The loss of your best player is a test for the club and their manager
So it is all doom and gloom for Aston Villa as Christian Benteke has handed in a transfer request. The 22 year old Belgian
who arrived as an ‘unknown’ last season, ended up scoring a total of 23 goals
and was key factor in Villa staying up. For Paul Lambert it was a gamble which paid
off. Yes Villa had the £24m Darren Bent in the team yet Lambert wanted someone with more physicality, presence and the ability to
hold up the ball and bring others in. Benteke was a revelation for the club and
the league. And what happens when you make an impression? Top clubs start
taking notice. As The Whitehouse Address discusses losing Benteke is not a shock or suprise, what matters for Villa is how they react after.
It was inevitable that a bid would come in from somewhere this
summer, this is how football works. It is food chain and at this time Aston
Villa are at the mercy of those above them. Clubs know about the financial
situation at Villa, they are aware of the huge losses and the new era ofausterity, therefore they see Benteke as an attainable asset which Villa would struggle to
hold on to.
In the past several seasons Villa have seen players like Gareth
Barry, James Milner, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing leave the club to go to bigger
sides. Three of those players have won Premier League medals and played
Champions League football so it is hard to say to a player that leaving Villa is a bad decision. Villa made profit on all of them and although the
club has suffered from losing them, it is ‘inevitable’ that you will lose
players who impress.
Take Arsenal and their situation. In their decision to
build a stadium they decided they must be stringent in terms of transfers and
must seek to use a form of ‘Moneyball’ to generate money. Players were bought
for cheap(ish) value with the hope they could be sold on to make more money.
It was a success. You only have to look at the net spend of the club this past decade to see how
well this model has turned out.
Southampton have produced players like Walcott,
Bale and Oxlade-Chamberlain and as much as they would want to keep them to play
for their side, making almost £50m on three academy products is just good
business.
And finally let us consider Borussia Dortmund. We all know the
resurgence that Dortmund have had these past few seasons, like Villa they have
been forced into austerity and development and have been hugely successful from
this. Their ability to 'bounce back' from losing key players each season has been most impressive. Firstly it was Nuri Sahin
who went to Madrid, then Kagawa who moved to Man Utd and now Gotze (and
possibly Lewandowski ) to Bayern.
Unfortunately when a club in Dortmund's situation do well the lions start to prey on the juiciest memebers of the herd. Under Klopp Dortmund have been so impressive that clubs cannot help but lick their lips at the talent knowing the players on are on 'low' wages and
that the financial needs of Dortmund as a club necessitate the need to sell.
However the club have benefited from
their success and we all know how well they have managed to recover after
losing key players. Gudongan, Bender, Reus and now Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang. It
is a club which knows and accepts (reluctantly) it will lose players yet who
simply move on evolve with the times. This is football.
And don’t be surprised
if Lewandowksi leaves and Benteke is the man brought in, the links fit together
well. He would be a perfect replacement for the Polish forward and would cost
roughly £25m. Villa would be more partial to have him move abroad (yet he
wouldn’t make as much money as moving to an English side) and of course there
is the Paul Lambert/Dortmund link. You would think if he wanted his forward to
go anywhere it would be to his spiritual home?!
The situation at Villa is similar to that of Dortmund, similar models, history and style. Villa are only a year in to their project whereas Dortmund are now entering their sixth. Therefore clear comparisons are hard to make. Yet it is clear both are seeking to be sustainable.
Villa fans need to accept that losing Benteke was always a possibility and that this was going to happen based on the
current situation at the club. Instead of anger they should feel thankful that
Benteke gave so much last season and played a massive part in keeping the team
in the Premier League. If he leaves now for £20m+ then the club have benefited
greatly both on and off the pitch.
Lambert’s job as a manager, like Klopp and
Wenger is to adapt to change and seek to replace him successfully. This time
last season Chrisitan Benteke was unknown by many, so to think he cannot be
replaced is ludicrous! Yes he has proven to be an excellent player yet fans and
manager cannot cry and complain, you simply move on and work with the players
you have. No-one is bigger than the club, £25m will help the club re-build again and
look to improve on last season.
After the Sunderland thrashing I wrote that
future looks very bright at Villa Park, losing Benteke does not change that.
The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address
Related articles
- Dortmund’s Remarkable Rise from Financial Ruin
- Lambert’s Revolution Takes Shape
- Signs of a Bright Future at Villa Park
- It Was Never Going To Be Easy for Lambert
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