Firstly, let me apologise for the fact that I didn’t write this article immediately after the window closed. I’d already had two pieces written from Martin and Jason, and wanted to give them a chance to have their pieces up first, and three articles in one day seemed a bit of a push.

Secondly, let me apologise for the fact that this post is rather long. You’ll appreciate by it’s end though the need for such a write up.

So the window is finally closed. With the acquisitions of Hutton, Jenas, and Stevens, to add to Given and N’Zogbia, Villa are weaker squad wise, until January at least.

Now before I attract a large bunch of people complaining about negativity, I want to explain this all with a degree of rationality. You see, we have released a whole bunch of players from the payroll, and a lot of these haven’t been replaced.

I didn’t, and wouldn’t expect them all to be traded like for like as we have a wage problem, but I would have expected at least the first team members to be replaced with some experience, not just with youth.

Who has gone?

So before we get into the transfer ins, lets look at the transfer outs. So far this summer, we have cleared out numerous first team players. For the sake of brevity and relevance, I’m not going to include the kids we let go:

Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, Nigel Reo-Coker, John Carew, Luke Young, Brad Friedel, Jean II Makoun, Robert Pires, Moustapha Salifou, & Isaiah Osbourne.

Of that list, we have replaced both Youngs, Friedel and Makoun. So that is four replacements out of eight players who played in the first team last year. Salifou and Osbourne were peripheral at best so I’ve not included them in the eight.

So, in pure facts, we are four players down. Now, nobody is suggesting that wage bills should be bloated going forwards, but there’s a big difference between wage bills and pure numbers.

A team, as many modern manager will tell you, can no longer compete with 18 players. Our problem, masked over the past few years, is that we never used squad depth, and thus hit our very own glass ceiling of recent years – sixth.

Nowadays you see, football, especially in this country, is about athletic ability over skill. Some may disagree, but the sheer pace our game is played at proves that those with speed are generally able to do well.

Footballers are athletes, with more in common with Usain Bolt than with Tom Waring. Accordingly, squads are more important, as is athleticism. Now is not the era of having a crafty cigarette at half time and a pint afterwards.

Anyway, I digress slightly. The point I am making is that any football club needs squad depth. They need it to cover form issues, to cover injuries, and to cover fatigue. Without that, soon you find a club embroiled with a multitude of issues, borne from lack of competition, poor conditioning, and lack of cover for injuries.

Without it, you are left with a team that can’t have a plan B due to simple numbers. Take eight from a number, and replace it with four. You don’t need a degree in mathematics to realise the resulting number is less.

So, reviewing the list of players who have left, we haven’t replaced a winger, a striker, and two midfielders. So where are we going to get these numbers from?

Logically, the prime candidates that step forward are Albrighton, Delfouneso, Delph, and Bannan. All of these players are talented, and all of them have potential. They do, however, lack experience.

Now experience is a chicken and egg situation. You can’t get experience without getting games and, for some, you shouldn’t get games unless you have experience. Quite the quandary.

What we need is some kind of flex to allow these young men to develop. That means giving them half an hour or so at the end of games to stake their claim. Develop them, but in a controlled manner. The last thing Marc wants is the whole team’s performance riding on him. Trust me, I’ve seen the stands when they are booing. It isn’t going to be good. The kid needs a fair chance.

The only other option is loaning them to other teams, but this isn’t really going to help Villa in the immediate future. After all, if a right wingers is injured, is Marc Albrighton better for Villa on the bench, or at another club. You know the answer to that.

Incoming!

So of the five transfers we’ve made, three are permanently here now, one is coming in January, and another is a loan. Of the three permanent additions, two are solid and experienced players (Given & Hutton) with one outstanding prospect (N’Zogbia). Stevens is an unknown quantity for many, and Jenas is still someone else’s player. They could all well be successes at the club, with my primary concern actually being Jermaine Jenas.

Not that he is a bad player, quite the reverse really, but that if he does well, then it’s just Kyle Walker all over again. Develop a player, give him back to Spurs as a better man. Fingers crossed we have an option to buy Jenas. Stands to reason that if he doesn’t perform, then we obviously return him.

Anyway, we already know the potential of Given & N’Zogbia in the team having seen them perform both pre-season and in the early matches. Thus it stands to reason that the analyses look at Hutton, Jenas, and Stevens.

Player Analyses

Player Analysis – Alan Hutton

Hutton comes to us from Spurs but with prior connection to the club via his work under current manager Alex McLeish whilst at Glasgow Rangers, and with Scotland.

Performing well in a Rangers team that culminated in a £9m move to Tottenham, evidently it isn’t just McLeish who rates him, thus he is a younger, more effective, and more athletic replacement for Luke Young. In that regard, I think the swap is a good one.

Operating as right full back, Hutton will provide excellent link up with the wing in either the form of N’Zogbia or Albrighton, as well as having knowledge of working with Barry Bannan at international level.

Given both the injury to Eric Lichaj, departure of Luke Young, and relative experience of Chris Herd, Hutton will most likely be competing for the starting slot at right back from the off, with his presence helping to develop both Lichaj and Herd.

Player Analysis – Jermaine Jenas

Nottingham born loan signing Jenas comes from Tottenham with proven Premier League experience. A player who operates in the central midfield area, he is likely to provide competition for Petrov, Delph, and Bannan, allowing for more flexibility to deal with both future form and injury issues.

I personally don’t see him just walking into the middle of the first team immediately though, as doing so would affect the confidence of Delph. Should he get in based on training though, such competition can only be positive.

Given his experience, I expect him and Petrov to provide valuable experience to both Delph and Bannan which, again, can only help to cultivate stronger team competition and spirit.

Finally, with only one year remaining on his contract come the end of the season, a permanent acquisition of Jenas would seem possible, especially given Spurs’ recent transfer of Scott Parker.

Player Analysis – Enda Stevens

Little is known about Enda Stevens amongst most Villa fans beyond that his transfer has taken him from Shamrock Rovers to Villa Park. Operating as either a left full back, or centre back, Stevens is one for the future, where I imagine he will be viewed as a long term successor to Stephen Warnock. Stevens is an under 21 Ireland international, having received his debut in February 2011.

His transfer in January will allow him to gain valuable Europa League experience with Shamrock Rovers, and pave the way to his introduction to his progressive introduction to the first team at left back.

Conclusion

So it was as we expected – few players coming in, and quite a few out. Number wise, we are weaker, but at least it provides more balance to the books ahead of a January or summer spend. I’ve been pretty reserved on my criticism of the board at present, knowing they have a somewhat unenviable task of having to clear up a financial mess.

However, should we continue to sell players, and not engage heavily in quality replacements come January or, at the very latest, Summer 2012, then I will be adding my voice to the increasing chorus of disillusioned fans.

The future, as they say, is there to be written. I await the result with baited breath.

Leave a Reply