Aston Villa - fan's review of 2008/09 Premier League season
Aston Villa - fan's review of 2008/09 Premier League season
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Tuesday, 02, Jun 2009 04:49
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2008/09 season.
Many Aston Villa fans will see it as a season of 'what might have been' but, in my opinion, there were still many positives to take from what was still a strong campaign.
The season began fairly negatively with Wilfred Bouma injuring himself for what proved to be the season in the Intertoto Cup and some fairly uninspiring performances throughout the rest of the competition, although Gareth Barry did remain, without the captain's armband, after the long-running saga with Liverpool over the summer.
However, things began to pick up come the start of the season with Gabby Agbonlahor netting a hat-trick in a 4-2 opening day win over newly taken-over Manchester City.
The Uefa Cup campaign was underway soon after as European football returned to Villa Park for the first time in seven seasons, and Barry netted the winner and began to build bridges with the Villa fans in a 2-1 over Ajax.
Villa's hot form continued through to February, where a six-day period would in theory indicate the end result of the season.
But defeat to Everton in the fifth round of the FA Cup was followed by a failure to beat CSKA Moscow in the home leg in the last-32 of the Uefa Cup and then a defeat against Chelsea in the league put paid to most fans' optimism.
Villa only won two of their final 13 league games to finish in sixth spot for the second straight season. The squad is looking a lot better than this point last year, although there is plenty more work to be done.
Grade: B
High Point
Although the night with Ajax was a special moment, as was Ashley Young's winner in a 3-2 victory over Everton, a 2-0 win at the Emirates - where we also missed a penalty - was the first real sign that Villa's young team may have what it took to worry the so called 'Big Four'.
Villa arrived in London on the back of a poor 2-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough and after already getting taught a bit of a lesson by Chelsea, there were fears that a repeat could be on the agenda against Arsenal.
However, it was Villa that outclassed the opposition on the day with the pace of Young and Agbonlahor really shining through.
The highlighting moment was Agbonlahor surging clear of William Gallas to wrap up the win and leave Villa fully involved in the title race, although this was still November.
Low Point
The injury to captain and arguably the team's best player Martin Laursen in December was effectively the turning point of the season.
Laursen arrived at Villa Park with knee trouble, but after a solid run of over a year in the first team seemed like he was back to his best.
However, a knock in the 1-0 victory at West Ham was one that he failed to recover from and recently forced the Dane to retire from the game - a massive blow for Villa.
In his absence, although the results kept coming for another month, it was obvious that it was a matter of time before things started going the other way.
His strength, aerial prowess, desire and positional sense was never replaced by Carlos Cuellar or Zat Knight, while the form of defensive colleague Curtis Davies also seemed to dip without Laursen's guidance.
Many fans will also point to the 2-2 home draw against Stoke - where we were 2-0 up and cruising with two minutes to go - as a calamitous moment.
The manager
Martin O'Neill remains the messiah of the Villa Park faithful, with the vast majority still having total faith in his abilities.
O'Neill continued to shrewdly strengthen the squad with the summer signings of Luke Young and James Milner proving of particular worth, while Emile Heskey's addition in January was another inspired capture.
However, the Irishman's neglect to spend more than he deems worthy for an individual player may have upset some Villa fans over the course of the season as the squad is still deemed to be on the thin side.
This point was backed up in the aforementioned three games in a week, where O'Neill put out a reserve side for the away leg against CSKA Moscow to rest the first-team in a bid to maintain a challenge for the top four.
This side saw the debuts of two reserve team players and also indicated the difference in quality between Villa's top 15 or so players and the rest.
However, he did go some way to apologising to the fans which had made the trip to Russia by laying on a free three-course meal as a goodwill gesture.
Fan's Player of the Year
- Stiliyan Petrov -
A worthy winner for his constant effort and work-rate in Villa's engine room and continued to give his all when it appeared that others were getting tired and falling by the wayside, as the games mounted up late in the season.
His campaign was even more impressive after the stick he took from Villa fans last season for a string of what were seen as poor performances.
However, a move to a deeper midfield role, with the added responsibility of protecting the defence, made him a first-team regular while seeing a considerable improvement in his form. Petrov was arguably Villa's most consistent player this season.
Needs for Next Season
Replacing Laursen is not going to be an easy job, but is a gaping hole that definitely needs filling.
Curtis Davies has shown signs of a strong future and a partner that can continue to aid his progression and take the added responsibility would be of great use, as the defence began to get a bit leaky towards the season's end.
With much talk over Barry's future starting the paper rounds again, a creative midfielder would also not go a miss as I think he will go this time around.
Some cover in the wide positions would allow Young and Milner to have the odd break. Ryan Babel has recently been told he can leave Liverpool and he seems to fit with the Villa ethos perfectly, although I fail to see this happening.
Finally, a striker with predatory instincts around the box could pick up another ten points for Villa. We have been fairly heavily linked with Michael Owen, but has he still got what it takes? I'm not convinced, but I'm open to being proved wrong.
Craig Kemp