How Much Trouble are Aston Villa in?

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What a difference 5 months has made for Aston Villa.

Firstly, their manager, Martin O'Neill resigns barely a week before the season starts after a dispute with owner Randy Lerner over transfer policies.

Then, Villa's best and most influential player, James Milner, moves on to Manchester City with Stephen Ireland coming the other way.

Combine these with Bulgarian Stiliyan Petrov's knee injury, from which he has only just returned, and it has been a miserable season for the Midlands side.

Last season, under O'Neill, Aston Villa finished 6th in the Premier League after playing some open, attractive football.

Most would have thought Gerard Houllier, with his experience at Liverpool, would have managed to carry that over in a team which has been punching above its weight over the last few years.

That has not been the case and this season has been written off on all fronts - except the concept of a relegation scrap that Villa aren't used to.

Houllier has had a tricky honeymoon period at Villa Park and has a lot to turn around quickly.



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It's the stark contrast to what they're used to that has left the fans in a position where they are starting to turn on the 63 year old former France boss.

There is no question that he has the same squad base that O'Neill succeeded with, but this season has been a strange one throughout the Premier League, and Everton are another side who have struggled early doors.

The main problem that Houllier was left at Villa was that he has not been able to make his mark on the squad, after joining on 8th September, after the summer transfer window.

If he can hold on until January, maybe he has something special up his sleeve but Villa may need something better than El-Hadjo Diouf, Salif Daio and Bruno Cheyrou, all of whom he signed in his Anfield days.

This season, he has already praised Emile Heskey to the highest degree, but his former Liverpool striker has only scored two Premier League goals this season and is hardly prolific. Heskey is not the answer to the problems.

I'm near certain, however, that he will be given some scope to find a combative central midfielder, with Ireland failing to reproduce anything like the form we saw form him at Eastlands two seasons ago.

If you look at the current central midfield options, Petrov aside, Barry Bannan and Jonathan Hogg are short of experience, Ireland of form and both Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell seem to have fallen out of favour.

You do wonder, this season, how much of a pickle Villa would be in if Marc Albrighton hadn't burst onto the scene at 100 miles an hour.



Marc Albrighton has scored 4 of Villa's 20 league goals this season and has been their best player at times.


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Indeed, Aston Villa sit 15th in the Premier League table after a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City. only one point away from Wigan in 18th, and the situation has quickly become precarious surrounding whether Villa are ready for the long relegation battle that lies ahead if something doesn't take a change for the better.

Two wins out of their last 13 league games sounds like a drastic situation and so it has proved, with everyone bar West Ham winning more games in the same period.

So, what should Villa do?

Firstly, I think it's vital that they keep hold of Ashley Young during the transfer window.

There have been rumours that Harry Redknapp might test Villa's resolve with a £15 million bid, bit I'm not sure he's needed at White Hart Lane and if he goes, it shows that something is wrong behind the scenes at the club.

Secondly, Houllier needs to spend and spend well. I'm not sure how much money is available for the gaffer, but it's vital that they buy an experienced, talented central midfielder because Robert Pires is not the answer on the pitch.

Someone like Charles N'Zogbia would surely raise hopes, but he's too much of a winger, a position which the Villains have covered, and maybe they need a good second striker to partner Gabriel Agbonlahor too.

One thing is for sure, the injury situation has got no better at Villa Park and maybe it's time they looked at their training methods and took them back to basics.

The injury situation has been an excuse at Villa Park for some time and now the fans are tired of their side not performing.

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Otherwise, if nothing changes, the answer might lie with the manager and you wonder, on current evidence, whether Houllier is the right man to lead Villa forward.

At the moment, the answer is no and, although there have been too many managers sacked for little reason this season, the Frenchman would have little place to hide because no team is too good to go down, and the Premier League might prove that this term, although I expect the situation to be resolved.