UK Football

Well Martin O’Neill has finally admitted defeat for Aston Villa’s Champions League campaign.  Due completely to the fact that Villa has essentially sputtered out towards the end of this season, with a form that doesn’t befit any side hoping to break into the Premiership’s top four.  Aston Villa have six matches left to play, they are eight points behind Arsenal, and their last six matches have gone draw, four losses, and now another draw against Everton.

Villa need to purchase more players this summer, because Martin O’Neill just doesn’t have enough quality to successfully rotate his first team, allowing his big stars the rest they need.  Everybody on Villa just looks tired at this stage, and O’Neill doesn’t have anyway to rest the ones that matter most to his squad.  Villa are set up right now to flop at the end of every season until they follow the big four format and expand the squad to include some great secondary talent.  

Aston Villa keeper Brad Friedel has had the red card he picked up at Anfield over the weekend overturned, and so will not suffer a one match ban.  While this is good for Aston Villa, as Friedel is a fantastic keeper, the decision by the FA to overturn Friedel’s red card has raised a few questions.  Firstly a question from me, how was Friedel’s takedown on Fernando Torres not a red card, according to the rules set by the FA?

I say Aston Villa got lucky, and will now have their best goalkeeper available for when they face off against Manchester United after the International break.  But something really needs to be clarified between the PGMOB and the FA, because under the current rules that govern the  Premiership, Friedel’s foul was a clear red card.

photo:  stella_gonzales2003

Well the title race absolutely is not over, as Liverpool confirmed through their 5-0 drubbing of Aston Villa at Anfield, which also saw Steven Gerrard score his first Premiership hat-trick.  Liverpool were brought to within one point of league leaders Manchester United, and given Liverpool’s last three results compared to the current champions last three matches, I would have to say Liverpool may yet just come out on top.

But now, everything comes down to the International break.  Sir Alex Ferguson has a good two weeks to get his players back into winning shape, before Manchester United find themselves well and truly out of the title race, and so near the finish line.

photo: Dagur Brynjólfsson

Rafa Benitez has finally signed a new contract with Liverpool, and part of that deal gave Benitez almost absolute power over club transfers.  Which means Aston Villa could lose Gareth Barry this summer, as Liverpool are expected to renew their £18million worth of interest in the former Villa captain.  But realistically, I don’t think that Gareth Barry would be that big of a loss, and Martin O’Neill could desperately use that money to buy a few more players, to really make Villa into a squad that can challenge for the Champions League.

That way O’Neill has at least a better pool of players to choose from, and next season Aston Villa won’t run out of steam at the end, the way Villa is set up to do this season. 

There’s no way that Aston Villa are going to make it into the Champions League this season, the way that Martin O’Neill’s men are finishing the season.  Villa have put in a number of uninspired performances of late, but today really showed Aston Villa to be a team that doesn’t quite have that extra kick necessary for success in the Premiership.  That and the fact that Martin O’Neill has only played 19 different players in the Premier League this season, and Villa look all the more tired for it.

Aston Villa as it stands do not have the depth of squad to compete successfully over 38 matches with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.  Although full credit to Martin O’Neill as his side is almost there, just not quite yet.  A few key purchases this summer, and maybe we’ll have a different story this year, but Villa aren’t yet ready until they can make a few changes.

One of those changes being Gabby Agbonlahor, a fantastic forward in his own right, and one of the fastest players in the league, but the England hopeful just isn’t mature enough yet to be entrusted as Villa’s main attacker.  And Agbonlahor has shown without a doubt that he’s just too young yet to carry Villa the way that Martin O’Neill is expecting of him, thorough his spotty performances of late, and the way that Agbonlahor just looks to be completely out of ideas at this stage of the season.

photo: John Dobson

Aston Villa need another capable forward that can act as a worthy replacement for Agbonlahor when the England hopeful is off his game.  Heskey is too old to fill the bill, and John Carew seems bound for a swift exit from the club.  This summer Martin O’Neill needs to look to the striker position once more, and find a capable replacement for when their 22 year old star isn’t playing up to the standards required of a club challenging for the Champions League.

Strikers Villa could buy from the Championship for cheap, and that would benefit the club greatly, is where Martin O’Neill should find players with great potential, like Reading’s Kevin Doyle or Birmingham City’s James McFadden.  Both have proven to be fantastic when they’re on their game, and the excellent Villa midfield would only help Doyle or McFadden excel in the Premiership.  Both of which would be a worthy replacement for three or four matches while Agbonlahor is rested, and given a chance to get his confidence straight.

photo: Robwingfield

A few new strikers, and maybe a midfield addition here and there and Villa are suddenly Champions League contenders, and Martin O’Neill’s men have a great chance of achieving that goal next season, but this year Aston Villa have fallen out of touching distance already.  Yesterday’s match against Tottenham should have been a guaranteed three points, but Villa stumbled and were conquered by the much more determined Spurs.  And Villa needed those three points considering with their next three matches, Villa will be lucky to get anything as they have to face Liverpool at Anfield, Manchester United at Old Trafford, and then come back home to face an Everton side that’s been getting better and better.

Villa’s European hopes for this season are pretty well over, but now that Martin O’Neill has almost done it, the Irishman knows which changes he needs to make, so that Aston Villa won’t make it through 28 matches at the top of the table, only to burn out in the final chunk of the season.

photo: Darz Mol

Manchester City look to be once again attempting to force a transfer that will never happen by throwing a ton of money at a player that will realistically never move from their current club.  The newest in the trend is Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who’s set up to be another £100million target for City, and just like Kaka, Messi is going to turn down the offer outright.

How many times in the past has Lionel Messi voiced his support for Barcelona and his desire to end his career playing for the club?  Barcelona gave Messi the big club training and the world stage he needed to become one of the world’s finest footballers, and Messi knows this and respects what the club has done for him, and has basically pledged his allegiance to them for as long as the Spanish club will keep him.  You’re never going to pry a person with that much club loyalty away, no matter how much money you throw at him.

photo: James Adams

That would be like persuading Ryan Giggs, football’s shining example of what loyalty and honour to your club means, to leave his club of 19 years over nothing more than just a wad of cash.  Which means it’s n-e-v-e-r going to happen, and City would do well to spend that money instead on 6-7 realistic targets to bolster their squad, instead of wasting time and effort on a deal that’s nothing more than fantasy.

Middlesbrough are bound to flop this season, so spend some of that £100m to save Stewart Downing from the ashes, and throw in Tuncay with him, he’d be a great forward to have on the bench for when City find themselves underperforming or in need of a late goal.  Or how about John Carew, a gigantic aerial threat the likes of which City desperately need for their set pieces, and you can’t tell me that after the way he’s been treated this season Aston Villa wouldn’t be ready to part with him.  And the biggest plus is that Downing, Carew and Tuncay are realistic targets that still have the potential to turn City into one of those Champions League challenging sides, and they would only cost a fraction of what a Messi would cost, and all three would make you a better club than one Messi possibly could.

Aston Villa flopped in what should have been an easy three points against Stoke City at the weekend.  Villa manager Martin O’Neill blamed his side’s overconfidence for the blunder, and I’d have to agree considering the Villans completely threw away a two goal lead in the last three minutes of the match.  When you’re challenging to break into the Champions League, a two goal lead should always be enough to get past opposition that’s much further down the table like Stoke City.

Aston Villa need to learn how important matches like these are.  Some people would say that you have to beat the other clubs in the top four in order to win the league, or be successful, but that really isn’t true.  Look at Manchester United, they don’t always have the greatest record against other top four opposition, but they win the league by winning practically every match that they should win, something Aston Villa haven’t been good at in the past, and need to avoid this time in the latter half of the season.  Or despite Arsenal’s many shortcomings this year, Villa could find themselves out of Champions League contention really fast.

Speaking of clubs that find their hopes in danger of being dashed, Liverpool lost a match they should have won fairly easily, as the league hopefuls were overwhelmingly defeated in a 2-0 loss at Middlesbrough.  I understand Liverpool haven’t been very successful at the Riverside in recent years, but when Rafael Benitez is hoping to win the Premiership for the first time, a broken down Boro side that’s got a fairly atrocious league record should be a guaranteed win.

But instead a pitiful uninspired Liverpool side completely rolled over, and let three more points escape, giving league leaders Manchester United the potential to go ten points ahead at the top, after they play catch up from their Carling Cup final victory.

Rafa Benitez just cannot stop raging at everyone these days. The latest target of the Spaniard’s fury was Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who made an innocent comment to the effect that Redknapp wishes Keane still played for the club. And of course Benitez took that as being an underhanded attempt at getting Keane to think about re-signing for Spurs, and threatened to take action with the FA for Redknapp’s unruly conduct.

But I think the real issue here is just that Benitez is feeling the pressure of his job, and he’s not surpassing expectations at all. Liverpool have fallen all the way to third in the Premier League after their horrid form of late, after a Premiership start that had everyone predicting yet another title for the League championship record holders. Just to show you how crazy and unfounded Benitez’s latest rage actually is, here were Redknapp’s exact quotes in response to Rafa’s ranting, “I only answered the question: do you wish Robbie Keane was still at the club and I said yes,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I wish Michael Carrick was still at the club, but he is not - it is hypothetical and it’s not going to happen unfortunately.

“I wish Dave Mackay was 22 and is still playing here and Glenn Hoddle was 18 and still here. That’s all I said.”

Arsene Wenger refuses to comment, but according to Sky Sports Andrei Arshavin has secured a UK work release, and likely Arsenal are the sponsor’s of said document, meaning a deal is either almost complete, or likely to complete before the transfer window shuts Monday. Arsenal could use a creative midfielder like Arshavin, especially with the underperformances they’ve suffered this year. At a time when everyone at the top, besides Aston Villa, seem to be playing well below their potential, Arsenal should be higher than fifth.

Aston Villa have just made themselves an even more formidable challenger for the ranks of the Premiership elite, as they complete the £3.5million signing of Emile Heskey.  To me this spells out Villa’s desire to knock either Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea out of the top four, for good, come the end of this season.  And they couldn’t have picked a better compliment to one of the most talented strikers in the Premiership, Gabby Agbonlahor.

Heskey will be a perfect fit because of his ability to make his strike partner better, which will allow Agbonlahor to achieve that potential we all know the England man to be capable of.  The Villan’s have just put one major foot forward in their bid to join England’s elite, and Martin O’Neill is just the man to guide them into the promised land, especially after a huge move like this.

The Villans aren’t the only club to make a big transfer today, Hull City have acquired the services of Jimmy Bullard on a £5million transfer from Fulham.  And Hull could not have done better, because Bullard is a midfielder with infinite potential, he just lacks the confidence.  If Phil Brown can implant the confidence Bullard needs he will become an invaluable threat as a deadly long passer, and a constant long range goalscoring threat.

Congrats Hull and may you continue to challenge for the League’s top spots.

photo: Mr. Phillip Chambers

Steven Gerrard now has apparently been charged with assault, following his arrest yesterday from a Merseyside nightclub. Liverpool issued a statement today to voice their support for Gerrard, but the main thing that should be taken from all this, is that Liverpool have to hope Gerrard is caught up in the trial or even jail time afterwards. Liverpool are making a remarkable run to stay atop of the Premier League so far this season, and the loss of their captain could prove fatal for the clubs chances of hoisting the title come seasons end.

But one club will be on a high until Premiership fixtures continue after next weekend’s FA Cup fixtures, and that is Aston Villa. The Villans have proven themselves to have one of the most necessary assets to a successful Premiership run, luck. Villa have ground out a seemingly impossible 1-0 victory against Hull today, a lucky goal sure, but a goal nonetheless.

Martin O’Neill has got his men more disciplined than I’ve ever seen them, and Ashley Young, Agbonlahor and Gareth Barry seem to have finally settled in together. Meaning that attacking talent we always knew Aston Villa was spoiled with, is finally achieving the potential every football fan saw possible. If they can continue the good fortunes just a bit longer, Villa may yet find themselves with a Champions League spot at the end of the year. Because let’s face it, Arsenal is set up to drop out of Champions League territory, and with the way they’re playing, will anyone be surprised?