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Story of the Season
Villa have been in decline for a few years now and long gone are the top six finishes that were taken for granted under Martin O’Neill. No more are they able to go out and spend big money and big wages and instead, they have been gradually clearing the decks resulting in Paul Lambert having a very young and almost completely inexperienced team at hand. With this in mind, 15th place in the Premier League and a League Cup semi-final would constitute a decent season. However, it was not until the last few weeks of the campaign that Villa fans could even entertain that thought. An 8-0 loss at Chelsea was merely the low point of a season which, for the first 30 games or so, looked like it would end in relegation. The two leg loss to League Two Bradford came during a period in which the club seemed to have slumped in to a tailspin which they could not fight out of. However, 2013 saw the emergence of Cristian Benteke (14 goals, only Messi and Ronaldo got more) and the rejuvenation of Gabby Agbonlahor as big wins away at Stoke and Norwich saw them scramble to safety.
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Major Signings
Cristian Benteke (Genk, £6m) – Benteke was my league MVP and without this signing Villa would have been in the Championship next season. Not only did he provide goals but he also gave them a pure target man who could hold the ball and allow Villa to assert some possession control further up the pitch, to shelter their vulnerable defence and express pace on the counter attack. An inspired signing, the biggest challenge now is to keep hold of him.Grade: A++ A mega signing providing great value for money and the goals that kept the club in the league next season.
Ashley Westwood (Crewe, £2m) – Westwood was the next off the production line at Crewe and over the last two months or so has firmly established himself as the key man in midfield. He has a steady range of passing and is an intelligent presence defensively. His game has matured incredibly with more and more Premier League exposure. He started out a fish out of water but now looks comfortable. A nice piece moving forwards.Grade: B Slow start but strong finish and plenty more potential to tap.
Matt Lowton (Sheffield United, £3m) – Lowton joined ex-Blade full backs Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton in the top flight and looked comfortable immediately. Although Benteke was Villa’s most important player, Lowton has been their best and certainly most consistent performer. He brought attacking interest and defensive security at either right back or right wing back and looks a bargain.Grade: A Very strong first season.
Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord, £4m) – Vlaar was brought in to captain the side and bring some experience to the defence. He did that and was OK in his defensive work but he needs to improve a lot next year. Perhaps after another pre-season working with Clark and Baker they will find more understanding.Grade: C He was fine but nothing special.
Overall: Grade A- The new boys were certainly important in helping them to survive but other areas of weakness were not addressed.
The Good
The attacking trio of Benteke, Weimann and Agbonlahor gave Villa real menace. Villa scored 47 goals which is comparable to Swansea, and far more than any of the teams around them. Particularly impressive is the 24 goals they scored away from home which is the 7th most in the league. More than Everton and only one less than Arsenal and Man City! They achieved this because that front three offered pace and directness which made them very dangerous on the counter attack, suitable to away day success. If they can keep these three together and add a bit more craft in midfield they will be fine again next year.
The Bad
The defence was too prone to giving away soft goals and making mistakes. They conceded more goals than relegated QPR and the 41 conceded on the road was the most in the league, inflated of course by the 8 shipped to Chelsea but bad nonetheless. It’s not really a tactical issue either. Lambert played 5 defenders for most of the season and the midfield three of Westwood, Delph and Sylla are all defensive minded. Even despite this, they leaked goals. Bennett and Clark are not Premier League players and there are questions as to Baker and even Vlaar’s long term ability at this level.
Key Moment
Matt Lowton’s wonder goal at Stoke was the turning point for Villa. They’d narrowly beaten Reading and QPR in the weeks before but the win at Stoke, one of only five teams to do so, really stoked their fires. Villa had taken the lead before sloppily allowing Stoke to equalise but then Lowton stepped up, volleyed in from 25 yards and the team was pulsing with belief. They went on to win 3-1 and only lost to Man United and Chelsea thereafter.
Star Man
Cristian Benteke is of course the star man. Quite simply, his goals kept the club in the league. Not much more needs adding.
What needs to be done in the summer
The key task for Lambert is somehow keeping hold of Benteke. If bids come in at around £15m chairman Randy Lerner will be very tempted to sell and assume they can uncover another diamond. But that will be a very dangerous decision. If they can keep him they desperately need to add quality to the defence. Of the five positions at the back, they need to upgrade at least two, possibly three this summer. The attack and midfield are fine for now although if they can find a midfielder who can create something different they should look carefully.
Season Grade: C
Just about did enough to stay up with a late season charge but it must be remembered that is was a dark gloomy season for the most part with an unhappy crowd at Villa Park questioning the future of the club. They did some decent transfer business with the obvious highlight of the Benteke move. The loss over two legs to Bradford in the League Cup was unforgivable but the club did right by sticking with Lambert. There are some decent foundations to build on but poor market decisions could put them back in trouble next year.
