Saturday marked yet another disappointment this pre-season for Aston Villa fans. Their team was handily defeated 4-1 by Dutch side Groningen. This came not long after Villa were beaten 3-1 by Football League 1 club Chesterfield. Don’t think that Villa played these matches with a weak squad, either. Most regular starters featured in at least one of those two matches, as well as the three previous pre-season games (which the Villains won against Mansfield of League 2 and both Houston and Dallas of MLS on their tour of America).
This summer, Villa’s only signings have all been old players on the back ends of their careers. Joe Cole, while he would’ve been a big signing a few years ago, is unlikely to be very useful. The same goes for Phillipe Senderos, who is well past his Arsenal days. Fortunately, both Cole and Senderos were brought over on free transfers, so they won’t cause much damage financially.
The only Villa signing who seems to be potentially beneficial is Kieran Richardson, who, although also quite washed up, has shown flashes of usefulness on the summer tour, slotting in anywhere from left back to centre forward. However, the good news is that manager Paul Lambert reportedly has £10 million to use on transfers this summer. He’s only spent 0.6 million, so Villa may become more active as they approach the deadline.
To add on to a less-than-convincing transfer window, Villa’s top striker, Christian Benteke (as well as Libor Kozak) will miss the start of the Premier League season (less than a fortnight away!) due to an injury suffered before the World Cup. Two years ago, it was effectively Benteke’s brilliance at scoring goals that helped Villa avoid relegation. It’s uncertain when he’ll be back, but Lambert has said, vaguely, that he’s “ahead of scheduled time“.
With an owner (American Randy Lerner) who doesn’t want the team, and is effectively letting it slip into irrelevance, Villa have a very uncertain future. There are no buyers on the horizon. If no one comes soon, then Villa could find themselves in the Championship relatively soon.
However, not everything is bleak for the Claret and Blue. With captain Ron Vlaar, who shone at the World Cup for Holland, looking like he will indeed be returning, Villa will have a great centreback pairing between Vlaar and Jores Okore. Winger Jack Grealish, hailed as the “Irish Messi”, has returned from loan with Notts County, and already has a goal in pre-season, to go along with his excellent dribbling on the wing. Many fans would like to see him replacing Marc Albrighton, who recently left for Leicester City, in the starting 11.
Aston Villa also recently announced that Roy Keane, former Manchester United skipper, will be the new assistant manager. Villa have lacked fire lately, and there’s no one in football more fiery than Keane. He was brought in to bring a spark back to this woeful club, and he could possibly achieve just that.
Last season, Villa did show flashes of greatness. Everyone in England remembers when they beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates on opening day. Just weeks later they defeated Manchester City at home. In January, Villa held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. However, the rest of the team’s matches were less spectacular. Villa limped into the end of the season in 15th place, in a relegation battle that ended very late.
Really, nobody knows how this coming season will go for Aston Villa. If things go right, and Benteke returns soon, then they could end up comfortably in the middle of the Premier League table. If not, then relegation could be beckoning.
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