We all love Gabby Agbonlahor as one of our own, and that is because he is one of our own but, and let’s be honest, Aston Villa’s current ambitions are not at the same level as many of our players, not just Gabby.
On the face of it, such a statement actually sounds paradoxical – after all, if players are better than where we currently are, then why aren’t we better? Yes, the manager is part of what makes the team work or not work, but why are Villa’s players, well the good ones, leaving after a few years?
Ambition – You Have To Make It Happen
For Agbonlahor, Villa’s longest serving current player, and this is a player who is only 25 years old, the question has to be – when do I stop being selfless when the club doesn’t repay the favour? Few can doubt Agbonlahor’s commitment to, or pride for, Villa with his work rate, passion, and love for the club, but he is treated in a strange manner.
Agbonlahor is a striker, but looking at Villa’s teams of this season, you’d be hard pressed to know he was assuming you had no prior knowledge of our club. Often used on the wing, arguably because of his pace, the Birmingham born-and-bred player has found his chances limited because of his flexibility.
One can look at it in different ways. Firstly, Agbonlahor loves the club so he would rather play in the side as a winger than not being in the team at all. With Villa’s full commitment behind the use of Darren Bent as the sole striker in a 4-5-1 variant system, Agbonlahor’s opportunities as a striker in the current squad and system will always be limited, barring injuries to Villa’s preferred option.
The issue illustrated by the sole usage of a single striker in a system is not just a problem for Agbonlahor though, it is a problem for any squad depth and for competition. Over-reliance on any single player, a striker or otherwise, is dangerous. That isn’t to say that it can’t be done, but the phrase regarding putting all your eggs in one basket comes to mind.
Are You Going To Come To A Club To Be Second Best? Why Stay At A Club When You Are Second Best?
Ask yourself how many strikers will come to a club where there is an obvious setup that is going to focus on the success of one person above others? Would an international come to Villa in the summer knowing they are second choice, playing in a system where their only chance to secure a starting slot up front is an injury to Villa’s first choice lone striker?
I imagine few would look at that choice and consider it a good one. Agbonlahor’s fault, if one can call it that, is that his love for the club is being exploited quite mercilessly, with the board knowing a man who loves Villa so dearly, he won’t turn his back on them.
In my mind, and I may well draw ire for saying this, Gabby deserves better. Like Ashley Young, James Milner, Gareth Barry, or any number of players who have walked out of the doors at B6 to bigger clubs, there’s little doubt that, as a striker, Agbonlahor could secure a contract at a top six club. Nobody is saying the lad is going to oust Wayne Rooney from his perch at Manchester United, nor take a starting position at Manchester City, but Arsenal would benefit from his characteristics, as could other clubs above Villa.
The fact is that Agbonlahor, like the players I just mentioned, deserves success at a club that is going to play him in his preferred position. Several years ago, under the management of Martin O’Neill, Villa were a top six club. Nowadays, the club aren’t. Partially this is down to overspending, partially down to poor management decisions, and partially down to players including the sales of some of the better ones to have plied their trade in B6 in recent years. There’s no one person that blame sits upon, but Villa have regressed, and some of the players at the club will be seen as available by clubs doing better – much like recent sales illustrate.
For example, should Martin O’Neill convert Sunderland in a manner that he did with Villa, would Gabby benefit from such a move? Making the assumption that Sunderland could take a top-six place, or even a top-eight place, and there is no guarantee he can or will, but surely Agbonlahor would be wise to make that move? Partially this is because Sunderland, at present at least, lack a tremendous level of squad depth in forward areas.
Connor Wickham is a potential talent, and Niklas Bendtner is on loan at the club, but the fact that many players have had to play out of position to provide Sunderland with striking options cries out an ideal move for the Birmingham born player. If Sunderland can be top six, and Agbonlahor’s positive relationship with O’Neill is widely recognised then, solely as a player, maybe Gabby can actually be liked and respected whilst actually playing his preferred position, and not just taking his slot as a winger out of desperation just to serve a club he loves.
Breaking Up Is So Hard To Do
I imagine fans would be angry should a hardcore Villa fan leave the club for pastures new, knowing as we do how much love Agbonlahor has for the team and the club, but could a single one of us blame him? Often criticised by some fans, often played out of position, Agbonlahor’s career is rapidly stagnating. Once a player with England ambitions, his international future is stunted because he simply does not play as a striker, and thus England managers will not look to pick him as a striker.
Looking at Agbonlahor as a winger, sadly I have to say that, at international level at least, there are far more suited candidates for a wing role as an England player from Adam Johnson to Ashley Young, from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Shaun Wright-Phillips. So his international career is over unless he either finds another club that will use him in his preferred position, or Villa sell their current main striker. Considering Villa’s commitment, both financially and managerially to Darren Bent, the latter option seems increasingly remote. Well, that is, barring Darren Bent airing his views that he actually doesn’t want to stay at the club anymore.
So maybe, just maybe, Villa’s highly committed man needs to move on. It may not be easy for us fans or for the player himself, but sometimes you have to let go of those you love as players in order for them to move on. Agbonlahor is Villa through and through, but the current setup looks increasingly less and less suited to his need to play as a striker and not a winger.
So, Gabby, for the sake of your career and your own personal success – if Bent isn’t going to move, move on yourself. I’d love to have you stay, but unless the club change their stance and move away from a single striker plan with one man permanently in the slot, you deserve better than this. Make a success of your career – I don’t want to see you taken advantage of by the club anymore, even if it means having to say goodbye.
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