Sunday 24 May 2015 21:17, UK
We reflect on Aston Villa's 2014/15 Premier League season, with the help of stats and pundit views...
Aston Villa
Finishing position: 17th (-2 on last season)
Total points: 38 (same as last season)
FA Cup: Will play Arsenal in the final
Capital One Cup: Knocked out in round two by Leyton Orient
Season review
A season of two halves. Aston Villa's fifth straight relegation battle, not helped by two wins in Paul Lambert's last 21 Premier League games, ended in survival before the final day of the season.
Tim Sherwood was far closer to the bottom than the top of Villa fans' wanted list for Lambert's replacement in February, but two wins in five days against rivals West Brom got them onside quickly.
There were then fine victories at Sunderland and Tottenham, but the wins over Everton and West Ham in April, when teams below Villa found form out of nowhere, suggested the relatively unproven Sherwood could work wonders for this depleted club.
After an FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool and Christian Benteke's return to form, Villa fans are dreaming of 2015/16 finally being the season where the club are not using 'transformation' as the excuse. The imminent arrival of a new owner will help.
Paul Merson’s star player: Fabian Delph
“When Fabian Delph plays, Villa are a completely different team, so he’s my Villa player of the season. I know Christian Benteke has been playing really well for the last 10 games or so, but Delph has done it consistently all season. I think Ashley Westwood deserves a mention too, though, he’s done well. When Villa were going through tougher times during the season he was always looking for the ball still, never shying away, and that impressed me.”
Quotes of the season
"We can look to the future with real optimism" - Paul Lambert in September having signed a new four-year deal with Aston Villa
"I've told the players they've got 13 cup finals. That's how they've got to look at it" - Paul Lambert in February, 24 hours before his sacking
“The bigger the stage, the better he plays, the more he relishes it. That's the sign of a good talent" - Sherwood on Jack Grealish after his performance in the FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool. Grealish had been on the verge of signing on loan for Nottingham Forest in February.
Stats of the season
- Villa's return of 10 points from their opening four league games was their best tally for 16 years
- Villa went six league games without scoring a goal for the first time in their 141-year history. That run ended against Chelsea on February 7
- Villa were bottom of the Premier League rank for goals, conversion rate, shots on target and shooting accuracy on the day Lambert left the club. They were second-bottom for shots and chances created.
Paul Merson’s view
“I don’t think they’ve underachieved as a team this season, they’ll finish up pretty much were I expected them to. They’ve had a good run under Tim Sherwood, but this team is still weak enough to lose four games on the trot, so there’s still a lot of work to do for next season.”
