The Centre Circle

Dunno what it is you know, some people find it so difficult to be happy. I’ve always had this impression, rightly or wrongly about Aston Villa fans. If at the start of the season you were to tell them that with around half a dozen games to go, their team would have made it to the Carling Cup final, got to Wembley again in the Semi Final of the FA Cup and be with in with a shot of making 4th place in the Premier League, I bet you 99% of them would have been utterly delighted to accept such a position to be in. Yet all I hear out of Villa fans is moan, moan ,moan, Martin O’Neill and the team are not making progress etc etc etc… Maybe it’s a result of all the short-term attitudes we have unfortunately got used to these days, with the insatiable drive for news from 24 hour sports news and talk radio looking for the latest angles in their reporting. Hey I hold my hands up! I wouldn’t have this blog if it wasn’t for all the reporting that goes on.

Anyway, Villa fans I urge you for a bit more patience. As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and I personally think that Martin O’Neill and his admirable chairman Randy Lerner should be given a little more time for this young team to develop. This year, as Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor have found the going a little tougher (they will be back firing next season), James Milner has come to the fore, picking up the baton from the long since departed Gareth Barry. Milner has been nothing short of superb, and no wonder that no less than Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly been showing some interest in the young Englishman, who should be a certainty to be on the plane to South Africa this summer. Fabian Delph is another one for the future who has been dipped in and out of the first team and next year I am sure he will have a more prominent role. Stephen Warnock has been a very shrewd signing, and James Collins and Richard Dunne in the main have been rocks in central defence, popping up with the odd vital goal. Apart from the 7-1 mauling against Chelsea last week, which I think was a freak result, there is still plenty to look forward to at Villa Park and as a neutral (as my team has been eliminated form the competition), I would love to see Villa get to the cup final and pick up the FA Cup, just to prove the doubters wrong. For all the hard work and patience that O’Neill & Lerner have shown, I personally think they deserve it.

As for the longer term, I believe Villa are one, maybe two signing away from being a real force to contend with. A top class striker to compliment Agbonlahor’s speed and maybe a creative midfielder who can open up teams and provide a balance to the counter-attacking threat and pace that Villa have in abundance.