FA Cup: Are there happier times ahead for Aston Villa?

Michael Lintorn
26 January 2015

The FA Cup has helped bring some cheer back to Villa Park

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Aston Villa won a match, scored several goals, toasted a new hero and celebrated retaining a current one...

"An influential performance from Carles Gil on his first start, complete with a stunning deadlock-breaker, has bred confidence that he will provide the creativity that has been so lacking."

For most Aston Villa fans, weekends have become more monotonous and miserable than weekdays at work over the last few years as their side have relentlessly struggled while just about hanging on in too-good-to-go-down territory to retain their Premier League status.

This writer tried to absolve Paul Lambert of a lot of responsibility during the latest wave of "Lambert Out" campaigning, pointing to the lack of investment and point increase on other recent campaigns.

The response from the commenting Villa supporters was understandably mixed: five Premier League games without a goal will try any fan's patience, regardless of there being limited resources and a reasonable distance over the relegation zone.

However, for once the numerous divisions at the club - between fans and owner, crowd and coach, or those sympathetic with Lambert and those fed up - can all take a breather as there is something for everyone to celebrate together, one of Villa's most successful weekends in a long term.

The cause for cheer on pitch was a 2-1 FA Cup win over Championship leaders Bournemouth, who had lost just one other away match since the start of October. It was only Villa's second victory in nine - the other being a 1-0 struggle past second-tier bottom team Blackpool - and the second time in 21 fixtures that they scored more than once.

Saturday's cull of FA Cup favourites, among them Chelsea, Man City and Southampton, added to the feel-good vibe. A mere four of the 14 sides above Villa in the Premier League are assured of a fifth-round place, though you can still get 32.031/1 on them lifting their first major trophy since 1996.

The positivity didn't stop there. An influential performance from January signing Carles Gil on his first start, complete with a stunning deadlock-breaker, has bred confidence that the 22-year-old will provide the creativity that has been so lacking as they have scored 11 times in 22 league games.

But perhaps the best news of all, the thing with the potential to give everyone associated with the club a lift, wasn't found on the pitch. Despite persistent rumours linking him with a move to a team like Liverpool when his contract expired this summer, Fabian Delph signed a four-year extension.

An end-of-season exit had been discussed in the media as if it was a formality, yet the England international midfielder has agreed to stay, and from what he has said, it seems like a genuine commitment rather than an arrangement to ensure that Villa receive a fee when he later departs.

Delph said: "I am a loyal person and committing my future will hopefully show everybody what type of guy I am. There was no way I was going to bail out. I am here for the long run."

One issue key to ushering in Aston Villa's era of ambivalence has been failure to hold onto anyone half-decent, forcing them to build a squad of less-desirable academy products and other sides' cast-offs, so their prize asset expressing such enthusiasm for the future should encourage everyone.

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