The journey from equals to inferiors has taken Aston Villa five years. Everton were rivals for a top-six finish in 2010. Now they are role models for a beleaguered club. “We have to work to become like Everton one day,” said Rémi Garde. That day seems ever further off. His first defeat as Villa manager was so comprehensive that the gap between them may soon encompass the divide between the Premier League and the Championship.
Villa have a mish-mash of a team but, if the underlying intention, and one is not easy to detect, is to recruit and develop emerging talent, Everton represent an example to follow. Their budget is limited but their ambitions have expanded. They have four times as many points as Villa after scoring four goals here and the last came from a combination of four up-and-coming Everton players.
John Stones, Gerard Deulofeu and Ross Barkley are 21; Romelu Lukaku is 22. Their combined value may be approaching £150m. “To have that as a team is quite unique,” said their manager, Roberto Martínez. This generation – Roberto’s Rookies, perhaps – is giving Everton a new look. The Spaniard inherited an ageing team. Everton’s defining players are now among their youngest.
“John Stones is a modern centre-half,” said Martínez. “He is as good as it gets at that age. We have all seen the combination of incredible physical and technical attributes that Ross Barkley has. Romelu Lukaku has scored 51 Premier League goals before 23. Gerard Deulofeu was a young man with incredible potential and now he is a complete performer.”
The sense that talent is being converted into consistency was underlined by Barkley’s two goals. If Lukaku’s double was less surprising, the midfielder’s two goals mean a player who had struck six times in 76 league games for Everton before this season now has five in 13 games. “Ross has gone to another level. Remember the young man we had three years ago: now he is a different player, a different footballer,” said Martínez, attributing Barkley’s greater productivity to improved decision-making.
Villa’s, on and off the field, level has been questionable for quite some time. Their problems were compounded by a lack of spirit and quality. While Martínez ascribed Everton’s excellence to the competition for places their fringe players have provided, Villa suggested they have weakness in depth. They made 13 summer signings and have used 26 players this season but few of the 14 deployed here suggested they were determined to impress a new manager.
“Everton never had to fight to regain the ball,” lamented Garde. “We gave it to them. When you never attack, you never have the ball.” The sole note of defiance was struck by the manager. “I knew the situation before and nothing has changed. I am not more worried than I was a few days ago.”
The past suggests he should be very concerned. No team with five points from their first 13 Premier League games have stayed up. Garde was a long-term appointment plunged into a situation where a short-term requirement for results is paramount. The Frenchman’s contract runs until 2019 but his focus is on May.
“Probably the last game on the last day will be crucial for Aston Villa and for other sides too,” he said. “Nothing will change until the last day.” Yet unless Villa pick up perhaps 30 points from their next 24 games, their fate may be sealed sooner. Their season concludes with a reunion for Garde, taking him back to his old club Arsenal to face his mentor Arsène Wenger. If it could be a coronation for one French manager, it is looking likelier it will result in relegation for another.
Man of the match Gerard Deulofeu (Everton)
