EPL to miss the Aston Martin ride
With the strengthening of last season’s all eight top sides, this could prove out to be a dream season for English Premier League followers the world over. However, the glitter of the new Premier League may have just faded away a little after Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill decided to part ways.
Tottenham Hotspurs had broken into the top four and are currently enjoying the lucrative benefits of competing in Europe’s elite football competition, although they are not properly into the Champions League just yet. This season could see even more stiff competition for the Champions League places with as many as eight teams vying for the four available berths.
Considering the fact that Chelsea and Manchester United are just a step ahead of the rest of the pack in terms of quality and experience, there is little left to choose from among the other six teams when calling for the third and fourth spots in the final league table. The young gunners of Arsenal are now a year older and have another season’s experience under their belts. Manchester City have spent fortunes in putting together a squad of just-to-be world class players. Tottenham are in the dreamland since they achieved their first ever qualification for the Champions League. Liverpool are in an aura of newness after the appointment of Roy Hodgson while the Evertons will be another serious contenders this season after their first half of the previous one was marred by injuries to very key players.
Since the arrival of O’Neill at Aston Villa on 4th August 2006, the club had gone strength to strength each season under his stewardship. Villa were struggling badly in the previous 2005-06 season before him and had finished it just over the relegation zone at 16th place with only 42 points. Things were looking bright for O’Neill at the Villa helm right from the start of his first season there as the team went on an undefeated run in first nine league matches. Although, the club suffered a mid-season slump but recovered late on to get another run of nine league matches without a defeat. Villa ended 2006-07 season at 11th position with 50 points.
Just three weeks after O’Neill’s appointment as manager of the club, Randy Lerner while securing 59.69% shares had appointed himself the Chairman of Aston Villa PLC. Later in 2006 Lerner completely took over the club and resultantly, a new era began with much optimism. With the American billionaire’s riches at his disposal, O’Neill devised a well-worked out plan to take his club forward and make it a real force in the league. He didn’t get enough time to sign in new players during the 2006 summer transfer window but did so in January 2007 by signing Ashley Young and John Carew. O’Neill also did his best to sign James Milner during the summer of 2007 on permanent basis after a successful loan spell but Newcastle United pulled out of the almost-concluded deal at the eleventh hour.
In all the subsequent three seasons, Villa finished at the 6th position with a steady rise in its season-end points tally. The club got a jump of 10 points to end 2007-08 at 60, then 2008-09 at 62 and 2009-10 at 64. In all these seasons, the Midlands club qualified for UEFA’s second-tier competition which is now known as the Europa League. O’Neill also took his club to the esteemed Wembley Stadium twice during the 2009-10 season but Villa was defeated by Manchester United in the League Cup final and later by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final there.
Foundations were there for O’Neill and Villa to have one strong push for the coveted place in the Champions League this season but it was not to be. The transfer policy led to differences between Villa’s Chairman and the manager. In the end, O’Neill bowed out of the hot seat with grace and honor on his side.
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