ASTON VILLA F.C.
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| The Villans with their new kit for 2012/13 season. |
Last Season: Poor Enough
It was really out of my imagination that Aston Villa, a major contender for Europa League qualification for most of the previous seasons, was officially safe from relegation only on the last few gameweeks of last term. Failure in offence was the main reason for such terrible performance, having only scored 37 goals in 38 matches. The season was even worsened with skipper Stiliyan Petrov being diagnosed with leukemia on March, which keeps him away from the pitch indefinitely.
This Summer: Lambert at the Helm
The first big move that Randy Lerner, Aston Villa's owner, made this season was to appoint Paul Lambert as the new manager of the club. The Scottish coach led Norwich for a great season last term, sitting at a comfortable 12th spot as newcomers.
In terms of players, the Villans have captured former Feyenoord captain Ron Vlaar, his teammate from Feyenoord Karim El-Ahmadi, former Sheffield United defender Matthew Lowton and Australian international Brett Holman; out are all seniors of the team who include James Collins, Carlos Cuellar and Emile Heskey.
Upcoming Season: Big Redemption
The Villans will definitely try to avoid another dismal season. Darren Bent, who played only about 50% of possible playing time last season, should be the club's key in delivering goals. Meanwhile, Given and Dunne have to keep the back tighter to make this season a good one for them.
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| Bent's historical P90. |
Last season was one of the trough in Darren Bent's (£8.5m) career, having featuring the least minutes in Premier League since 2007/08 season. His P90 has also hit the lowest of past 5 seasons, and that was consequently reflected in his price drop of £8.5m this season. Such drop is not a bad thing nonetheless, as his price was taken back to a level which may make him worth his value this season, provided that if he can provide what his standard suggests.
Old Time Favourite: Agbonlahor (FI:0.407)
Gone were the days where Gabriel Agbonlahor (£7.0m) was one of the hot picks in Fantasy Premier League. Scoring an average of about 150 points per fantasy season in 2006/07 to 2009/10 campaigns, the forward was then fell into a big slump in his career, scoring only 55 points in 2010/11 season.
The situation was improved last season with 112 points and with his price still stagnant at £7.0m, whether or not the forward can restore his prime will be the key factor in his fantasy popularity.
Agbonlahor will not be available for the first few gameweeks though, after suffering an injury during his pre-season tour at the United States.
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| N'Zogbia's historical points. |
The decision to join Villa has somehow become a disastrous move for Charles N'Zogbia (£6.5m), where he was forced to play much deeper than what he was used to, consequently limiting his offensive opportunities.
The French definitely hopes that the arrival of Paul Lambert will change the whole situation, allowing him to explore more opportunities upfront. If such a hope turns out to be true, you can expect the lad to deliver more than what he was doing last season.
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