Eck settling Villa's turbulent twelve months

Eck's shining light of stability 

Aston Villa's 3-2 home over Norwich City's ended a two successive defeat downturn and put the team into a respectable eighth place.

Only the usual suspects with bigger resources are outperforming Villa, Newcastle aside.

Alex McLeish isn't yet winning over the fans with his workmanlike style of football, nevertheless the club are much more stable than twelve months ago. In the wake of Martin O'Neill's shock departure on the eve of last season, the board scratched around to appoint the wholly inappropriate Gerard Houllier after a disastrous dalliance with Kevin MacDonald.

McLeish was always going to find resistance from the naysayers in arriving from the rabble at Small Heath, but I can't help but admire his Carling Cup win, particularly with the team he had and its startling lack of firepower and history of achievement. Yes, Blues were relegated at the end of the season but I think that had everything to do with the physical excesses of the Cup run.

What McLeish does do well is encourage players to grow in stature and confidence. Warnock and Petrov are beneficiaries of the new regime even if Ireland continues to annoy the faithful with his lacklustre shows.

But the fast-maturing Gabriel Agbonlahor's stepped upto the plate to become a senior player of real influence and quality at Villa Park. Working on his game rather than weight-training's helped plug the void left by the departed Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.

Agbonlahor and Bent developing a partnership

And increasing that work rate and goals is invigorating the strike partnership with Darren Bent. The £24m hit man, bought in the January transfer window has now scored 46 times since the start of the 09/10 season: no one, not Rooney or Drogba can match that.

It's important to remember what a proven striker we have and but for his checkered Tottenham career, Bent may have been playing for another top four team now, instead of arriving at Villa via Sunderland.

In defence, Villa have capability, talent and experience but lack confidence. But as results improve, so will form and as the season develops, so will fitness. There's nothing wrong with the reputation and commitment of players like Dunne, Collins, Warnock and great new keeper, Shay Given. Fans are calling for Collins to be dropped, but his early season progress has been hampered by injury.

The only legacy of the Houllier period was his commitment to youth. So many players staked their claim to the first team - and for one reason or another, they've slipped out of the reckoning. But Chris Herd is one player who's not only showing what a fine prospect he is, he's also creating competition at the back: so key to a developing squad.

I take Villa to continue improving and for Alex McLeish to look back at his first season in charge at Villa Park to finish higher than last season's stunted ninth place.

No Deal Or No Deal. But Ashley's return to St. James' Park is GOOD news for Newcastle.

Doh! Just when he thought he'd seen the back of St. James' Park for good, Mike Ashley's got no takers for Newcastle United.
No Deal or No Deal. "Damn the Credit Crunch!", he must be thinking over a Domino's Pizza and pint. But is this such gloomy news for the Toon as things stand?

Ashley was booed out of St. James' Park hot on the heels of quitter Kevin Keegan, declaring he'd "got the message" that he wasn't wanted by the fans as club owner.

Trouble is the crisis heralded an air of austerity and humility at the club. No coach worth his salt wanted the job, leaving it to those desperate for a last chance of the big time.

Enter Joe Kinnear, without a sniff of work in football for four years, but with a decent top-flight record at Wimbledon - and he's done rather well, steadying the ship and getting his squad performing consistently. An example of a football man written off prematurely in the over-judgemental world of the English game.

It's not as if Newcastle hasn't got quality: Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Nicky Butt, Obafemi Martins, Shay Given, Geremi and Mark Viduka: all good enough to keep them up.

Ashley's decision to drink up, then wash and go sent Newcastle into freefall. Suddenly there was no manager, an AWOL chairman and a middle-management dubbed cockney mafia, starring Dennis Wise. Who on earth was going to work in that framework and get the team performing? It was the very definition of football's poisoned chalice. Worse than managing England!

But a few months on, the picture's rather different. Ashley's renewal of vows maybe good news for Newcastle United.

They're a decent bet to stay up and though the squad isn't good enough long-term, the fans still turn up in their thousands for the Toon and there's lots to build on.

It's time the Toon Army buried the hatchet and got behind their owner. I think this new version of recession-hit Newcastle minus the Fancy Dans and bad boys can start to prosper.

Also on Jonny's Soccermongery: Thailand's new Prime Minister is a Geordie! and Keeping Michael Owen is out of Newcastle's hands or Home Page for the latest entry.

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