Aston Villa F.C. in 2005-06
| 7
|
by user Bobo
Time for another overview of an English team's football season, this time that of the relative underachievement of a worryingly unconfident Aston Villa side. Sadly, part of this can be put down to the players they removed from their squad during this intervening period between July and January, with some of their best names, such as Thomas Hitzlsperger, Nolberto Solano, and one of my personal favourite players, Stefan Postma, while bringing in a single top goalscoring power in Kevin Phillips, along with several less high profile young players.
And ever since Phillips made it onto the scene, somehow that mega goalscoring power has been lost. With the days of his top-scoring 1999/2000 season long gone, and his ability to score doubles in games all but eradicated, any team with him in is less of an intimidating force than they should be. Instead, up-and-coming talent from youngsters such as Steve Davis and Gabriel Agbonlahor, a top scorer for Aston Villa's reserves, needs to be encouraged immediately.
It's almost not worth saying because it sounds far too frightening from here. Villa have to pull the stops out next season if they're to perform as well as they should, as well as, judging by the recent accomplishments of their youth team, they have to be able to within a couple of seasons, otherwise the boys are in big trouble.
And with their lack of investment in the foreign transfer markets, I can't be too optimistic for time to come, and we must begin to look to an uncertain future in which we might possibly be facing an unwanted relegation battle once again in twelve months time. And with players such as Patrik Berger slowly advancing in years, new life has to be breathed into the squad for them to do so.
<pageTools></pageTools>
