Reasons for Aston Villa Fans to Be Hopeful This Season

With the new Premier League season just three days away, many Aston Villa fans are sure to wake up from their dreams on Saturday morning with a gut-wrenching knot at the pit of their stomach as they prepare themselves for the 2013/14 campaign, still fresh in the memory of last season's nightmare.

Villa's 15^th place finish was clear, painstaking evidence of just how far the club are from achieving their top-six-finish, challenging-the-big-boys, European-qualification aspirations.

Only once in 27 years have the Midlands-based club failed to accumulate more than the measly 41 points earned last year. 

And to make matters worse, their first three fixtures are about as tough as it comes:

Arsenal away.

Chelsea away.

Liverpool at home.

So, who could blame Villa fans for dreading the start of the new season? It could well be another tough year slogging it out with the relegation favourites at the foot of the Premier League table.

Manager Paul Lambert has a vision for the club, but whilst Villa showed glimpses of a very bright future towards the end of last season, success will not be instant.

There are, however, some reasons for the claret and blue-wearing Villans to jump out of bed on Saturday morning and be full of hope and expectation for the season ahead.

Positive Reinforcements

Lambert made a number of signings early on in the transfer window—something which Aston Villa fans are not accustomed to. In the recent seasons, especially under the reign of Martin O'Neill, Villa did the majority of their business later on in the transfer window which obviously hindered the team's cohesion at the start of the season.

It all looks different this year, though, with the new acquisitions joining early and getting used to playing together. The team has been able to bond and gel and have subsequently enjoyed a very successful preseason.

In the nine fixtures throughout the summer Villa shipped just ten goals, although they kept two clean sheets, and consecutive ones at that—again, not something the Villa faithful have been used to.

And whilst just shipping 10 goals in nine games, the Birmingham-based side found the back of the net on 20 occasions—most notably in 5-1 and 3-2 wins over Walsall and Malaga respectively.

Scotsman Lambert has strengthened across the whole squad, improving Villa's strength in depth—an issue that the side have had for a number of years. But one signing that sticks out, one that is sure to get the crowd excited as well as bring about a new fan-favourite is that of Jores Okore.

All fans love a tough guy at the back; one that will give it everything he's got, put his body on the line whenever required to do so and one that will cut his head and be forced off, only to come back on sporting new headwear and an even meaner look. Villa fans are no different and Danish defender Okore ticks every one of those boxes.

Experience

As stated on the previous slide, Villa started to show some real glimpses of promise towards the end of last season, most notably in the 6-1 demolition of Sunderland, as they narrowly avoided the drop.

But throughout the 30-odd games preceding those final few encouraging ties, Villa's lack of experience across the whole team proved detrimental to their progression.

The entirety of the blame can't be placed at feet of Lambert who had to contend with the deeply upsetting loss of hugely influential and experienced captain Stiliyan Petrov, who was forced into retirement following a successful battle with acute Leukemia. 

However, Lambert must take some of the blame for his side's misfortune last season as he kept faith in a young, inexperienced side. Now, it is quite clear for all to see that there is a vision—a project—that is being implemented at Aston Villa.

That vision is based on mixing talented, youthful individuals with a willingness to learn and excel at the very highest level, with those that have the experience and the know-how to cope at the highest level and when things aren't going your team's way.

But on too many occasions last year Lambert persevered with the inexperienced side when there were more experienced, level-headed figures on the fringes, pushing for a place in the side.

Fortunately for Lambert, his insistence on selecting a similar side week in, week out didn't see his side drop down a division. And because of that, his players, who lacked the experience when it mattered last season, will have grown and will have learned from their experiences.

Along with a number of signings—such as Jores Okore who has Champions League experience—Villa should have more of a chance in coping when their backs are against the wall; coping when they lead 1-0 with five minutes to go and are under a constant barrage of their opponents attacks, but still hold out to claim the win.

Christian Benteke

Finally, Christian Benteke. Let's face it, he is the main reason for Villa fans to be hopeful this season. And there is no disrespect meant to Villa by that at all. Benteke would be the main reason for fans of any club to be hopeful in any season; he is simply that good.

The Belgian goal machine found the back of the net 19 times in last season's Premier League which was the fourth highest of any player. 

SkyBet have Benteke at 16/1 to claim the golden boot next season—the same odds as Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney, Robert Soldado and Gareth Bale. 

The striker handed in a transfer request at the start of the summer amid speculation that clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and even Real Madrid were interested in him. However, just ten days later, Benteke withdrew his transfer request and instead signed a new bumper deal that will keep him at the club until 2017.

And with a new contract—along with a reported 100 percent increase on his initial £28,000 per week wages, as The Sun reported—Benteke will be more relaxed ever, something that is sure to worry defences across the Premier League. 

And a more relaxed Christian Benteke is a more confident Christian Benteke. In fact, the defender is so confident ahead of the new season that he is at complete ease with the fact he must carry the weight of Villa's goal scoring burden.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Benteke said:

"

I feel good, I feel really good. I expect myself to do better than last season.

As a striker, a lot of people are waiting for me. The fans are waiting for me. So the pressure is going to be bigger around me but this is football and I accept that.

I can take that. I am young. I am confident. This is part of football. You have to be able to handle this pressure. This is the life I have chosen so I am happy to take this on. I love it.

The objective is to do better than last season.We have quality in the team. We have to try to do better. That's our aim.

It was maybe a tough beginning last season but we finished well, so why not do something good this season.

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