Amid a poor showing in the top flight last year, the Villans succumbed to relegation towards the end of the season – ending the campaign out of the Premier League for the first time since its inception.
Even Steve Bruce hasn’t been able to come in and force a turnaround at Villa Park, with the club still languishing in 12th place. In truth, this season looks set to be considered somewhat of a write-off come the end of the campaign, with a playoff push no longer really feasible.
That goal is very achievable, but the English manager will be expecting to improve drastically next year. A lot of work will need to be done this summer in an effort to improve the squad – but could the Villans turn to a few of their former chargers in order to breath new life into their disappointing side?
Given how many top players they have had over the years, a few of their ex-pros could certainly do a job.
According to the Daily Star, West Ham will look to offload striker Andy Carroll to China at the end of the season, and replace him with Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge.
The Mirror recently claimed that the striker was the subject of a £32m offer from a Chinese Super League club during the January transfer window, and while that was rejected, it is thought that the east London outfit would cash in if they receive a similar offer in the summer.
The former Newcastle United and Liverpool attacker has struggled with injury problems during his spell with the Hammers, and it appears as though manager Slaven Bilic is finally running out of patience with the 28-year-old as he also looks to change his side’s style of play.
The Hammers players often seem to rely on Carroll’s dominance in the air during matches – which is completely understandable when you see how effective he can be – but it is understood that Bilic isn’t a fan of his team playing that way.
The Gateshead-born player’s performance in the 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the weekend would have done little to alter that opinion, on a disappointing day at the office for the striker.
Despite playing the whole 90 minutes, Carroll managed just one shot at goal and made just one key pass as Michail Antonio and Andre Ayew scored for the visitors.
The 28-year-old also didn’t win a single tackle and his passing accuracy of 62% was also poor.
But it is perhaps the percentage of aerial duels that he won that will be particularly surprising – Carroll is known for being strong in the air but he won just eight of his 20 duels throughout the encounter against the Cherries.
If he continues to put in more ineffective showings like the one on the south coast, West Ham certainly won’t miss the big man if he does leave the London Stadium at the end of the campaign.
Everton and Leeds United fans have given their thoughts on claims that Chris Wood is a summer transfer target for the Merseyside outfit.
According to Football Insider, Everton scouts have been impressed by the striker’s form this season in the Championship.
Wood has netted 24 goals in 36 league appearances and also scored three times in four outings in the EFL Cup.
Everton could be in the market for a striker if Romelu Lukaku leaves in the summer, but a higher-calibre player would be required to match the Belgian’s ability.
The 23-year-old is currently the Premier League’s top scorer with 21 goals to his name, but he is being linked with a move away from Goodison Park after opting against signing a new contract.
News of Everton’s reported interest in Wood came to light on Thursday morning, with the Merseyside club itself tweeting the rumour.
Both Everton fans and Leeds supporters have reacted to the speculation on Twitter, while others have expressed their discontent in the club fuelling the rumours.
Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend was on the scoresheet for Crystal Palace in the Eagles’ 3-0 win against Arsenal at Selhurst Park on Monday night, and Spurs supporters were understandably delighted.
The wide man’s goal gave Sam Allardyce’s side a half-time lead, before second-half goals from Yohan Cabaye and Luka Milivojevic sealed the three points for the hosts and piled the pressure on Gunners manager Arsene Wenger.
It means that north London outfit are sixth, in danger of missing out on the top four and a huge 14 points behind second-placed Tottenham, who they have never finished below during the Premier League era.
Spurs supporters were quick to give their reaction to Townsend’s contribution via social media, and they were understandably delighted that their former star had helped Arsenal suffer another defeat, and almost guaranteed that Mauricio Pochettino’s men will end the season above the Gunners.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction to the result…
Newcastle United will hope to move another step closer to regaining their Premier League status when they host Leeds United at St James’ Park on Good Friday, but they might have to do it without top goalscorer Dwight Gayle.
The 27-year-old, who has scored 22 goals in the Championship this season, went off in the 29th minute of their 2-1 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough last weekend with a hamstring problem.
The club confirmed that the injury would be assessed earlier in the week, and he now seems set to miss the visit of Garry Monk’s side.
Daryl Murphy replaced him against the Owls, while fellow striker Aleksandar Mitrovic came on in the second half as Rafa Benitez’s men looked to rescue a point.
The Spaniard will need to make a choice between the two for the spot up top on Good Friday as they look to close on promotion.
Here are THREE reasons Mitrovic should get the nod over Murphy…
He has a point to prove
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Following relegation to the Championship last season, Mitrovic might have expected that he would be a first team regular this term despite missing the first four matches of the campaign through suspension.
It hasn’t quite turned out like that however, with the Serbian making just 24 appearances in all competitions with with many of those coming from the substitutes’ bench.
While his lack of outings suggest that he could be on his way out of St James’ Park in the summer with Rafa Benitez seemingly unable to completely trust him on the pitch, he will want one last chance to prove that he has a future if the club is promoted.
He impressed last weekend
Despite it being his first appearance since February and with only 12 minutes to make an impact on the pitch, Mitrovic impressed as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
The 22-year-old came on and instantly caused problems for the Owls defenders, while he also had a large part to play in Jonjo Shelvey’s late goal as his acrobatic effort was saved by Keiren Westwood, before the midfielder smashed the ball home.
He can be more of a nuisance
While Murphy has proved that he is a reliable and consistent performer at this level, you get the feeling that Mitrovic has the ability to cause more problems for the Leeds defenders in what is likely to be an electric atmosphere in St James’ Park.
Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson have formed a strong partnership for Garry Monk’s side this season, and Benitez may feel that the Serbian could put his body on the line and ruffle their feathers a little more than the Republic of Ireland international could.
Blackburn Rovers suffered a devastating relegation to League One on Sunday despite winning 3-1 at Brentford on the final day of the Championship season.
Tony Mowbray’s men knew that they needed to pick up all three points at Griffin Park to give themselves any chance of surviving, and they fulfilled their part of the bargain with goals from Charlie Mulgrew, Danny Guthrie and Craig Conway giving them a relatively comfortable win in the capital.
However, relegation rivals Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City also won to send Rovers – who won the Premier League title in 1995 – down to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1980.
Blackburn supporters were quick to have their say on the news via social media, and they were understandably distraught.
They are now demanding the owners – Venky’s – leave the club this summer following a turbulent spell at Ewood Park.
It doesn’t get much bigger than the last North London Derby at White Hart Lane does it? Tottenham Hotspur host Arsenal and there’s more than just pride on the line.
Spurs are chasing the Premier League title and know that a defeat or even dropped points could put an end to their challenge on Chelsea.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have come so far but there’s still so much work to do before the season ends and this afternoon’s match may be one of their toughest tests.
Spurs fans are confident though, perhaps more confident than you’d expect. They’ve gotten used to Arsenal finishing above them year after year and fearing the worst on these occasions but the tables have turned.
They’re expecting big things from their team this afternoon. Can they pick up all three points and make a big statement to Chelsea that this title race is not over yet?
Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts ahead of kick-off…
With the title race all but mathematically over, it’s time for Tottenham Hotspur to start thinking about the summer and which potential targets could get them over the line in next season’s hunt for the English crown.
Indeed, had Mauricio Pochettino been privy to slightly superior squad depth this season, Spurs may well have closed the gap on pace-setters Chelsea, or perhaps more importantly, started the campaign in much stronger form after drawing six of their first eleven games.
Potential recruits mooted by the press are by no means in short supply and last week, The Daily Mail hinted at a swoop for Leicester City’s Demarai Gray, who has impressed in a cameo berth since moving to the King Power Stadium but is yet to solidify a spot in the starting XI.
With the young winger’s contract allegedly including a £22million release clause, we asked Spurs fans last week whether their club should look to activate it this summer and the result of our poll was – quite miraculously – an exact 50/50 split.
Tottenham’s fan base appear divided on whether Gray’s worth £22million, but what side of the fence do you sit on? Let us know by commenting below!
Out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur defender Kevin Wimmer sent out a social media post on Sunday thanking the fans for their support and stated that he was looking forward to next season.
The Austria international was speaking after Spurs beat Hong Kong Premier League champions Kitchee 4-1 in a post-season friendly, and he praised the north London outfit for another impressive campaign in which they once again came close to winning the Premier League title.
It wasn’t such a successful personal campaign for the 24-year-old though, who made just 11 appearances in all competitions as he struggled to compete with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier in the backline.
Tottenham supporters were quick to have their say on the post from the centre-back, and they asked him to stay at the club and believe that he will get more opportunities under Mauricio Pochettino next season.
According to reports in the Daily Mail, Bolton Wanderers boss Phil Parkinson has emerged as frontrunner to succeed Garry Monk as Leeds United manager.
The Yorkshire outfit were shocked by the resignation of Monk last month with the 38-year-old and new owner Andrea Radrizzani unable to come to an agreement over extending his initial 12-month rolling contract, and it means the Whites are looking for their seventh permanent manager in just the last three years.
After a number of disappointing seasons of finishing mid-table in the Championship, Leeds found themselves in the play-off positions for the majority of the campaign before a poor run of form at the end of the season saw them finish seventh.
Radrizzani will be aware that his new man needs to be able to build on that progress if the club are to finally return to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
Here are three reasons Leeds must not appoint Parkinson as their new manager…
Wasted opportunity
Having only narrowly missed out on the play-off positions and with key players like Chris Wood and Pontus Jansson in their ranks as well as a new owner, it seems like a great opportunity for Leeds to make a statement and try and appoint a high-profile or experienced manager at this level.
If they do, the new candidate would be able to build on the progress of this season and add new faces to the squad to freshen it up and have another crack at promotion.
Parkinson certainly wouldn’t fit under that criteria and with all due respect, he would probably be something of an underwhelming appointment for the supporters and the players.
Championship experience
While he may have won promotion on three occasions – once from League Two and twice from League One – Parkinson has little experience and success of managing in the Championship.
When he has with Hull City and Charlton Athletic he didn’t fare too well, only winning four league matches with the Tigers before being sacked in December 2006 with the club in the relegation zone.
Then he was handed the job with the Addicks on a permanent basis in December 2008 despite failing to win any of eight caretaker matches in charge previously, but he couldn’t prevent the Londoners suffering relegation to third tier for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Expectations
While he did brilliantly with Bolton this season and finally succeeded in bringing Bradford City back to League One in 2013, Parkinson’s spells in charge of Hull City and Charlton are worrying.
The 49-year-old would have been under pressure to get results at both clubs but that is nothing to what would be expected of him at Elland Road.
The passionate supporters travel in their thousands away from home and demand and deserve good performances, and it takes a strong manager to deal with that.
Question marks certainly remain over whether Parkinson has the character and charisma required to be a success with Leeds.