Why Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers Already Look Destined for Relegation Battle

After evidently being snubbed by Everton boss David Moyes, and with Carlo Ancelotti announcing his sabbatical, Aston Villa supposedly approached Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez for the vacant post.

Even after Dave Whelan, the Wigan owner, allowed his young Spanish manager to have a talk with Aston Villa regarding the offer, Roberto Martinez declined to opt for what most people regarded as a "bigger club."

Although most people see this as an act of loyalty to the Latics, I personally feel the choice, however tempting, was just a very mature one. Any sensible man would have done that even if he wasn't as "loyal" as some make him to be. I mean, who would prefer to leave his position of comfort to opt for a club whose top players are almost competing for exodus for some greener pastures?

Now, had Martinez opted to move on from Wigan, he would have to move into a club in complete chaos unlike a similarly tempting move which was made by Owen Coyle from a relegation threatened club, Burnley to Bolton Wanderers.

Thus the chances of him settling in easily would be tough and any planning would be tough. Moreover, he would certainly not be given a warm response by the Villa fans if his signings went through a lean patch—something Martinez wouldn't have to worry about at Wigan.

Also, there lies the lurking thought of a dooming predicament just as the "highly respected" Roy Hodgson found out after he chose to move on to a big club for the first time in his massive 32 years career! Martinez has substantially less experience and so another opportunity to join a club may not chance upon him as easily as it did for Hodgson. On the other hand, after saving Wigan's plight on the last day twice in three years, he is a hero to the Latics and even a relegation may not convince the management to sack him immediately.

I am pretty sure if Ashley Young and Stewart Downing hadn't made up their mind of moving on, things could well have been different. All in all, it was a huge risk to take at the moment and also not worth it. However, it highlights the precarious situation with the Villains for sure.

Holding onto your key assets could prove to be very vital in the upcoming season if the last season is a measure of things to come. Teams are getting more competitive and even the relegation threatened clubs looked to threaten the top clubs on the table.

Blackburn Rovers, on the other hand, are another interesting tale. After sacking an experienced manager in Sam Allardyce, their new owners replaced him by Steve Kean, a novice by the standards of the Premier League and a person who had no experience of managing a club before with a promise of a princely transfer budget of 5m GBP.

As expected, Blackburn's season took a nose dive by the turn of the year and they needed a really purple patch from their young Canadian striker Junior Hoillett to save the blushes on the last day of the season.

Now, barely after the transfer season has kicked off, the Rovers seem to be in a hurry to sell off arguably their youngest player in a long time, Phil Jones. Although it is understandable that any young player from a club of Blackburn's status would have his head turned by interests from clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United, losing a key player so early in the window could seriously disrupt their intentions in the summer window causing further mayhem. Couple that with the evident discontent among the players in the club, and it could easily turn out to be a pretty nasty experience for them unless desperate measures are taken.

Although it is traditional for pundits to claim that the newcomers to the Premier League are early relegation contenders, we have found that in the last few seasons that it is not always the case. What has been a revelation is that if a club hires a proper man for the job as Stoke did with Pulis, Wigan did with Martinez and even West Bromich did (this season), even established mid-table clubs could easily get involved in relegation battles.

Even West Ham finished the 2008-09 season in the top half of the table (ninth) and with reasonably high odds against any relegation fight (12/1 according to Sky Bets) at the beginning of the 2010-11 season. Anybody putting money on them being relegated then would have been pretty rich by now as it stands.

Portsmouth also finished 14th the season before they got relegated. Although they faced a points deduction following ownership issues in the season they got relegated, it doesn't take an expert to see that they were horrendous even without that.

Aston Villa finished this season ninth and Blackburn were 15th and both had to stage fights to keep them away from relegation this season. So, if history is any judge of what is to come, it would be better if both clubs take up considerable changes in the necessary directions. As it stands, all of the newly promoted clubs (QPR Rangers, Norwich City and Swansea City) are known for their attacking displays and are managed by very good managers, so Villains and Blackburn better pull up their socks.

I know there are also clubs like Wolves and Wigan which would be automatically in the frame when we speak of relegation battles however, with the chaos surrounding the two aforesaid clubs, they better be warned because it would be a major embarrassment for them if this season's performances were to be repeated. Although it may be too premature to say anything now, I believe both the clubs are presently heading downwards like no other premier league outfit and are in desperate need of inspired leadership.