Aston Villa have had a drab season this year, ending up in 16th place on 38 points. By most acounts, had the season been a few games longer, they could well have ended up in a world of trouble after staggering their way to safety in the second phase of the campaign. They drew a record 17 games this season, with only seven wins. The Villans started the season reasonably well, particularly at home, under new boss Alec Mcleish, who was faced with the arduous task of winning over the fans over after making the switch from city rivals Birmingham in the summer. Ashley Young and Stewart Dowing had already departed but the Scot proved a shrewd operator in the transfer market, securing the services of Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia. With Darren Bent already on board since January of last season, Villa looked a sharp outfit, with many promising youngsters, old hands like Emil Heskey and Richard Dunne and seasoned professionnals such as James Collins, Gabby Agbonlahor, Stephen Warnock and Alan Hutton. Villa's home form started to degrade ahead of Christmas and they struggled at Villa Park till the end of the season. The short term loan deal of Robbie Keane from LA Galaxy gave them a bit of shot in the arm around the turn of the year but it only helped them away from home. In all, the Villans only won one home game after November, which meant their league position dropped gradually from midtable at the turn of the year to within a couple of points of the bottom three at the end of the season. A severe injury to striker Darren Bent, combined with Gabby Agbonlahor's lack of form throughout the whole campaign, left them rather toothless in the attack. Charles N'Zogbia never really got his game going either and Villa's only satisfactions came from the contributions of young players such as Chris Herd, Gary Gardner, Barry Bannan or Marc Albrighton, who were given their chance often out of necessity. Injuries did take a heavy toll on the side in the second phase, with Richard Dunne and Ciaran Clark both sidelined for weeks. There was also a serious illness striking captain Stiliyan Petrov. The Bulgarian was diagnosed with acute leukemia at Easter and wasn't able to help his side in the final stretch of the season. Villa would have needed his guidance had the season lasted a little longer since the bottom three was drawing nearer with every game in the final furlong. In the end, the Villans just about managed to keep their heads above the waterline but it wasn't enough to save McLeish's job. The Scot was logically sacked at the end of what was another disappointing season for Villa fans.
