Back once again for the Rengade Master; Young, There’s only Juan Pablo Angel and Bolton game
Hi all, sorry for taking a few days off, I’m back now and there’s plenty of Villa fluff around the internet that is worth a mention.
First off, Ashley Young has been crowned PFA Young Player Of The Year, which some may see as a bit of a shock as we have been off form of late and so has he. But the PFA Awards are actually decided around February-ish from what I hear and that would make perfect sense as up till then he was flying high and playing superb. There may be some detractors around who aren’t convinced he deserves the award but I am a big fan of the boy and though he may be in a bit of a lull, I believe he will come back and be great some more for us (that’s if he doesn’t trap to Chelsea).
Next up, our old friend Juan Pablo Angel has popped up on the Villa site talking of his delight for our recent success (y’know, back when we were winning games and in the top four). Angel says he still has a lot of love for Villa and has been watching us maintain a top five position with joy. It lead me to thinking;
How would Angel fit into the current Villa set up?
I began imagining a 4-5-1 with Barry, Milner and Young supplying the South American with some tasty balls… and I couldn’t help but like the thought. He could get on the end of the crosses from our wingers and also get hold of through balls from Barry and Petrov. Maybe I’m glorifying him in his absence; remembering the good seasons and forgetting the bad.
Finally, the Bolton game. It wasn’t great was it? We played ok. I won’t give them any more praise than that but I won’t be any harder on them than that either. We created chances but not in the abundance we often do. We scored what can only really be described as a fluke goal and we conceded another cack goal.
Cuellar’s marking is very poor and I hold it to blame for the goal and the dropped 2 points. Harsh maybe, but man-marking is the first lesson you learn when you are 6 and you say to the PE teacher that you want to play in defence. So with an £8m international centre back it should come as part of the package surely. Cohen was left entirely free in the box on the free kick, and as bad luck had it for us the ball fell to him. Maybe it’s not all on Cuellar, but as the senior centre half he really should be either marking loose men or organising the boys to get it done.
All in all, things still are in a lull for Villa but we are now unbeaten in 3 games, which is certainly an improvement after the 4 game losing streak. The ‘easy’ run-in we had doesn’t look so likely to help us beat Arsenal to 4th now does it? But as long the Gunners only gain1 point from their last 4 games and we win all of ours then 4th is ours. Easy.
Can Bouma get back to the player he was when he got injured?
As Freddie Bouma gets within spitting distance of match fitness, he must be elated to see that his position never got properly filled and is as good as his once he feels ready for it.
The right back slot has for a number of years been Villa’s problem position, so when we bought Luke Young it looked to finally be resolved. But with Nicky Shorey failing to put confidence in O’Neill, Young has played more at left back than right, meaning that when Bouma returns he will most likely walk straight back into the side, with Young reverting back to his preferred role.
The kick in the face to Shorey will almost definitely see him depart in the summer, but the question I am now wondering is;
Will Freddie Bouma be able to be the great player he was for us before he got injured, now that our expectations has risen?
Bouma was approaching cult status with the Villa fans prior to his horrific injury and he will no doubt receive a rapturous ovation on his return to first team action, but will he be back to his best right away? (or ever?) Injuries have often disrupted a player and after being out for so long, many have failed to re-achieve their previous success.
There’s no two ways about it; Villa fans have raised the stakes this year. Booing a team that is 4th in the Premier League has become the fans’s new standard and throwing caution to the wind with the UEFA Cup we fought so hard to get into is the manager’s new standard. But when Bouma went out, we were simply in the Intertoto Cup and loving every sniff of success we got.
Will Bouma be dropped from the side after a couple of average / poor performances, like Shorey? Or will he relish the challenge and shine under the new brighter lights at Villa Park?
Friedel to find out today if his record-breaking run has come to an end
Brad Friedel is currently the record holder for the most consecutive appearances in the Premier League and increases it every game, but now his record looks set to finish at 182 games after his red card for toppling Fernando Torres on Sunday.
It was a harsh red card; yeah, Friedel brought down the last man, but he turned his shoulder to try and get outta the way. I guess I’ve seen reds given for less but with the guy on such a great record its a real shame for him.
Villa have lodged an appeal with the FA and will find out today if the card will be rescinded or not. I doubt it will though, he doesn’t have the connections that John Terry has!
‘The Gareth Barry Saga – Part 2′ is set to be even bigger than the first one
Where does the future lie for Gareth Barry?
It’s no secret that Villa will lose Gareth Barry at the end of the season if we don’t make it into the Champions League and now as the shadows of doubt appear on our chances, the rumours begin to fly around.
The new addition to the fray this summer will be Manchester City, with Mark Hughes naming Bazza and John Terry as his main targets. Myself I can’t see him getting either. Terry seems happy at Chelsea and even if he did move I can’t see it being to a club that are yet to qualify for the Champions League. The same condition would apply for Barry.
Barry made it very clear that he wanted to join Liverpool for their Champions League status and if we can secure that this season that he’ll stay with us. I honestly think he secretly hopes we don’t make it.
Not that I think Barry dislikes us, I think he has enjoyed the time he’s spent with us but now that he has improved so much and become recognised as a quality player he has raised his ambitions and wants to play for a Champions League side that will compete to win the competition. Which he doesn’t see us as.
If (and that is still a big task) we qualify, we will really struggle to get far in the competition in our first season in there. O’Neill’s plans are not to win the Champions League next season but simply to qualify for it. By qualifying we can build the squad and then aim to be successful in it a few seasons in. It’s a long term plan is O’Neill’s.
But Barry is thinking shorter term.
The clock is ticking for Barry and he doesn’t have as much time to spare as MON, which will most likely see him join Liverpool (or Arsenal if they come back in for him) this summer.
Barry leaving would really throw a spanner on the works for us, as he will be very difficult to replace. Even if we do manage to entice a player of equal quality as Barry, he won’t know how to play with us like Barry does. Barry has been with us so long that he is part of the furniture on the pitch. New players come in and play around him moreso than he learns to play with them, so a newcomer may well get to grips over time but we won’t be as good without Barry for a few months at the very least.
It’s also a bit of a catch-22 because CL football is about the only way we could entice a player of Barry’s class but it’s also the only yardstick by which he’ll commit to stay.
This is only the beginning of this one. It’s going to roll and roll, you watch.
Gareth Barry – Do Villa fans want him to stay at all costs or move along?
Happy B-day Bazza
Gareth Barry is celebrating his 28th birthday today, so first of all; Happy Birthday Gareth (I wonder what present you buy for someone on his wages?!).
The News Of The World yesterday ran a story of how Barry will stay at the Villa… IF we qualify for Champions League (Isn’t this story seven months old?). We have known for ages that Barry is only willing to commit to us if we make the holy grail of Champions League football and we are also aware of the unrelenting rumour that Benitez will be back for him in the summer (that’s if Rafa still has a job at Liverpool!).
So what do we think? Do we want to keep Bazza at all costs? Or would we rather see the back of him?
Barry has been a sensational player for Villa for a number of years now and has been a huge part of why we have been as successful as we have. Last season he was of monumental importance to our league position and whilst we had many good players, Barry was the key man who held us together as a team. It was no surprise that a top four side wanted him, and that Villa wanted big money. The biggest surprise for me was that Liverpool didn’t cough up and pay the asking price. If you ask me, he was worth every penny (in today’s market).
Barry was in phenomenal form at the time and as Liverpool were willing to meet Keane’s price, why the hell not Barry’s? Barry would’ve been a much better investment for them, especially with how the whole Keane fiasco eventually panned out.
At Villa, he is an integral cog of the machine, a backbone to our team (particularly alongside Stiliyan Petrov), whereas at a team like Liverpool he would be just a squad player. But he would be more guaranteed Champions League on Merseyside. So there’s pros and cons from his point of view.
The big question of replacing him
Who could fill his boots? Steve Sidwell was brought in as his replacement last summer but then Barry ended up staying and Sidwell’s Villa career was hindered somewhat by that, but could he step in if Barry leaves? Or do Villa need to look into the market? Who do you feel could do Barry’s job and would want to come to Villa Park?
Credit where credit’s due
Filed under: Ashley Young, Aston Villa, Player Profiles
Villa had a fantastic December, we reaped 4 wins and a draw in the Prem, earning us 13 points from an available 15 and made ground on all of the usual title chasers, finishing the month in 4th place. Villa had finally won over the doubters who didn’t think we could mount a serious challenge on the top four and much praise was coming our way.
Two of the key men in this success were the boss, Martin O’Neill, who has built a great team and a great atmosphere at Villa Park and Ashley Young, who has been up and down that left wing all season, showing deft touches and generally making Fabio Capello look like a total dillweed for ignoring his talents for so long.
The Premier League, however, are on the ball and have awarded O’Neill the Manager of the Month award for December, his sixth success in this award, and Young the Player of the Month award. Ashley Young was previously one of a very select elite, alongside Rooney, Gerrard and Ronaldo, who have won the award more than once, but Young is the only player to have ever won it 3 times in one year.
Congratulations to the pair of them for well deserved acknowledgement of their hard work.
Marlon Harewood – Is he a victim of raised expectations?
Filed under: Aston Villa, Marlon Harewood, Player Profiles
Marlon makes more money as baddies in kid's movies than from his 'goals bonus'
The speculation on Marlon Harewood’s future has been going on for a large part of this season, making only a handful of appearances and failing to impress in them. Marlon has done an about turn in the fans minds, first finding himself an unlikely hero last season when he became known as a super-sub, coming on in a number of games and scoring, but this season he finds that many fans have turned against him.
This term Marlon has found it increasingly difficult to get involved, even missing a rare opportunity to start a game because his missus selfishly decided to give birth! That’s women for you isn’t it?!
Poor old Nicky Shorey can only hold himself accountable
From battling Ronaldinho to sitting next to Marlon Harewood
When Villa purchased former England left back, Nicky Shorey, from Reading, it must’ve made Wilfred Bouma sit up in his hospital bed and worry about his ability to get back in the team on his return to action. After spending last season as the one and only full back at the club, coupled with his consistent form, Bouma’s selection seemed to be one of the most secure in the whole team.
Then, as we secured victory over Odense BK, Bouma suffered a horrific injury which ruled him out for half the forthcoming season. With just one left back and not a single right back on our books, it was already on O’Neill’s mind to bring in some full backs, but with Bouma now out for a lengthy spell it became an emergency situation.
Nicky Shorey and Luke Young to the rescue
Brad Friedel – if you wanna be a record breaker, dedications what you need
With today’s game against Fulham, Brad Friedel overtook David James’s record of consecutive appearances in top-flight (that’s the First Division to the oldies and Premiership to the young guns) games. At present the record is 166 games without missing one, which Friedel equalled with the Man Utd game last week at Villa Park. Now with the Fulham appearance he has surpassed James and become the record holder, a testament to his consistent quality over the last four years, obviously helped by being free from injury.
Brad Friedel, this is your life
Injury blows for the Fulham game
Filed under: Aston Villa, Carlos Cuéllar, Injury News, John Carew, Luke Young, Nigel Reo-Coker
Everything was going swimmingly, Carlos Cuellar had returned to training so was a possibility, but if he failed to recover fitness NRC could ably deputise, and we even had a selection headache between the five man midfield or a 4-4-2 which saw Carew return to the fold…
Then problems hit.
Down goes Carew Read more
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