CURB Your Enthusiasm

On the 11^th August, regarding the replacement of Martin O’Neill, I wrote this about Alan Curbishley:

‘I’m a fan of Alan, however I know some will say that his consideration would be a question of ambition. Unquestionably a safe option, ‘Curbs’ is still to bring success to a Premier League side and I have a feeling that his appointment would be met with unenthused groans by hardcore Villains.

But I look at it differently.

After overseeing 2 promotions and top flight consolidation with Charlton Athletic, Curbishley remarkably (and famously) saved newly promoted West Ham’s season from certain relegation with just 5 months to work with – and later turning them into a top ten outfit the year after.

Although it might not get me jumping from my seat, I would support the acquisition of Curbs, the former Villain, and would remember that everyone deserves their chance once they’ve earned it.

If football was so elitist and managers could not climb available ladders of opportunity, we would not currently be treated by the work of David Moyes, the beauty of Wenger football – and dare I say it, we would have no Alex Ferguson.’

Unfortunately, I was right. And what I predicted to be “unenthused groans” has spread like wildfire and prolonged to smear the pretty much unblemished reputation of Alan Curbishley.

So am I missing something?

Because the last time I checked, it was considered a decent achievement to take a team from modern day Championship obscurity to secure their status as a top flight club. It was also considered impossible to guide a team, bottom of the table at Christmas, to Premier League safety (a newly promoted team at that), let alone turn them into a top 10 side just one season later.

Curbishley has proven that he can uncover hidden gems within a low budget (God, wouldn’t that be nice right now). Charlton bought and sold Darren Bent (a player who bagged almost a goal in every two games for him) for a £14m profit. Curbs was also responsible for the emergence of England internationals such as Paul Konchesky, Lee Bowyer and Scott Parker, through the Charlton Academy (miniscule compared to that of Villa’s).

Maybe this will prove to be an unpopular post, but I can’t get my head around the over-criticism that Alan is receiving. Yes, he isn’t a big name, and Aston Villa are a big club. But I wonder where the Everton nay-sayers are right now who weren’t so convinced at the prospect of a relatively unproven Preston North End manager taking charge of their giant club. I wonder where the ‘Arsene Who?’ campaign has disintegrated to as the French man delivered unrivalled success at a “bigger” club.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see Moyes get the job – even Sven. But I will not ignorantly fob off the idea of Alan Curbishley getting a chance at a club the size he deserves for some unfounded reason. Maybe it is a backwards step from O’Neill; maybe there are bigger names out there – but the reality is that we have to find the best candidate, the best interested candidate, available for the job now. And Alan should not be dismissed just because he hasn’t had the chance at a top club yet, just because he hasn’t been in the position to deliver cup success yet. He has had just two jobs to date, and he has been unquestionably successful in both.

Proven in Premier League combat, Curbishley can keep poor teams, poor clubs afloat in the top flight – on top of the assurance of top half experience which he possesses. His appointment to Villa Park would not be a “risk”. At worst, it would be another unsuccessful attempt at Champions League Qualification, and maybe a narrow displacement outside the top 6 (a feat which was always going to be a challenge this year anyway).

So should Curbs get the nod by Mr Lerner, I will welcome him and look forward to what he can bring to the table with a better team and improved resources.

The Charlton Athletic website dedicates a section to their former boss, headered:

‘Alan Curbishley had been the Charlton manager since 1991. During his time in charge the club has evolved from a league side on the brink of financial ruin, into an established Premiership side with European ambitions.’

I wonder what evolution he can bring to Aston Villa, already a Premiership side, already a club with more than just European ambitions.

The Next Villa Manager

“Two of the traits we believe are of crucial importance are that candidates have experience of managing in the Premier League and a strategy for building on the existing strengths in our current squad.”

With the promise of the installation of a permanent manager before the next league game, Villa Chief Executive Paul Faulkner fuelled the fire of anticipation ahead of the interview selection process.

Of course, with this statement, the club have not categorically confirmed that they will appoint someone who has previously managed in the English Premier League, but they have given us some, if very miniscule, indication at least of the type of personnel they are looking to attract.

And with the next league fixture being held at the Britannia Stadium, MON’s successor surely has a tough short term task on his hands – but more importantly, he will arrive with the expectation of kickstarting a stalled vehicle and indeed building on the existing strengths in our current squad.

So as the race for the hot seat rises in temperature, I thought I’d take a look at the updated list of potential candidates burdened with the seemingly thankless job of awakening the sleeping giant.

Sven Goran Eriksson 7/2

Strangely, I think Sven’s personal life precedes him. Instantly, when people hear his name, they laugh or sigh and construe him as some sort of performing jester – in the wrong profession.

But as a football manager, I have to admit that the Swede has led an unblemished career and I would find it difficult to hold any objections to his appointment as next Villa manager.

Sven was fast-tracked into national acclaim after a superb one-season-wonder job with Degerfors as a young manager; and unbelievably, right up until his engagement with the English national team, Eriksson only failed to deliver silverware with just one club in those 23 years. His success as a club manager is indisputable. Even very recently, with Man Shitty, the 62 year old sex god mentored the Sky Blues’ best season for decades – dragging an underperforming club, devoid of a trophy in 30 years, into the Premier League top 10, winning two Manchester derbies (first time since 69-70) in the process before being bizarrely axed despite the infamous ‘Save Our Sven’ campaign.

I never understood why he wasn’t appreciated throughout his England tenure either. Imagine the shame of 3 consecutive tournament Quarter Finals (only Brazil matched this), or the embarrassment of being dumped out by Brazil (eventual champions), Portugal (the host country after a penalty shootout after that Urs Meier incident), and another penalty shootout defeat by Portugal in 2006 (with 10 men). In fact, England achieved their highest FIFA ranking of 4^th in the world under the guidance of their lambasted manager – and after topping each of his qualifying groups, Eriksson was then succeeded by Steve McClaren who failed to even reach a major tournament.

Surprisingly, the only actual failure of Sven’s career came throughout his time at Mexico. Not bad for 33 years in football management eh? Yes, he had the benefit of a fantastically generous financial backing at Lazio, but after providing a return of 7 trophies in just 4 seasons, Eriksson proved to be sure-fire value for money.

Even his other apparent flops in the transfer market have proved a lot of people wrong. I’m probably Corluka’s biggest critic, but he is the one now starting for a Champions League outfit every week at Spurs. And I’ll put my hands up and admit that I hadn’t heard of Geovanni or Martin Petrov – but both turned out to be real gems. And of course, Elano “The Piledriver” won a place in a Brazilian first XI after being let loose by Eriksson. As a Premier League manager in the transfer market, I believe that Rolando Bianchi was Sven’s only dud (and an expensive mistake at that).

So his proven competencies within the field of management are indisputable and Sven would not only be a very safe option, but an exciting one at that. Having passed his only Premier League test to date, and achieving status as one of England’s best manager’s in a long, long while, Eriksson could be the perfect choice to take charge of a team full of Britons at Bodymoor Heath.

Kevin MacDonald 4/1

Tough one. Yes, he masterminded 9 conceded goals in 2 games and we foolishly failed to close out the game against Rapid Vienna, but Kevin currently has us in Champions League contention.

Of course, I’m speaking extremely prematurely and the Everton performance wasn’t heartening at all – but we won. Last season, we bowed out of Europe at the same stage, to the same team, and we leaked 7 goals at Stamford Bridge. The players’ leader, Petrov, has already backed the Scot to be given the permanent position and it would provide a simple and smooth transition from the Martin O’Neill era.

I like MacDonald’s calm and seemingly calculated approach before, during and after games, and after 15 years of service, 3 successive Reserve titles, a victory against top 8 rivals, and backing and response from the players, maybe Kevin deserves another stint to show us what he can do.

And hey, if it doesn’t work, it’s not as if that would deter Sven from throwing his hat back in the ring should the opportunity arise in the future.

Gerard Houllier 5/1

Again, another name which shouldn’t be taken lightly. At the age of just 38, he delivered the French league title to PSG before returning to Lyon to bring back-to-back doubles in his latest managerial stint.

On top of this, the former French coach not only overseen the regeneration of Liverpool’s training facilities, but he was responsible for bringing the club out of relative obscurity and into the 21^st century in a proud tradition after reclaiming their first European trophy for 17 years and ensuring that, along with his 50% win ratio, he left a Champions League legacy (3 qualifications) which eventually grew habitual for the Reds.

However, only averaging 65 points throughout his time at Liverpool (one more than Villa’s season last year), it is hard to judge how well Houllier would do with a lesser outfit. But, taking a Liverpool team (who had won just a mere League Cup in the 6 year built up to his time in charge) to 2^nd place with 80 points, Gerard proved that he knows how to acquire points in the Premier League.

I’d be more interested than excited to see the appointment of Houllier.

Alan Curbishley 8/1

I’m a fan of Alan, however I know some will say that his consideration would be a question of ambition. Unquestionably a safe option, ‘Curbs’ is still to bring success to a Premier League side and I have a feeling that his appointment would be met with unenthused groans by hardcore Villains.

But I look at it differently.

After overseeing 2 promotions and top flight consolidation with Charlton Athletic, Curbishley remarkably (and famously) saved newly promoted West Ham’s season from certain relegation with just 5 months to work with – and later turning them into a top ten outfit the year after.

Although it might not get me jumping from my seat, I would support the acquisition of Curbs, the former Villain, and would remember that everyone deserves their chance once they’ve earned it.

If football was so elitist and managers could not climb available ladders of opportunity, we would not currently be treated by the work of David Moyes, the beauty of Wenger football – and dare I say it, we would have no Alex Ferguson.

Ronald Koeman 10/1

Hard to argue with an overall managerial win percentage of almost 62% isn’t it (even if the majority of his career has been spent in Holland)?

Ronald is a proven winner and led an extremely limited Vitesse outfit to a momentous European spot with a severely restricted financial backing in his first job as manager.

Success at every club he has taken, Koeman even delivered the Copa del Rey for Valencia (their first in 9 years) in the midst of an otherwise poor season.

Unfamiliar with his strategic approach, I’m impressed with his acclaims to date and would view the capture of the young manager as an exciting step for our club.

Martin Jol 16/1

Why not?

Spurs treated him like dirt and after two consecutive top 5 finishes, the North London contingent were the only losers from his sacking after they wound up with Juande Ramos.

The Dutch man is still a relatively untravelled coach but his early years in the Netherlands saw him deliver a KNVB Cup in his first season as a football boss, before later winning 2 different Manager of the Year awards in 2 different seasons.

Spent big bucks on Darren Bent who let him down – and I am a big Bent critic, but boy he has proven that he will get goals and thus, has in some way justified Jol’s evaluation of him. I also wouldn’t just brandish Danny Murphy a write off. For £2m, Martin was investing in valuable experience for his squad and after leading Fulham to a Europa League Final, the Liverpudlian is still doing it.

What excites me most about Jol is not that he has followed on his Tottenham career with quick success at Hamburger and Ajax. No, it’s that he brought the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale to the Premier League for under £17m. How much would those 3 cost today? (Berbatov already made the club over a £20m profit)

After Eriksson, the 54 year old Dutch man would certainly be my choice to fill the void left by O’Neill. However, I fear he could remain committed to Ajax – but will surely feel that he has some unfinished business with the Premier League.

Phil Brown 20/1

Nope.

Unfortunately, the name of David Moyes doesn’t even appear on the William Hill website, but by golly, wouldn’t that be nice. I thought he could be lured by the temptation of improved financial backing at our club (which appears to have, at least temporarily, evaporated), and the realisation that he has taken Everton as far as he could. But the jump to Aston Villa will probably prove an all-too-sidewards step at this stage for the Scottish man, who has built his own squad with The Toffees and is probably destined for greater things (when another infamous Scot retires).

For me, we are blessed with a nice choice of potential applicants, with a blending variety. We could afford to be conservative, play it safe, take a risk or go for gold – it’s up to the board now. But the future doesn’t seem as bleak as a lot of people might think and even some of the disapproved names have undoubted talent which Villains should open their minds to.

Either way, we can look forward to the optimism and hope of a new regime in the near future. And judging by the criteria, or hints, set by Paul Faulkner, the above names should be topping the list – and I am one fan who is happy to see some of those managers in the running.

The Rollercoaster Continues

And so, after 9 conceded goals in just 2 games, after European elimination, after failing to fill 8063 (almost 19%) seats, and lets be honest, after some dreadful, dreadful football, Aston Villa overturned their first big challenge of the season to climb proudly into the last remaining Champions League spot.

Football’s a funny old thing isn’t it?

Because as surely as this high will soon be quashed by a poor result elsewhere in the season, I’m going to once again allow myself to be blinded by the optimism and take a look at how positive things can sometimes be for an Aston Villa fan.

The Challengers

Yes, we are only 3 games into the season, but we are hanging onto the coattails of the Big Three better than anyone else in the league, and last year’s fourth place residents have already proven that they will be unable to cope with both the physical and mental demands of a midweek European match (even at such a premature stage). Tottenham have a good squad full of depth and talent – but the requirement of Champions League teams to peak twice in the one week, and not prioritise competitions, is a whole new experience for Spurs and their potential six more hangovers could prove detrimental in their domestic campaign.

Man City have a better squad full of deeper talent, but are fortunately blessed with an incompetent Premier League manager. After completely outplaying Liverpool, I rated the Sky Blues as a shoe-in for a Top 4 place – only for their overpaid personnel to demonstrate how they are suspect to neglect “lesser” league opponents this year off the back of more glamorous fixtures. And as long as Mancini concerns himself with not losing (rather than trying to win), the players at his disposal will remain restricted and limited and open to defeats by unexpected midtable challengers.

Liverpool are unconvincing as ever. Unlucky to be suffering the frustrations of a transition period, Hodgson could take time to gather momentum for the wounded Reds. But still blessed with Gerrard and Torres, Villa should hope that this progress takes longer than it should.

Obviously it is a massive ask to expect the mess that is Aston Villa to secure a Top 4 spot (particularly this season), but it is extremely heartening to realise that maybe the grass isn’t much greener on the other side after all.

Everton

Okay, we were abysmal at times today. The first half was largely pathetic and the exciting dominance we enjoyed against The Hammers just two weeks ago never seemed so far away. It was like MacDonald was reverting back to the conservative style of Martin O’Neill – except under this manager, we were unable to carve any chances unlike the MON days. We got men behind the ball, sure, and we limited the opposition effectively, but on the ball, the Villains were clueless. Indeed, but for a poor and completely unsuccessful Fellaini clearance, I might not ever have written this piece (The O’Neill team were always outplayed, but never lacked direction or danger). The final 20 minutes of the game: I’d rather not discuss. I never thought it was possible to become short of breath by sitting down – but boy, that was a stressful time.

Unlucky

However, I’ve said it before and I am delighted to say it again: In sport, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you take.

Besides, whatever the caretaker boss said at half time had a temporary effect on the team who were finally standing toe-to-toe with Everton and should have even put them away within that half hour spell. Ashley Young and John Carew had Distin on toast, and when we began to take them on, the Blue backline were struggling to find answers. Phil Jagielka produced a first class, last ditch block from Ashley Young’s rebound after big, bad John’s parried shot meant Tim Howard could only look on in hope. Similarly, Marc Albrighton showed his inexperience by rushing a rebounded shot from the opposite side when he could have firstly taken a touch. Everton never came as close as we did – and after refusing to give in to the pressure, we got out of there alive.

Brad Friedel

Yes, yes, yes. A quality goalkeeper is probably the most underrated, and conversely one of the most important, items within a football team. Producing a terrific reflex save from a Seamus Coleman flick, the American prevented certain heartbreak in the 94^th minute to get a single fingertip to a Louis Saha shot which, at first glance, didn’t look threatening – thankfully Brad wasn’t as lax as I and went down, outstretched, to construct the game’s best save. A real relieving influence for a pressurized defence, Friedel’s impact in these 3 points should not be downplayed.

Luke Young

A case of humble pie for yours truly. Criticized on this very blog after his escapades in Newcastle, the number 2 produced his best performance in a long time to remind me why I had called for his selection on a number of occasions last year. Marauding into the penalty area, Young latched onto an inch perfect through ball from his namesake and effortlessly bent the ball into the top corner with his left foot – before completing the rest of the game in a sound manner and confidently making himself available as an attacking option time and time again. Apologies, Luke.

James Collins

Man of the Match contender. The Welsh man lived up to every inch of his beast-like stereotype with a ruthless performance at the heart of our defence in a game where anything less would have been catastrophic. Standing tall and putting league-bully Marouane Fellaini in his place with a commanding role, this match was made for James Collins.

Richard Dunne

I was a bit critical of ‘Dickey’ in the early stages of the game – accusing him of dwelling in possession and being clumsy in the tackle. But in hindsight, our number 5 was simply tactically cynical and tried to help out the midfield with a bit of ball retention in a no-nonsense display which swept the lethargy of St James’ Park under the carpet.

Stephen Warnock

I don’t know a lot, but I know that Stephen Warnock is a much more useful left back than Kieran Gibbs is. Another comforting solid match for the former Liverpool man, Everton’s right side was completely inept until the late introduction of Coleman, and like Luke, Warnock proved an attacking asset at least within our 30 minute spell. The entire defence should be credited with this victory after securing another clean sheet – defying the laws of averages (if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick – Everton threw an abundance of mud at the wall today, and none of it stuck).

Marc Albrighton

Another tough game to get through for Marc, I think he just about tipped the scales and won me over throughout the 90 minutes. Early signs of naivety were apparent as Leighton Baines pushed forward, but the 20 year old got to grips and ended up recreating a number of thankful defensive clearances. He had a real bite going into the tackle as well which eliminated my early fears that he wasn’t physically ready just yet. At times, he ran out of steam and got overexcited when he could have held the ball up, but he was certainly our biggest threat from a wide area on Sunday.

Nigel Reo Coker

Take a bow, Nigel. An injury to Stephen Ireland in the warm up meant that a substitute was required, and in our hour of need, Reo Coker stepped up. Going through his usual shift of hard work and commitment, the number 20 was much better suited to this game than our new signing would have been – and I can’t recall one single instance where the lad lost possession. Even pulling the team out of the trenches with a few lung bursting, both solo and supportive, runs, the Londoner is, in my opinion, the unsung hero and another shout for MOTM – and could probably feel hard done by should he lose his place after this performance.

Stiliyan Petrov

Much too quiet today. The skipper failed to ever really impose himself on the game and produce any kind of magic you would hope from your creative centre midfielder. Of course, still worked hard and was maybe a victim of the referee’s harsh away bias, but we needed more from Stan today and we didn’t get it – and had to ride our luck as a result.

Stewart Downing

Probably the weakest of the team today, Stewart hit a couple of notable misplaced passes and didn’t seem too interested in affecting change in the match either defensively or offensively (excuse the Bob Bradley twang). I was angered to see that Agbonlahor was not replacing the left winger. I would have moved Ashley out and played two up top because Downing simply was not on-song today.

Ashley Young

Boy, is he thriving off playing behind the striker. Tireless off-the-ball work, combined with our best avenue of keeping possession, Young added to his delicious assist with 94 minutes of direction for a struggling outfit. If only we could have used his unflappably constant threat more.

John Carew

The big man came through for us today. Again, wasn’t really given a chance with desperate balls being hoofed forward to his isolated positions, but the Norwegian still managed to play a key role in the goal with a nod down for Ashley, and he led the line well enough in difficult conditions. Maybe taken off too early just when he had the clear beating of Distin, Carew was a perfect example of a “good” individual performance in a poor team display, lacking a little direction.

Gabriel Agbonlahor

Good to see him back. He showed glimpses of his use by holding up the ball and running into channels away from defenders. He was used as a bit of relief at times, but in truth, he was involved at a time where the game was being played in our box.

Although the team performance clearly wasn’t up to scratch, a number of individuals still demonstrated their value and showed that we are still a force if they can be moulded together (there was NO cohesion today and we still came away with the points).

Another clean sheet at Villa Park was the key to our 100% league record at home – a place where we failed to win 8 (42%) games last year.

Things were bleak just yesterday, and even throughout the game, alarm bells are clearly ringing. But just one glance at the Premier League table would suggest that we’re reaching any targets we are audacious enough to set in today’s environment, and it would confirm that once again, Aston Villa is overperforming.

“Rafael Benitez Has Performed Well in the Transfer Market”

 

 

 

Fan Favourite, Benitez

This post derived from a discussion I had with a friend of mine who, for his sins, is a rampant Liverpool supporter. It is the first of a weekly feature where I will be analyzing matters outside of Aston Villa (hopefully in a way which will reflect well on us!). As we debated long and hard into the night about all-things-Scouse, one thing he said, I will never forget, stuck on my mind: I couldn’t let it go and I certainly could not NOT scrutinize it, “Rafael Benitez has performed well in the transfer market”. This is my response…

If by “well” you actually mean “disgracefully”.

I remember one of your fellow Reds saying something just as embarrassing in 1995, “you’ll never win anything with kids”. To say Rafael Benitez has performed well in the transfer market is surely as controversially flawed and it should never be lived down.

And because Benitez loves his facts, let’s then have a look at the facts:

• Rafael Benitez’ net expenditure at Liverpool after the summer transfer market in 2009 was a whopping £95.8 million … FACT
• Each year, the Spanish jester has had £19.16m available to spend on wasted transfers – the same price Martin O’Neill acquired both Ashley Young and James Milner for … FACT
• Of Benitez’ first 21 signings, only three have survived to this very day … FACT
• After the Steven Gerrard-inspired Istanbul comeback, Benitez proclaimed, “We’re putting Gerrard on a special weights programme for his shoulders because we are planning on him lifting loads of trophies” – Five seasons and one FA Cup later, the Madrid born manager is therefore a self-proclaimed failure … FACT

Before I continue deciphering the appalling performance of Benitez in both the transfer market and in his general feats, I think it’s important that I make it clear that I am an Aston Villa fan and have no bias whatsoever against the Liverpool club or any of their staff. What I do have partiality with, is when someone takes over a giant club performing consistently at a high standard, and serves only to bring mediocrity and disrepute to its proud reputation. Not only this, but the underperforming gaffer seems immune to any form of criticism about any angle of his policies and results by all Scouse fans.

When Benitez (I refuse to call him “Rafa” – he doesn’t deserve to be recognised with a single first name) first took over the helm at Anfield in the 2004-05 season, I forgave his somewhat questionable first signings. An influx of Spanish strangers spelled danger ahead for the mighty reds, but I defended the manager – understanding that these were the players he trusted and was familiar with. Despite the fact that his first crack at the transfer market demonstrated nothing but the ability to find unexciting foreigners with little potential and zero use, the Champions League victory allowed very glamorous wallpaper to be applied over the all too apparent cracks.

On top of this, having inherited a competent first XI, passed on by the mercurial Gerard Houliér (who didn’t get the chance to play his big money signing, Cisse), Benitez won trophies before he was allowed to fully put his stamp on the team. In FACT, out of the 14 players used in Istanbul, just two of them were recruited by Benitez himself. Can I deny how well he set them up to get as far they did? Definitely not. But does this make a case that his transfer dealings are sub standard? Most certainly.

The obvious pitch based results over the past 6 seasons have also suggested a consistent failure to understand the English Premier League (a competition which the Merseyside faithful so desperately want to conquer, and one which they so richly deserve). With the exception of last season, Liverpool have remained an uninspired, unenthusiastic threat who promised zilch signs of an assault on the coveted domestic prize. Moreover, even their 2^nd place finish was marred with apathetic results which suggested that they never really were title contenders in the first place. Rafa Benitez’s uber defensive style proved, in the end, a two-edged sword. With an eventual improvement in their dreadful away form of previous seasons, Liverpool failed to capitalise with their negative approach destroying any chance of turning teams over in front of a hair-raising Kop. 7 tied games on Anfield Road showed the ineffectiveness of the system when they came up against teams who were equally as prepared to protect their goal. Indeed it was only towards the tail end of the season when Liverpool opened up did they make use of having the 2 best players in the world and dismantled opponents with ruthless massacres. However, it proved too little too late and for this, I hold the manager responsible.

In 2010, the 5 time European Champions sit seventh in the Barclays Premier League, eliminated in the Champions League group stages, not even a League Cup challenge to boast and tripped up in the FA Cup 3^rd Round. For this too, I hold the manager responsible. In your sixth season, you have had more than enough time to imprint your stamp on your team. In your sixth season, you have had adequate time to develop an understanding of the competitions in which you are performing. After 96 million, you have had more than enough pounds to improve an inherited gold mine. After 96 million, you have had more than enough pounds to cope with injuries in the squad you have voluntarily built.

This is why I grind my teeth together when I hear complaints aimed at the American owners. It is because of their inadequacies that Benitez is devoid of censure. The “facts” are simply that the Spaniard took over a vibrant club with a solid base of capable players and has had almost £100 million to spend how he wished. Instead of complaining about “Rafa not having enough funds”, maybe Reds fans should be complaining about the waste of £7m hastily dished out to obtain the limited services of Andrea Dossenna (was Babel around £9m?). Maybe Scousers should bemoan the money spent to turn Dirk Kuyt into a glorified right back. Maybe Liverpool supporters should instead bemuse the fact that Benitez has had to sell on the majority of his signings, not because of the board, but because of his failure to find the right players in the first place. The fans explain that the teams of the past were blessed with dead wood such as Djimi Traore, Igor Biscan and Vladimir Smicer: Six years later, are they really much better off with the likes of Insua, Lucas or El Zhar?

Ryan "Rio" Babel could be better focusing on his rapping career

Or am I being too harsh? After all, it was Benitez who brought Fernando Torres to the Premier League: and for this, I am eternally thankful. It was Benitez who resurrected the West Ham reject, Mascherano’s career in monstrous proportions. He found Daniel Agger and no doubt a top class Goalkeeper. Although, despite his obvious effect, I think he paid over the odds for Glen Johnson – but such is today’s market and the inflation of English players. And Liverpool are still involved in a Europa League challenge (a competition which even little old Aston Villa undermined in two successive years by fielding weakened sides).

But it is because of this super-strong spine that I feel I have to question the manager’s further judgement. Liverpool consistently spend the 5^th most amount of money on transfers (behind City, Spurs, Utd and Chelsea). Arsenal are probably nowhere near that list. I dare to think what Martin O’Neill and David Moyes could do with £100m to spend on a team that already boasted the likes of Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Dietmar Hamaan and Steven Gerrard – a squad which Benitez, to his credit, proved could be champions of Europe. Yes, he has had to reluctantly sell on players in certain cases to increase the transfer kitty, but the disappearance into oblivion of the extremely vast majority of his signings is testament to the unforgiveable contemplation that they were good enough for Liverpool in the first place. And speaking to obstinate Reds fans on Merseyside, the rest of the players he has had to bring in are apparently “good players”. Liverpool fans will relentlessly defend the likes of current squad members Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Insua, Lucas, Kuyt, Babel, N’Gog et al. And that’s okay, that’s their opinion (they are wrong but whatever…). But it’s not a question of whether these players are good or not: for argument’s sake, I’ll side with the Pool fans and say that they are good. Therefore, with apparently 15 “quality” squad players, what is the problem!? How can Liverpool underperform if they are blessed with such talent? The answer is simple:, either these players are not all they are made out to be, or Benitez is doing a poor job away from the transfer market. (And I don’t believe the latter. How can I? He got such a poor squad to second in the league last year!)

So I beg to be answered: What has happened to the great “Rafalution”? Somewhere in their stubbornness, Liverpool fans have forgotten all that they stood for and even all that they were promised. Not because of members in the board room, but because their manager has spent the guts of a century of cash on players who would never in the wildest of dreams have taken the club forward. Is Liverpool Football Club really better off with Rafa Benitez? When I look at their squad right now, I can think of 96 million reasons why they are not.

However, speaking as a non-Liverpool fan: long live the king. I hope that the embarrassing portrait on the flag entitled “In Rafa We Trust” keeps flying high at Anfield. Because as long as Benitez is in charge, Aston Villa are catching up.

Rafa’s Duds

Carson

Josemi     Kyrgiakos     Skrtel     Dossena

Lucas     Sissoko

Antonio Nunez      Voronin       Ryan Babel

Morientes

Subs: Itandje, Degan, Plessis, Gonzalez, Pennant, El Zhar, Fowler

Note: For the purposes of the above team, I had to limit my options of Benitez’ bad signings to just 18 players!

Summer Transfer Targets

Another day, another draw.

Yes, the two points dropped against Everton leaves our fight for fourth hanging by a worn thread. However, if we were to magically win our remaining five games we would still accumulate the targeted 16 points which I believe would be enough. But daydreams aside, I think it’s important to get back down to business and think about how we could improve on another season of overachievement.

Speaking to fans of other clubs, the general consensus is that Villa have had a “very good season.” Some would deem this patronising and others would think we deserve more than a very good season but in relative proportions, we have had an excellent year.

When you’re engrossed in team affairs and buy into the promises and hype of hope, I suppose it’s easy to accuse the team of underachieving when some results don’t go your way. Fortunately for our previous two managers (Taylor and O’Leary), they failed to offer any form of optimism and thus expectancy was non-existent throughout their reigns. If we were to ignore the less competitive league of the past when 10 less points got O’Leary to where O’Neill finished 2 years ago, one could argue that DOL’s 6^th place finish got us believing. However, a steady decline throughout his time in charge of both on and off field performances suggested all along that he would not take us forward. Indeed, before MON took charge, we had witnessed 4 FA Cup 3^rd Round eliminations and a thrilling run to the 5^th round. So when I consider how in just 2 seasons O’Neill had turned us into an assured top 6 side, before chasing both fourth place and cup honours, I remember our all-too-recent relegation scraps and realise that Aston Villa have of course had a “very good season”.

A very good season for an Aston Villa fan, however, means putting up with yet another trophyless year. And if we were to stop the rot at 15 years this coming season, it is going to take a prolonged exceptional performance. The boys proved their capable competency this year with 2 extended cup runs and an elongated top 4 challenge (which is still going with just 5 games left).But, as good a journey it has been, we have fallen short. And as quality a player we may possess, we can’t expect to win silverware with just 13 trustworthy names (Luke Young and Heskey are the only other two squad players who contribute).

So what do we require to go one step further? Which players are needed in our squad to help push us into the top 4 and into cup glory? How do we prolong success?

Kevin Doyle:

Okay, okay, not groundbreaking by any means and the Villa faithful might not jump up from their seats at the prospect of the Irish man’s arrival. But in ‘Doyler’, we could have a younger, hungrier, more prolific and just plain better version of Emile Heskey. Watching the Wolves player on a regular basis playing for Ireland, I was surprised at his superb ability to hold the ball up. Not only is he much stronger than I first presumed, but his aptitude to bring the ball under control and find a supporting player is something to be admired – and something which he can do as effectively (if not better) than our number 18. On top of this, he does so in much more difficult environments playing with poorer opposition and used as the “out man” for his country, Doyle has propelled himself to be one of the nation’s most crucial players. Furthermore, his pace, technique and goalscoring record (which surprisingly is better than Heskey’s one in every eight games) make him a much better candidate than the 32 year old Emile to help our club progress. I’m not saying he would make our starting line-up (although he seems to grasp his chance anywhere he plays), but if we sold Heskey and replaced him with Kevin Doyle, we would already have taken strides to improve our chances next year.

Next up, it looks as if our munificent chairman will have to dip into his pockets once more. Of course, there are players there to be sold as well. I think he’s a decent player, but if we have little use for Steve Sidwell then we may as well cash in. Analysing the team, I think it has become abundantly clear that the right back area is a major problem. Defensively, Cuellar is not designed to cover so much space behind him and guard against lightning wingers. And offensively, the Spaniard is certainly not devised to cross into the opposition’s half. I’ve said it before, it’s not his fault but he should not be playing at right back. He is a quality centre back – one of four at the club – and if needs be, could also probably be sold to raise expenses (as disappointed as I would be to see him leaving). Curtis Davies is, talent-wise, our best centre back. Dunne has performed exceptionally well, as has Collins. Therefore, if money was an issue, Carlos would need to get the chop.

Branislav Ivanovic:

Audacious? Maybe. But with the Serbian defender we could, once again, improve our starting line up immensely. At 6ft 2, he would have no problem replacing the aerial prowess of the older Spaniard and certainly at right back, we could acquire an actual footballing threat. As a centre half, Ivanovic would also have much more to offer than Cuellar but after his £9.7m sale to Chelsea, might not come so cheap. I actually believe that Luke Young has much more to offer than he has been allowed this year, but if we are aspiring to play Champions League football, it would be advised to splash out the 5 – 7million required for the purchase of Branislav Ivanovic.

Rafael Da Silva:

At just 19, Rafael is a proven threat attacking from right back. In the intensity of Old Trafford, the Brazilian has sometimes been found wanting in defence and has demonstrated a few signs of inexperience which will surely be rectified with age. But with 3 long term right back servants ahead of him (O’Shea, Neville, Brown), a loan move would be perfect for the development of the young lad. Perhaps he wouldn’t fit as well into Villa’s system and could prove a liability in our set piece defending, but certainly if the chips are down or we’re controlling a game (trying to break teams down), he would be a valuable dimension to deploy.

Michael Carrick:

I can’t believe I just wrote this player’s name. Constantly a source of negative criticism (heavy criticism) from yours truly, I’m extremely disappointed in myself that I have turned my back on such strong beliefs. Too often, Carrick is happy to play safe and return the ball to centre back or pass the buck to his central midfield partner. He’s a player who doesn’t seem to want to make something happen, someone who doesn’t seem to want responsibility, and thus someone who hides from the ball. Yet, when he is on form, he is undoubtedly a terrific passer (if he has the balls to look forward). Starring for Spurs, he made the big money move to United because of his ability to find a game winning pass. And at times for the champions, the fans adored him. Last year, they were electric and Rooney and Berba loved feeding off the English man’s inch perfect passes. But when the going gets tough, Carrick gets running (scared). What I do think however is that Manchester United is probably a club too big for the make up of the central midfielder. Tim Howard was suspect to blunders at Old Trafford, but since his move to the blue half of Liverpool, he has proven he is one of the best keepers in the league. Likewise, Phil Neville’s selection at United was lambasted every week before he went on to captain the best club outside the top 4 and proved he was in fact a quality player. I firmly believe that with Carrick’s underlying talent, he can replace an ageing Petrov, but do so with more panache and more ability to change games for us. And with Man U about to put a miserable season behind them, a serious shake up is on the cards on Sir Matt Busby Way and the former Spurs player could well become available for around the same price we captured Downing and Milner for.

Robbie Keane:

Maybe the wrong time in his career, but Ireland’s all time leading goal-scorer has something which we have been missing for years: flair. Villa stick to a rigid system and it works great, but again when we’re facing difficulties breaking teams down, we don’t possess a player who can unlock defences with a touch of flamboyancy from nowhere. All the great teams have this creative nerve to their back bones and although maybe not a world-class number one choice, Keane could arrive at a cheap price and provide a wonderful stopgap elegance to our side.

Kris Boyd:

Rumours of his arrival were rife last season and as much as I would prefer to see a bigger name on the scene, I’m trying to maintain an air of realism – realistic, yet valuable, additions. How often do we say that Villa need a finisher? Well in Kris Boyd, we could have an indisputable great goal scorer (regardless of which league he plays in). Scoring a goal in almost every 1.3 matches, I think Boyd would make an excellent addition to our effective forward line of Gabby and Carew, but provide that deadly instinct which unfortunately is missing too much. Probably available for under £3 million, it would be silly to miss out on the 26 year old – unless we had a mouthwatering name lined up.

Shaun Wright-Phillips:

Out of favour at an ever-growing Man City, SWP could be the perfect addition to our thin squad. When Downing and Young are tired or underperforming (not to mention the possibility of injury), we have to move our best centre midfielder to the wing and rarely have I seen this pay dividends (Not because Milner can’t operate on the flank, but because we leave a gaping hole in the middle). Again, I am not his biggest fan but even with his inconsistencies, Wright-Phillips is direct and dangerous. I feel Downing and Young for sure have more to offer our first team, but when he’s on-song, little Shaun would fit like a glove into our quick moving attack and again, provide an extra dimension to the superb crossing ability of our current wingers in his willingness to take on the full back.

Having considered 7 new additions which could be acquired this coming summer, I have not only discussed fully possible targets, but I have also put forth 7 names which I think could make a world of difference to Aston Villa’s season performances. On top of this, my wish list could easily be obtained within the realms of a sensible budget and to ensure balance, I have proposed the sale of 3 high profile, replaceable players (Cuellar, Sidwell, Heskey). However, if we could keep such players and find better use for them, as well as bringing in new faces, then the squad will have improved two fold. My suggested signings provide not only a remedy for our first team weaknesses, but flesh to a bone-thin squad and invention to an unimaginative (sometimes) attack. On top of this, each potential signing are at peak age for performance and we wouldn’t have to wait for them to produce the goods. They are proven performers and would not have to adapt to the environment of the Premier League. If you consider the development of Fabian Delph, Marc Albrighton and the long awaited recovery of Wilfred Bouma, with these summer acquisitions, Aston Villa could find themselves going one step further next year. And a one step improvement on this season would result in League Cup success, FA Cup Final shot and Champions League Qualification.

7 – 1

Ashley Young is back to his dangerous self: Causing full backs all sorts of trouble and delivering cross after cross of goal scoring opportunities. John Carew is proving to be the player I knew he was – and he’s doing more…

I tried to find the positives of Saturday, I really did – but let’s be honest, we were beat by a six goal margin in the most crucial run in we’ve had this millennium.

After folding to the feeble threat of Wolves and Sunderland, an ambitious gut fooled my head into thinking how typical it would be of Villa to then go and turn over a title chasing Chelsea. 3 points at Stamford Bridge and all would have been forgotten. And dare I say it: fourth place would have been secured.

And for 40 minutes, we fought. For 40 minutes, we withstood the threat of Chelsea and for 40 minutes, we looked every bit as competent as they did. Martin O’Neill was quoted to say that,

“We stopped competing at 3-1…”

Second Best

In truth, however, we stopped competing at half time.

After drawing level courtesy of another young-carew combo, we looked in good shape to carry the fight to the home side. I was thinking such was our away form that we could probably nick the win. Instead, after an inspiring 10 minutes following the equaliser, we were undone at the back in the 42^nd minute with some expert clumsy defending – and what was to follow in the next 50 minutes will unfortunately forever be remembered in this club’s history.

It was almost as if it was a race to score the third – and whoever got it, crossed the finishing line. And that’s exactly what happened: Lampard slotted the penalty in the net and at 2-1, Chelsea were home and dry before half time. Walking into the tunnel at the whistle, heads were down. Returning to the field for the second half, belief was minimal and very surprisingly for and O’Neill outfit: effort was scarce.

Unorganised and disinterested. How often does this current Aston Villa side get labelled with such tripe? Justified tripe in this case. After taking the foot off the gas against Wolves, I could see through the Sunderland result – we were good, and deserved all 3 points – sometimes that happens. But to surrender so cheaply in the heat of battle shows tremendous lack of character. Giving up is never an option and it is certainly not a desirable trait to have in any sphere of life.

Walter Payton

Walter Payton, former Chicago Bears running back, wrote in his autobiography, Never Die Easy, that if an opponent were to overcome you then they should have to earn your death first. Put simply, they would have to go to the very edge with you before someone falls over. Even at that, you should struggle to be pushed over – never die easy. Teams lose … it’s something we have to accept as football supporters, but surely we can expect our teams to lose with dignity. Surely we can even walk away with pride in defeat – granted the opponents have earned their victory. I remember our hard fought Goodison Park victory of last year when Young fired us ahead in the last kick of the game after Lescott had equalised deep in stoppage time. Analysing the post match interviews, there was nothing bitter about David Moyes. He was sad to lose of course, but you could tell from the nature of his talk that he knew his team had pushed Villa to the very limit and to snatch victory, we needed something special from our very last roll of the dice. There was a certain honour and respect that day amongst both teams, and rightly so.

Don’t get me wrong, Chelsea are a decent team. They were my tip for the league all year (although United are looking even stronger) and there is certainly no shame in buckling under the unrelenting pressure of Stamford Bridge. The pace of their attack was admirable; they were exciting and were cutting through Villa like a warm knife through melted butter. But only when they were given the chance.

And didn’t we just give them the chance. Because as we went in at the break, a goal to the worse, self pity was rife and we came out flinching until we were knocked firmly on our backsides straight after the restart. And instead of getting up and fighting, instead of standing tall and pushing back, we lay on our knees and took whatever punishment Chelsea had in them to give. We afforded them space, time and freedom and watched on in helpless woe, through the fingers covering our coward faces, waiting for our opponents to retreat. At half time, our heads were already on the team bus. At full time, the players found the haven of the road back to Birmingham; but left behind their dignity, their honour and their respect.

And now I’m hearing we might not even get another run out at Wembley. And I’d probably agree with that decision too: because the Chelsea, Villa semi is probably better to be staged at Twickenham – they have a bigger scoreboard.

 What next for Villa?

Well they can continue to freewheel down this treacherous path or begin to climb back out to where they want to be. The path they are on now is deceiving – it’s the easy option to take. It’s downhill and rose tinted, and requires absolutely no effort. But it is downhill for a reason. Because as per the nature of free falling, there is always a rock bottom to hit – and this rock bottom promises only FA Cup elimination and 7^th place (Everton results pending). And what a pointless voyage this season of hope would be should we show no backbone and fold to the temptation of our current pathway.

 “Losing your way on a journey is unfortunate. But losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel.”

Yes, Villa have lost their way – but it would be so much more tragic if they were to lose their purpose. When Martin O’Neill took charge in 2006, he spoke of the pride of 1982 and stated that ultimately, European success “is the dream”. Why lose sight of that now? Why render our endeavours futile? All hurt and physical sickness aside, we were always going to lose that game away to Chelsea so we have not lost ground. We did slip up in our previous two games but have a massive chance to rectify that against Bolton (a) and Everton (h). Tough games, but if we were to steal all six points then our season is well and truly back on track. Remember Spurs’ horrific run-in and hopefully they will fall short. The situation as we have it now is with 7 games left – 6 wins are an absolute must, and I’d go as far as saying that no more defeats are afforded. This is the road we have sidetracked off, the uphill rocky mountain which has no place for the faint hearted or the self-pitiful. But it is the road which we must climb back onto and crawl back up because at the end of it, lies Champions League riches and a possible crack at another cup. At the end of it, lies the reason for our journey. And should we fail to make the 70 points mark, should we fail to reach the end of the road, we might find ourselves slipping back down or falling over edge – but if so, I’d like to think that we didn’t die easy.