Two-goal Villa provide biggest Cup shock of weekend in troubled season

While Callum Wilson’s injury-time strike was ultimately in vain as Bournemouth exited the FA Cup at Villa Park on Sunday it was the ninth goal scored by the Cherries on two visits to England’s second city this season.

Eddie Howe’s side thrashed Birmingham City 8-0 back in October and came into today’s fourth round tie with Aston Villa having remarkably scored the same number of goals in Birmingham than the Premier League strugglers had managed all season.

In a weekend of shocks, Andreas Weimann “rocketed” to the top of the Villa scoring charts with his fourth goal of the campaign as Paul Lambert’s side registered more than one goal in a game for only the third time this season.

Carles Gil’s beautiful long-range opener saw him join the likes of defenders Ciaran Clark and Alan Hutton as joint-third top scorer on one goal in what was the Spaniard’s full debut.

Bournemouth, who sit top of the Championship, are currently the highest scorers in English football plundering 57 goals in what could potentially be the greatest season in the club’s history.

In contrast, the claret and blue faithful have endured a wretched campaign so far with their side sitting three points outside the relegation zone and boasting the worst games-per-goal-ratio of any side in the top nine tiers of English football.

Before today, Villa had scored eight at home and only 12 in total in 24 matches.

The last time the Holte End cheered the ball hitting the back of the net was Christian Benteke’s late strike to see off Championship strugglers Blackpool in the previous round with today’s 2-1 victory representing Villa’s second win in nine games - both in the FA Cup.

The big Belgian also found the top corner with a superb curling effort to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Manchester United five days before Christmas - the last of Villa’s 11 league goals this season.

Despite enduring his worst run of form since his move from Genk in 2012, Benteke remains Villa’s prize asset.

The frontman has only managed three goals since his return from a long injury lay-off that saw him miss the opening two months of the season but if he manages to find any rhythm in front of goal during the remainder of the campaign it is hard to see how Villa can hold onto him.

Christian Benteke remains Villa's main source of goals

Since that home draw with United Villa have picked up only two points from a possible 15 thanks to 0-0 draws with Sunderland and Crystal Palace while going down to losses against Swansea City, Leicester City and Liverpool.

Before last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Brendan Rodgers side, a section of the Villa support had called for a protest by boycotting their seats in the Holte End for the first eight minutes of the match to mark each year that American Randy Lerner had owned the club.

However, the protest mirrored the team’s attacking threat on the pitch - non-existent.

Prior to the game, Lambert had urged against the protest saying it would be counter-productive and called on fans to get behind the team in what has been an all too familiar rallying cry from the Scot not only this season but since he was handed the reins by Lerner in 2012.

The lack of a fan walk-out last weekend was not a ringing endorsement of Lambert from the Villa Park faithful however.

The former Norwich City boss does not take his seat in the home dug-out with any tangible backing from the crowd.

Rather, it sums up the apathy and absence of optimism amongst Villa fans who have seen their side post 15^th-place finishes during Lambert’s two seasons in charge.

Ten points from the first four games at the start of the current campaign had emboldened Lerner to hand Lambert a new four-year contract while the feel-good factor in those opening weeks also saw Gabriel Agbonlahor and Alan Hutton commit to long-term deals.

After impressing at the World Cup for The Netherlands, Ron Vlaar’s future in the claret and blue was in doubt but he also remains a Villa player.

As was the case in the summer of 2013 with Benteke, the fact that the best piece of transfer business conducted by Lambert was the retention of one of his main stars highlights Villa’s struggles in attracting the sort of player that will result in the club casting aside the now annual fear of relegation.

Just under £5million was spent on Colombian Carlos Sanchez last summer while Lambert also brought in the likes of Kieran Richardson and Aly Cissokho for next-to-nothing.

Joe Cole and Philippe Senderos were picked up for free while Manchester United misfit Tom Cleverley was signed on a season-long loan.

With the possible exception of Senderos and Sanchez - who have impressed sporadically - the summer acquisitions have been mediocre.

The £7million paid to Genk for Benteke's services remains the largest chunk of the £45million spent by Lambert since becoming Villa manager with the latest tranche going on the £3.25million acquisition of Gil from Valencia.

Paul Lambert is beginning to feel the wrath of Villa fans 

Lambert has been praised for unearthing the odd gem from the lower leagues such as Ashley Westwood who has performed admirably in Villa’s midfield since signing from Crewe Alexandra while Matthew Lowton has not embarrassed himself since making the step-up from Sheffield United in 2012.

The Villa fans have also been heartened by the promotion of academy players into the first team over the past few seasons through the likes of Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker and Andreas Weimann.

However, that goodwill has been eroded through the increasing drudgery of the team’s play and some costly defensive mistakes over the last 18 months and the mood pervading Villa Park is beginning to turn hostile with Lambert the target of fan discontent.

It is to Lambert’s disadvantage that he is the sole conduit of fan ire as the club’s owner remains an infrequent visitor to Birmingham - September’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal was Lerner’s first home game in almost two years.

Handing his manager a new four-year deal points to the fact that Lerner believes Lambert is the man for the job but it is no secret that the American is looking to sell the club he acquired in 2006 for £63million.

The extent to which the former Cleveland Browns owner has scaled back spending on Aston Villa as he seeks a buyer is revealing.

Prior to walking out on the club in August 2010, Martin O’Neill spent £125 million of the American’s money in four seasons.

Over the last four years that has dropped to £90million with £18million of that being splashed out on Darren Bent - currently on loan at Derby County - by then manager Gerard Houllier in the January 2011 transfer window.

Meanwhile, the big transfer news at Villa Park prior to kick-off against Bournemouth was the extension of Fabian Delph’s contract until 2019…

Breaking news: Harry guaranteed at least one more deadline day appearance

It was with wearisome familiarity that the television in the corner of the room coughed out the words Redknapp, Queens Park Rangers and Tony Fernandes accompanied by the obligatory Sky Sports News yellow ticker informing us of the latest “breaking news” emanating from the West London club.

QPR chairman Fernandes had just released a statement rubbishing suggestions that his manager was about to be handed his P45 declaring that “Harry is the best man to get us out of the position we currently find ourselves in.”

That position is second-from-bottom in the Barclays Premier League with Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to a less than convincing Manchester United, the 13^th loss from 22 games Redknapp has overseen while Marouane Fellaini and James Wilson’s second-half strikes were the 38^th and 39^th occasion that Rob Green has had to pick the ball out of his own net - the worst record in the division.

Afterwards Redknapp blamed an “insider” trying to destabilise the club when he was asked about the rumours of his potential sacking.

The 67-year-old also bemoaned his lack of striking options in the game against United which saw him start with Bobby Zamora and Charlie Austin up front while recent signing Mauro Zarate began from the bench and stayed there.

The Argentinian, who is on-loan from West Ham United, was overlooked in favour of Adel Taarabt to replace Leroy Fer with 20 minutes to go as QPR chased an equaliser on Saturday.

Zarate left Upton Park due to a lack of game-time and trust from Sam Allardyce and one can only imagine his mood when Moroccan Taarabt, who was publicly derided by Redknapp back in October for being “three-stone overweight” and “unfit to play”, was summoned instead to rescue the Rangers cause.

Despite often operating with Dutchman Fer and Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas out of position on the wings, QPR’s return of 23 goals is the highest in the bottom seven.

Aston Villa have scored less than half that amount of goals but sit three points and five places better off than the Loftus Road outfit.

Harry Redknapp has been hailed as the  man to lead QPR to safety by club chairman Tony Fernandes

Redknapp pointed out that his famed ability to wheel-and-deal in the transfer market will be curtailed to loanees in this window insisting that “I need another front man” - a phrase that will send a shudder down the spine of every Portsmouth fan trudging out of Fratton Park on Saturday after watching their side draw 1-1 with Burton Albion to remain ninth in League Two.

Following QPR’s record 10th straight defeat on the road against Burnley last weekend, Redknapp complained of having to rely on “seven or eight players [who played] in the Championship last year”.

Having been at the helm when QPR got relegated in May 2013, Redknapp did guide the club straight back up last season via the play-offs.

However, despite having arguably the biggest budget to play with in the Championship, QPR still finished well off the pace in the second tier last season while Sean Dyche guided Burnley to automatic promotion on a shoestring.

The Lancashire club spent £8million in the summer with £3million of that going on George Boyd from Hull City.

At the same time Redknapp forked out £10million to former club Tottenham Hotspur for the now crocked Brazilian Sandro, £8million to Norwich City to secure Fer while spending nearly £15million on Cardiff City duo Jordan Mutch and Stephen Caulker.

Additional transfer and loan fees brought QPR’s outlay to around £40million.

Jim White and Harry Redknapp look set to renew their transfer deadline day double-act on February 2

Mutch has struggled since moving to London while England international Caulker watched from the bench on Saturday alongside former England captain Rio Ferdinand as “Championship players” Richard Dunne and Clint Hill manned the centre of QPR’s defence.

Hill, Joey Barton and goalkeeper Robert Green were the only players in Saturday’s starting line-up whose signings pre-date Redknapp’s reign.

Since taking over from Mark Hughes in November 2012, he has signed 21 players.

Club owner Fernandes pointed out in yesterday’s statement: "This is Harry's squad of players…and we will do our best to strengthen where we can to give us the best possible chance."

It remains to be seen how much further the Malaysian is willing to stretch finances to back Redknapp from now until February 2 when the window closes.

The man himself joked in Saturday’s post-match press conference “Who will Sky have to interview through a car window if I am not here on transfer deadline day?”.

Over to you Jim White…

Cazorla stands tallest at Etihad in battle of little men

The sound of Mike Dean’s whistle at the Etihad Stadium was the cue for Arsenal players to celebrate their most significant result of the league campaign so far.

The sight of Santi Cazorla hitching a ride on the back of big Per Mertesacker in front of the jubilant away fans  was a fitting image to sum up the midfielder’s contribution over the preceding 95 minutes.

The Spaniard was head and shoulders above the rest as Arsene Wenger’s side remain a point outside the top four in the Barclays Premier League while inflicting a serious blow to the title ambitions of Manchester City.

Often accused of stubbornness and tactical inflexibility, Wenger showed that he can revert to Plan B as his side executed a perfect away performance.

The Gunners stifled City and subdued the home fans, who saw their side briefly threaten to emerge from the lethargy that enveloped the Etihad when they forced David Ospina into two smart stops from Sergio Aguero and Jesus Navas while the City winger also saw a fizzing low cross turned behind by the toenail of Laurent Koscielny in a 15 minute spell after half-time.

But that was as good as it got for the defending champions, who despite having 65 per cent of possession, were a shadow of the side that rampaged and rolled-over Arsenal in a 6-3 demolition in last season’s corresponding fixture.

While City’s intensity and penetration was unquestionably dimmed, not helped by the absence of the marauding power of Yaya Toure, the scars of that thrashing were not sufficient enough to inhibit the Arsenal players.

Instead, Wenger and his coaching staff learned from the harsh lessons of their last visit to the blue half of Manchester - as well as trips to Stamford Bridge and Anfield last year conceding 6 and 5 respectively - by setting out to frustrate and contain while utilising the counter-attacking prowess of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

That approach did not lend itself to the anticipated feast of free-flowing football but the contest was in no way diminished for it.

On the contrary, it was fascinating to see the transformation of a side built to attack, into one which was compact and resolute and was happy to cede possession to their opponents.

The deployment of the busy Francis Coquelin in front of the much maligned Arsenal back-four provided an extra layer of resistance that has been crushingly missing in many of the North London club’s visits to top-four rivals in recent seasons while the athleticism of Aaron Ramsey saw the Welshman popping up all over the pitch to intercept and disrupt.

As has been the case all season, the turbo-charged Sanchez never stopped running but the Chilean was unable to add to his 18 goals this season despite a stinging right-footed drive that elicited a smart stop from Joe Hart in the second half.

Santi Cazorla was the star man for Arsenal

By then, Arsenal were two goals to the good thanks to Cazorla.

The Spanish international expertly despatched a 24^th minute penalty after a lazy challenge from City captain Vincent Kompany upended Nacho Monreal.

Either side of that opening strike, Cazorla epitomised everything that was good about the visitors’ performance as he hassled and harried the City players while also orchestrating the sporadic Arsenal attacks with delightful simplicity and efficiency from a central position.

On 65 minutes, Cazorla pinpointed the well-groomed head of Olivier Giroud who sealed the deal with a straight forward finish passed the similarly quaffed Hart.

The 30-year-old then slalomed his way through four City challenges after sliding in to win back possession on the edge of his own area.

After making it over the halfway line he was eventually curtailed but his efforts were chorused by the travelling support who were belting out his name.

Coming into the game, the main talking point was who would win the battle between the South American dynamos of Aguero and Sanchez while the silky skills of Spain’s five-foot-nothing star David Silva were also expected to slice open the Arsenal backline.

Silva and Aguero cut frustrated figures at the end, with the latter only making his first start for the home side in six weeks and while Sanchez bubbled and bristled it was the diminutive Cazorla who left the biggest imprint on the Etihad turf.

Toothless United shows much work remains for Van Gaal

As Manchester United toiled unsuccessfully in search of an equalising goal against a resolute Southampton during Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash, the expression on the face of the flat-capped Sir Alex Ferguson matched the general mood in the ground during what was a frustrating day for the majority of those inside the Theatre of Dreams.

From his now familiar perch in the directors’ box, Ferguson peered out through a malaise as a hapless United succumbed to a Dusan Tadic strike 20 minutes from time that was just reward for the visitors.

Such was the lack of attacking threat from United it would be easy to think that many of the fans had entered a semi-state of consciousness and indeed were dreaming of the not so distant past when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Carlos Tevez were strutting their stuff in the Manchester red.

Instead the blurred red figures chasing Saintly shadows were Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind and Juan Mata, while the only two survivors from the last great side built by Ferguson which peaked in Moscow  in 2008 - Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney - were similarly stifled by a Southampton side which produced the most effective performance of any visiting team at Old Trafford this season.

Marshalled by the game’s outstanding player Morgan Schneiderlin and ably assisted by Victor Wanyama and Jose Fonte, Southampton outthought and outfought the home side.

With just one shot on target and less than 40 per cent of possession, Ronald Koeman’s men certainly did not outplay United, whose toothlessness was evidenced by failing to register a single shot on goal at Old Trafford for the first time since a dead rubber at the end of the 2008-09 season against Arsenal.

That game against the Gunners was subsumed in an atmosphere of celebration as United claimed the 11th league title of the Ferguson era.

Two more followed before the Scot vacated the Old Trafford hotseat for his compatriot David Moyes who only lasted 10 months into a six-year contract.

Lack lustre performances underscored by dressing room skulduggery put paid to Moyes’ tenure.

The consensus was that the job was too big for the former Preston North End and Everton manager.

United eventually lurched to seventh - their lowest finish in Premier League history - under the guidance of Ryan Giggs, the crown prince of Old Trafford.

But who would take over as the new ruler of the kingdom? Step forward King Louis.

Van Gaal strode into Manchester with an impressive CV in club management and off the back of leading an average Dutch side to a third place finish at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Over £150million pound later and United sit in a Champions League qualifying spot and face a match against the lowest ranked team left in the competition for a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Despite a Capital One Cup exit following a wretched display at MK Dons, the United ship is generally considered to be on course.

Louis Van Gaal saw his United side slip to fourth in the Premier League following defeat to Southampton

However, Van Gaal bristled in the Southampton post-match press conference when it was pointed out that at the same stage of the league campaign under Moyes, United had also amassed 37 points from 21 games scoring 35 goals compared to 34 so far this season.

The fact that Southampton stopper Fraser Forster was not called into action once during the preceding 90 minutes was compounded by the fact that the man who found the net in United’s previous outing at Stoke was kicking his £43million feet in the stands.

Van Gaal offered up that Rademal Falcao needed a rest after five games in succession which seemed a reasonable assumption considering the Colombian’s injury record since his loan move from Monaco.

However, it was hard not to imagine that a poacher of Falcao’s pedigree would not have been a better option to bring on when United were chasing the game after the injured Robin van Persie and ineffective Di Maria were replaced by Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera.

The ploy of using Di Maria as a second striker with Rooney playing a deeper role failed.

Despite coming closest to scoring for United with three late efforts, two of which should have at least warmed the palms of an underworked Forster, Mata scurried and shuffled but could not deliver.

Van Gaal asked to be judged after three months of the season as he began working with his new charges and implementing his “philosophy” during the pre-season tour in the United States.

So far this season his players have struggled to adapt to the 3-5-2 system he has employed in the majority of games so far.

United were on an unbeaten 10-game run before the visit of the Saints which included 3-0 wins over Liverpool and Hull City while Newcastle United were despatched 3-1.

Despite the three-goal margin, Van Gaal had the reflexes of David De Gea plus the profligacy of Liverpool’s strikers to thank for victory over Brendan Rodgers side while the Spanish stopper was the pivotal man again in setting the foundations for a smash-and-grab against Arsenal at the Emirates.

De Gea and a last minute Ashley Young clearance saw United scrape passed Stoke in early December while a visit to St Marys saw Van Gaal’s side somehow head north with  all three points despite being second best all over the park.

The Dutchman will rightly point to a crippling injury list that has undoubtedly hindered his time at Old Trafford and with Young the only first team regular unavailable for Southampton’s visit on Sunday, Van Gaal will be hoping that the second half of the season will see a reduction in the walking wounded.

However, somewhere in San Sebastian, a rueful Scot may point to the fact that as well as accruing the same number of points this time last year and spending over £100million less, United were preparing for a Capital One Cup semi-final along with a last-16 clash against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

King Louis it’s time to deliver.