Aston Villa have a great wealth of youth in their squad at present, but it isn’t even this that’s so significant, it is rather the fact that they have been performing so utterly well. Gerard Houllier can be said to have had faith in playing these youngsters, but one look at the injury list at Villa suggests that one of his hands has been tied into testing such inexperienced players. In football one persons misfortune is another’s gain, and this is evident in this case, with the current players seizing the opportunity to make their marks and leave their calling cards for the future.
The players who are receiving treatment for one ailment or another are Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker, Emile Heskey, Fabian Delph, John Carew, Carlos Cuellar, Ciaran Clark, Habib Beye, Stephen Ireland, Steve Sidwell and most recently, Richard Dunne. This is a full eleven man squad that has been decimated, leaving Houllier frustrated at the lack of players he has had to choose from. But then Houllier must have breathed a large sigh of relief when the cavalry arrived in the form of Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan, Jonathan Hogg and Nathan Delfouneso to all but claim what looked to be a memorable victory over Manchester United. To end up drawing with United was no failure, for youth by its very nature, tells of inexperience, yet it all goes some way towards Villa fans increasing their optimism concerning the future of their club.
These young players have all spent considerable time acquainting themselves with each other in the academy and the reserves; this familiarity amongst the players creates a bond that translates itself onto the pitch. They don’t play like individuals who want singular success; on the contrary, they work hard for each other and have a cohesion that is apparent to all onlookers. This is what Manchester United lived off for a number of years when Gary and Philip Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were all initiated into the first team with the help of senior squad members and additional signings that were kept to a minimum.
Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner can’t be said to have had such prescience as to have masterminded this outcome, it seems more like serendipity than meticulous planning years in advance. He did deny Martin O’Neill the transfer funds that he requested, which inevitably led to their mutual agreement to part ways, but I’m not sure that was safe in the knowledge of having a youth system that would produce what we now see before us.
If I was a Villa fan then the Beatle’s lyrics of ‘I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time…’, would be circling my thoughts and sung away too in jubilation at the thought of these young players who are more than capable of holding down the fort while the senior players recover. The quandary will pose itself when these senior players start to arrive back and demand their starting place, but then at least January transfer signings aren’t as imperative as first thought.
To read more articles of mine follow me on Twitter or RSS Feed.
*
Click on image below to see Wesley’s latest lady
