After avoiding relegation last season, Paul Lambert has chopped and changed his squad, but most importantly for Villa fans, kept hold of top goalscorer Christian Benteke. Despite their woes from last season, pundits are predicting that the Villains can successfully avoid the drop again this year.
Last season:
Lambert began his reign by releasing Emile Heskey and Carlos Cuellar, and selling James Collins to West Ham United for 2.5 million. He brought in Brett Holmann, Karim El Ahmadi, Matt Lowton, Ron Vlaar (who he made captain), Joe Bennett, Ashley Westwood, Jordan Bowery and Benteke. 2 wins in their first 13 games was a sign of things to come, and in January they sat 19th in the table, with the worst goal difference of the bottom 5, after a heavy 8-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. April was the key month, with Villa losing only once, to Manchester United, picking up wins at Stoke, and hammering Sunderland 6-1. Those results put Villa 16th, and with only 1 defeat in May, they finished comfortably in the end in 15th place, 5 clear of relegation.On the cup scene, they exited the FA Cup in January to Millwall, but stunned Man City by beating them in the second round of the League Cup, where they would reach the semi-finals, only to be beaten by Bradford City on aggregate.
Top Scorer- Christian Benteke (23)
Fan's Player of the Season: Christian Benteke
League Position: 15th
League Cup: Semi Finals
Fa Cup: Fourth Round
The Gaffer: Paul Lambert
With honours both on and off the pitch, Lambert is one of the most respected managers in English Football. As a player he won the Champions League with Dortmund in 1995, as well as 4 SPL's, 4 Scottish Cups and 2 Scottish League Cups with Celtic and St.Mirren, and he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall Of Fame in 2009. He then went on to manage Livingston, and Colchester, before taking Norwich to back-to-back promotions from League 1 to the Premier League, winning the Championship Manager of the Year in 2011Key Player: Christian Benteke
Initially handing in a transfer request, the Belgian withdrew it and instead signed a new 4-year deal at the club. The 22 year old was a handful for defenders last season, and his goals should fire Villa to a mid table finish.One To Watch: Nicklas Helenius
Voted as the Danish Superliga's player of the season, Benteke will be assisted by the 6ft 5in monster that is Nicklas Helenius, who scored 40 goals in 102 appearances for Aalborg. The speed and strength of the Belgian, combined with the aerial prowess of Helenius is certainly whetting the appetite of Villa fansTransfers In:
Alexsander Tonev
Jores Okore
Leandro Bacuna
Nicklas Helenius
Antonio Luna
Transfers Out:
Richard Dunne
Eric Lihaj
Brett Holman
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