Christian Benteke's Return from Injury Boosts Lambert's Confident Aston Villa
It is widely discussed, criticised and overall accepted that the Premier League owes its high-quality football largely to the talent of foreign players and coaching staff that grace its stadiums each week. Scotsmen have always represented something of a grey area, as they are—more often than not—adopted as domestic members of their respective clubs.
However, if Scotland votes for independence on Thursday, will the hundreds of Scots who have helped elevate England’s top flight to its current standing be considered merely foreigners, too?
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Kenny Dalglish, Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister, Sir Alex Ferguson—fine characters of great pedigree who have contributed immensely to English football over the years. Currently, there are 28 Scotland-eligible senior players at Premier League clubs and only two managers: West Brom’s Alan Irvine and Aston Villa’s Paul Lambert. The latter is currently the sixth-longest serving manager in the league, and fans will be hoping his reign continues unabated in light of recent performances.
In reality, a rupture of the British political union ought to have little bearing on Premier League football. Although the game is played on the pages of the newspapers as much as on grass, it is unlikely that sentiments towards Scotsmen plying their trade in England’s leagues will alter too much. In the case of Paul Lambert, if his team continues in their current form, the referendum will be neither here nor there for Villans, as far as football is concerned.
Lambert has begun his third season in charge at Villa Park quite splendidly, having picked up 10 points from four games. Villa’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool on Saturday was Lambert’s fourth consecutive trip to Anfield without defeat and has sparked considerable excitement among those of a claret and blue persuasion.
Perhaps this season is finally when the team comes of age, particularly the likes of Ashley Westwood, Fabian Delph and Nathan Baker, who was imperious against Liverpool. Certainly Lambert believes so, reports The Guardian’s Andy Hunter, stating that, "I think they’ve grown up now and they’ve become men this season."
Villa have also been buoyed by the impressive impact of new additions such as Kieran Richardson, Philippe Senderos and Aly Cissokho but it is the return of Christian Benteke that seems certain to perpetuate the current air of positivity around Villa Park. The Belgian international resumed full training on Monday, according to Sky Sports.
Gabriel Agbonlahor has started the season well, boosted by the signing of a new contract and scoring the only goal of the game against Liverpool, but there is little doubt that Benteke shapes up as a much better option to lead the Villa front line.
Lambert will thus far be most pleased with the defensive displays he has seen, as Villa have conceded just one goal this campaign and victory at Anfield was far from a fluke. The whole team dug in and defended stoically for the best part of 80 minutes, admittedly riding their luck on numerous occasions. Villa’s back line unquestionably earned any good fortune that came their way on Saturday.
It is fair to suggest, nevertheless, that Villa’s players need not have worked quite as hard as they did. Despite Agbonlahor’s decisive contribution, his hold-up play was far from the standard that Benteke is able to produce as the lone target man.
Defence starts from the front, as the old cliche goes, and Benteke will be vital in leading his team in that fashion, particularly in matches where the opposition has over 70 per cent of the possession—as was the case on Merseyside. In fact, Villa are averaging possession stats of just 37 per cent this term, via WhoScored.com, underlining the significance of their counter-attacking play.
As a team set up in such a manner, Agbonlahor will remain an important fixture in the Villa team and will probably be shifted to the wing in order to fully exploit his pace. What Benteke will offer is more goals, of which there have not been many even in this exceptional start to the young Premier League season.
With just four goals scored and the majority of play coming down the wings (courtesy of WhoScored.com), it is evident that Villa require Benteke’s towering aerial presence in the opposition’s penalty area. Indeed, statistics from WhoScored.com indicate that the Villans have won only 37 per cent of aerial challenges this season, which must be improved in the final third if they are to add more goals.
Such is the fickle nature of football.
Paul Lambert has seen his stock rise considerably over the last few weeks among Villa supporters, but there is no guarantee his popularity will persist if the young team loses a few games on the bounce, which is a possibility with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City up next. That said, there is a general perception that Lambert is the right man for the job.
In that regard, the club’s executive should be praised for continued faith in the Scot, who appears to have found the perfect assistant and mentor for young players in Roy Keane.
An understanding of how important it is to maintain good form is something that comes naturally to Lambert and at present, very few teams will want to come up against Aston Villa, particularly with Benteke regaining full fitness. Hard work remains the order of the day.
Lambert and Keane will ensure that the players are aware and focused.
In the meantime, while a historic decision is made on the future of a three-hundred-year-old political union, Villa fans ought to appreciate that the patience shown during the club’s almost three-year union with their own Scotsman has enabled him to go a long way in helping his young team to develop and mature.
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