When you think of a club backed by an American billionaire (or two) you think of Liverpool and Manchester United. It is rare that Randy Lerner's ownership of Aston Villa comes up. But he has financed a lot of buying of players since he bought the club. And still Villa have a threadbare squad that will be troubled by the injuries and departures they've suffered this off-season. If I were Martin O'Neil, I would certainly expect the pressure to be on me to produce this season.
If I were a fantasy manager, and your mileage may vary on that, I would expect Villa to have more to offer. However, even after another season of net spending there isn't a must-have bargain new player transfering in to the club. Just squad building, or in the particular case of Downing an attractive option with an unappealing injury still to overcome. And they haven't truly replaced the heart of the team in Barry and Laursen. Their current players all seem to be well priced for their output, be it at the top-end like BFAY or the mid- to bottom-tier like Milner or Heskey. So while I would certainly be confident picking Villa attackers if they had a good matchup, say when Hull visit, there isn't a steal or a sleeper in the bunch and nor would I be confident in their defence.
Possible Starting XI: Friedel, Beye, Cuellar, Davies, L Young, A Young, Sidwell, Downing, Milner, Agbonlahor, Carew
Players to Watch:
Ashley Young: The original, and still Blog Favorite Ashley Young (BFAY). With Barry moved along, Young will only assume more of the offensive responsibility for Villa taking corners and free kicks. At 15.90, he's probably priced right -- just below the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, and Arshavin. BFAY to date has lacked the consitency of the top tier players, but Villa are going to need him week in and week out now and fantasy managers could be poised to benefit.
Steve Sidwell: With Barry moved along (did we mention that?) and Petrov and Downing out injured, Sidwell will get his chance to stake a place in Villa's engine room. He's always been one to pop up with the odd goal too, so at 4.88 he might be a worthwile investment in the midfield, even if he's likely to play a deeper role. The one caveat to this seems to be the sudden emergence of Fabian Delph. If Delph is healthy, he may have Sidwell - once again - consigned to the bench.
John Carew: With Heskey increasingly frail, Carew will have to be the spearhead of Villa's attack - or at least the large in a little/large partnership with Agbonlahor. With Gabby, Young and Milner doing the running and feeding him the ammunition, he should be able to provide a reasonable goal return.
As a Villan, I've been rather unhappy with the transfer situation this offseason. The failure to replace Laursen is especially worrying, especially since they also let Knight go and let the position get even thinner. Beye and Delph are solid pickups, but if they really want to compete they need at least 3 more players... probably 2 center backs and a versatile midfielder like Jenas. Or 1 extremely sturdy and reliable center back(I have no idea who is available who could fit the bill though) and 2 midfielders. As of right now I'd stay well away from their defense. And the return of Downing will even make Milner and Young less attractive, so that's kinda bad news too.
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