Aston Villa again drew a blank in the Premier League as Gerard Houllier’s men finished the Birmingham derby with a point. The result was Villa’s third consecutive league game without scoring and will be the cause for concern amongst the club’s supporters. As it stands, Villa have only scored nine league goals this season and Houllier will need to address the issue if the club are going to have a chance of qualifying for Europe this season.
Emile Heskey is the club’s current top scorer with three goals but the former England striker is going through one of the barn door, banjo spells that he tends to go through. The big striker could have had a hat-trick against Birmingham but never really looked like scoring as he huffed and puffed in his lone role up front. Despite the obvious advantages gained when playing Heskey, Villa can’t rely on old Ivanhoe to supply the 15 plus goals needed to really threaten the top places in the Premiership.
John Carew did well when he came on but the Norwegian is similar to Heskey in his style of forward play; very useful in setting up chances but far from prolific when faced with the whites of the eyes of the keeper. Houllier will be hoping Gabby Agbonlahor recovers from his groin injury and rediscovers his form from last season when he scored 16 goals in all competitions.
It looks, according to those giving football betting advice, as though Houllier is going to have to recruit at least one striker in the January window and the rumours have already started. Houllier’s history with Michael Owen has resulted in the former England man being linked with a reunion, after finding himself down the pecking order at Old Trafford. As well as Owen, Robbie Keane’s name has been mentioned and this looks to be a very realistic prospect. The Irish striker is out of favour at Spurs and could be available for transfer in the New Year. Keane is exactly the sort of player Villa need if they are going to start progressing this season.
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