This was the refrain that Alan Hansen used in anticipation of Manchester United’s prospective campaign following a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the opener of the 1995-96 Premier League season.
The irony sings, as you re-read the name of the victorious side on that late summer day nearly two decades ago. The claret and blue giants of English football, who were if not title challengers then certainly pretenders in the early-to-mid-90s, have fallen almost as far as Hansen’s on-screen appeal, with young players at the core of the club’s waning strength.
While it would seem that almost everything Alan Hansen now says is somewhat by rote and programmatic – his vocabulary about as predictable as a similarly damning 3-1 result on Tuesday night – there is a sense that perhaps he was correct. Not in that instance, of course, as United went on to win a league and cup double and the so-called ‘kids’ he was referring to included Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs.
Hansen has since undergone sporadic ridicule for making such a comment, and he plays along dotingly with Shearer and Linekar during analysis on Match of the Day, while indulging viewers in close-up shots of his crotch. That said, the Scotsman may well have been vindicated if he had made the statement in say, 2006. Arsenal have in the last seven years, if nothing else, been something of a tailor-made case in point had Hansen wanted to re-ignite his burning passion for old phrases. Wenger’s insistence on persistence has seen his youthful teams collect little more than a few admirers, and many more transfer policy critics.
But this article does not concern Manchester United’s nauseating defiance or the Gunners’ garish fall from grace. Nor does it really have anything to do with Hansen, who is actually a better pundit than is alluded to above. Still, there has been a distinct absence of his infamous remark in any form of media analysis this season, when in fact it could be quite apt when discussing the predicament of Aston Villa’s young strugglers.
With loss to Bradford City of League 2 in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final, a number of Villa fans already seem resigned to exit from what is undoubtedly a winnable competition at this stage. The idea of any form of silverware is a considerable notion for Villa, let alone for Bradford, given the weakness of the squad and the lack of experience that has fundamentally led to it.
Successful sides are usually built from the back, and Villa Park has not seen such a weak defence for decades, in spite of Paul Lambert’s employment of five in that region of the pitch. The average age of the regular starting eleven in the Premier League this term has been around 24. Negative of that number is what the Villans are looking at in terms of goal difference. With 41 goals conceded in 21 games and the joint worst goals-scored tally with just 17 netted, the kids are quite evidently not alright.
In each position, there is youth and inexperience, or simply a lack of quality. The over-zealous Fabian Delph is essentially a veteran in a midfield compared to his team-mates, which is a grave concern given his inability to maintain possession, a perpetual source of pressure on a our own, feeble back line. Even the players who should be leading are apparently incapable, with Darren Bent seemingly awaiting an opportunity to leave the club, Shay Given benched due to a frightening loss of form and Stephen Ireland unapologetically lacking in motivation. Captain Ron Vlaar’s period on the sidelines with injury has not helped but despite his aggressive and, at times, impressive leadership, his ability to defend against Premier League forwards is questionable.
The ineluctable nature of football is that somebody must be blamed, and all too often, it is the manager who will shoulder it, rightly or wrongly. Wrongly, in this case, if Lambert does so. Villa fans are understandably beginning to wonder whether the former Norwich coach has the capacity to keep them in the top flight, a division in which they have been ever-present since the Premier League’s conception. But how can Lambert be to blame when the club had been mismanaged for several years prior to his appointment?
When he took over, the squad was thinner than it is now. Suggestions that his dealings in the summer transfer window were ill-judged are perhaps acceptable, but not entirely fair. Lambert signed young players, admittedly, and while some have not been of adequate quality, it became a question of necessity as opposed to the vast options and considerable budget that was afforded to Martin O’Neill and Gerard Houllier. Indeed, other Lambert signings will be the saviour of the side if Villa do indeed manage to survive. Christian Benteke was Lambert’s big summer signing and he has delivered a large proportion of the goals, though they have been few and far between. It is likely that his partnership with Andreas Weimann will be the only memorable aspect of 2012/13.
Lambert signed in the positions that needed cover and in accordance with the money he had available to him. But he has done his best to develop a style of football fitting of a Premier League side, on the contrary to the negative fashions brought in under the reigns of Houllier and with a more lasting effect, McLeish. The inherent lack of confidence among the players at Villa cannot entirely be attributed to the results suffered under Lambert, as there is an undoubted hangover from several years of poor management and faltering spirit preceding his appointment.
The project envisaged by the chairman upon his arrival at the club has hit an iceberg and the club is sinking, with a lack of experience throughout. The worst thing that can be done at this stage is to rid of Paul Lambert, who is a level-headed disciplinarian and one of the few capable of instilling belief in the players, which is what they need more than anything at present.
The Capital One Cup is a great opportunity and one that should be seized. There is every possibility that Villa will overturn the deficit from the first leg and proceed to Wembley, which would be superb for the club. Premier League survival is the minimum requirement for this campaign and a boost in morale as a result of cup success could be vital to the players. Signings in central defence and midfield are needed in January, which the sale of Darren Bent could facilitate, so Lambert has plenty of work to do.
One thing is for certain, even Cup triumph won’t take away from the pain and troubles of relegation. It’s a very real possibility and frankly, avoiding the drop is far more important than winning anything with kids. Imperatively, Paul Lambert needs to be given time and new players need to come in, because Aston Villa won’t do either with their current crop.
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