Martin O’Neill’s shock resignation just days before another Premier League campaign kicks off has left a huge void at Villa Park. O’Neill may have not won any major honours during his four-year reign in north Birmingham, but his impact at the club has been huge. The European Cup winner exerted his authority over the West Midlands outfit in the same way that Sir Alex Ferguson has controlled proceedings at Old Trafford and whoever replaces him has big boots to fill.
When the Ulsterman arrived at Villa Park in the summer of 2006 and was greeted by a band of jubilant supporters the club was at a low ebb. The Villains were odds on to go down the following season after narrowly avoiding the drop just a few months before and Aston Villa’s best players including Gareth Barry, Olof Mellberg and Juan Pablo Angel were being linked with moves away from Villa Park. Controversial chairman Doug Ellis then found a buyer for Midlands outfit – American entrepreneur Randy Lerner – which marked a turning point in the club’s fortunes. O’Neill was appointed manager with the deal almost signed and sealed and a new era at one of England’s most famous clubs was about to begin.
The former Leicester City boss struggled in his first season as he was left with the squad that was almost relegated months earlier. After a difficult campaign the Villains eventually finished in the relative comfort of mid-table and O’Neill was free to plan an assault on the upper echelons.
Over the coming seasons, through the acquisitions of Ashley Young, James Milner and John Carew, coupled with the speed of Villa youth product Gabby Agbonlahor, the former Celtic manager introduced a direct, counter-attacking style of play that was deadly away from home, with Villa perfectly set up to play on the break. In the 2008/09 season, as Villa led the pack in the chase of the elusive fourth Spot for Champions League qualification they recorded a record seven straight away victories in a row.
Despite a couple of heavy defeats away to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, O’Neill enjoyed a degree of success against the ‘big four’, registering victories against Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea as well as a historic victory at Old Trafford; Villa’s first against the Red Devils since 1983.
During his spell at Villa Park, O’Neill had his critics amongst the clubs supporters. The ex-Wycombe manager’s tendency to stick with the same team frustrated many on the terraces, especially as they saw players starting to tire in the latter months of the season. One of the defining moments of the O’Neill reign was the ironic cheers afforded to the substitution of Gabby Agbonlahor in a fixture against Spurs after the England striker had been subject to a wretched run of form which many attributed to tiredness. Despite the odd murmuring though, Villa’s supporters were loyal to O’Neill and in the most part appreciated the job he had carried out. The vast majority will be sad to see him leave.
In the end it appears that Villa’s inability to compete financially with their rivals, in particular Manchester City, has led to O’Neill’s departure. Losing James Milner, who is expected to move to the Eastlands outfit shortly, would have been hard to take after they signed Gareth Barry last summer.
The Villains must now look to the future and whoever takes over the Villa Park manager’s seat has been left a solid platform to build from. There is a good mixture of youth and experience and with the addition of a bit of craft and guile in midfield or the forward line there is no reason why Villa cannot continue to compete with the best in the Premier League. The main concern is now keeping the club’s best players, the future of Ashley Young understandably comes into question and other players who were close to O’Neill such as Gabby Agbonlahor and Stiliyan Petrov may also question their future in the Midlands.
