Getting Villa Back Into the Limelight
After O’Neill under achieved his expectations last season he resigned from Aston Villa. He quoted to the press “I just couldn’t handle the pressure of the Premiership and the fans expectations”. Everyone though O’Neill would be the key man to Villa’s success so his resignation came as a surprise to us all. Aston Villa is now looking at new managers to take over the reins at Villa Park and lead the club back to glory. The names in the headlines are the likes of Roy Hodgeson, Avram Grant and Rafa Benitez.
After a few days speculation over who’s going to be the next Aston Villa manager the Chairman; Randy Lerner came out to the press with a shock decision that no one was expecting. He told the press, “The board and I have worked closely over the past few days and it has been a tuff decision for us to make. We wanted to please the Fans and the Players with our decision so that’s why we have named Ashley Williams as our new manager. He doesn’t have much managerial experience, but he’s a local man, has supported Aston Villa throughout his life and we believe his heart is in the right place and he can lead the club to the glory it deserves”. Obviously everyone is going to be shocked at this decision but after Williams spoke to the press he seemed to put a good light on it all. “This is a dream come true for me. Firstly I’d like to thank Randy and the rest of the board for giving me the chance of this truly amazing opportunity and I also look forward to working closely with them and all the backroom staff. I would like to be involved in all areas of the club and take it forward one step at a time. In the first few weeks I will be taking a close look at who I’m working with and building a close relationship with the players, I will be looking for new additions to the squad which I hope can make a big contribution the club and also everyone at the club will have a chance to show me what they can do before I make decisions on who stays and who goes.” Williams was born in Birmingham, he played at semi-professional level for many teams in the area until he got a career threatening injury to his back and decided to retire and went ahead with managing teams at top level in the Midlands Combination to the Southern Premier and taking teams to the next level. He has proved himself worthy of managing a club at Aston Villa’s standard.
After discussing contract terms with Chairman Randy Lerner, Wright released to the press what he was working with. “I and Randy have discussed our aims for the club and we both agree on taking it to the next level. Randy has given me 3.5m to work with for the season. This is a fair amount as the players at the club are a good enough standard to work with and help me in my campaign. Although I will be looking to get rid of a few deadwood players and replace them with fresh talent”
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Wright’s plans are already afoot as he works closely with the board asking permission to, expand the stadium, improve the youth facility’s and he asked the too look for a feeder club to work closely with. Wright has also put in a bid of 1.3m for Aron Gunnarsson, 850k for Vincent Enyeama, 2m for Diego Buonanotte, a loan offer for Fernando Gago and also a loan offer for Lacina Troaré. Wright has told the fans they can expect a few more signings.
Its Villa’s first friendly of the season and it’s against midlands rivals Coventry. Wright will be starting his new signing Diego Buonanotte who he captured for 2.7m and he puts Vincent Enyeama on the bench so we may see a performance from him. Unfortunately, Lacina Troaré’s work permit was turned down so Wright has appealed it. Aron Gunnarsson went to Shaktar and Fernando Gago went to Man United so Wright is delving into the market again looking for a striker and a right back. Wright had chosen an Attacking 4-4-2 formation and looks to keep possession and play attractive attacking football.
Match Day
Villa travel away to Coventry for a pre-season friendly. In the pre-match conference Wright came out and said “I just want lads to go out there and impress me. I want them to play football and have fun. At this stage in the season it’s all about fitness and working together to build team morale. I firmly believe I have squad of intelligent footballers and it’s a chance for the fans to see new signings and our progress as a team.”
Coventry 3 - 1 Aston Villa
Goals: Ashley Young (33)
Sammy Clingan (Pen 36)
Nathan Delfounseo (51, 58)
Man of the Match: Ashley Young - Rating 9.1, 2 Assists, 1 Goal
Match Report: A fairly even game, both sides had opportunities to go ahead, although Coventry had more, Friedel made some outstanding saves and Villa also defending well as a team. Just before half time Diego Buonanotte got injured. The second half saw Wright make a few changes. The one player who made a huge impact on the game was the young lad Nathan Delfounseo who bagged himself 2 goals and he also showed lots of promising potential and showed Wright why he should be in the starting 11.
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