El Ahmadi is in fact the second player to move to Villa Park this summer from the Dutch league. Brett Holman, whom signed a pre contract agreement with Aston Villa last season, was officially registered on 1st July completing his move from AZ Alkmaar. Both men will report for pre season training along with their new team mates this  this Thursday as the first team prepare for a pre season tour of America.

New Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert was clearly delighted to have got his man proclaiming “He’s a really good footballer and he’s played well in a good team, a big team, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

El Ahmadi himself has targeted a top ten finish for his first season in the Premierleague. “I’m very excited about coming here to a massive club and I’m looking forward to playing here,” he said.

The signing has been met with a positive response from many Villa fans. Of those who are unfamiliar with the Dutch League, the local news and official website has been filled with video footage of El Ahmadi in action, showing him to be a competitive individual blessed with an ability to get up and down the pitch, whilst providing a sense of guile in the middle of the park with his composure upon the ball and excellent passing range. Fans will be pleased to know El Ahmadi is also not afraid to put his foot in, something the midfield at Villa Park has been lacking in.

If the footage is anything to go off then it could prove to be a great piece of business. With club captain Styilian Petrov still receiving treatment for Acute Leukaemia  and the future of Jean Makoun remaining uncertain, the midfield was an area that needed freshening up and some bodies added. This signing certainly adds competition for places with many of Villas youngsters who impressed in this area last season now knowing they will have to do it all over again being under new management.

Villa fans will be hoping that this is the first of many transfers coming into the club. Believed to be top on off Lambert’s wish list is to bring in a new central defender to improve a back four wish severely underperformed last season. Reports suggest that Richard Dunne very much so remains a part of plans at Villa Park with the future of James Collins not quite as clear with the Welshman linked with a return to newly promoted West Ham United. Fan favourite Carlos Cuellar this week completed his move to Sunderland, reuniting the Spaniard with former Villa boss Martin O’Neill.

Lambert may have to deal in the transfer market in a similar fashion to those before him, on a tight budget with one or two players being moved on to make way for some new faces. The capture of El Ahmadi is certainly exciting for Villa fans as it is somewhat unexpected and adds to the exciting surrounding the club of late.

Stay tuned for more new on transfer activity this summer at Villa Park.

Lambert began the week insisting that his future was at Norwich and dismissed reports of a move away from the club. Aston Villa had already held talks with Molde manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer without actually offering the former Manchester United striker the job. OGS later cited family reasons behind his decision to snub any advances from Aston Villa. That left Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez and Paul Lambert in the running for the Villa post. Rodgers whom two weeks ago turned down the chance to speak with Liverpool over their vacant position, was a very popular candidate with villa fans due to his successful first season in the premier league with Swansea City and the attractive style of football which they play. However, Rodgers changed his mind and decided to hold talks with Liverpool’s owners who had already interviewed Wigan manager Martinez for the position. Martinez impressed Liverpool during there meeting but the Spaniard was uncomfortable with the proposal of appointing a director of football, believed to be Louis Van Gaal. This ultimately put Martinez out of the running and left Liverpool returning to their original target in Rodgers who will officially be unveiled as Liverpool manager at a press conference on Friday morning.

Martinez had been targeted by Villa twelve months ago prior to appointing McLeish but chose to stay at the Lactic’s. This time around Martinez was reported to be more attracted to the idea of taking the role and his representatives held talks with Villa. On the same night that Rodgers was confirmed as Liverpool boss, Martinez’s chairman Dave Whelan confirmed that his manager would be remaining in his role. All eyes turned to the future of Paul Lambert.

Reports overnight suggested that Aston Villa hoped to appoint their new man by the end of the week. The day began with Villa reportedly seeking permission to speak with Lambert from his club Norwich City. As the day progressed Norwich released a statement indicating that they had in fact turned down a resignation from Lambert and were currently in talks with another club (believed to be Aston Villa) over the Scotsman’s future. It would seem now that a compensation package is all that stands in the way of Lambert being confirmed as the new Aston Villa manager.

The appointment will prove to be a popular one amongst the claret and blue faithful with Lambert very much so falling under the category of the ”new manager who sees the club’s potential and embraces our collective expectations” that chairman Randy Lerner longs for. Lambert”s back to back promotions with the Canaries and solid first season back in the top flight have won many plaudits. With the appointment hoping to be confirmed by the weekend, Lambert will have a long summer ahead in which to reorganise the squad and begin his work at Villa Park

This game followed the script of the reverse fixture earlier this season at Goodison Park with both sides cancelling each other out in what proved to be a frustrating afternoon for both sides. Aston Villa went into this game on the back of four straight home league defeats with Everton win less in their last two league fixtures.

Alec Mcleish decided to bring Shay Given back into the team after a seven game absence at the expense of the unfortunate Brad Guzan. New loan signing Robbie Keane could only find a place on the bench with Villa preferring to stick with Darren Bent as the lone striker with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Steven Ireland in support. For the visitors, new signing Darron Gibson went straight into the starting line up.

The game started slowly with neither side exactly bringing the crowd to their feet. Villa Park was silent for most of the afternoon, in particular during the first half in which the home side struggled to find their passing range. At times the approach play from Villa was very sluggish and lacked any real flow. The home supporters grew agitated at the lack of creativity on show. It was the away side which had the first clear opportunity of the game. A curling free kick from the left by Leighton Baines was met by the head of Louis Saha who was superbly denied by Shay Given at his near post. The toffees began to find success down the flanks with a menacing cross from Landon Donovan only just evading Saha.

Down at the other end a clever piece of play between Bent and Agbonlahor released Albrighton at the back post but Drenthe managed to get back in time and clear the ball to safety. From the resulting corner, James Collins put a free header well wide. The best chance of the half for the home team fell to Agbonlahor in the 42nd minute as he cut inside from the left crashing a low drive towards the far corner. Howard expertly managed to tip the effort around the post.

Half Time: Aston Villa 0-0 Everton.

The start of the second half saw neither side make any changes with the home supporters looking for something to cheer about. In the opening exchanges of the half Shay Given was once again called into action saving a bullet header from Fellani with his chest. This seemed to spring Villa into life with Bent hooking a shot towards goal that sent the crowd roaring. Moments later in the 56th minute the home fans patience was rewarded with the opening goal of the game. A cross from the right-wing from Albrighton caused chaos in the Everton penalty area with the ball eventually falling to Bent inside the six-yard penalty area who coolly slotted the ball past Howard into the roof of the net. Moments later Bent almost had a second but his header was well kept out by Howard.

Anichebe and Saha celebrate Everton’s equaliser

Everton’s response on the hour mark was to bring on Victor Anichebe for Royston Drenthe. Within ten minutes the move by David Moyes had paid off. A clever ball from Donovan split the Villa defence with Anichebe able to stay on side and calmly slot the ball past Shay Given for his third goal of the season. The goal came at a time when Villa had seem to be getting on top in the game.

In the closing ten minutes Vila fans got to saw the man they had been waiting for with on loan signing Robbie Keane brought on to replace Warnock. It was an interesting substitution from the home side and a signal of their intent of winning the game. Another debutant, the tiring Darron Gibson was replaced by Everton with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov coming on in his place. The closing moments saw only half chances for either side. As the board went up for four minutes of added on time Steven Ireland was named around the ground as the official man of the match. Referee Mark Clattenburg brought an end to the game with what over all proved to be a fair result.

With the point Villa moved up a place to 12th with Everton breaking into the top half of the table in 10th.

Man of the Match: Steven Ireland

Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Clark, Petrov, Albrighton, Ireland, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: N’Zogbia, Keane, Guzan, Delph, Cuellar, Gardner, Bannan.

Everton: Howard, Baines, Heitinga, Neville, Duffy, Gibson, Drenthe, Cahill, Fellaini, Saha, Donovan. Subs: Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Stracqualursi, McFadden, Gueye, Vellios, Anichebe.

With Villa desperate for points to carry them away from trouble, yet missing key men Emile Heskey and Ashley Young through suspension, manager Gerard Houllier showed admirable attacking intent with a forward thinking 4-4-2 line up, restoring Gabriel Agbonlahor to his preferred centre-forward role and deploying the exciting Marc Albrighton and the dangerous Stewart Downing on the wings, either side of a midfield pairing of Nigel Reo-Coker and Stiliyan Petrov. Young Kyle Walker kept his place at right-back after impressing against his home town club Sheffield United in the FA Cup last weekend, whilst Richard Dunne continued his Villa renaissance alongside James Collins, with Ciaran Clark again tasked with filling in at left-back.

To their credit Villa began the game in style, playing with a freedom not often seen amongst relegation threatened sides. Inside the first minute Agbonlahor had a golden opportunity to give the away side the lead, but could only shoot over the bar when well placed. Seconds later Downing was angling a twenty yard drive just wide of the post. Carew was the next man to go close as he flicked Agbonlahor’s knock down from a Walker cross goalwards, but saw his crafty effort skip off the top of the bar, as Villa tried to make their solid start count.

But Birmingham, despite Ben Foster looking shaky as he tried to banish the ghosts of Wednesday night’s error at Upton Park, weathered the early storm, and began to get a foot in the game. Reacting to his, Houllier altered this formation, dropping Agbonlahor into a withdrawn wide-forward role on the left hand side, and bringing Downing into the middle. The effect was dramatic, as Villa noticeably faded, and were lucky not to be punished when Craig Gardener robbed Walker as he dallied on the ball on the edge of his own area. The ex-Villa midfielder’s cross found Matt Derbyshire unmarked just three yards out, but inexplicably, the striker failed to make contact with the ball. Villa’s sole goal scoring opportunity in the remainder of the first half came when Clark’s over hit cross from the left glided past a horrified Foster who, like a rabbit caught in the headlights, could only watch on as the ball cannoned back off the crossbar.

As the half drew towards a close Birmingham felt they should have had a penalty when first Gardner’s cross struck Walker in the box, though not conclusively on the arm or from a significant enough distance for it to have been judged deliberate, before the rebound fell to David Murphy in the box who took a tumble with Albrighton in tow. Albrighton’s attempts to deal with the presence of the defender were clumsy, but Murphy was already on his way down before contact was made and referee Mark Clattenburg waved away the appeals.

Birmingham did not have to wait long for their breakthrough however, as just two minutes into the second half Gardener’s fiercely struck thirty yard free-kick cannoned into the unsuspecting Murphy, and fell kindly to Roger Johnson, who expertly directed a first time half volley past Brad Friedel to hand his side the lead.

Going behind at least stirred Villa back into life, and they began to take hold of the game. Clark showed real perseverance to get to his feet from two Birmingham challenges on the left touchline, retaining the ball in the process, before striding into the box. His powerful cross struck Johnson on the arm, and deflected agonisingly wide as Villa pressed forward for an equaliser. Replays showed Johnson leaning into the ball, though the pace of the cross made the incident a difficult spot for Clattenburg.

As the game approached the hour mark, and with the away side now dominating possession, Birmingham hit back on the break, finding Derbyshire free on the right who was through against Friedel. The big goalkeeper got a touch to Derbyshire’s strike, but the ball squirmed across goal before Walker launched it clear. Seconds later Gardner battered a volley wide from just inside the area after solid work down the right from David Bentley as Birmingham looked to double their lead.

With seventy minutes up and his side still behind Houllier made a double change, replacing the lively Reo-Coker with Barry Bannan, and the leaden-footed John Carew with Nathan Delfouneso. The impact was immediate, as just two minutes later Albrighton’s right wing cross was flicked on by Agbonlahor towards James Collins, who swivelled and hit a half volley towards goal that deflected off Ridgewell and into the back of the net.

Now sensing a winner, Agbonlahor spun away from his man wide on the right on the halfway line, and drove towards goal. Though his cut back to Delfouneso was just behind the striker, the young substitute was able to keep the ball moving on to the arriving Downing, whose lashed shot from ten yards was well saved by Foster.

Dunne was then in the thick of the action at both ends of the field as first his expert intervention prevented Birmingham replacement Nikola Zigic from capitalising on a long diagonal ball to the back post, before he then saw his own back post effort cleared off the line by Ridgewell at the other end from a well worked short corner.

Both sides had a late chance to win the game, as first Delfouneso picked up on a loose ball some twenty-five yards from goal before thundering an effort off the bar, the fourth time Villa had struck the woodwork in the match. Zigic’s chance to seal a late win was even more dramatic as the striker rose to meet a long free-kick four minutes into injury time. The towering Serbian striker beat the onrushing Friedel to the ball but could only glance his header agonisingly wide.

Though neither manager will have been keen to settle for a point before the game, a draw was a fair result, and probably a relief to both managers in the end, as they each saw their sides under spells of real pressure at different stages of the game. Though it may only be a temporary relief, the point carries Villa out of the relegation zone on goals scored, though with Manchester City next up for Houllier’s men improvements are needed if they are to stay out of the drop zone.

But this does not do justice to Makoun. Transferred for a fee of €14 million from Lille to Lyon during the summer of 2008, Makoun was considered to be one of the finest examples of a box-to-box midfielder in the world at the time, equally as adept in the tackle as he was going forwards. Though his career at Lyon has stalled in recent months, Makoun still represented Les Gones on 76 occasions, scoring 8 times, including the winner over Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout round a year ago.

Makoun is a player of international pedigree too, and has represented Cameroon at four consecutive African Cup of Nations tournaments, amassing 54 caps for his country since being handed his debut back in 2003. At 27 years of age, Makoun is entering the peak of his playing days, and with his Champions League experience and ability on the ball he should add plenty to the Villa squad.

Frequently compared to Michael Essien for his roaming and powerful midfield displays, Makoun is a player Houllier has admired for years, and previously tried to sign during his own spell as manager of Olympique Lyonnais. Having been linked with Arsenal this season, his move to a Villa side struggling in the Premier League represents something of a coup for the Midlands team, and should reflect well on Houllier’s ability to attract big name signings.

The move perhaps represents worse news for Nigel Reo-Coker, who seems the most likely competition to Makoun for a place in the first team. With their reasonably similar playing style, and with Reo-Coker’s contract up in the summer, the arrival of Makoun could spell the end for the English midfielder, who was signed from West Ham for a fee of £8,500,000 by previous manager Martin O’Neill.

With the acquisition of a work permit, considered to be a formality, still standing between Makoun and the deal being finalised it could be up to a fortnight before he sees any action. But of Makoun Houllier has said; ‘Jean is a player who can play in front of the defence as a sitter and a defensive midfielder or as a box-to-box midfielder. He has several assets about his game. He is a nice guy too. I think he will settle well in the dressing room’. As Villa go through a period of significant player unrest, and with a midfield that has been patched up with several academy youngsters, this seems a smart transfer by Houllier, and if he can find two or three more players to compliment the new arrival, there’s every chance Villa could dig themselves out of the hole they’ve fallen into.

Defeat today would have increased the pressure on the under fire Houllier, so it was no surprise to see the Frenchman name a strong side, which included Gabriel Agbonlahor despite ongoing doubts surrounding his fitness, and a rare start for compatriot Robert Pires who had a point to prove following damaging quotes about the club attributed to the midfielder in the last week.

But it was the debutant Walker, playing against the club he began his career with, who strode into the limelight as he carried the ball from just inside the halfway line and ghosted past several Blades defenders before coolly slotting the ball past Sheffield United goalkeeper Steve Simonsen to give the visitors the lead with just nine minutes gone.

Villa’s second too had a touch of class to it as Ashley Young’s spirited burst down the left flank resulted in the wingers perfectly weighted cross finding Marc Albrighton, making his first start since the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Manchester City, free at the far post. The youngster’s fierce volleyed finish for a 0-2 lead showed a composure rarely found in a player so young.

Sheffield United were determined to put their own recent bad form behind them however, and began the second half strongly. Indeed the hosts pulled a goal back just three minutes after the interval as former Villa trainee Jamie Ward coolly dispatched a penalty dubiously awarded for Carlos Cuellar’s apparent trip on Lee Williamson. The away side then had Brad Friedel to thank for preserving their lead with superb saves firstly from Daniel Bogdanovic, then from an acrobatic flick from Johnny Ertl, as Sheffield United sensed an equaliser was up for grabs.

When Petrov was unable to convert a one-on-one chance laid on by Stewart Downing, and Young was banished from the game after receiving a second yellow card just minutes later, Sheffield United smelt a comeback. But they were unable to make their possession count, and Petrov put the game to bed at the second time of asking after exchanging passes with the lively Albrighton and rocketing a drive into the roof of Simonsen’s net.

Villa will be pleased to have advanced, but were given a real test by a Sheffield United team struggling at the bottom of Championship. With Young now joining Emile Heskey on the sidelines as a result of suspension, Houllier will know he has to improve his troops further for the second city derby against Birmingham at St Andrews next Sunday. A defeat in that fixture would quickly undo the boost in support Houllier will have earned off the back of today’s victory.

Walker was signed by Spurs from Sheffield United in July 2009 for undisclosed fee, believed to be as high as £5 million, but was loaned straight to the Championship club where he impressed last season with a stream of steady performances. Already capped by England at both under-19 and under-21 level, Walker has spent much of this season on loan at trailblazing Queens Park Rangers, where his performances have again resulted in much acclaim.

Though Walker has only appeared twice for Tottenham in-between his loan spells in the second tier, the young defender firmly believes he has the quality to succeed in the Premier League, and is quoted by the BBC as saying; ‘I’m excited about being here and proving that I’m good enough to play in the Premier League. That’s why Tottenham bought me and that’s what I’m keen to show here at Villa’.

The move however spells bad news for 22-year-old American defender Eric Lichaj, who fresh from signing a new long term deal back in August, now finds himself as arguably Houllier’s fourth choice right-back, behind Young, Walker, and Carlos Cuellar. Lichaj had impressed against Tottenham Hostpur and West Bromwich Albion in recent weeks, but is no doubt paying the price for an abject display against Manchester City which saw the young defender concede a penalty, and be fortunate not to receive a red card.

The signing represents better news for Cuellar however. An £8 million signing from Glasgow Rangers back in August of 2008, Cuellar has been forced to spend much of his Villa career out of position filling in at full-back, or sitting on the bench as others have been picked ahead of him. To Cuellar’s credit he has never let his obvious frustrations at this spill over into unprofessional behaviour, and with the relationship between Houllier and Richard Dunne still believed to be at something of an impasse, Cuellar should now be well placed to benefit from a run of games in his natural position.

Though Walker is not the marque signing many Villa fans would have been hoping for, his addition does represent the sensible and restrained approach to transfer dealings that we had been warned by the board to expect. For me the move has something of a familiar feel to it, putting me in mind of Wednesday night’s Ghost at the Feast Phil Bardsley, who spent half a season on loan at Villa under Martin O’Neill back in 2007, when the right-back area was the team’s biggest shortcoming. Bardsley was steady yet unspectacular during his time in the claret and blue, though thanks to his late winner on his return to Villa Park he will now be remembered for a different reason.

Whether or not Walker is of superior quality to Bardsley, and whether or not he can improve Villa’s leaky defence, we don’t yet know, but with the prospect of the youngster facing his old club Sheffield United in Saturday’s third round FA Cup tie seeming likely, we may not have to wait long to find out.

And as if to reinforce this feeling, Villa fans will have woken up this morning to stories of the board restating their ‘firm support’ for Houllier and his ability to guide the team back up the table. It’s admirable of the club to do this of course, but you can’t help but wonder whether this statement is truly helpful or not. Surely everyone knows that any outpouring of this kind is going to be categorised as the so-called ‘dreaded vote of confidence’, and more often than not comments of this kind dauntingly hang over a manager, like the mythical Sword of Damocles, before inevitably culminating in the chop.

For all his faults, this doesn’t strike me as particularly fair on Houllier. The squad he has inherited is very much Martin O’Neill’s, with Robert Pires being Houllier’s only addition to a team that has been, as is almost unanimously agreed, punching considerably above its weight for several seasons now. If the board are truly confident in Houllier and his abilities why not just make these assurances in private, since any comments that are made public will almost certainly be interpreted negatively, as is becoming the case here? Particularly given that Houllier himself told the press after last nights game that he had received just such an assurance from Randy Lerner. Why then release a statement to this effect the next day? As far as I can see, this just undermines Houllier’s position.

And in Houliers defence, and as has been the case with quite a few Villa games this season, last night could have played out very differently for the Frenchman. Had the, until then, resurgent Emile Heskey converted the simplest of chances in the opening period, a half in which Villa enjoyed some notable spells of possession it must be said, then whose to say that the home side would not have held on to those precious three points? Had referee Peter Walton shown the same player some leniency when dealing with a spot of handbags with just a shade over twenty minutes to go, whose to say that Villa could not have eeked out a point?

The January transfer window represents a chance for Houllier to turn things around. Part of the reason for his appointment was that Houllier brought with him a wealth of experience in identifying and developing some of Europe’s finest young players. To his credit Houllier had already singled out just such a target in French under-19s captain Gueida Fofana, but was unable to ratify the deal as the board objected to the players wage demands. To have been unable to sign his man because the club is trying to cut away the excess from his predecessor’s opulent reign represents a real slap in the face to Houllier. Sadly this is just one of many he insults he is now having to deal with. As they say Gerard, it never rains but it pours.

Houllier’s thinking was clear, telling the press before the game that ‘ It is a conscious decision to play an experienced team, because we are playing the champions’. The Frenchman reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 system he used during his first few weeks in charge, with Carlos Cuellar and Ciaran Clark having to fill in as full-backs, behind Nigel Reo-Coker and the fit again Stiliyan Petrov. An attacking trio of Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Gabriel Agbonlahor would look to support Emile Heskey, who was charged with leading the line against a Chelsea centre-back pairing of John Terry and nineteen-year-old Jeffrey Bruma.

After a quiet start to the game in which the 41,222 packed into Stamford Bridge barely seemed awake such was the lack of atmosphere around the ground, the game stirred into life on twenty-one minutes thanks to the most dubious of penalty awards. Frank Lampard‘s deflected shot from the edge of the area looped up into the box and as James Collins rose to clear the ball Florent Malouda backed into the Villa defender, before spinning underneath him and theatrically throwing himself to the ground. Referee Lee Mason interpreted Collins leap as a foul however and Lampard expertly dispatched the resulting penalty with power.

Visibly seething at this injustice, Villa threatened to lose their discipline as first Heskey, then Young, fouled dangerously, before Reo-Coker followed Petrov, Friedal and Collins into the referee’s notebook for a highly debatable foul on Didier Drogba, the latter two having been booked for their protests over the award of the penalty.

Perhaps spurred on by their perceived ill treatment at the hands of the referee, Villa could have been level on thirty-eight minutes as Downing’s clipped ball into the box evaded everyone and fell kindly to Dunne on the back post. Barely six yards out, the Irishman could only scoop his volley over the bar however, much to the relief of Petr Cech.

But Villa did not have to wait long for their equaliser as Paulo Ferreira’s hashed clearance deflected off Downing and into the path of Reo-Coker, before the Villa player could seize control of the ball though he was sent crashing to the ground by a wild challenge from behind by Michael Essien. If Chelsea’s penalty was dubious, Villa’s was as clear as day, and Mason wasted no time in pointing to the spot. Young’s finish from twelve yards was just as powerful as his England colleagues, and sent the away fans into rapture. It was no less than Villa deserved, following their best half of football since Manchester United were shaken by a claret and blue onslaught back in November.

As the second half began there was a real feeling that Villa could get something from this game, if they could keep eleven men on the pitch, and Villa quickly backed this up as they took the lead just two minutes into the second half through Heskey, who out-fought and out-jumped the young Bruma to head home Downing’s superb right-wing cross from six yards out.

Though Chelsea were clearly not at their best they still had plenty of fight and pressed forward in search of an equaliser. On fifty-five minutes Ramires shot wide across the face of goal when well placed, before Friedal saved expertly from Lampard’s close-range volley after a lovely lay-off from an admittedly offside Malouda just after the hour mark. Malouda was the next man in blue to be thwarted by the excellent Friedal as the American spread himself to block the Frenchman’s shot after he had been deliciously played in by defence-splitting through ball from Lampard.

There’s been plenty of speculation in the press lately that Dunne is on his way out of the club following reports of his falling out with the club’s management and his loss of the captaincy. Should Dunne leave his incredible last ditch tackle after seventy-two minutes on the quickly advancing substitute Saloman Kalou, saving an almost certain goal, would be a wonderful parting gift. Alternatively, it might be the defining moment that relaunches the big defender’s Villa career. Either way it was defending at its very best.

But with Villa sitting deeper and deeper Chelsea were soon controlling the game. Dunne revealed the infuriating opposite side of his game as he failed to deal with a routine ball into the box, which fell to the feet of the so far ineffective Drogba. The forward showed his true ability though, keeping his head to slot home past a posse of Villa defenders lacking even an ounce of the striker’s composure. As the old saying goes, form is temporary but class is permanent.

And so it transpired. There was a grim air of predictability as with just a minute of normal time remaining Chelsea seemed to steal the win. Substitute Marc Albrighton lost the ball under his feet when well placed to clear and from the resulting cross Drogba’s bullet header was stunningly saved by Friedal, before John Terry agonisingly turned in the rebound. For all their hard work, it seemed that Villa were destined to leave Stamford Bridge empty handed.

But football has limitless potential for surprise. Albrighton, just seconds ago the villain, was suddenly the hero as his sublime, perfectly-weighted, ball found the young Ciaran Clark who had ghosted into the Chelsea box. Time stood as still as the Chelsea defence as Clark guided a subtle header into the bottom of the net for a remarkable finish to a truly remarkable game.

Villa will no doubt feel they could have had the three points, but given the rather toothless nature of their recent displays they can take great pride in a truly spirited performance against a Chelsea side far better than their own recent results suggest. Despite the return to action of some of the more senior members of the squad it was once again Villa’s youngsters who stole the show, with Clark fantastic throughout and deserving of his most dramatic and unexpected of equalisers.

Though Villa remain in trouble at the wrong end of the table performances such as today’s, coupled with some shrewd work in the transfer window, should see Villa’s young starts burning bright at the right end of the table for some time to come.

Still it’s gifts from another gentle, silver-haired old timer that are really needed to banish the ghost of Christmas Present from the bleakest corners of Villa Park. The extent to which Randy Lerner is willing to back his much maligned manager in the January transfer window could well determine whether this season descends into a relegation dogfight, or is reborn in the new year. Despite the current negativity surrounding the club, if Lerner provides Houllier with a significant percentage of last summers James Milner windfall it is not unthinkable that Villa could make a late surge for a Europa League place, such is the overcrowded nature of the most plentiful of Christmas tables.

And whilst results have not indicated a change in fortunes is coming, there is some weight to the argument that certain performances have. The significant spells of attacking-minded possession football witnessed against illustrious opponents such as Manchester United and Arsenal would have been unthinkable under the reign of Martin O’Neill, and though neither performance yielded the result it should have, the far-reaching, widespread and fundamental changes that Houllier promised when he was unveiled back in September are, if not exactly bearing fruit just yet, certainly sowing the seeds for change. The question on everybody’s lips of course, churlish though it may be, is at 63 years of age, and with significant health problems in the past, is Houllier really the right man to be leading such a long term project?

I believe it is this ‘square peg, round hole’ approach that is attracting the most vocal criticism from the faithful. Widely, and inaccurately, reported as an unpopular choice when he was appointed (a fan poll in September indicated 83% of fans were happy with the appointment), Houllier’s patient, methodical, continental approach to the game is the polar opposite of his predecessor’s. Though that predecessor oversaw the most successful period for a decade, this drastic change was actually a shrewd move by the clubs hierarchy. The thinking seems to be that if you have identified what you see as a problem, you should distance yourself from that problem as much as possible, and on the face of it who could argue. In this regard Houllier was the perfect choice, a manager capable of overseeing the development of youth as he proved so successfully during his time with the Clairefontaine academy in the 1990s, he had also undertaken a similar project to that which Villa offered, rebuilding the once great Liverpool side into a team that was able to challenge for honours both domestically and in Europe.

Sadly though the issue of Houllier’s age was largely ignored. Were Houllier ten years younger I am certain that he would not be receiving quite as much criticism as he is now, allowing as it would an increased likelihood of the prospect of him implementing long term change. But this is not to say that Houllier is incapable of seeing out the project, One only has to look to a certain Alex Ferguson, celebrating his sixty-ninth birthday today, as exhibit A in the argument of experience over youth. But it is not unfair to say that Ferguson is something of an exception. Whether or not Randy Lerner truly believes Houllier is capable of seeing his assignment through to completion may be quite a bit clearer when we see just how much is being made available for reinforcements. Many fans believe the time has come for Houllier to either be backed or sacked by the board, but with the notorious difficulty of signing players in January, and the continued failings of the current squad, it seems increasingly likely that even if Lerner’s festive cheer extends to the funds for a few new players, the New Year might not be an entirely happy one for Houllier.