Villa Ready to Celebrate Season of Achievement

Dave Johnstone

With the final curtain of the Premier League season about to be drawn, Aston Villa are potentially one win away from a fifth place finish and an all important Uefa Cup spot.

In a season where foreign investors have treated their teams like impracticable toys and England players have gone from a golden generation to a over paid disappointments, perennial under achievers Aston Villa appear to be proving an exception.

Since winning the InterToto Cup in 2001 Villa have struggled to achieve even a modicum of success. The fact they have struggled in mid-table for so many seasons is made even more bemusing by the fact they remain the fourth most successful team in domestic history.

When Randy Lerner followed the debt creating Glazers into owning a Premier League club many Villains may have been expecting the worst. However, whilst the Glazer’s have gambled with United’s future and alienated many fans, and on the Mersey - Hicks and Gillett seem out of their depth after crossing the pond to buy Liverpool, Lerner has proved to be a very English sought of American.

Whilst not splashing the same sought of cash as his friends from America, Lerner has more than backed his manager; forking out just under forty million pounds during his time at the club. Yet, ask any Villa fan and they will tell you the financial gestures off the pitch are of just as much significance as the ones on it.

Unlike other foreign investors, Lerner has actively seeked to connect with the club he owns, turning his investment into a passion. Perhaps the clearest sign of this is his £4 million pound investment in the historic Holte pub. Laying disused for years the pub is an integral part of Villa’s match day history. Lerner will not make any money out of his peculiar investment, but any Villain will tell you this was a priceless gesture to the fans. Other such priceless gestures include inviting all the 1981 Championship Winning side to recent games and laying on free travel to an away match at Stamford Bridge last season.

Dave Woodhall of the Villa fanzine ‘Heroes and Villains’ probably says it better than anyone when saying, “He and his staff have tapped into the fans’ mentality. Free scarves, free coaches to Chelsea, refurbishing the Holte pub — and it seems like he genuinely cares."

Whilst performances on the pitch and positions in league tables will always be the measure of success, even if Villa fail to reach Europe this season, Lerner will certainly be heralded as a great success after the dreary days of former Chairman ‘deadly’ Doug Ellis.

This platform of stability off the pitch has been more than mirrored on it. Whilst Lerner can’t take the credit for appointing Martin O’Neill, his relationship with his manager puts most Chairman to shame. O’Neill is more than happy to remain on a rolling contract, highlighting his professional relationship with Lerner as one of the major reasons he doesn’t feel the need for the security of a longer deal.

Whilst Lerner is leading Villa so well off the pitch, O’Neill is building a team every bit ready for the European spot they hope to achieve. Admittedly O’Neill has been given an ample war chest to take on other big spenders such as Spurs and Man City. O’Neill has succeeded in forming a team that looks likely to succeed this season and the next.

Key to this success has been the signing of young English talents Nigel Reo-Coker and Ashley Young. The amounts paid for the two, £7.5 million and £9.65 million respectively, were questioned at a time when English players seemed laughably over priced. However, the two England hopefuls have more than justified their price tags on this seasons form. According to the much maligned Opta index, that calculates player performance, Reo-Coker tops the tackling charts with 173 tackles at an impressive 82% success rate. Meanwhile team mates Ashley Young and Gareth Barry lay 2nd and 3rd in the assist table with only the tenacious Cesc Fabregas more creative. Assists that see both firmly appreciated as important parts of Mr Capello’s future England squads.

With a mixture of creativity and industry, Villa’s midfield has formed a great core for the team to build on and more than justified O’Neill’s expenditure.

Before drawing a surprise blank against Wigan this weekend Villa had amassed an astounding 15 goals in their three previous games, including a 5-1 humiliation of arch rivals Birmingham City. Again credit for this has to go down to O’Neill’s tactical awareness.

Despite having money to spend, arguably O’Neill’s best bit of business was trading Milan Baros for John Carew with Lyon. With Carew tasting success in both France and Spain his leadership upfront has been instrumental in unleashing the raw talent of Agbonglahor and Young. The mixture of strength and pace in this front three perfectly balances to create a real handful for any Premiership defence. Drop to deep and Young has the ability to pick out Carew’s towering figure at ease, conversely,  push forward and Agbonglahor has more than enough ability to exploit the space in behind. No doubt all three will be asking questions of Newcastle’s always questionable defence come Sunday.

Whatever happens on the final day of the season, you will struggle to find any Villa fan not sporting a wide smile over the summer months. Despite media coverage suggesting that a combination of English talent and American ownership is a cocktail from hell; Villa will be raising a toast to their chairman and players no matter where they finish when the Premier League curtain is finally pulled shut.

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