Tag Archives: Aston Villa

Risky Business

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'Is that a positive welcome I see before me at Villa Park? Oh...'

‘Is that a positive welcome I see before me at Villa Park? Oh…’

It seems that an almost universally unpopular appointment is about to be made, no, not Andy Gray as lead commentator on the forthcoming Women’s World Cup, but the arrival of Alex McLeish as Aston Villa manager.

The fury of Villa fans at the prospect of Big ‘Eck’s arrival is perhaps understandable. This is, after all, the man who has just taken Birmingham down (hold on… Villa hero by definition, no?), having produced one of the most dismally defensive and dour teams the Premier League has seen. Indeed, outside of the partisan provinces of Small Heath, despite the guffaw-inducing victory over Wenger’s desperate bottlers, Arsenal in the league cup, there will be few fans sorry to see the back of McLeish’s Blues.

The Villa Park faithful, who suffered a topsy-turvy season in 2010/11, must be racking their brains, trying to understand Randy Lerner’s thinking. The usually prudent, some might say overly-cautious, American fell out with Martin O’Neill, the club’s popular erstwhile manager, who took Villa to three 6th place finishes from 2008 to 2010, ostensibly over Lerner’s lack of financial support, which, O’Neill believed, prevented the club pushing on towards a coveted top 4 spot.

After the untimely exit of the Northern Irishman came the farce of Houllier. The genial Frenchman, having been out of management since 2007, arrived at Villa Park in September. Results were disastrous and the Midlands’ biggest club flirted with relegation for a large chunk of the season.

The January signing of Sunderland and England’s Darren Bent did a great deal to ameliorate Villa’s on-pitch fortunes, however Lerner’s personal fortune took a hefty blow, with the former Spurs and Charlton man costing £18M, possibly rising to £24M. This signing, or rather the policy behind the signing, strikes me as bizarre. How could Lerner refuse to provide adequate funds to Martin O’Neill, who had made Villa one of a few teams realistically looking to break into the top 4, yet suddenly smash the club’s transfer record when Houllier had acquainted Villa with the not so salubrious surroundings of the relegation zone?

There are those that would suggest that signing Bent and subsequently avoiding relegation makes the large spend valid, and yes, the acquisition of Bent helped lift the club clear of danger – but if such a player had been allowed to join under O’Neill, who knows, maybe it would have been a Champions League spot, not an undeserved 9th placed finish in the Premier League that Villa fans would have been celebrating.

Randy Lerner has caused consternation amongst some fans with his inconsistent funding but generally the quiet American (he is rarely seen or heard of in the national press, unlike, for example, self-publicist of the decade, Dave ‘Let’s name the stadium after me’ Whelan) is respected by the Villa Park faithful. However, the potential arrival of McLeish threatens that relationship, as vitriolic Villa fans spewing forth outraged bile over the possible appointment on forums and radio-stations all around have made very clear.

Little in football elicits such unbridled emotion as the heat of a city rivalry and while Spurs v Arsenal, Liverpool v Everton and United v City are recognised, particularly more recently, as high-tension, pride-at-stake games, the Second City Derby rarely receives equal media attention outside of the West Midlands. Maybe it’s Birmingham City’s position as a yo-yo club, far from established in the Premier League, maybe it’s the national stereotype of Birmingham as unfashionable or maybe it’s the South-Eastern/North-Western focus of football in this country – whatever the contributing factors, as someone who lives in Birmingham, I feel well-positioned to say, the emotion on display when the Villa and the Blues face-off is just as fierce as at any of the derbies above.

The appointment of a manager who has just had his team relegated from the league and who has spent 4 years with your biggest rivals is not an overtly appealing prospect, neither is the idea of your manager, having been backed by the board and organised three transfers in preparation for next season, suddenly resigning by e-mail. Villa fans aren’t happy, Blues fans are annoyed (although gauging the mood of many Bluenoses, there seems to be a feeling of good riddance, hope you continue your negative tactics at Villa Park).

It seems to go against all sense for Villa to appoint McLeish, if he is not immediately successful he will be hounded out of the club quicker than you can say Dr. Josef Venglos and even if he does bring any kind of success to the club, he will always be tainted by his association with the other side (see George Graham at Tottenham for a similar example).

Although many are unimpressed by Mark Hughes, his record is at the very least comparable with McLeish’s; after guiding Wales to the best period in their recent history, Sparky did well with Blackburn, two top 7 finishes in 3 years, and after a turbulent year at Manchester City, he came back to record an impressive 8th place finish with Fulham last term.

Rafa Benitez, despite his reputation for pragmatic, defensive-minded tactics won the Champions League and the FA Cup with Liverpool, as well as La Liga and the UEFA Cup with Valencia and has by far the most demonstrably high calibre of all the names linked with the job (except Carlo ‘The Lone Eyebrow’ Ancelotti, but he’s taken a year off to train his right eyebrow up to the standard of its counterpart).

With both managers available immediately, it is surprising that Lerner would want McLeish, who Birmingham are insisting must be compensated for. Perhaps the American is looking to return to frugal ways in the transfer market, the Scotsman is used to tight budgets after his spells with Rangers and Birmingham, or maybe the wage demands of Hughes and Benitez put him off, but after the mistake of Houllier, if Lerner offers McLeish the chance at a big club many think he deserves, he will be making a risky move that may put his relationship with the fans on a knife-edge.

Feasting in a Famine

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After a relatively quiet transfer window so far, the January sales seem finally to be getting going. Well, sales is perhaps the wrong word; a lot of the ‘transfers’ are actually loan signings.  From Yakubu’s arrival at Leicester to Bentley’s entrance at St.Andrew’s, there’s a feeling that, with only two weeks to go till the window’s closure, managers across the land are gearing up to swoop.

The latest big transfer story regards Sunderland and occasional England striker, Darren Bent.  After a frustrating time at Spurs, Bent appeared to have found at the Stadium of Light an arena in which he truly could flourish.  The strong support of the Sunderland fans combined with the belief of his manager, Steve Bruce, allowed a previously under-confident Bent to shine, with an excellent 24 goal haul in last season’s Premier League.  Having settled so quickly in the North-East, and with Sunderland currently sixth in the table, it came as a shock to hear that Bent today handed in a transfer request.  It was surely an even greater surprise to find out that the club to whom he wanted go was Aston Villa, currently lying in a lowly seventeenth position.

On his way? Darren Bent could be swapping Sunderland for Birmingham

On his way? Darren Bent could be swapping Sunderland for Birmingham

Despite the obvious questions marks surrounding the player’s desire to move from the top six to the bottom four, much of the surprise expressed since the news broke revolves around the fee that Villa are willing/will need to pay to secure Bent’s services.  A bid of £18m was apparently turned down by the Wearside club, with rumours suggesting that only a sum of over £20m would prise the Londoner from the North-East.  Many were amazed that such high figures were being suggested in relation to Darren Bent; the logic seemingly being that he has had one great season that may well prove to be a flash in the pan.  However, if you consider the number of goals he has scored in the Premier League in the last few seasons and take into account the restrictions on his appearances at Spurs, Bent’s record is certainly impressive.  Of the top flight’s forwards, only Rooney, Drogba and Torres, all of whom are fairly considered World Class, boast better records, with Bent sharing exactly the same goals per game ratio as Carlos Tevez (42 goals in 98 games)and roughly the same as Jermain Defoe (40 in 92).  It could be argued then that Sunderland have every right to expect a figure of around £18m for the 26 year-old Bent, as one of the league’s leading goal-scorers and as a striker who has so far cost the club themselves somewhere between 10 and 16.5 million pounds. The supposed demand of a figure over £20m is perhaps beyond the pale, but some fans need reminding as to the demonstrable talent that Bent possesses and his usefulness in front of goal in one of the best leagues in the world. 

Often a frustrated figure at Aston Villa - Martin O'Neill

Often a frustrated figure at Aston Villa – Martin O’Neill

Perhaps the most remarkable point to consider in relation to this unexpected bid is the reasoning behind Aston Villa chairman, Randy Lerner’s decision-making.  One of the principal reasons behind Martin O’Neill’s sudden departure from Villa Park was the apparent refusal of his billionaire boss to back the Northern Irishman sufficiently in the transfer market.  Despite taking Villa to two impressive sixth-place finishes, O’Neill was unable to convince Lerner that to make the vital next step into the Champions League qualification places, further and substantial investment in the team was required.  Fast forward six months, Villa have gone from sixth under O’Neill to seventeenth under the unconvincing Gerard Houllier, yet it is at this point that Lerner decides to open his wallet.  While relegation would be a financial and emotional disaster for Aston Villa, and its avoidance must be the club’s key aim this season, breaking the club’s transfer record at this stage smacks of desperation and an ill-conceived financial approach.  True, times are now desperate, but restricting the manager from investing in better players when the times are good and suddenly dispensing a great deal when times are bad is an ironic twist that surely will not be lost on Martin O’Neill as he considers throwing his lot in with the ruthless Davids, Sullivan and Gold, at West Ham.

If Villa do sign Bent, then I am sure he will prove a worthwhile purchase; the team’s ability to score, or lack of it (with an average of just over one goal per game), has cost them dearly and a proven marksman such as Bent can only aid their cause.  However, for the future of the football club, Randy Lerner must realise that a long-term approach of feasting in a famine is a recipe for disaster.