Aston Villa
Villa started last season under manager Paul Lambert, a man whose style of play was sometimes described as “eye-bleedingly dull.” Favoring a moderately effective defense at the expense of any attempt to attack at all, Lambert’s style was never popular, and last season it was also ineffective. He was replaced with Tim Sherwood, a man who would simply take too long to explain. The short version is that Sherwood is either an unassuming genius or a hilarious cartoon, a kind of British Homer Simpson as a soccer coach.
Stars: Aston just sold its best two players to Liverpool and Man City. Though they’ve spent a considerable amount to replace them, all of the signings (save defender Micah Richards) are untested in the league. Long serving striker Gabriel Agbonglahor remains at the club but isn’t getting any younger or faster.
