After our recent poll talking about who Paul Lambert should get rid of, or rather who you would get rid of if you were the manager, we can reveal the top five players who have fallen foul of the fans axe. They are:
1) Alan Hutton
2) Stephen Warnock
3) Nathan Delfouneso
4) James Collins
5) Richard Dunne
Whilst none of the top five names are a shock – Aston Villa’s defence was poor last season by all accounts – it does indicate a view that fans want change at the back first with three of the four defenders above receiving over 50% of all votes. Alan Hutton received a massive 90% of all votes placed, indicating that his purchase was probably the worst of last season in the eyes of the fans.
Away from the defence, fans seem to be losing patience with Nathan Delfouneso. Tipped years back to be another star of the academy, it seems that Delfouneso’s talents are coming up short. Whether fans want to put this down to a lack of game time, poor performances when the Birmingham born striker has played, or simply a case of not fitting the system, it appears that fans think Delfouneso should leave the club unless the new manager can pull something out of the bag.
Finishing just outside of the top five is a possible surprise – Villa striker and fan Gabriel Agbonlahor. With 38% of all voters suggesting that Agbonlahor may well be better off away from the club, it does illustrate that recent injuries and form problems may well mean that fans are losing patience, despite the striker being a fan of Villa, and that a sale to Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland, should the Ulsterman make a bid, would make sense for all involved.
Of all the players listed, only one, Andreas Weimann managed to avoid picking up a solitary vote. Clearly fans have more faith in the talents of Weimann at present than those of Delfouneso or even Agbonlahor, although this may just be a story of Weimann simply not getting it wrong yet. Whilst such a statement may seem negative, it is a regular occurrence that fans hype youngsters only to find that, several years on, many do not come up to scratch.
Fabian Delph, another youngster who arrived at Villa with much potential, is the only remaining player to garner more than 20% of the votes with injury issues seemingly likely as the reason why fans may want to sell him. Delph was, in my opinion, a real talent when he first featured for the club but his injuries, much like Agbonlahor’s, have stopped him from establishing himself as a top player. Should Delph (and Agbonlahor) finally conquer their issues with injury, I imagine both players would be welcomed back to the starting lineup.
So we asked you who you wanted got rid of and you’ve made a resounding statement that it is the defence that must make way for Villa to progress. It will be interesting to see if Paul Lambert takes the same attitude or if he can garner some kind of change in the defence’s fortunes over the coming months and seasons, although I imagine he will have a fair idea of what he can or can’t get out of them after a short space of time.
All we can do, as fans, is wait and see. Whatever happens, I am sure we all expect Villa to be a lot more solid next season, whoever comes and goes and, to that end, such a possibility is both a relief and a cause for much optimism.
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