Aston Villa’s 2014/2015 season was a strange one, as they seemed to be doomed under Paul Lambert, with Benteke unable to find any of the lethal form he used to have. Lambert got the sack mid way through the season and in came the special one, no not Jose Mourinho, Tim Sherwood. Tim’s greatest success in the period of time he was manager last season, was giving belief to Benteke, who managed to find the back of the net 10 times in 11 games compared to the 2 goals in 16 games under Paul Lambert. This along with some sound management took them out of the bottom three and saw them finish 17th.
The new season will see Sherwood lead the team from the start, and it will be curious to see if they find themselves in a similar position or whether they will be pushing for a top 10 finish. Either way, it seems that they will not be doing this with their star striker, Benteke. With various transfer rumours, it seems more than certain that the Belgian will be on his way out this summer (possibly to Liverpool).
STAR MAN – Jack Grealish (5.5m)
This player would normally be Benteke, but with the number of links to various clubs we can’t see him being at the club come the 8th August. Instead we have a 19 year old who broke into the squad last season and wowed many. Grealish was given the chance by Sherwood in the latter stages of the season and he was rewarded with the attacking creativity shown by Grealish. The youngster managed a 91% pass accuracy in the oppositions half, compared to that of Weimann of 78%. Grealish was often drawn to the left wing, which saw him drive and attack players, often resulting in a chance for the likes of Benteke. Although the youngster only managed to grab one assist in the season, he created numerous chances and was close to scoring himself on various occasions. This season, Villa will rely heavily on the youngster to attack and damage teams, which the 19 year old has shown he has the capability to do.
HIDDEN GEM – Gabriel Agbonlahor (5.0m)
With Benteke looking for the door, this man is going to be one which Aston Villa are going to be relying on for a source of goals. Last season, Agbonlahor managed to notch up 6 goals and 1 assist, in a total 30 appearances. For a forward is not a great return, although a lot of these saw him either start on the bench or be taken off. The 2015/2016 season will be one which Agbonlahor will look to be Villa’s number one striker and at just 5.0m he is definitely one to keep an eye on, especially if Sherwood can work his magic, just as he did with Benteke.
By FPL Fantasy Talk.
