‘I used to be relegated with Aston Villa – the boss was dreadful and we had no likelihood’
Gabby Agbonlahor was in shock when Aston Villa bought relegated in 2016, however he wasn’t notably stunned.
The Villans legend spent his complete profession at Villa Park, save for the 2005/06 season which he spent out on mortgage. He broke into the primary staff simply because the Midlands membership have been selecting themselves out of mid-table mediocrity and establishing some European pedigree.
But issues took a flip for the more severe following the departure of Martin O’Neil in 2010. Villa plunged down the desk, having completed sixth three seasons in a row previous to that, and spent the subsequent 5 years battling relegation.
READ MORE: Micah Richards adamant Tim Sherwood would’ve saved Aston Villa as he hammers Remi Garde
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They finally succumbed to the inevitable on the finish of the 2015/16 season – ending all-time low with simply 17 factors. Four totally different managers have been used all through the marketing campaign, however Agbonlahor thinks solely one among them is in charge.
“We’d had a poor season, but I felt we should’ve kept Tim Sherwood in charge; we went for Remi Garde, who was just dreadful,” the 37-year-old completely advised Ladbrokes Fanzone. “No one really rated him, he just had this bad aura about him when he came to the club, and it’s like we knew we had no chance once he’d arrived. Team morale was lower than ever.
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(Image: Getty Images)
“But when that relegation was confirmed, I was just shock. In my head I was having those flashbacks of fighting for the top four just a few years prior. I just couldn’t believe what had happened to this club. But, you look back at all of the players we sold, coupled with the fact [owner] Randy Lerner basically ripped up his credit card and decided not to add quality players to the team.”
Agbonlahor’s former team-mate Micah Richards stated he felt familiarly again in 2020, insisting Sherwood would’ve stored Villa up. “We had too much of a divide in the dressing room. A lot of boys had their own cliques,” Richards stated.
(Image: Getty Images)
“Remi Garde came in and had no real experience at all. He played at Arsenal for six months and he totally lost all the players in the dressing room. We couldn’t get a performance out of him. He didn’t understand what the Premier League was about.
Villa dropped into the Championship for three seasons before earning their back to the big time in 2019 via the play-offs. It was during their stint in the second tier that Jack Grealish really came alive and announced himself on the big stage with a string of impressive and mature performances.
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Fast-forward a number of years and Villa are on one other planet when it comes to outcomes and standing. With Unai Emery on the helm the membership are fourth within the Premier League desk and are zeroing on their highest end for almost 30 years.
