John Barnes On Villa This Season

Former England midfielder John Barnes, now a pundit for the New Football Pools gives his opinion on Villa this season and also the booing incident (the one that never was and was blown up thanks to the Villa boss Martin O’Neill making all Villa fans look bad. :o(

‘It was disappointing to hear some of the Aston Villa crowd`s reaction to the substitution of Gabriel Agbonlahor at the weekend. The lad may be short on confidence at the moment but he has been brilliant for the club this season and like Martin O`Neill said some fans have short memories.

Villa have hit a bad patch of form and this has seen Arsenal climb above them in the league whilst Everton are also pushing them hard. It`s hard to look further than the current top four to be honest but that doesn`t mean Villa have had a poor season, far from it. To be honest Villa have probably overachieved this season and if you`d told most Villa fans at the start of the season that they`d be separated from 4th place due to goal difference at this stage of the season, they would have bit your hand off.

The performance of the side seems to have levelled off in recent weeks but that`s not to be unexpected. Martin O`Neill doesn`t have the biggest of squads and certainly not the strength in depth of their rivals. To finish in the top four, the team would have to play at their maximum best for the rest of the season but that isn`t really feasible. Unfortunately for Villa, Arsenal have the knowhow and a number of top stars returning so I can`t see them slipping up at this stage.

Despite the obvious disappointment of the home defeat to Tottenham I still find those Villa fans that booed Agbonlahor ridiculous. The young lad has been a massive part of Villa`s season and doesn`t deserve that treatment. The striker has played nearly every single game and it`s no surprise he`s hit a barren run. After what he`s done for the club this season I am shocked at the reaction to him even if it was only a minority. He is a local lad and for me is one of Villa`s top performers. Villa fans should back him and the side because wherever the club finish, they`ve had an excellent campaign.’

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