Martin O’Neill resigned as Aston Villa manager on 9th August, meaning the club faces the prospect of starting the new season with reserve team coach Kevin MacDonald in charge.
Last summer, O’Neill attracted the likes of Stephen Warnock, Stewart Downing and Richard Dunne, but he failed to sign anyone in the current transfer window before leaving the club.
Marlon Harewood, Wilfred Bouma and Andy Marshall have all been released, while Stephen O’Halloran has joined Coventry City on a free transfer.
new management
Villa have a season of Europa League football to look forward to, and will again look to the cups for success after reaching the final of the Carling Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup earlier this year.
It remains to be seen whether they can improve on the three consecutive sixth-placed finishes under O’Neill in the Barclays Premier League, with teams often taking time to gel under new management.
It is also uncertain as to which players will still be at the club by the end of the transfer window, with owner Randy Lerner admitting Villa would have to adopt a sell-to-buy policy.
Defensively, Villa were generally sound last season, with James Collins and Richard Dunne excellent in the centre of defence, and Brad Freidel solid between the posts.
another level
The new manager will hope that Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor can take their games onto another level this season, and that John Carew can perform on a regular basis in attack.
Carew was on target in the pre-season friendly against Benfica on 1st August, but Villa were on the end of a 4-1 defeat in that match.
Other pre-season results have seen them beat Walsall and Feyenoord 2-1 and 3-1 respectively, and lose their opening friendly 2-1 to Bohemians.
Their last one ended in a 0-0 draw with Valencia, Stewart Downing hitting the woodwork with a free-kick late on.
“Martin O’Neill resigned as Aston Villa manager on 9th August” .
Credits: PremierLeague.com
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