Could the draw at Chelsea be the turning point for Aston Villa?

Aston Villa secured a dramatic point with a 3-3 draw at champions Chelsea yesterday.

However this draw has been a rare bright spot in a poor season for the Midlander’s. And Villa are currently just two points outside the relegation zone.

Houllier

Gerard Houllier’s arrival at Villa as boss this summer was met by pessimist from the Villa Park faithful.

He had been out of management for a while and he is considered by some to be a dinosaur in terms of managers.

The 62 year-old hasn’t made the best of starts at Villa and fans are already questioning his methods. Houllier has taken a team who is accustomed to finishing in the top six of the Premier League to the brink of the relegation zone.

Mistakes

Houllier has decided to field some of the clubs talented youngsters but in the process has seemingly discarded more senior players. The likes of Stephen Ireland, John Carew and Habib Beye have been constantly overlooked. They may be out of form but they may still have something to offer.

It looked as though defender Richard Dunne was set to join that list until recently being restored to the first team. I believe Houllier has now learnt from his mistakes and started to reinstate players who he previously felt wasn’t good enough.

Youngsters

Houllier has put his faith in some of the clubs youngsters but at times he hasn’t quite got the balance right between youth and experience. The likes of Ciaran Clark and Jonathan Hogg have played lots of games in recent weeks, even though Houllier had the experienced duo of Nigel Reo-Coker and Stiliyan Petrov available.

Villa were in need of an experienced head in midfield in previous games and it showed at times. Houllier selected Reo-Coker and Petrov for the clash with Chelsea and they earned a well deserved point. It illustrated that his stubbornness not to select certain players has cost the club points this season.

Same

Previous Villa boss Martin O’Neill quit the club because owner Randy Lerner wasn’t prepared to back him with any finances to improve his squad. In fact rumours are rife that Villa could be selling rather than buying players in the January transfer window.

It remains to be seen if veteran French boss Houllier will be given the finances to strengthen his struggling squad in January. Villa has been linked with a loan move for Colorado Rapids striker Omar Cummings and also a loan move for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane.

Wages

It doesn’t appear that Randy Lerner is prepared to back Houllier in the transfer market; one of the reasons is that he believes that the wage bill is too high. Houllier has already been told to reduce the wage bill.

Houllier appears to have already started cutting the wage bill by agreeing to sell midfielder Steven Sidwell to West Ham. According to reports he is close to completing a deal to move to the East End with the Hammers.

The aforementioned John Carew, Habib Beye and Stephen Ireland are all on high wages and are all likely to follow Sidwell out of the Villa Park exit door. Villa fans will be hoping that this will allow Houllier some transfer funds to improve his squad.

Quality

Villa does have some quality players and now is the time for them to show what they can do. The likes of Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor can produce moments of magic on their day.

Unfortunately they blow hot and cold at times and are not consistent enough. If they start playing more consistently then Villa will start moving up the table. The pair are vital to how Villa play their football.

Young Ciaran Clark also looks like he could be a top player and seems to be getting better with every game. Although he is a central defender by trade he has played in a variety of different positions in recent weeks and has scored some crucial goals, including his late equaliser at Stamford Bridge yesterday.

Confidence

The Villa players have seemed to lack confidence in recent games and maybe the draw against Chelsea will help restore some confidence within the team. The draw will also keep the fans off Houllier’s back for a while.

Have Aston Villa turned the corner?