Midfield Heartbeat Key To McLeish’s Fortunes

Midfield Heartbeat Key To McLeish’s Fortunes.

Despite the woeful defensive frailties last season, Alex McLeish will surely turn the majority of his focus to reinforcing what was a largely underwhelming central midfield pairing in the passing season.

Of course, not much of the blame could be lumped on Villa’s engine room last term; Stiliyan Petrov provided his usual solid (if unspectacular)
showings, Nigel Reo-Coker was as much of a niggling annoyance to the opposition as ever, Makoun showed glimpses of class away at Old Trafford and Fabian Delph was rushed back into the side at left back, following the injury to Nathan Baker in February.

As much as I’d love to ignore the past, the departure of James Milner provided a lethal blow to the spine of the starting 11; this was to be a
blow that the centre of the midfield wouldn’t fully recover from for the rest of the season. There’s no question that, in recent seasons, the
ingredients required to provide a focal point for any decent Premier League team have changed, which provided a stumbling block for incoming manager Gerard Houllier, as he looked to replace the versatile England international.

So, can McLeish succeed where Houllier seemingly fell short and who could potentially provide the missing pulse to the midfield?

In his time at Rangers, ‘Big Eck’s’ two shrewdest signings flourished in the heart of midfield: Mikel Arteta (formerly of Barcelona) and Barry
Ferguson (formerly of Blackburn). The talismanic Spaniard provided a more attractive brand of craft and guile than his Scottish equivalent, but it was Ferguson who supplied the more efficient mixture of creativity and steel under our new gaffer.

McLeish turned to Ferguson once again at Small Heath, in addition to a host of midfielders who weren’t purpose built simply to just attack or defend, but to operate on both levels in an equally sufficient manner.

It’s incredibly likely that the fiery Scotsman will seek a solution from within the confides of the British Isles and there are three main
possibilities: the much favoured arrival of Scott Parker, the controversial purchase of Joey Barton, or the highly unlikely return of Jimmy Milner.

With Milner presumably reluctant to retrace his steps and Barton unlikely to improve the midfield by much, Parker seems like the ideal fit.

The revitalized England International won over the critics and, more impressively, won over Hammers fans with his wholehearted displays of art and industry last season.

Last season’s Footballer of the Year seems to fit the bill when it comes to McLeish’s criteria; he’s assured in possession, brave in the tackle and possesses an engine that could seduce Jeremy Clarkson.

Whether Parker could bring that touch of class to Villa Park is very much hypothetical, but two things are for sure: he’s definitely a player that is improving with age, and, at a projected £5million, the potential signing of the well-rounded midfielder could prove to be an astute bit of business by the new Villa boss.

Should the former Chelsea man choose to move to the claret half of Birmingham, he will surely be greeted with a positive reaction from the
Holte End faithful. During his career, Parker has shown a lot of heart, a lot of class, and, most importantly, that he won’t shirk his responsibilities when a team is failing to perform; a sentiment most Villa fans will find favour with.