Another weekend, another game gone and, sadly for Aston Villa fans, another loss.
The 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United may well be explained away as a team further up the table just beating Villa. The reality though, is that Newcastle’s position and prestige are not synonymous with their current position.
United, having what can only be described as a fantastic season so far under Alan Pardew, currently find themselves above teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea, battling as they are for a top six finish.
Don’t get me wrong – Newcastle have been in heady heights of the Premier League in the past, most famously, or perhaps infamously, during the tenure of Kevin Keegan. Keegan’s now famous quote of “I’d love it if we beat them”, referring to Manchester United, is trotted out as evidence on how the title race can turn sane men into crazed fools, often as a result of Sir Alex Ferguson’s excellent ability with mind games.
Getting back to this season, the brightest light for Villa so far has been the signing of Robbie Keane. Dismissed as too old by some fans, as well as suggesting that his youthful pace has long since been consigned to the history books, Keane’s performances behind the front striker have been nothing short of sensational.
To look at Keane’s talents, and the way his movement and vision have become the glue holding together a somewhat disjointed midfield, makes fans wonder why we didn’t sign the man years ago. After all, Keane was originally linked with a move to B6 during the era of John Gregory, back at a time where Ian Taylor was our number 7, and not a retired footballer-cum-ambassador.
The primary concern for Villa now is just how the team will fare without the inspirational Irishman. Even those who lauded Keane’s capture as a wise choice stopped short of predicting the impact he would have, and is having. His vision and football intelligence has been the missing link between Stephen Ireland and Charles N’Zogbia.
So just what can Villa do, and what will they want to do after seeing this brief glimpse of the talent that Keane has? Undoubtedly, Alex McLeish will want to secure the longer term services of Villa’s number 20, as the change in style has almost been night and day compared to the time before.
That isn’t to say that Villa were unreservedly poor before Keane’s capture, far from it, merely that their season had become something of a rollercoaster, often lurching from high to low with regular occurrence. Villa may well be far from stable now, but they are at least playing the right football, and linking up correctly, something that is far removed from some of the play earlier in the season.
£500k is what Keane reportedly has cost Villa in wages and, in an era of crazy money for players, it may well prove to be the best value signing the club have made in recent years.
One point more at the end of the season may well mean one extra place higher up the table and, if Villa manage to place higher as a result of Keane’s impact on games, the £500k will be paid back in prize money alone.
All that’s left now is to hope and pray McLeish can manage to be beg, steal, or borrow some extra time from Los Angeles Galaxy for Villa’s new number 20. Otherwise, the primary concern is just how Villa’s midfield will cope in the post-Keane era.
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