English Premier League - Part 3: Winners of the first weekend
Before the season started, Aston Villa were being touted as one of the teams which would self destruct in the 2009-2010 season. Villa’s long standing manager, Martin O’Neill parted ways with the club in the summer due to a difference with the club’s administrative hierarchy. The main problem which surfaced for Villa with O’Neill’s departure was of team chemistry and work ethic that Martin had instilled at the club.
Villa were taken by O’Neill to three consecutive sixth placed finishes in the English Premier League. With the new owner Randy Lerner, Martin reformed the club into an impressive outfit which challenged the likes of Tottenham and Everton as well as Manchester City for the UEFA Champions League spots. Under O’Neill Villa also made it to the League Cup final along with a F.A Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley.
After O’Neill left the Birmingham club, the media started spelling doom for the men in scarlet and light blue. Aston Villa’s star midfielder James Milner already looks to be on his way to Manchester City and the fans at Villa Park are also despairing that more talented individuals will follow the English international footballer away from their club. This feeling of disappointment generates from the fact that a financial overhauling has taken place at the club due to the great imbalance which existed between the club’s incoming revenue and outgoing wages to different players.
Without a proper manager in dug out, Villa took on West Ham United in the season’s opening encounter for both the teams. Kevin McDonald took charge of Villa as their temporary caretaker manager for their first game of the season. It is quite widely speculated that Kevin might be a candidate to stay at the club as a permanent manager.
Kevin did himself a favour by revamping the side’s tactical formation. Villa, who usually goes with one upfront, adopted a different formation against West Ham United. Their caretaker manager experimented with Carew upfront alongside Young in a floating role behind the big Norwegian centre forward. The outcome was superb for Aston Villa as they dominated the match. Kevin also displayed confidence in Marc Albrighton as the youngster was given his first team debut in the English Premier League by Aston Villa.
It is not hard to see why Randy Lerner came out after the match and vocally praised Kevin. This further cemented chances of the former reserve team manager staying at the club as a permanent first team manager. Aston Villa have saved themselves for now, as far as the conclusions from the first weekend of the season goes, Villa have lost their previous manager and they might be about to sell their best player but the lions have definitely improved as a unit. All of this has been achieved without making any new big name signings which makes this feat an ever greater triumph.
Another personal victory that came through Villa’s three nil win over West Ham United went to James Milner. Seldom in today’s football do we see a committed professional, a footballer who is well aware that he is sure to move away from his present club but still puts in a performance that is not only top class but also typifies dedication. People might think that Milner did nothing special and that someone who is being paid around fifty thousand pounds a week is supposed to perform at his best for his employers but this isn’t always the case.
Enter Charles N’Zogbia, a player who didn’t play Wigan’s first match of the season against Blackpool because according to daily mirror “the player was upset that Wigan failed to sign a friend which is handled by his own agent”. Such players make us appreciate the likes of Milner more often than not.
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