A disappointing run of 10 straight games without a win was enough to force Aston Villa’s hand when it came to their manager position. And looking back now, there is no doubt they made the right move when they sacked Paul Lambert in favor of Tim Sherwood.
Sherwood helped Villa turn things around and avoid relegation while reaching the FA Cup Final. While their fans will still be disappointed with the entire season in review, there is still reason for optimism moving forward. Here is a look at four things we learned from Aston Villa this past season.
There’s Plenty Of Reason For Optimism
After five straight seasons battling to stave off relegation, it looks as though Villa could finally be ready to turn a corner after the way they rallied in the second half of this past season. They registered late wins at Sunderland and Tottenham as well as victories over Everton and West Ham that helped salvage their year. They needed all of those points as remember they only finished with 38 points on the season, which was three more than Hull City, who was the last team to be relegated.
Factor in the high point of their season in an FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool and there is enough positives from the second half of this year to have fans at Villa Park looking forward to what is in the future for their beloved team.
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Fabian Delph Is The MVP
In terms of the sheer impact he made for Villa this season, there is no doubt that midfielder Fabian Delph is the team’s MVP moving forward. Villa looked like a completely different team when Delph was on the field and while Christian Benteke played an integral role up front, it was Delph that made the biggest difference in the middle. The 25-year-old became a regular for Villa this past season as well as making his first appearance for the England national team and there is every reason to expect him to continue to thrive with the team as a key player moving forward.
Benteke Is Crucial To Villa’s Attack
It’s amazing looking back now and realizing that at one point in the season, Aston Villa went six straight games without scoring a goal, which is an incredible feat. As a matter of fact, it’s something that they had never done before in their 141-year history. The final numbers weren’t pretty either as their 31 goals were the second-fewest in the English Premier League. Only Burnley (28) had less tallies than them.
For Villa, there are certainly cases to be made for some other stars that emerged but the one player that stood out the most was Christian Benteke both for the better and worse. Villa was at its worst when Benteke was struggling with his form but he rallied down the stretch and finished with a team-leading 13 goals. As up and down as he was, he still accounted for 58% of their offense this past season. Benteke is still just 24 years old and the team’s hopes up front rely heavily on his ability to score goals.
Sherwood Is Up To The Task
Lambert left Aston Villa in ruins as they had gone 10 straight games without a win while scoring just two goals over that span. Then he was finally sacked and replaced by Sherwood. Villa still only barely finished ahead of Hull City but the fact that they managed to do even that while reaching an FA Cup final is testament to Sherwood’s influence. He stepped in and turned a mess into something functional without any significant roster changes. That makes him look very good, which is why the former Tottenham bench boss signed a deal with the team that will keep him on board until the summer of 2018. From what we saw this year, that is the best decision for the team moving forward.
