O’Neill transfer policy is a failure
It doesn’t matter how you look at it, Martin O’Neill’s transfer policy has hurt Aston Villa badly this season. Just 1 win in 14 games is a wretched return given the Scrooge McDuck-like amounts of cash he’s pissed away — at last count he’d spent ~£60m in two years — on signing all the wrong players.
Aston Villa’s single victory was against Hull and the results don’t lie: the last time O’Neill guided Aston Villa to a victory against a team anywhere near the top six was 27 games ago against Everton.
You might remember this victory; afterwards O’Neill suggested that Ashley Young was a “world class” player comparable to Lionel Messi. A comment, before you spit your cornflakes out, which he qualified by saying:
This is my opinion. I look at players; I see a lot of games in Europe, I watch a lot of football.
Phew! I was starting to think he was a manager completely out-of-touch with reality for a moment.
Criticising O’Neill’s antics in the transfer market is a risky business, and one which saw the 365 Media Group sued. My concern isn’t whether his dealings are shady or not; I have no evidence either way. However, there is a growing catalogue of evidence demonstrating his inept judgement in the transfer market.
And this one is a classic…
In December, Aston Villa were still riding high, but lacked an out-and-out goalscorer. Someone with a proven goal scoring record. The January transfer market offered O’Neill a chance to land his man, and, by all accounts, the Villa board were willing to bankroll a substantial signing. The push for the Champions League was too irresistible not to.
In January, O’Neill did sign a striker. Emile Hesky for £3.5m; a player with a stike rate of approximately one goal every five games.
The more you look into it, the worse it gets for O’Neill.
Carlos Cuellar for £7.8m; a centre-back he wastefully plays at fullback. Nigel Reo-Coker for £8.5m; a midfielder who can’t tackle, goes missing for entire matches, and has scored 1 goal in ~60 games. James Milner for £12m; this… is… just… beyond… words…
Despite this, I still think O’Neill can do a good job for Aston Villa. He is known to a be an excellent man manager and a popular coach. With a decent Director of Football with well-established contacts to sign new players — and a less myopic scouting network — Villa might just threaten to win some silverware. The trouble is, I think O’Neill is a rather old-fashioned type of manager; he will not relinquish any of his power or recognise his own deficiencies against someone more qualified.
Tags: Aston Villa, Martin O'Neill
One thing I like about O’Neill and Villa is that they’re keeping a strong English core and still place some hope on their youth products. This is all very good when they’re competing in European competition due to the new home-grown players rule, however many argue that one main reason that O’Neill signs English or British-based players (Petrov from Celtic, Cuellar from Rangers) is because his knowledge of players outside the UK is almost non-existent. This is rather obvious with the signing of Emile Heskey, of all players.
I like that Villa maintains a good English core, it’s something you don’t see these days, especially with top-flight English teams. Yet perhaps they need to look further abroad for some cheap talent? You’re right though, O’Neill is a good coach with a pretty good record, he perhaps just needs some better scouts..money doesn’t seem to be an issue for the club considering the fees the splash out for the likes of Reo-Coker and Milner, etc.
@Manny The one thing I do like about Villa is that they have a lot of English players, which is not common in the Premiership. Unfortunately, I think most of these players are mediocre; not worth their exorbitant transfer fees or wages. Milner, Reo-Coker, Luke Young, Sidwell, Harewood, Heskey, Knight, Shorey… all that money spent on what are basically Championship-level players.
Aside from Ashley Young, I think the best English player Villa have — Gabriel Agbonlahor — came through their youth system. Even if you look at Gareth Barry, I think they signed him for nothing as a trainee from Brighton.
Very good English players are so uncommon. I can’t help but think O’Neill is artificially driving up transfer fees for them by his determination to have an English squad whatever the cost. I’d rather they took some of those tens of millions and pumped them into developing English talent rather than buy it in over the odds.
I bet he signs Owen in the close season…