SM
Huddersfield vs. Man Utd U21s: 9 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Mid-season report: Aston Villa

:Headline: Mid-season report: Aston Villa: ID:11498: from db_amp
Sports Mole takes a look at how Alex McLeish's Aston Villa have fared so far this campaign.

It would be fair to say that not all Aston Villa fans welcomed former Birmingham boss Alex McLeish to the club with open arms.

A solid start did seem to point to a successful season, but it has been their lack of invention that has borne the brunt of their criticism.

Here is Sports Mole's assessment of how Villa have fared so far this campaign.

August

After the club lost arguably their two most influential players from the previous campaign in Stewart Downing and Ashley Young, it was always going to be a tough task for McLeish to sufficiently replace the duo.

In came Charles N'Zogbia, while Shay Given replaced Tottenham-bound Brad Friedel between the sticks.

On the pitch, the club followed up their opening 0-0 draw against Fulham with a 3-1 win over Blackburn, while a 2-0 win over Hereford secured their passage in the Carling Cup. The month ended with a fairly low-key 0-0 draw with Wolves, but an unbeaten August was enough to silence some of the early doubters.

September

September started with a hard-fought point at Everton, but more home points were dropped after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle at Villa Park. The club also exited the Carling Cup, while summer signing N'Zogbia was struggling in his new surroundings.

The club were seconds away from securing a vital win at QPR late in the month before a Richard Dunne own goal, but they continued to remain unbeaten in the league.

October

October started with a morale-boosting 2-0 win against Wigan, but successive defeats to Manchester City and West Brom placed McLeish under pressure from the club's fans.

A 2-2 draw at Sunderland ended the month with criticism that the club were lacking invention in midfield after their summer departures.

November

A Darren Bent double helped Villa to a 3-2 win over Norwich, but they went down 2-0 to Spurs after an extremely disappointing performance.

The month ended with a fairly low-key 0-0 draw at Swansea as McLeish continued to search for that winning formula. The club remained resolute in defence, but were struggling to provide Bent with the service he had in the previous campaign.

December

December began with a 1-0 loss to Manchester United but the club responded with a 2-1 win away at struggling Bolton.

Successive home defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal again highlighted the club's lack of invention in front of their own fans, but a 0-0 draw at Stoke on Boxing Day was a further indication of the club's continued strength in defence.

amp_article__11498 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2011-12-27 21:40:24:
html db last update - 2011-12-27 21:40:24 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Alex McLeish

Click here for more stories about Aston Villa

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .