Aston Villa: Martin Who? Villa Sensational Against West Ham

Apparently there was a man who led Aston Villa Football Club to remarkable things in the 2009-10 season, and was the driving force in turning the Villans from relegation strugglers to Champions League challengers.

He went by the name of Martin O'Neill, and stunned the footballing world when he left the club just five days before the start of the new Premier League season.

And that was it; the doom-mongers out there had already written Villa's season headlines, with nothing but struggle and turmoil awaiting the team, supposedly. Apparently, the club could only regress from here on in.

But if you saw Aston Villa for the first time on Saturday at Villa Park, you would've thought they were Premier League title contenders, not the supposed mediocre mid-tablers they're apparently set to be.

It was meant to be a big blow for the Villans in losing Martin O'Neill, but if you didn't know who he was, then this Kevin MacDonald fellawq who's taken temporary charge of the first-team would've probably been deemed a better coach anyway.

Phenomenal young talents Marc Albrighton and Ciaran Clark didn't have a footballing future under O'Neill, but considering their performances in the crushing 3-0 win over West Ham United, it's mind-boggling as to how O'Neill could've thought that.

Clark won rave reviews following his stellar display, but in this footballing world it's the attacking talent clubs pay to play and fans pay to watch, and the 20-year-old Albrighton was that exciting talent with the ability to dazzle spectators and provide goals.  

As caretaker manager MacDonald said to the Birmingham Mail, "Marc’s got talent. He's done very well and is an outstanding talent."

The temporary Villa boss used more the fringe players from last season in his line-up than O'Neill ever dared to, and it was a move that paid dividends.

Apart from the aforementioned duo, right-back Luke Young found himself in favour again, whilst midfield enforcer Nigel Reo-Coker also had a real positive impact when coming on, along with reserve-team regulars of last campaign, Barry Bannan and Andreas Weimann.

Blended in with the first-team regulars of last term, these players turned Villa into the fresh, motivated and fully committed side that was sometimes lacking in seasons gone by, with the energy and determination, as well as crafty skill, technique and clever tactics, to see off a resurgent West Ham team with consummate ease.

Even the seemingly departing James Milner, set for a £30 million switch to uber-rich vultures Manchester City, put in a committed, professional and all-round excellent display in what could well be his last ever game for Aston Villa; he even had a goal to celebrate (assisted by the magnificent Albrighton) on his Villa goodbye.

From the faded stars of the 2009-10 season, winger Stewart Downing proved his worth to Fabio Capello and England when he opened the scoring for Villa after being assisted by Albrighton, and created havoc in the Hammers' defence from there on in.

Given a more free role in a refreshing formation switch by MacDonald playing with only one striker, Ashley Young did the same as Downing in proving his England worth, setting up captain Stiliyan Petrov for the second goal.

Speaking of tactics, MacDonald's creative change by having only one striker, assisted by different players every time in the playmaker role, meant the West Ham defence were on the run a lot and unable to predict Villa's next line of attack.

Ashley Young started the game in the said role, before Downing had a go there, then Albrighton, and then Milner. With those four compromising Villa's attack along with a proven, goalscoring striker as well, it's clear to see why fans in the Holte End were rueing their team's luck at not scoring six or seven goals by the end of the match!

Overall, the stats prove just how sensational Aston Villa were on Saturday with their 3-0 win.

The Villans had 17 shots compared to West Ham's 11, with 12 on-target compared to only one shot on-target from the Hammers!

Villa dominated with 57.1 percent of the possession, had a three per cent better tackle success rate, a seven per cent better pass success rate, had a territorial advantage of 57.5 percent, and had 16 corners compared to only seven from West Ham.

Also, the Villans worked the Hammers defence more, having seen 11 further shots blocked, whereas West Ham only saw three shots blocked by the Villa defenders.

All this from Aston Villa, and it was done without three of O'Neill's "untouchables" from last season in Gabriel Agbonlahor, Carlos Cuellar and James Collins.

It just goes to prove two things; Villa were sensational against West Ham, and this fresh approach from a new manager could well be the pivotal factor in taking Aston Villa Football Club to that elusive next level, the UEFA Champions League.