I think that how we play against Spurs is all down to the confidence of the lads. We are capable of getting a win in the game, but do the players remember that?
It’s one of the biggest tests of Martin O’Neill’s Villa stint so far, because it’s all on him to have done some great man-management over in Dubai and got the team back believing that 4th is ours and we will NOT give it up.
How has he done over there? Has he put the belief back in the side? Will we sprint out of the blocks and throw everything at Spurs?
Or has recent results and the knowledge of no silverware took it’s toll on the boys and we’ll go out limp and let Spurs bring the game to us?
(NB: Spurs comments welcome, but try not to be as big dumbasses as some of the Arsenal fans who’ve commented in the past )
Yesterday’s big debate: My opinion on MON’s squad
Hmmmm, now let me think about this one
The big debate here on Aston Villa Blog yesterday, saw the opinions of Villans well and truly split down the middle. Some of you are happy to forego the UEFA Cup in order to concentrate on chasing the new, higher goal of Champions League football. Some of you think that MON is making a big mistake and wasting a golden opportunity of winning a very prestigious competition, especially as this is the last ever time it will be held (it turns into the Europa League next season).
In my opinion, the biggest mistake O’Neill made was to name the squad he did. He knew full well that it was going to cause controversy amongst Villa fans and in the press. What he should’ve done was name a squad that included a few more first teamers and then put them on the bench. That way they get the rest they supposedly need and you keep the fans happy and united.
Plus, I’d like to have a few options like Barry, Young and Gabby available to bring on if the chips are down.
I suppose it is possible that he’s playing mindgames with the Russians and plans to lull them into a false sense of security, but if this is the case he needs to have been working very hard in training with these boys, because we’ve already seen most of them try and fail.
If we come back with a convincing victory, MON will be hailed as a mastermind but, until we see something that we’re not really expecting tonight, the jury will remain out.
TODAY’S BIG DEBATE: Is MON wrong to leave half the first team at home for UEFA Cup clash?
What's your opinion?
The squad for tomorrow’s clash with CSKA Moscow has been released and it isn’t likely to go down too well. A large number of first team players have beeen left out, including the entire midfield!
Barry, Milner, Petrov and Young will all stay home and listen on the radio, along with Gabby, Friedel and Heskey.
Cuellar, Reo-Coker, Laursen and Bouma also miss out through injury, leaving very few experienced players to fill out the squad. There is a (weak) team in there and then the rest is youngsters or out of favour players, such as Taylor, Osbourne and the Hare.
Here’s the squad:
Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan
Stuart Taylor
Elliott Parish
Defenders
Luke Young
Curtis Davies
Zat Knight
Nicky Shorey
Eric Lichaj
Ciaran Clark
Shane Lowry
Midfielders
Steve Sidwell
Moustapha Salifou
Craig Gardner
Isaiah Osbourne
Barry Bannan
Marc Albrighton
Forwards
Marlon Harewood
John Carew
Nathan Delfouneso
How do we feel about it?
Are Villa fans pleased to see the league and Champions League push being made a priority? Or do you feel robbed of an opportunity for European glory?
The squad almost looks like accepting defeat, with the plastic pitch already being a cause for concern, we now add to that the problems of a team not experienced or acccustomed to playing together. We have worked so hard to get this far in Europe and we have heard umpteen tales of woe from the gaffer about how we have been playing since July, but this almost makes all that look like a waste of time.
What about the fans who have spent small fortunes traveling to support the team in all the games that have got us to this point? To go out the competition to a team like AC Milan is one thing, but how will it feel to go out in a game we didn’t even seem to want to win?
Or is this a bold move and one that will be applauded if we come home with a victory?
Let’s debate how you feel about the squad. Fire away.
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