Premiership Preview: Aston Villa

What a dismal season! Under O’Neil there were three 6th placed finishes in a row and the football was exciting! Under Houiller it was weak, it was lifeless and uninspiring but thankfully there will be no lasting legacy to look back upon. McLeish seemingly more unpopular for his Birmingham connections rather than his quite frankly mediocre management has got a tough task ahead of him. So what has he to do to get Villa back to their former glory? 

Goalkeepers 
Failing to agree a contract with Brad Friedel has not only left Villa without one of the leagues better ‘keepers it’s left them with no ‘keeper worthy of wearing the Number 1 shirt. McLeish will definitely need to strengthen here, whether he raids his former club and buys Ben Foster, or actually looks ever so slightly further afield and buys the obvious choice of Shay Given, it needs addressing. 

Defenders 
Last season aside Villa has normally been very strong defensively and McLeish has generally setup a side who are very strong defensively so...look forward to a boring season Villa fans! There’s a decent array of players available to McLeish in this area but it does still need some strengthening. The right back slot was filled by Walker from January onward and with him back at Spurs seemingly permanently a new player needs to be brought in, my choice would be John O’Shea a player who has a lot of experience and can cover many a position (and also nutmegged Figo, what more do you want?). Also I think one extra body in the centre of defence would add the finishing touch as there is already some quality there, and I would complete a Man Utd double and sign Wes Brown, strong, composed and versatile he would be a quality addition. 

Midfielders 
Looking at midfield I can’t help but wonder where the creativity will come from. Young now gone, Downing possibly to follow this area will need a lot of investment. Assuming they manage to keep Downing that only leaves Albrighton as the other winger so at least one player needed here. Someone who could play both sides would be advantageous so my suggestions would be Charles N’Zogbia or Niko Kranjcar. Centrally there is enough defence minded players but again creativity is lacking, a marquee signing here would go some way to strengthening McLeish’s relationship with the fans, I propose one of Diego from Wolfsburg or the cheaper loan signing of Sergio Canales from Madrid. 

Strikers 
In Darren Bent you have goals, in Heskey, Agbonlahor and Delfouneso you have erm...willing workers? So god help Villa if something happens to Bent, so to protect themselves from that sod lawed eventuality I would sign a potential goalscorer / partner for Bent. A more creative forward would be ideal, so someone like Vucinic or Sturridge.

But in the end if McLeish gets Villa playing the way Birmingham did last season it won’t matter who you have upfront as not conceding rather than scoring goals seems higher on his agenda