10 BIG Things That We Have Learned About Aston Villa This Season

O’Neill leaves under a cloud - The timing of Martin O’Neill’s departure was hardly ideal with the Ulsterman leaving on the eve of the Premier League’s first weekend of fixtures, but his exit cannot be said to be unexpected. His clashes over a tightening of the purse strings at Villa Park all but ruined his once harmonious relationship with Villa Chairman Randy Lerner. The sale of James Milner to Man City, a move that O’Neill didn’t sanction, proved to be the straw that broke the camels back and he left the club after 4 largely successful seasons of steady progress at the helm. O’Neill wanted investment to push the club on after repeatedly banging his head against the top six glass ceiling, whereas Lerner argued, rather sensibly may I add, that O’Neill had failed to make enough of the money granted to him previously. With no middle ground to be found and the club’s star player sold for the second successive summer, O’Neill departed under a cloud and it all pointed towards testing times ahead.

European adventure alludes them once more - A tame exit at the hands of Rapid Vienna for the second season in succession wasn’t the best way to start a campaign, but may have been a blessing in disguise after all, what with the mid-season selection crisis under Houllier and an already threadbare squad stretched to breaking point. Villa, or more pertinently, Martin O’Neill often showed a degree of disdain towards Europe and it appears as if Villa simply aren’t cut out another for another European escapade at present.

A change of tack - Under former manager Martin O’Neill, Villa were often derided in some quarters (ahem, Arsene Wenger) as being a long-ball outfit. By my estimations, this was always a misrepresentation of the sides talents – sure, they were direct and the basis of their game was all about getting balls in early into the box, but they were capable of playing some lovely stuff on the deck too. This season, firstly under caretaker manager Kevin McDonald and then latterly under current manager Gerard Houllier, we’ve seen a noticeable, yet subtle shift to a more fluid, passing game from this Villa outfit. With Ashley Young often used as a floating forward and the emergence of the likes of Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton, Villa are beginning to return to their footballing roots with a more attractive style.

You’ll never win anything with kids - One pleasing aspect of the Jekyll and Hyde performances coaxed out of the side by caretaker manager and coach Kevin McDonald was his preference for blooding in young talent into the first-team. A long-held critique of O’Neill’s tenure at the club was his refusal to trust the less experienced members of his squad while simultaneously persisting in using the same tired old legs week-in, week-out. Marc Albrighton looks to be the pick of the bunch and his 27 appearances have rendered a healthy return of 5 assists and 4 goals after some lively displays on the wing. Ciaran Clark performed ably in a number of roles and Barry Bannan’s skill also caught the eye on occasion. The future looks bright for this ramshackle bunch.

On A Wing and a Prayer - Villa’s two standout performers this campaign have undoubtedly been Stewart Downing and Ashley Young – one for his consistency, the other for his ability to do the unexpected. Downing quite rightly ended this season as the club’s Player of the Year and he has subsequently attracted strong interest from Liverpool among others. With a maturity now added to his play, he finished the campaign with 9 assists and 7 goals in the league, an exceptional return by anyone’s standards. Ashley Young may have just played his last game for the club and while he’s blown hot and cold at times this campaign, when he’s been good, he’s been very good indeed and he ends the season with 7 goals and 11 assists and has become an England regular to boot in the process. It looks doubtful that Villa will be able to hold onto both players going into next term with both keenly coveted. To lose one would be a huge setback, to lose both would be nothing short of catastrophic – they represent the very heart and sole of this new attacking Villa side and without them both, the West Midlands outfit will be a whole lot easier to play against next season.

Slackness at the back - The club’s 6th place finish last season and run to the FA Cup Final were built upon solid foundations at the back, sadly this season for Villa fans, they’ve simply not been there this term. Whereas last term the club could boast the fourth best defensive record in the league after conceding just 39 goals with 15 clean sheets thrown into the bargain, this term Villa have leaked goals almost at will at times. This season they’ve conceded a staggering 59 goals, the sixth worst in the league, and have kept a paltry 7 clean sheets. The demotion of Stephen Warnock to the club’s third-choice left back remains an ongoing mystery and the once solid partnership of Richard Dunne and James Collins simply haven’t hit the heady heights of last season’s excellence. The side’s more expansive style of play could partly be to blame for leaving the back line somewhat exposed at times but they have to do better next term to make sure this season become a blip rather than the norm.

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