Oh Gabby
Lets be honest…Gabby Agbonlahor was mainly known for great moments rather than great seasons. He was never the 20 goal-a-season striker that Villa needed in the last decade.
13 league goals in a season was Agbonlahor’s best effort and he only broke into double figures three times in ten seasons as a regular first teamer (Christian Benteke managed to do that within just three seasons).
Frank Lampard in comparison, got into double figures for league goals in 10 of his seasons at Chelsea, and that was from midfield.
False Idol
If you think Agbonlahor’s record is enough to consider him as a club ‘legend’ as a striker, then Aston Villa really are doomed as a club if supporters have such low expectations.
In April 2012, after Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov’s diagnosis with leukaemia, Agbonlahor was named team captain. That was his time to step up and become the ‘Mr Villa’ he and his fans thought he was.
He didn’t become the team’s leader though, despite MOMS wishful thinking. MOMS though admittedly has never been a big fan, as he doesn’t seem to have a proper striker’s shooting ability, but due to his pace and power he was always a good option to have in the squad, depending on the opponent.
Soon though, he’s influence faded in having any impact on any game, exemplified when Gary Neville mocked him on Sky TV’s live coverage of a Villa game in which Gabby had had eight touches in the first half of the game…and two of those were from the kick-off.
One Contract Too Many
Lerner seemed to think that Gabby was some kind of club talisman and gave him a further four-year contract in September 2014. He seemed to think it was a popular move to keep supporters happy.
Did MOMS miss something? In the previous season, Gabby had only managed to score 4 league goals in 30 league appearances. In fact, he hadn’t got into double figures in the league since the 2009/10 season. That’s over six years ago. The only conclusion is that Aston Villa under Randy Lerner was a very dumb club when it came to Agbonlahor and many other player contracts.
This isn’t a matter of hindsight, MOMS ran an article in August 2014, posing the question Is Gabby Agbonlahor Now Holding Aston Villa Back? Well, we know the answer to that and he should never have been granted a new four-year contract. Maybe an extra year’s extension to prove himself, tops.
The player himself seemed to be on cruise control after his last contract was signed and he knew he had financial security into his thirties.
A year later, Charles N’Zogbia started ahead of him in the FA Cup final against Arsenal, which was a clear indication he needed to pull his finger out, but Agbonlahor didn’t seem to respond.
Agbonlahor was named club captain at the start of the 2015–16 season by Tim Sherwood to give him the responsibly to focus his mind on being one of Villa’s main performers.
It’s saying something that his last goal, against Norwich earlier this year was his first goal in 11 months. The Birmingham Mail headline that greeted it – ‘Aston Villa: Gabby Agbonlahor is a Holte End hero once again’ – is typical of the falsehood that he remains some kind of local hero.
Regarded as unfit by Remi Garde and anyone with 20-20 vision, he had only got a place in the team due to injuries to Rudy Gestede and Libor Kozak.
On the evening Villa got relegated, Gabby was partying the night away. He became tabloid fodder; photographed with shisha pipes and laughing gas. In short, he became Villa’s fool, poster boy for the demise of the club.
Game Over?
When Tony Xia took the club over, he came to the club unburdened by any sentimentality towards Agbonlahor, he saw the Villa striker for what he had become – a disruptive influence in the dressing room and a poor role model for younger Villa players.
Xia publically challenged the Villa striker to man-up, and a proposed loan period at Reading would have given Agbonlahor a chance to prove himself. He declined it and on transfer deadline day made it known on Instagram that he was a waterpark with his kids, rather than looking for a new club.
When Agbonlahor signed his last Villa contract, he stated in an interview with Sky Sports:
“I am just delighted. It is great news for me and my family and I think it good news for the club as well and I look forward to repaying their faith in them.”
It was great news for him financially, but did he repay the club or Villa fans for their faith? No.
In the same interview, Gabby also stated, “I’ve always said I only wanted to play for one side and that dream has come true.”
He seemed to have forgotten earlier loan periods to both Watford and Sheffield Wednesday.
Agbonlahor will need to go on loan again in January to have ANY chance of playing for Aston Villa again. The quicker he realises that, the better for everyone. If he doesn’t, Agbonlahor may find he’s already played his last ever game for Villa.
If he wants to remain a ‘one club player’, he’ll have to retire.
UTV
If he’s still being paid a fortune, let’s see what he can do. Give him a handful of games.
Giving him another contract in 2014 was absolute madness and this kind of decision making is the reason we are where we are.
We can kid ourselves, and some round Aston way are exceedingly good at it, but numbers don’t lie.
He has never been a top striker – he has only had top moments – and a handful of moments over a decade don’t make a career. He was given a contract by the inept Lerner regime, and we have seen where such incompetence can lead a club. Xia and RDM have done well to cut out most of the deadwood, but one or two remain. Agbonlahor is among them, and everyone knows it.
He has no sense of honour, only of entitlement. He has led a charmed life at Villa and been rewarded far beyond his worth. Now he sits on his contract. You get rid of one leech like N’Zogbia, and another one appears.
I don’t want him mixing with our youth, I don’t want him playing, I want him gone.
UTV
Well said Barry’sboots ! As Club Captain Gabby probably did a lot of good if one ignores the recent publicity , but as team captain he was a failure as he needed to concentrate too much on his own performance . As for his fitness that goes back to the summer when after being told he needed to beef up ,it would seem he mistakenly went to a muscle gym & bulked up . Trouble is that excesss muscle is far more difficult to get rid of than the fat some fans accuse him of being ladden with . Also excess muscle on an athlete frequently leads to injury when their training is not linked to reducing muscle bulk . And it would seem that the club is as much to blame as Gabby as they seem to concentrate on skill training and ignore strength training . However that may be about to change as it would seem RDM has commented that some of the youngsters are in need of beefing up . And certainly it does seem that strength has been a factor in the recent past as to why some players have failed to make the step up to the 1st team
Sad to see this position. I disagree that Gabby has never been good. I will say that I don’t think he has never been too bright. I believe that, if he had been well coached and directed, he could have been a top player. He played a part in our best performance of last season, the first hour away at Leicester, when we were 2-0 up. Whilst he did not score his running and power created the space for Grealish, Gil and, I think, Sinclair, to operate behind him (even the 5Live commentator was quick to acknowledge Gabby’s parts). You ask Vidic who he disliked playing against in the EPL and Gabby will sit just underneath Torres. When on he was very difficult too handle. I still think a fit Gabby could be a real asset in this division (as did Jap Stam obviously) but it is a real shame that it has broken down like this. Of course, I don’t have the benefit of seeing Gabby on the training park or in the dressing room. As for clubbing etc., I would imaging that there are a lot of EPL players getting up to similar but maybe a bit better at hiding it or maybe not such good headlines as their teams are not bombing.