Birmingham Mail - Aston Villa

Crying, Waiting, Hoping

2009-06-24T09:03:26Z

"Emptiness" as a human condition is a sense of generalised boredom, social alienation and apathy.

Don't ask me, it's there in black and white on wikipedia.

Four and a half weeks since the final game and counting...

And still the 'IN' box at Aston Villa is exactly that. Empty.

The 'Outs' make depressing reading. Martin Laursen (retired) and Gareth Barry (Manchester City, £12m).

How on earth do you replace those two at a time when average nobodies cost £8 million, or Glen Johnsons costs £18 million.

Congratulations to Stuart Taylor in getting a free transfer and a one year contract at Manchester City.

He's well thought of at reserve level at Villa for the support he has given the younger players.

But he clearly doesn't fancy first team football, does he?

I'm led to believe that things are progressing on two fronts, one of which I would bet my bottom dollar was David Bentley, that scoundrel who admitted Villa were talking to him a fortnight ago in a national newspaper.

Word has it that Martin O'Neill was none too pleased with that half-advert for his Spanish bar and threatened to pull the plug.

Anyway, Villa's players will be back in training in a fortnight in preparation for a couple of low key friendlies, the Peace Cup and a season that could see them play 16 games just to get to Hamburg (or five or six games to then send their reserves to Eastern Europe).

Time for 'Martin No Deal', as some supporters have somewhat harshly started to tag him, to deal?

Well, I sense no great urgency from within the walls of power.

I think they are comforted by the knowledge that in their opinion the big guns in the Premier League are yet to show their hands, other than of course Manchester City.

They would seem correct in that assertion by and large.

And they appear comforted in the knowledge that they clearly know who they want and are confident of closing deals with the swiftness reminiscent of that double swoop for Luke Young and Nicky Shorey last summer.

Surely Villa cannot wait until five to midnight at the end of August again?

And yet the post-bags here at the Mail are increasingly agitated and somewhat negative.

This is exactly the type of dithering that the new American broom was supposed to brush away when it breezed into power three years ago.

The club, most say, are standing on a precipice in danger of falling off the cliff face with two of their best players gone.

Manchester City and Tottenham would appear to be advancing faster than a speeding bullet. Furthermore, Chelsea are undoubtedly trying to turn Ashley Young's head with the promise of riches far beyond that which Randy Lerner can deliver.

Speaking of Tottenham, I see Ian Broomfield has been handed the Chief Scout role.

He was always a friendly face at Bodymoor Heath. Perhaps we will never get to the bottom of exactly who signed Eric Djemba-Djemba. I'm led to believe it was done directly between David O'Leary and Roy Keane.

Back to this summer and the question as to whether Villa are missing a trick.

Arsenal have signed Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax, Blues have brought in Christian Benitez, Scott Dann and Joe Hart, Blackburn have plumped for Elrio Van Heerden and Aaron Mokoena, Chelsea have blown Villa and everyone else out of the water for a virtually untried youngster in Daniel Sturridge, now earning more in a week than the average man makes in two years.

Fulham have nailed Stephen Kelly, Liverpool have the afore mentioned Johnson, Man City have the afore mentioned Barry and Roque Santa Cruz and West Ham have signed Luis Jimenez and Peter Kurucz.

Wigan landed Jordi Gomez and even Wolves have got going by signing Nenad Milijas, Marcus Hahnemann and are having a dart at Kevin Doyle.

This week's non-movers, as they use to say on 'Pick of the Pops'? (That's the radio for our older readers, or the wireless for the even older)?

Only Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton, Hull, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland and Tottenham are keeping their fans waiting, although Hull have admitted to imminent talks with Michael Owen's representatives (remember him?).

Manchester United have yet to start their summer spree, flush with an extra £80 million for a preening winker who spent most of his time on his bottom at Villa Park.

As most Villa supporters will agree, this is a huge pre-season where the advances of three years of intelligent management cannot be thrown away.

So please, please, please Villa... get cracking eh?

Southgate II - Blame Barry

2009-06-03T16:23:07Z

GARETH Southgate was never forgiven.

As proud a Villa stalwart as you can get, one who led the team out in an FA Cup Final and played a club record 42 times for England whilst at Villa, branded a 'judas' and jeered and booed at every turn over the last eight years.

All for muttering the word "ambition".

Gareth Barry might find it a little tricky too...at least in the short term. I hope not.

Martin O'Neill lauded Stiliyan Petrov a fortnight ago for never wanting to run his contract down, not at Celtic and neither at Villa.

Surely the selfish thing for Gareth Barry to do would have been to stay for 12 more months and then to fly off?

Went for the money? Don't make me laugh.

Villa offered Gareth as much as City...well, almost.

£80,000 a week and a testimonial was there for the taking had he stayed on.

Liverpool came in after the deal was done. All that messing about last summer. Left Barry hanging out to dry they did.

Then 12 months on tell him he will be playing at left-back, then allow him to agree everything with City... and then come in with a bid.

"Too late Rafa. That boat has already sailed!"

Laughable really.

But this was never about Liverpool.

Or about money.

This is about first team football and ambition. Oops, there's that word again. Uttered by Southgate all those years ago.

Back in March 2001, I interviewed Southgate who had grown stale by his own admissions.

John Gregory had blocked a lucrative move to Chelsea and he harboured Champions League ambitions.

"Mid-way through last season I decided that in terms of my career it would be the right decision to move on. I felt that I'd done everything I could for Villa,'' Southgate said over eight years ago.

"I just felt I needed a new challenge, and I didn't really see Villa battling for a Champions' League place or, more importantly, for the championship itself.

"I still feel I'm in the same situation now. I don't think anything that's happened this year has convinced me that I was wrong about the way I felt previously."

Pretty similar sentiments to today's 700 word letter sent via email to me last night by Gareth Barry, a friend over the last ten years.

Barry wanted to use the Birmingham Mail as a direct communication tool. His idea, not mine.

I'd have been happy to do an interview but I think it spoke volumes for the man. It had to be his words and his thoughts alone. Not interspersed with my interpretation of his quotes. And not hacked back to the most eye-catching 300 words.

Yesterday Barry was fearful that his thoughts would seem too contrived, too hot off the press. But thankfully he changed his mind last night, clearly the relief of a year of speculation now off his back.

He knew he'd get bucket loads of abuse ala Southgate, Yorke, Ehiogu... until that is that Manchester City set about building a team of superstars to challenge the top four, three, or two as they almost inevitably will.

Maybe then the knockers will start seeing Barry's move as one of ambition and not one motivated purely out of greed.

Barry, as he says in the letter, is fearful of becoming stale. 12 years of driving into the same Bodymoor Heath entrance whilst all of his mates have moved on - from Darius Vassell to Lee Hendrie, has taken its toll.

That first team at Sheffield Wednesday in May '98 of: Oakes, Southgate, Ehiogu, Taylor, Draper, Yorke, Joachim, Wright, Nelson, Grayson, Hendrie - all long gone to a man.

Some sold by the club, some let go for nowt, others demanding moves on pain of death. Some long forgotten, others cherished, and Southgate still despised.

Fresh challenges. We all need them from time to time. Even football writers.

The loyalty argument always makes me laugh.

Barry, after all, was pinched from Brighton.

This was Barry almost sold for £5 million to Portsmouth three years ago.

And what of Martin Laursen? Five years at Villa. Played brilliantly for one and a half of them.

He will forever return as a conquering hero, greeted by all and sundry - and rightly so. Great bloke, really excellent player.

But how much blood did he spill for Villa? Barry sweated for eleven years as a professional. Laursen spent three and a half years on the treatment table and one of those spent back in Italy with his feet up on full pay.

If you want to find a villain in all of this, blame the game.

Blame the Bosman rule, blame the TV companies, blame the agents (Barry didn't even use one, so give him credit for that at least).

Blame the state of a national game where the fourth best club can pick up £25million a year more than the fifth best.

Blame the club directors filling their faces on foie gras, king crab or caviar in plush corporate seating, maybe washing it down with a Georgia's Paddock Shiraz from Heathcote.

All this whilst acquiring accumulated debts of £3 billion in the name of sport.

If you can't blame them then blame the banks of MPs expenses?

But don't blame Barry.

Back to Southgate. He, of course, ultimately won his ambition argument with Villa. He won a trophy, albeit a League Cup when he would have collected diddly squit if he had stayed on.

Southgate, interestingly, had this to say when he signed for Boro. Just substitute Steve McClaren for Mark Hughes and it's amazing the similarity: "Once I had spoken to their manager Steve McClaren it did not take me long to make up my mind to join.

"I was extremely impressed with the manager and what he wants to achieve at the club. There is never any guarantee of success but there is a new era starting at the club which I want to be part of.

"Although it's great to be able to look ahead to a fresh challenge, I want to stress that I will not forget the great times I had at Villa and I truly wish the club well for next season.'

Football and loyalty. That old debate.

I remember George Boateng's agent threatening strike action against Villa if he failed to secure a move to Middlesbrough.

As I have said before, fans will always boo a former player.

Cyrille Regis, now a father figure at Albion, got it big style when he went back with Coventry City. How the Baggies fans cheered when he was sent off for trading blows with Martyn Bennett.

Villa will move on. The Tom Huddlestone's and David Bentley's of this world will come in.

But the worry is that without Martin Laursen and Barry, and with the top four able to go big again, and with Manchester City and Tottenham spending monopoly money, the worry is that the only way for Villa is down.

Always expect the unexpected

2009-05-22T12:29:52Z

All this fuss about expenses.

It reminds me of the tale I was told a couple of years ago of the club director here in the midlands who used to claim mileage from his midlands home to attend home matches.

Yes, home matches.

Nothing in football should ever surprise you.

Nothing.

I've just finished one of those live web chats we do every three weeks, or so.

The level of criticism levelled at Martin O'Neill was in part understandable. This has been a truly wretched 15 game run. Moscow was bad enough. But throwing away fourth place and then fifth.

If ever Villa needed to finish on a high it is Sunday.

The most important final home game since, well, since Sunderland in May 2003. Then it was all about staying in the division. Now it is all about sending out a ray of hope for next season.

Villa were four points clear of West Ham with two games to go six years back. Sunderland and Albion were already down but the Hammers were making a fight of it.

No one fancied the final game, away at struggling Leeds.

Marcus Allback scored with ten minutes to go and Villa stayed up by the skin of their teeth - four points clear of West Ham who went down on 42 points, a Premier League record high.

Sunday represents an incredible occasion for Villa but not for the reasons you would have imagined last August.

A Villa win and Newcastle, one of the best supported teams in the country, will be down.

I know an awful lot of Villa supporters who can see the funny side in that.

Indeed, a great many football fans in general will have little sympathy for Mike Ashley.

As for Villa? Is fifth really worth fighting for?

Is beating last season's 60 points worth anything whatsoever?

Is attaining 62 points and therefore getting the most points since 1996 worth anything?

Well, it will never make up for the way Villa have tossed away such a tremendous position on February 7.

It will never make up for Moscow and the decision that announced to the world that silverware meant little and that the finances of fourth meant everything.

But still the level of criticism of Martin O'Neill shocks me.

We are in a league where results mean everything. Look at Stoke. Playing hoof-the-ball football for eight months having spent a small fortune and where Tony Pullis is talked about as a contender for Manager of the Season. Laughable.

So if it is results you want then fifth or sixth place should not see the manager facing the level of criticism he is now facing, both on the internet chat rooms and in our letters pages.

Everything he has done, or is doing, is now under scrutiny.

All of a sudden the bad buys, they often point to the likes of Harewood, Shorey, Cuellar, Davies, Knight, Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Milner and Heskey out-weigh the good: Ashley and Luke Young and Petrov (admittedly after an 18 month wait).

All of a sudden the substitutions are laughable (taking off to full-backs at Fulham) and the team selections puzzling (Milner at right back) when only three months ago the Irishman was a tactical whizz, playing five in midfield and out-thinking Arsene Wenger at home and away (undoubtedly, the best 45 minutes of the season was in the draw at Villa Park and the best 90 minutes came at The Emirates).

It's going to be a massive summer as ever.

Martin Laursen has already gone. Gareth Barry may decide to join him in the fulness of time - although Rafa Benitez' promise to play Barry as a left-back or a left-sided midfielder has not gone down well with the player. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement of his qualities.

Villa have kept Petrov, which was great news. They may well decide to cash in on John Carew should a big offer come in, but that is down to them.

You never know. Bouma could be back to finally hand the club a quality left-back.

Shorey, Osbourne, Knight, Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Harewood, Taylor, Salifou and Gardner will each have decisons to make: whether to make a break or to sit on their contracts.

I can forsee any one of them moving on, but of course not all.

Then the tricky part. Spending wisely to take the club forward.

Only then, come October or November at the very earliest, should O'Neill's management of the club even start to be questioned.

Just thank your lucky stars that you are not a Newcastle supporter.

Stil a Villa Boy

2009-05-20T09:12:01Z

First the bad news.... one win in 15 matches.

Now the good news, Stiliyan Petrov is signing a new lengthy four year contract today.

That really is terrific news for Villa.

The Supporters and Players' Player of the Season had just next season on his contract and, as I have said before, there was interest in the Bulgarian from elsewhere in the Premier League from serious challengers to Villa's 5th/6th spot next season.

Petrov's future was in doubt until last week.

I would not bet against him being captain next season if, as expected, Gareth Barry moves on.

Petrov would also not have signed had he not been given some sort of assurances about team rebuilding.

The last few months have been frustrating for one and all - even sports writers.

No one wants to talk when the team is doing poorly, although I have to give a special commendation to James Milner for facing up to the music after the 5-0 drubbing at Liverpool.

Saturday's draw at Middlesbrough once again served up a right mixture.

The first half was bad. Very bad. As bad as that second half at Fulham.

But the second saw Villa back to somewhere near the form of late November to early February, at least for a sizeable portion of that 45 minutes.

Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor are struggling for form.

What on earth has happened to Villa's ability to take a free-kick? Young's were appalling at Boro and have been for some time. This from a player who is the nearest Villa fans have seen to David Beckham in years and years.

The winners for me were Milner who will surely not have expected to be playing at right-back from the start.

The early exit of Stewart Downing certainly helped Milner settle after a difficult start to the game.

But against, it must be said, a poor side apart from Tuncay Milner then picked up his game and came out with his head held high.

And I thought the centre-backs of Curtis Davies and Carlos Cuellar deserved massive credit.

Yes I know they were not up against much. But they did everything and more at The Riverside to suggest that actually they aren't bad players at all.

Martin Laursen's retirement was a massive blow to the preparations for next season.

The notion among many supporters I have spoken to over the last few months is that Cuellar has not been good enough and that Davies is a different player without Laursen shepherding him through games.

Well, let me tell you Davies has come out with some very strong words on that subject which will be printed in the Birmingham Mail later this week.

Congratulations to the 2,500 or so supporters who made the trip to The Riverside - and not just the row of 20 or so bananas - and made it such a joyous spectacle.

They could quite easily have decided to stay at home after such a depressing run but the fans have stayed with the team and the manager.

Ah - the manager!

I knew I'd have to address that one. He's still paying the price for Moscow and I have to say some of his public utterances since have hardly curried favour with the masses.

But now he finds his tactical prowess questioned at every level.

His critics are worried about an over emphasis on one or two favoured players, the fact that he plays so many out of position and that when he has to find cover for one position there seem to have to be five people moving around.

For two and-a-half seasons tactics was never an issue.

It goes back to the old saying of Graham Taylor. You will never win an argument if you are not winning football matches.

Anyway, back to Petrov. That's stage one in the rebuilding process for next season.

Stage two is to move out the dead wood - and there is plenty of that. Marlon Harewood, Isiah Osbourne - you know who they are.

Stage three is the tricky part - bringing in real quality. You might be surprised at one of the players who I have been told, by a good source, is on the list.

'Blast from the past' you might say.

Martin Laursen - the news you dreaded

2009-05-15T10:25:05Z

"I'm not talking top of the range but he fitted in with our budget," said the Villa manager of the time after a signing a centre-back for £3 milion five years back.

The manager? David O'Leary of course. The player? Martin Laursen.

O'Leary whittered something about having lost Ronny Johnsen - who failed to even turn up for the last match of the season after learning on the eve of the game he would not be getting a new contract - and Dion Dublin, similarly having learnt via the media that he would not be kept on - and Alpay.

Moan, moan, moan....

Martin Laursen was by no means an unknown quantity when he arrived.

12 months earlier he had turned down Wolves. Unthinkable, I know.

Graham Taylor had scouted him for Villa before the 2002 World Cup but was hamstrung by the club's financial commitments to Alpay and Bosko Balaban, both of whom he had wanted to pay off but was not given the authority that was soon afforded David O'Leary.

Taylor signed Ronny Johnsen on a free transfer instead and he certainly gave good value.

Laursen's debut gave no hint of the impact he would make in years to come, a 2-1 friendly defeat at Walsall.

"I don't want to be horrible but I thought Laursen looked a bit shaky," said Walsall boss Paul Merson at the time.

Well, Laursen's career came to an official end today at the age of just 31.

Five years and 89 starts at Villa. A pitiful return I know, but Villa folk will hold him in high esteem for years and years to come.

Not just because of his robust, brave approach to the game but also his quiet, dignified, graceful leadership off the pitch.

Do 89 starts in five years at the £3 million transfer fee plus around £1.5million a season, including a full year out of the game spent in Bologna recuperating and a new contract in January 2008 represent value for money?

Well, foer four of those seasons the answer would be probably not. But the 38 league games that he played last season will long live in the memory.

Mellberg, Southgate, Ehiogu - all fine central defenders indeed over the past 15 years.

Many folk though see Laursen right up there with the best of the lot, Paul McGrath.

The warning signs were blaring in March 2005.

"I've a serious cartilage problem," Laursen told the Danish media. "It makes me think of the future."

He admitted that his joints were rubbing together and that he could not walk properly down a flight of stairs.

O'Leary and Doug Ellis would privately aportion blame on each other that a more detailed medical was not carried out before the player jetted off to the Euro 2004 finals where he was a major star.

"He is as brave as a lion, said Martin O'Neill after the League Cup defeat at Chelsea when injury, medial ligaments this time, had struck again.

Then after a goalless draw at Newcastle in August 2007 O'Neill was repeating the metaphor.

"He is a very brave boy when you think of the problems he has been through with his knee it is amazing he is even able to play Premier League football. He is vital to us," gushed the manager.

Finally, another injury, at West Ham in December. One more appearance later, against Albion the following month, and another knee operation was necessary.

After that he broke down on a training camp in Dubai in March and faced 12 further months on the sidelines and yet another operation.

So finally today he has admitted his battle is lost.

Both as a player and person of real substance, Laursen will be sadly missed.

The future for Villa suddenly does not look so bright.

Down by the Riverside

2009-05-14T11:05:03Z

Congratulations to Stiliyan Petrov.

As I'd said in an earlier post he was the expected recipient of the Player of the Year award. Fully deserved.

I myself expected Gareth Barry to win at least the Players' award, but the Bulgarian has had a consistent season.

Petrov's full turnaround will be complete when he lines up against Newcastle next weekend.

Remember him being hauled off at half-time against the Toon last February? Along with Olof Mellberg?

Of course you'd have had to have paid £95 plus VAT to see Petrov pick up his gong in person on Tuesday night.

Who says football is for the common man?!

It was intriguing to see that Ashley Young picked up nothing at all. It seems his team-mates think rather less of him than they do at other clubs.

If only there was an award for Walk of the Season. Nicky Shorey would have waltzed that one with his snail-esque walk of shame after being subbed at Craven Cottage.

Like a lone foot soldier at the Somme, driving on from the trenches through the mud and over the bodies with bullets and bombs either side.

Rumour has it he is still making his way to the team coach.

Elsewhere today I see that Randy Lerner is running Aston Villa "just like Doug Ellis," according to one former senior executive at the club.

I think I know exactly where this story has come from. A long-standing former employee of the Ellis era, part of the furniture it has to be said, appears to be having a pop at the Americans?

I would not read too much into such gripes. Not unless this person wanted to stick his name to the article and then lose his season tickets.

Lerner passed the litmus test as an owner in my book by handing out nigh-on £50 million last summer to Martin O'Neill.

Of course the test ahead is to replicate that again this summer. Villa are streets ahead of where they were off the pitch three years ago but you'll never win over the supporters if the team are struggling, regardless of your training ground or stadium.

Ellis always backed his managers with money, whatever you might think to the contrary.

I personally wish Villa weren't so corporate. But how else would they compete with the bigger clubs? The closest club to Villa, arguably, in terms of make-up Everton are looking to move into a new stadium.

Will that allow them to leave Villa in their slip-stream?

Anyhow, to this weekend and the trip to Middlesbrough.

How many Villa supporters want to see Gareth Southgate relegated on Saturday?

I'm guessing quite a few. Which is a pity. If ever there was a loyal and proud Villa club man it was Southgate.

The villain of the piece was not he, and that said villain is no longer in football.

Of course the story this Saturday is all about Boro. No one cares a jot about whether Villa win, lose or draw.

But I do.

And just think of the scenario should Everton get a point at home to West Ham and Villa lose? Or Villa draw and Everton win.

That would push Villa down to sixth and would represent quite a fall from grace after the first six months of the season where anything looked possible.

Villa first held a top four place after their win at Tottenham in mid-September.

They broke back into the top four after the home win against Blackburn at the end of October. The home draw against Manchester United in November saw Villa regain fourth.

They regained it again after the home win to Bolton in mid-December and apart from a four day period prior to the away win at Hull City in late December they
remained there until they lost to Tottenham in mid-March.

But if ever you want a fixture to put smiles back on faces it is Middlesbrough away.

Boro have won only seven matches all season. Villa had managed that with their win at Arsenal on November 15, ironically six days after being beaten at home by Boro.

Villa's Premier League record at Boro is immense. Played 13, won 8 drawn 2 lost 3, goals for 30, against 15, pts 26. That's including five wins in the last six visits, having scored 17 goals.

I remember Joey Gudjonsson's 30-yarder six years ago and thought Villa had pinched the missing link. Unfortunately, Gudjonsson's only other memorable event at Villa Park was that two-footed lunge on Matthew Upson.

But he scored against Boro that January 2003 night when Graham Taylor's side got their first away win of the season in spectacular fashion, winning 5-2.

Indeed, such is Villa's domination up there (and I am not even going to mention Lee Cattermole's tears) their best performance arguably of the lot was a rare defeat, 3-0 under David Whatsisname when they absolutely battered Boro from start to finish.

So regardless of the fact that Villa were plain awful in the second half at Fulham, surely it will be three points in the bag?

Surely? But then again Luke Moore is now an Albion player and his goal against Boro used to be almost guaranteed.

Proper football back on the telly

2009-05-12T13:44:13Z

YOU know when you are getting old when the music you have always listened to and thought was trendy starts appearing on budget cd's at Asda.

There I was mulling around the store last week. Just browsing. Not too hopeful of finding a gem.

Then, all of a sudden, I spot BA Robertson's seventies pop ditty "Bang Bang" on a £2.74 compilation.

Then on the next shelf, an eighties compilation featuring not only Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie", but Paul Hardcastle's "19". Classics.

I bought both Musical Youth albums and still do a turn at parties.

On another cd, titled Alternative 80s: Big Audio Dynamite, The Blow Monkeys, Lotus Eaters and Einstein A Go-Go by Landscape. All for £3.

Three discs, £8.48 between 'em. Not great songs but mine nonetheless.

It's always been the same with football with me.

I don't want the 'best' football in the world.

I rarely watch the Champions League on TV. I haven't an interest in La Liga or Serie A. I really could not give a monkeys.

I had only a passing interest in the last European Championships last summer.

I have a passing interest in the most exciting of the lot, the Bundesliga where any of the top six can still clinch it, but just because a friend just happens to be captain of one of the teams pushing for the title, Thomas Hitzlsperger at Stuttgart.

Despite all the guff that the Premier League has never been as good, I admit there really cannot be much doubt that it has never been richer or more hyped.

There has never been more top foreign players over here. But is the end product any better than it was when I was a lad in the seventies?

Yes it's quicker, yes it's more technically advanced. A Cruyff turn used to drop jaws. Now you'd think you have to do a dozen step-overs whilst catching the ball on the back of your neck and roll it down your sleeves to beat a full-back.

But the pitches are bowling greens to what they used to be. And the balls now are like those orange and black Fido balls I used to kick about on the beach. Balls that would swerve and swoop, rise and fall on the breeze.

Thank goodness the Premier League appear to be making some sort of strides to correct the obsence amounts of debt that some clubs have entered into.

Perhaps if Ledley King wasn't on £80,000 a week I might have some sympathy for him being caught with his pants down after one too many.

But thanks to ITV4 for bringing back so many good memories and bringing to life football when it really was the beautiful game.

For the past couple of weeks Big Match Revisited on ITV4 have been showing the nation some of the best action from Sunday afternoons in April 1979.

Wolves have just stolen a point at Albion. Frank Worthington has just flicked the ball on his foot a couple of times with his back to goal from a miscleared Ipswich corner, chipped it over the defence and rifled the ball into the corner of the net.

Afterwards the interviewer wanted to speak to Arnold Muhren, one of Town's two Dutch midfielders, about the balding Pole trying to make his way at Bolton. I missed his name.

Martin O'Neill has just nodded one in on a beach of a pitch at Derby County.

Cyrille Regis and Len Cantello join West Ham's Pop Robson and a few others in the hunt for Goal of the Season. The winner gets a ticket to the European Cup Final with Forest taking on Malmo.

Brighton have just clinched promotion by winning at Newcastle. Though they did manage a win the week before courtesy of a smoke bomb thrown from their crowd behind the goal into the six yard box just as they were about to score against Blackburn. The goalkeeper didn't have a clue.

"Maybe the referee should have disallowed that one," said Brian Moore. "But it is a tricky one..."

The managers afterwards? Never a hint of an excuse about small squads, injuries or offsides.

Sunderland hope to join them having won at Wrexham courtesy of two late goals. Stoke are already up. Crystal Palace under Terry Venables hope to join them and with two games in hand they have a good chance.

"Everyone's getting nervous," jokes Terry in the dressing room after a Vince Hilaire inspired win over a Notts County team for whom Dave McVay appeared as a half-time sub (McVay is now a fine sports journalist and author).

"The secretary asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. I said yes. And she said; 'how do you want it - white or red?!'"

Oh Terry! There is a cabaret and a nightclub waiting for you one day, my son.

Stuff it! I can't wait for the outcome. I've just googled the league table and Palace made it. Up as Champions.

So, when the Premier League reaches it climax tomorrow at Wigan, I'll be thinking more about 1979 and the FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Manchester United which is being shown on Thursday.

I hear Alan Sunderland has passed a late test. That might just swing it.

History Lessons

2009-05-07T18:19:39Z

IT'S a funny thing history.

Not Henry VIII and his penchant for wives or Charles I and his penchant for wearing loose-neck sweaters.

No, I'm talking about how things have a habit of recurring.

Or more precisely how in football, what comes around seems to go around.

Take this article I stumbled across in the week.

It was written by myself in the Evening Mail (as it was then titled) in July 2004.

"GARETH Barry has warned Villa they face a 'strange' season ahead because of expectations now heaped on their shoulders," it started.

Hmm, strange indeed.

The article goes on: "Villa finished sixth last term and are expected to again keep pace with the big guns despite a modest £3million summer outlay so far. Barry puts the club's task into perspective."

That £3 million was one of the best pieces of business any Villa manager has put together in the last decade.

A pity it was David O'Leary. The player? Easy. Martin Laursen.

Anyway, Barry went on: "We should have done a lot better than 16th two years ago with the squad we had available. To improve on that was always on the cards because of the internationals we have at the club.

'This season, though, will be strange because if we want to finish above sixth then we will have to finish higher than Liverpool or Newcastle.

"But that's what we have to aim for. That's what the fans expect and it's what the players want. Our supporters argue that we should always finish in the top six because of the size of the club and the fact that in only two seasons in the Premiership have we finished outside the top eight.

"But this season there will be other so-called 'big' clubs looking to make up lost ground. The likes of Tottenham look to be spending big and then you have the likes of Everton who did ever so well two years ago but then struggled last season, so they'll be looking to get back up there.

"We have to look at ourselves and that means looking to put in another solid season."

Remarkable eh?

Apart from the reference to Newcastle, for which you can now substitute Manchester City, the words are pretty prophetic for the summer that now faces Martin O'Neill.

Barry may well be gone. Laursen would appear to be so. Stiliyan Petrov has not signed. Wilfred Bouma is back on crutches.

A flurry of others need their contracts addressed, noteably John Carew.

Will O'Neill get the funds necessary to compete with the big guns?

Only one man can answer that. Randy Lerner.

Anyway, Barry ended this interview five years ago by waxing lyrical about the needs of a goalscorer.

The article ended: "Villa scored 48 goals in 38 games - the same as relegated Leicester.

Barry adds: 'Any team with a goalscorer in their ranks is going to be up there. We had one last year in Juan Pablo Angel and that gives you a head-start on most teams. A goalscorer is always worth points on the board."

Five years later and Villa are still waiting for one.

Judge Villa from July not February

2009-05-07T16:17:11Z

TOTTENHAM have had an appalling season. Well, they have... haven't they?

Does anyone hear think that when David Bentley close White Hart Lane ahead of Villa Park and joined a summer influx including Vedran Corluka, Heurelho Gomes, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Luka Modric that Spurs would be sitting in eighth place in the Premier League a full ten points behind Villa?

Of course, such is the start that Tottenham endured under Juande Ramos, such were the riches lavished by Harry Redknapp on the likes of Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe in January, such was their fortune in getting to the Carling Cup Final over Burnley that no one even mutters how miserable another season in North London has been.

All is rosey it would appear.

Now take Villa. All is doom and gloom. Fifth place with little to play for. All this from a team sitting third on 7 February, a full eight points clear of Arsenal and three points off the top of the tree.

This at a time when neither Chelsea or Liverpool were pulling up trees.

Chelsea needed two last-gasp goals to see off Stoke the day Villa were winning at Sunderland in January - their fifth straight away win.

They'd recently been embarrassed at both Man United and at Liverpool. West Ham, Everton and Fulham had held them. Southend had drawn at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup. And minutes after Villa had completed a seventh straight away victory at Blackburn on February 7 news seeped through that they'd been held at home by Hull.

Liverpool? Won at Portsmouth on February 7 after coming from behind with five minutes remaining. This at a time when Everton had just knocked them out of the FA Cup and drawn with them in the league along with Stoke City and Wigan.

It seemed that glorious February day at Ewood Park as if Villa might be able to sustain a challenge to United.

But eleven games later and Villa have only moved seven points further on. United have taken 30 points from 12 games, Liverpool 26 points from 11 games, Chelsea 28 from 11 games and Arsenal 25 from 12 games.

Bottom club Albion have taken nine points in their eleven matches since February 7. That sort of puts into perspective the awful run Villa have been on.

But a season isn't judged on eleven matches, nor 25, it is judged on 38 games.

Tottenham, yes back to them again, had picked up nine points from their opening eleven matches and yet, as I say, everyone is judging theirs as a truly remarkable season.

So when all the frustrations of the past three months are forgotten, perhaps supporters will still judge Martin O'Neill's class of 2008/09 as worthy of a fifth place finish in the Premier League for the first time in a dozen years?

I realise at the time of writing that is asking quite a lot.

The 3,000 - 3,500 who made the trip to Fulham will not forget that abject second half so quickly.

In a season of such immense highs: that Blackburn win, the win at Arsenal, the delirium of that late winner at Everton, the European experience against Ajax and away win in Prague and those rare away wins in London at Tottenham and West Ham, the lows have been just as extreme: the five goal mauling at Anfield, the late turnaround at Old Trafford, a shocking first half at Manchester City, that appalling late surrender to Stoke and cup exits to QPR, Everton and Moscow.

It was so satisfying to be able to write about a win again against Hull last Monday night, but Craven Cottage - including that walk of shame by Nicky Shorey - sent Villa one step backwards.

The sizzle had long been a fizzle to Villa's season and the pop had almost become a bang.

Martin O'Neill's side had gone a dozen games without a win before they mauled of the tamest tigers you'll ever meet in Hull.

Poor George Boateng. His legs have gone. He'd still get in my best Villa X1 over the past decade (acting as a shield for the magic man Merson).

But the leg-weary ones were in claret and blue shirts beside the Thames on Saturday.

53 games since mid-July has taken its toll regardless of what the manager says.

So why exactly didn't Martin O'Neill buy some replacements in January?

O'Neill and bad runs have gone hand in hand at Villa over each of his three seasons. Expectations have been shot down before. They will be shot down again.

It is just that this season it felt like an anti-tank weapon had done the damage and not a Starsky and Hutch pistol.

O'Neill also delivered a 12-game winless run during his first season in charge, in 2006/07, although expectations were never anywhere near as high.

After sitting third with one defeat in their opening dozen games, the O'Neill-Randy Lerner honeymoon was in full sway when Chris Sutton struck the winning goal at Everton that November.

Villa proceeded to draw five league games and lose another six to slip to 14th before they finally got the better of a bedraggled Watford in January.

Perhaps the current season is probably more reminiscent of 1998/99?

Gregory's side were top of the pile in November after an unbeaten start of 12 matches that saw them lead Manchester United by three points.

Two months later Villa were level on points with leaders Chelsea after 22 games. They travelled to Newcastle at the end of January and were beaten by an early goal from Alan Shearer and another from Temuri Ketsbaia.

A run of three draws and seven defeats followed and it was not until April when they would get their next win, at home to Southampton, and they limped in sixth to miss out on Europe.

The following season Gregory's Villa were at it again.

Lying joint-second with Arsenal after eight games in September they went on a run of nine league games without a win which saw them drop to 15th.

Like Ron Atkinson's side who were challenging Manchester United for the first Premiership crown in 1992/93 only to lose their final three games to Blackburn, Oldham and QPR.

Or Graham Taylor's team of February 1990, five points clear of Liverpool with nine to play but winning only three more matches.

O'Neill isn't the first to take Villa to the brink and see them come up short - and he probably won't be the last.

But without replacements for Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry and then some major investment you would have to put your money on Villa slipping back towards mid-table next year.

Contrasts

2009-04-23T09:59:25Z

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.

Player of Season

2009-04-21T12:27:11Z

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.

Waiting for news on Martin Laursen

2009-04-21T03:57:26Z

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.

Moving forwards despite the gloom

2009-04-16T03:03:27Z

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.

Cold Trafford..get it?

2009-04-06T16:16:54Z

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.

Not Messi. But Very Messy indeed.

2009-04-03T09:12:20Z

"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.