April 2009 Archives

Contrast. Noun

"a difference which is clearly seen when two things are compared."

It has been a season of ridiculous contrasts at Villa.

Seven away wins on the spin, a club record.

A first win at Arsenal in 15 years.

The heaviest defeat at Liverpool in over 50 years.

Ten away victories in the top flight - with two trips still to play just one short of equalling a club record of away wins in the top division.

13 games unbeaten in the top flight for the first time in 99 years.

Five home wins all season - with two games to play the lowest amount ever achieved by the club in an entire season and reached just once before, again around 100 years ago.

Two derby wins over Albion. Two miserable derbies against Stoke.

One player reborn in Stiliyan Petrov. Another lost in Martin Laursen.

Ashley Young winning PFA Young Player of the Year and Gabby Agbonlahor second. Both exhilerating at times during the first half of the season and disappearing for long chunks thereafter.

The European experience of beating Ajax and winning in Prague. The home disaster against Zilina, and disappointments of Hamburg and Moscow.

Curtis Davies pre-Laursen's absence and post.

John Carew pre-Ajax and post.

Villa's form pre the FA Cup trip to Everton and post.

That first away win in London in four years at Tottenham followed by more at Arsenal and West Ham. Those awful displays in the north-east at Newcastle and Sunderland.

45 minutes of free-flowing, powerful football at home to Arsenal followed by 25 minutes of sleepy football and ultimately a rousing finale.

45 minutes of utter dross at Manchester City followed by 45 minutes of some promise.

Like a "revel" chocolate or an Ashley Young free-kick. You never know quite what you are going to get.

THERES still a fortnight to go before the end of season gongs are dished out.

Gongs and dishes. I've been watching too much Hells Kitchen. Well, Marco Pierre White will be at Villa Park next month in the flesh, so maybe he has been on my mind.

Anway, I digress. Only Martin Laursen announcing his retirement and potentially causing a surge in sympathetic voters can seemingly halt Stiliyan Petrov's march to the crown.

That would represent some comeback from the Bulgarian who was hopeless in his first few months at the club.

He was out of the side and nowhere only 12 months ago only to be brought back just in time for Villa to crash 15 goals past Bolton, Derby and you know who.

It would be an astonishing turnaround but Petrov has enjoyed a consistently fine season.

Which is why it is of paramount importance that a new contract can be agreed.

Talks, of course, are "ongoing". They always are even if one side has completely and utterly given up the ghost.

My understanding is that Petrov may first want to see where Villa's ambitions lie for next season before he commits.

At least one Premier club with massive backing behind them have made an enquiry.

Why would Petrov want assurances? Well, Villa face the prospect of heading into the new campaign without two of their key players: Laursen and Gareth Barry.

The speculation about who will replace Laursen has already started.

Clearly Villa need a new commanding centre-back regardless of Laursen carrying on or not.

Joleon Lescott anyone? Boyhood Villa supporter.

But at £10 million. Fat chance. He's only one year into a four year contract. And would he swap Everton, sixth in the Premier and in the FA Cup Final, for Villa in fifth? Possibly, but unlikely.

More likely I'd have thought Martin O'Neill might be looking at Fulham's Brede Hangeland who has two years left on his contract and has been pulling up trees this season.

As for those awards Petrov will more than likely walk the supporters vote unless there is a late swing for Laursen on the grounds that he may have left the game by then. We should know within 24 hours on that one.

My vote would go for Gareth Barry as Player of the Season. I think the only reason he won't get it this year is because of all the nonesense of last summer and because I feel he gets judged on higher expectations than everybody else.

Another strong contender would be Luke Young. Consistently fine throughout the season, left or right.

Ashley Young and John Carew are worth a mention. Young is a match-winner but can do so much more. And Carew? He started the season strongly before he got that whiff of a stiletto heel before the Ajax game. He's doing well at the tail end now (tail end of the season not the heel).

As for Players' Player? Difficult to call who the dressing room will go for but Barry must be favourite ahead of Petrov, Ashley Young, Luke Young and Laursen.

Goal of the Season? Easy. Ashley Young's winner in stoppage time at Everton. The stuff of dreams. Carew's against Stoke is also worthy of mention, as is Gabby Agbonlahor's at Arsenal.

Young Player? Even easier. Ashley Young by a country mile. Agbonlahor did really well up to February at Blackburn, really well indeed. But Young should walk it.

Anyway, Tuesday 12th May at the New Bingley Hall rather than Villa's Holte Suite is where the action takes place.

If only there were awards for worst player, worst performance, worst trainer, worst dresser, worst haircut just to spice things up a bit.

As for Hell's Kitchen. Please get rid of Anthea.

The silence surrounding Martin Laursen's latest injury has been defeaning. Not just here in England but also in Laursen's homeland.

For perhaps the first time in Laursen's footballing career the 31-year-old is refusing to divulge any information to a number of Danish journalists who insist they have been close to him for a number of years and have never known anything like this before.

These include people who spent time at his Birmingham home conducting interviews just a couple of months ago when he retired from the Danish national team.

Laursen has always stuck by them.

So what can we glean from this?

Clearly Laursen is facing a potentially life-changing decision.

Rumours of his retirement have been circulating through the walls of Villa Park for the past fortnight.

So far Martin O'Neill has said little, other than revealing that the player was "struggling" and that Laursen was returning home before a meeting that was to take place yesterday (Monday).

Not surprisingly those Danish journalists are again being given a polite "there is no news" message from Laursen today, other than to admit the meeting took place.

A source has suggested to me last week that Laursen has been given until this Friday to make a decision - either to walk away from a game that he has graced to magnificently for over a decade, or to put pen-to-paper on some kind of new pay-as-you-play deal for next season that will allow him to sit out training, rather like Paul McGrath did in the 1990s.

Such an agreement would appear to make superb sense. But not if his long-term fitness was in doubt.

Some years ago I was reasonably close to Laursen. It was at this time that I remember reading an interview in the Denmark press where he described quite openly a lack of cartilage in both knees and his sometime difficulty in doing the simplest of tasks like walking down stairs.

I remember speaking to him throughout his 12 month sabatical in Bologna as he recuperated from career-saving surgery in the United States.

I remember on at least one occasion calling him to make sure he rejected a morning newspaper story that his career was in doubt.

Meanwhile Curtis Davies has become the first player to openly mention the R word and Laursen in the same sentence. I love Davies' honesty but I'm no sure it will have gone down too well with the manager.

As for Laursen, he will go down as one of the best defenders the club has seen over the last couple of decades.

His partnership with Olof Mellberg under David O'Leary's management was particularly fruitful.

But it was last season where he more than doubled his Premier League appearances where he gave by far his best service. A new two and a half year contract in January 2008 looked superb business for club and player.

Had he stayed fit beyond Christmas this year then there is little doubt Arsenal could have been shut out of the race for fourth.

But those injury problems that blighted his initial years at Villa were set to return.

28 games in his first three seasons was hardly good enough.

89 starts in five seasons in still way short of anything the player or supporters might have hoped for.

Whatever the next few days bring we must all wish him well.

He has been good for Villa... and clearly Villa have been terrific in years gone by in standing by him.

His loss, if that's the way it eventually goes, will be huge.

How much would you pay on the open market for a player of his ability? Even at the age of 31 Villa would have got their £3 million back. And then some.

THE best game ever? Well the game on the telly the other night at Stamford Bridge was as good as anything I have seen since Sunday.

Villa - Everton had the lot.

Villa played well. How Marouane Fellaini gets away with his elbows is anyone's guess. How Tim Cahill is not pulled up for assault at corners is another. Still at 5'8" it is the centre-halves job to stop him and at 6'2" Curtis Davies came up short.

It's been two months and one week from hell.

February 7, 2009, and Villa sat third in the table eight points clear of Arsenal, who had a game in hand. They'd taken 51 points from 25 games - title winning form. They were three points off the top (Liverpool), two points behind Manchester United and two points clear of Chelsea who still had to come to Villa Park where they'd an atrocious record.

And no, I will not even mention cup competitions. The manager clearly doesn't want to. Despite the fact he appears to be quoted on it frequently.

The form table is also not easy reading. Played 6, points 2. That's 14 less than Arsenal. Ahead of only Sunderland. That's including Newcastle and West Brom, in case you thought I'd left them out through sympathy.

The chances of catching Arsenal? Slim. Particularly when you think Villa have taken two points from 21 and Arsenal are unbeaten in 18 league games. Villa's 13 game run earlier this season was their best in the top flight for 90-odd years. Manchester United and Liverpool have done more this season alone, that's the company Villa are against.

Even if Arsenal lose all three matches to the top three then Villa will have to pick up five wins out of six. Even then they have to hope the Gunners pick up no more than seven points from their other three matches. So it's a tall order indeed.

In reality the manager still talks of hope but I think his preparations for a second season in the UEFA Cup will now be firmly under way.

It looks like he'll go into the Europa League perhaps without two of his best players and possibly a third.

The news that Martin Laursen will miss the rest of the season surprised few.

If that's all he misses then their will be a huge sigh of relief inside the walls of Villa Park.

Gareth Barry will leave in the summer. Of that their can be little doubt.

And Stiliyan Petrov's contract? Well, no news on that one. No entering his final 14 months there will undoubtedly have been initial discussions.

Villa cannot allow him to leave. Steve Sidwell and Nigel Reo-Coker are simply not good enough to fill the void.

There have already been the end of season clear-out stories in some papers. I'm sure some players will move on. Reo-Coker will need to have talks over a new deal. Does he want to stay? Or does he want to move back to London?

John Carew signed a one year extension last summer which always meant he would see how this season went. He has two years left so once again talks will be fairly imminent.

Other clubs will no doubt be interested, probably Tottenham and Manchester City. A couple of months ago I'd not have given much hope of him wanting to stay, but now I'm not at all sure.

Zat Knight too will be due some talks. Curtis Davies too.

Then there's the likes of Sidwell and Nicky Shorey, who both might want to move on whilst Marlon Harewood has little hope of seeing out his final year.

It's going to be a busy summer.

Martin O'Neill, despite this wretched run which has brought so much gloom, has done a terrific job. 12 months ago to the day Villa actually had two more points in the bag.

But they'd played two games more and sat only in seventh place in the division, behind Portsmouth and Everton and eleven points off the big four.

Okay, so if that statistic is no good then try the fact that after 32 games of last season Villa had 49 points- four fewer than this season - and sat eighth in the table behind Blackburn Rovers.

12 months earlier, in April 2007, Villa had only 38 points from 32 games in O'Neill's first season and were 13th. Behind such heavyweights as Bolton, Reading and Middlesbrough.

If you have to delve back into David O'Leary's reign then Villa sat 16th with 35 points after 32 games of his final season in April 2006, one place above West Brom and eight points behind mid-table Charlton.

So there can be no question the team are moving forwards.

Are the team moving quickly enough? Not for everybody. But direct qualification for Europe for the first time since John Gregory took over from Brian Little is not a bad start, although I'd agree that a few wins before the end of the season are still desperately needed for the new term to begin without the shadow of Moscow hanging over it.

On another matter it was good to see Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor in the running for the young player of the year award. Clearly, as in the main vote, the nominations were compiled when Villa were winning game after game as Manchester United were.

Clearly the votes are also taken by players who watch the highlights week-after-week and nothing more. Will many Villa supporters even have voted for Agbonlahor as young player at club level? Not many.

Young, as I have said time and time again, is a world beater at times but desperately needs consistency.

These two and the likes of James Milner, Petrov, Carew, Luke Young, Ashley Young and Davies when he refinds some confidence, can be at the fulcrum of a successful club.

But it will take investment this summer, sizeable at that. Because expectations are as high as ever and Tottenham and Manchester City (there, I've mentioned them again) are wanting to knock Villa down a peg or three.

THE arguments over a five man midfield should now subside.

4-4-2 worked a treat against albeit a severely weakened Manchester United.

John Carew and Gabby Agbonlahor proved they can play together.

And Villa proved that their is spirit in their side.

It might sound funny but a fourth straight defeat might be just the platform for Villa to push on and cement that fifth place.

Not fourth? Well, like most I fear that that six point cushion, which is effectively seven to Arsenal, is too much to claw back.

Sure Arsenal have to play the top three. But they'd have to lose the lot.

Martin O'Neill had spoken of wanting to keep the gap to one or two points after the tricky games against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United.

What he and Villa are now facing is a six-pointer against Everton that is pretty much a winner takes all enounter for fifth.

Sure everyone at Villa will have been dismayed by that late collapse at Old Trafford when the team were on the verge of re-writing history.

With 20 or even 15 minutes to play I still thought they were more likely to win 3-1 than draw 2-2 let alone lose.

But lose they did.

And yet in such a way that I think they've bought some valuable patience this Sunday.

It would surprise me if there is any negativity around at Villa Park which may have been the case should Everton have been having the better of things for, say, 25 minutes or so.

There were obvious negatives at United. Is Curtis Davies good enough? Or is it a confidence thing having recently been out of the side? His first half error which allowed Ryan Giggs a free run on goal was woeful. His defender thereafter saw him hacking the ball to all sides of the 'Theatre'.

Should Brad Friedel stand behind his wall after he has lined up his defenders at free kicks? Stiliyan Petrov will not have been the only one angry at the American.

Do Villa defend deeply whilst on the verge of glory because of naivety? Or is it nerves? Or is it simply a lack of tactics?

Does Ashley Young have a self-destruct button when facing the big four? How childish was his continued rant at a linesman which earned him his booking, regardless of whether he thought he was right.

Does James Milner offer anything other than 90 minutes of honest workrate? The first goal was down to his mistake in tapping the ball back, but in the heat of battle far worse attrocities can occur. He didn't mean to do it.

Anyway, the simple fact is that they were only beaten by two superb goals out of the blue. No complaints. It was unfair, but that's football.

Mike Riley was poor throughout. Not just in his decision to find five minutes of stoppage time for three substitutions, minor treatment to Agbonlahor and two goals.

The positives? Many and varied.

Nicky Shorey took the bull by the horns, so to speak. Wherever did he find the confidence to run with the ball at opposition defenders after being out of the league side for five months? His defending was fine too.

Ronaldo once again got the plaudits, for his goals but whenever did he open up Villa with his running?

Luke Young is consistently good and a good outside bet for Player of the Season.

Carlos Cuellar had arguably his best game for the club, showing a turn of pace and reading of the game hitherto rarely seen.

Gareth Barry and Petrov were outstanding. The latter got my vote for man of the match but it could have been either.

And the twoup front in John Carew and Gabby Agbonlahor rolled back the clock to the tail end of last year when the Norwegian was talismanic before he slipped out late one night before the Ajax game.

Agbonlahor fluffed his lines with one or two wrong decisions or misplaced passes late on when Villa really could have wrapped things up on the break, but his goal and all round play were symptoms of a player enjoying a resurgence of confidence after that England call-up.

That's two goals in a week for him, although the first was in January against Albion and only credited to him a few days ago. How crazy is that 'dubious goals' panel?

Nine games without a win is not the best time to be holding a "Thanks for Going to Moscow" meal.

But there are signs at least of an upturn in fortunes.

"His garden is overgrown and his washing up is never done. His floor is so covered with things that you can barely open his front door.

"Mr Messy is the messiest person in the world."

It's been a messy few weeks alright.

Not just on the pitch. Off it too.

Dennis Mortimer criticising tactics? Well, he was only saying what most fans believe. That Gabby Agbonlahor needed a breather.

Tony Morley criticising tactics? It might have appeared so in black and white. But trust me, that was the furthest thing from his mind when he was giving interviews at the Former Players' sponsorship press conference last week.

He is "livid", that was his word not mine. I think he just wanted to make the point that Nigel Reo-Coker is not a natural right-back. He's right of course. No question if you saw him at Liverpool against their Spanish left winger.

But then again, I remember Reo-Coker against West Ham at Upton Park when Carlos Cuellar went off injured. He was particularly good that December afternoon. He looked a natural. Now I know West Ham don't have Albert Riera....

It's the old cliche. You'll never win an argument without results.

I have to say I've been staggered by the amount of criticism levelled at the manager though.

Over the last few weeks a progressively growing number of fans have criticised his tactics, his UEFA Cup decision, the quality of his signings, his blinkered view of the Gabby substitution...

I spoke to a very good friend of mine earlier this week. An agent who knows Martin O'Neill well.

"Motivation can only get you so far", he said. The implication being that preparation and strategy might not be his forte.

I phoned three supporters last week. Yes, only three and not 40,000.

Two were of the opinion that he has taken the club as far as he can. One called for a degree of realism. "Ron Saunders was getting stick at Christmas when we won the title", he said. Interesting that.

I'm guessing that 66 per cent of supporters do not actually want Martin O'Neill out now. But that Moscow decision and eight winless matches have certainly seen his popularity slip to somewhere around the 80 per cent mark, although again it is difficult to quantify.

Did he do enough in the January window? No.

Clearly his targets were not available at the price he wanted to pay. So should he have bought down the chain to bolster numbers? Difficult one to answer as such players might be impossible then to shift out in 12 months when sitting on fat contracts.

Was it his fault? Impossible to know without a word with Randy Lerner.

Was it right not to spend when prices were sky high and when a top four place was seemingly there on a plate? In one sense it was admirable. In another perhaps foolhardy.

But the "small squad" argument cannot keep coming out after every tranfer window passes Villa by.

Personally I cannot criticise a manager who has taken Villa from 16th (admittedly a hugely false position), to 11th (still under par) to 6th (about right) to fifth.

Surely folk can see that Villa are still a year ahead of schedule?

I was asked to write a brief piece for the Manchester United programme this weekend. One of the questions went thus: 'If Villa finished in the top four would the Champions League come too early?'

My reply, I think, said that it wouldn't. That the chairman and manager would react to wherever Villa found themselves, but on reflection I have to say that such a major restructuring of the playing squad would have to take place that maybe the Europa League is the best bet.

When was the last time Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup without having to go through the rigours of the InterToto?

John Gregory couldn't manage it after that honeymoon first few months since replacing Brian Little. Not even with all that Dwight Yorke and NTL money burning a hole in his pocket. Not even with that fine side packed with expensive signings at £6m apiece in the likes of Merson, Dublin, Stone, Watson, Boateng, Hadji, Thompson and a little later Mellberg and Alpay.

And yet the supporters, I think, were right to criticise that UEFA no-show. That sent out all the wrong signals. Whenever has finishing fourth been more important than winning something?

I know why the manager did it. Look at the schedule facing Shakhtar Donetsk who knocked out CSKA Moscow.

Villa would face a quarter-final with Marseille had they seen off Shakhtar and would then face a potential further trip to the Ukraine to play Dynamo Kiev in the semis.

That's tough when games are already getting the better of you.

Anyway, on to Sunday. Does anyone really think Villa are up for the task of beating what looks to be a Manchester United reserve eleven on Sunday?

Not on the face of it. Not even with no Scholes, Rooney, Vidic or Brown and there unlikely to be an Anderson or a Berbatov. Rio Ferdinand struggling too? Perhaps.

Villa will have some fitness checks to do themselves. Emile Heskey is out through injury. I don't buy the "O'Neill fury at FA" argument. Too simplistic that one.

You can't keep harbouring a grudge every time your players get called up by England.

Was O'Neill angry at the late call-up of Agbonlahor to the under-21s last week as some headlines duly barked?

No. When I spoke to him on the telephone yesterday he suggested that those stories were simply "made up". "It would be impossible for them to know because I turned my phone off and spoke to absolutely no one", he said.

Sure, he'll be disappointed at the loss of Heskey. But which club manager is happy with losing players after an international break?

John Carew or Agbonlahor will surely be up front alone at Old Trafford. Wilfred Bouma will surely be at left-back. Luke Young at right-back. Zat Knight will surely be back in defence. A five man midfield with James Milner and Ashley Young on the flanks and Stiliyan Petrov, Gareth Barry and either Reo-Coker or Craig Gardner should be in the middle.

Incidentally the manager had some interesting things to say about expectations which of course are as high as at any time in the last decade.

He wants them high. But he also wants a drop of realism.

"It's crazy", Gordon Cowans said to me at the Former Players do last week, "when you look at what he has done for the club".

Anyway, I'm expecting a performance of character and steel at Old Trafford. That might not be enough but it will certainly get the fans back on side ahead of a crucial game against Everton.

I remember the win at Arsenal in November. A point at United right now would feel almost as good.