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da bet sport： Aston Villa have been the source of much rumours and stories this week as the future of manager Martin O’Neill seems uncertain.
Whilst Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill himself have attempted to quash any murmurs of unrest within the ranks at Villa Park, the stories just will not go away. The source appears to be of a difference in opinion between American owner Randy Lerner and Martin O’Neill over this summer’s transfer budget. Furthermore rumours of an impending departure for star player James Milner to the Theatre of Dreams.
Martin O’Neill has distanced himself from supposed quit threats he has made behind closed doors. ’I would like to continue in the job, it really is as simple as that,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘I will sit down at the end of the season as I normally do with the chairman, as we have done every single year, assess what has gone on, assess to see how the team can improve and we will assess everything.’ How exactly would Aston Villa cope though without the charismatic manager?
Not as well I would surmise. Aston Villa face a huge task next season as it is as the plains of the Premier League are about to change. Villa may get swept aside unless they invest heavily this summer. With no English presence in the Champions League semi-final stage, Chelsea’s aging squad and the demise of Liverpool. Expect the so called ‘top four’ to invest heavily this summer. Chelsea will pick up a few top young players to give them more legs next season. Sir Alex Ferguson will not rest on his laurels and will spend big this summer on a striker. Arsene Wenger declared after their crushing defeat at the Nou Camp that Arsenal will invest in the summer to catch up. Furthermore I don’t expect Liverpool to have such a bad season as they have this year.
This is before Manchester City and Tottenham are thrown into the equation. Manchester City will invest massively and could make it a top five next season. Add this onto Tottenham’s resurgence under Harry Redknapp who no-one can deny have been big spenders consistently. Aston Villa are beginning to look like they may be cast adrift. I would also argue that Aston Villa’s squad is already the weakest out of the top seven and the thinnest. To stifle investment now at this crucial point would cast Aston Villa down to scrapping for Europa League spots.
Martin O’Neill has probably sensed this and asked for a large investment over the summer to which Randy Lerner has rejected. I found O’Neill’s comments to the Observer last week extremely interesting ‘I don’t think I have ever in my managerial time really given my valuation its proper consideration. ‘I don’t have an agent. I’ve never had an agent. I might be the only manager in Europe who doesn’t have an agent. What I should do, I should really consider my value a wee bit more.’ Is O’Neill beginning to worry that his worth may take a hit next season at Villa without proper investment?
Martin O’Neill knows he is one of the best managers in the country and should Liverpool or Manchester United for example require a new manager. O’ Neill would surely be on a shortlist. I think he is sensing a decline of Aston Villa’s fortunes may curtail these ambitions. Aston Villa needs Martin O’Neill next season much more than he needs them. He could leave at the end of the season with everyone in the media declaring what a brilliant job he did and could wait in the wings for a supposedly ‘bigger’ club. Aston Villa would be left picking up the pieces and probably struggle to an 8th place finish.
With Martin O’Neill next season in place Villa will at least be under the right guidance and stability. A manager the players trust implicitly. I still think fourth spot will be well beyond them without investment. If O’Neill is there next season sixth spot considering the investment Manchester City will make is an outstanding achievement. Without him, I fear Villa will struggle to make much impact on the top six.
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