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Andreas Weimann: Villa’s Sprightly Little Austrian Gem

By O-Posts Team | April 13, 2013 - 13:59 | Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool FC, Opinion, Premier League, Report, Scouting

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As a result of a drastically slashed budget and wage bill at Villa Park this season, Paul Lambert, in his first year in charge, has had to resort to young, unproven talent in order to form his squad that remains in transition.

Ashley Westwood, Joe Bennett and Matthew Lowton arrived from the Football League whilst Christian Benteke and Ron Vlaar were signed for cheap fees from Belgium and the Netherlands respectively.

A relegation battle has ensued, but as they pull clear with a good run of results there has raised an optimism that they may well survive to take to the Premier League once more with an exciting young squad.

One of those promising talents was already at the club before Lambert but one the Scot has not been averse in showing faith in, the Austrian striker Andreas Weimann.

Profile

As a seven year old, Weimann joined his hometown club of FC Stadlau for whom he progressed through the youth set-up to be involved more in the senior reaches of the squad. His progress was monitored by Rapid Vienna, who invited the striker for a trial in 2005.

In a practice match, Weimann duly impressed and he was signed up by Vienna, with whom he spent two years in the academy before being noticed by scouts of Aston Villa.

Weimann signed for Villa on youth terms in 2007 together with fellow Austrian Dominik Hofbauer, and was allowed to train and develop with the club before he was due to turn professional in 2010.

In his final year of his youth contract, Weimann travelled with the club on the pre-season Peace Cup tournament of Asia, then went on to top score for the reserves with nine goals. His impressive performances for the reserves earned him a new deal, which he signed to tie him to the club until 2012.

Weimann featured heavily in Aston Villa’s pre-season of the 2010/11 campaign and he made his full league debut as a substitute against West Ham. Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald gave him a substitute appearance against his old club Rapid Vienna in the UEFA Cup, but he suffered a long-term injury, not returning to training until January.

After returning, he moved on loan to Watford for the rest of the season, playing 19 times for the Hornets in the Championship, scoring 4 goals.

Weimann…. in action with Watford.

The striker featured in the early rounds of the League Cup in the following season and he signed a new deal to keep him at the club until 2014. He immediately returned to Watford for a second loan spell, this time playing just 3 times as he returned to the Midlands amidst growing injury concerns.

However, he went on to feature 14 times as Villa narrowly avoided relegation under Alex McLeish, bundling in a late winner against Fulham for his first ever Villa goal, and also earning them a vital 1-1 draw against Stoke.

This season under the guidance of Paul Lambert, Weimann has shown his talent, scoring eleven times so far in his breakthrough year. 2 strikes against Manchester United hinted at his strong finishing and predatory instinct, whilst a superb team goal away at Liverpool indicated a blossoming partnership with Benteke in attack.

The combination also linked up for Weimann to score against Swansea. Lambert has played his Austrian striker 32 times this season in a tremendous show of faith in the promise and talent he possesses, the 21 year old has repaid his boss with eleven goals in all competitions.

Weimann celebrating his brace against the mighty Red Devils.

On the international scene, Weimann has represented Austria at all levels from under-17s to under-21s, scoring 14 goals along the way, but in October 2012, the striker earned his first senior cap for Austria, appearing against Kazakhstan.

The youngster has gone on to earn 5 caps for his country.

Strengths, style and weaknesses

The most striking factor about Weimann is his versatility that allows him to play as the centre-forward, or right across the attacking three in Paul Lambert’s 4-2-3-1 which is usually led by Christian Benteke. Playing to the right of the Belgian, Weimann has appeared 7 times, scoring 3 goals and registering 1 assist.

As a centre forward, the Austrian has appeared 6 times, scoring twice. He was also used as a left midfielder against QPR recently, proving a success as he scored and assisted another in a 3-2 win.

His low number of assists, just 2, and only 20 chances created from his 26 appearances so far in the league, suggests Weimann is a direct striker, preferring to head straight towards goal rather than link the play. He averages just 20 passes per game and for a player who spends most of his time in the final third, his lack of key passes, under 1 per game, indicates his single-minded attacking play.

Weimann, with only one goal in his mind….. scoring.

He has taken 43 shots in his 26 appearances at an accuracy of 55%, again hinting at his willingness to go direct. This is a consequence of his pace fitting into Lambert’s system where Villa soak up pressure and pounce on the counter attack with quick, energetic players running off the hub of the physical target-man Benteke.

Weimann’s low passing accuracy of 79% suggests how little of the ball the Austrian sees of the ball in the final third, instead he makes a nuisance of his pace, operating off knock-downs from his Belgian partner.

His ability to turn and run at defenders, using his pace to full effect, makes Weimann a vital part of Lambert’s team, another youngster the Scottish manager has seemingly got the best out of as he seeks to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The biggest testament to Weimann’s burgeoning talent is that he appears to be ahead of senior strikers Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor in the Villa Park pecking order.

Weimann… forming a devastating partnership with Benteke.

It has been a great achievement for the 21 year old who has made over 20 appearances in one season for the first time in his career. The suspicion is that there will be many more to come yet.

Transfer situation

Weimann has just 12 months left to run on his current deal and Villa have grown a concern that he may walk away for nothing next summer. The club have offered the Austrian striker 2 previous deals while reports claim that he has even turned a third offer, but the Austrian press say that negotiations are still going on between the player and the club.

Liverpool are reportedly being kept unofficially informed over Weimann’s situation and believe he could move for as little as £5 million this summer. The Anfield club see him as a potential replacement for Dirk Kuyt as an industrious striker who can play out wide.

Norwich and Inter Milan are also rumoured to be chasing the young Austrian, as well as Borussia Dortmund who are looking to add to the fine attacking line of Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus and Mario Gotze.

Villa and Lambert will be desperate to keep the young Austrian however after he played such a vital role in last year’s escape from relegation and is continuing to contribute significantly to this season’s late charge.

Whatever happens to the striker, there is little doubt that Villa have unearthed another young gem who will go far in the game.

Written by Adam Gray

F0llow Adam on Twitter @AdamGray1250

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Aston Villa: The Villans make late surge to keep the Lambert plan alive

By O-Posts Team | March 17, 2013 - 17:51 | Opinion, Premier League, UK

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On March 1st, Aston Villa announced their accounts for 2011/2012 which gave a firm insight into their decline from successive sixth place finishes under Martin O’Neil to relegation candidates under Alex McLeish and now Paul Lambert.

Under O’Neil, the wage bill climbed to £71 million, accounting for 85% of the club’s annual turnover and, having spent £120 million on transfers over the Irishman’s four-year reign, the club posted at fourth highest, behind only Manchester City, Chelsea and Stoke.

Chairman Randy Lerner, who had grown a reputation as one of the more generous of the Premier League’s ownership gentry, turned to frugality in order to prevent the club’s finances spiralling out of control.

O’Neill was dispensed with, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young were both sold for a combined £35 million and the club’s losses for the year 2011/2012 were reduced from £54 million to £18 million. The wage bill was also cut by £13.8 million as the American severely downsized in order to safeguard the long-term future of the club.

Part of that has included the managerial transition from O’Neil to Paul Lambert via the short term reigns of Gerard Houllier and Gary Mcallister and then Alex McLeish. Lambert, who had achieved a double promotion and Premier League consolidation with little other than a shrewd knowledge of the lower leagues and an eye for a bargain, was the perfect fit as Lerner strived to eradicate the reckless days of spending £6 million on Fabian Delph.

Delph has struggled since his big money move as a 19 year old back in 2009, but he still remains at Villa Park as part of Lambert’s new generation alongside 21 year old Matthew Lowton and 22 year old Ashley Westwood, signed in the summer from Sheffield United and Crewe Alexandra respectively.

Joe Bennett, a 21 year old left-back, was signed from Middlesborough to join the likes of Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker, Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton, all under the age of 23, as Villa chose to build again with an emphasis on youth rather than the established star (Downing, Bent) that would have put a strain on the wage-bill.

Lerner did back Lambert enough for him to fork out £7 million for Belgian Christian Benteke, a striker, fitting the bill, at the age of 22, as ambitious young player built for the future. His 17 goals this season have been a revelation, with none more important than the winner he netted in Saturday’s hugely important victory over QPR.

Villa moved six points clear of the relegation zone with that 3-2 win to greatly allay fears that a drop into the Championship would dismantle Lambert’s long-term vision before it had barely begun.

The transition from the ill-fated year-long reign of Alex McLeish, in which Villa scarcely avoided relegation, has been a very shaky process. 56 goals have been shipped, the worst tally in the league, as Lambert has seen his team’s inexperience exploited enough for them to be mired in relegation trouble throughout the season.

Elimination in the FA Cup to Millwall of the Championship and in the League Cup to Bradford City have provided an embarrassing side-track to a poor campaign in which Lerner’s patience with Lambert has already been tested.

The potential of Westwood, Benteke, Lowton and co. together with Lambert’s appreciation for measured spending has seen Lerner refuse to buckle and resort to a managerial change for the third time in three years.

Sensible spending and continuity is now the key at Villa Park and that approach is close to reaping short-term reward as the Villa ship, immersed in choppy waters throughout the season, steers towards safety.

Ashley Westwood, the centre-midfield playmaker, has become integral to Lambert’s set-up despite having never previously consistently played higher than tier four with Crewe Alexandra. He has made 20 appearances and registered an average passing percentage of 85%.

Against QPR, having attempted 74 passes, he completed 99% of them. Despite the lack of experience alongside of him, his partnerships have been formed with Delph and Bannan as Stiliyan Petrov remains sidelined with his fight against leukaemia, he has grown into a cultured Premier League midfielder.

Such is his improvement, and the vibrant performances of Lowton, Benteke and Andreas Wiemann, that bodes well for the future. Lambert’s faith in youth has been immovable throughout, trusting them instead of the elder statesmen of Charles N’Zogbia and Darren Bent, starting a combined total of just 16 games so far this season, is now beginning to pay-off with the utmost vindication to Lerner and his now restricted spending plan which saw fit to appoint Lambert in the first place.

Westwood…. holding his ground in the top tier of English football.

Lambert’s long-term vision which has been tasked with turning around Villa’s poor performances on the pitch under Alex McLeish together with continuing to maintain a stringent eye on Villa’s previously obscene spending plan looks like it could have earned itself a second year.

It is no less than the Villa hierarchy deserve for, while so many other clubs delve into unmanageable amounts of debt as they battle to compete a the very top, refusing to abandon with their rebuilding process.

Benteke’s winner over QPR could have been a pivotal moment in a bright future on and off the pitch.

Written by Adam Gray

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Aston Villa: Lambert’s Villa project faces early litmus test

By O-Posts Team | January 10, 2013 - 15:09 | Aston Villa, Opinion

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Paul Lambert, whose managerial career has blossomed from the depths of League Two with Wycombe to the Premier League, probably thought his days of competing with those languishing at the bottom of the league pyramid were over.

His three year job of guiding Norwich from League One to the Premier League and establishing them as a solid unit at the top level, took him to Aston Villa, a constant in the top division for the last 24 years but a club in need of galvanising after two years of decline. In the January of his inaugural year at Villa Park, it is a club from the basement division ironically testing Lambert’s position in the top league.

Villa are placed 16th after 21 Premier League games and are nervously looking over their shoulder at Wigan who are in the relegation zone, separated from the Midlands club by a point. They are in the semi-final of the League Cup, but are now close to the embarrassing brink of elimination to fourth tier outfit Bradford, who beat Villa 3-1 in the first leg, a result that occurred after a dreadful run of form that included festive defeats to Chelsea, Spurs and Wigan by a collective score of fifteen goals to nil.

Lambert has a clear long-term project in place at Villa and he should be, admittedly in contrast to modern football’s desire for immediacy, afforded time as a result. Shay Given, Darren Bent and Stephen Warnock have all lost their places as Lambert tries to build a side on young players, Christian Benteke is a regular up front at the age of 22, Ashley Westwood, the 22 year old who was last year playing for Crewe in League Two, partners Barry Bannan, 23, in midfield whilst Matthew Lowton, a summer signing from Sheffield United, plays at right-back at the age of 23.

Lowton played against Bradford in a back four alongside 21 year old Nathan Baker, 22 year old Joe Bennett and 23 year old Ciaran Clark. The Bantams duly exposed the folly of such inexperience by punishing abject defending at set-pieces to take a handsome lead back to Villa Park in a fortnight’s time.

23 year old Fabian Delph, so far a disappointment following his £6 million move from Leeds in 2009, played alongside Bannan on Tuesday night as Villa cope with the loss of captain Stiliyan Petrov who continues his recovery from leukaemia. It’s the loss of his influence that comes more obvious with every game Lambert’s slight midfield is badly overrun.

Misfortune with injuries has been a problem, the combative Karim Al-Ahmadi has been lost to an ankle knock whilst, at the back, Richard Dunne’s wealth of experience has been missing with a knee injury and fellow centre-back Ron Vlaar, a summer signing from Feyenoord, has seen a calf injury stop his promising impact from the early days at the club.

But the manager has tried intentionally to move away from past eras and it is backfiring. Charles N’Zogbia, Stephen Ireland, Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor, all players with proven Premier League pasts, have been overlooked at certain stages by Lambert and although Agbonlahor and N’Zogbia started the game with Bradford, they were the only 2 outfield players in Villa’s team to complete a season in the top division.

Faith has instead been installed in Brett Holman, signed on a free from AZ Alkmaar in the summer, and the 21 year old Andreas Weimann who has been part of Villa’s youth set up since being spotted by O’Neill in 2007. His eight goals in the last eleven games being one of the few bright points of Lambert’s youthful overhaul.

It is a deliberate approach that has owed, in part, to the lavish spending of the Martin O’Neil days in which, although the club enjoyed two sixth place finishes, a squad was assembled on a wage bill that accounted for 88% of the annual turnover.

Remnants from the O’Neill days Carlos Cuellar, Habib Beye and James Collins have been moved on, but Lambert has been left with Warnock, Given, Bent, Ireland and Alan Hutton, players who the Scotsman doesn’t view as value for money in the long term and has phased out in the prophecy of their departures that will bring the Villa wage bill down to more healthier levels. Young players with low reputations have formed the new approach, but there is no doubting, as Bradford reinforced on Tuesday, Lambert may have to compromise or risk capping the two years of decline since the departure of O’Neill in 2010 with a possible disastrous relegation.

That may mean dipping into the transfer market to add valuable experience in what would be a potential gamble against accusations of panic-buying, or he could turn back to players like Bent who do not seem to have a future within Lambert’s new regime. The 4-1 and 2-4 win at Norwich and Manchester City in the cup, and the 1-3 league win at Liverpool have indicated Lambert does have the talent in his young side to work with, but those performances have become anomalies in what has become a depressing season that has failed to arrest the slide, even when the long-term picture is taken into account.

Lambert faces a huge decision on whether to back his instinct and continue with his band of fresh blood or change to save the short-term before his long-term vision, refreshing in the modern game, is lost forever. Maybe chairman Randy Lerner has a decision whether to continue with his manager should the club slip closer to the drop and Bradford manage to finish their extraordinary job in two week’s time.

Whatever the Villa hierarchy chose to do, Lambert’s future design is being built on extremely rocky ground.

Written by Adam Gray

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Emile Heskey: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

By O-Posts Team | September 24, 2012 - 12:20 | Aston Villa, Liverpool FC, Opinion, Tribute, UK

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Emile Heskey. Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey. Born in Leicester, Heskey is a professional footballer that played for Leicester City, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa, and currently plays for the Newcastle Jets, in Australia.

He made 696 appearances in English football, scoring 151 goals in a span of 18 years. He also played regularly for the English national team, winning a total of 62 caps and scoring 7 goals.

Heskey may have received his dubiously fair amount of critics over the years (even comedian Michael McIntyre had a go at Emile and the England team during one of his shows), but the fact remains that Heskey has to be considered one of the most successful English strikers of the past decade.

Emile Heskey started off his playing career at Leicester City, his hometown club, making his first appearance against QPR in the month of March, 1995. However, Heskey had already been submitted to criticism early on; after only scoring 6 goals in 98-99 season (4 less than last seasons total) he was condemned for a low scoring ratio.

This didn’t discourage certain key people, such as Michael Owen, and the England U-21 manager, Peter Taylor, who saw Heskey for the talent he could be.

Heskey joined Liverpool in 2000 for 11 million pounds, a Liverpool transfer record at the time. The 22 year old didn’t take long to settle in, and scored 3 goals in 12 appearances during his first season with the Reds. Heskey played his best football at Liverpool, complimenting Owen and Fowler superbly, and was an integral part of Houllier’s team.

During the 2000-2001 season, Heskey had arguably his greatest season of his professional career, notching 22 goals, as the Merseyside club secured the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) and the UEFA Super Cup (in which he scored in a 3-2 win against Champions League winners Bayern Munich).

Despite the fantastic season, it was only really downhill from then on for Heskey, who, at the end of the 2003-2004 season, departed for Birmingham City.

Heskey signed a 5-year contract worth around 4 million pounds with Birmingham City for the 2004-2005 season, but failed to make the impact that he was once penned to make. Despite a good first season, winning both the fans and players player award, his second season at St. Andrew’s was poor, scoring only 4 times as Blues were relegated, and Heskey moved on.

He went back to the Premier League with Wigan Athletic, who paid 5.5 million for the 28-year old. He stayed at the club for 2 and a half years, years which were unfortunately plagued by injury and rumors of a transfer back to Liverpool to play Champions League football, rumors which turned out to be false, as in the January window of 2009, Heskey signed for former team Birmingham’s rivals, Aston Villa.

Heskey’s career never really picked up after Liverpool, and he will continue his football at Newcastle Jets, in Australia.

Heskey, while never praised as much as he should’ve been, was never undaunted, and kept playing his football; something many footballers should think about doing today.

In a world where big-scoring strikers and fast wingers make the headlines, Heskey remained a solid and stoic reminder that the under-thanked are sometimes the one that should be idolized.