A reality check has been handed out to Aston Villa fans this last week and its through no fault of their own. The club has been run to the point where a transfer embargo could loom and the playing squad needs so much work to balance a money situation that was gambled on massively.
Villa need to get rid of some players who haven’t performed despite huge wages at this level and the list isn’t small. You need only look at Ross McCormack and Scott Hogan to see where Villa and their issues lie. Hogan shouldn’t really be put in the same bracket as Ross McCormack but the fact is both cost millions in fees and wages and both haven’t lived up to their investment. There are others, John Terry should have had the experience to get Villa over the line but he didn’t, Whelan, Jedinak, Taylor, Chester, the list goes on.
These players have performed to an extent though, it’s harsh to say they haven’t because coming 4th and losing in a Championship play-off final isn’t exactly failure, it’s when you compare it to the money that other clubs have spent in the league that it becomes grim reading for Aston Villa fans. That play-off final loss to Fulham will have knock-on effects for a long time and it will start with a huge summer where players will have to be shipped out.
There is one player who can go under the radar and could well be the man to help Villa get through this transition and that is Irish midfielder Conor Hourihane. The ex-Barnsley skipper joined last January and has been a revelation at the club without getting the plaudits. When you have big players like Terry, Snodgrass and Adomah in your side you won’t often steal the headlines but Hourihane should now be considered one of the best central midfielders in the league. His ability to get on the end of things in the box and get on the ball are second to none at Villa.
Villa have a tough season ahead of them and maybe it’s for the best. The expectation will drop and it may allow the players to have some weight lifted off their shoulders but players like Hourihane haven’t hid and won’t going forward. As a Championship club you need Championship players, ones who will do the graft and don’t mind scrapping when times get tough. There are too many Villa players who are used to the glamour of the Premier League and Hourihane certainly isn’t one of them. Looking for a leader now Terry has left? Look no further.
